Sainsbury’s is to expand its facial recognition technology to five more London stores, after reporting a “seismic” fall in store theft.
In September, the supermarket began working with facial recognition company Facewatch to trial the technology at its Sydenham superstore and Bath Oldfield convenience store. It looked to increase colleague and customer safety, following the rise in retail crime.
The system alerts Sainsbury’s stores to criminal behaviour submitted by the store or other retailers using Facewatch nearby. It is used to help identify and possibly ban people who are “violent, aggressive or steal in the store”.
The facial recognition technology is now being extended to an additional five stores in London in locations including Dalston, Elephant & Castle, Ladbroke Grove, Camden and Whitechapel.
Sainsbury’s retail and digital director Claire Pickthall told the Mirror that the impact the technology had made in the trial stores had been ”seismic”.
“That’s been hugely encouraging. It’s not marginal,” she added.
Early results from the two trial stores found that there had been a 46% reduction in logged incidents of theft, harm, aggression and antisocial behaviour, while 92% of offenders did not return to stores.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts added that the supermarket was extending the technology “intentionally and transparently so we can build confidence as we go and understand how the technology works when several stores in the same area use it at once”.
”Our original trial stores in Sydenham and Bath Oldfield Park will also continue using the Facewatch system. Clear signage will be in place at the entrances to all of these stores to make customers aware that the technology is in place and explain how it works.”
The technology was first rolled out following a Sainsbury’s survey in July of over 2,000 UK respondents, which found that 56% of customers support the use of facial recognition technology to protect colleagues and customers. Some 63% back its role in identifying repeat offenders and 55% believe it improves colleague safety.
However, privacy groups have been quick to criticise retailers for the use of facial recognition in stores. Speaking of Sainsbury’s trial in September, Big Brother Watch senior advocacy officer Madeleine Stone described it as “deeply disproportionate and chilling”.
“Facial recognition surveillance turns shoppers into suspects, with devastating consequences for people’s lives when it inevitably makes mistakes.”
However, Roberts confirmed that the trial and subsequent rollout was ”not about monitoring colleagues or our valued customers”. Sainsbury’s said that records would be immediately deleted if the face of a reported individual was not recognised by the technology.
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