Retail theft is on the rise in the US, with losses exceeding an estimated $100 billion annually. In addition to shoplifting and employee theft, a growing challenge is “cute” — a form of insider fraud in which employees secretly give unauthorized discounts or free items to friends or family members. This type of theft often goes undetected as employees exploit their access to systems by bypassing item scans, issuing false refunds or abusing employee discounts.

To combat this form of fraud, Corsight AI developed a love module based on facial recognition, designed to identify and prevent love incidents.

US retailers, including malls such as Mall of Americathey started implementing the technology. Corsight’s global vice president of sales, Gal Biton, explains that the facial intelligence platform analyzes employee-customer interactions, identifying unusual patterns, flagging frequent and suspicious contacts for further review by security teams.

“These flagged interactions often reveal cute cases where customers, in cooperation with cashiers, walk away with unpaid items,” adds Biton.

The Corsight love module is part of a wider AI-based retail security suite that also includes features to track people on watch lists, detect unauthorized access to restricted areas and monitor loitering or other behaviors associated with theft. The suite aims to address the multiple facets of retail crime, a growing concern not only in the US but also in other regions where retailers are trying similar technologies.

Actually, SIA reports recent research shows that senior retail executives view facial recognition technology as a crucial tool in combating theft. A survey by UK firm Opinion Matters of 300 senior US and UK retail leaders found that at least 15 of the top 50 US grocers have adopted facial recognition technology.

In addition to Corsight technology, Facewatcha cloud-based facial recognition system, is gaining ground as it compares real-time images to a pre-existing database in an attempt to identify potential matches with people linked to previous incidents of theft or anti-social behaviour. When a match is detected, it instantly alerts retail staff, allowing them to respond quickly in-store, Highlighting new electronics.

Global use of facial recognition in retail

A pilot in New Zealand grocery stores has shown promising early results in identifying and reducing theft through facial recognition, providing a potential model for wider adoption. In Britain, meanwhile, MPs are active debate on the use of facial recognition as a viable tool for the retail sector, where the level of theft has also increased. However, the spread of the technology is not without its challenges; in New York, a bill is being considered that would restrict the use of facial recognition in grocery stores, raising concerns about privacy and surveillance in public spaces.

New York grocery store owners oppose a bill that would restrict the use of facial recognition software. In addition, the city council introduced a measure requiring businesses to notify customers and obtain written consent before using biometric recognition, with failure to comply resulting in a $5,000 fine. Supermarket News reports.

Article topics

biometric identification | biometry | Corsight | Facewatch | facial recognition | retail biometrics | Security Industry Association (SIA)