Photo: XMI
The transformation of our supermarkets.
NEW COLES SENSORS
Australian supermarket chain, Coles Group, has been trialing new in-store technology that uses in-aisle motion and shelf sensors designed to detect ‘potentially suspicious shopping behaviour’ – in a move that has attracted criticisms from angry shoppers.
The system, which has been tested in selected stores, combines discreet sensors embedded in shelving or fixtures with analytics software that monitors patterns of product removal.
When activity is detected that falls outside expected norms – such as a large number of high-value items being taken in a short period – the system can trigger an alert for store staff or security teams to review the situation.
Coles says the technology is designed to “recognise unusual activity patterns” at a product or shelf level, prompting further investigation through existing tools such as CCTV cameras.
Retailers describe this type of approach as event-based monitoring, where a system highlights moments of interest, rather than continuously tracking individuals.
The trial forms part of a wider shift among major retailers towards more sophisticated ‘loss-prevention’ systems, and has left consumers increasingly concerned about continued spying.
Supermarkets across Australia have reported increasing cost-of-living challenges related to theft and so-called ‘shrinkage’, which includes both shoplifting and internal losses.
In response, retailers have been investing in a combination of physical security measures and digital surveillance tools – including these new in-aisle sensors.
Alongside these devices, supermarkets have also been introducing measures such as weight-sensitive shelving, locked cabinets for high-value products, and ‘enhanced’ self-checkout monitoring systems. These tools are often integrated with existing CCTV networks.
While the technology is being promoted as a way to ‘reduce losses’ and ‘improve store efficiency’, it has also raised broader questions about privacy and increasing surveillance.
Critics point to concerns about function creep, where technology introduced for ‘theft prevention’ could, over time, be expanded for broader behavioural monitoring.
The use of sensor-based monitoring also reflects a wider trend in retail technology, where data-driven systems are increasingly used to ‘optimise’ store layouts, manage inventory in real time, and ‘improve supply chain efficiency’.
In-aisle sensing is one extension of the broader push toward “smart store” environments, in which Coles Group sits within a growing industry-wide effort to ‘modernise’ supermarkets with a combination of sensors, surveillance software, and advanced algorithms.
If people truly knew what was going on with the introduction of each of these new technologies in our stores, they would be much more concerned than they appear to be.
Our shopping centres will be some of the first to fall to the digital dystopia that is coming.
THE FUTURE OF SUPERMARKETS
There is currently a calculated plot underway to reimagine our shopping experience, and there are some powerful players who are assisting to make this dream a reality.
As we revealed last year, Coles is using surveillance and data collection technology systems developed by controversial U.S firm Palantir to ‘streamline and enhance operations’.
Inside the Surveillance Relationship Between Coles and Palantir
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This includes incorporation of external surveillance for customers, and internal monitoring for over 120,000 employees and 9,000 suppliers.
It is yet another example of how digital tools are increasingly being used in workplaces to track online activity, measure productivity, and analyse employee behaviour at scale.
Workplace surveillance is being supercharged with new AI systems
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But the greater impact is on patrons who are going about their business shopping.
We have witnessed a transformation in our supermarkets in recent years, including the introduction of ‘smart’ technologies designed to train the masses for what is coming.
This includes new ‘smart gates’ that lock potential shoplifters in the store, and digital pricetags that can be fluctuated and changed at the drop of a hat.
Coles introduces new Smart Gates at self-checkouts
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They are not alone in their efforts, either.
Woolworths has also joined the surveillance party, introducing a range of similar technologies designed to better monitor everything happening inside of their stores.
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This includes the recent addition of ‘smart trolleys’ in select locations that allow customers to sign in and check out from a digital screen attached to the cart itself.
Woolworths expands ‘smart trolley’ trial to additional states
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All of these small additions arejust the building blocks to a much bigger picture – one that completely reshape how we will imagine shopping centres in the future.
For starters, executives have already stated that their vision is to make our shops ‘checkout free’ within 10 years, moving towards a similar weight-based biometric system.
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Amazon Go already offers a shopping ‘experience’ with no lines or checkouts, allowing customers to “simply take what they want and go” with a store-based digital identity.
Known as “Just Walk Out” technology, the tool mimics some of the techniques seen in self-driving cars, including machine-learning systems that improve over time, as well as computer vision – the image-processing technology used on Facebook.
What is a key function of this system?
Weight detection and monitoring.
Couple this with the systematic removal of employee staff to be replaced with robotic warehouses, and you have the perfect recipe for a very dystopian future ahead.
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Slowly, but surely, our supermarket chains will continue on this path – with each little rollout moving us closer towards this ultimate ‘smart’ vision.
I have said it before, but I’ll say it again: Now is the time to disconnect yourself from these big chains and take food sovereignty back into your hands.
Support small chains, local growers and farmers, and ditch the major brands.
Because, if you don’t, you can anticipate the arrival of your supermarket digital ID in the not-too-distant future – linked to your profile and bank, ready to check out.
I will not be participating in the games of Coles and Woolworths.
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As a merchandiser, Coles already implements a digital sign in procedure which includes face recognition. What a joke! Just to tidy a few shelves and set up some displays they want all your ID along with a long online induction process. No ID- no enter
Every one of these behaviour analysis systems they produce becomes yet another opportunity for us to dick with the matrix. I propose we all behave as suspiciously as we can in Coles, without actually committing any crimes. Let’s flood their system with noise and confusion – the way the powers that be are doing to us.