Facial Recognition Tech Being Embraced By Big NZ Retailers

Some of New Zealand’s biggest retailers are embracing facial recognition technology (FRT).

Bunnings, Foodstuffs and Briscoes Group are all using or trialing the technology. The main reason they give is simple: keeping staff and customers safe.

But as facial recognition becomes more common, what does it mean for the average Kiwi walking into a store?

 

Bunnings rolls out Facial Recognition Technology

Bunnings Group has rolled out facial recognition technology across its New Zealand stores.

The company says threatening incidents in its New Zealand stores have more than doubled over the past four years. As a result, Bunnings is using a range of measures to help keep its teams and customers safe.

Bunnings says:

“Facial Recognition Technology is an additional tool that helps us address this rising problem by identifying serious repeat offenders and allowing us to act early to prevent incidents.”

The company has also said it will continue talking with customers and Māori communities about how the technology works and why it is being used.

In addition, Bunnings has worked with a Māori data sovereignty expert and incorporated tikanga Māori principles into its approach.

Before introducing the technology, Bunnings reviewed findings from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry into the 2024 Foodstuffs facial recognition trial.

 

Foodstuffs and Facial Recognition

Foodstuffs has also introduced facial recognition technology across 28 supermarkets.

The Privacy Commissioner investigated its initial trial. The inquiry described facial recognition as an “inherently intrusive” technology. However, it found that Foodstuffs’ use of the technology during the trial complied with the Privacy Act.

Earlier blog about the Foodstuffs facial recognition trial and Privacy Commissioner’s findings

Briscoes Group Trials Facial Recognition

Briscoes Group is currently running a 12-month facial recognition trial across 18 Briscoes and Rebel Sport stores in the North Island.

The technology creates a biometric template from a shopper’s face. It then checks that template against a watchlist of people identified as posing a safety risk.

If there is no match, the biometric information is quickly deleted.

Supporters of the technology point to increasing retail violence and say FRT can help make stores safer.

Briscoes told RNZ that reducing theft was not the main purpose of its trial. Instead, the focus was on the safety of team members and customers.

However, the company acknowledged that removing violent people from stores could also help reduce retail losses.

RNZ article about the Briscoes trial

1News article about the Bunnings rollout

What does facial recognition mean for the average Kiwi?

In simple terms, when you enter a store using FRT, your face may be scanned.

The technology temporarily converts your facial image into a digital biometric template. It then compares that template with people on a security watchlist.

If there is no match, the biometric information is designed to be deleted within a short period.

For most shoppers, the entire process happens without them needing to do anything.

What about privacy?

This is where the debate gets more complicated.

Facial recognition technology involves highly personal biometric information. Therefore, retailers need to carefully consider privacy, security, accuracy and how the technology is used.

New Zealand now has specific privacy rules for biometrics through the Biometric Processing Privacy Code. These rules place additional requirements on organisations using technologies such as facial recognition.

There are also ongoing concerns about potential bias and whether facial recognition systems perform equally well across different groups.

In New Zealand, particular attention has been given to the potential impact on Māori and other ethnic communities. This makes good system design, testing, transparency and appropriate safeguards extremely important.

Is facial recognition becoming part of everyday security?

With major retailers now adopting or trialing FRT, facial recognition is becoming much more visible in New Zealand.

For businesses, the technology offers another security tool to help identify known risks before an incident escalates.

However, there is a balance to strike.

Improving safety should not mean ignoring privacy.

As facial recognition technology continues to develop, New Zealand businesses will need to make sure they understand both the security benefits and their responsibilities when using biometric information.