These supermarkets will be able to detect fraudulent behavior at self-service checkouts in real time, using artificial intelligence.
The phenomenon is not new, but it is growing. Incredible cases sometimes make the headlines, such as this young man who weighed a PS4 game console in the fruit and vegetable section only to pay nine euros for it at the checkout. In supermarkets, the widespread use of self-checkouts, a technology which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2024, is accompanied by an increase in fraud on the part of customers: stolen products, or even changing bar codes. Acts which represent a significant loss of income for certain businesses.
To remedy this, the Groupement Les Mousquetaires, which has nearly 4,000 points of sale in Europe, decided to innovate. Noting that the phenomenon had grown alongside inflation, the brand chose to test technology capable of detecting and preventing reprehensible behavior. The system has been tested since March 2024 in its Intermarché store in La Farlède, in the Var. The experiment, carried out in collaboration with the automatic checkout supplier Diebold Nixdorf, is based on a system called Vynamic Smart Vision.
Its principle is as follows: intelligent cameras are installed above the automatic checkouts. But unlike traditional video surveillance systems, this equipment is equipped with artificial intelligence capable of analyzing each transaction in real time. The system thus detects around twenty fraud scenarios : for example, it can thwart the classic trick of a false bar code, by identifying the product presented at the checkout and comparing it to the code scanned by the customer. A hidden object can also attract his attention.
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When an anomaly is detected, the machine does not immediately trigger a shrill alarm: it first displays a message on the screen, asking the customer to check whether they have scanned all their items. If the problem is not resolved by the customer, a checkout host is then alerted by receiving a video of the suspicious transaction.
The first results are conclusive: after three months of experimentation in the La Farlède pilot store, the fraud has reduced by 68% and interventions by checkout staff by 12%. The amount of fraudulent transactions avoided is estimated at 12,000 euros over the first three months. Note that customers were warned that they were being filmed at the checkout, which probably had a deterrent effect.
Building on this first success, the Les Mousquetaires Group intends to extend the system. From April 2025, all of the group's stores will be able to equip themselves with this technology. But the developers of Diebold Nixdrof have no intention of stopping there. They are already working on the next evolution of the system: an AI capable of automatically recognizing different varieties of fruits and vegetables.
