Woolworths has been running a trial of facial recognition technology at its New Zealand office, as the supermarket giant explores using it in its Australian stores.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told 1News the technology had been tested at its support office in Auckland to "further understand the use of this technology to improve safety".
“While our current safety initiatives are making a difference, we are still seeing a concerning number of incidents of aggression and conflict in our stores on a daily basis, including weapons being presented."
They said that between 2019 and 2025, acts of violence and aggression had increased by 238%.
"We have also seen a shift from opportunistic shoplifting to more brazen confrontations often involving weapons, threats to kill, and physical violence."
They said the corporation was "still at an early stage" and could not comment further.
The test comes after a February ruling by Australia's Privacy Commissioner that gave hardware giant Bunnings the green light to use facial recognition, following a previous ruling that found it had breached privacy laws.
Facial recognition technology is already being used in New Zealand.
Bunnings has rolled it out across its network, while Foodstuffs, which operates New World, Pak'n'Save, and Four Square, has also implemented it at some locations.
Briscoes Group, which is behind Briscoes and Rebel Sport, has been running a year-long trial of the technology at its stores.
Before using facial recognition technology, the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner said organisations must justify its necessity, ensure the problem is serious, and check whether less intrusive alternatives would work.
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