Dubai-based Raffle Tech, a shopper engagement technology and customer loyalty program development specialist, has won the silver medal in the customer engagement and loyalty platforms category for 2026 at the Middle East and North Africa Shopping Centre and Retailer Awards.
Article Index:
- Raffle Tech crowned at regional retail conference in Dubai
- AI session and elevating daily operational efficiency
- Building continuous shopper loyalty beyond temporary campaigns
- Founding journey and the experience of facing pandemic challenges
- Automating receipt verification with intelligent agents and human oversight
- Frequently Asked Questions
Raffle Tech crowned at regional retail conference in Dubai
Raffle Tech, a digital engagement and shopper retention solutions specialist that launched its operations from the emirate of Dubai, has won the prestigious silver medal in the customer engagement and loyalty platforms category for 2026 during the Middle East and North Africa Shopping Centre and Retailer Awards ceremony, annually organized by the regional council of shopping centers.
This prominent recognition took place during the annual retail conference hosted at The Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Dubai International Financial Centre on October 6, 2026, where the company received the award in recognition of its innovative project, “Raffle Tech and Raffle Club: From Campaign Engagement to Building Customer Loyalty,” which embodies a pioneering methodology for transforming transient participation in promotional sweepstakes into a close, sustainable business relationship extending long after shopping festivals conclude.
AI session and elevating daily operational efficiency
The conference witnessed wide participation from business leaders as Baiju Kurien, founder and managing director of BUZ and Raffle Tech, participated in a strategic panel discussion entitled “Artificial Intelligence in the Retail Sector: Elevating Operational Efficiency,” alongside David Macadam, CEO of the Shopping Mall Regional Council, Neftis Yavan, Chief Operating Officer at Esas Properties, and Hamdi Kulahcıoğlu, founder of LC Waikiki.
The session addressed mechanisms for employing artificial intelligence tools to upgrade daily store operations, with Kurien reviewing Raffle Tech’s experience in utilizing smart software to solve field management dilemmas while decisively emphasizing the need to keep sensitive decision-making authority and emotional communication in the hands of specialized human cadres to ensure the authenticity of the shopping experience is preserved.
Building continuous shopper loyalty beyond temporary campaigns
Kurien explained that the idea of Raffle Tech was born to address complex operational challenges accompanying giant promotional campaigns comprising hundreds of stores and shopping centers with disparate systems, as the platform successfully unified digital participation and verification operations.
Kurien added: “Attracting a shopper to the store is only the first preparatory step; the core challenge is giving them real value that drives them to return again. This recognition reflects our philosophy of turning momentary participation enthusiasm into cumulative loyalty by linking rewards to the customer’s actual interests and providing retailers with accurate data on their campaign returns.” This vision integrates with the consumer-facing “Raffle Club” platform, which gathers exclusive offers and opportunities in a unified interface.
Founding journey and the experience of facing pandemic challenges
The roots of Raffle Tech’s founding go back to accumulated field expertise honed by its parent company, BUZ, operating in Dubai since 2008 in strategic marketing and major event organization. An urgent need emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to invent complete digital alternatives to replace paper vouchers and traditional draw boxes that used to witness crowding and intensive human contact.
The platform embarked on a continuous development journey to turn paper procedures into digital pathways via QR codes and instant invoice verification, enabling independent merchants and major shopping complexes to adopt advanced technical infrastructure without incurring the costs of building proprietary software from scratch, thereby boosting the flexibility of the local retail sector.
Automating receipt verification with intelligent agents and human oversight
The company began digitizing campaigns in 2020 before advanced AI models were integrated in 2023 to automate the extraction and auditing of diverse purchase receipt data. The ecosystem later evolved to include a architecture based on “specialized AI agents” that handle specific tasks with extreme precision while referring suspicious or exceptional transactions for human audit.
Arun Sadasivan, Chief Business Officer at Raffle Tech, emphasized: “We do not ask retailers to turn into complex tech companies, but rather help them invest these tools to run their businesses efficiently while keeping core decisions in human hands,” noting the company’s plans for regional expansion across regional markets, benefiting from Dubai’s business environment leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What award did Raffle Tech win at the 2026 Retail Conference?
Answer: It won the silver medal in the customer engagement and loyalty platforms category for 2026 at the Shopping Centre and Retailer Awards.
Question: How does Raffle Tech employ artificial intelligence in managing promotional campaigns?
Answer: It uses smart algorithms and software agents to read invoices and verify purchases accurately, referring special cases for human auditing.
Question: What role does the company’s Raffle Club platform play?
Answer: It acts as a consumer-facing platform gathering offers, discounts, and promotional experiences to ensure continuous customer engagement with stores.
