When use of the original U.P.C. (GTIN-12) was expanded beyond the US, the European Article Number commonly known as EAN (GTIN-13) was introduced. Originally, the EAN was only used outside the US and Canada but today, the GTIN-13 may be used anywhere. (In the US and Canada, the GTIN-12 is still much more common). The less commonly used 8-digit EAN-8 barcode was introduced for use on small packages, where a barcode that included an EAN-13 would be too large.
The identifier used for physical products is also used to sell products online forming an important bridge between online listings and physical products. EANs help optimize your product’s ability to surface in the searches that come up when your customers are shopping online. You should care about having your products identified correctly because online marketplaces do. Amazon, eBay, Google, Jet, Walmart and many others have similar EAN requirements. To sell successfully online and in bricks and mortar, it’s important to use authentic numbers and to get them set up properly from the start.
The Algopix platform allows sellers to seamlessly and instantly convert different product identifiers (for example EAN to ASIN). By doing this, online sellers can more quickly identify products and coordinate with manufacturers. When you need an EAN code lookup, you can get near instant results for converting an EAN to UPC or an EAN to ASIN, in addition to other vital data crucial to selling successfully online. Selling online is impossible without product identifiers as they assist sellers in identifying products and maintaining high levels of standardization and authentication.