In the recently conducted Consumer Electronic Show, Microsoft launched Microsoft Tag, real innovative concept to connect mobile barcodes (or tags) on physical objects to online content (opening mobile content, videos, music, contact information, promotions etc). The tag appears as shown below (this one will tag you to my blog, Retail Technology Blog).

From Microsoft Tag website:

Microsoft Tag creates unlimited possibilities for making interactive communications an instant, entertaining part of life. They tranform physical media (print advertising, billboards,product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)—into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.

With the Microsoft Tag application, just aim your camera phone at a Tag and instantly access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!

The sophisticated technology powering Microsoft Tag, High Capacity Color Barcodes (HCCBs), was invented by Microsoft Research. It was designed from the ground up for maximum performance with the limited cameras on most mobile phones. Advanced image-processing techniques decode even out-of-focus barcode images, which means Microsoft Tag works with the fixed-focus camera lenses common in most mobile devices.

The advanced computer imaging of HCCBs employs different symbol shapes in geometric patterns and multiple colors to provide more information in less space.

The possibilities are endless for retailers, consider the following scenarios:

-- You go to a store and check out a box of cereals, you see Microsoft tag on the box, you use your Mobile phone Microsoft Tag Reader and you could be shown promotion around the box, you can compare prices with other brand of cereals etc.

-- You go to a store and check out Morningstar Farms Maple Flavored Sausage Patties box and using Microsoft Tag Reader app on your iPhone you are taken to the MSN Chef to the rescue website and are shown Recipes around the product. You are also shown the nutrition information about the product. This will ensure that you buy other ingredients along with the product for the recipe you just decided.

-- You buy a Laptop from Electronics and see a Microsoft Tag on the backside of Laptop. You click it using Microsoft Tag Reader app on your mobile and voila, you just registered your Laptop. You may also be shown the accessories you can buy for your laptop.

These are just few uses I could think on top of my head, there could be 100’s of such scenarios both offline and online. I definitely see Microsoft Tags being targeted by Retailers soon. You can try the app out, here, http://www.microsoft.com/tag/content/download/.

StorefrontBackTalk is reporting that very soon a company called StoreXperience will be the first to bring 2-D barcodes to the U.S.

Herve Pluche, president of a company called StoreXperience, said his company will be the first to bring 2-D to the U.S. and that it will debut this April at five locations in Manhattan. Asked if that rollout was definite, Pluche said that no agreement had been signed but "we do have a handshake."
He wouldn't say who the retailer was who had agreed to the five locations, but did say that it was a chain focused in either consumer electronics or cosmetics. Pluche said that he had met with 10 retailers and that all were very interested, although he wouldn't identify them.

The same article describes the usage of 2D barcodes which says:

At its most basic, a 2-D barcode uses two elements of a typical smartphone—the digital camera and a Web browser—to create a rich 2-way data exchange. The consumer might see a poster for a particular product—or a model wearing interesting clothes—and want more information. That shopper would aim her smartphone at the 2-D barcode. A small applet on the phone would interpret the barcode, launch a browser and go to a very deep link within that site.
The consumer gets instant details about what the model is wearing or what the product's specs are, along with a link to purchase the items immediately. Beyond the potential sale, the retailer or manufacturer would learn an awful lot about that consumer transaction. The very lengthy URL hidden in that 2-D barcode identifies the exact location of that consumer. Depending on the software being used, there is an excellent chance the consumer can be identified and associated with his/her purchase history. All of this from a tiny picture hidden unobtrusively in a corner of the poster.

I googled on 2D barcodes and found out that the technology has been in wide use in the East for quite some time. The 2D barcode called QR code looks something like as shown above. This code will appear on the poster or any other advertisement and contains addresses and URLs in them.