QR Codes in Marketing: An Empirical Study on Awareness and Opinions Regarding QR Code Usage Among Young Indian Adults

Abstract

In todays international market, brand awareness among consumers plays a very important role in the sales turnover of the company. Every company invests heavily to increase the market share. Consumers engage with various mobile services such as SMS, MMS, and the latest mobile applications in their cellphones. Therefore, the mobile platform offers an exciting opportunity that can be leveraged by marketers for their brands and products. The recent trend that is creating waves in this area of mobile marketing is that of Quick Response (QR) codes. Quick response code, commonly known as QR code is the present buzzword in the mobile marketing world. It gives marketers an opportunity to interact with consumers and engage them with their brand. The primary aim of this research is to study the consumers awareness and opinion about QR codes and intends to highlight various issues related to it. The study also explores the reasons why QR codes can be a particularly powerful means of engaging with consumers and to what extent consumers have accepted the technology particularly the young Indian. Through a field survey data was collected from 240 respondents of age 19 years and above, in Hyderabad through questionnaire. The data was analysed through SPSS. This paper provides practical recommendations to marketers, with regard to implementation of a marketing campaign using QR codes. Results reveal that some respondents do not have the capability to scan QR codes because they dont have the smartphones, they still have a high awareness of QR codes and where these are being shown up in different media. Based on the results obtained, measures were suggested to improve the QR code awareness. Majority of respondents felt that QR codes are not linked to incentives and QR codes are mainly used for informative purpose. Implications and future research issues are also discussed.

Keywords: Quick Response Code, International Market, Print Media, Smartphones, Mobile Marketing, Technology, Marketing

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