British supermarket chain Asda has initiated a trial of live facial recognition technology across five of its stores in Greater Manchester, England, UK.
The aim is to evaluate the potential of this technology in enhancing the safety of both staff and customers within its premises amid a surge in retail crime.
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The pilot programme went live on 31 March 2025 and will run for two months at the retailer’s locations in Ashton, Chadderton, Harpurhey, Eastlands and Trafford Park.
The company will then review the outcomes to determine the feasibility of expanding the technology’s application to additional stores.
The move by Asda comes as the British Retail Consortium trade body reported more than 2000 daily incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers – a threefold increase since 2020.
In 2024 alone, the retailer documented 1,400 assaults on its employees.
In response to this alarming escalation, Asda, along with other retailers, is investigating solutions such as facial recognition technology.
The facial recognition system is incorporated into Asda’s current CCTV framework. It scans faces and cross-references them with a database of individuals who have previously perpetrated crimes at Asda locations.
When the system identifies a match, it alerts Asda’s head office security team, which then verifies the match and communicates with the store in real time.
Asda non-food and retail chief commercial officer Liz Evans stated: “The rise in shoplifting and threats and violence against shopworkers in recent years is unacceptable and as a responsible retailer we have to look at all options to reduce the number of offences committed in our stores and protect our colleagues.
“We consistently look for new ways to improve the security in our stores and this trial will help us understand if facial recognition technology can reduce the number of incidents and provide greater protection to everybody in our stores.”
In March 2025, Asda announced a £80m ($103m) infusion into retail wages, raising the hourly earnings of employees in its stores to £12.60 from October 2025.
