Everyone recognises the humble retail barcode, visible on nearly all products sold on the high-street today. It has served us well for over 50 years but there is rising demand for more detailed product data — such as ingredient origins, expiration dates and sustainability information, which is increasing pressure on the retail industry and wider commercial goods, to adopt 2D barcodes. These new 2D barcodes can store significantly more data, addressing growing consumer and regulatory demands for transparency and traceability. GS1 has put forward a plan over the next few years, to transition goods from linear barcodes, scannable in only one plane, to the 2-dimensional codes. During this transition, retailers will likely implement 2D barcodes for select products, testing updated point-of-sale (POS) systems and supply chains. As the data needs expand, businesses will gradually phase in 2D barcodes, leading to smoother operations and enhanced customer engagement. All of this is guided by GS1 under the name “Project Sunrise”.
Read more from our sister PID Group company, Novexx Systems:
Read about The Future of Retail, the GS1 vision for product identification.