The first digital commercial centre in the Arab region, elMall, will open in Egypt and Saudi Arabia next February. The digital mall is scheduled to launch also in the UAE before the end of this year.
Ashraf Gaber, CEO of UAE House of Experience “EPR Partners” and Founder of elMall, said that digital transformation has become a reality and has acquired a large share of shopping around the world, especially in light of the international lockdown and precautionary measures due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He added that the mall is a shopping experience that provides shoppers with the appropriate environment that they are accustomed to in traditional malls, using many technologies that will make them feel that they are facing a real shopping experience, in which they check thousands of products and services.
He noted that all stores, institutions, and talented people can receive their digital stores, as long as they provide a service or commodity that is in compliance with the state’s laws. Business owners, professionals, and talented people can establish their own stores within 24 hours only.
He explained that the project is being launched in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental business councils and consumer protection organizations, within the UAE, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
He explained that the beginning of 2021 will witness the launch of other branches of elMall in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the Sultanate of Oman, and in a later stage of 2021, Jordan, Morocco, and Iraq.
Gaber revealed that Egypt will be the next stop for the digital mall, as technical and logistical preparations are underway to launch the Egyptian version in conjunction with the launch of the Saudi Arabia version at the same time.
He explained that the “digital mall” has entered into a series of partnerships with business councils, chambers of commerce and joint councils in the UAE to provide unique services to its members, and to contribute to achieving the philosophy and goals of those bodies.
He explained that the project addresses some of the challenges facing store owners who display their products on the current shopping platforms, as shoppers usually do not know the source of products. He pointed out that the elMall does not interfere in the sale operations, nor does it receive commissions or percentages from sales, but it supports in every way the promotion of merchants’ profits, as the launch of the mall will be accompanied by the launch of a digital magazine bearing the same name, to promote the products and services available in the mall.
