Tesco is trialling major change to checkouts in all UK stores that will see shopping feature AXED from all products

TESCO is trialling a major change to all of its checkouts across the UK that could see a staple shopping feature axed from every product.

Britain's largest supermarket chain has said it's considering replacing its product barcodes with a different technology to help improve customer experience.

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The trial has seen QR codes placed, instead of barcodes, on 12 own-brand fresh produce and meat products.

Tesco is considering rolling out the technology - which allows customers to scan the product and receive additional information on their mobile phone - for hundreds of its products.

Isabela De Pedro, supply chain development and change director for Tesco, told Retail Gazette the supermarket giant was working with 10 suppliers to trial the new packaging.

She explained that approximately 20 per cent of stores in the South of England would be included in the trial.

De Pedro added that the technology could be used to provide customers with details about a product's nutritional information as well as its use-by dates.

Buyers may also be offered the chance to see alternative suggestions as well as recommendations after scanning the product with their phone.

Speaking separately at Retail Technology Show 2025, De Pedro said: "It’s certainly our intention to make sure the customers better understand the product.

"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, nutritionals, health, alternatives, locally sourced stuff."

This isn't the first time the retailing giant has experimented with barcode alternatives, as it last year trialled swapping traditional stickers on avocados for laser-etched barcodes in an attempt to reduce waste.

It is unclear whether the QR code technology would eventually be rolled out to all of the supermarket's products.

Tesco confirmed the trial was being undertaken with GS1, the international non-profit organisation which oversees the world's barcodes.

It comes after an expert warned retailers will have to "upgrade or get left behind" in regards to the phasing out of barcodes in the UK.

The more than 50-year-old method of scanning is set to be replaced by QR codes in the near future.

Anne Godfrey, chief executive of GS1 UK, said almost half of British retailers have already updated their tills to accommodate the new codes.

She described how the Covid pandemic accelerated the adoption of QR codes across retailers, which could hold more information for shoppers.

The chief executive added that during this time, the public became used to using these newer codes in pubs and restaurants to access menus and other pieces of information.

She said: "Very soon we will say goodbye to the old-fashioned barcode and every product will just have one QR code that holds all the information you need."

Traditional barcodes are limited to holding just seven pieces of basic information - a product's name, manufacturer, type, size, weight, colour, and its price.

However, new QR codes contain far more information about products including their ingredients and allergens, for example.

Consumers may even be able to access recipe suggestions from scanning a QR code on an item.

Anne said consumers today want "much more" information about products they purchase, rather than just the simplicity of the barcode.

She added that these new codes will give more power to consumers, and that retailers will "have to upgrade or get left behind."

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