Tesco becomes the first UK supermarket to transition an entire product range to QR codes powered by GS1
While the change will be largely invisible to shoppers at the checkout, it represents a significant step in how product data is managed behind the scenes. By moving beyond pilots and adopting the next generation of barcodes across a live range, Tesco has shown how QR codes powered by GS1 can be embedded into day‑to‑day retail operations.
The move follows two years of industry pilots involving GS1 UK and a range of retail and brand partners. Those pilots focused on testing how QR codes powered by GS1 could work safely and reliably in real retail environments. Tesco’s decision now applies that learning in practice, marking a shift from exploration to implementation. (…)
By capturing batch and date information more effectively, retailers can gain greater visibility of products within their stores. This supports more accurate inventory management, improved stock rotation and reduced food waste.
In the event of a product recall, QR codes powered by GS1 also enable far greater precision. Instead of withdrawing entire product lines, retailers can identify and manage specific affected batches, limiting disruption while improving availability and safety.
Clearer, more accessible product information for shoppers sits on top of these foundations. As more retailers and brands adopt QR codes powered by GS1, this opens up valuable opportunities for shoppers to access richer, more up‑to‑date information about the products they buy, using their smartphones, without changing how they shop or pay in store.
Over time, this also has the potential to support new digital tools and services that help shoppers make more informed choices and manage the products they buy more effectively at home. (…)
Full article on GS1 UK here: https://www.gs1uk.org/insights/news/Tesco-becomes-the-first-UK-supermarket-to-transition-an-entire-product-range-to-QR-codes-powered-by-GS1
In the Tesco trial, some products have already had their traditional barcodes replaced entirely by QR codes, offering an early glimpse of how the technology could eventually replace the old system.
Transforming the way we shop. GS1, the non-profit organisation that oversees the world’s barcodes, is encouraging all UK retailers to adopt the new system by 2027, while experts believe the technology could transform the way we shop. (…) In the future, they [the QR codes] could even be used to track all the items in a fridge, notifying families when supplies are running low, suggesting recipes and flagging when products are close to expiring. (…) The difference between the latest 2D barcodes and earlier versions is that the new ones hold more information and use a standardised “language”, meaning manufacturers, retailers and shoppers can all access the same data.
Full article on The Telegraph: End of the line for supermarket barcodes
This is what they tell you:
QR codes are a form of 2D barcode, that can perform the function of linear barcodes but can embed more data.
QR codes can now be scanned at the till just as you do with a traditional linear barcode to pay for your items. They can also be scanned on your phone to give you product content such as nutritional information or recipes to help you plan, cook, and shop meals.
QR codes give the ability to embed more data in the barcode to help us reduce food waste and share helpful and inspirational content. (FAQ Tesco, online)
But what’s behind the move towards QR codes?
Who’s got time to study recipes and an abundance of other product information and who wants to be patronised about food waste while shopping?
Here comes the truth: shopping food with the QR code on people’s smartphone will make every purchase traceable. It is a step towards a dystopian future where everything you buy is controlled and watched. This can amount to situations where you will be restricted from buying certain products, you may be punished or rewarded with digital scores, or where you can only purchase food when being in possession of a device which scans QR codes or uses similar techniques.
With the implementation of face-recognition cameras in some supermarket chains, already now, your purchases are being tracked. When paying with card or phone, the recorded image of your face can be connected to all the your bank details provided via card or smartphone – all the more when shopping with QR codes.
This is how you can resist this kind of development which will soon be adapted by other major supermarkets
- ditch the smartphone
- use cash – keep it alive and avoid your finances being tracked
- avoid products with QR codes
- boycott Tesco et al. altogether
- buy food at local farm shops or markets, or have your veg, fruit, dairy products and meat delivered to your home
- support local farmers who are being killed off by pointless restrictions
- join our campagin Stop Digital ID
Comment by JM
SignalTrace is an American aerospace and surveillance company that’s been given the patent to carry out surveillance on everyone since 2024. It works by allowing enforcement and government agencies to track your every move by collecting data from your personal devices such as your smartphone, smartwatch, Fitbit and even your pets, if they are microchipped.
Not only you and your vehicle will be tracked, but any passenger you have with you. By creating a unique fingerprint linked to your vehicle registration at the time, your every move and any passenger in it carrying any device giving a signal will be tracked. This can even link up with your tyre pressure gauge. We ourselves won’t need to be microchipped. We will be tracked by any device we carry or wear. Even when out jogging, if you carry a phone or Fitbit, they will know exactly where you are and when.
This is the truth of what technology is really for. Not your safety but control; but some people will never understand this.
Anyone thinking this is for your safety, think again. When your phone, Fitbit or your pets are tracked, it’s the end of your freedom.
See also: SignalTrace just weaponized your AirPods against license plate readers nationwide
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