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Sainsbury’s facial recognition pilot scheme hoped to benefit suppliers

UK supermarket Sainsbury’s hopes its trial of controversial facial recognition in two stores will help to tackle a rise in shoplifting and bring down costs for suppliers.

The retailer is working with UK tech company Facewatch for the pilot scheme, which was rolled out at the beginning of September at branches in Sydenham, south-east London, and Oldfield Park, Bath.

It comes after UK frozen foods retailer Iceland trialled technology provided by the same company earlier this year, while in June, the supermarket Asda chose to pilot a scheme by facial recognition tech competitor FaiceTech.

The technology offered by both tech companies is similar in that they install facial recognition cameras connected to a database that can identify anyone entering the stores.

Theft is proving a major problem for grocery retailers

It comes as grocery retailers across the UK have raised concerns about the growing incidence of security challenges in stores. Sainsbury’s said that theft, abuse, and threatening behaviour have all “continued to rise” in locations across the UK.

Its research shows that one in three customers believes that shoplifting and anti-social behaviour is getting worse, while one in five says violence against supermarket workers is a major concern.

Announcing the pilot scheme, its CEO, Simon Roberts, stated: “We have listened to the deep concerns our colleagues and customers have and they’re right to expect us to act.”

While acknowledging concerns the technology poses about data and privacy, he added: “This trial and subsequent rollout is not about monitoring colleagues or our valued customers. It’s focused solely on identifying serious offenders who have committed acts of violence, aggression, or theft, helping our teams prevent further harm.”

Concerns over privacy raised by privacy groups

Directly addressing the issue of privacy, Sainsbury’s said that it will immediately delete any facial records from its database that are not instantly recognised or related to previous criminal behaviour.

However, critics highlighted potential problems.

Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer for the privacy group Big Brother Watch, said: “Sainsbury’s decision to trial Orwellian facial recognition technology in its shops is deeply disproportionate and chilling.

“Facial recognition surveillance turns shoppers into suspects, with devastating consequences for people’s lives when it inevitably makes mistakes.

“Sainsbury’s and Facewatch are adding customers to secret watchlists with no due process, meaning people are being falsely accused, grossly mistreated, and blacklisted from shops, despite being entirely innocent.”

Facial recognition: A potential solution for high theft risk groceries?

The Sainsbury’s pilot may accelerate adoption of facial recognition technology across the UK grocery retail sector, where retail theft has been steadily increasing.

The UK trade retailer association BRC revealed in its Crime Survey Report 2025 that retail crime is “spiralling out of control”, with losses from theft totalling a record £2.3 billion in 2023/24.

The report highlighted the concurrent rise in the amount the nation’s retailers are spending on crime prevention. An estimated £1.8 billion went on prevention measures like security technology in 2024, raising the total investment to £4.2 billion, from £3.3 billion in 2023.

As supermarkets are wary of passing on all cost pressures to consumers, this is resulting in tougher pricing pressures on suppliers.

“Retailers operate on low margins, so losses to crime and expenditure on crime prevention reduce the capacity to invest further on prices, improve terms and conditions for staff, as well as the overall customer experience in store and online, and to increase efficiency,” the BRC report stated.

For packaged food and beverage producers, the benefits could be particularly strong in categories prone to theft – premium alcohol, confectionery, meat, and health supplements among them. A reduction in theft may lessen pressure for higher wholesale contributions or restrictive packaging, both of which suppliers often shoulder.