Coles and Woolworths Test Facial Recognition: Will Shoppers Be Scanned?

Coles and Woolworths have tested facial recognition technology as Australia’s biggest supermarket groups explore new ways to tackle retail crime, aggression and threats against workers. But for shoppers wondering whether their faces are already being scanned, there is an important distinction: neither company has announced a rollout of the technology across Australian supermarkets.

Coles says it does not currently use facial recognition in its stores. Woolworths has also not confirmed plans to introduce it in Australian stores.

What did Coles and Woolworths actually test?

Coles has described its test as a small, one-off, controlled proof-of-concept rather than a customer trial. The company said no customer or team-member information or data was used, and no decision has been made about deploying the technology.

Woolworths also tested facial recognition, with the testing understood to have taken place in a New Zealand office. The company has not detailed how the technology was tested or whether it could eventually appear in Australian supermarkets.

Woolworths has instead highlighted the safety challenge facing its stores, saying aggression and conflict continue to occur daily, including incidents where weapons have been presented.

Why are retailers considering facial recognition?

Facial recognition offers capabilities beyond conventional CCTV. A system can analyse facial characteristics, create a biometric template and compare it with templates held for identification purposes.

In retail, one possible application is identifying known high-harm repeat offenders when they enter a store, potentially allowing security teams to respond before another serious incident occurs.

The safety concerns are significant. A Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association survey of nearly 3,000 workers found 34% did not feel safe at work. Over 12 months, 88% experienced verbal abuse, 25% physical violence, 19% sexual harassment and 10% reported being spat on. Some 59% said they had been abused by the same customer more than once.

What does facial recognition mean for your privacy?

Facial recognition is more sensitive than simply recording CCTV footage because it can process biometric information to identify a person.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s facial recognition guidance explains the privacy obligations organisations need to consider when collecting and using biometric information.

Retailers considering the technology need to examine issues including necessity, proportionality, transparency, accuracy, potential bias, information security and data retention. Less privacy-intrusive alternatives also matter when deciding whether facial recognition is justified.

Public concern is growing. The Privacy Commissioner said 45% of Australians identified facial recognition as one of the biggest privacy risks in the 2026 Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey, compared with 27% in 2023.

Why the Bunnings decision matters

The debate changed significantly after Bunnings won an important legal battle in February 2026. The Administrative Review Tribunal found facial recognition could be used in limited circumstances to address serious retail crime and protect workers and customers from violence and abuse.

However, the ruling was not blanket permission for every retailer to scan customers. Transparency and notification remained important issues, and any proposed deployment must be considered according to its particular circumstances.

The Privacy Commissioner subsequently updated facial recognition guidance for retail spaces in July, giving businesses more direction on the safeguards and privacy considerations involved.

Coles and Woolworths face wider scrutiny

The facial recognition debate comes as Australia’s supermarket giants face broader regulatory attention. Coles and Woolworths are also navigating new Australian supermarket pricing rules affecting Coles and Woolworths.

The competition regulator has also warned about enforcement under Australia’s new excessive-pricing regime. Our explanation of the ACCC warning facing Woolworths and Coles under the price-gouging ban looks at another major regulatory issue confronting the supermarket groups.

Could shoppers be wrongly identified?

Misidentification is one of the biggest practical concerns. Facial recognition software makes matches using biometric characteristics, databases and matching thresholds. A false match could potentially result in an innocent customer being mistaken for somebody associated with an earlier incident.

That makes accuracy and human oversight important. If Coles or Woolworths eventually introduces the technology, shoppers will want to know whether a person reviews a potential match before any action is taken and what process exists for challenging an incorrect identification.

Will Coles and Woolworths shoppers be scanned?

There is currently no confirmed Australian rollout date from either company and no announced nationwide opt-out process because no such rollout has been confirmed.

If that changes, shoppers should look for specific details: which stores use facial recognition, whether everyone entering is processed, what information is retained, how quickly non-matching data is deleted, who can access it and how customers will be notified.

For now, the tests show that facial recognition is being seriously examined as a retail security option, not that ordinary Coles and Woolworths customers are already being routinely identified by the technology.