Editing Universal Product Code (section)

{{Short description|Barcode system for tracking trade items}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
[[File:UPC-A-036000291452.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|A UPC barcode]]
The '''Universal Product Code''' ('''UPC''' or '''[[RAS syndrome|UPC code]]''') is a [[barcode#Symbologies|barcode symbology]] that is used worldwide for tracking [[trade item]]s in stores.

The chosen symbology has bars (or spaces) of exactly 1, 2, 3, or 4 units wide each; each decimal digit to be encoded consists of two bars and two spaces chosen to have a total width of 7 units, in both an "even" and an "odd" [[wikt:parity#Noun|parity]] form, which enables being scanned in either direction.  Special "guard patterns" (3 or 5 units wide, not encoding a digit) are intermixed to help decoding. 

A UPC (technically, a UPC-A) consists of 12 digits that are uniquely assigned to each trade item. The international [[GS1]] organisation assigns the digits used for both the UPC and the related [[International Article Number]] (EAN) barcode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gs1us.org/standards/barcodes/ean_upc|title=GS1 BARCODE CHART|work=[[GS1 US]]|date=3 April 2013|access-date=7 July 2011|archive-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107170822/http://www.gs1us.org/standards/barcodes/ean_upc|url-status=dead}}</ref> UPC data structures are a component of [[Global Trade Item Number]]s (GTINs) and follow the global GS1 specification, which is based on international standards. Some retailers, such as clothing and furniture, do not use the GS1 system, instead using other barcode symbologies or article number systems. Some retailers use the EAN/UPC barcode symbology, but do not use a GTIN for products sold only in their own stores.

Research indicates that the adoption and diffusion of the UPC stimulated innovation and contributed to the growth of international retail supply chains.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Basker|first1=Emek|last2=Simcoe|first2=Timothy|date=2021|title=Upstream, Downstream: Diffusion and Impacts of the Universal Product Code|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712762|journal=Journal of Political Economy|volume=129|issue=4|pages=1252–1286|doi=10.1086/712762|s2cid=229505646|issn=0022-3808|access-date=14 March 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517090546/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712762|url-status=live}}</ref>