The Russian government is pushing for the use of barcodes on footwear, starting on June 1 with a voluntary test conducted by Zenden and other major Russian shoe retailers. An alternative project for the use of RFID chips has been dropped, at least for the time being. The use of barcodes is welcomed by retailers as a comfortable and cost-saving measure, as the codes can be scanned with basis equipment at the checkout counter. After the planned test run, which is intended to avoid any possible mistakes, the labeling of shoes with barcodes will be made compulsory.