The honest guide
GS1 Sunrise 2027, for books
Retail checkouts worldwide are being made ready to scan QR codes by the end of 2027. Here is what that actually means for publishers and authors — without the scare marketing.
Updated July 2026 · by the Qrisen team at Ingeniant
What is Sunrise 2027, in one paragraph?
Sunrise 2027 is GS1's global initiative for retail point-of-sale systems to be able to scan 2D barcodes (QR codes carrying GS1 Digital Links, and Data Matrix) by the end of 2027 — alongside the familiar 1D barcode. The goal: one code on a product that both rings up at the till and opens live web content for the shopper.
Is it mandatory? Will my barcodes stop working?
No, and no. Sunrise 2027 is a readiness milestone for retailers, not a mandate for publishers — and the traditional EAN-13 barcode is not being retired. Anyone who tells you your backlist becomes unsellable in 2027 is selling fear. What's true is subtler: checkouts are becoming 2D-capable, and early movers get one cover code that does the work of two.
What does it mean for books specifically?
Books are unusually well placed: an ISBN-13 already is a GTIN-13 — the exact identifier GS1 Digital Links carry. So a book's QR code can encode a URL like https://id.qrisen.com/01/9780306406157 that a 2027-ready till can parse for the ISBN and a phone can open as a web page. Most titles need no extra GS1 registration. Notably, the book industry's own barcoding guidance hasn't caught up yet — which is exactly why being early matters.
What is a GS1 Digital Link, precisely?
A URL grammar standardised by GS1 that embeds product identifiers in a web address: https://{resolver}/01/{GTIN}. The /01/ segment means "GTIN follows". A 2D-capable scanner extracts the GTIN for the till; everything else treats it as a normal link. One code, two audiences.
So what should a publisher actually do, and when?
Three practical steps, none of which require waiting: (1) put a dynamic, GS1-shaped QR on new covers and reprints so the printed code never goes stale; (2) make sure the code resolves to a page you control — retailer links, sample content, series information — not a third-party page you can't edit; (3) keep your metadata complete (complete records sell measurably more), because the page a scan opens is only as good as the record behind it. Frontlist first; backlist as it reprints.
Do I need to replace the EAN-13 barcode on my covers?
Not for years, if ever. The pragmatic 2026–27 pattern is both: keep the EAN-13 where retailers expect it, add the QR where readers will scan it. As 2D-capable POS spreads, the QR increasingly does double duty.
Make a title 2D-ready in ten minutes
Qrisen mints the GS1 Digital Link from your ISBN, hosts the page it opens forever, and gives you a print-grade QR with a pre-flight scannability report. First book free.