Supermarket facial recognition trials sharpen the debate over safety and privacy

Coles and Woolworths have launched facial recognition trials in a bid to curb rising retail crime. An RMIT expert explains the move is sharpening the debate over how retailers balance protecting staff and shoppers with safeguarding consumer privacy.

Dr Jason Pallant, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing:

"With retail crime on the rise, security in stores to protect shoppers and shopfront staff is critical.

"Cameras and facial recognition technology have a key role to play in that regard.

"However, it also creates a challenge and many questions for other visitors; why is their face being scanned, what happens to those recordings and data, how is consent given, and are children - who can't legally consent - treated differently?

"It's a really challenging space as we've seen retailers be criticised for not being transparent enough with their use of the tech.

"So there are issues around how the tech is used, but also how it is explained to consumers.

"If consumers understood why this technology is used, how it works, and most importantly, how it can benefit them as shoppers - they may be more open to using it."

Dr Jason Pallant is a Senior Lecturer at RMIT University and Director for RMIT's Marketing Technology Lab. He specialises in the impact of emerging technologies on customer experience.

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