e-kalathi electronic platform debuts

The ‘e-kalathi’ electronic platform is now operational, offering citizens the opportunity to be informed in real time about the prices and availability of basic consumer products in the major supermarkets of Cyprus, both at a nationwide level and by district.

It is recalled that "e-kalathi", which was presented to interested parties on 11 June, is an electronic service of the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, which provides the ability to compare prices of selected products between different stores/supermarkets in Cyprus, either individually or as "baskets", i.e. sets of products and quantities.

As the responsible minister stated in the context of the presentation for the official launch of "e-kalathi", at an initial stage, the platform includes prices for 478 products in 20 main categories, such as milk and dairy products, eggs, cold cuts, oils, bakery products, pasta, flour, rice, frozen products, non-alcoholic beverages, personal care products, baby products, home care products and pet food.

The user guide and what consumers need to know

The platform’s user guide provides detailed instructions for each function, contributing to familiarisation with the tools and capabilities offered.

One of the important innovations/tools of the platform is the ability for users to receive price drop notifications.

It is clarified that in order to create baskets and compare their costs in affiliated stores/supermarkets, it is necessary to create an account on the platform.

The user can create a cart either through the "carts" menu by selecting the "create new cart" function or when selecting a product to add to one of the available carts. He also has the ability to create many different carts, each with different products, depending on his shopping habits.

Regarding the ability to compare prices from different stores, for each basket created, the ability to immediately be informed about the total cost of the basket of products available in all contracted stores/supermarkets is provided. In addition, the ability to compare the cost of the basket for all products is provided only in the stores where it is available.

Real-time price updates

Product prices on the platform are updated almost in real time, when there is a price change or offer/discount on a product in one of the stores of each supermarket.

Price updates are achieved through a special behind-the-scenes mechanism, which sends the new prices/data directly from the supermarket to the platform.

As pointed out by the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, George Papanastasiou, the "e-kalathi" platform is not static, as it will constantly evolve based on consumer feedback, essentially contributing to the cultivation of a modern consumer culture, with the aim of becoming a valuable tool for daily use for every household.

He also acknowledged that the development of the platform was completed within a year, despite the technical challenges that arose, and guided by the decision to simultaneously release it in a web and mobile environment.

Click here to see the platform’s user guide.

(Source: InBusinessNews)