Being an e-commerce business owner, you might have observed two-dimensional barcodes on sites, advertisements, videos, etc. These two-dimensional barcodes are not fancy lines and boxes. They are QR (quick response codes), acting as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds.
The trend of scanning these codes has increased by 57% globally(as of September 2024) and a 22% increase is expected in their usage in 2025. The reason behind this rise is smartphone penetration and instant activity.
In this blog post, you’ll explore what benefits these codes can bring to e-commerce businesses and why they should opt for them.
Reasons eCommerce Businesses Should Leverage QR Codes
The incorporation of QR barcodes inside your eCommerce business will bring in many benefits both for you and the customers. Below are three key benefits among them.
1. Streamline Customer Journey
QR codes let you streamline your eCommerce strategy. They simplify the path of customers from finding product information to making a purchase. With a QR code, you can drive your customer to a specific product page, promotions, deals, cart, etc.
For example, you can place QR codes in your advertisement material, so they can save their efforts of searching for product information and services manually. Upon scanning, you can make them able to access the information related to products, i.e., specs, pricing, reviews, etc.
Besides this, by placing them on banners in promotional events and marketing stalls, you can make the interested customers make an instant purchase right by scanning a code.
2. Enhance Marketing Efforts
The majority of e-commerce businesses connect with their customers via marketing campaigns. QR codes are providing them an innovative and dynamic way to connect with their audience. You can add them to marketing emails or flyers and let customers scan the code to get access to exclusive deals and discounts.
Moreover, you can add them to product packages with video tutorials inside them. Upon scanning the code, customers can easily get to know how to use the item they have just bought.
Furthermore, you can use them in community events and social media posts to encourage your customers to follow your pages.
3. Improve Operational Efficiency
QR codes let eCommerce businesses streamline their operations. For example, businesses can add barcodes on their stock items and storage boxes. With a single scan, they’ll get to know about inventory levels. This will save a lot of effort that is required to track inventory manually.
Moreover, you can also use them to bring transparency to shipping operations. By putting them on shipping labels, you can provide real-time order tracking for your customers. Doing this will also assist internal makers in warehouse coordination.
How to Incorporate QR Codes?
To incorporate QR codes in your eCommerce business, you have to be strategic. To simplify the process for you, we have organized the essentials below into simple steps. Implementing them will let you incorporate them with ease.
1. Look for a QR Code Generator
Once you have decided to leverage these codes for your business, start by looking for a reliable tool. The one that lets you make one with ease and align it with your branding needs.Tools like Uniqode's QR Code Generator are perfect for this purpose, offering a seamless way to design customized QR codes that suit your business requirements while enhancing your marketing efforts.
Being involved in online business, you might have heard about Canva. It’s a platform that many e-businesses use for designing their marketing material and product photos. This platform also offers a QR code generator tool that you can use to generate one. Besides Canva, you can also find similar tools on Shopify and Wix.
2. Generate and Test the Code
Using any of the tools we mentioned earlier, generate a code. The steps are very simple:
- Signup & login to the platform (mostly required)
- Provide the information or link that you want to embed inside the code
- Choose colors that align with your business branding
- Hit the generate button
- Download the code
Once you have generated the code, the next step is to test it. It is crucial to make sure that your code is working well and, upon scanning, driving the user to the information you have embedded in. To test one, use the QR code scanner by Imagetotext.info . The tool is free to use, and you can test the code both by uploading it or doing a real-time scan using your smartphone.
3. Place it Strategically
If the generated code has passed the test and is working fine, the next step is the placement. Do it the right way. The code must be visible at the forefront. For eCommerce businesses, it is mostly suggested to use them on:
- Product packaging
- Email campaigns
- Shipping labels
- Ads
- Physical storefront (if applicable)
Final Words
QR codes are becoming a fundamental part of modern eCommerce. They are enabling instant AR product visualizations or one-scan seamless payments. For e-commerce business owners, now is the time to integrate them into their operations. These squares can make a difference in your customer experiences, marketing strategies, and operational processes.
