How to Send in UPC Labels for a Refund. The universal product code, or UPC, is a bar code that typically has 12 digits and is usually found on the back or bottom of perishable and non-perishable ...

How to Decode a UPC Number. Product bar codes were originally developed to help with inventory tracking and speed up checkout at grocery stores. The relative speed and ease of use of the bar code ...

The UPC, the most common version of the so-called bar code, wasn't as warmly embraced or as breathtaking as some emerging technologies, but its impact on retailing has been enormous.

While the barcode didn’t herald the end times, as conspiracy theorists once fretted, it did usher in a new age in global commerce.