QR Code Scanners Likely Male, Young

Although men and women report equal awareness of QR codes (77%), men who are aware of them are 75% more likely than women to have used one (28% vs. 16%) to access product information,according to survey results released in February 2012 by BrandSpark International, in association with Better Homes and Gardens. Looking at age groups, 18-34-year-olds (85%) display the highest awareness of QR codes, with 30% of those having used one. 35-49-year-olds are next, with 80% having heard of QR codes, and 23% of those respondents having used one.

These findings align with results from an August 2011 study released by comScore MobiLens, which found that a mobile user that scanned a QR code during June 2011 was more likely to be male (60.5% of code scanning audience), and skew toward ages 18-34 (53.4%).

According to the BrandSpark survey, overall, 77% of respondents are aware of QR codes, and of those, 19% have used one.

Smartphone Owners Interested in Coupons

Data from the “2012 American Shopper Study” indicates that 54% of smartphone owners are interested in using their device to download or scan coupons, while 32% would be interested in using an application that finds and categorizes mobile coupons. A significant proportion of smartphone owners are also interested in using their devices to make or store shopping lists (46%), make instant purchases/transactions (38%), use an app that informs them about new food, beauty/grooming, and household products (36%), and participate in a contest or other type of promotion (34%).

In fact, only about one-quarter of the respondents expressed no interest in performing any of those activities.

Women More Interested in Coupons

Female smartphone owners are 19% more likely than their male counterparts to say they would be interested in downloading or scanning coupons on their device (57% vs. 48%), and 55% more likely to say they would be interested in using an app that finds and categorizes mobile coupons (34% vs. 22%). Additionally, they are more interested in making instant purchases/transactions on their devices (39% vs. 29%).

Youth More Curious, Too

Breaking down the data by age groups, 18-34-year-olds (66%) are the most likely to be interested in downloading or scanning coupons, ahead of 35-49-year-olds (48%), and those over 50 (43%). The groups fall in the same order of preference when it comes to interest in using an app that finds and categorizes mobile coupons (35%, 28%, and 25%, respectively), and making instant purchases/transactions on their device (43%, 33%, and 28%, respectively).

About the Data: The BrandSpark International survey was conducted across the US, Canada, and Mexico from November 7, 2011 to January 26, 2012. The total North America sample size was almost 130,000. The sample size for the data on awareness and usage of QR codes was 2,933, while the sample size for the data on smartphone activities was 1,542