Australia’s two largest supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, are testing facial recognition technology in their stores, reversing previous public pledges to avoid the controversial surveillance tool as retail crime surges across the country.
Both companies confirmed the trials to the Australian Financial Review on August 13, prompting a backlash from consumer advocacy group CHOICE, which had previously secured commitments from 17 major retailers including both supermarkets that they had no plans to deploy facial recognition. ABC News reported the development on August 17.
Promises broken under pressure
In 2022, CHOICE published a scorecard showing that Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi were among 17 major retailers committed to not using facial recognition in stores. The pledge came after CHOICE research found that 76 percent of consumers did not know retailers were using the technology, and 83 percent said stores should be required to disclose its use before customers enter.
Woolworths previously denied using facial recognition after a leaked employee training module slide referenced “artificial intelligence and facial mapping.” The company confirmed the slide was authentic but said it was not using the technology at that time.
Retail crime drives reversal
The reversal comes as Australian retailers face an unprecedented wave of retail crime, including violent incidents against staff and organized theft rings. Bunnings, another major retailer owned by Wesfarmers, won a landmark appeal in February 2026 allowing it to deploy facial recognition across all stores over 18 months.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) had previously launched investigations into Kmart and Bunnings over their use of facial recognition. Privacy advocates argue that deploying the technology in supermarkets, which serve millions of daily customers, represents a significant expansion of surveillance infrastructure.
Neither Coles nor Woolworths has disclosed the scale of their trials, how long customer data is retained, or whether shoppers are being explicitly informed that facial recognition is in use. The trials represent a sharp departure from the industry’s earlier posture, raising questions about whether Australia needs stronger regulatory frameworks governing biometric data collection in retail environments.
Sources: Australian Financial Review; ABC News Australia; CHOICE; Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
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