2-D Bar Code Reportedly Coming to the U.S.

After being used for years in Europe and Asia, the 2-D barcode is coming to American electronic stores, the Web site Storefrontbacktalk.com reported, citing the owner of one of the companies behind it.

According to the site, the 2-D system enables users to find a product in a store, take a picture of it with their smartphone’s camera, and then have the phone’s Web browser launch a site about the product in the photo. The system also works for retailers because in some cases it can identify the customers themselves, and their buying habits.

The site reported that the French company StoreXperience, which is backed by Microsoft, confirmed that the technology will make its U.S. debut this April, at five Manhattan stores that were not named, although they were described as electronics and cosmetics stores. The company’s president, Herve Pluche, said he had had discussions with Target, Best Buy, and Gap, and other retailers.