Usage and awareness on the rise
Mobile barcodes, particularly the 2-D variety (such as QR codes), constitute a new tool for marketers looking to activate and measure the impact of static media, in-store displays and product packaging.
“Mobile barcodes hold promise for marketers as a mechanism for activating other media and providing a bridge between the physical and digital worlds,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “Mobile Barcodes: Trends and Best Practices for Marketers.” “But they also present challenges, including fragmentation between open and proprietary barcode formats and the requirement that consumers download a dedicated application to read the codes.”
In Japan, where QR codes originated, 2-D barcode usage is ubiquitous. Elsewhere in the world, usage is rapidly rising. According to 3GVision, an Israel-based provider of 1-D and 2-D barcode solutions, the top five countries in terms of barcode scanning growth in Q1 2011 were the US, UK, Netherlands, Spain and Canada.
On the marketer side, mobile barcodes hold potential for nearly every industry that needs to impart more information to consumers. And from retailers to consumer products brands to travel marketers, it is difficult to find industries that are not experimenting with mobile barcodes. Given the emphasis on activating traditional media and enhancing the in-store shopping experience, publishers and retailers, not surprisingly, are leading the way.
Continues at: Mobile Barcodes Can Be a Powerful Tool Provided Marketers Add Value – eMarketer.
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