Frustrated shoppers have threatened to boycott Woolworths stores over the supermarket’s plans to introduce new artificial intelligence technology.
The chain announced it would install powerful new surveillance systems in checkout areas to reduce “missed scans” and tackle “fake swipes.”
The overhead cameras detect when items have not been scanned correctly and prevent shoppers from entering cheaper products when weighing their products.
However, customers have expressed concerns about being recorded by the technology, while others said the system made them feel like “thieves”.
“You wanna treat me like a thief then scan my shit,” one wrote on Reddit, while another said they boycotted their local store over the new cameras.
Frustrated shoppers have threatened to boycott Woolworths stores over plans to launch new controversial artificial intelligence technologies (pictured, Woolworths shoppers)
“I just walked out of Woolies and left my stuff there because the self checkout wouldn’t let me check out,” said another fed up shopper.
Another shopper said that when a misscan is detected, the “incredibly annoying” system recommends the wrong products or a more expensive product.
“If I choose anything other than what’s on the proposed fruit and vegetable weight list, an attendant has to come by to approve it,” they said.
“Usually has to wait ages too because the attendant is busy helping like 10 other people.”
Others urged their fellow shoppers to tell the supermarket they did not consent to being filmed.
Woolworths said the test of the new camera technology was to see if it could help reduce misscans and improve speed for customers through checkout.
Woolworths is rolling out major changes to all of its tills to reduce misscans, which will also catch Australian shoppers trying to bag groceries without paying
Woolworths introduces surveillance cameras at self-service and operator-assisted checkouts to reduce incidents of fake swipe
“If a misscan occurs, a short video will highlight the affected product and customers will then have the option to rescan it,” it said.
“While most customers do the right thing at our self-checkout, we’re all busy and it’s easy to make mistakes.”
Woolworths said the technology is being used internationally and “should make the self-service scanning process more accurate”. It is currently being used in stores in Hornsby, Neutral Bay, Chullora and Carnes Hill after being tested in Seven Hills.
Most shoppers and retail observers, however, expect that the supermarket’s real motivation is to catch more self-checkout thefts.
Fake shoplifting by self-checkout shoppers costs Australian businesses up to $9 billion a year, the Australian Retailers Association has claimed.
Retail analysts have claimed Australian shoppers have no qualms about fake theft – also known as “micro-theft” – because it’s seen as theft from a “robot”.
Woolworths’ new camera technology detects when something has bypassed your scanner by filming the area where the customer is standing, then stops the checkout process and turns on a red light above it.
The technology stops the checkout process to play video on the checkout screen in front of you when it detects an item being placed in a bag without being scanned
On social media, Australians reacted with a mixture of anger and concern to signs in stores warning customers they could be filmed
A video of the issue will then play on the checkout screen in front of you.
Footage blurring faces and the payment keypad is being held by Woolworths in case police ask to see it later.
The system covers all checkouts in stores where the new cameras are being tested, including those where operators scan your groceries.
That means the cameras can pick up customers who have “forgotten” to pay for bulky or heavy items in their shopping carts – like 24 packs of soda or a tray of canned dog food.
Once a shopper accidentally or intentionally pushes their shopping cart past the scanner or cashier when it contains products, the red light at the top will turn off showing the operator a video of the problem.
The trial will be extended to hundreds of stores in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with more states and territories to follow.
Woolworths has 1,086 stores across Australia.
Once a shopper accidentally or intentionally pushes their shopping cart past the scanner or cashier when it contains products, the red light at the top will turn off showing the operator a video of the problem
“At the end of the day you don’t have to worry if you’re doing the right thing,” a retail source told Daily Mail Australia.
Woolworths said it will be “listening closely to both client and team feedback on the study over the coming months.”
But no matter how much resistance shoppers have to the cameras, the supermarket leader is unlikely to back down from the new anti-theft camera.
But the technology is legal in Australia, so the retail source said refusing to agree would only result in being told to shop elsewhere.
“Every time you go anywhere, you pass CCTV, so it’s hardly new,” said one.
