Trend Snapshot: Facial recognition

Discusses the rising popularity of facial recognition technology, which retailers have been investing in, partly as a means of tackling shoplifting, but also with the intention of improving the shopping experience.

Trend overview

In the 2002 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise's character John Anderton is seen walking through a busy thoroughfare. He is surrounded by interactive billboard ads that can identify him and serve personalised messages ("John Anderton! You could use a Guinness right about now."). He then enters a Gap store and is greeted by a virtual assistant with knowledge of his previous purchases.

Fifteen years on, the technology depicted in this dystopian vision is almost a reality. Retailers have been investing in facial recognition, partly as a means of tackling shoplifting, but also with the...

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