GTIN UPC field not working with barcode scanning in Woo mobile app

Hi @ellovee

We’ve recently added a brick-and-mortar location to our online store with more than 2,600 SKUs. I see that there’s a GTIN/UPC field for products and variations, but when we input the GTIN there, the barcode scanner in the Woo mobile app doesn’t match it with any products.

The Mobile App barcode scanner currently only works with codes added to the SKU field in the inventory tab. The new GTIN, UPC, EAN or ISBN field in WooCommerce core is not yet integrated with the Mobile App. More info: https://woocommerce.com/document/barcode-and-qr-code-scanner/

The GTIN/UPC also doesn’t appear as a column when we export our products to CSV, so there’s no efficient way to add these with a spreadsheet import.

Our developer is aware of this issue and has already created a fix that’s on its way to be included in the coming update.

• https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/issues/51600
• https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/pull/51703

I hope this clarifies your concern. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hi Shameem,

Thank you so much for clarifying. I’m glad to see that the export/import bug is being fixed in the next release. Is there also timeline for when barcode scanning in the app will work with…barcodes?

Having barcode scanning map to a SKU is super confusing since SKUs are internal codes rather than universal ones and typically don’t have a bar/QR visual scan form. How does this even work? Would I need to change every product’s SKU to match its barcode in order for this to function? This is not how SKUs and barcodes are meant to work in retail so none of this makes any sense to me. :/

Hi @ellovee

The GTIN/UPC field has not yet been integrated with the mobile app. This means that, for now, the barcode scanner will only recognize the SKU as the product identifier. I understand this can be confusing as SKUs are typically internal codes and do not usually have a bar/QR visual scan form.

How does this even work? Would I need to change every product’s SKU to match its barcode in order for this to function?

Yes, that would be the workaround currently. However, we understand this is not an ideal solution, especially for larger stores.

Is there also timeline for when barcode scanning in the app will work with…barcodes?

We’re constantly working to improve our products based on user feedback. It would be great if you added your ideas as a feature request (For iOS click here and for Android Click here), which is where developers go to look for future plugin features and improvements. And I’m afraid I can’t provide a specific timeline for this feature at the moment.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our products and services. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to ask.

Hi Shameem,

Yes, you’re right—SKUs and GTINs are totally different and can’t/shouldn’t be used equivalently. I’ve submitted this as a bug in GitHub rather than a feature request since products contain both fields and and the mapping is actually incorrect; it’s not one of multiple options. This is an issue that needs to be fixed rather than a new feature to add to a long wishlist.

I’ll use the (very ill-advised) temporary workaround of replacing our SKUs with barcode numbers in the meantime since I need this to work during the holiday shopping season but I hope this can be fixed sooner rather than later.

Hey @ellovee ,

Thanks for the update!

Since you’ve mentioned creating a bug report for this, our developers will take a look and provide any communication on the GitHub thread.

Cheers,