Retail

Enabling informed choices and an improved customer experience.

Unlock GS1 standards to help you deliver a seamless customer experience

We all know the retail landscape is constantly changing, and whether you’re a retailer, brand or manufacturer, you’re faced with a multitude of challenges.

That is why GS1 standards, built on the globally accepted principles of unique identification and trusted data, provide the perfect platform on which to develop harmonised processes and operations for your business. They allow you to adapt quick to new challenges, have confidence in your data and can help you to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

How we support the retail industry

Apparel

Powering a more connected apparel industry with trusted data, greater traceability and next-generation barcodes.

Drinks & beverages

From production to pour, GS1 standards help the drinks industry identify, track and share trusted product information.

Health & beauty

Creating a more connected health and beauty industry through trusted product data and digital experiences.

Food & grocery

From supermarkets and wholesalers to online grocery platforms, GS1 standards ensure food products are accurately scanned, traceable and recognised globally.

Discover how our standards can support your business

See how GS1 standards and QR codes powered by GS1 can help you unlock richer product information, greater traceability and stronger customer engagement.

Transition to 2D barcodes

Retail is moving to 2D barcodes. QR codes powered by GS1 unlock richer product data, boost supply chain visibility and elevate the consumer experience.

Uniquely identify your products

Whether you’re selling in store or online, you’ll need a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) and barcode to uniquely identify your products and allow it to be sold all over the world.

Improve inventory management

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) allows you to capture product data using radio wave, so you can accurately read multiple product tags at the same time.

Automate supply chain transactions

Instead of generating orders or invoices and sending them manually, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) automates your supply chain transactions.

Shaping the future of retail

The retail industry is navigating a new era of transparency, regulation and digital transformation. GS1 standards sit at the centre of each of these shifts.

Digital Product Passports

From 2027, apparel and other product categories will require machine-readable digital passports for EU market access. GS1 standards provide the identification and data-sharing infrastructure to comply.

The next generation of barcodes

The retail industry is moving to QR codes powered by GS1 — replacing or supplementing barcodes with codes that carry far richer data and connect products to digital content.

Powering circular retail

From deposit return schemes to extended producer responsibility, sustainability regulation is demanding new levels of product-level traceability. GS1 standards make this possible at scale.

Case studies

With more than 60,000 members in the UK,
we have hundreds of stories showing the benefits
of harnessing GS1 standards to improve your business.

Explore now

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