Facial recognition is acclaimed for the authentication program used by intelligence bureaus, and nowadays in smart devices too. As a biometric software application, facial recognition system is adept in identifying people by comparing patterns based on the facial contours. The application of facial recognition has its inception in law enforcement, and slowly started spreading across other industries too.

The retail industry for its constant engagement with end-users, periodically refurbishes the tools and practices that ought to hone customer indulgence with the enterprise. Polishing and renovating the already existing tools cannot have a lasting impact, unless it rejuvenates the lost virtue.

Customers are not only engaging in e-commerce sales through online, but also put a huge trust in purchase of materials over brick and mortal stores. By helping they find what is readily available in the market, reducing customer attrition, boosting sales and building brand loyalty, facial recognition system has started widening the opportunities in the retail landscape. The cameras not just determine the age and gender, but customers’ mood too and thereby cues advertisements to the smart devices.

But are shoppers yet ready for the change facial recognition brings to retail industry? It is recognised that customers are likely to visit a shop after they have gone through an online store. This implies the fact that communicating meaningful information can escalate the traffic of shoppers walking in to a retail firm. Using facial recognition, retailers can spot and verify VIP customers who opt in. This enables retailers to plan and optimise their product offerings. Facial recognition is expected to tackle organised retail crimes too, which has been a long burden for the industry.

There is a payment scheme, which is at the verge of deployment that can be enabled through facial recognition. Since the rise in concern regarding cyber security has no slumping sign, a bid for security of the data used by the retailers will increase in parallel to the diffusion of this innovation. In India, a retail market with facial recognition system will witness another long process to get unfolded. Business Insider reports that 7-Eleven, which has recently turned to facial recognition, will combine the technology with behavioural analytics to identify loyalty members, analyse the in-store traffic, monitor product levels etc. Walmart has started experimenting emotional detection, a trailing system that monitors check-out queues for unhappy customers. This helps retail owners to head off the problem at its sprouting stage itself.