Shoppers divided as Kmart trials new technology in changing rooms

The budget retailer has addressed fears among shoppers after a photo of a new feature in its fitting rooms left Aussies uneasy.

Kmart shoppers have expressed “concern” over a new changing room feature that recently appeared in a Melbourne store.

The budget retailer is currently trialling a new security measure in the Westfield Southland store that uses smart technology to monitor what items customers have taken into a cubicle.

When shoppers enter the changing area, they are now greeted with a digital screen inside their private fitting room, displaying exactly what items the customer has taken in with them.

A photograph of the new feature has since been shared in the Kmart Mums Australia Facebook page, sparking fears among shoppers that their privacy was being invaded, with some suggesting the retail giant was “spying” on its customers.

Kmart told news.com.au that “no cameras or photographs” are obtained as part of the changing room monitoring – but it hasn’t stopped shoppers from labelling the anti-theft technique “concerning”.

Kmart has installed new smart technology in its changing rooms, sparking ‘concern’ among shoppers. Picture: Facebook/KmartMumsAustralia

“Kmart Southland is currently participating in a new trial of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology in our fitting rooms, that scans our apparel products upon entry, and then displays these products to the customer,” a spokesperson aid.

“There are no cameras or photographs utilised with this technology. RFID technology is used globally and not new to Kmart, as it is already used in other areas of our stores.”

The most well-known example of this is the “Tory” robot, which uses RFID technology to count inventory daily and improve the shopping experience for Kmart customers.

Since being introduced across the country in July 2022, the easy-to-spot “worker” has become a key attraction in stores, though Tory has left Aussies divided.

The new fitting room feature has caused a similar reaction online, with some welcoming the new addition as others raged over its appearance in the Melbourne store.

“Another reason not to try on clothes,” one remarked.

“OK, this is actually a concern,” someone else said.

“My paranoid ass would’ve freaked out,” declared another.

Others said they were “fine” with the tech, providing there were no recordings of them removing their clothes behind the curtain.

“As long as they don’t post the video on the net, I am good with this,” one said.

“Good. Pretty sick of paying big bucks because people think they’re entitled to a five finger discount,” chipped in someone else.

One even joked about the clothes taken into the fitting room in the photo posted online, stating “whoever was getting that black skinny jeans and polo combo needs to know that they will NOT go together”.

The budget retailer is trialling the anti-theft feature in just one store. Picture: news.com.au

The photo was also shared on Reddit where it garnered a similar divided response.

“This is pretty common stuff around the world, they just have RFID tags on them, and when you enter the room those tags are scanned. RFID doesn’t need a camera or anything, so they’re not looking at you, it’s basically just an advanced barcode. It also makes checkouts easier because those same RFID tags can be scanned all at once in a large group rather than barcodes one by one,” one user explained.

“Before the tin foil hats come out, this is probably to do prevent theft and see which products people like enough to try on so they can analyse the data and drop products that people don’t like and sell more of the products people do like,” agreed another.

But others were adamant the technology was “unnecessary”, declaring it “creepy” and stressing they “don’t want anything scanning my ass in a change room”.