UALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Sunway Malls has become the first shopping mall operator in Malaysia to implement a group-wide artificial Smart Mall ecosystem powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, productivity and overall shopping experience.
Sunway Malls, in a statement, said the initiative integrates advanced digital technologies across its mall portfolio to reduce reliance on manual processes, enable efficient management and deliver a more seamless shopping experience.
The Smart Malls initiatives build on the successful implementation of IoT technology at Sunway Pyramid in 2021 and later Sunway Square, with the ecosystem now being rolled out in phases across the group’s entire mall portfolio.
Group Managing Director HC Chan said digital technology would increasingly become a critical and strategic enabler for businesses, enabling faster and more informed decision-making in an increasingly competitive market.
“Digital technology will increasingly become a critical and strategic enabler for businesses moving into the future. Its timeliness, accuracy and relevancy allow better, incisive and decisive interventions in a highly competitive market,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, among the technologies introduced is an Integrated Operations Centre (IOC), which functions as a central command centre to unify security, facility management and proactive operations within Sunway City Kuala Lumpur.
The malls are also supported by 5G connectivity, smart toilets equipped with real-time sensors, smart escalators with predictive maintenance capabilities, AI-powered CCTV for security monitoring and a centralised retail operations management platform.
By replacing manual monitoring and reactive processes with automated, data-driven oversight, Sunway Malls significantly reduces the manpower required to manage its facilities, while raising the standard of the environment it delivers.
In line with its sustainability agenda, Sunway Malls has also deployed on-site food waste digesters that use microbes and enzymes to convert food waste into grey water, with the potential to produce drinking water, while reducing solid waste and the need for frequent waste collection.
To enhance customer experience, Sunway Malls also introduced several digital features, including a multilingual customer chatbox, the Sunway Super App, real-time indoor navigation, the ‘Makan Claw’ dining recommendation feature, smart parking using licence plate recognition technology and a video parking guidance system to help shoppers locate their vehicles.
To commemorate the milestones, Sunway Malls has released a video showcasing how its Smart Malls ecosystem integrates behind-the-scenes technologies to deliver a more seamless, convenient and efficient shopping experience for visitors.
Sunway Malls currently operates 16 retail developments with a combined net lettable area (NLA) of 9.5 million square feet, with malls strategically located across key urban markets in Peninsular Malaysia.
