A Coles supermarket has been criticised as “creepy” and “dystopian” after a customer spotted dozens of security cameras hanging above the checkout.
The customer took a photo inside the store in Epping, Melbourne’s north, showing the many cameras pointing down from the high ceiling.
The photo was shared with a wink on Reddit on Monday.
“I don’t think my local supermarket has enough cameras installed,” they wrote.
Social media users were shocked by the extent of the security measures in place to prevent shoplifting and by the fact that customers were unable to pay for all their purchases at the unmanned checkouts.
“It seems like they really hate their customers,” one person wrote.
Another asked: ‘Hey Coles Epping, how many more cameras do you need?’.
“I get that cameras are needed, but why so many? I mean, they could accomplish the same thing with so few. Is it just to deter theft? Kind of scary,” one person said.
A Victorian shopper snapped a photo of the number of security cameras in her local Coles, shocking many Australians (pictured)
Other shoppers compared the scene to a ‘gaming floor in a casino’ and even ‘a work of art’.
The wound was also described as “exaggerated” and “dystopian.”
“All those cameras make it feel kind of inhuman somehow,” one person wrote.
“I want to prepare the store for the time when there are no more cash registers,” said another.
“It feels like I’m going through a heavily guarded military checkpoint,” added another.
However, some believe that the supermarket chain was right to take such safety measures.
‘Placing cameras at cash registers and cash registers where there is the greatest risk of cash theft/robbery, assault/mistreatment of staff and external crime… Doesn’t seem so unreasonable to me,’ wrote one person.
One shopper added: ‘These cameras are for my protection and theirs. Too many people stealing, too many people abusing other people, too many people being mean. It’s 2024.’
“If someone you love is punched in the face at Coles, you demand CCTV footage for the police,” they said.
It is estimated that shoplifting costs Australia more than $9 billion each year (stock image)
Some Australian customers also thought the store’s location could be a reason for the extra cameras.
‘It’s Epping, need we say more? That’s where most of the thefts and eshays were,’ wrote one.
Another added: ‘I’m surprised the cameras haven’t been stolen yet’.
Others claimed that the camera was not monitoring the customers, but the cashiers.
“Many of these cameras are actually there to monitor staff and their cash register activities,” one person wrote.
A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the safety of their staff and customers is their “top priority”.
“While most of our customers do the right thing, unfortunately there is a small number who do not,” they said.
‘We have implemented a range of security measures to reduce theft in our stores, including security personnel and surveillance technologies such as CCTV.
‘All CCTV footage recorded is taken in accordance with all relevant laws and Coles’ privacy policy.’
Daily Mail Australia also understands that more security cameras are needed in some older supermarkets, such as Epping, to support the range of service and loss prevention technologies.
