Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Distribution launches next-gen retail concept

UAE’s fuel convenience retailer ADNOC Distribution has launched a fully autonomous and cashier-less ADNOC Oasis store.

The next generation retail experience entails a cashless and contactless payment system and an AI technology-enhanced shopping environment, official news agency WAM reported.

ADNOC Distribution has launched its next generation retail experience. The new fully autonomous #ADNOCOasis contactless store uses cutting edge AI and payment technology that allows customers to just grab and go.

Find out more: https://t.co/uRvFo8WFBS pic.twitter.com/dqu3om5Snl

— ADNOC Distribution (@ADNOCdist) November 22, 2021

Customers will no longer have to queue or wait for staff, and unlike other self-service terminals across retail outlets, there’s no need to scan items. Customers need to tap in with a bank card, Emirates ID, or scan the QR code, pick up the items they need and walk out. Payment is taken after the customer leaves the store, either through the app or the bank card used to enter the store, with all details of purchase stored in the app or through an e-receipt.

Every shelf in the store is equipped with an electronic LED screen that digitally displays the price as well as any current promotions, a statement said. Offers and promotions will also be updated in real time, with prices adjusted accordingly. The new ADNOC Oasis also utilises technology via weight sensors on shelves, enabling both camera and weight sensing information to more accurately track the customers’ shopping.

Customers will be able to shop as a family using a single QR code for entry. Once family members have scanned the code and entered the store, they’ll be tracked as a group, with items taken by anyone from among them added to a single virtual basket.

The first new generation store has been opened at ADNOC’s Sheikh Khalifa Energy Complex, where employees will try out the store, before the new concept is  widely rolled out across the country.

Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO, ADNOC Distribution, said: “Our enhanced ADNOC Oasis store is set to revolutionise how we shop. It makes the experience easier, faster and more convenient than ever before. Digitisation has been a core part of our ongoing customer-experience enhancements and this unmanned ADNOC Oasis is the very essence of this strategy.

“Creating convenience for customers in their everyday journeys is integral to all that we do. The consumer landscape has naturally evolved as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and we see how important accessible retail is for our customers.”

ADNOC Distribution reported a net profit of Dhs1.7bn for the first nine months of 2021, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) equalled Dhs2.3bn.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Distribution posts net profit worth Dhs1.7bn for first nine months of 2021

In September, it announced that its board of directors had approved an interim dividend payment to shareholders for the first six months of 2021 of Dhs1.285bn, equivalent to $350m, which was paid in October 2021.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC Distribution approves $350m interim cash dividend for H1 2021