Coles new feature angers Aussies: ‘Feels really invasive’

An Australian shopper has broken out after noticing a new feature at the self-service checkouts at her local Coles store.

The woman was scanning her groceries at a self-service checkout this weekend when she noticed an image of herself had appeared in a small square in the top right corner of the screen.

The camera technology is part of a series of new security measures rolled out by the supermarket giant in a desperate bid to tackle rising incidents of theft, which have risen by 20 percent this year amid a rising cost of living crisis.

The new technology has sparked divided reactions, with some customers furious at discovering they are being watched in store.

‘Da f** is this s**t? When you do your shopping at Coles, you see yourself on camera in this square. More surveillance overdrive,” the furious woman wrote on social media.

‘I was shocked when I saw myself on the screen! It feels really invasive.”

Her post was quickly flooded with comments from shoppers who were equally concerned.

“I know they will justify their reasons in front of the cameras for like theft and what not, but I don’t like them at all.

Another added: ‘Thanks for posting this. I value my privacy and don’t shop there.

Another suggested sticking chewing gum over the camera.

Many pointed out that Woolworths and Kmart have also implemented similar technology.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Coles for comment.

The supermarket giant recently announced that it will ‘aggressively’ roll out new technology that will track the movements of every customer in store.

Measures include cameras, trolley locks, smart gates and even smoke machines.

“What we’ve done is taken the best of what’s available overseas and then enhanced it with a few other tweaks so that we believe we’ve gotten world-class loss prevention technology into our stores,” Matt Swindells, Chief Operations Officer, told me. Officer of Coles, to A. Present affair.

“If you’re a thief, we’re going to get you.”

Staff can wear duress watches that alert other employees of a potential incident, or even wear a bodycam that records all their interactions, similar to police officers.

“If you are going to threaten a member of staff, we will document it and take the necessary action,” Mr Swindells added.

The new system has been trialled across the country by Coles over the past six months, with an ‘aggressive’ national rollout over the following three months.