What GS1 Digital Link changes for packaging in 2027
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
GS1, the standards body behind the barcode on almost every retail product, has set 2027 as the target for major retailers to be able to scan 2D codes — QR codes among them — at the point of sale, alongside or instead of the familiar 1D barcode.
The format behind this is GS1 Digital Link: a QR code that encodes a URL built from GS1 identifiers (GTIN, batch/lot, serial number, expiry) instead of an opaque number. Scanned by a checkout scanner, it behaves like a traditional barcode. Scanned by a shopper's phone, the same code opens a web page — ingredients, a recall notice, a loyalty offer — because it's a real, resolvable link.
For anyone printing packaging today, the practical shift is printing one code that serves both audiences rather than a barcode for checkout and a separate QR code for the consumer-facing page. Getting the GTIN check digit and the URL structure right up front matters more than it did for a plain barcode, because the same code now has to satisfy both a POS scanner and a browser.