About half of all smart phone users have, at least once, scanned a QR code, reports eMarketer. But are they effective as an advertising vehicle?
Perhaps. A full 41% of respondents in a survey by research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey scanned a QR code to get more information about a company, product or event. Another 18% used it to find discounts, but only 6% used the code to buy something. The strongest purpose is that the smart phone user was simply curious what the QR code would do.
On the plus side, of those who regularly scan QR codes, 18% were moved to purchase. And consumer awareness of QR codes is on the rise, with eight out of 10 aware of them. Finally, consumers scan those QR codes from advertisements, most frequently from print advertisements in magazines, at 35%; billboards and signs at 11%, and direct mailers at another 11%.
