Major Supermarket Explores Facial Recognition Technology as Retail Interest Grows

Supermarket giant Coles has reportedly tested facial recognition technology, although the companyhas remained tight-lipped about how it might be used.Coles told The Epoch Times the technology had been tested, but not trialled.“Coles does not currently use facial recognition technology,” a spokesperson said.“Coles has not done a trial using this technology.“A small, one-off, controlled proof-of-concept test of the technology was undertaken which did not use customer or team member information or data.”The spokesperson said no decision had yet been made about the deployment of facial recognition technology.“We will always explore technology that will help us keep our team and customers safe,” they said.The Epoch Times understands that during Coles’ test of the technology, information was only used from volunteers who had given consent for their data usage in a controlled, closed test environment.The testing comes after hardware giant Bunnings announced it was preparing to introduce facial recognition technology across its network of hundreds of stores across Australia.Bunnings won the right to use the technology following a 2026 Administrative Review Tribunal decision after trialling the technology in some stores between 2018 and 2021.“Retail crime has a significant impact on retailers across Australia, and we are continuing to see concerning incidents of violence and threatening behaviour in our stores,” the company said on its website.“Our position is simple, no one should have to experience abuse, threats or violence simply for doing their job or going about their day.”Bunnings pointed to figures showing 50 percent of violent or threatening events in the Australian retail space had involved an edged weapon in the 2025-26 financial year.Incidents of violence also increased from 3,404 to 9,211 between the 2021–22 and 2025–26 financial years.Concerns About Facial Recognition TechnologyIn 2022, consumer advocacy group CHOICE requested the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to investigate Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys for potential Privacy Act breaches.CHOICE expressed concern over a lack of notice and consent with capturing sensitive information, also noting a lack of prominent signage warning customers in-store.The consumer group also called the use of facial recognition technology a “disproportionate response” to theft and anti-social behaviour in stores.As a result of CHOICE’s complaint, in 2024, Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind determined that Bunnings’ use of facial recognition had breached the Privacy Act.Bunnings successfully challenged key aspects of that determination before the Administrative Review Tribunal in 2026, although the tribunal upheld findings relating to transparency and customer notification.In 2025, the office found that Kmart had breached the Privacy Act, with the retailer’s case remaining under review.Meanwhile, The Good Guys has paused its trial of the technology.In a statement in March 2026, Kind said retailers had long sought the use of the technology and demanded greater certainty around how the Privacy Act applies to it.The commissioner noted that existing guidelines would be updated following this year’s tribunal decision involving Bunnings to ensure retailers understand the application of the law.“Those updates will also emphasise that the decision in Bunnings confirms a high bar for the use of facial recognition technology in Australia, and that entities will need to conduct a detailed risk assessment specific to their circumstances before deploying the technology,” she said.“Retailers should view the decision as a useful case study, rather than a green light for deployment of biometric technologies.”