Coles’ drastic new measure to combat self-service checkout theft
Coles is undertaking extreme measures to prevent self-service checkout theft by installing cameras on top of its checkouts across stores in Victoria.
Located right above the monitor, the cameras record every move the shopper makes while checking out, with the footage then being filed away.
With eight million self-service transactions made each week at the supermarket, the new initiative will accompany the undercover security that’s already implemented in stores across the country.
Australian retailers lose $9.3 billion annually to theft, a total of 3 per cent of their annual turnover.
“The trial is still underway in a small number of Victorian Coles supermarkets,” a spokeswoman told Nine News.
The company also cleared up any confusion on the legalities, saying they aren’t breaching laws due to their privacy policy.
The trial comes after Coles in North Sydney installed similar cameras to monitor customers buying baby formula in bulk, to stop the reselling of the item to the Chinese market.