Amazon's Just Walk Out lands in the Middle East at ENOC's Dubai forecourt

By James Calloway

ENOC Group has opened a ZOOM convenience store in Dubai that runs on Amazon's Just Walk Out technology — and the two companies say it is the first deployment of the system anywhere in the Middle East. The store sits at Site 1019, opposite City Walk, and there is no cashier and no self-checkout scanner.

The process is straightforward. Shoppers walk in, take what they want from the shelves and leave by tapping a payment card or mobile wallet at the exit. Cameras, sensors and AI-driven computer vision track which products are picked up or put back, building a virtual basket that is charged once the customer walks out. The whole point: paying for a bottle of water and a sandwich at a Dubai petrol station no longer has to involve a queue.

Why is ENOC doing this?

For ENOC, the store fits a broader ambition to turn fuel stations into places people stop for more than petrol. Convenience retail has become a bigger part of the forecourt business across the region, and shaving minutes off a quick stop is an easy sell to commuters on a tight schedule. ENOC describes the launch as a milestone for its retail network.

In plain terms: forecourts are becoming convenience destinations, and speed of checkout is now part of the pitch.

Is it really a regional first?

The regional first comes with a caveat. It applies specifically to Amazon's technology, not to checkout-free shopping in general. Majid Al Futtaim's Carrefour City+ store brought a till-free format to Dubai back in 2021, although it isn't clear whether that store used Amazon's system or a different provider.

What's the backstory?

The launch has been more than a year in the making. In October 2025, ENOC and Amazon UAE announced a wider partnership that included:

• Using ENOC sites as quick-fulfilment hubs
• Selling ENOC products on Amazon.ae
• Exploring Just Walk Out for ZOOM stores in selected locations

A year on, the City Walk site is the only store either company has named. There is no word on how many more will follow or when.

Does Just Walk Out have a track record?

That uncertainty matters, because the technology has had a mixed record. Amazon first rolled the concept out through its Amazon Go stores in Seattle in 2018. In 2024, it removed the technology from its larger Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the US in favour of smart shopping carts.

Amazon has since focused on licensing the system to smaller formats — stadiums, airports and convenience stores — where baskets are small and visits are quick. A petrol station shop arguably fits that profile better than a full supermarket ever did.

What happens next?

Whether Dubai shoppers embrace it, and whether ENOC expands beyond a single site, will decide if this is a genuine shift in UAE retail or a well-placed showcase.