Archive forApril, 2011

The use of QR codes is mainstream in Japan, growing in Europe, and gaining traction in the U.S. The key to success is that they take advantage of the exploding popularity of a device that many of us always have close by—our smartphones. According to Nielsen, 17% of the U.S. population own a smartphone—a phone that contains (at the very least) a camera and a browser to access the Internet. A few other compelling statistics supporting the popularity of smartphone use are:

• The number of times we access the Internet daily from our smartphones has almost doubled in the last year (Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet and America Life Project 2010 Tracking Survey).
• 20% of all consumers used their phones to browse and research products (Source: ATG Cross-Channel Commerce: The Consumer View).
• 37% of U.S. smartphone users have made a purchase on their phones in the last six months (source: Compete, Inc.).
• Mobile commerce tripled in the U.S. in 2009 to $1.2 billion (Source: ABI Research).
• In 2015, $119 billion in goods and services will be purchased via mobile phone (Source: ABI Research).
• eBay m-commerce in 2010 was $2 billion, up from $600 million in 2009