Digital ID: What Retail & Hospitality Must Get Right This Peak Season

Digital ID: What Retail & Hospitality Must Get Right This Peak Season

On 31 October 2025, Serve Legal CEO Kate Rand appeared on DM News English (Sky Channel 522) to outline how the government’s plan to introduce Digital ID for alcohol purchases will play out on the shop floor during Christmas trading.

The interview focused on a few key messages:

• Initial friction is inevitable. New verification systems create short-term uncertainty for staff and customers, leading to inconsistent application. Without absolute clarity on what counts as valid Digital ID, how to check it, and when to refuse, teams risk both unnecessary refusals and missed challenges.

• Peak trading amplifies risk. Evenings, when the customer profile skews younger and many shifts are covered by part-time or seasonal colleagues, see compliance dip to around 72%. Digital ID will only streamline checks if every colleague (full-time, part-time, seasonal) is trained, confident and supported.

• One in five purchases bypass full checks. Practical countermeasures are proven: clear Challenge 25 signage, visible staff credentials and point-of-sale prompts lift pass rates by setting expectations and backing refusal decisions.

• Human checkpoints outperform self-service. Pass rates are higher at staffed supermarket checkouts than at self-checkout or home delivery; in hospitality, in-person bar orders beat app ordering. Digital ID will not remove these weak points and may widen them unless processes and oversight are strengthened.

• Manage transitional risk proactively. Any major system change increases short-term exposure to underage or illicit sales. The remedy is targeted investment in practical training for all frontline employees, plus regular test purchasing to find and fix weaknesses before enforcement does.

Watch the full interview with kate and DM News here:

The bottom line is that the industry must treat Digital ID as an operational programme, not just a tech deployment. Clear processes, confident staff, visible policies, continuous auditing, and data-led interventions are non-negotiable if retailers and hospitality operators want to protect young people, safeguard licences, and maintain throughput during the busiest weeks of the year.

Would you like to speak with Kate and the Serve Legal team about our expertise? Send us a media enquiry.

Looking for audits or a programme to support your compliance and Digital ID integration? Get in touch!