With today marking World Barcode Day (26 June), GS1 Australia is encouraging all businesses and consumers to recognise and celebrate the barcode’s impact and the advancements shaping its future.
The first commercial barcode scan took place 51 years ago on June 26, 1974, when a packet of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum was scanned at a supermarket in Ohio, US.
Here in Australia, there are more than 300 million barcode ‘beeps’ every day, powering “seamless transactions, efficient inventory management, and trusted product identification”. And globally, there are more barcodes scanned each day (10 billion) compared to Google searches (8.5 billion).
World Barcode Day coincides with the release of a new, comprehensive and independent report by the Centre for International Economics (CIE) analysing the national economic impact of supply chain standards’ use in Australia.
It finds that improved barcode standards could help reverse Australia’s productivity slump, unlocking up to $50 billion in annual GDP uplift within a decade and saving households thousands through smarter supply chain data.
In Australia, barcodes are said to be cutting consumer costs by up to 0.6% and offering an important buffer against inflation. With broader adoption, this impact could grow to as much as 0.9% over the next decade. Already, GS1 standards are contributing to a 0.58% drop in inflation.
Looking ahead, GS1 Australia says it continues to lead the way with the development and implementation of Next Generation barcodes, in line with the global roll-out target of 2027.
Next Gen barcodes are ‘smarter’, holding much more information than the original version.
“Barcodes make it easier to identify and track products, share data, and connect different industries and today, with the latest digital technology, barcodes help create smarter, more connected opportunities for everyone,” says GS1 Australia CEO Maria Palazzolo.
“GS1 Australia’s new report released with the CIE today has found leveraging the use of barcode standards presents a $50 billion opportunity to the Australian economy, with international supply chain data standards driving a significant share of Australia’s economic output and contributing up to $27.3 billion annually to GDP.
“As we celebrate World Barcode Day today, we acknowledge half a century of progress highlighting how barcodes are significantly helping us measure supply and demand, in a time of global flux, allowing us to manage our most critical resources.”
