Coop Boosts Store Security With AI Cameras

Co-op Supermarkets is integrating visual artificial intelligence (AI) and enhanced physical security measures across its store network to address a significant increase in retail crime. The deployment follows a 44% surge in retail crime reported in 2023, which saw the grocery retailer experience approximately 1,000 incidents per day.

The technology is designed to monitor shopping aisles and self-checkouts, providing continuous surveillance and instantaneous alerts to store staff. This allows employees to intervene in real-time to prevent shoplifting, as staff are often unaware of theft occurring in the absence of automated detection systems.

Technical Capabilities of Visual AI

The visual AI platform, such as the one provided by SAI Group, is engineered to work with existing technology infrastructure. It focuses on detecting specific theft behaviors and sending alerts directly to handheld devices used by store personnel.

The AI is designed to identify several distinct types of theft:

• Concealment: Detecting customers who hide items within their clothing or bags.
• Cart Pushouts: Identifying instances where a customer fills a cart and exits the store without making a payment.
• Pick up and Walkout: Detecting when a customer takes a few items and leaves the store without paying.
• Partial Payment: Identifying when a customer pays for only a portion of the items contained in their basket or trolley.

By 2024, the company had installed AI technology in 14 of its stores specifically to detect if individuals leave without paying for items.

Physical Security and Financial Impact

Beyond AI, Co-op is deploying reinforced physical hardware to protect high-value goods and staff. This includes the installation of more than 200 secure till kiosks featuring secure doors, as well as locked cabinets for bottles of spirits.

These measures respond to a trend of organized crime and looting. Matt Hood, the managing director of the Co-op’s food business, noted that in some stores, staff faced two or three incidents a week where thieves jumped the till counter to steal lottery cards, cigarettes and alcohol.

This is not a few opportunistic shoplifters becoming more prolific. This is organised crime and looting.

Matt Hood, Managing Director of Co-op’s food business

The financial scale of the problem is substantial. Co-op has spent £200 million in recent years on security, which includes body cameras for staff and the use of dummy packaging. Despite these investments, the company reported a 48% rise in shoplifting incidents, totaling nearly 298,000 cases. Other reports indicate shoplifting losses reaching £40 million.

Staff Safety and Legal Context

The rise in theft has coincided with an increase in violence against employees. In 2023, Co-op recorded 336,270 cases of theft, abuse, and anti-social behavior across its 2,400 stores. This included more than 1,325 assaults, representing a 34% increase over 2022 and an average of four staff members being attacked daily.

To combat this, the retailer utilized undercover security guards, who detained 3,361 individuals in 2023 for offenses including harassment, abuse, and burglary. Co-op has also noted an improvement in police response, stating that non-attendance rates following the detention of criminals in stores dropped from 79% to 38%.

While Co-op is adopting AI for behavioral monitoring, Matt Hood confirmed that the company is not using facial recognition systems, distinguishing its approach from other major retail chains.