Tesco is introducing on-pack scannable QR codes in a bid to give shoppers more detailed product information instantly, in what is being dubbed the “second barcode revolution”.
The supermarket‘s pilot programme is in collaboration with barcode standards body GS1 and aims to overcome the current limits to the amount of information physical labels can carry.
The new initiative will allow Tesco products to be scanned by smartphones, and at the point of sale, allowing for greater capabilities than the finite space on-pack and standard barcode can offer.
Tesco’s QR code innovation comes amid GS1 first launching its technology across 59,000 members last year.
Tesco supply chain and development director Matt Rhind said: “We are pleased to be collaborating with GS1 to explore the potential benefits for customers and for our business from QR codes.
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“We know our customers want the opportunity to access detailed product information instantly via their smartphone and we are also always looking for solutions for reducing waste and tracking products more effectively throughout our supply chain.
“QR codes powered by GS1 will help us meet these challenges and we are already taking steps to prepare for the transition.”
GS1 UK CEO Anna Godfrey added: “In today’s hyper-connected world, barcodes need to start working harder. We look forward to building on the five decades of cross-industry collaboration to make this vision for the future a reality.
“There is still much to be done but, with the backing of our members, partners and our global community, QR codes powered by GS1 can deliver new, more powerful ways of working that promise to be just as transformational – if not more so – than that first barcode scan 50 years ago.”
The latest innovation comes amid GS1 completing a pilot programme with over 50 brands in 48 countries, including PepsiCo, Walmart, P&G, Loreal and Amazon. It added that it expects to complete its comprehensive rollout by 2027.
