As a stalwart of the British High Street, the Co-op have been vocal about the rapid rise in shop theft around the country, including lobbying successfully to have assault against shop workers recognised as a stand-alone offence. They have also been taking practical steps to reduce theft and improve the safety of their stores, including using SAI’s Visual AI to identify shoplifting. ITV’s Consumer Affairs Editor, Chris Choi, went to Manchester to take a look:

About SAI’s Visual AI

We have designed the solution based on three key factors:

1 - Prioritize Colleague Safety

Taking a proactive approach to tackling theft is a key step towards improving store safety. Many violent incidents happen when staff rush to the door to stop a thief leaving. Alerting staff when a theft is first in progress gives them time to collaborate and make informed decisions as to how best to deal with the situation. All colleagues are given extra training to use a customer-service led approach to diffuse situations and minimise risks.

2 - Generate Fast, Accurate Alerts

We have worked together with the Co-op to ensure that the alerts that are raised arrive quickly to colleagues, and direct their attention to events that they need to deal with.

3 - Unlock Actionable Store Insights

Much of the theft data that is traditionally gathered from stores relies on colleagues being vigilant enough to identify what is happening, and having sufficient time to make an accurate report. Using Visual AI to perform this task is many times more accurate and frees staff to focus on other tasks, such as ensuring there is product on shelves and that customers can find what they need.

About SAI

As a leader in computer vision technology, SAI Group delivers cutting-edge, multi-modal AI solutions into retail environments. Using a unique platform approach, its technology uses existing camera systems to target losses, increase store safety, and underpin operational efficiencies.

All solutions are built from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of security and data protection, respecting the privacy expectations of the public and operating to stringent ethical standards while delivering substantial value to our clients. Globally, SAI monitors millions of transactions per day, protecting the revenues from tens of millions of product sales and hundreds of millions of customer interactions. Its models also accurately identify anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence, helping to de-escalate situations with real-time interfaces to security officers and operations centres.