NeoMedia has announced that when compared to Black Friday in 2010, this year’s use of the app firm’s NeoReader application for barcode scanning increased by over 240 percent.
They made this announcement through a recent press release, where they also stated that these two dimensional QR codes are the most popular type of barcode scanned by mobile devices, with 87 percent of scans going to them, while one dimensional barcodes received only 13 percent of scans.
According to the chief executive officer at NeoMedia Technologies, Inc., Laura Marriott, retail stores are starting to use mobile on many different levels. She explained that “People are not only using their phones to get more information on goods and services, both in-store and on-the-go, but also to purchase.”
This spike in the use of mobile in the retail sector shows that consumers are gaining awareness of the channel, therefore opening up the doors to a multitude of new opportunities for everyone in the mobile barcode world.
JC Penny has been one of the more notable users of QR codes, as it has implemented its unique “gift card” campaign that uses the technology. Their “Santa Tags” are available to customers for free with purchase, and allow those shoppers to record a personal audio message to the recipient of a gift, who can then access that message by scanning the code.
That said, in a recent survey performed by Archival, a youth marketing agency, only 21 percent of 500 participants were able to properly scan a QR code sample.
