Second UK supermarket introduces ‘checkout VAR’ after widely-mocked Tesco scheme
Lidl rolls out new anti-theft feature after Tesco’s ‘VAR’
- Shoplifting offences in England and Wales reached a record high of 515,971 incidents in 2024, marking a 20 per cent increase.
- Lidl has introduced new supermarket “VAR” technology at self-checkouts in some London stores, using overhead cameras to detect unscanned items.
- The system replays live-action recordings of items not being scanned correctly before a customer can complete their payment.
- This initiative follows similar anti-theft measures implemented by Tesco and Sainsbury's, with the latter having also rolled out AI recognition in its stores.
- The technology has faced criticism for being invasive, while the British Retail Consortium states that shop theft costs retailers over £2.2 billion annually and calls for more police resources.