technology

QR Codes:

Are You Using Them Yet?

By Aruna Sanagavaram

plain jane Bar codes are passe the era of quick response (qr) codes is here. these small B&W squares have captured the imagination of retailers and marketers alike due to the huge amount of information they can hold. amazingly, the qr codes can Be read By the smart phones of customers, Which gives retailers a Whole neW channel to connect With the potential Buyers of their products. are you By any chance missing out on this fantastic neW technology?
The Tesco virtual store in a subway in South Korea uses QR codes to allow customers to order online

The new-fangled technology of mobile marketing (M-marketing) is particularly significant in the Indian scenario due to the increasing number of smart-phone users with Wi-Fi connections. The potential it offers retailers is enormous, considering the constraints of Web-based connectivity in the Indian hinterland. Over the last few years, technology has introduced many products which can be used to reach the consumers. One such innovation is QR codes short for Quick Response codes originally created by a Toyota subsidiary in 1994 to track auto parts. The QR codes are similar to bar codes used currently by retailers to track inventory and price products at the point of sale. The only difference is the amount of data that they can hold. It is surprising to see the quantity
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of information a two-dimensional black-and-white matrix barcode the size of a postage stamp can contain. The code can be read by a QR code scanner or a smart phone which has the application to read it. The main advantages of QR codes over traditional bar codes include their error-correction capability and the ability to add information at different stages of the supply chain. QR codes can be read at any angle, reducing the cycle time of any process. Once the QR barcode image is created, it can be printed on nearly any surface and location newspapers, TV ads, billboards, temporary tattoos, product packaging, clothing labels, and more. QR codes can be used for nearly any function logistics, advertising, customer service, etc. for B2B and B2C across a variety of industries.

The QR code system consists of a QR code generator and a QR code scanner. The use of QR codes is license-free and many free QR code generators and reader software are available online. Working with QR codes is fairly simple. Any smart phone with a camera coupled with a decoding application can serve as a QR code scanner. The QR code image captured by the camera is then decoded and transmitted to the mobile phone for further action. Examples of such action can be linking to a website, downloading an MP3 file, or dialing a number. In India, companies such as Cyber Media, Ford, and Mid Day are among the first ones to use QR codes in their customer-engagement efforts. While the usage of QR codes is limited to a few such instances in our country,

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they are being used extensively by marketers in the US and Europe. The black-and-white squares have captured the imagination of marketers in such a way that they have become ubiquitous. They can be found splashed across posters, bill boards and magazines, adorning business cards, CVs, and even T-shirts! Time Warners HBO recently used a blood-soaked QR code in its television ads for the third season of the vampire drama True Blood. One of the worlds largest retailers, Macys, decorated its department stores with codes that brought up videos of Tommy Hilfiger and Martha Stewart doling out fashion advice. The Vibe magazine used the QR codes in fashion spreads to send readers to sites where they could buy clothes pictured in its pages. Other brands using the codes in innovative ways include Coca-Cola, Delta, Ford, Gap, Home Depot, and Verizon. On the other hand, there have been scores of instances where companies jumped onto the QR band wagon without setting up proper backend processes. The early users of QR codes in marketing have been the advertisers. There have been some instances of their innovative usage to direct traffic to the physical stores resulting in sales. Retail giant Tescos campaign in South Korea is one such example of the successful integration of QR codes into a marketing campaign. When the company found it hard to compete with established supermarket chains in South Korea, it thought of a different strategy than opening more retail outlets. Tescos team merged the concept of store browsing with mobile technology, and created a virtual store in subway stations. The virtual shop displayed all the products found in a Tesco physical store, and they all carried QR codes. As consumers walked past the subway, they could order the products online by scanning their individual codes. The purchases were added to the shopping basket and quickly delivered to the customers homes, ensuring a very positive shopping experience for them. With this, the Tesco team has effectively managed to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping channels. Tescos example offers Indian retailers valuable insights into the usage and exploitation of QR codes. Another of the potential application of these codes is in extending shopping hours. The QR codes printed on display windows or shop shutters can direct consumer traffic to the retailers e-commerce site, taking advantage of the on-the-spur purchases outside of regular shopping hours. QR codes when incorporated with tracking tools can gather data for market analysis. Retailer can use these to obtain detailed metrics such as demographics, repeat scans and geolocation so that client engagement can be more meaningful with customised offerings. The usage of QR codes is not limited to consumer analysis and engagement. They can be successfully integrated into supply chain/backend retail processes to improve stock accuracy and availability. The maximum potential of QR codes can be realised by implementing them from the initial link (the supplier) to the last link in the chain (the consumer). The information gathered at different nodes can be analysed to enhance the visibility and efficiency of the supply chain. Piracy/counterfeiting is one of the problems faced by the Indian retail sector. According to an estimate, leading Indian brands are losing $5 bn every year due to the entry of counterfeit products into the supply chain which are sold in India and even exported to markets such as Africa. The integration of QR codes with ERP can identify the interfaces from where the counterfeits are entering the supply chain. The possibilities of QR code applications in the retail sector are many. However, jumping onto the QR bandwagon without a properly planned and integrated marketing strategy can be counter-productive. A lot depends on how the retailer strikes the right balance between different mobile marketing channels. QR codes can play a major role in enhancing his ability to capture real time data and stay ahead of the game by providing relevant and real-time response to consumer demand. It would be interesting to watch whether QR codes will turn out to be just another fad or an enabling tool that would be successfully exploited by the Indian modern retail sector.

qr codes can Be found splashed across posters, Bill Boards and magazines, and adorning Business cards, cvs, and even t-shirts!
QR codes can also be used to supplement the retail space. Retailers can direct traffic to order out-ofstock items or non-regular sizes. The codes can be used to link to product demonstration videos of fitness products, sports goods, hardware, etc. Consumers can be directed to specific category/product review sites so that they can make their purchasing decisions on unbiased opinions. Consumers can be meaningfully engaged by using QR codes and directing them to content which offers information about the production processes. They can also be educated further by providing information about metrics such as carbon emissions and energy consumption. Similarly they can be assured of the quality and nutrition of processed foods in a much more detailed fashion compared to the ordinary labels.

aBout the author Aruna Sanagavaram is a certified supply chain professional and researcher with interest in the dynamics of the Indian retail industry
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