Al Meera's First Checkout-Free Stores to open in Qatar

Al Meera's First Checkout-Free Stores to open in Qatar

Al Meera Consumer Goods Company has formed a collaboration with Zippin, a leading supplier of checkout-free technology, to enhance its expansion plan and deliver unique services to all members of the community through creative technology.

Al Meera will soon establish fully autonomous stores in strategic places to serve guests with snacks, beverages, grab-and-go meals, and other necessities in a smooth and cashier-free experience.

Commenting on this new offering in the market, Al Meera said: “We are excited to introduce these new checkout-free stores to make shopping more convenient and fun for our customers. This step is part of our expansion plans to ensure that our services are always within the reach of all consumers. In addition, it is in line with the country’s strategy to achieve digital transformation, using modern technology solutions to promote cashless payment solutions and facilitate economic growth in accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030. These stores will enable our customers to quickly grab their drinks and snacks, and complete their transactions seamlessly. We continuously strive to keep pace with the growing demands of customers in a digital-dominated era.”

The shops, driven by Zippin's multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) technology, will be located in attractive areas in need of a mini-market to provide clients with quick and self-service beverages and snacks such as water, soft drinks, coffee, chips, nuts, doughnuts, and more.

The frictionless smart shops are powered by a network of cameras and sensors that follow consumers from the moment they walk in until they leave, easing and speeding up the purchase process and making shopping transactions faster, easier, less stressful, and more pleasurable for customers.

The first unmanned store will open its doors to customers during the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as part of Al Meera's various initiatives to ensure that residents and visitors to Qatar during the mega event have a memorable experience and contribute to the tournament's resounding success.

“We’re excited to partner with Al Meera, delivering frictionless shopping to their customers. Having Zippin-powered stores in the Middle East for the first time shows the impressive traction of checkout-free shopping around the world. It’s clear that shoppers love the convenience and speed: something we’ve proven time and again with each new Zippin-powered store,” said Krishna Motukuri, Zippin CEO and co-founder.

Using overhead cameras and sensors, the software in the checkout-free stores automatically recognizes the products picked up or returned and produces a virtual shopping cart for each consumer. The consumer may place the things in their pocket, bag, purse, or just carry them, and the program will bill the amount of the acquired items directly from the client's credit card as soon as they leave the store. Customers' time spent purchasing a drink or snack will be reduced from minutes to seconds.