Sainsbury’s is trying out new electronic security cabinets with touchscreens in a bid to stop thieves.
The supermarket is testing the new cabinets in the alcohol aisles of a “small number” of shops as part of its bigger plans to stop shoplifting, according to trade publication The Grocer.
While some versions of this system can ask customers to identify themselves using facial recognition, Sainsbury’s hasn’t turned this feature on, reports Birmingham Live.
Shoppers will have to go through a four-step process on a touchscreen before they can open the cabinet.
As part of the trial, Sainsbury’s will use American retail tech company Indyme’s Freedom Case. This uses tracking technology to record when an item has been taken, how long the cabinet has been open and how often it’s been opened.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s told The Grocer: “We regularly review security measures in our stores and are currently trialling cabinets in a small number of branches.”
Shoplifting in England and Wales is at its highest level for over 20 years after going up by nearly a third in a year, the latest crime figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said police in England and Wales recorded 402,482 shoplifting incidents in the year leading up to September 2023.
This is the first time the figure has gone over 400,000 since they started keeping track in 2002.
