Universal Product Code (UPC) - Explained
What is a UPC Code?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 21st, 2024
- Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR
- Accounting, Taxation, and Reporting
- Professionalism & Career Development
-
Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
Government, Legal System, Administrative Law, & Constitutional Law Legal Disputes - Civil & Criminal Law Agency Law HR, Employment, Labor, & Discrimination Business Entities, Corporate Governance & Ownership Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law Real Estate, Personal, & Intellectual Property Commercial Law: Contract, Payments, Security Interests, & Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Insurance & Risk Management Immigration Law Environmental Protection Law Inheritance, Estates, and Trusts
- Business Management & Operations
- Economics, Finance, & Analytics
- Courses
What is a Universal Product Code (UPC)?
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a type of barcode that is attached to every retail product sold in stores around the world. It is a twelve - digit product code for identification of every retail item, the barcode aids an automatic checking -out of retail products at the cashier counter.
UPC was introduced in 1973 by IBM. Aside from product identification, this code provides relevant product information that stores use for inventory and ordering purposes. The UPC as a barcode applied at the electronic point-of-sale was replaced by European Article Numbering (EAN) code in 1976. Countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and some other countries use UPC.