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After 50 years, barcodes are being retired in favor of QR codes. The idea comes from an initiative, "Sunrise 2027", which twenty-two leading global consumer goods companies have joined: a joint declaration was signed to ask that all manufacturers join this initiative by December 2027 and replace barcodes with standard QR codes, or "GS1". Let's see together what changes for consumers.
Goodbye Barcodes, Welcome QR Code: What Changes for Us
The barcode was born on October 7, 1952, when Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver were granted U.S. Patent No. 2,612,994 for their "apparatus for classifying articles." However, practical use of barcodes did not begin until the 1970s.
The first product to be scanned with a barcode in a store was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum. A historic event that occurred on June 26, 1974 at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. This event marked the beginning of the commercial use of barcodes, revolutionizing the retail industry and significantly improving inventory management and the sales process.
The Qr code, writes Repubblica, can be seen as the next step because in addition to storage information, it allows people to touch the traceability and all the information of the products by simply framing the code with their smartphone. Qr codes can provide information on the components of the food, on the origin, on the carbon footprint, on the recycling and reuse indications of the packaging. They can contain information on allergens and on the expiration date. The Qr Code allows, above all, to overcome any type of space limit that exists on the packaging.
From the consumer's point of view this is good news, but less so for all stores: joint efforts will be needed between the companies called to make this innovation. Manufacturers will have to implement standard Qr codes to replace bar codes; supermarket checkouts will have to be completely updated. At the moment, a trial is underway in 48 countries around the world but the goal is to expand it on a global scale.
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