Tesco is considering ditching barcodes in favour of QR code technology, as part of its latest digital innovation.

The UK’s leading retailer has begun a second trial of the use of QR codes across 12 own-brand fresh produce and meat products, with the codes currently redirecting shoppers to its listing online.

Still in the early stages of development, the technology will soon be scannable at both the checkout, replacing the need for traditional barcodes, and on personal mobile devices to provide customers with additional product information.

Tesco is working with 10 suppliers and is trialling the new packaging across “about 20%” of its store estate in the South of England, supply chain development and change director Isabela De Pedro told Retail Gazette, Grocery Gazette’s sister publication.

De Pedro said the technology could also be used to provide shoppers with details about nutritional information, use-by dates, alternative suggestions and recommendations.

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“It’s certainly our intention to make sure the customers better understand the product,” she said, speaking separately at the Retail Technology Show 2025.

“You’ve got a real limit on the current packaging, and there are so many regulatory things you have to put on there, that gets priority. The QR opens up the door to do all of this stuff…to talk about origin, nutritional, health, alternatives, locally sourced stuff.”

The new trial follows Tesco last June testing on-pack scannable QR codes in a bid to give shoppers more detailed product information instantly, in what was dubbed the “second barcode revolution”.

Developed in partnership with barcode standards body GS1, the tech can be scanned by smartphones and at the point of sale, and aims to overcome the current limits to the amount of information physical barcode labels can carry, and the finite space on packaging.

The latest trial comes amid Tesco’s experimentation with new barcode formats over the last couple of years. Last year, it trialled swapping out traditional stickers on its avocados with laser-etched barcodes in an attempt to reduce waste.