How vast mega-stores emerged with the help of a design originally drawn in the sand, the barcode was designed to make it easier for retailers to automate the recording of sales.
How vast mega-stores emerged with the help of a design originally drawn in the sand in 1948 by Joseph Woodland as he sat on a Florida beach, observing the furrows left behind, an idea came to him which would β eventually β become the barcode. This now ubiquitous stamp, found on virtually every product, was designed to make it easier for retailers to automate the process of recording sales. But, as Tim Harford explains, its impact would prove to be far greater than that. The barcode changed the balance of power between large and small retailers.
(Image: Barcode with red laser line, Credit: Jamie Cross/Shutterstock)
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Sources and related links
Guru Madhavan - Think Like an Engineer (London: OneWorld) 2015
Stephen A. Brown - Revolution at the Checkout Counter (London: Harvard University Press, 1997)
Alistair Milne - The Rise and Success of the Barcode: some lessons for Financial Services (Loughborough University Working Paper, Feb 2013)
Thomas J. Holmes - βBar Codes Lead to Frequent Deliveries and Superstoresβ The RAND Journal of Economics Vol. 32, No. 4 (Winter 2001)
Emek Basker - βThe Causes and Consequences of Wal-Martβs Growthβ Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 21, No. 3 (Summer 2007)
David Warsh - βBig Box Ecologyβ Economic Principals (19 Feb 2006)
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