Retail QR codes: How to use them effectively

One key goal in the direct-to-consumer retail industry is making sure customers have a positive experience. Whether they’re interacting with retailers by entering contests, offering feedback, or simply browsing and buying, customers expect a smooth, worry-free experience. That’s where quick response (QR) codes come in. They’re easy to set up and scan, and offer accuracy and efficiency.

In this article, we’ll look at many different ways businesses can use a retail QR code and how they can set one up with Jotform.

Using retail QR codes to your advantage

“For a business, using QR codes is a neat solution for marketing an array of offers, products, and services,” says Matt Strutte, head of growth at Blinq, a digital business card provider. “Teams can build a library of codes, personalize their shape, add the company logo, and add tracking so each code scan can provide performance data.

“The ubiquity of QR code scanning technology also means businesses can rely on customers knowing what to do when they’re presented with a code. For a lot of us, it’s become second nature to scan codes every day,” he adds.

Here are a number of ways retail businesses can incorporate QR codes for employees and customers alike.

Contest entries

If retailers want to get prospects and customers excited about their brand, a contest is a great way to generate interest — especially if prizes include free products and services or significant discounts. Retailers can use a QR code in marketing materials that links to a contest entry form, making it easy for users to try for the grand prize.

Customer feedback

To improve their processes, products, and services, retailers need to gather feedback from customers. A retail QR code for a customer feedback form can encourage customers to share helpful information. For example, retailers can offer customers a discount code if they provide feedback on their experience at the store.

“We’ve also seen retail businesses add QR codes to their employees’ name badges to share reviews and feedback after positive interactions,” says Strutte.

Newsletter subscribers

A newsletter is an excellent way for retailers to stay top-of-mind with existing customers and nurture prospects. They can share information about upcoming sales, new product launches, and other exciting events. To get subscribers to their newsletter, retailers can use QR codes on receipts, marketing materials, and forms that link to a newsletter subscription signup.

Market research surveys

Conducting market research is an excellent way for retailers to understand what kinds of products and services their target audience is interested in. Through online surveys, for example, retailers can gather data about customer needs, price sensitivities, or competitor advantages. A QR code within a market research survey form can link users to a thank-you reward for their time.

Discounts and promotions

“Imagine applying QR codes to in-store promotions, where a customer has to visit your store to scan the code and redeem an offer,” says Strutte. Rewarding existing customers shows that retailers value their business. Discounts and promotions are an excellent way to build loyalty and show appreciation — and attract new customers who may be sensitive to pricing. Retailers can provide discounts and promo codes through QR codes on various marketing materials and forms.

Leveraging QR codes easily with Jotform

Setting up a retail QR code is easy when you have the right tools. With Jotform, retailers can create forms for any purpose — such as collecting contest entries, customer feedback, registrations, and so much more. Each template is fully customizable, all the way down to the form fields, colors, and images.

Using the QR code widget, retailers can add a QR code to any form in Jotform, encoding it with the text, numbers, or URL they need. Or, they can use a QR code to share their form, either by downloading the image of the code or embedding it on a website.

Retailers that want to improve the customer experience have many options, such as using contests to increase interest and offering discounts to foster loyalty. A retail QR code can make any of those processes easier for retailers — especially if they use intuitive and streamlined tools like Jotform.

“The fact that the vast majority of smartphone users have a QR reader built into their phone’s camera app means a single scan can be used to share a lot of information quickly and easily,” says Strutte. Start taking advantage of that with Jotform today.

Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash