QR Code for Retail

Retailers using QR Codes is beneficial, especially when it comes to offering instant access to more information about products and services beyond what’s available in store. Get inspired with these creative QR Code ideas.

QR Code marketing ideas for retailers

What is a QR Code in retail?

QR Codes in retail are an easy way to sync digital systems to physical retail environments in order to enhance shopping experiences for customers. You can turn window displays into platforms for online shopping, reduce friction at checkout, and digitize your lookbooks.

Top QR Code retail use cases to ramp up your marketing

The increased speed in network connection coupled with a higher use of smartphone devices has allowed for QR Code tech to simplify B2C transactions in the retail industry. If you are looking to revamp your customer experience with emerging technologies, incorporating QR Code retail into your business will provide you with an all-in-one solution to engage and connect with your customers, while also creating a unique and more frictionless shopping environment. Below are six additional use cases that cover some of the endless possibilities QR Codes can provide to boost your business.

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Engel & Völkers, a luxury real estates and properties agency
Elle Magazine, a fashion magazine with beauty tips, trends, and celebrity news
Monster, a job search website offering work and career opportunities
Benefit Cosmetics LLC, a manufacturer of cosmetics and headquartered in San Francisco, California
Sky Media, one of the leading marketing companies in Europe and manages the promotional sales of Sky and ten other themed channels
Zalando, a German online footwear retailer based in Berlin

The benefits of QR Codes for retail businesses

Cost-effective

Traditional marketing can sometimes take a large bite out of your budget with printing/re-printing and advertising placement costs. Marketing collaterals like print, television, and radio also offer a limited advertising space, which sometimes restricts the amount of information brands can share. But there is no need to vacate these traditional channels from your marketing strategies. By combining them with QR Code tech, you can create fabulously designed ads with a touch of practicality. At a minimum size of 2 x 2 cm (.8 x .8 in) for Dynamic Codes and 3 x 3 cm (1.2 x 1.2 in) for Static Codes, they are the wallet-friendly portal that transports scanners to a multi-informational universe you get to curate. This means you no longer need to tediously debate on which channel is the most cost-effective, you can increase your budget by simply adding this smart, two-dimensional square to any ad.

Create an omnichannel experience

QR Codes are all about connecting the digital and physical world, which makes them the best tool for you to upgrade your brand to omnichannel marketing. By placing them on your print and digital collaterals, you can create a seamless and effortless, enriching customer experience. But QR Codes are not merely bridges from traditional to digital, they can also act as fluid portals between online platforms, reaping the benefits of connections that occur within and between points of contact. This facilitates communication between brands and customers, who can access a cornucopia of content, whether video tutorials, product provenance journeys, or social media channels, with a simple scan. With QR Codes, you essentially bring the endless possibilities of the online experience to your physical stores.

Customizable and easy-to-use

When it comes to customizing your QR Code, the color options are infinite. You can either select the exact shade you require with the color picker or input a hexadecimal color code. This precision in design gives you the necessary flexibility to match your QR Code to your brand colors. Want more brand recognition? Upload your business logo and place it at the center of the QR Code, so those who know, know. And those who don’t, will know. Want to make the QR Code stand out even more? Add a customizable frame and CTA, and play around with the QR Code’s edges and eyelets. With these easy-to-use options, you are free to cook up brand visibility to your heart’s content in our QR Code kitchen.

Your all-in-one QR Code marketing platform

Fully customize your QR Codes with your brand colors and logo, get scan statistics, and even edit the content after print.

Plus other benefits you’ll enjoy across QR Code Generator PRO

Worry-free, mistake-proof

Integrate QR Codes in the early planning stage and only add the contents when you’re ready to go live, even after print.

Perfect resolution, every time

Your QR Codes stay in high-resolution no matter what they’re printed on. Download in JPG, PNG, SVG, or EPS.

Stay organized effortlessly

Label your QR Codes and create folders to keep them nice and tidy so you can focus on performance.

Collaborate securely online

Add team members to your account and take full control over what they can see or do — complete with their own logins.

Make a great first impression

Customize the short URL or stand out from your competitors and use your own domain to foster brand loyalty.

Stay on top of everything

Add campaign info so you know when the campaign starts, which medium it’s on, and how many copies printed.

FAQ

The simplest way to use QR Codes in retail is by linking to a website’s landing page. However, with the rise of the QR Code solution tech, retailers can get even more creative in providing a heightened shopping experience. Launching a new product? Place a Video QR Code next to the display. Once scanned, shoppers can instantly access a playlist of video tutorials showcasing your newbie. Get exclusive and offer shoppers your own secret recipes on product packaging with a PDF QR Code, or encourage them to give you feedback on your online channels by sharing them with a Social Media QR Code.

The potential of QR Code retail lies in helping your brand boost its existing customer service. Is an in-store product out of stock? Instead of leaving your customers to hunt down an employee in order to ask about further availability, place Dynamic QR Codes on your shelves with a call to action redirecting them to scan and access your online shop. They can decide whether to have their desired product delivered right to their home, or for pick-up in-store. Either way, it’s a brilliant hack to avoid losing a potential purchase, lessening the chances that they will defect to another product or business.

Several retailers like Walmart, Dunkin’, and Target use app-to-app payment. The customer opens the pre-downloaded app corresponding to the retailer in order to either scan a QR Code at the point of sale (POS) system, or present their uniquely generated QR Code on their mobile device for the shop to scan. In the first case, when the customer is scanning the QR Code at checkout, they will need to confirm the total amount, and then manually type their card details to pay (if not previously saved on the app.) In the second case, customers have previously downloaded and input their payment details into the app, generating a unique QR Code that is scanned by the retailer in order to transfer the confirmed payment amount. You can also promote your payment app at checkout using the App QR Code.

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Improve your business.

Use QR Codes to easily promote your products.