Is the QR code dead?

With global uptake of the QR reading app of only 10%, and usage only a fraction of that, you could be forgiven for ringing the death-knell of the QR code – which once was thought to herald a new age in marketing communications.

But consider this: it’s actually on the increase in the US, and more US retailers are now adopting it than ever before. So what’s happening over there that isn’t happening here.

Armchair psychiatrists will point to the American willingness to accept marketing messages, a sort of gullibility that we, this side of the pond, are far too intelligent to consider. However the research doesn’t support this anglophile snobbism. It seems to suggest that the Americans are just using it better: perceived usefulness, ease of use and enjoyment positively effects peoples’ intent to adopt the QR code, while innovativeness has a negative effect.

In other words, make it simple, rewarding and fun, but not scary or pointless.

QR codes can potentially open a whole new dialogue between brands, retailers and customers: by avoiding it we’re looking a gifthorse in the mouth!