“So what do you think about QR Codes?”
Someone asked me this question recently. My answer: “Not much.”
In case you didn’t know (and I wouldn’t be surprised — most consumers are NOT familiar with them), they’re the square little matrix barcodes you see in magazine ads these days, such as the example graphic accompanying this post (this hyperlink links back to this article online, in case you’re reading this in a news feed that doesn’t show the accompanying graphics). Where as traditional barcodes (such as UPC codes you see on all of your grocery product packaging) are 1-dimensional (side to side), QR Codes are a 2D square matrix that packs more data into a smaller area.
I will be the first to admit that I’m a techie gadget lover. And not just hardware gadgets, but I love software and web apps and all manner of cool techie toys. I’m definitely an “early adopter” checking out the best and latest tools to use in my business as well as personally. But I really don’t “get” QR Codes. I think it’s a fad. I could be wrong, and I’m not trumpeting this from the rooftops with any kind of missionary zeal. Just saying…
It’s entirely possible that we’re just still in its infancy, on the leading edge of the new wave. But somehow I don’t think so – I think it’s as mainstream as it’s going to get. And that’s not very… Sure, you see them in everything from People Magazine to coupon mailers, but taking a quick poll around my family friends, end consumers for the most part have no idea what they are.
The only people who love them and are using them are marketers. I don’t know the last time I heard someone say “I saw this great ad and scanned the QR Code!” In fact, there hasn’t been a first time either.
So *why* am I so pessimistic on QR Codes?
I can understand the benefits of a 2D code to pack more data and meaning into a “barcode”. More data density. Sure. I can see them useful in behind-the-scenes business applications, for inventory management or recording SKU details and more. Similar to RFID tags and UPC symbols that are very useful for business applications. UPC symbols (traditional 1 dimensional barcodes) are hugely helpful for inventory management at retail, but the average user doesn’t own a UPC scanner or really interact with them directly very much. It’s more of an internal thing for retail stores to scan at the register for price lookups and recording sales & inventory transactions, or for scanning inventory asset tags, and so forth. But end consumers don’t walk around with UPC scanners.
Similarly, QR Codes require a scanner, most commonly in the form of a smartphone app that uses a camera to capture the image for processing and interpretation. Then the app launches a web browser to pull up the appropriate URL.
But let’s break this down. While cell phone penetration is high (over 90%), not everyone has a cell phone. Of those that do, only about 1/3rd of the U.S. cell phone customers have a smartphone capable of handling QR Codes. This is about 20% – 25% of the total target audience of, say, a magazine (i.e. including people who don’t even have a cell phone to begin with). What percentage of those use apps and actually have a QR Code reader on their smart phone? I don’t have an actual statistic to back this up, but anecdotally I’d have to say it runs about 2%.
So why are we wasting valuable space, cluttering up an ad with a QR code that is only accessibly by 2% of the target audience, just to encode a URL? Print the darned thing right there in the ad and you reach 100% of your target audience! And “…because it can encode lengthy, complex URLs” is not an answer: that’s what friendly URLs (and URL re-writing) are for. Problem solved.
QR Codes in consumer marketing (B-To-C) seems like just a fad. We do it because it’s cool and we look all modern and hip and stuff. But in reality, it just creates more ‘friction’ in the marketing process in my opinion.
To encode more data into a driver’s license, or plane tickets and other such behind-the-scenes business uses? Sure. But for consumer marketing purposes, I just don’t see the need. At 401 Consulting, we *can* generate QR Codes (see the one attached to this article), and we will include them in the print media we design for our clients if it’s a requirement for the project. But in my personal opinion, I just don’t see the value.
Quite honestly, the only people I see excited about (and using) QR Codes are marketers.
