Bunnings introducing facial recognition to 42 New Zealand stores

Hardware and garden center chain Bunnings is introducing facial recognition technology (FRT) to its New Zealand stores to prevent serious harm to staff and high-value theft.

Bunnings will start a phased rollout in mid-April, installing the tech at two Hamilton stores and testing its safeguards. The systems will later be rolled out to all stores across the country, according to the retailer.

Bunnings’ announcement comes after New Zealand’s privacy watchdog greenlighted a facial recognition trial by supermarket chain Foodstuffs last year, ruling that it was in line with the country’s Privacy Act. Foodstuff has since expanded its trial to cover stores under its Pak’nSave and New World brands.

Both retailers cite the rise in retail crime, including violent attacks against staff, as the reason for introducing the tech. Bunnings has recorded nearly 700 threatening events during the 2025 financial year, a 9.5 percent rise compared to the previous year. The incidents included 32 physical assaults and eight harm or death threats.

“The scale of retail crime in New Zealand is accelerating and shows no signs of stopping,” says Bunnings New Zealand General Manager, Melissa Haines. “Threatening incidents have more than doubled over the past four years, with each year worse than the last. Repeat offenders now account for 34 percent of all threatening incidents, up from 26 percent in 2022, meaning they are driving much of this harm.”

Bunnings says the FRT system in New Zealand stores will have an accuracy rating of 93 percent. Only matches against a predetermined watchlist will result in an alert, while the system will automatically delete images and biometric templates of other people.

The company has previously deployed FRT systems from Hitachi in its Australian stores.

Bunnings also notes it has completed a Privacy Impact Assessment, including commissioning an expert in Māori data sovereignty principles.

A survey commissioned by the retailer shows that 93 percent of 1,000 New Zealanders support the use of FRT if it improves safety by more than 10 percent. Fewer than one in 10 said they oppose the technology in principle. The research gathered answers from 1000 people.

Last year, major New Zealand retailers and the Retail NZ association published a statement in support of using FRT to combat retail crime. New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner has also published a factsheet for businesses using facial recognition.

Digital Identity New Zealand engaging with Retail NZ

While retailers are installing more FRT systems for security, other organizations are discussing how to bring digital identity and verifiable credentials into stores to ease age verification, reduce fraud, and enable trusted customer interactions.

Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ), a non-profit organization focused on developing digital IDs, is getting ready to present its Kiwi Faces project. The initiative, part of DINZ’s Biometrics Working Group, aims to develop a secure, ethically sourced dataset for testing facial recognition and biometric solutions in the country.

DINZ says that there is a strong interest in ensuring solutions are tested responsibly. The fairness, performance, and cultural appropriateness of facial recognition systems for the New Zealand population are a critical prerequisite if these technologies are to be trusted, according to Andrew James Higgs from DINZ.

“From the perspective of Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ), we see growing interest in how biometrics may underpin emerging digital credential and identity verification ecosystems, particularly where high-trust verification is required,” Higgs says in an email to Biometric Update.

The organization has started engaging with the retail sector, including Retail NZ and will soon present its work.

“While the discussion is primarily focused on digital credentials and privacy-preserving verification models, the performance and fairness of underlying biometric systems is clearly a related issue, and initiatives like the Kiwi Faces Project could provide valuable assurance to the ecosystem,” adds Higgs.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ)  |  facial recognition  |  New Zealand  |  retail biometrics  |  video surveillance