"Sainsbury's Accelerate Plans for Checkout Scanning" press notice and cuttings, 27 Jul 1979

Press release announcing that Sainsbury's are to run pilot operations in 1980 to scan goods passing through checkouts at its Broadfield (Crawley) store and another store. At Broadfield, a trial had already started using computer-linked cash registers which involved the cashier manually entering a code number marked on each item. This would be replaced by bar code scanning. At the other store, yet to be chosen, it was planned to use key entry equipment initially, but this preliminary step has been cut out and the store will move into a full scanning operation in 1980. European Article Numbering bar code symbols had now begun to appear on products and Sainsbury's had begun to add barcodes to its own label packaging. With related papers including press cuttings and distribution list.