50th ‘Scanniversary’ Honors UPCs And Next-Generation Barcodes
Fifty years ago, on June 26, 1974, the first universal product code (UPC) was scanned at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, kicking off a retail and supply chain automation revolution.
The 50th “Scanniversary” offers a chance to look back at how commerce has changed in the past half-century and to look forward to how next-generation barcodes, targeted for rollout by 2027 and facilitated by the standards organization GS1, are ushering in a new era for commerce.
The idea of the barcode was literally drawn in the sand in 1949 and has a fascinating history, as shared in Smithsonian Magazine. A confluence of factors contributed to the development of barcodes: a desire to overhaul a labor-intensive grocery store sales process, technology becoming more adaptable and affordable and trade groups collaborating to seek change.
Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1, recently discussed the elements that fueled industry change in a video message celebrating the Scanniversary: “Before the barcode, we had to apply a sticker with a price on every single item. And then a cashier at checkout would have to key in that price for every single shopper. And this was very time consuming,” said Carpenter.
