Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

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Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by SamSpade »

Apparently this was "out!" with the changes in the executive suite.
Summary:
Rite Aid installed facial recognition cameras and software in Manhattan, Los Angeles, elsewhere... mostly in lower income neighborhoods.

Supposedly these cameras would send alerts to loss prevention of similarly looking men/women to previous shoplifters.

More available here:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... -software/
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by storewanderer »

Nothing is being "exposed" here other than that this was being used in a small fraction of their stores vs. chainwide. The article also fails to point out that larger retailers put technology like this (which is often proprietary - not vendor sourced) in every single store location. The only part of this I don't particularly like is they used a vendor from China for the software.

For instance, Target uses facial recognition to recognize every single customer who walks through their doors. Though the publicly stated reason for it is not for loss prevention purposes, it is for marketing purposes. It could easily also be used for loss prevention purposes. Every customer is known to Target with a Customer ID traced from entry to the point of payment/exit. Wal Mart also uses facial recognition on everyone who enters one of their stores and ties from entry to point of payment/exit as well.

More specifically on Target here: This has been going on for years.
https://www.paypath.com/Small-Business/ ... plift-from

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/ ... story.html

If someone shoplifts from a store, there need to be consequences. There is nothing wrong with the store saving your face and using facial recognition to keep you out of their stores in the future. This is also a way for stores to enforce trespass orders against individuals who they have trespassed out of their stores for one reason or another, former employees who have been fired for theft, keep people out who have been trespassed out for harassment of customers/employees or lewd behavior, etc.

So any time you walk into any major chain retail location, expect facial recognition is being used on you, because it probably is. Usually for "marketing" purposes. So why is it okay to use it for marketing but not for loss prevention? We all pay for shoplifting- whatever means the retailer has to peacefully stop it from happening, needs to be employed. I don't really like to be in the line of watching a retail security agent chase a shoplifter out of the store and pin them on the ground. Technologies like this allow the retailer to identify someone who has been known to shoplift and attempt to use deter tactics on them so it does not get to that point. From a data privacy perspective I'd actually rather see this technology used NOT for marketing, but solely for loss prevention purposes.

A very small number of people shoplift and if they opt to do so they can figure they no longer deserve the right to privacy; however the average innocent customer who is just going in to shop and is being facial recognized for marketing purposes like a guinea pig in a lab does deserve the right to privacy.

Also it is important to point out once you shoplift from a store you are typically banned from that chain indefinitely. It is not unusual for people who are "banned" to ignore that order and just go to other locations or go when whoever banned them isn't working.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by klkla »

SamSpade wrote: July 28th, 2020, 11:16 am Apparently this was "out!" with the changes in the executive suite.
Summary:
Rite Aid installed facial recognition cameras and software in Manhattan, Los Angeles, elsewhere... mostly in lower income neighborhoods.

Supposedly these cameras would send alerts to loss prevention of similarly looking men/women to previous shoplifters.

More available here:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... -software/
I have to disagree with you @storewanderer on this one. This qualifies as an expose in my book. We all knew this technology was coming but this appears to be very will researched by Reuters and it shows how this can be used in a discriminatory manner. If they are going to do this they need to make sure to place notices in prominent locations so customers are aware of the practice. And if they are going to use it, they need to use it in every location and enforce it equally or not use it al all.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: July 28th, 2020, 8:41 pm


I have to disagree with you @storewanderer on this one. This qualifies as an expose in my book. We all knew this technology was coming but this appears to be very will researched by Reuters and it shows how this can be used in a discriminatory manner. If they are going to do this they need to make sure to place notices in prominent locations so customers are aware of the practice. And if they are going to use it, they need to use it in every location and enforce it equally or not use it al all.
The technology has already been in use- for well over a decade, specifically over at Target. If Reuters was to research this thoroughly, they would look at the use of this technology at all retailers, not just focus on a retailer using it in a few dozen stores as some big thing. Especially when you have Target with 1,000+ stores using it and has been using it for years.

The technology wouldn't be used at all if people don't go shoplift from the store. But since people shoplift, and since police do not respond to these calls very often if at all in big cities, this is the route the retailers take. Buy systems like this, use facial recognition, build a case against thieves after they've stolen from the chain dozens of times, then go in and press charges.

Ideally they would use it in every location (like Target does) so that way when a known shoplifter goes out of their way to hit a "low theft" location (which in the case of Rite Aid, would not have this system in place) they will be detected there too. I think only using it in certain locations is a "hole" of sorts in how effective this truly is from a loss prevention tactic.

It is not unusual for retailers to employ different loss prevention techniques at different locations. This goes with the territory of operating stores in a variety of neighborhoods.

The alternative is the stores could just not employ these tactics, then close the stores in the high theft neighborhoods. This type of retail loss prevention technology is helping stores stay open and serve underserved neighborhoods that would have otherwise closed due to theft.

Now in the case of a store with a pharmacy like Rite Aid, if someone walks in who is in record in the system for doing armed robbery of a pharmacy elsewhere, this also helps from a security perspective to hopefully prevent another robbery.

This is similar to that "refund" technology that tracks refunds across retailers. I don't particularly like this software as I feel this information should not be shared between retailers unless explicit proven and 100% certain refund fraud is involved. Go return items at Best Buy and show ID. Your ID is recorded in a database used by a variety of retailers. Return things too often to Best Buy (how often is too often is vague and unknown to the consumer) and your attempt to return a bad bag of chips to CVS who uses the same "refund" technology may be declined.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by veteran+ »

klkla wrote: July 28th, 2020, 8:41 pm
SamSpade wrote: July 28th, 2020, 11:16 am Apparently this was "out!" with the changes in the executive suite.
Summary:
Rite Aid installed facial recognition cameras and software in Manhattan, Los Angeles, elsewhere... mostly in lower income neighborhoods.

Supposedly these cameras would send alerts to loss prevention of similarly looking men/women to previous shoplifters.

More available here:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... -software/
I have to disagree with you @storewanderer on this one. This qualifies as an expose in my book. We all knew this technology was coming but this appears to be very will researched by Reuters and it shows how this can be used in a discriminatory manner. If they are going to do this they need to make sure to place notices in prominent locations so customers are aware of the practice. And if they are going to use it, they need to use it in every location and enforce it equally or not use it al all.
I agree!

Most theft is internal, for one.

The second category is Organized Theft.

Instead of paying CEO's those ridiculous salaries and benefits and giving those shareholders so much return, how about hiring more employees and providing extraordinary customer service?

Great customer service deters a lot of theft!
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: July 28th, 2020, 11:06 pm The alternative is the stores could just not employ these tactics, then close the stores in the high theft neighborhoods. This type of retail loss prevention technology is helping stores stay open and serve underserved neighborhoods that would have otherwise closed due to theft.

Now in the case of a store with a pharmacy like Rite Aid, if someone walks in who is in record in the system for doing armed robbery of a pharmacy elsewhere, this also helps from a security perspective to hopefully prevent another robbery.

This is similar to that "refund" technology that tracks refunds across retailers. I don't particularly like this software as I feel this information should not be shared between retailers unless explicit proven and 100% certain refund fraud is involved. Go return items at Best Buy and show ID. Your ID is recorded in a database used by a variety of retailers. Return things too often to Best Buy (how often is too often is vague and unknown to the consumer) and your attempt to return a bad bag of chips to CVS who uses the same "refund" technology may be declined.
Then there needs to be some regulation of both of these tactics. As they are now they're ripe for abuse as you can see in the RiteAid expose.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by klkla »

veteran+ wrote: July 29th, 2020, 6:27 am Instead of paying CEO's those ridiculous salaries and benefits and giving those shareholders so much return, how about hiring more employees and providing extraordinary customer service?

Great customer service deters a lot of theft!
Yes!
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by pseudo3d »

Low-income area stores are always going to get the shaft, as locations tend to be physically dirtier, more merchandise is locked up, shrink is higher, and employee morale deteriorates from dealing with issues. Already liability is high enough that retail loss prevention can rarely detain or pursue shoplifters, and is often left up to the police, which face their own issues (budget issues, criticism over various issues, overworking, etc.).

If it wasn't for a security risk with the Chinese software and general misuse of the data, it's still a better solution than the alternatives--private security firms with no accountability or outright store closures.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: July 29th, 2020, 5:40 pm
veteran+ wrote: July 29th, 2020, 6:27 am Instead of paying CEO's those ridiculous salaries and benefits and giving those shareholders so much return, how about hiring more employees and providing extraordinary customer service?

Great customer service deters a lot of theft!
Yes!
And also to add to that, greater employee satisfaction (through better wages) decreases the internal theft that is the other issue.
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Re: Rite Aid Expose by Reuters - Using Facial Recognition?

Post by storewanderer »

[quote=veteran+ post_id=25714 time=1596029223 user_id=2822

I agree!

Most theft is internal, for one.

The second category is Organized Theft.

Instead of paying CEO's those ridiculous salaries and benefits and giving those shareholders so much return, how about hiring more employees and providing extraordinary customer service?

Great customer service deters a lot of theft!
[/quote]

The bigger issue is the US retail model. Too many stores, too big of stores, too few employees in the stores, perceived labor cost too high, too many SKUs, all create a perfect storm for theft.

The issue here is organized theft and that is the whole point of these software programs. They try to catch the people going from store to store engaging in organized theft. This Rite Aid system isn't going to catch or target a teenager who steals a candy bar.
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