NCR sold, installed first retail store scanner in a Troy, Ohio, Marsh
Supermarket
“It’s the wave of the future, and I’m very upbeat on the system.” These
were the words almost 35 years ago of Virginia Knauer, special assistant
for consumer affairs to the President of the United States, when asked
about the Universal Product Code (UPC) and the growing interest in
retail bar code scanning.
Today, there is virtually no consumer product that cannot be scanned at
the checkout in a retail store.
NCR
Corporation first demonstrated its scanning system in 1974 to an
overflow crowd that attended the Super Market Institute convention to
view the then-revolutionary technology. Less than two months later, on
June 26, 1974, history was made when a 10-pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum
became the first product ever scanned in a retail store setting — with
an NCR scanner in a checkout lane at a Marsh
Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
NCR and Marsh quickly made headlines in newspapers and trade
publications in the United States, Canada and other countries.
“Throughout its history, Marsh has been a technology leader in the
retail industry,” said Lee Nicholson, vice president of MIS for
Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. “When that package of
Wrigley’s gum moved across the scan window, and a laser beam ‘read’ the
bar code imprinted on the package, it was the beginning of a new era for
retailing.”
Indeed, the new system helped revolutionize the world of retailing. Bar
code scanning at the point of service soon brought faster checkout for
shoppers and gave retailers more information and control over inventory
and other areas of store operations. But the revolution didn’t stop
there.
“That first transaction on an NCR bar code scanner launched a
transformation that is still being felt throughout the world of
retailing,” said Mike Webster, NCR vice president and general manager,
Retail and Hospitality. “It’s a world where NCR has helped make shopping
easier and faster for consumers with a stream of innovative solutions
that we intend to drive well into the future.”
Today, retailers use the detailed transaction data collected by NCR
RealPOS™ bar code scanners in ways only dreamed of 35 years ago.
