The barcode turns 50. Where it’s used may surprise you

The essential and revolutionary tool often goes overlooked but after half a century of utility, the barcode is evolving with the times.

The first ever product to be scanned was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum at a grocery store in Troy, Ohio in 1974. Since then, barcodes have become ubiquitous with shopping.

Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US, a not-for-profit and authorized source for UPC barcodes, estimates around 10 billion items get scanned using barcodes every day. And it’s not just at the grocery store or shopping mall.

“The barcode and the GHS one standards that are used within the barcode are used across 25 different industries,” Carpenter explained. “But some areas that you might not associate a barcode to be used are in areas like the movement of cash between Federal Reserve banks and retail establishments or barcodes used within hospitals to open and close doors.”

Hospitals started using the barcode almost immediately after its invention.

“The barcode is really instrumental in connecting the patient with either the medical device and or the pharmaceutical product that that patient is receiving,” Carpenter said. “And so, that helps to increase patient safety to make sure that the right medication or the right medical device is paired with the right patient.”

GS1 US found 54% of people would be open to getting a barcode tattoo to share personal information like health records, memories of a loved one or their dating profile.

Carpenter believes that QR codes and phone usage will allow the barcode to evolve with the times.

“We’re seeing the first generation of what is going to be multiple generations of new and improved barcodes powered by QR, powered by radio frequency identification tags that are going to be able to allow us to interact with products not just in the four walls of a retail establishment, but through the entire life experience from source to store, to recycle, to renewal of a product that we use in all sorts of different retail industries, whether it’s food, health care or also, the apparel space,” Carpenter said.

Examples of the type of information that could be available through codes in the future include allergens, sustainability measures or current recalls.

Carpenter said, “We’re just getting started, even though we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary.”