AI caught a thief in the first Hungarian hybrid smart store

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 10. 09. 11:13

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At the end of May, Hungary’s first hybrid smart store opened in Szeged, which operates in a traditional way during the day and without staff at night. In the store, which was launched through the cooperation of Coop Szeged Zrt. and the Laurel development company, 8,500 people have already made purchases in the night-time, automatic system in four and a half months, despite this, according to the data, the inventory shortage has not increased. During this time, artificial intelligence has also uncovered 3 theft attempts.

In a recent case, a person hid products under his clothing during night mode, not knowing that the intelligent system that monitors the store’s security effectively filters out such movements, among others. The AI-based software connected to the camera system immediately identified the theft attempt and automatically sent an alarm to the remote monitoring. The store operator filed the necessary complaint, and the police arrested the perpetrator within a few hours based on the camera footage.

“One of the central elements of our 247 Shop system is the Veesion artificial intelligence-supported camera system, which analyzes customer movements without identifying faces and immediately alerts the remote dispatch service to suspicious behavior and gestures – for example, if someone hides the goods in their bag or consumes the product in the store. These automatic alerts significantly facilitate the work of remote surveillance that monitors multiple cameras at the same time, but they also help with subsequent proof, so that it quickly becomes clear when, where and how the theft occurred. Thus, unmanned operation essentially poses a lower risk than traditional operation”

– said István Bessenyei, who is recording the developments Laurel founder and owner.

His words are confirmed by the fact that, based on what has been done so far, despite the significant increase in turnover resulting from the extended opening hours to 24/7, the inventory shortage in the Szeged store has not increased. The hybrid model, which is already spreading rapidly abroad, is not only economical and efficient, but also guarantees above-average product security thanks to, among other things, the entry requiring personal identification and the AI-supported camera system.

“The new type of store has been performing stably since its launch, exceeding expectations, and the operation of artificial intelligence has proven itself in every respect. Based on the successful experience, we are already planning to automate new units with Laurel’s technology”

– said János Kelemen, CEO of Coop Szeged Zrt., regarding the solution.

Following the case of the thieves caught by AI, the system is undergoing some fine-tuning in order to intervene even more effectively. During the transition, a security guard will also monitor the store for a few days, but this is only needed temporarily; within days, artificial intelligence will once again be solely responsible for ensuring that the negligible number of theft attempts are intercepted.