EBay, Wal-Mart, Google endorse GS1 online commerce guide

Lawrenceville, N.J. -- EBay, Google and Walmart have endorsed a new GS1 U.S. guide that resolves incorrect and duplicate product information online. Developed for e-tailers, retailers, e-commerce platform providers, content aggregators and content distributors, the GTIN Validation Guide offers best practices for leveraging GS1 standards to enhance the consumer shopping experience while boosting e-tailer efficiency, revenue and loyalty.



It also offers improvements for better data management and product analytics. Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN), the numbering sequence within bar codes and commonly called Universal Product Codes (U.P.C.), are the foundation of the GS1 System of Standards and have identified products at point-of-sale for 40 years. The GTIN Validation Guide supports extending GTINs online to help ensure more accurate and consistent product descriptions that link to images and promotions, including coupons. Large online marketplaces and search engines already require GTINs to better help customers find, evaluate and purchase products online.



“As we continue to create a seamless shopping experience across online, mobile and stores, we rely on accurate and consistent product information,” said Jeremy King, CTO at Wal-Mart Global E-Commerce. “The GS1 US GTIN Validation Guide is an important tool for improving the quality of product data and the relevance of online and mobile search results.”