Shopping Days Are QR Days As Scanning Triples in 2011
People are getting into the
mobile scanning habit, according to the latest quarterly report from code enabler ScanBuy. The maker of the popular ScanLife platform and code program
manager for Starbucks, Home Depot and Coca-Cola saw more scans in Q4 2011 than it had in all of 2009 and 2010 combined.
For 2011, the ScanLife system saw a 300% increase in the number of scans. The biggest scanning days of the holiday season corresponded with the top retail shopping days, Black Friday and the two days following Christmas.
The company says over 3 million more people were added to its network of ScanLife-enabled scanning apps in Q4. According to CEO Mike Wehrs, over 15 million people use the ScanLife system. “We process scans for tens of thousands of unique QR codes per month, plus over 800,000 unique UPC codes per month,” he says. Wehrs estimates that ScanBuy touches 15% to 20% of U.S. mobile users who are scanning codes.
And this past season, those scans were going to consumer packaged goods. While retail had traditionally been the leading category for 2D mobile code campaigns, ScanLife saw the CPG category scale five spots to become the top source of code campaigns in the last quarter. Retail was second, entertainment third, editorial fourth and wireless fifth.
Not surprisingly, given the strength of CPGs, packaging was the most popular place for codes last season. Print media -- formerly the most popular type of code placement -- is now #2, with the Web (#3) rising in popularity, followed by activations made on outdoor advertising and direct mail pieces. The rise of code placement on Web sites is connected to app distribution, as many of these prompts are shortcuts to app downloads.
The demographics of code scanning remain decidedly male (63%). But as smartphone accessibility widens, the age range for the common scanner broadens. The 25- to-34-year-old segment is now responsible for 28% of scans, compared to 35-44 (22%) and 18-24 (22%). Only 17% of scans come from users 45 and older.
The year-end bump for iPhone ownership was reflected in the ScanLife results, where scanning from the Apple phones was up 10 points to 39%, still leaving Android with a 50% share. BlackBerry is down to 6% of scans from 20% only a year ago.
Wehrs says the growth in code use is coming from all sides. “The number of scans per user has been increasing, but the primary driver of the growth is the volume of new QR codes being published by marketers,” he says.
In a recent survey of 100 marketers by ScanBuy, half said they were already using 2D codes and 86% said they planned to do do in the future.
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