10.5937/sjas11-5504 = QR code based marketing in India and Japan

Abstract

Abstract:Despite the colossal growth of Quick Response Codes (QR codes) in marketing, many critics are worried about effective integration of QR code in marketing mix. The reason is the lack of knowledge about consumers' beliefs and intentions towards QR codes. Substantial variations in exposure and adoption rate of QR code across cultures further deteriorate the application of QR code in marketing. This study intends to explore consumers' beliefs and intentions towards QR codes in marketing across different cultures, namely India and Japan. The study also intends to analyze how the selected variables moderate the relationship between beliefs and intentions. A scenario-based experimental design was used and data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling and General Linear Modeling. The findings suggest a positive relationship between culture and beliefs as well as between beliefs and intentions. Further on, media and on-campaign instructions are found to be significantly moderating the relationship between beliefs and intentions. Finally, based on the key findings, the study offers some valuable perspectives on the evolving nature of QR codes in marketing and provides implications for marketers.

Effectiveness of pull-based print advertising with QR codes

“…The results demonstrate that although marketers have widely adopted QR codes, they should not use them pervasively or indiscriminately; rather, they should use them for predefined, specific marketing objectives, considering both the nature of the ad appeal and the product category involvement of target customers. Thus, the results are in line with the suggestion of Bamoriya (2014) that marketers wanting to implement QR codes in their marketing strategies should first define their specific objectives and the communication context to achieve meaningful results.…”

“…Information contained in a QR code can be accessed by smartphones with appropriate code-reading software (Dou and Li, 2008). Currently, QR codes can be used in any size, ranging from billboards to small stamps (Bamoriya, 2014). Traditional black-and-white QR codes can be replaced with designer QR codes printed in multiple colours, and they can include brand names and logos on the forefront of the code image (Podfigurny, 2011).…”

“…This enables marketers to create advanced multichannel and multimedia marketing campaigns (Tolliver-Walker, 2011). As an additional advantage, QR codes allow marketers to track the number of code scans and to identify the source medium of the scan (Bamoriya, 2014), thus facilitating improved tracking of consumer activity and in-depth evaluation of message effectiveness.…”

“…Because of these advantages, the use of QR codes has increased exponentially worldwide in various forms of marketing communication (Daniells, 2011). As Bamoriya (2014) reports, QR scans increased worldwide by 45-49 per cent from 2010 to 2011, and 11 of 50 Fortune companies used QR codes in their marketing communications. Scanbuy, a leading mobile barcode company, reported an increase in QR code processing from 13 million in the first quarter of 2012 to 18 million in the first quarter of 2013 (Aquino, 2014).…”

“…Among the multitude of mobile advertising tools, quick response (QR) codes are a prominent pull-based advertising approach that is considered highly influential in consumers’ buying decision making processes (Albastroiu and Felea, 2015), as consumers can proactively retrieve additional information (Chen and Hsieh, 2012). A QR code is a two-dimensional code that can be scanned by smartphones and enables the user to access a specific company web page (Bamoriya, 2014), receive an e-coupon (Bisel, 2011), connect with a social media page, download a mobile application, browse an e-commerce portal or download detailed product/event information (Jung et al , 2012). More importantly, the QR-code-based consumer engagement process is initiated by the user; consequently, it is deemed less intrusive and more engaging (Dou and Li, 2008).…”