Over a hundred supermarkets in the Netherlands have installed cameras equipped with artificial intelligence. Customers who exhibit suspicious behavior while shopping are addressed accordingly. The owners of the stores hope to reduce shoplifting in this way. Several supermarkets confirm this to RTL Nieuws (1).
There was shock when supermarket chain Jumbo wrote in its annual report early this year that consumers had stolen some 100 million euros worth of groceries by 2023. Other supermarkets acknowledged the problem and said they also suffered from shoplifters, although they would not say how much damage they suffered as a result.
Some of the thefts are due to the presence of self-scanning checkouts. Customers "forget" to scan a product, so it is not charged and paid for. Getting rid of self-scanning checkouts is not an option: research shows that the presence of self-scanning checkouts is a major reason why they do their shopping at a specific store. Moreover, the self-scanning checkouts free up more floor space and allow supermarkets to use their staff elsewhere, for example as shelf fillers.
Retail experts predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would soon play a prominent role in the fight against shoplifters(2). As smart cameras closely monitor customers, it makes it a lot harder to steal food items. Experts believe the use of AI will put an end to the occasional thief.
Because of the enormous impact of shoplifting on the company's profitability, Jumbo this week launched a trial of smart cameras in a number of its own stores. These record customer behavior. If the cameras detect suspicious behavior, such as a visitor putting something in his jacket pocket, the branch manager receives a notification on his phone, including a short video recording the customer's behavior.
The cameras equipped with AI technology come from the French company Veesion. More than 110 Dutch supermarkets already work with the system, including Jumbo, Plus and DekaMarkt. According to the manufacturer, the cameras comply with European privacy laws.
Supermarket owners who have been working with the smart cameras for several months say to RTL News that they are satisfied. The owner of the Jumbo branch in Oude Alink, which has 15 cameras with AI software hanging, says that last August he managed to collar eighteen shoplifters thanks to the smart cameras. "That was an extreme month. Normally I catch two or three a week," he says.
Artificial intelligence helps spot shoplifters, but it is far from perfect. Nawin Harpal of Boon's Markt in Utrecht has experience with this. "Sometimes Veesion finds it suspicious that a customer grabs a product a few times and puts it back on the shelf. And you also see people shopping with their phones in their hands. If they put it in their pocket, I can also get a notification," said the store owner.
The smart cameras detect suspicious movements, but do not capture what people look like. That is one of the strengths of the software, according to Cynthia Liem, a computer scientist at TU Delft. "People are not seen as suspicious because of how they look, but because an action has been flagged as suspicious. That's a good thing. As long as the company makes sure the software does not look at person characteristics, it can prevent prejudice." Because the software can make mistakes, Liem stresses the importance of addressing potential shoplifters personally.
Supermarkets consider AI-enabled smart cameras a welcome tool. However, this does not solve all the problems at once. "We can't suddenly sit back because the system keeps track of everything. But it does give more peace of mind," Harpal said.
(1) https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/artikel/5435132/jumbo-plus-supermarkten-winkeldief-slimme-cameras-veesion
(2) https://www.vpngids.nl/nieuws/ai-gaat-grote-rol-spelen-in-de-supermarkt/
