Wholesale, QR Codes | Retail is changing: now it's more common

QR codes are being used more and more and now there are more in retail who are using them.

Before Christmas last year, Kondomeriet did a new job, which will likely become more popular in the future: QR codes to increase merchandise sales.

The use of QR codes is becoming increasingly common, especially during the Corona pandemic where restaurants and cafes have asked guests, among other things, to record their contact information for any infection tracing. But QR codes can also be used to get people to shop for items with just a few clicks

Condominium tried that last year, when they tested the QR code on outdoor advertising posters, something Campaigns mentioned last year. Owe Stangeland, director of commercial digital innovation at Kondomeriet, told Nettavisen that they had a good response to the poster campaign in 2020. But there is still a long way to go.

“Unfortunately, most of us are trained that a QR code leads to a website with more information, and therefore are not yet used to being able to direct purchases,” he says.

However, it gave the campaign more flavor, and in November they will once again try to promote the sale of this year’s Christmas calendar using a QR code. This time it won’t be on the posters.

—This year, it’s on a shop window in stores, in connection with the November Christmas calendar campaign, he says.

Stangeland says they believe this way of doing marketing will become more and more popular in the near future.

— Therefore, Kondomeriet wants to continue testing the QR code on Vipps, he continues.

Although now only for Christmas calendars there will be a QR code in the shop window in their stores, in the future Kondomeriet wants this to be on all products displayed in their shop windows.

– Improve display

Bjørn Næss, CEO of Oslo Handelstands Forening (OHF), recognizes that many workers in the retail industry have used QR codes.

– I have great faith in him. There are quite a few of our members who actively use them today, including in store windows, he tells Netavizen.

He refers, among other things, to the Sprell Riktige Laker in central Oslo, which has a QR code in the shop window outside the store. He also notes that Steen & Strøm use QR codes in their store windows.

The use of QR codes in Norway has not yet been developed, but I think many have opened their eyes to using them more, he says.

He believes that more will be used, due to the rapid digitization taking place in trade.

Most people have an online store, so QR codes are a good way to get information about products, price, and the like, says Ness, and points out:

“I think it’s an improvement on the digital offering, and it provides an opportunity to increase customer service, availability and the need for information that consumers have,” says Ness.

He also knows that QR codes are often used within stores, for example to provide more information about merchandise.

Do not ship from stores

However, the condominium does not ship merchandise from physical stores.

– As of today, we send out our goods from online stores. In Bergen, Oslo and Sandnes, we’re now testing “Click and Take Home with Wolt” using a QR code in a Christmas calendar campaign. We currently don’t have any plans to “click and get” in our QR campaigns in the future, Stangeland says.

How can QR codes help not weaken physical commerce in physical stores, but rather strengthen it?

– By using QR codes for direct shopping, the customer will have a better relationship with the site, in our case these physical stores. In the case of repeat purchases, we hope the customer will want to continue using our local stores, he says.

Stangeland says that using QR codes outside of stores means that Kondomeriet locally can give a customer a link they wouldn’t normally need to an online store.

In the future, the expanded use of QR codes will also be used for secret commerce within stores, which could help enhance physical commerce and the customer’s shopping experience, he says.

-When it comes to future use and the opportunities that lie with the use of QR codes (Vipps or others), we see great opportunities, he points out.

Active part of the online store

During this year’s Virke-sponsored trade conference, held in September, Vipps CEO Rune Garborg spoke about future commerce and the use of QR codes.

Vipps is now working with many of Norway’s largest retailers on new solutions such as taking advantage of opportunities with QR in the future.

Commerce in Norway is facing major changes as a result of increased online shopping, and QR codes are building a bridge between the digital and the physical, says Vigar Heyer, Commercial Director at Vipps.

QR is a great way to turn passive market surfaces, such as billboards, mailbox ads, newsletters, shop windows, and the like, into an active part of your online store. Customers get the opportunity to purchase products and pay for them instantly. Scan the QR code, see the product and pay instantly. There and then, he says.

He points out that this gives stores a number of new opportunities both inside and outside the store.

Think pre-sales for a new phone model, a pop-up store at book launches or merchandise at concerts — or soccer kits, Heir points out.

When customers can buy as soon as they see information about a product, the marketing effect will be much stronger and more measurable, he says.

Last year, Norwegians especially got used to scanning QR codes for various purposes, after restaurants, among other things, started with QR codes for ordering food as a result of the pandemic. The QR code is also commonly used as a boarding pass.

– Therefore, we believe that QR is a more mature technology now than it was just two years ago. Heir says people know what to use QR for.