{"id":1059,"date":"2026-07-17T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2026-07-17T11:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:16:00","slug":"california-grocery-stores-use-facial-recognition-technology-to-combat-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1059","title":{"rendered":"California Grocery Stores Use Facial Recognition Technology to Combat Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Faced with a shoplifting epidemic that has battered California retailers for years, Grocery Outlet is fighting back with technology. Customers are not thrilled about it.<\/p>\n

Read more IRS Data: High-Tax Blue States Are Bleeding Taxpayers<\/a><\/p>\n

The Emeryville-based discount grocery chain has begun installing facial recognition software called SAFR at a handful of Bay Area stores, including its Pleasant Hill \u201cBargain Market\u201d location, CBS News San Francisco reported. Customers walking through the doors will find signs warning them the system is in use, a disclosure the company says is meant to keep shoppers informed.<\/p>\n

The rollout comes as California tries to combat a shoplifting problem that has spiraled out of control. FBI data cited by CBS shows theft in the state has jumped 50 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge that has forced retailers from big-box chains to neighborhood grocers to spend millions on security measures, or in some cases, shutter stores altogether.<\/p>\n

For June Guerrero, who spent years managing a retail store, the new technology is a welcome and overdue response to a problem she saw firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked for years as a manager of a store and the theft was just unbelievable,\u201d Guerrero told CBS News. \u201cI agree with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more New Trump Policy Prioritizes Financially Independent Green Card Applicants<\/a><\/p>\n

Not every customer sees it that way. Barbara Jackson told the outlet she\u2019s uneasy about having her face scanned every time she shops for groceries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do understand, but invading my privacy with my picture, I don\u2019t agree on that,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cYou gotta find a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shopper Steve Burdette raised a different concern: the risk of the system misidentifying innocent customers as thieves. \u201cIt could lead to a lot of problems, I think for companies and businesses and people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

SAFR president Charisse Jacques pushed back on the notion that the technology amounts to mass surveillance. She said the company does not maintain a database of every customer who walks through the door, retains information on suspected shoplifters only for a limited window, and does not share data with outside agencies \u2014 including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the New York Post.<\/p>\n

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Faced with a shoplifting epidemic that has battered California retailers for years, Grocery Outlet is fighting back with technology. Customers are not thrilled\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Grocery Stores Use Facial Recognition Technology to Combat Theft - Urban Economy news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1059\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Grocery Stores Use Facial Recognition Technology to Combat Theft - Urban Economy news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Faced with a shoplifting epidemic that has battered California retailers for years, Grocery Outlet is fighting back with technology. 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