The barcode is the one thing that does not lie
Why comparing by product name almost always misleads, and what the digits really say
The most important tool in price comparison is not on the site or in an app. It is printed on the packaging, in black and white, and nobody looks at it.
Why a product name is a poor basis for comparison
"3% milk" is not one product. It is a whole family: bag and carton, litre and half-litre, brand and own-label. Two chains selling "3% milk" can be selling two entirely different things — and comparing them produces a result that sounds right and is not.
It gets worse because every chain writes the name its own way: abbreviations, typos, different word order, sometimes a weight buried in the name. Free text is not an identifier.
What a barcode actually guarantees
A barcode identifies one specific product: same manufacturer, same contents, same pack size. When the same barcode appears in twenty chains, those are twenty prices for the exact same bag — and that is the only comparison you can defend.
This is why all our comparisons are built on barcodes rather than names. It is also what makes it possible to line up prices from 29 chains, each of which writes the product differently in its own files.
What the digits say, and what they do not
The leading digits identify the GS1 organisation the barcode was registered with — 729 is Israel. What they do not tell you is where the product was made: an Israeli company can register a 729 barcode for a product manufactured abroad, and the reverse happens too.
The final digit is a calculated check digit, which is why a barcode typed with a mistake simply will not be found — in that case, type it again rather than concluding the product does not exist.
When not to stick to the barcode
When you are after the cheapest price for a purpose rather than for a specific product. If you are buying sugar, the brand rarely matters — and then searching by name or category is the better move, because it also surfaces substitutes.
The rule: barcode for comparing a price, name for finding alternatives. Two different jobs that are frequently confused.