Asda makes huge security change to supermarket stores - and says it could be expanded

has made huge changes to five of its stores in a bid to stop shoplifting and keep staff safe. The major UK chain is trialling live facial recognition across five stores in Greater Manchester.

The trial scheme went live on March 31, 2025, in 's Ashton, Chadderton, Harpurhey, Eastlands, and Trafford Park stores. It will run for two months. Once completed, it will be reviewed, and if successful, it could be expanded to more UK Asda stores.

The facial recognition system is incorporated into the supermarket's current CCTV framework. It works by scanning faces and cross-referencing them with a database of people who have previously perpetrated a crime at an Asda location. If the system finds a match, it will alert Asda's head office security team, who can verify the match and inform the store in real time.

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On the trial, Asda's non-food and retail chief commercial officer Liz Evans said: "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.”

More than 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers a day were reported by the British Retail Consortium this year. This is a threefold increase since 2020.

According to the trade body, incidents against retail staff ranged from racial abuse and sexual harassment to physical assault and threats with weapons. Last year, Asda reported 1,400 assaults against its workers and implemented the facial recognition trial in response. This equated to around four per day.

Alongside this, shoplifting rates have also skyrocketed since inflation started to rise in 2022. According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published in October last year, shoplifting offences recorded by police rose by 29% in the 12 months to June 2024 - reaching a 20-year high.

In response, supermarkets across the country began to implement new security measures across its stores. Measures included things such as adding security tags to items, putting products in security boxes, placing empty products on shelves, limiting items on shelves, and customers needing to scan receipts to leave stores.

On the rise, Dame Diana Johnson, minister for crime, policing and fire, said: "Too many town centres have been decimated by record levels of shoplifting, and communities have been left shaken by rising levels of knife crime, snatch theft and robbery". She added that this trend could not continue and vowed to boost policing and toughen laws on shoplifting in the UK. Has your local supermarket implemented more security measures? Email us: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

Asda stores trialling facial recognition system

Ashton (Cavendish St, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7PF)

Chadderton (Milne St, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 0JE)

Harpurhey (Harpurhey Shopping Centre, Manchester M9 4DJ)

Eastlands (Sport City, Ashton New Rd, Manchester M11 4BD)

Trafford Park (Barton Dock Rd, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M41 7ZA)

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