GS1 Digital Link and plain QR codes at checkout

Updated July 2026

A phone decodes both symbols as URLs. Checkout behavior depends on whether the URL carries a GTIN in GS1 Digital Link syntax.

A plain marketing QR code

https://yourbrand.com/products/hot-sauce

A phone opens the page. The address contains no product identifier, so a point-of-sale system cannot derive a GTIN from it.

A GS1 Digital Link

https://id.yourbrand.com/01/00036000291452

The /01/ is the GS1 Application Identifier for a GTIN. A system that implements Digital Link can parse the identifier from the path. The same symbol can identify the item at checkout and open a consumer page on a phone.

Adding batch, expiry, and serial data

Qualifiers go in the path in a fixed order: consumer product variant (22), batch/lot (10), then serial (21).

https://id.yourbrand.com/01/00036000291452/10/LOT2027A/21/SN0001

Other data, like expiry date, goes in the query string: ?17=270630 (YYMMDD). The audit checks qualifier order because a permissive resolver may accept a malformed path that a trading partner's system rejects.

Practical implications

• The GTIN in the path must be 14 digits, zero-padded. A 12-digit UPC becomes 00036000291452.
• Use HTTPS. A code printed with http:// will be flagged and may be blocked by phone browsers.
• Link types let one symbol serve point-of-sale systems, consumers, and trading partners. This can remove the need for several 2D codes competing for pack space.