Overview

• Select Tesco stores now feature overhead AI-enabled cameras that monitor self-service checkouts for unregistered items.
• When an unscanned product is detected the system immediately replays the footage on-screen with a prompt to rescan the item.
• Sainsbury’s introduced a comparable ‘VAR-style’ system earlier this month and reported a decline in checkout thefts.
• Official figures show shoplifting incidents in England and Wales rose by 29% to 516,971 in the year to June 2024, costing retailers £2 billion.
• Tesco security chief Emma Sparrock said the move reinforces the company’s commitment to colleague and customer safety, supported by a new 24/7 monitoring centre.