A new research study, “Powering the Future of Retail,” from information standards organization GS1 US has revealed that 82% of retailers and 92% of brand owners support transitioning from the UPC code to a data-rich 2D barcode (e.g., QR code, GS1 datamatrix), a digital watermark, and/or an RFID tag in the next one to five years. The study recognizes that an advanced data carrier is needed to evolve retail and provide consumers with detailed product information and transparency. Similarly, the study notes, 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 UPC that uniquely identifies a product at checkout.
