History & Future

최초의 UPC 스캔: 1974년 6월 26일 — 리글리 껌

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The historic first UPC barcode scan at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio — the pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit that changed retail forever.

  
  

    
  








  
  

    
    
      
      
  1. 
        The First UPC Scan: June 26, 1974
      
    2. 
      
      
  2. 
        Why Troy, Ohio?
      
    3. 
      
      
  3. 
        The Technology
      
    4. 
      
      
  4. 
        The Historic Item
      
    5. 
      
      
  5. 
        The Adoption Challenge
      
    6. 
      
      
  6. 
        The Tipping Point
      
    7. 
      
      
  7. 
        The June 26 Legacy
      
    8. 
      
    

  









  
  

  
  

    
    

      
The First UPC Scan: June 26, 1974


The first commercial barcode scan in history took place at 8:01 AM on June 26, 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. A 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum was pulled from the shopping cart, its barcode passed over an NCR scanner, and the register displayed a price of 67 cents.


Why Troy, Ohio?


Marsh Supermarket volunteered to host the test installation, and its Troy location was selected because of its manageable size and cooperative staff. NCR Corporation, headquartered nearby in Dayton, Ohio, installed an NCR 255 scanning system with a custom scanner designed by Spectra-Physics.


The Technology


The scanning system comprised:


    

  • Scanner: A Spectra-Physics Model A flat-bed scanner with a helium-neon laser, mounted in the checkout counter
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  • Register: An NCR 255 computerized terminal connected to the scanner
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  • Computer: An NCR minicomputer in the back room storing the product database (price lookup table)
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  • Labels: Products had UPC symbols printed on their packaging or applied as stickers
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The scanner read barcodes through a glass window in the countertop. A laser beam reflected off an oscillating mirror to create a scan pattern that could read barcodes in any orientation.


The Historic Item


The choice of Wrigley's gum was not planned. Clyde Dawson, head of research at Marsh Supermarket, simply pulled it from the cart because it was the first item he grabbed. The gum package and its receipt are now preserved at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.


The Adoption Challenge


Despite the successful demonstration, barcode adoption was slow:


    

  • Cost: The scanning system cost $100,000+ per store (about $600,000 in today's dollars)
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  • Chicken-and-egg: Stores would not invest in scanners until products carried barcodes; manufacturers would not print barcodes until stores had scanners
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  • Labor resistance: Checkout workers worried that automation would eliminate their jobs
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  • Data quality: Early databases were incomplete, requiring manual fallback
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The Tipping Point


The breakthrough came when Kmart, the nation's largest retailer, committed to scanning in 1980. By 1984, 33% of US grocery stores had scanning systems. Today, barcodes are scanned an estimated 10 billion times per day worldwide.


The June 26 Legacy


GS1 designated June 26 as "Barcode Day," marking the anniversary of the first scan. The Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio has been commemorated with a plaque. The original NCR 255 register is on display at the Smithsonian.


The simple act of scanning a pack of gum launched a technology revolution that now underpins virtually every retail transaction, supply chain movement, and healthcare identification worldwide.