It is a fair question. A QR code can hold everything an EAN barcode holds and much more, and a growing number of checkouts can read one. So why print both? The short answer is that the industry is in a transition, and GS1's rules for that transition deliberately keep the old barcode in place until almost every till can read the new one.
The longer answer depends on what you mean by "GS1 QR code" — because the phrase covers three different things.
First: which "GS1 QR code"?
People use "GS1 QR code" loosely. For retail checkout, the differences decide everything:
| What people call it | What is inside | Retail checkout? |
|---|---|---|
| QR Code with a GS1 Digital Link URI | A web address built from the GTIN to the GS1 Digital Link standard, e.g. https://brand.example/01/09506000134352 | Yes — one of the three approved 2D options |
| GS1 QR Code (element-string syntax) | GS1 data as an element string (often written with the AIs in brackets, e.g. (01)09506000134352), not a web address | No — explicitly out of scope for Ambition 2027 |
| A plain marketing QR code | Any web address, such as brand.example/offer | No — it contains no GTIN for the checkout to read |
So the precise answer is: a QR code carrying a GS1 Digital Link is a checkout option. The other two are not. In this article, "QR code" means the Digital Link kind unless we say otherwise. If the Digital Link format is new to you, read what GS1 Digital Link is first.
The table below compares these carriers with the linear barcode and GS1 DataMatrix.
Data carriers compared
| Carrier | What it holds | Who reads it | Typical use | Opens on a phone? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear barcode (EAN-13 / UPC-A) | GTIN only | Laser and imaging scanners at checkout | Retail checkout today; nearly universal | Not useful to consumers |
| Plain QR code | Any text, usually a web address | Phones; not interpreted as a product by POS | Marketing links, campaigns | Yes — opens a web page |
| QR code with GS1 Digital Link | A web address that contains the GTIN and optional batch, serial, expiry | Phones, and 2D-capable POS scanners that extract the GTIN | Consumer-facing packs that also need to scan at checkout | Yes — resolves to brand content |
| GS1 DataMatrix | GS1 element string: GTIN plus batch, serial, expiry and more | 2D imaging scanners; most phone camera apps will not open it | Healthcare, regulated and small packs, industrial marking | Usually not, without a dedicated app |
The plain QR code and the QR code with a GS1 Digital Link look identical on a pack. The difference is entirely in the content: one is just a link, the other is a structured product identity that a 2D-capable POS (point-of-sale) scanner can extract a GTIN from.
Today: in addition, not instead
Under the GS1 General Specifications, a 2D barcode on a general retail item is used in addition to the EAN/UPC or GS1 DataBar barcode. Put simply, GS1 rules require the linear barcode to stay alongside the 2D code during the transition. In practice that means:
- Both barcodes on the pack, with the 2D code within 50 mm of the centre of the linear barcode.
- The same GTIN in both, and any shared data, such as a batch, matching.
- One beep per item at the till: the checkout should register the product once even though it sees two codes.
The reason is practical. A pack may be sold through dozens of retailers in several countries. Some checkouts still use laser scanners, which physically cannot read 2D codes. If a pack carried only a QR code, it would fail at every one of those tills.
When could the QR code stand alone?
GS1 ties the end of dual marking to a threshold, not a date: the linear barcode can go once 90% of POS scanning solutions can use GS1 2D barcodes and at least capture the GTIN. Nobody can tell you today which year that will be, and it will not happen everywhere at once.
There is one earlier route, and it belongs to retailers. A retailer may move its own-label and in-store-labelled goods — store-brand products, or items weighed and labelled in store — to a single 2D barcode before the threshold, if all of its own in-store systems can handle it. That works because the retailer controls every till that will ever scan those items. A brand selling through many retailers does not have that control.
For the wider picture of why both formats will be around for years, read why 1D and 2D barcodes will coexist. For the goal itself, see what Sunrise 2027 really means.
What a QR code needs to work at the checkout
If you add a QR code with a GS1 Digital Link to a retail pack, it has to meet the same expectations as any retail barcode:
- A valid GS1 Digital Link with
/01/and the 14-digit GTIN, qualifiers in the right order, and the address uncompressed. - The right size. GS1 specifies a 2D module size (X-dimension) of 0.396–0.990 mm for retail, with 0.495 mm as the target.
- Clear space. A quiet zone of four modules on all four sides of a QR code.
- Print quality. A minimum grade of 1.5 (C) when graded under ISO/IEC 15415. A phone opening the link is not the same as passing verification.
- Placement near the linear barcode, as above.
Why add the QR code now, then?
If the EAN has to stay, a fair follow-up is why bother. Three reasons hold up:
- It replaces a code you may already print. Many packs already carry a marketing QR code. Rebuilding it as a GS1 Digital Link costs little extra space and gives it a checkout role too. We explain this in why the same GS1 2D code can work for checkout and consumers.
- It can carry batch and expiry. Retailers that read 2D can use them for date checks and recalls — something the EAN cannot do.
- It prepares the pack for the day the threshold is met, without a rush redesign.
Indian manufacturers asking the same question in their own market should also read do Indian manufacturers need to replace their existing barcodes?
Create a GS1 Digital Link QR code from your GTIN