Channel Islands Coop and BAT join forces to pilot facial age estimation

Channel Islands Coop and British American Tobacco (BAT) have partnered to trial facial age estimation technology at 10 stores in Jersey.

The tool, developed by Yoti, works by analysing a selfie taken on a mobile or in-store device to estimate a customer’s age.

Customers scan a QR-code with their device and then take the selfie.

Once their age has been estimated by the technology, the image is permanently deleted.

If the customer is verified as over 18, they can proceed, otherwise additional proof of age is shown to staff.

For the Channel Islands pilot, the age threshold is set at 20.

“As the largest retailer in the Channel Islands, we take our responsibilities extremely seriously,” said Mark Cox, chief executive, Channel Islands Coop. “Our colleagues are on the front line of enforcing age verification, which can be both challenging and sensitive.

“By trialling this technology, we’re giving them the tools to uphold our social responsibility promise, ensuring that age-restricted products are only sold to those legally entitled to purchase them.”

BAT already uses the technology across 600 stores across Europe, with plans to reach 1,000 by the end of 2025.

This includes in BAT-owned stores in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, with ongoing rollouts happening in Poland, Italy, and Serbia.

In traditional retail, it said projects are being conducted with key retail partners in Greece and Hungary.

Since August 2023, the tobacco giant has been using facial age estimation across BAT-owned vending machines, including in the UK.

The company said it is considering expanding the technology further.

“Underage Access Prevention remains our top priority as we address the unintended consequences associated with tobacco and nicotine products,” said Danni Tower, group head of scientific & regulatory affairs at BAT.

The company added that early results show that the technology’s “strong potential” in preventing underage access to its products.