Age assurance in shops reduces lineups, eases staff burdens and improves security

Age assurance technologies are increasingly being deployed for point-of-sale use cases, and proving effective at curtailing the sale of restricted goods to minors. Privately says its product stops hordes of kids from buying vapes, while Yoti and ITL find clients in retail chains.

Data shows age assurance highly effective for vape sales

Those bubblegum flavored e-cigarettes? They’re not for your Uncle Dave. Privately SA has released new data showing that deployments of its AgeAI biometric age assurance platform in UK vape shops prevent on average eight underage customers per store per day from purchasing vapes.

The data was gathered over six months from UK stores using AgeAI devices. Each device scanned an average of 92 customers per store daily, identifying up to eight as underage.

A release from the company says the stats highlight the scale of minors vaping in the UK – and the need for effective automated age assurance tools.

By automating transactions, its GDPR-compliant facial age estimation technology reduces the risk of costly regulatory fines and eliminates the potential for customer-merchant conflict. Unique to AgeAI is an automated “refusals register,” which digitally records any purchase attempts that are denied due to age checks, for ease of tracking, centralized metrics and security.

Ankush Panwar, Privately SA, says “it’s a challenging environment for retailers and anything that can reduce conflict is hugely welcome. As the UK tightens enforcement on underage vape sales, solutions such as AgeAI provide a scalable, accurate and privacy-conscious way to ensure compliance while reducing in-store tensions.”

He calls the use of algorithmic age assurance systems “a triple win” – “it’s frictionless for customers, store owners can mitigate the risk of sales to minors and the subsequent fines, and it shows the vape industry is serious about preventing underage sales.”

Privately SA, a SafetyTech company, has performed more than one million age checks in retail stores to date.

Yoti facial age estimation keeps customers calmer

A new case study from Yoti illustrates how algorithmic age estimation technology at self checkout terminals has had “a hugely positive impact on the time taken at checkout and the levels of frustration felt by consumers.” Diebold Nixdorf, a multinational banking and retail technology firm, selected Yoti’s facial age estimation for its Vynamic Smart Vision kiosks, based on its accuracy, ethical framework and flexible configuration.

No one likes lineups, nor being ignored by retail staff. Matt Redwood, vice president of Diebold Nixdorf, says Yoti’s facial age estimation “has the knock-on effect that the efficiency of the checkout improves, transaction times drop and there are fewer queues in the store. Additionally, it also frees up staff to better serve customers who need their help.”

Yoti says the biometric age estimation deployment has reduced the need for human intervention by 75 percent and reduced the average age verification time from 2 minutes to less than 10 seconds.

Innovative Technology Ltd. lines up wares for EuroCIS 2025

Innovative Technology Ltd (ITL) has announced its final plans for EuroCIS, a trade fair for retail technology taking place from February 18-20, 2025 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The TK firm will be showcasing cash validation and age and identity verification solutions in Hall 9 booth A21.

In a release, Christian Czeskleba, senior business development manager for ITL’s age and identity range, says “We’re excited to show EuroCIS visitors our latest AI-powered technology for anonymous age checks, ID verification, digital advertisements and consumer analytics.”

ITL’s products include ICU Lite which can be integrated into self-checkout terminals to automate age checks using an API; as well as MyCheckr and MyCheckr Mini, which are “ideal for performing age checks at manned checkouts to give till operators the confidence to ask for ID, or can be placed where age restricted goods are located such as locked fridges or cabinets.”

Upcoming webinars on biometric age assurance

ITL will be going deeper into how facial age estimation can transform age-restricted sales in a live webinar on Thursday, February  27 at 11:00 AM (GMT).  Biometrics Product Manager Andrew O’Brien will host special guests Hemanshu Patel, deputy vice president of The Federation of Independent Retailers, and Julian Taylor-Green, a SPAR franchise owner. Interested parties can register here.

Biometric Update is also hosting a webinar on age assurance, with an event focused on navigating the UK’s Online Safety Act. Scheduled for March 6, 2025, the exclusive webinar features Goode Intelligence bridges the gap between age verification solution providers and businesses seeking compliance. Attendees will gain clarity on Ofcom-recommended age verification methods, compare real-world implementations, and engage directly with industry experts.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  Diebold Nixdorf Technology  |  face biometrics  |  facial analysis  |  Innovative Technology  |  POS  |  Privately  |  retail biometrics  |  Yoti