The Middle East Council of Shopping Centres and Retailers celebrated its 30th anniversary at Retail Congress MENA 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This landmark event, themed “From Foundation to Flame: Embracing a New Retail Chapter in Saudi Arabia,” brought together the region’s retail visionaries at a pivotal moment in the industry’s transformation.
Aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the congress became a crucial platform where industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers gathered to bridge traditional retail wisdom with future opportunities. This convergence of experience and ambition reflected the event’s theme – taking the foundation of three decades of retail excellence and igniting it into a flame of innovation.
Breaking Language Barriers in Middle Eastern Retail
In the MENA region, Arabic isn’t just a language – it’s the cornerstone of business communication, used by over 400 million people across 22 countries. While English serves as a bridge in international retail, Arabic remains the primary language for local commerce, strategic discussions, and customer engagement. When international retail brands discuss expansion strategies with local mall operators, conversations naturally flow between both languages, creating unique challenges in capturing and sharing valuable retail knowledge.
For Retail Congress MENA 2024, Snapsight took a significant technological leap by introducing Arabic language support. This development went beyond simple translation – it required sophisticated AI training to understand:
- The nuances of retail terminology in both languages
- Regional variations in business Arabic
- Industry-specific expressions and concepts
- Cultural context in retail discussions
Innovation in Action
The implementation at the congress matched both the event’s scale and significance. With over 300 retail leaders moving between concurrent sessions, QR codes were strategically placed at key decision points – session room entrances, networking areas, and main gathering spaces. The platform achieved seamless bilingual knowledge capture by:
- Accurately processing retail-specific terminology in both languages
- Maintaining the nuanced context of speaker insights
- Enabling real-time switching between Arabic and English
- Preserving the authentic voice of regional retail expert
Shaping Retail's Future
The bilingual capability proved particularly valuable for cross-cultural knowledge exchange. Regional retail executives could access insights instantly in their preferred language, while international participants gained a deeper understanding of local market dynamics.
As Saudi Arabia continues its retail transformation, the insights captured at Retail Congress MENA 2024 serve as a valuable resource for industry professionals navigating the path between tradition and innovation. The successful deployment of Snapsight, with its Arabic language capability, established a new standard for knowledge sharing in the region’s retail sector.