Sheng Siong using facial recognition to catch shoplifters, cut losses from failed transactions

Since April 2024, Sheng Siong has added facial recognition technology to its security camera system, to better identify and catch shoplifters.

- David Sun

It is also used to identify unwitting customers whose payment transactions failed, possibly because of network or card swiping issues, before they leave the store.

The system is now in use in around 50 of the 83 Sheng Siong outlets.

Shoplifting suspects are typically identified only after they leave the store with unpaid items.

The staff trawl through security footage and identify the culprit, whose face is then flagged in the system.

When that person visits a Sheng Siong outlet again, the system alerts store managers.

The staff monitor the suspects, approaching and stopping them if they attempt to shoplift again.

Suspects' faces are removed from the system only after they have been arrested by the police.

Mr Lim Hock Chee, chief executive of Sheng Siong Group, said the system has proven effective.