Cenomi Centers and Mappedin Unveil Smart Indoor Maps for Saudi Malls

Cenomi Centers, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest retail and lifestyle developers, has teamed up with Canadian indoor mapping firm Mappedin to modernise how shoppers find their way around the kingdom’s malls. The deal covers 21 properties, including heavyweights such as Mall of Arabia in Jeddah and Nakheel Mall in Riyadh, with a digital twist that promises to make wandering through those massive complexes a bit less of a faff.

The idea is simple but quite clever: real‑time, interactive maps that slot neatly into Cenomi Plus, the group’s mobile app now available on iOS and Android. By combining Mappedin’s mapping technology with Cenomi’s network, visitors can get directions in seconds – no more hopelessly scanning printed directories or guessing which escalator leads to the food court. I reckon that’s spot on for a shopper base increasingly glued to their phones.

Hongwei Liu, the founder and chief executive of Mappedin, explained that the platform lets Cenomi update its maps instantly, making sure each store relocation or renovation shows up for customers straight away. That might sound like a small thing, but as anyone who’s ever circled a mall looking for a newly opened café can tell you, accuracy matters.

For Cenomi Centers, led by Alison Rehill‑Erguven, the tie‑up shows a push to weave more tech into everyday mall life. The company is already using Mappedin’s content management system to handle Arabic translations and check location data. The next phase — integrating web maps across individual mall websites and rolling out digital directories — will further expand their omnichannel experience. And believe it or not, very few mall operators in the region have gone this far with real‑time mapping.

Cenomi’s current portfolio counts over 4,000 stores across ten major cities, anchored by lifestyle hubs built to modern international standards. With nearly 1.3 million square metres of gross leasable area, they’ve got plenty of space to play with — and digital maps could make all the difference for smooth navigation and deeper engagement.

At Arageek, we often talk about how technology quietly reshapes physical spaces, and this is one of those practical examples. When I last visited a similar mall rollout in Dubai, shoppers told me that even small touches like mobile wayfinding made visits less stressful. So, if Cenomi and Mappedin pull this off, Saudi malls could set a new benchmark for the region’s retail experience.

It’s early days yet, but the collaboration looks promising — flexible, scalable, and centred on ease of use. And for a brand that’s constantly championed lifestyle innovation, Cenomi’s latest partnership feels like another firm step towards that future, even if there’s still, well… a bit of work ahead to make every corner of these huge malls as digitally seamless as the rest.

(And yes, I’m definately curious to see how shoppers take to the new system once it’s fully live.)

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