If there is one technology above all others that have benefited from COVID-19, it must be the QR Code. Before the COVID-19 global pandemic, the QR code was an idea beloved by marketers… that failed to engage consumers.

Apple added the ability for their camera application to recognize and unlock QR codes as early as June 2017, and Android followed suit with the release of Android 9 in August 2018. Suddenly, QR codes were everywhere. Yet, consumers simply couldn’t figure out how to use them and had little incentive to learn. That is until COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of “touch-free” technologies.

Today, the QR code is making a comeback, and marketers would be wise to invest some thought into incorporating them into POS assets.

The Origin of the QR Code

The origins of the QR code date back as early as the 1960s in Japan, when supermarkets needed a more straightforward way of tabulating items at checkout counters. Barcodes helped, but they were limited to no more than 20 alpha-numeric characters. This limit drove many users to contact Denso Wave Incorporated, the barcode readers' manufacturer.

Denso Wave got to work for a faster, scalable technology. It took until 1994 for Denso Wave to release the QR code. Denso Wave chose to make the specs of the new barcode style public to encourage adoption. By 2002, the QR code was widely adopted by the general public in Japan. What helped with this trend was phones' ability to quickly read the eye-catching designs placed in stores to deliver coupons or other valuable pieces of information. Global adoption took many more years.

Uses of the QR Code Today

COVID-19 sped up years of technology adaption into just a few short months. Companies worldwide have been forced into the 21st Century of technology because they had no other choice. QR codes returned with a roaring comeback.

Once the global pandemic hit, no one wanted to touch anything. QR codes gave struggling restaurants the opportunity for paperless menu distribution. Vending machines and soda fountains even got into the action with self-serving drink machines via a connected QR code. Coca-Cola plans to have rolled out the option to over 52,000 freestyle dispensers by the end of 2020. 

Not to be left out, PayPal and Venmo rolled out quick payment options via QR code after many retail establishments eliminated cash acceptance. And service providers weren't the only ones jumping on the QR code payment train; CVS quickly announced the rollout of payment via QR codes at over 8,000 retail locations. Many others were quick to cater to their customers via QR codes during the pandemic.

How Retailers Can Use QR Codes

Marketers worldwide have long wanted to have ways to engage with customers outside of their doors. Having QR codes living in the customer's homes and offices has been useful for companies such as Amazon.com to continue their engagement after the sale. In October 2020, Amazon started placing a specific QR code on their boxes the engage customers with a Halloween-themed augmented reality application. Having customers engage even for short periods further strengthens the relationship with their customers.

As patrons return to stores, many retailers could take notes from the success of Harrods and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren guided shoppers to their latest fashion trends within the store with visual maps and guided directions to selected displays. Using QR codes and other technologies allows users to limit their interactions with store staff and others to find the items they are shopping for in real-time.

How Restaurants Can Use QR Codes

Restaurants have been one of the leading groups in adopting the QR code during the pandemic. The QR code has become restaurants' and retailers' favorite technology, from offering paperless menus, digital coupons, and loyalty programs to offering cashless payment programs. 

Finding specific ways to engage with QR codes that limit the exposure to both staff and customers will keep costs down and keep stores open.

How Distributors Can Use QR Codes

Distributors have the unique opportunity to use QR codes to help their customers' businesses (and thereby, their own). Distributors provide a tremendous amount of marketing support, which gives them the ability to supplement the sale of all of their products. Few other companies have this opportunity to monitor and improve the field-level execution. 

Distributors can use QR codes in several ways to enable communication between both brand and customer as well as between distributor and store. Adding QR codes to the point of sale (POS) and point of purchase (POP) displays can provide an extra point of contact with the client. As clients are now well-versed in using QR codes, they are more interested than ever in revealing hidden information. But as the great Stan Lee made famous in Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility." Ensure you take the time to consider what information you are providing and where you provide that information. You don't want to end up in a QR code hall of shame.

How EasyCheck is Using QR Codes to Help Customers

EasyCheck is here to make distributors’ lives easier. We’re always on the lookout for ways to increase the speed of delivery of POP and POS marketing assets to the field. We also look at ways to help you collect the field-level data you need to improve your business. 

By providing a way to create QR codes that kick off data collection assignments automatically EasyCheck is removing barriers to getting the data you need to best run your business. By including QR codes on the shipping labels we are enabling quick delivery of a marketing asset in the field, EasyCheck continues to innovate so you can continue to run your business.

Want to see how QR codes could help your business? Sign up for a technology review today.