Universal Product Code Barcode Will Be Supplanted By 2027 With a More Data-Rich '2D' Barcode

The humble and familiar barcode -- a staple on consumer packaging for nearly 50 years -- will soon be replaced with a more robust and muscular successor that offers far more information about the product inside. Axios reports: In a worldwide push called "Sunrise 2027," the retail industry is transitioning from the standard 12-digit barcode -- that square of vertical lines that's printed on a package and makes it go "beep" at the checkout scanner -- to a two-dimensional web-enabled version. The effort is being orchestrated by GS1 US, the nonprofit standards organization that oversees the barcode world. In the United States, Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes will be supplanted by a new 2D type, with information encoded on both the horizontal and vertical axes. By 2027, only the 2D barcodes will be accepted at registers globally. The new "2D" barcodes will unlock reams of online extras (for consumers) and revolutionize inventory management (for retailers). Scanning them may tell us the field where something was grown, the factory where a garment was sewn, the sustainability practices of the company that made it -- or the washing instructions. [...] Stores will be able to respond immediately to product recalls, identifying faulty items and removing them from shelves. They'll be able to flag foods that are approaching their sell-by date -- and offer discounts before they expire. Consumers will gain online access to a trove of useful data -- everything from ingredients, recipes and potential allergens to promotional offers and information about how to recycle the product. GS1 US just released a "barcode capabilities test kit" to help retailers evaluate their readiness for the 2D transition. We can expect to start seeing more products printed with 2D barcodes (or both types, as the transition moves forward) fairly soon.

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