Shoppers have mocked a new Tesco VAR-style security measure that tries to prevent people from “conning” self-service checkouts.
The UK’s biggest supermarket chain has installed overhead cameras, which pick up whether customers have failed to scan an item, before playing an instant replay of mistakes alongside the message: “The last item wasn't scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
The retailer said it would make the checkout process “quicker and easier”, but customers have mocked the technology online.
“VAR Decision - Tuna Disallowed”, one Instagram commenter said.
“Clearly offside”, another joked. “Good process lads.”
One shopper complained on Reddit that the technology only held up queues even more. They said: “Bag of salad a couple of days ago, with barcode that was too close to the weld/join of the bag itself - me swiping like a madman - and the overhead VAR showing me the video footage of my wee bald patch as I'm desperately trying to do the right thing.”
“If their answer to stopping theft is to annoy people that don't steal from you, you shouldn't be surprised if theft is on the rise,” another user posted.
One Tesco worker told the BBC that staff, like referees, needed all the help they could get as customers try to “con” the system.
"I work on self-service for Tesco and feel like I double up as a security guard," the anonymous staff member said.
"You're not paid very well anyway and then you have tills to look after.
"I quite often have to monitor 10 self-checkouts, on my own, whilst two staff cover manual checkouts," they said.
It comes as the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales in a year surpassed half a million for the first time on record, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Police recorded 516,971 shoplifting offences in 2024, a 20 per cent increase on the 429,873 offences in 2023 and the highest number recorded since modern record-keeping practices began in 2003.
The ONS said shoplifting offences have been running at record levels for the past two years, noting a "sharp rise" following the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Tesco spokesperson said:“We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers. We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
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