Woolies in Wetherill Park fitted with 500 tiny cameras to monitor stock levels

A major change is coming to one Woolworths store, with 500 tiny cameras being added in a bid to make life easier for customers

Woolworths is trialling a new in-store camera system to help monitor stock levels.

More than 500 mini cameras have been mounted on shelves in the Wetherill Park store in NSW to help improve product availability.

The “bite-sized” cameras, which are set up on the underside of shelves near price tags, will take photos every hour so staff can see which items need restocking.

Around 500 "bite-sized" cameras have been installed in the Wetherill Park store. Picture: Supplied

A Woolworths spokesperson said customers can notice the cameras on every shelf in each aisle.

“We’ve recently begun a trial of new camera technology at the store to assist our teams by reducing manual processes and with replenishment tasks, such as real-time inventory management and restocking prioritisation,” the spokesperson said.

“This is expected to improve product availability throughout the day for all our customers, not just at regular intervals.

“We’ll listen to feedback from our Wetherill Park customers and team members over the coming months before assessing our next steps.”

Stock levels will be monitored on new mini cameras. Picture: Supplied

Customers captured by the cameras will be silhouetted from the photo.

Signage has been placed outside the Wetherill Park store to notify customers of the trial before they enter the shop.

The update comes after the supermarket chain installed new cameras at self-service checkouts to monitor correct scanning of products.

The trial of self-service cameras began in February last year, with more than 250 stores adopting the change in 2023.

If the camera detects any scanning errors, footage captured is replayed to the customer on the screen to give them an opportunity to re-scan.

The self-scan checkouts have been fitted with cameras to ensure correct scanning. Picture: Supplied

“It helps reduce misscans and is one of a number of initiatives we’ve rolled out across our checkouts to make shopping more convenient and seamless,” a spokesperson said during the trial phase.

“While most customers do the right thing at our self-serve checkouts, we’re all busy and mistakes can easily happen.”