QR codes used to help spread sale of digital edition of magazine

QR codes in magazines

QR codes being used to sell magazines

Street vendors will benefit by being able to sell to smartphone and tablet customers.

A U.K. magazine called “The Big Issue” in The North, which is sold by homeless street vendors, has announced the launch of a new form of selling through QR codes that will allow the sellers to increase their opportunity for a steady income.

This will involve the brand new digital edition of the magazine and a barcode to obtain it.

The new digital version of the magazine will not replace the print edition, but will be sold alongside it. The goal is to provide consumers with more choice as to their preferred method of purchasing and reading the magazine.

Customers who want the digital edition simply need to scan QR codes to access it.

The vendors are issued access cards with their own unique QR codes in addition to an access code. This allows them to receive credit when the digital edition is downloaded to a smartphone or a tablet as a result of his or her own selling efforts.

Though it has become quite common for print publications to launch new digital editions in order to help themselves to keep up with the expectations of their readers, the case of this charitable effort is more unique. This is because the charity that owns The Big Issue, International Network of Street Papers (INSP) was seeking a way to ensure that the homeless street vendors who rely on these sales won’t be cut out of the process because the magazine was falling behind the advancements in the industry.

The QR codes are functioning to provide homeless individuals with a way to sell digital versions of the magazine, which will become a vital component of their ability to earn. These barcodes are well recognized among smartphone users, and are a simple and inexpensive way to connect the real and digital worlds. The INSP believes that this may be the first time that this type of program has been launched by a street paper.

The INSP has also announced that it intends to pilot a digital edition for Chicago’s street paper, “StreetWise”, using the same model based on QR codes and access cards.

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