April 24, 2013

Smartphone users prefer scanning QR Codes or typing URL links?

Many of our customers ponder over this question before rolling out a mobile campaign.

It is a relevant question because, for most out door or print campaigns - the end user will be interacting with your campaign with their always available smartphone.

What does the data from campaigns conducted on Qryptal say?

Given a choice, an over whelming majority preferred to scan the QR Code versus typing the URL in their phone browser.



This is probably because:

  • For people who know about QR Codes, it is much easier to scan the code with their usual QR Code Reader App and avoid the frustration of typing either long readable URLs or cryptic short URLs (common to make typing mistakes on the small screen)
  • At least for campaigns conducted on Qryptal, the awareness about QR Codes in the target segment is very high (latest data from 2013 indicates an even higher preference for QR Codes)

Even with this data, our recommendation to customers is to keep the URL: caters to a wider audience and gives a human readable clue on where they are heading (at times it has helped the people printing and putting up the material to verify that the correct QR Code is being used).


This data clearly indicates that you will be making it easier for your customers by giving them an option to scan the QR Code instead of just providing a link to type.

But do keep in mind that the QR Code is just an enabler provided you get the much more important foundation right: make it mobile friendly and have a relevant call to action. Many of our customers have come to us after discovering this the hard way - using a desktop page for an out door or print campaign is a dead end today.

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