Age-check tech stops eight underage vape sales per store daily

New data from Privately SA’s AgeAI solution has revealed that its deployments in UK vape stores prevent on average eight underage customers per store per day from purchasing vapes, highlighting the scale of minors vaping in the UK and the effectiveness of the age estimation technology behind AgeAI.

The six months’ field data was gathered from UK stores using AgeAI devices and showed that each device scanned an average of 92 customers per store daily, identifying up to eight as underage. With fines exceeding £1,500 for underage sales, the company said the findings underscore the need for more effective and automated solutions.

AgeAI removes subjectivity from age verification by providing instant and highly accurate facial age estimation. It is fully anonymous, with no images transmitted or stored, ensuring full GDPR (UK) compliance.

“Asking for age ID can be a major source of conflict and automation is a hugely effective way of addressing this,” said Ankush Panwar, AgeAI product manager, Privately SA. “Age estimation removes the potential for friction and allows store owners and managers to make smart and AI-based decisions. They want to do their best to operate responsibly and not sell to minors, and AgeAI makes this seamless for all parties.”

AgeAI is the brainchild of SafetyTech company Privately SA, which has performed more than one million age checks in retail stores. Business owners with multiple stores can use the data from AgeAI to identify which are likely to have a higher incidence of minors trying to buy vapes and put more robust checks in place.

A unique feature of AgeAI is its automated ‘refusals register,’ which digitally records instances where purchases are denied due to age restrictions. This simplifies compliance for retailers, ensures accurate reporting, and enhances staff accountability.

“It’s a challenging environment for retailers and anything that can reduce conflict is hugely welcome,” continued Panwar. “Using AI and automation for this purpose is a triple win – it’s frictionless for customers, store owners can mitigate the risk of sales to minors and the subsequent fines, and it shows the vape industry is serious about preventing underage sales.

“Furthermore, our automated refusals register is transformative. It can be challenging for stores to understand how refusals are being maintained, but automating the process means streamlined tracking for improved accuracy and efficiency, centralised metrics for compliance management and actionable feedback to enhance staff training and ensure accountability.

“As the UK tightens enforcement on underage vape sales, solutions such as AgeAI provide a scalable, accurate and privacy-conscious way to ensure compliance while reducing in-store tensions.”