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A first-of-its-kind pilot between Channel Islands Coop, British American Tobacco and Yoti has launched across ten stores in Jersey as part of a joint commitment to lead the way in responsible retail and the sale of age-gated products. Today, the team at CI Coop explains more about the initiative
WHETHER it’s alcohol, tobacco, vapes, energy drinks, medicinal products or lottery tickets, governments have good reason to regulate access to age-gated products. The policy objective is twofold: to protect young people from early exposure to risk and to reduce long-term public health and social costs.
Evidence shows minors who gain access to age-gated products display higher rates of addiction and harm later in life.
In Jersey, that principle has informed years of tightening regulation. The Government of Jersey’s public guidance makes the goal clear and the message is unambiguous: protecting minors takes priority over convenience or profit.
In recent years, Jersey has taken a tougher stance across the board. For example, retailers must keep tobacco out of sight, train staff to apply Challenge-25-style checks, and maintain compliance logs. The Tobacco and Vapes (Control of Sales and Advertising) (Jersey) Law 2023 expanded restrictions on how products could be advertised or presented, while a ban on single-use vapes, due in 2026, will address environmental and youth access concerns.
Similar age-control principles apply to other categories, including alcohol and high-risk goods such as blades or solvents. The overall aim is consistent: to limit temptation, close loopholes and make underage purchases increasingly difficult.
For retailers, compliance is no longer ‘nice to have’ – it is central to regulatory conformity. They face training demand, operational burdens and reputational risk.
Given the tightening environment, retail chains also face cost pressures from resources for staff training, IT systems, audit trails and potential legal liability. On top of that, the consumer experience must remain smooth – too many checks may irritate adults, while doing too few risks regulatory action.
Retail businesses must balance regulatory rigour, customer service and cost efficiency – a tricky triangle.
Beyond the moral duty to protect young customers, the practical burden falls on store teams. Staff must apply consistent ID checks, balance customer service with vigilance and avoid confrontations at tills.
For large or busy stores, this can quickly create bottlenecks. And as product categories expand, so does the administrative load in terms of training, monitoring and ensuring human judgment remains accurate under pressure. In short, retailers are expected to achieve near-perfect compliance without sacrificing speed or customer experience.
Channel Islands Coop (CI Coop) has responded with a pragmatic, tech-based answer: facial age-estimation technology from UK company Yoti, deployed in partnership with British American Tobacco. Already live in ten Jersey stores, the system enables customers to complete age checks in seconds by scanning QR codes or using in-store tablets.
The process is fast, private and secure. A quick ‘selfie’ is taken, the system estimates the person’s age and the image is then instantly deleted. Nothing is stored or shared. If the result falls below the threshold (set at 20 for this pilot), the customer is asked to show physical ID as usual.
Crucially, Yoti’s system has built-in ‘liveness’ detection to help prevent spoofing by photos, screens or masks.
The technology has been independently assessed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, which confirmed it as a fair and effective age-verification method. Tests show it correctly identifies over 99% of 13-to-17-year-olds as under 21.
This tool directly addresses three pressures: it strengthens regulatory compliance, eases the operational burden on retailers and supports the consumer experience. It aligns with the public interest without undermining legitimate sales.
Danni Tower, group head of scientific and regulatory affairs at BAT, says: “Underage access prevention remains our top priority as we address the unintended consequences associated with tobacco and nicotine products.
Early results show Yoti’s strong potential in supporting prevention of underage access to smokeless products, and supporting harm reduction through purpose-driven and world-leading innovation.”
For CI Coop, this means quicker checkouts and more confident colleagues. For regulators, it provides a clear audit trail of responsible practice. And for customers, it removes the awkwardness of constant ID requests while keeping underage access firmly under control.
As the retail chain’s chief executive, Mark Cox, said: “Social responsibility is at the heart of our culture. This technology gives our colleagues the tools to uphold that promise while enhancing the customer experience.”
CI Coop has made no secret of its digital ambitions. Its 2025 annual report highlights major investment in retail systems designed to improve efficiency, reduce waste and enhance the member experience. Around 80% of all sales now come from members, and the society continues to digitise operations through smarter stock control, data-driven logistics and self-service innovation.
This rollout fits squarely within that strategy. It’s not just compliance tech, it’s part of a wider modernisation drive that blends ethical retailing with operational excellence.
