A Woolworths customer raised concerns after security cameras at the self-service checkout at her local store captured footage of the inside of her cart.
Sharing on Twitter, the supermarket shopper revealed how she had items from another store, which are not stocked at Woolworths, loose and bagged inside her shopping cart.
Look above: See how Woolworths’ controversial cameras work
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When she has finished scanning her Woolworths purchases at the self-service checkout, she states that the register would not allow her to pay for the items and asks if she was sure she had scanned all of her items.
The cash register screen showed video footage from inside the customer’s cart, showing the items that had been purchased at the other store.
Only when the buyer raised the issue with a member of the Woolworths team was he allowed to proceed with his transaction.
In her post, the Woolworths customer shared her frustration over the incident.
“Such fun new feature on Woolworths self checkout,” the Twitter user wrote.
“I had a cart with items from another store. Items that Woolies does not store loose in the cart and bundle with items from another store.
“I went to checkout and an alert popped up that I hadn’t had before asking me if I was sure I had all my items scanned.
“I have no option to answer this, instead the lone worker who handles the self checkout had to come and scan his ID and manually enter that he had scanned everything.
“When they did that, images from the camera of my car appeared.”
The client went on to ask if the security camera system was a waste of personnel resources.
“I’d love to know how much theft this actually prevents compared to how long shoppers have to be there so that the already busy member of staff is free,” he said.
“Honestly, it seems like something to do just to look like you’re doing something and not really getting results.
“Unless the results you want to achieve are to add more work to the self-checkout staff member.”
The security camera technology the Twitter user found is currently being tested at five Woolworths stores in Sydney, including Seven Hills, Hornsby, Neutral Bay, Chullora and Carnes Hill.
While it was understood that the cameras, which are placed above each self-service register, will detect scanning errors at the register, it is now understood that the cameras can also see inside carts and baskets.
Cameras are positioned high and angled to detect activity through staffed and assisted checkouts. The technology uses camera vision and artificial intelligence to detect when items are not being scanned correctly.
7NEWS.com.au understands that PIN pads are obscured from view. In addition, the images are not live and detected faces are blurred when a person reviews the images so that the customer cannot be identified.
Woolworths responds
A Woolworths spokesman said the technology is designed to make checkout scanning more accurate for customers.
“We are testing the new camera technology in select stores across the country to see if it can help reduce scanning errors and improve checkout speed for customers,” the spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“If a failed scan occurs, a short video highlights the affected product and customers have the opportunity to rescan it.
“While most customers do the right thing at our self-service checkouts, we’re all busy and it’s easy for mistakes to happen.
“This technology, which is used internationally, should make the self-service scanning process more accurate for our customers.
“We will be listening closely to customer and team feedback on the trial in the coming months.”
It is understood that Woolworths and the supplier have strict security policies in place to protect customer privacy.
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