Supermarkets large and small are scrambling to send information to the commerce ministry in time for a pilot e-kalathi application to go into operation before Christmas, it emerged on Friday.
Reports earlier in the week said the trial app, enabling shoppers to make price comparisons for essential groceries, would be launched by December 20.
Commerce ministry spokesman Savvas Savva on Friday confirmed to the CyBC that the ministry was “progressing at a pace” towards this end.
“The products for the first phase have been selected and we hope we will make it. There are no technical challenges,” he said.
Bulk traders’ association head Marios Antoniou, however, cast some doubt over this timeframe, saying it was unclear whether retailers of all sizes would be able to respond in time and that it was important to give shoppers a well-designed tool from the start.
“Supermarkets are examining around 400 coded items which include cereals dairy, soft drinks, personal care items, and baby goods,” Antoniou told Alphanews.
All retailers must carry all the specific items on their shelves for the price comparison to be valid across the board, he explained, meaning they had to be completely identical.
Supermarket brand products are excluded from comparison although these are the very items which are usually the best priced, Antoniou said, since their sourcing and production could not be established as equivalent.
“It is doubtful if anything can be brought to the public before Christmas because not all retailers have the capacity to respond [to the ministry’s request for information] with speed,” he said.
“Anything offered should be done well and be simple and user-friendly if people are to trust it,” Antoniou added.
