Tesco preps ten week trial of Auror retail crime reporting platform across grocery giant's 40 stores

Tesco will next week start testing out a new crime reporting platform across 40 of its stores.

The ten-week trial will be conducted across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, with the aim of driving down retail crime, protecting colleagues and increasing collaboration with the police and the wider retail industry.

The Auror platform, which is already used by several retailers and UK police forces, aims to make it easier and quicker for colleagues to report security incidents. By bringing all the data and information into a single source, this simplifies the process for retailers and the police to build, manage, track, and resolve cases faster.

During the trial, CCTV footage of serious incidents and theft will be reviewed by specifically trained colleagues at the Tesco Security Hub in Daventry. Where necessary, CCTV still images may be analysed retrospectively using non-live facial recognition, as part of an investigation.

Live CCTV images will not be reviewed as part of this trial and Tesco colleagues and customers are not being scanned by live facial recognition.

Auror is one of a number of global technology companies that the retailer, along with four other grocery companies globally, has invested in through the W23 Global venture fund. Launched in April 2024, this invests in tech driven startups and scale-ups that improve customer experience, boost productivity, and address sustainability in the grocery sector.

“This trial will help us improve colleague safety and tackle abuse and violent behaviour by identifying repeat and dangerous offenders, and assisting police with their investigations,” says Rachel Bennett, Security Director at Tesco.

“The investments we are making in improving safety across our store network will ensure that we not only lead the way in tackling the symptoms of retail crime, but drive collaboration right across the retail sector to deter would be criminals.”

“We’re delighted to partner with Tesco to help build on the work they’re doing to keep their stores safe, and address the issue of violent and organised retail crime. Our software will give store teams a structured and consistent way to record crime after it occurs,” says Mark Gleeson, VP UK and Europe at Auror.

“This will help Tesco to better connect the dots on prolific offenders across multiple locations and provides the information they need to make informed decisions to enhance colleague safety and collaborate with police. By using Auror, Tesco are joining the world’s largest network of leading retailers - all helping to surface the scale and severity of retail crime offending. Across the UK, the top 10% of offenders are causing 70% of the crime, and one in every 10 retail crime events are violent or involve weapons.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Retail security will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.