Report: QR code use rising in unexpected ways

A new report from ScanLife found the number of people scanning QR codes has increased substantially over the past year, though not in places or ways many had envisioned.

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Case in point: A new report from ScanLife, a firm that generates and manages QR codes for brands, confirmed that many more people are using QR codes than did so even a year ago. In the second quarter of 2012, the company’s QR codes got 16 million scans, almost 10 million more than what it saw in the second quarter of 2011.

Here’s the unexpected part: 60 percent of the people who scan QR codes do so from home. They’re using mobile technology without leaving the house.

The report also found that people tend to scan codes that lead them to contests or loyalty programs more than codes that go to videos or app downloads. Toys and beauty products are the most-popular industries for QR code scanners. And most people who scan QR codes—more than two-thirds—are men.

For some help making sense of the numbers, Ragan.com asked mobile communication and marketing experts for some analysis.

Popularity explosion

One reason for the huge growth in QR code use is pretty simple, says Shel Holtz of Holtz Communication + Technology.

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