Why barcodes are about to check out forever

Barcodes have defined how we shop for almost 50 years – but now one of the most ubiquitous technologies on the planet are set to become a relic of the past, writes Anthony Cuthbertson. What should we expect in their place?

Barcodes will be phased out completely by the end of the decade (The Independent)

On 26 June, 1974, a packet of Juicy Fruit chewing gum passed through the checkout at a grocery store in Troy, Ohio, becoming the first ever item to have its barcode scanned. Within months, millions of items were beeping through shops and warehouses, and within years it had become one of the most ubiquitous technologies on the planet.

In 2023, more barcodes are scanned each day than there are searches on Google, with the black and white stripes found on everything from soap to satellites. But having dominated modern society for nearly five decades, barcodes are about to disappear forever.

A worldwide initiative called Sunrise 2027, run by the Belgium-based non-profit GS1, is already in the process of ridding the world of barcodes, and replacing them with something far more useful: the Quick-Response code – otherwise known as the QR code.