Are stores ready for 2D barcodes?
If your products are sold in stores, the barcode on your pack is read by a checkout scanner you don't own and can't upgrade. That scanner is changing. The retail industry is moving checkout from the 1D barcode (the UPC stripes) to 2D codes such as QR codes, and the stores' scanners have to be able to read them. Here is what that means for you, and what to ask the stores that carry your products.
What is actually changing
GS1, the standards body behind the UPC, describes Sunrise 2027 as "a global transition from 1D UPC barcodes to 2D barcodes, like QR codes." For stores, GS1 US's guidance is direct:
"Install optical scanners that are Sunrise-capable to read 2D barcodes and extract the GTIN at POS."
GS1 US, Sunrise 2027, retailer guidance
That one line is the whole point of this page. A scanner that only sweeps a laser line across a pattern of stripes can read a 1D barcode, but it cannot decode a QR code; reading one takes an imaging scanner, which captures a picture of the whole symbol. Stores with 1D-only scanners will need new ones before they can ring up a 2D code. Which stores, and how fast, is the retailers' call, not yours.
What it doesn't mean
- It isn't a cliff. GS1 calls it "a milestone in the transition," and says "it is not necessary to implement all the capabilities of 2D by that date."
- Your current barcode doesn't stop working on a date. GS1's guidance for brands is to add 2D to your packaging: "Add 2D barcodes to existing packaging; ensure any existing QR codes are updated with GS1 Digital Link standards and include your Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)." During the transition, a pack carries both.
- You don't need new GTINs. The 2D code carries the GTIN you already have.
One code, two readers
This is why the format GS1 recommends is a QR code built on GS1 Digital Link. The same printed symbol is read two different ways, and that is where "multi-function" comes from:
| Who scans it | What happens |
|---|---|
| Checkout scanner | A 2D-capable scanner decodes the GTIN straight out of the symbol and rings up the product. No internet request is made. |
| Shopper's phone | The camera follows the same code as a web link, through a resolver, to a page you choose: product details, ingredients or allergens, how-to, reorder, in the shopper's language and country. |
| You, later | Because the destination lives in the resolver, not on the pack, you can change where the code points without reprinting the label. |
| A specific lot or serial | The code can carry a batch/lot or serial number, so a recall notice can go to the people holding that lot and nobody else. This resolver supports GTIN, product variant, batch/lot and serial. |
What to ask the stores that carry you
You can't inspect a store's hardware, but you can ask the people who buy for it. These are questions, not claims about any retailer:
- Are your checkout scanners capable of reading 2D codes today, or are they on an upgrade schedule?
- Are they on GS1's list of Sunrise-capable scanners? (GS1 US publishes a readiness table of scanner models on its Sunrise 2027 page.)
- Do you want to see a dual-marked pack (UPC plus 2D) before it ships, or test labels?
- Do you have your own requirements for the 2D code, such as size, placement, or which GS1 format (QR with GS1 Digital Link, or GS1 DataMatrix)?
- Does anything in your item setup need to change when the pack gains a 2D code?
What to print in the meantime
Keep your UPC and add a GS1 Digital Link QR beside it, both sized to GS1's minimums. A store with an older scanner reads the UPC as it always has; a store with a 2D scanner can read the QR; a shopper's phone can read the QR either way. QR Code 42 exports exactly that label, and runs the resolver the QR points to.
Next steps
- Check your own GTINs: the free check-digit validator.
- Do it: how to add a GS1 Digital Link QR next to your UPC.
- Understand it: what a GS1 Digital Link resolver does.
- Read the plain-English timeline: What is GS1 Sunrise 2027?
- See what it costs: pricing — claim a GTIN and publish a link without a card on Starter.
Sources: GS1 US, Sunrise 2027. This page summarizes publicly available GS1 guidance; it isn't official GS1 material and isn't legal or compliance advice. QR Code 42 is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by GS1.