Eighty-seven per cent of Australians have concerns about privacy for artificial intelligence, according to Australian Retail Council research discussed at an industry roundtable in September 2026.
The findings, highlighted by Diebold Nixdorf, show that only 5 per cent of Australians say they trust AI companies, presenting a live commercial risk for retailers integrating automation into everyday operations.
Senior retail leaders at the gathering noted that while the technology for age verification, customer service, and loss prevention is ready, customer trust remains the primary barrier to adoption across Australian stores.
Designing privacy into the checkout lane
Automated age verification and theft detection represent the front line of store deployment. In international grocery markets, automated systems now approve most age-restricted purchases at self-checkout within seconds by processing visual data locally without retaining personal files.
Hardware suppliers argue that keeping customer records off retail servers prevents chains from becoming targets for regulatory scrutiny. Similarly, loss prevention algorithms in newer self-checkouts prompt shoppers to scan missed items before store staff intervene, reducing confrontation at the register.
Operating standards across store networks
Supermarket operators across the Asia-Pacific region have accelerated camera-assisted checkout rollouts over the past three years to curb inventory shrink. Australian grocers that run uncoordinated systems across point-of-sale, payments, and security cameras risk alienating shoppers if privacy safeguards vary between store departments.
For regional retail executives, deploying store AI without clear boundaries creates legal and operational liabilities. While Asian retailers in markets such as Singapore and Japan have integrated automated kiosks with high public compliance, Australian consumers push back when surveillance feels unchecked.
Industry proposals for shared rules
The push toward automation follows earlier disputes between major Australian supermarket chains and privacy regulators over facial recognition testing in retail aisles. Industry participants at the roundtable raised support for a retail-specific AI code of practice to set standard data retention limits across the sector.
Diebold Nixdorf published the findings alongside its research report on self-service systems in Australia. Retailers now weigh whether to adopt voluntary operating rules or wait for formal regulatory guidelines on customer data capture at the till.
