MoET signs MoU to drive price transparency, smart shopping

ABU DHABI: The Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) announced a collaboration with Amazon UAE as part of its Essential Goods Prices Platform, which was launched in April this year, by virtue of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between both parties at the Ministry’s headquarters in Dubai.

In the presence of Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, the agreement was signed by Abdulla Ahmed Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry, and Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President on behalf of Amazon Middle East, Africa, and Türkiye.

The collaboration aims to strengthen smart shopping for consumers, while supporting price transparency and fair competition in the UAE.

As part of the MoU, Amazon UAE has been integrated onto the Essential Goods Prices Platform, with product price records now live for customers to access.

This marks the first time an e-commerce retailer has been added to the Essential Goods Prices Platform, expanding price comparisons beyond physical retail outlets to include online retailers.

Bin Touq said, "Digital transformation and innovation are two key pillars of the UAE’s vision to build a knowledge-based economic model in line with global best practices. The new collaboration with Amazon represents a transformative step forward in this direction by enhancing digital connectivity between government and e-commerce retailers, leveraging advanced technologies to develop digital solutions that strengthen consumer protection and increase transparency within e-commerce. This, in turn, contributes to improving market efficiency, enhancing the competitiveness of the digital economic ecosystem, and supporting greater integration between data and digital services provided to the public.”

He added, "The Ministry of Economy and Tourism remains committed to advancing its efforts to build an integrated digital landscape driven by data and innovation for monitoring and analysing commodity prices, promoting the concept of smart shopping, and expanding its partnerships with leading local and international e-commerce companies."

"This aligns with the UAE’s vision to strengthen the digital economy and further develop the e-commerce sector, in line with the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision to position the country as a global hub for the new economy by the next decade.” Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President of Amazon Middle East, Africa, and Türkiye, said, "At Amazon, we work hard to help customers make smart shopping decisions. Today, customers across the country can access millions of products on Amazon.ae, including a growing selection of everyday essentials that they need most, from groceries and household goods to personal care, delivered fast and at great value. We welcome this collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism in the UAE, which reflects our shared commitment to helping consumers shop with confidence.

We are proud that Amazon.ae is now integrated onto the Essential Goods Prices Platform as the first e-commerce retailer,and look forward to continuing to support the UAE's vision of a digitally connected, consumer-centric economy."

The Ministry explained that the integration between Amazon and the Ministry’s Essential Goods Prices Platform will allow for the regular updating of pricing data in accordance with precise and approved technical standards.

This ensures data reliability, speed and accuracy of updates, while maintaining the highest levels of data security, in compliance with governance and cybersecurity standards.

This collaboration empowers consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions by providing information on the prices of essential commodities. It also marks a significant milestone in the development and efficiency of the smart shopping experience.

The Essential Goods Prices Platform enables easy and transparent price comparisons, thereby contributing to the development of a smart and sustainable shopping environment across the country.

Currently, the Essential Goods Prices Platform focuses on displaying prices of essential goods which are identified based on the consumer priority products list. This ensures a focus on the most frequently purchased goods while enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of monitoring their price levels.

It currently includes 33 product categories, comprising 17 essential consumer goods and 16 other key commodities.

Prices are monitored in real time across 12 major physical retail outlets and Amazon.ae as the platform's first e-commerce retailer in the UAE, with the minimum and maximum prices published for each outlet, enabling consumers to compare prices easily across different branches.

The platform also allows users to create a customised grocery basket based on their needs and automatically directs them to the most cost-effective option in terms of price. These features contribute to enhancing transparency and promoting the optimal use of consumers’ budgets.

WAM