GS1 Sunrise 2027: The Barcode Is Getting a QR Code
What is GS1 Sunrise 2027? For over fifty years the checkout beep has come from one kind of barcode. Now the barcode on your groceries is getting a QR code.
An EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode holds just one number, the GTIN: no batch, no expiry date. GS1 US has set retail an industry goal, Sunrise 2027: point-of-sale scanners that can read 2D barcodes by the end of 2027. The key for QR codes is GS1 Digital Link, a web address that carries the GTIN (01), batch (10) and expiry (17), so one code works at the till and opens a product page on a shopper's phone. That helps with recalls and freshness checks. Europe is heading the same way with the Digital Product Passport. And no, the old barcode isn't disappearing yet: packs carry both during the transition.
For over 50 years, the checkout beep has come from one kind of code, the striped barcode.
Now, that barcode is getting a QR code.
The barcode on a pack, an EAN-13, or a UPC in the US carries just one thing, a number.
The GTIN, or Global Trade Item Number.
It tells the till which product this is, not which batch it came from, and not when it expires.
So GS1 US has set the retail industry a goal.
Sunrise 2027.
The aim is for checkouts to scan and process two-dimensional barcodes by the end of 2027.
Many stores already have scanners that can read them.
Often, the setting just isn't switched on.
For QR codes, the key is GS1 Digital Link.
It writes the product number as a web address.
01, then the GTIN.
10 adds the batch or lot.
17 can add the expiry date.
Those numbers are GS1 application identifiers, so a checkout scanner can read the GTIN without going online.
That means one code does two jobs.
At the till, the scanner rings up the item.
On a shopper's phone, the same code opens a web page.
Ingredients, instructions, recycling.
And with the batch and expiry on board, it helps with recalls and freshness checks.
Europe is moving the same way.
Its digital product passport links a product's materials, repair and recycling data to a code on the product.
Certain batteries are expected to need one from February 2027.
So is the old barcode going away?
Not yet.
GS1 US says UPC barcodes will still be accepted after 2027.
For now, packs carry both.
When the code on your pack is for people too, make it look like your brand.
AriaQR turns any image into a QR code that still looks like your image.
Tested on real scanners before you pay.
Make yours at ariaqr.com.
When the code on your pack is for people too, make it look like your brand.
