Going by the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” it’s hard to imagine why the trusty barcode would ever change. With its simple system of vertical lines printed on all packaged goods, the barcode reliably does what it was designed to do more than 50 years ago: electronically identify every product and its price point with one scan for inventory management and point-of-sale transactions.

Nothing about the barcode necessarily needs to be fixed, according to GS1 US, the not-for-profit data standards organization behind the universal system of identification in the one-dimensional (1D) lines that has been used worldwide for decades.

But that doesn’t mean barcodes shouldn’t be revolutionized. Evolution of the standard is exactly what GS1 US has been working tirelessly on, in close collaboration with industry leaders, in the years-long Sunrise 2027 initiative.

To better serve brands, retailers, manufacturers, distributors, regulatory bodies—and perhaps most importantly, retail customers—GS1 is powering the adoption of two-dimensional (2D) barcodes, such as QR codes, set to be able to be universally accepted at point-of-sale (POS) by the end of 2027. The 2D barcodes will provide everyone in the packaged-goods marketplace with access to more information and product transparency—and in a more seamless way—than ever before.

2D barcodes will unlock a host of new information and features—they can include batch and lot numbers that can alert retailers and shoppers to recall information, provide access to more specific allergen and nutritional data and help with traceability. In addition, they have implications for labor savings down the line.

The effects can be dramatic, and a lot of work has been taking place with both brands and retailers. But there is still a lot more to do. For now, even though 2D barcodes offer many powerful uses, the initiative focuses on building the capability to accept 2D barcodes at point-of-sale systems that currently scan 1D codes. Establishing this foundation will then open a new world of possibilities.

“The transition to 2D barcodes can be a game-changer for c-store operators,” said GS1 US Vice President of Standards Gena Morgan, who has been with the organization for more than 25 years. “With Sunrise 2027, 2D barcodes won’t just provide price lookup, they’ll tell a story. When a consumer scans them with a smartphone, they can provide an experience. And for retailers, they offer a set of powerful, new capabilities.”

A Smooth Transition

QR codes—which became more widely adopted during the pandemic—are among myriad types of 2D barcodes that will come into greater use in the transition. 2D barcodes powered by GS1 Digital Link can contain web links, meaning that they provide access to information almost as limitless as the Internet itself.

Players along every link of the supply chain, including retailers, will scan the 2D barcode similar to the way they have always scanned barcodes, and they’ll get the necessary Global Trade Item Number® (GTIN®) as if they scanned the universal product code (UPC) or international article number (EAN) for price lookup. “The information from the UPC will still be embedded in the 2D code, and it will still go beep at the register,” said Morgan.

In a nutshell, Morgan said, “the 2D barcode builds on the standard identification from the original UPC, but opens the door to a world of other useful product information that will prove crucial to the market. That matters because consumers, regulators and supply chains need more information and at a more granular level.”

Consumers, regulators and supply chains need more information and at a more granular level.”

The Next Level

So what type of information are we talking about?

Take the expiration date, for example. “Now, a barcode can identify the brand and size of a carton of milk. But when 2D barcodes have the expiration date encoded in them, you’ll know which cartons of milk from the same brand are set to expire without having to find and read smudgy printing,” Morgan explained. “Then, retailers can effectively rotate stock and prevent the consumer from walking out of the store with a product that might go bad.”

In addition, including batch and lot numbers in 2D barcodes could make it easier for consumers, brands and retailers to respond confidently, and with precision, to a food safety issue, such as a recall. Having this information in a machine-readable format means only impacted units could be pulled from shelves, rather than throwing out the entire stock of that product.

A 2D code can also identify product origin. It can link to a product certificate and its data, as well as safety instructions, more complex nutritional data, allergen information and other ingredient disclosures, and more.

That deeper level of info benefits consumers, who are increasingly seeking a breadth of information about what they buy.

Nearly 80% of consumers polled in a recent survey conducted by GS1 US said they are “more likely to purchase products with a smartphone-scannable QR code that provides the additional product information that they would want to see,” and 62% said they would even spend more money on products that make that information available. The information they are seeking includes data like country of origin, allergens, materials and ingredients, safety information and recall alerts.

Brands and marketers already deeply understand the power of the QR code, Morgan noted. All throughout a supermarket, for example, you’ll find CPGs with QR codes on the packaging, which link to recipes or a narrative about the brand.

“The [Sunrise transition] aims to marry the capability of the UPC code and the 2D code, which allows the brand to save space on a package. As long as they do all of this in a standardized way, brands and retailers can reap the benefits of the new capabilities, while minimizing disruption to current processes, especially at POS. It can also be a big opportunity for differentiation,” Morgan said.

With Sunrise 2027, 2D barcodes won’t just provide price lookup, they’ll tell a story.”

Unlocking Future Potential

Convenience retailers could leverage the power of QR codes with their loyal customers’ use of their store applications, Morgan noted, “allowing them to provide coupons, learn more about shoppers’ preferences based on how they interact with the product and offer a more personalized experience for their shopper.”

Pricing could also get a lot more dynamic, with retailers using real-time information about a product, such as automatically discounting it when it’s approaching an expiration date. Eventually, operators will be able to link information associated with individual product QR codes with digital shelf labels.

The move to 2D barcodes offers labor savings as well, Morgan continued. “An employee won’t have to spend time going through the store picking up individual items looking to see if they are about to expire.” Operators will “be able to better manage products so that what’s first-in is first-out.”

Two-dimensional barcodes also offer much more resilience to damage than the UPC. QR codes, for example, are equipped with four error correction levels, which means that even if the label is damaged, it can often still be read correctly.

As John Phillips, the senior vice president of customer supply chain and go-to-market for PepsiCo put it in a video for GS1 US, “The amount of information a consumer is seeking is expanding. It’s not contracting. If you’re not yet engaged in this conversation [about the move to 2D barcodes], the time is now.” Phillips used the example of including the definition of every single ingredient of a product and why it’s included in that particular product. “Think about trying to physically include that on a product package,” he said. “It would be impossible.”

In a digital world, he added, “The power is in the suppliers’ hands to notify consumers instantly,” whether it be about recall information, allergens or other key updates consumers need. “I have a digital activation on every package ... I can now instantly provide information to the consumer digitally. All of that is now possible with a single 2D barcode on a package.”