How QR Codes Can Enhance Customer Experience
Prashanth Kancherla
Nov 29, 2023
QR codes have rapidly evolved from being just a random pattern on paper to becoming a vital tool for enhancing the customer experience. These Quick Response (QR) codes now bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. The way businesses interact with their customers is being transformed.
With India poised to reach 1 billion smartphone users by the year-end, the prevalence of QR codes is expected to witness a substantial increase. A report by BARC India and Nielsen detailed the growing usage of QR Code in India. It said, 2020 was a defining year for QR code when its usage jumped by 550%. The report highlights the widespread adoption of QR codes in India for various purposes, including mobile payments, contactless delivery, and digital menus.
Notably, at least 83% of users have engaged with QR codes at least once. More than 9 million merchants actively utilize QR code payments. Furthermore, QR codes serve as efficient tools for sharing links to product demos, website landing pages, or video content on brands’ social media channels like YouTube and Instagram. In an era where customer attention spans are increasingly limited, QR codes offer a valuable solution, enabling brands to establish real-time visibility and provide prompt engagement. These codes facilitate personalized experiences, allowing brands to connect swiftly with their customers.
Now, let’s dive into the Ten key benefits of QR codes, how they have grown, and the ways they can make customers happier.
In this article, we will explore:
Benefits of QR Codes
1. Contactless Convenience
According to a report by Visa and Worldline India, contactless payments in India surged by six times between 2018 and 2021, with the highest adoption observed in sectors like quick-service restaurants, pharmacies, food, and grocery amid the COVID-19 pandemic
And QR code technology has been a key part of this contactless payment revolution. QR codes are all about easy, touch-free transactions, something that has become important in the world after the pandemic.This has changed the way we interact with the physical world while reducing unnecessary physical contact.
2. Instant And Effortless Access to Information
QR codes make it effortless for businesses to provide detailed information to customers. For example, a QR code on a product packaging about how-to videos, guide or what customers think about the product or make it easy to understand the product better. This instant access to information makes your customer experience much better. QR codes can also be used to connect customers with businesses by providing direct links to social media pages, websites, and other online resources.
3. Streamlined Payments
QR codes have streamlined payment processes, allowing consumers to make transactions smoothly. In India, QR code-based mobile payments have achieved remarkable success, with a majority of mobile users using mobile payment apps like GooglePay, Paytm and, PhonePe to make seamless payments. The QR code-based mobile payment ecosystem in India can continue to thrive, offering users a secure, convenient, and efficient way to conduct financial transactions.
4. Effective Marketing
QR codes help businesses to connect with customers for promotions, discounts, and loyalty programs, serving as a bridge between their marketing activities. In 2022, the impact of QR codes on customer engagement was evident, with approximately 89 million smartphone users actively scanning codes for discounts—a 26% increase from 2020. This underscores the dynamic role QR codes play in driving customer participation in promotional activities.
5. Personalization
QR codes open the door to personalized experiences, to make customers feel special. Such as personalized recommendations, exclusive offers, or personalized welcome messages. This personal touch makes customers happier and more loyal. By using QR codes efficiently, businesses can offer personalized experiences to their customers, which can further improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Additionally, integrating this technology allows businesses to effortlessly make a QR code, adding a modern and interactive layer to their customer engagement strategies.
6. Enhanced Security
QR codes can add an extra layer of safety for customers. For example, mobile payments can generate codes that change each time you use them, making it difficult for fraudsters to copy them. This security feature makes customers trust and feel more confident about using QR codes for money transactions. Further, QR codes can also be used to check the authenticity of products and ensure customers receive original products.
7. Efficiency in Service Delivery
QR codes have made things faster and services work better. In the hospitality industry, customers can pre-order food or drinks through QR codes. This means you don’t have to wait in long lines, and your experience becomes smoother and more enjoyable. By scanning a QR code, customer can automatically receive all the relevant information related to the product, thereby eliminating the need to ask questions or raise queries.
8. Real-time Feedback
QR codes enable businesses to gather real-time feedback from customers. By scanning a QR code on a receipt or at the end of a service, customers can quickly provide their opinions and suggestions, allowing businesses to make immediate improvements based on customer input. This can help businesses quickly gather feedback and make improvements in products, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.
9. Instant Customer Support
QR codes can be used to connect customers to support services instantly. For example, a QR code on a product’s packaging can link to a customer support chat or helpline, offering quick assistance for any inquiries or issues. This makes the whole customer experience better. QR codes serve as an efficient tool to provide customers with instant access to information about products or services, minimizing the need for them to seek assistance and wait for responses to their inquiries.
10. Simplified Event Management
For events, QR codes make it easy to register, get tickets, and make sure only the right people get in. Customers can simply scan their QR codes for entry, making event management smoother and reducing the chances of long lines or any confusion at entry points. With QR codes, event organizers can seamlessly deliver comprehensive event details—agenda, venue, speakers, and social media links—directly to attendees. This not only streamlines operations but elevates the overall event experience, placing essential information at attendees’ fingertips for a more engaging and informed participation.
Growth of QR Codes
QR codes have become popular because they are super flexible. They used to be just for marketing, but now they are everywhere. Over the years the number of users has increased. Everyone has smartphones and wants things to be easy and QR codes will help.
In the past, QR codes were mostly used for advertising and marketing, like taking customers to websites or promotional content. But now they do so much more. QR codes became an essential tool for minimizing physical contact, particularly in the hospitality industry.
The adoption of QR codes in mobile payment systems also contributed to their growth. Mobile payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and various banking apps have embraced QR code technology for in-store transactions. Consumers found QR code payments to be convenient and safe.
The Future Of QR Codes And Their Role In Enhancing Customer Experience
In the future, QR codes will become more important in making customers happy. They are changing and getting better because of new technology and how people use them.
1. Augmented Reality Integration
The global revenue in the ‘AR Hardware’ category of the AR & VR market was predicted to expand by 6.7 billion US dollars between 2023 and 2027.
QR codes are increasingly integrated with augmented reality (AR) experiences. Users can scan a QR code to access AR content that enhances their interaction with products, such as virtually trying on clothing or visualizing how furniture would look in their homes.
This level of engagement takes customer experience to a new level which can increase brand loyalty and recognition.
2. Smart Packaging
QR codes are being used to provide customers with information about a product’s journey from manufacturing to delivery. This transparency makes people trust the product more especially in the health industry where they must know what they are consuming. To make smart, ethical, and environmentally conscious choices.
For example, if you scan a QR code on a food item you can learn about where it comes from and how it is made.
3. Healthcare and Medical Records
QR codes will transform the health sector, especially in management. Patients can scan a QR to know their medical reports, records, prescriptions, and appointments. This helps doctors to talk and help patients to be more accountable.
4. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Initiatives
QR codes can help consumers in making eco-friendly choices. They can provide information about how a product will affect the environment, tips on sustainability, or recycling instructions.
Brands can use QR codes to showcase their commitment to sustainability and attract environmentally-conscious consumers interested in their products.
5. Interactive Marketing
QR codes will continue to be a valuable tool for interactive marketing. They can be used in things like print materials, such as magazines and catalogs, where readers can scan codes to access additional content, make purchases, or get in on special deals. It makes shopping more enjoyable and helps companies analyze and track their customer’s behavior.
Conclusion
In summary, QR codes have become a fundamental tool for making the customer experience better. They have a lot of advantages like contactless payments, easy access to information, smooth transactions, effective marketing, cool promotions, and personalized engagement.
In a fast-changing world, QR code is not just a good idea but it’s a must if you want to stay in the game. As technology advances, QR codes will remain the bridge between the real and digital worlds, providing endless opportunities to engage, inform, and make customers happy. The future of customer experience is wide, and QR codes are the key to making it awesome.
