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Revelations from QR Code Study in the U.S. Market

comScore released the results of their latest market study on mobile phone user adoption of QR code scanning. Quick Response (QR) codes are a specific matrix bar code (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by a mobile smartphone.

The study found that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S. market -- representing 6.2 percent of the total mobile phone user population -- scanned a QR code on their mobile device.

The study uncovered that a mobile user who scanned a QR code during the month was more likely to be male (60.5 percent of code scanning audience), skew toward ages 18-34 (53.4 percent) and have a household income of $100k or above (36.1 percent).

"QR codes demonstrate just one of the ways in which mobile marketing can effectively be integrated into existing media and marketing campaigns to help reach desired consumer segments," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile.

For marketers, understanding which consumer segments scan QR codes, the source and location of these scans, and the resulting information delivered, is crucial in developing and deploying campaigns that successfully utilize QR codes to further brand engagement.

Analysis of the source and location of QR code scanning revealed further insights into how consumers are interacting with this marketing tool. The most popular source of a scanned QR code was a printed magazine or newspaper, with nearly half scanning QR codes from this source.

Product packaging was the source of QR code scanning for 35.3 percent of the audience, while 27.4 percent scanned a code from a website on a PC and 23.5 percent scanned codes from a poster, flyer or kiosk.

Among mobile users who scanned a QR code on their mobile devices in June, 58.0 percent did so from their home, while 39.4 percent did so from a retail store and 24.5 percent did so from a grocery store. Nearly 20 percent scanned a QR code while at work, while 12.6 percent did so outside or on public transit and 7.6 percent did so while in a restaurant.

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