This blog is the second of three in a series that focuses on how QR codes are becoming more immersed in our lives and in our actions. After the year of the pandemic, we’ll continue to see QR code use surge in 2021. Buying a new car? You may lean more on a QR code – and less on a salesperson – at the start of your shopping experience.
Circling back to our previous article, QR codes can be used by car dealerships to make the overall buying experience for the consumer much less stressful. Those long sheets of paper containing the vehicles’ information displayed on a side window is difficult to understand and is almost impossible to compare with other vehicles; the consumer is left struggling to remember which information applies to which vehicle. QR codes can easily rectify this issue. By simply placing QR codes on the vehicles, customers and sales representatives alike can scan the code to quickly get all of the relevant information about the car, allowing for easy comparison shopping. Furthermore, the author suggests that dynamic QR codes can be implemented by car dealerships to allow for regular updates regarding the vehicle information.
Businesses are certainly already taking advantage of the applicability of QR codes in the automotive inventory merchandising sector. One company, DealerCarSearch, enables car dealerships to easily display an informational QR code on any vehicle’s window as a sticker. According to their website, “The QR Code links shoppers directly to the Vehicle Detail Page on your website. This hi-tech feature converts after hours lot walkers and window shoppers into solid leads for your dealership when your Dealership is closed.” This concept can be taken even further, with the possibility of dealerships advertising particular vehicles in newspapers, magazines, and even social media all through a QR code.
QR Codes – https://www.dealercarsearch.com/qr-codes-for-car-dealers.aspx
Choudhary, Sneh Ratna. “Why 2021 Is the Year of QR Codes.” Beaconstac RSS, 24 Dec. 2020, blog.beaconstac.com/2019/02/why-2019-is-the-year-of-qr-codes/.
With everything the pandemic brought to 2020, the year was a spotlight shining brightly on how touch-free solutions and QR Codes are to be a major part of not just our dining or shopping experience, but are fully a part of lives today, tomorrow, and well into the future.
We fully expect see a massive surge of QR code use into 2021. This blog is the first of three in a series which will focus on how QR codes will continue to develop and grow in the future.
When shopping, product packaging is a crucial aspect of consumer decision-making. In fact, in her article “Why 2021 is the year of QR codes” author Sneh Ratna Choudhary shares with readers that approximately 1/3rd of consumer decision making when shopping is solely based on a product’s packaging. Choudhary further reiterates this point with the realization that QR codes are the answer to the ever-present marketing problem of creating a minimalistic yet aesthetically pleasing design. The author also touches on QR codes being required with GMO products in the U.S.; supplying the consumer with an easy way to learn more about the ingredients within the product.
Today’s consumer is not only concerned about ingredients in GMO products, however. According to a 2020 consumer behavior report published by Deloitte, current and future consumers will most likely be making purchasing decisions based on a newly understood set of parameters, including: nutritional awareness, sustainability, and social responsibility. In his article titled “QR Codes on Food: How QR Code Food Uses Engage Customers”, the author addresses these three purchasing parameters and how QR codes can be effectively implemented with each. Firstly, the author highlights that only about one of every 3 people check the nutritional labels on the packaged food they eat, even though approximately 63% of the population want to eat healthy “most or all of the time”. Scott outlines that providing nutritional information via QR code, something that subsequently isn’t restricted by the space on product packaging, allows manufacturers the ability to add a more detailed set of information that is invaluable to consumers. Scott urges manufacturers to take advantage of the greater flexibility with the QR code, as consumers can be made easily aware of allergy information, social responsibility initiatives, instructions, sustainability certifications, and more with a simple scan. This also opens the door for the possibilities of food traceability. As the author outlines, “a running account of where [a product] originated, was manufactured, and was distributed along with relevant information about those production, manufacturing, and distribution facilities [can all be traced using a QR code]. Scott further emphasizes that QR code traceability can also take into account the present status of products, such as product recalls, updates regarding production facilities/fulfillment centers, and any other relevant information in regards to the product’s present supply chain status.
It is clear that the use of the QR code will continue to grow exponentially into 2021, with QR code food labels just one of many versatile uses of the technology.
Choudhary, Sneh Ratna. “Why 2021 Is the Year of QR Codes.” Beaconstac RSS, 24 Dec. 2020, blog.beaconstac.com/2019/02/why-2019-is-the-year-of-qr-codes/.
Scott. “QR Codes on Food: How QR Code Food Uses Engage Customers.” SproutQR, SproutQR, Inc., 1 Sept. 2020, www.sproutqr.com/blog/qr-code-food.
