QR code usage in the USA has increased massively since 2019, with 52.6 million people using QR codes and now a whopping 89.5 million in 2023. The innovative scannable patterns have many uses and come in almost limitless permutations.
Businesses in the USA should start incorporating QR codes into their models now, as they can streamline various processes. They can take payments or display offers, menus, and catalogs.
What are QR Codes?
You may not be sure what a QR code is, but you’ve probably seen one before. As ExpressVPN reports, quick response codes first emerged in Asia and are mostly seen in China. They are modern-day keys that instantly open a world of information after users scan them.
To use a QR code, you simply have to open the camera on your smartphone and hold it up to the unique pattern. That then provides the option to open a web page. It can also be done through banking apps, where the QR code will take a consumer to the seller’s bank details.
Businesses in the USA are starting to make QR codes in various ways. For instance, restaurant patrons can scan a QR code instead of having physical menus on a table to see an interactive offering. That wasn’t possible before smartphones. However, now that 92 percent of people in the USA own a device, it’s much easier for businesses to introduce QR codes.
Swift and Easy Payments
QR codes are helping countries in Asia move towards eliminating paper and coins. The Straits Times reports that China is on the way to becoming the world’s first-ever cashless society, which could be thanks to the prevalence of QR codes in the country. People don’t need to carry cash when they can always whip out their smartphone and pay using the camera.
In countries where the internet has mass coverage, it’s even possible for rural sellers to offer QR codes and move away from cash. Thailand is one of Southeast Asia’s leading countries for internet penetration, with around 54 million users in 2022. That has led to QR codes becoming almost universal across the country. Even market vendors in the countryside turn to QR codes for swift and easy payments.
Offers and Catalogs
Businesses in the USA can turn to QR codes for many uses. Along with acting as a method for performing swift transactions, they can improve customer service and interactivity at points of contact with customers.
For example, QR codes could be used on websites to assist consumers in downloading a company’s app. They can also be printed on tables and windows at a business’s physical location. Consumers will then be able to interact with them and find more information.
As we’ve discussed here on Valiant CEO before, it could be considered business wisdom for companies in the USA to now move towards bringing in QR codes. They can open numerous ways for people to get involved with a business and will likely boom in popularity in the years ahead.