A new survey conducted by Toluna Quick, a market research company, shows that QR codes may be more popular in the UK than they are in the U.S. Earlier this year, a report from Simpson Carpenter, another research firm based in the U.S., showed that most Americans were unaware of what QR codes actually were. The report may have cooled some of the hype surrounding the codes in the States, but UK consumers seem to be warming up to the codes in droves.
According to Toluna Quick, of the 1,500 UK residents surveyed, some 31% knew what QR codes were and how to use them. Overall, 19% of participants had actually scanned a code at some point, as opposed to the 11% of American consumers who had scanned the codes, according to Simpson Carpenter. The results may show that the UK’s adoption of the codes may be somewhat sluggish, but progressing nonetheless.
Of the participants that knew what QR codes were, 42% had scanned the codes to receive some kind of discount, while an additional 23% did so out of sheer curiosity. 47% of participants said that the only reason they did not scan a code was because their mobile device was incapable of doing so.
The results of the survey paint a picture of promising growth for mobile marketing in the UK. Consumers seem eager to make use of QR codes, a fact that may spur more companies to adopt the technology.
