What was the first product to have a barcode scanned at a checkout, in 1974?

On June 26, 1974, a seemingly ordinary transaction at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, marked a pivotal moment in retail history. That morning, cashier Sharon Buchanan made the world's first scan of a Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode on a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum. The customer, Clyde Dawson, who was the director of research and development for Marsh Supermarket, intentionally chose the gum to demonstrate that even small items could successfully carry and be read by the new barcode technology. This seemingly small act ushered in a new era of efficiency for grocery stores and countless other industries.

The journey to that first scan began much earlier. The concept of a machine-readable code was patented in 1949 by Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland, who envisioned a bullseye-shaped code. However, it was an IBM team led by George Laurer that developed the rectangular UPC design we recognize today, which was selected as the industry standard in 1973. The successful scan of the Wrigley's gum, which now has a packet preserved at the Smithsonian Museum, proved the viability of this innovative system.

Though initially costly and not widely adopted until the 1980s, the barcode quickly became a universal tool. This simple pattern of black bars and white spaces revolutionized how products are tracked, priced, and managed, streamlining checkout processes, improving inventory control, and significantly reducing human error. From that pack of chewing gum, the barcode has evolved to become an indispensable part of global commerce, impacting everything from supply chain logistics to everyday shopping.