Quick Response (QR) codes have been around for nearly 20 years, invented in Japan by a Toyota subsidiary to quickly track vehicle components during the manufacturing process. Today, in line with the huge popularity of smartphones and tablets with code-scanning applications, it’s supermarkets that are the most excited by what the two-dimensional black and white barcodes can do for business.
The general perception among European retailers is that new mobile technologies, with QR codes as the initial pacesetter, will increasingly make shopping not only easier for consumers, but create lucrative opportunities to engage with them.
QR codes are being used on two levels: firstly, on print advertisements, where upon scanning a code using a QR decoder the consumer is directly linked to the product, a coupon or loyalty offer or some other form of exclusive content; secondly, on product packaging to provide details on such things as provenance as well as preparation techniques.
However, there are several other, more tailored ways in which QR codes enter the retail arena. For example, Sainsbury’s is currently trialing its own “Mobile Scan & Go” at two of its larger U.K. stores, whereby customers “check in” by scanning a QR code located at the stores’ entrance. They then use their device to scan their chosen products’ barcodes, and the app progressively tracks the amount spent, producing an end QR code on the phone’s display that can be scanned at the register to pay.
Click here to read the full story that ran in the December issue of SeaFood Business
