Pitney Bowes recently published a white paper, A Practical Guide to QR Codes for the Small Business Marketer, and in it we referred to some recent ComScore data on the use of QR codes.
The ComScore data made it very clear that QR codes were fully established as a mainstream marketing tool, but in the digital space, things do have a habit of moving fast.
A set of more recent data shows us just how explosive the growth in QR code use has been with both consumers and marketers alike. Research published in May and June this year on the Rochester Institute of Technology blog reveals some important trends and insights for marketers.
The biggest overall insight is that QR adoption is accelerating with consumers. From the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012, scans of QR codes almost tripled to a record high, and the rate of growth is rising. The data makes it even more clear that consumers are ready and eager to interact with businesses via QR codes.
In terms of which demographics are doing the scanning, the data shows that 25-34 year-olds are making the greatest proportion of scans, at 35%, though QR code use was fairly well spread across the age ranges.

The research also shows that marketers are increasing their use of QR codes even more quickly than consumers. In 2011, just 8% of businesses said they were using QR codes as part of their marketing strategy, whereas almost 50% said they were doing so in 2012. That’s right, almost half of marketers are now using QR codes!
While the study doesn’t provide this data, it is hard to imagine any tactic since the dawn of the digital age that has seen such a huge rise in adoption in a single year.
How will you take advantage of the QR Code’s explosive growth?
What Next:
If you are not yet using QR Codes for your marketing program, there has never been a better time to get in on the action. Sign up for a free trial of pbSmart™ Codes today!
What about you? How will you capitalize on the growth in use of QR codes? Please share your thoughts below.


Rohan Gandhi
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