QR Technology Approaching Ubiquity in U.S.

In June we discussed Making Room in Your Ecosystem for QR Codes. At that time the good folks at ScanLife had released a report analyzing QR code implementation and interaction rates throughout 2010.  In a nutshell, the findings illustrated how QR technology in the U.S. is on the rise but still not quite to the state of omnipresence.

As we round the corner on the second half of 2011, let’s go to ScanLife’s latest report for a radically different snapshot of QR code adoption.

In mid-2010 ScanLife was only recording 10 QR code scans per minute.  As of this report, they are currently logging one scan per second. As you can see from the graph above, QR code adoption started slow but has grown exponentially since July 2010.  As U.S. handset companies begin to incorporate QR technology into their base models, expect the ‘per second scan rate’ to only increase.

Another golden nugget gleaned from the report is the increased usage among mainstream Americans, detailed in the image above.  As expected the 25 – 34 year old age group leads the charge, followed closely by 35 – 44 year olds.  The first-time homebuyer bracket (25 -34 years of age) has traditionally preferred to interact on mobile devices, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see that the 35 – 44 year old age group is:

1.) so close to the younger age group in number of scans, and

2.) scanning at a higher percentage/rate than the younger age group.  At the current rate this will result in a surplus of tech-savvy homebuyers spread across more age groups than ever before.

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The report also contains some interesting stats regarding mobile OS market share, scan rates per city and country, and an interesting comparison between 1D and 2D barcode scanning.  Click here for ScanLife’s Q2 2011 Trend Report.

-  Austin Smith, Goomzee Community Manager