Scandal or progress? The new Intermarché checkouts monitor your every movement using AI

A camera that films your every move while you go through the checkout. This scenario, worthy of an episode of Black Mirror, becomes reality in Intermarché stores. The brand has just announced the national deployment of Vynamic Smart Vision, a system developed by Diebold Nixdorf which uses artificial intelligence to track scan errors and theft attempts at self-checkouts.

Relentless surveillance that lets nothing slip through

The results of the test carried out since March 2024 at the Intermarché in La Farlède, in the Var, speak for themselves. The error rate at checkouts fell from 3% to 1%, while staff interventions decreased by 15%.. How can we explain such efficiency? The system leaves nothing to chance. Each movement is analyzed in real time by artificial intelligence.

A customer who stacks two identical products to scan only one? The AI spots it instantly. An item that passes the scanner without being recorded? An alert immediately appears on the screen. A person trying to leave the cash register without paying? The system immediately notifies a store employee.

Between optimization and generalized monitoring

For Hervé Grelet, vice-president of France at Diebold Nixdorf, this technology represents a major advance: “ Our solution, focused on consumers and staff, makes it possible to effectively combat markdown while ensuring a seamless purchasing experience “. The first feedback seems to prove him right. Laurent Hugou, member of the La Farlède pilot store, affirms that the technology has become “ indispensable » after only six months of use.

But this widespread surveillance raises questions. What about the protection of personal data? The brand ensures that the images are not retained and that the system scrupulously respects the GDPR. However, some customers are concerned about this constant surveillance, even if it is limited to checkout areas.

A turning point in French mass distribution

Faced with the success of the Var test, the Les Mousquetaires group does not intend to stop there. The deployment will extend to all Intermarché stores, but also to the Netto and Bricomarché brands.. A decision that could be emulated in the sector.

This generalization marks a turning point in the relationship between distributors and consumers. On the one hand, brands are seeking to reduce their losses in a tense economic context. On the other, customers see their space of freedom reduced under the ever more vigilant eye of intelligent cameras.

French mass distribution is entering a new era, where artificial intelligence becomes the safeguard of automatic checkouts. An evolution which responds to real economic issues, but which raises the question of the surveillance society into which we are entering step by step. Consumers will have to get used to these electronic eyes scrutinizing their actions, for better… and perhaps for worse.

Intermarché deploys intelligent cameras above its automatic checkouts to track errors and theft
The system reduced errors by 66% and staff interventions by 15% during the pilot test
The Les Mousquetaires group will generalize this technology to all of its brands, despite potential consumer reluctance regarding the protection of privacy