EDEKA Jaeger, part of German supermarket chain the EDEKA Group, is offering customers in its 24/7 store at Stuttgart Airport the opportunity to authorise the purchase of age-restricted goods at the self-service checkout using automatic age recognition.
The AI-based solution Vynamic Smart Vision I Age Verification from Diebold Nixdorf considerably speeds up transactions at the self-service checkouts and frees employees for customer service and other responsibilities.
On average, age verification checks are needed in approximately 22% of all transactions in retail stores, including products such as alcoholic beverages. This has a negative impact on throughput times and consumer flow in the self-service area, leading to longer waiting times. Vynamic Smart Vision | Age Verification enables customers to prove their age in less than ten seconds without any staff interventions. As soon as an age-restricted item is scanned at the self-service checkout, the system asks the customer whether automatic age recognition is desired.
Once consent has been given, the customer's face characteristics are analysed using a camera installed on the system and sophisticated AI algorithms to verify their age in real time. If the age of the shopper is above a predefined threshold, the transaction can continue. The employees only need to check those customers who fall below this age limit or who have opted out of automatic age recognition.
“The creation of quick, simple purchasing processes for customers and my employees is key. This is what makes our store at Stuttgart Airport so attractive for busy travellers,” said Florian Jaeger, owner of the 24/7 store at Stuttgart Airport. “To achieve this, I am always open to exploring new innovations. Thanks to AI support, we have already been able to drastically reduce employee interventions for age checks.”
In the first week alone, over 80% of age-restricted goods purchased at EDEKA Jaeger in the Stuttgart Airport store were automatically approved. The system is GDPR-compliant as the process does not involve facial recognition, nor does it store images or other customer information.
The introduction of the AI-based solution for automatic age verification follows the 24/7 self-service concept implemented by EDEKA Jaeger at Stuttgart Airport last year.
