The national postal service of Croatia, the Croatian Post, has adopted QR codes for their latest series of stamps. Croatia is not the first to put the codes on postage stamps, but their use of the codes is somewhat unique. Where most other codes can be scanned for simple information regarding postal policies or to find special deals, Croatia’s codes can be used as a form of receipt confirmation and package tracking. The codes add another aspect to the postal service that, in turn, adds value to the experience of the customer.
The codes honor the 20th anniversary of the first postage stamps issued by the Croatian Post and will appear throughout the remainder of 2011. The postal service may extend their use of the codes into next year if the codes receive enough support from the public. Thus far, consumers have shown favor for the coded stamps and have shown a willingness to learn what QR codes are and how they can be used.
Each stamp in the series is attributed with a QR code that is unique to a specific package. When scanned, the codes take mobile users to a mobile website that holds a wealth of information regarding the package, such as how far the package has gone, when and where it was sent and whether it will arrive on time. Recipients of a package with the QR coded stamps can scan the code to confirm that they have received the package.
