Barcodes are set to be replaced by new technology according to a report, with Morrisons and Amazon among the first to move to the new system
The next generation of Smart QR codes promises to provide consumers instant access to extensive online information about products and will also ‘go beep at the till’.
A survey shows 41% of top UK retail chiefs are confident smart QR codes will supplant linear barcodes within five years.
Utilising QR codes, customers will be able to instantly obtain highly pertinent details. This might encompass the origin of the product, its carbon footprint or alerting them to any potential contamination with food allergens.
For instance, having access to detailed and reliable data from the entire supply chain would enable environmentally conscious consumers to discover where a product’s components are manufactured or sourced, as well as the amount of emissions produced during their manufacture and transport.
In the same vein, ethical consumers can educate themselves about the labour standards behind every product.
Over a third of executives believe that customer access to product information will be one of the most significant changes in retail by 2030.
Almost half of the companies surveyed in the report stated they have already started developing QR capabilities, with 52 per cent planning to do so within the next two years.
Retail strategist Kate Hardcastle said: “Consumers’ increasing demand for more information and a better experience will create a survival-of-the-fittest dynamic in retail, even among the sector’s biggest brands.
“Those which provide greater transparency by giving consumers honest and easily accessed information will have an undeniable competitive advantage.”
Anne Godfrey, CEO of GS1 UK, in partnership with FT Longitude on the report, highlighted the impact of barcoding technology: “The invention of the barcode is one of the great, untold stories in the history of our modern world it is more frequently used than Google.
“The next generation of barcodes, QR codes powered by GS1, will underpin the next retail revolution to give greater power to the consumer.
“They will connect physical products to the digital world to give businesses the power to provide the detailed product information consumers are increasingly demanding.”