An article information reading apparatus, comprising: a reader configured to read, from an image captured by an imaging section, a code symbol attached to an article; characterized by further comprising: a customer detecting section configured to perform customer detection processing for determining if a customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, wherein the customer detection processing includes: capturing by the imaging section a first image and after a time interval (Δt) a second image, dividing each of the captured images into a plurality of blocks, calculating an average pixel brightness of a plurality of pixels belonging to each of the plurality of blocks and setting the calculated average as a brightness of the corresponding block, generating after the time interval (Δt) a differential image by deducting from the brightness of each block of the first image the brightness of each block of the second image, binarizing the result with a predetermined threshold and setting the corresponding block of the differential image to "one" or "zero" according to the result of the binarization, and if there are a predetermined number or more of blocks set to "one" in the differential image determining that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, and a reading controller configured to start operation of the reader on condition that the customer detecting section has determined that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus. a reader configured to read, from an image captured by an imaging section, a code symbol attached to an article; characterized by further comprising: a customer detecting section configured to perform customer detection processing for determining if a customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, wherein the customer detection processing includes: capturing by the imaging section a first image and after a time interval (Δt) a second image, dividing each of the captured images into a plurality of blocks, calculating an average pixel brightness of a plurality of pixels belonging to each of the plurality of blocks and setting the calculated average as a brightness of the corresponding block, generating after the time interval (Δt) a differential image by deducting from the brightness of each block of the first image the brightness of each block of the second image, binarizing the result with a predetermined threshold and setting the corresponding block of the differential image to "one" or "zero" according to the result of the binarization, and if there are a predetermined number or more of blocks set to "one" in the differential image determining that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, and a reading controller configured to start operation of the reader on condition that the customer detecting section has determined that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus. a customer detecting section configured to perform customer detection processing for determining if a customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, wherein the customer detection processing includes: capturing by the imaging section a first image and after a time interval (Δt) a second image, dividing each of the captured images into a plurality of blocks, calculating an average pixel brightness of a plurality of pixels belonging to each of the plurality of blocks and setting the calculated average as a brightness of the corresponding block, generating after the time interval (Δt) a differential image by deducting from the brightness of each block of the first image the brightness of each block of the second image, binarizing the result with a predetermined threshold and setting the corresponding block of the differential image to "one" or "zero" according to the result of the binarization, and if there are a predetermined number or more of blocks set to "one" in the differential image determining that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, and capturing by the imaging section a first image and after a time interval (Δt) a second image, dividing each of the captured images into a plurality of blocks, calculating an average pixel brightness of a plurality of pixels belonging to each of the plurality of blocks and setting the calculated average as a brightness of the corresponding block, generating after the time interval (Δt) a differential image by deducting from the brightness of each block of the first image the brightness of each block of the second image, binarizing the result with a predetermined threshold and setting the corresponding block of the differential image to "one" or "zero" according to the result of the binarization, and if there are a predetermined number or more of blocks set to "one" in the differential image determining that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus, and a reading controller configured to start operation of the reader on condition that the customer detecting section has determined that the customer is approaching the article information reading apparatus.