GS1 Sunrise 2027: What the Move to 2D Barcodes Means for Your Products

In short: GS1 Sunrise 2027 is the global retail industry's push to make 2D barcodes — QR codes powered by GS1 Digital Link, or GS1 DataMatrix — scannable at the checkout by the end of 2027, alongside the traditional striped barcode. The rectangle that has identified products since the 1970s carries just a number; a 2D code can carry that same number plus a batch, an expiry date and a web address. It is an industry migration, not a law — but it is the moment the QR code stops being a marketing add-on and becomes the product's primary identifier.

What is GS1 Sunrise 2027?

GS1 is the organisation behind the barcode — it maintains the GTIN, the global product number encoded in the striped UPC/EAN barcode on almost everything you buy. GS1 Sunrise 2027 is a coordinated effort by retailers, brands and technology providers so that, by the end of 2027, retail point-of-sale systems around the world can read 2D barcodes at the till — not only the linear barcode they read today.

A "2D barcode" here means either a QR code that uses GS1 Digital Link, so the same square works both at checkout and when a shopper scans it with a phone, or a GS1 DataMatrix, the compact square already common on healthcare and fresh food. The point is the same: replace a symbol that only holds a number with one that holds a number, structured data and a web link.

Why retail is moving off the 1D barcode

The linear barcode has done one job well for fifty years: it says what the product is (the GTIN) and nothing else. Everything else a modern supply chain wants to know — which batch, which expiry date, which serial number, where to read more — has to live in a separate system or a second symbol. A 2D code collapses that into one mark:

• The GTIN, exactly as today, so the till still knows the product and price.
• Batch or lot, so a recall can target the affected run instead of the whole line.
• Expiry date, so a store can stop a sale of expired stock and mark down soon-to-expire items automatically.
• Serial number, for authentication and warranty.
• A web link (GS1 Digital Link), so the same scan a cashier makes is the same scan a shopper can make for ingredients, manuals, provenance or a Digital Product Passport.

Less waste, faster recalls, and a single code that serves the store, the supply chain and the consumer — that is the case for the change.

What a 2D barcode actually carries

The magic is in GS1 Digital Link: it expresses the product's identifier as an ordinary web URL, so a normal QR code becomes a resolvable product identity. One square, read three ways: a checkout scanner reads the GTIN and rings up the sale; a warehouse or recall system reads the batch and expiry; a shopper's phone opens the web link to whatever the brand wants to show. Instead of a product wearing a barcode for retail and a separate QR code for marketing, it wears one code that does both.

What changes at the checkout — and what doesn't

The transition is additive, not a switch-off. During the migration most products carry both symbols: the familiar striped barcode and the new 2D code. Retailers upgrade their scanners and point-of-sale software to accept 2D; until every lane can, the linear barcode keeps the checkout working. Nobody's shopping breaks on a date.

For a brand, that means you can add a 2D code now with no risk: it sits beside the existing barcode, works for consumers today, and is ready for the till the moment a retailer's lanes are.

Is GS1 Sunrise 2027 mandatory? And what's the real timeline?

This is the most misunderstood part, so be precise:

• It is an industry initiative, not legislation. There is no legal penalty for a brand that is not "2D-ready" in 2027 — unlike the EU's Digital Product Passport, which is law.
• "End of 2027" is the target for point-of-sale readiness — the date by which the retail industry aims to have checkouts able to read 2D — not a hard deadline imposed on manufacturers.
• Adoption varies by market and by retailer. Large retailers set their own timelines and may ask suppliers to provide 2D codes ahead of the global target.

So the honest planning stance: treat 2027 as the year the retail environment is ready for you, and let your largest retail customers' requirements — which often arrive earlier — set your actual deadline.

What it means for your products: a practical checklist

1. Confirm your GTINs are in order with GS1 — the 2D code is built on the product number you already own.
2. Decide on the symbol: a GS1 Digital Link QR code (best when you also want consumer engagement) or a GS1 DataMatrix (compact, common in fresh and pharma).
3. Encode the data the use case needs — GTIN alone to start, adding batch and expiry where recalls or freshness matter.
4. Keep both codes on pack through the transition; do not remove the linear barcode yet.
5. Point the web link at an address you control and can update — the destination behind a printed code will change many times over the product's life.
6. Test scannability on the real pack — small labels, curved surfaces and glossy film all behave differently from a screen preview.
7. Ask your key retailers for their 2D timeline — their date, not the global one, is the one that binds you.

GS1 Sunrise 2027 and the Digital Product Passport: two waves, one code

These are separate programmes that happen to want the same thing. GS1 Sunrise 2027 is a retail migration to 2D at the checkout — voluntary, industry-led. The EU Digital Product Passport is regulation requiring a data carrier that links to a product's compliance and sustainability record — mandatory, sector by sector.

Both point to a GS1 Digital Link QR code on the pack. Build one code well and it serves the till (Sunrise), the regulator and recycler (DPP), and the shopper (marketing) at once — which is why doing it once, properly, beats bolting on a second symbol later. Enqre supports GS1 Digital Link on the Business plan for this case, and the regulatory side is covered in our Digital Product Passport guide.

Common misconceptions

• "It's a law I'll be fined for." No — Sunrise is an industry target. The Digital Product Passport is the law; don't confuse the two.
• "The old barcode disappears in 2027." No — the two coexist for years; the linear code is not switched off on a date.
• "Any QR code will do." For checkout it must be a GS1-standard 2D code (Digital Link or DataMatrix) carrying the GTIN — a plain marketing QR that only opens a website is not scannable at the till.
• "I have to change my product number." No — a 2D code uses your existing GTIN.

Frequently asked questions

What is GS1 Sunrise 2027 in one sentence?

It is the retail industry's goal to have point-of-sale checkouts able to scan 2D barcodes (GS1 Digital Link QR codes or GS1 DataMatrix) by the end of 2027, alongside the traditional linear barcode.

Is it mandatory?

No. It is a voluntary, industry-led migration, not legislation. Individual retailers may, however, require their suppliers to provide 2D codes on their own timelines.

Will the normal striped barcode stop working?

No. The linear barcode and the 2D code coexist throughout the transition; checkouts keep reading the linear code until they are upgraded to read 2D.

What is the difference between a GS1 Digital Link QR code and a normal QR code?

A normal QR code just opens a URL. A GS1 Digital Link QR code encodes your product's GTIN inside that URL, so the same square is both a scannable retail identifier and a consumer link.

Can one QR code be scanned at the checkout and by a shopper?

Yes — that is the whole idea. A GS1 Digital Link code gives the till the GTIN and gives a phone a web page from the same symbol.

Do I need to change my product's GTIN?

No. The 2D code is built on the GTIN you already have from GS1.

QR code or GS1 DataMatrix — which should I use?

Use a GS1 Digital Link QR code when you also want consumer engagement from the same code; a GS1 DataMatrix is a compact choice common in fresh food and pharmaceuticals where space is tight and consumer scanning is secondary.

Should the 2D code be static or dynamic?

The retail data it carries (the GTIN, batch, expiry) is fixed per item, but the web page it links to will change over the product's life. Keep that destination on an address you control and can re-point, so a website change never means re-printing packs.

How does this relate to the Digital Product Passport?

They are different programmes — Sunrise is voluntary retail, the DPP is EU law — but both are served by the same GS1 Digital Link QR code, so a single well-designed code can satisfy both.

Bottom line

GS1 Sunrise 2027 is not a deadline to fear; it is the moment the QR code graduates from a marketing extra to the product's main identity. The brands that gain are the ones that add a GS1 Digital Link 2D code early, beside the existing barcode, pointing at a destination they can update — so the one square on the pack is ready for the checkout, the regulator and the shopper at the same time. Create a QR code or see the plans.