Dubai: Mars International, the operator of Mars Hypermarkets in Oman and the UAE, has partnered with software company SAP, the company announced on Monday.
As part of the agreement, Mars Hypermarket will deploy a wide range of software running on the in-memory SAP HANA platform to improve customer experience, enhance the company’s supply chain, and increase employee engagement. The statement added that Mars Hypermarket is exploring SAP S/4HANA real-time business suite solutions, mobile apps, and augmented and virtual reality innovations, but did not provide any further details.
“Oman’s customers expect a personalised and seamless shopping experience from their mobile devices. With real-time technology, Mars Hypermarket can deliver innovative digital business models with better product decisions, convenient omni-channel shopping experiences, and customer loyalty programmes,” V.T. Vinodan, Managing Director, Mars Hypermarket Oman and UAE, said in a statement.
With Oman’s $3.4 billion (Dh12.48 billion) supermarket sales, the country’s hypermarkets are the main driver for food sales, delivering 70 per cent of total grocery store sales in Oman, according to Alpen Capital.
As a result, Omani supermarket and hypermarket sales are set to grow by 15 per cent from $3.4 billion in 2016 to $3.9 billion by 2018, according to food and agriculture research firm Farrelly & Mitchell. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) supermarket and hypermarket sales are expected to grow by 19 per cent to $49 billion by 2018, as per the research firm’s findings.
SAP is partnered with 80 per cent of Forbes’ Global 2000 retailers. The company claims its software has increased customer retention by 91 per cent.
