When you list your products on Google Shopping, you’ll need to include a GS1 GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) if your products are:
For products sold in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, India, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkey, unique product identifier attributes are recommended but not mandatory currently.
Early experiments indicate that offers matched to the catalogue receive up to 40% more user clicks than those that do not.”
If your products don’t already have GTINs Google doesn’t require you to assign them. However, if you’d like to start selling your products on other marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon, or in stores then these channels will require you to give a valid GTIN to list your products.
Making sure you – as the brand owner – assign your product’s unique identifier is best practice for product data management. This ensures you are in control of the accuracy and legitimacy of your product’s data, maintaining your brand integrity.
GTINs are the numbers you see beneath all of the barcodes that are sold in-store throughout the world.
To start assigning barcode numbers to your products, you’ll need a GS1 Company Prefix.
Follow the three easy steps to get started
Join now to start assigning your GS1 numbers and barcodes
Once you’ve got your GS1 Company Prefix, you’ll be able to login to our member portal, which has tools and services to help you to manage all your GS1 barcode numbers and grow your business.
Here's just some of the benefits of getting your barcode numbers from us.
| Turnover | Annual licence fee | Allocation |
| up to £0.50m | £119 | Up to 1,000 numbers |
| £0.5m to £1m | £131 | Up to 1,000 numbers |
| £1m to £10m | £203 | Up to 1,000 numbers |
| £10m to £50m | £318 | Up to 10,000 numbers |
| £50m to £100m | £1,333 | Up to 10,000 numbers |
| £100m to £250m | £1,743 | Up to 10,000 numbers |
| £250m to £500m | £2,255 | Up to 100,000 numbers |
| £500m to £1bn | £2,768 | Up to 100,000 numbers |
| Over £1bn | £3,280 | Up to 100,000 numbers |
All prices exclude VAT
If you’ve researched barcode numbers online you may have come across websites offering you barcodes at a cheap one-off rate. These operators are not part of the GS1 network and are not authorised to sell GS1 numbers. Their uniqueness cannot be guaranteed.
A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a number that uniquely identifies a product. You see them beneath the barcodes on almost every product in the world. Which is why they’re often called ‘barcode numbers’. In the UK and Europe they’re usually 13 digits long, in the US 12. You might see shorter 8 digit numbers, used on smaller products. There are even 14 digit versions, to identify cases of products. The same numbers are used to identify products sold online too. The important thing to know is that they are all licensed from GS1 organisations around the world – to guarantee their uniqueness. When you join GS1 UK you can create all the GTINs you need.
A European Article Number (EAN) is the name given to the standard barcode image you see on most products sold around the world. It represents the number – or GTIN – you see beneath it. Retailers and marketplaces often ask for ‘EANs’ when you list your products with them. What they are really asking for is the GTIN, or barcode number, which you can create when you join GS1 UK.
A Universal Product Code (UPC) is the name given to the standard barcode used on products sold in North America. It represents the number – or GTIN – you see beneath the barcode. These days it’s completely compatible with the EAN barcodes used everywhere else in the world. So if you get asked for a UPC by a retailer or marketplace, they’re really asking for the GTIN, or barcode number, for your product, which you can create when you join GS1 UK.
If you are already a member of GS1 UK then please login to our members area where you can create GTINs and barcodes for your products
Are you confused about GTINs, EANs and UPCs for use on Amazon, eBay or Google Shopping? We’ve teamed up with daytodayebay to help you find the answer to all your questions
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