GREENSBORO, N.C. — The checkout has changed over the years. First, cashiers manually punched in the price of an item, then the scanners made check-out much quicker, and today, there's self-check-out. What's next? The barcode.
The barcode you see on every product will soon be gone and the QR code will take its place.
You know, you scan a barcode, and you get the name of that product and the price. A QR code can hold a swath of, you know, vast information from dietary information on how that product was made, whether it was made sustainably. It can take shoppers to all these cool new digital experiences," said Isabelle Bousquette, Wall Street Journal.
Barcodes became a thing in 1974. The 12-digit code helped track inventory and provided info on the product.
QR codes were invented 20 years later in 1994. You can scan the code and be linked to coupons, recalls, and nutrition info. Companies believe they can use it to boost customer engagement. You may have already seen barcodes being used on items from Coca-Cola, Loreal, or Proctor and Gamble.
When will you see the barcode phase out? It could be as soon as 2027.
"Any time you're trying to make a transition at this scale that's involving every product and every retailer, not just in the US, but globally, you know, there are gonna be a lot of challenges," said Bousquette.
There's still a lot that needs to be figured out. Retailers need to have new scanners and new computer software to read the new codes.
And my hope, there's some kind of plan for how to outsmart the scammers because with new technology comes new vulnerability.