Retail Pioneer is covering all angles to ensure customer happiness this ‘Ramadan’…including studying the idea of late night shopping in 24X7 open branches to avoid crowds

Monday, 22 May 2018 – Dubai (UAE):

The holy month of ‘Ramadan’ is one of the most sacred months of the Islamic calendar. People shop in large groups from supermarkets in order to prepare ‘Suhoor and Iftar’ for the loved ones and themselves who are fasting. Union Coop, the largest Consumer Cooperative in the UAE is studying the idea of 24-hour shopping in three of its branches of Umm Suqeim, Wasel and Al Twar, to deal with rush hours and allow consumers to shop at their own convenience without worrying about crowd.

Talking about this unique move, H.E. Khalid Humaid Bin Diban Al Falasi, CEO of Union Coop, who said, “Night shopping is one of the many effective ways we are studying to reduce rush during peak hours, which usually starts prior to the beginning of the holy month and continues till the auspicious Eid. As a long-term strategy, we are planning to reduce the prices of specific items by certain percentage after midnight to encourage and promote late night shopping, in our three branches of Umm Suqeim, Wasel and Al Twar, which will be open to the consumers 24 hours a day.”

Stressing on consumer happiness, Al Falasi said, “This is a well-calculated trial move that will allow our valuable consumers to shop at any time they find suitable and plan their shopping in advance to avoid long queues and traffic congestions. We cannot ignore the fact that number of shoppers on Ramadan eve are likely to reach 400,000 compared to 120, 000 on normal days, which accounts to a mammoth 230 percent increase. We have trained teams to deal with such hustle-bustle situations within all branches, especially during the promotional periods which see more than 50 percent shopper turnout…”