QR Code Marketing Provides Product Information to Consumers

Comscore recently released the results of a report entitled, "2012 Mobile Future inFocus," and I thought the results were very interesting. In 2011, QR codes were introduced as a way to combine mobile and more traditional media. These "Quick Response” codes are special type of barcode that can be read by smartphones.

In December of 2011, one of every five smartphone owners in the United States scanned a QR code. Sixteen percent of Canadian smartphone users scanned QR codes during the same period.

Of the smartphone owners in the US who scanned the QR code, 42 percent scanned product packaging and 32 percent used their phone to scan a coupon or a special offer.  Event information was the third most popular reason for scanning QR codes in December of 2011.

It makes sense to me that most consumers would use their smart phones to scan product packaging. If a customer wants to learn more about a particular item or find out about related products, it makes sense to include a QR code on the packaging materials. Making it easy and convenient for buyers to access this information is a key component of QR code marketing.

It falls into the category of knowing the demographic markets that a company is trying to reach, and anticipating their needs. The QR codes can be used to provide appropriate information to consumers, which will in turn help to drive more sales.