Commerce ยท 1940s-1970s
Barcode
The black stripes that taught stores to read.
Why it matters
The barcode converted product identity into a machine-readable pattern, reshaping checkout, inventory, logistics, and retail data.
How it works
A scanner reads reflected light from alternating dark and light bars. The pattern maps to digits, which map to a product record in a database.
Design notes
- Early concepts were inspired by Morse-code-like patterns.
- The grocery industry pushed adoption because checkout speed and inventory control had obvious value.
- The code itself is only useful because the surrounding database exists.
Timeline
- 1949: early barcode patent
- 1974: first UPC retail scan
- Today: global retail and logistics infrastructure