From 2027 products that we buy in supermarkets and other shops will no long have a barcode on their packaging. The barcode will be replaced with a QR code. The company that is responsible for the management of the bar code system says that replacing barcodes with QR codes is a good thing for consumers as they can scan a QR code with their smartphone and obtain information about the product that they have purchased.
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Barcodes to be replaced by QR codes from 2027
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50 years ago today on 3 April 1973 barcodes appeared on products for the first time. Gradually they replaced price tickets and the stickers that older readers will remember that used to be stuck on most of the products we bought at our local supermarket or grocery store. In less than 4 years’ time the barcode will be replaced by QR codes.
More information for consumers
GS1, the international organisation that is responsible for the management of the barcode system says that the new QR code will contain product information that the consumer can read by scanning it on their smartphone. Furthermore, the system will be linked to the internet.
The CEO of GS1 Belgium Jan Somers told VRT News that "By scanning the code they will, amongst other things, get more information about the origin of the product, its composition and its ecological footprint”.
A big change
The new system will require shops to modify their checkouts and for manufacturers to modify their packaging to replace barcodes with QR codes.
"The new barcode provides a range of possibilities, and this is why we want to help as many companies as possible to make the switch”.
To give everyone time to prepare the switch from barcodes to QR codes won’t take place until 2027.
The barcode system is somewhat dated. Furthermore, it isn’t uniform the world over, with countries and in some cases individual retailers having their own code combinations for a specific product.
This makes it more difficult to trace some products. Also, the barcode is limited in the number of bar/number combinations it can offer, while QR code combinations possibilities are infinite.