Which retailer made the first recorded UPC barcode scan on a pack of Wrigley’s gum in 1974?

Marsh Supermarkets made the first recorded UPC barcode scan on a pack of Wrigley’s gum in 1974.

The scan took place at a Marsh store in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. A pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum became the first retail product recorded in a checkout transaction using the Universal Product Code system.

The UPC had been developed by the grocery industry to automate product identification and pricing at checkout. IBM engineer George Laurer designed the familiar linear barcode based on an earlier concept by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. The first scan did not instantly replace manual processes, but it demonstrated the foundation of modern point-of-sale inventory systems.