Survey: 83 Percent Of Young Shoppers Can’t Handle QR Codes
Written by Evan SchumanAugust 17th, 2011
Given the current retail fascination with QR codes—with recent trials at Tesco on subway walls, Macy's on products, American Express on beer cans and eBay on practically everything—it stands to reason those little boxed lines are doing rather well.
A recent credible survey, however, found that not only are most younger consumers oblivious to what QR codes are, but the many who do know what they are can't get them to function. In short, 83 percent of the 1,300 14- to 24-year-olds surveyed couldn't access a QR code regardless of how good the offer was. Looks like some people skipped an important step in product rollout. That news is pretty bad, given the strong mobile interest—or general high-tech and experimentation comfort level—of that demographic. If they're confused or apathetic, the numbers won't likely get better as surveys examine consumers in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.
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6 Comments | Read Survey: 83 Percent Of Young Shoppers Can’t Handle QR Codes
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August 18th, 2011 at 8:44 am
QR Codes clearly have yet to catch on among consumers in the U.S. and the UK. They are already very popular in Japan and South Korea, but in the west we are still very much on the learning curve. Hearing that a company would introduce the codes without giving its workers any training is surprising. We all risk giving this technology a bad name by making it look difficult and not accessible. It is crucial that we educate consumers about QR Codes if they are to make the desired impact in sales and marketing.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:01 am
I think it is important to put that number in prospective.
When you begin a survey with a group starting at 14, the first question is how active are teenagers with cell phones?
Popular culture would tell us they are obsessed. A 2010 Pew research calls that into question. Despite that more than 75 of teens “own” a cell phone:
38 of teens actually call someone daily
24 text someone daily
25 contact friends through a social network, daily
The kicker:
11 email someone daily
So having the attention span to download an app and scan a barcode? Maybe just having permission to do so is the issue.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
If we all left it to’Catch on’ we are going to wait another 5 years and by then NFC will be prevalent. Educate the consumers and marketing about what value they can provide and how to use them effectively.
August 18th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
The problem was a legal one here in the US. I do not remember the name of the company that patented the use of QR codes and was struck down but this is the reason why QR codes did not take off or embedded in mobile phones to prevent a frivolous patent lawsuit. The issue I find that no one explained how to use QR code or the benefits. It’s that simple. Once someone explain the benefits and how to use it, then it will kick off.
August 19th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Is it any wonder there is confusion? The article uses both the name “QR” and “CR.” Which is it? Then to baffle the reader more, a photo of a traditional bar code accompanies the article!
August 19th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Editor’s Note: Dean is quite correct on both counts. The typos–which got past the writer, a copy editor, a content editor and a spellcheck–were immediately fixed. The image is a little more pragmatic. Simply put, our Image Library didn’t have any QR Code images. (It can’t have everything.) We have now acquired some QR Code images and they will be integrated into our Image Library within a day or so. After that, QR Code stories will have QR Code images. Our apologies. We should have added QR Codes in some time ago.