In Australia, facial recognition is being offered as an enhancement to support contact-free payments, temperature checks, mask-detection and surveillance. “Facial-recognition is a slippery slope, and retailers should be cautious about deploying this type of technology,” says Mark Ryski, Author, CEO & Founder of HeadCount Corporation. “While facial recognition may be helpful during the pandemic, there are other methods for ensuring a safe store environment that don’t rely on facial recognition technology. The pandemic has most certainly accelerated the acceptance of all sorts of new processes and protocols, but I don’t believe the benefits outweigh the potential risks with facial recognition.”