Which early retail technology innovation from the 1970s revolutionized inventory management and first enabled detailed analysis of consumer purchasing patterns?

Before modern retail analytics and digital transformation, certain technological innovations fundamentally changed how retailers understood customer behavior and made business decisions. This question explores a pivotal moment in retail history that set the foundation for today's sophisticated market research and customer tracking capabilities.

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The Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode scanner system
IBM's first retail-specific mainframe computer (System/3 Model 6)
NCR's electronic cash registers with built-in receipt printers
The MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) check processing system