More companies are adopting QR codes for their marketing campaigns. The use of the codes most often stems from a need to reach a new generation of consumer that is immersed in mobile technology. Indeed, many retailers have catered their marketing efforts to a specific demographic – consumers between the ages of 14 and 24. A new survey from Youth Pulse, a market research firm specializing in emerging trends among young consumers, notes that most of these marketing campaigns are in vain, as younger people are less likely to scan QR codes.
Youth Pulse surveyed more than 2,000 consumers between the ages of 14 and 24. They found that 83% of those surveyed simply did not know how to access the content linked to the codes. While the majority of participants knew what the codes were and what they offered, few knew how to get them to work. The inability to use the codes lies solely in the fact that consumers did not know they needed a barcode scanning application for their smart phones to get the codes to work.
The majority of QR-centric marketing campaigns seek to drive attention to the codes themselves. The codes are most often accompanied by prompts encouraging consumers to scan them. This, however, does not let consumers know that they cannot simply take a picture of the codes. According to Youth Pulse, companies making use of QR codes may want to consider taking time to offer more direction to mitigate consumer confusion.
