New in the fight against shoplifting: VAR technology at self-scan

Lidl and Tesco are betting on smart cameras as a control tool at British self-scan checkouts. Because they show customers a recording of the missed scan, they are compared to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football.

Rising crime

Lidl has installed so-called VAR technology at self-scanning checkouts in two London shops, The Independent reports. When the cameras detect that an item was not scanned correctly or was placed in the shopping bag without scanning, a monitor plays the footage of the missed scan, accompanied by a message: “The last item was not scanned correctly. Please remove it from the bagging area and try again.” This is done before payment, giving shoppers a chance to correct their mistake.

Market leader Tesco has already been testing the technology in selected shops since May. Retailers are alarmed by rising retail crime in the United Kingdom, where shoplifting has increased by 20 % last year and would already represent 2.2 billion pounds (2.5 billion euros) in lost sales, figures from the British Retail Consortium suggest.

Controversial measures

Self-scanning checkouts in particular are a source of concern because fraud is easy there and control measures controversial. Dutch Jumbo stopped a trial of AI technology that analysed customer behaviour at self-scanning checkouts last year, because customers did not feel comfortable with it. In Delhaize‘s Belgian supermarkets, self-scanning checkouts will now be only available to shoppers with a loyalty card. Colruyt wants to focus more on social control in its Okay convenience stores.

There are also Brits who see the humour in it. On Instagram, a video about an incorrectly scanned can of tuna went viral with the comment “VAR Decision – Tuna Disallowed”: it has already been viewed more than 3.5 million times and collected more than 180,000 likes.