Foodstuffs Rolls Out Facial Recognition in Fourth Christchurch Supermarket

Foodstuffs South Island is expanding the use of facial recognition technology to a fourth supermarket in Christchurch. The decision follows a trial aimed at identifying and managing individuals with a history of serious and harmful behavior within stores.

The technology will be implemented at New World Stanmore. This store joins New World St Martins, Pak’nSave Papanui, and Pak’nSave Moorhouse, which will all continue to use the system according to reporting from RNZ.

The expansion comes after a trial conducted from October 2025 to January 2026. During that period, the system recorded 531 confirmed matches with people of interest. Foodstuffs stated that no false positives were recorded and no individuals were mis-identified during the trial phase.

The company reported that the deployment of the technology had a tangible impact on store security. Staff indicated that incidents involving threatening or harmful behavior had decreased, and repeat offenders were less likely to return to the stores where the technology was active.

Kent Mahon, the head of retail for Foodstuffs South Island, stated that the primary objective of the system is the mitigation of risk and safety improvements.

The focus has always been on reducing harm. The trial showed we can do that while keeping accuracy high and respecting customer privacy

Kent Mahon, head of retail for Foodstuffs South Island

To manage the deployment, Foodstuffs South Island indicated that each store must undergo specific assessments before the technology is activated. These requirements include:

• Privacy assessments
• Legal assessments
• Risk assessments

the company will place prominent signage in stores to alert customers that facial recognition technology is in use. Foodstuffs has committed to monitoring the performance of the system and will maintain an updated list of stores utilizing the technology on its website.

While other stores have expressed interest in the technology, Foodstuffs has not confirmed any further rollouts beyond the four Christchurch locations at this time.