Marketing with QR Codes Help to Increase Profits

Recent figures recently published by BRC-KPMG suggest that the UK e-commerce market is struggling – in February 2012, sales increased by just 2.3%, compared to January, where sales increased by 11.3%. E-commerce is slowing down, yes, but with an ever increasing smartphone market – 27% of adults own a smartphone, with 59% of those adults getting a smartphone within the last year – now is the time to invest in marketing for other channels, such as mobile marketing with qrcodes. eConsultancy said (05/04/12), “This is the year when retailers need to reassess their approach to e-commerce. Any retailer that is committed to taking its ecommerce strategy to the next level needs to provide a seamless multichannel customer experience to avoid missing out.” If we are to trust this trend and the impact QR Codes will have on businesses, see this info graphic on the qr code impact on business, then now is the time.

New data shows that a whopping 50% of 16-24 year olds own smartphones and 63% of those users have downloaded an app before and that Smartphone penetration is now at over 60%. With online and mobile shopping on the rise, this is one of the best markets to tap into. MasterCard recently surveyed shoppers in the UAE with some surprising results – 42% of UAE shoppers accessed the internet to do their shopping in 2011, up from 33% in 2010. 15% of consumers also stated that they were planning to use their smartphone to shop in the near future.

Online shopping via a smartphone or a tablet device has grown overall by 10% in the last year, according to research from Stibo system, and smartphone and tablet device shopping is now the favourite method of online shopping amongst 20% of online shoppers. Gartner have predicted that by 2016, there will be 655 million tablet devices in use globally – and marketers need to target that huge market.

QR Codes can drive profit

QR codes are one such way to drive traffic towards these new channels – and more traffic equals more profits for businesses that are attempting to work online. Jim Levinger, president of Q-Ray Media Inc. says that marketers need to recognise the “4 M’s” when it comes to making a success of QR code marketing. Firstly, marketers need to motivate users to scan the QR code. Secondly, they need to mobilize the content that the QR code links to and make sure that it is accessible across all mobile and tablet devices. The content also needs to be appropriate and relevant – and as interesting as you can make it. People accessing content on a mobile device expect it to load quickly and to be simple and snappy – any content that is too bulky, too boring or that doesn’t work properly will turn many users off.

Next, marketers need to monitor their QR codes to see how and when they are being used and lastly, they need to monetize the campaign to ensure that their QR code campaign is more than just a gimmick. Monitoring QR codes is particularly important, as marketers can adjust their campaign as necessary according to how consumers are using and viewing the codes. Levinger says, “Properly tracked, QR codes can give people the types of insights from traditional media like print that they’re used to getting from interactive media.” So how will you use QR codes to ramp up your profits?