Retail industry in favor of moving to 2D barcode

Retail Industry In Favor of Moving to 2D Barcode

“Now is the time for all retail stakeholders to align on a limited number of data-rich carriers that give consumers information about the products they buy and additional data that can be leveraged by the supply chain,” says GS1 US.

A majority of retailers, 82% and 92% of brand owners, support transitioning from the universal product code (U.P.C.) to a data-rich two-dimensional (2D) barcodeWhat is a 2D barcode?Two-dimensional (2D) barcodes look like squares or rectangles that contain many small, individual dots. A single 2D barcode can hold a significant amount of information and may remain legible even when printed at a small size or etched onto a product. 2D barcodes can also be used for fixed asset tagging in a wide range of industries, from manufacturing and warehousing to logistics and healthcare. (e.g., QR Code, GS1 DataMatrix), digital watermark and/or RFID in the next one to five years.

How will 2D barcode benefit customers and retailers?

The study recognizes that an advanced data carrier is needed to evolve retail and provide consumers with detailed product information and transparency. Similarly, retail trading partners will benefit from robust supply chain data. The next-generation barcode(s) to be chosen by industry will embed more information on product packaging and continue to leverage the GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) standard – the number encoded in the U.P.C. that uniquely identifies a product at checkout.

Additionally, the research showed that while an estimated 68.5% of retailers use laser scanners incapable of reading a 2D barcode, 84% are evaluating or plan to migrate to advanced optical point-of-sale (POS) scanning technology.

Also, 60% of tier 1 retailers ($1B+ revenue) are prioritizing updating their entire POS infrastructure in the next 18-24 months due to omni-channel commerce and mobile POS requirements.

“Consumer expectations for rich, quality information have risen since smartphones became essential shopping tools,” says Bob Carpenter, president and CEO, GS1 US. “Some retailers and brand owners have already begun addressing this need by implementing data-rich carrier solutions, often alongside the U.P.C., for fresh, prepared and packaged foods to provide consumer engagement via SmartLabel and to better manage supply chain efficiencies.

Now is the time for all retail stakeholders to align on a limited number of data-rich carriers that give consumers information about the products they buy and additional data that can be leveraged by the supply chain. The research underscores the desire for standards across various data carriers that promote choice for industry and offer greater functionality beyond the basic price look-up function of the U.P.C.

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