QR Codes Have Considerable Value

Someone recently mentioned to me, in a discussion of brand package identification, that QR Codes had disappeared.   I knew that was not the case, but did not have a good set of examples.  And then came this.  Here a very extensive look about how they are being used effectively in China.  Including illustrative pictures. Very useful if you are looking for examples.   I passed this along.

Remember QR Codes? They’re More Powerful Than You Think     by Avery Segal in Andreessen Horowitz

China’s mobile payment ecosystem, the largest in the world, is built upon QR codes. But that technology extends far beyond shopping to ease friction throughout daily life. On a recent trip to China, I personally interacted with QR codes 42 times in a single day—to ride the train, to book a workout, to charge my phone, even to buy a round of drinks for a stranger’s birthday.

Companies in the US have been slow to adopt QR codes, but those who dismiss them as having “been around forever but never taken off” underestimate their wide-ranging potential. Camera-based solutions like QR codes (or facial recognition, for that matter) can make traditionally clunky user experiences seamless and intuitive. QR codes connect our online identity to the offline world, allowing users to essentially log in to physical locations—and bring their data with them. This delivers a number of benefits: brands learn user preferences, while customers gain a more tailored and social experience, as well as perks like automatic loyalty programs built into every transaction.

It’s no coincidence that QR codes were popularized in China, where many consumers leapfrogged the PC and bought a smartphone as their first computer. As a result, many of China’s products are built first and foremost for mobile, a fact that was readily apparent on my recent trip to China. This list highlights just some of the ways QR codes enable a whole new set of mobile-first experiences: improving offline social interactions, promoting easy health monitoring, streamlining operational efficiencies, and establishing innovative shopping channels. Here are 16 (more!) ways China is using QR codes.  ... "