Asda and Tesco are conducting small-scale trials of new technology designed to tackle theft at the checkouts.
Widely used in the US at chains including Kroger and Giant, the CartView surveillance system helps retailers detect goods that are hidden at the bottom of trolleys or underneath them and which have not passed through the tills.
The hidden goods interrupt an infra-red beam and activate a camera shot, which displays the products on a screen, alerting retailers to disparities between what is going through the checkouts and what is being registered as a sale.
Asda, which tested the system at a store in Scotland last autumn, plans to roll out CartView to all 30 checkouts at the store in the summer, said UK Cartview franchisee Michael Proom.
Tesco is currently testing the system at its hypermarket in Letnany in the outskirts of Prague, while Sainsbury has also conducted trials at an inner city store, he added.
“The system also serves as a staff training and monitoring tool. Digital picture logs can be accessed by management to identify instances where staff failed to deal with a pictured incident. This keeps checkout staff more alert, particularly in busy periods.”

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