Win the Shopfloor with QR Codes

When Amazon.com reports revenue of nearly $13 billion in one fiscal year, I’m of the opinion that this whole “shopping online” thing is here to stay; most decidedly more than “just a fad.” And yet, I still see manufacturers who are hesitant to jump into the eCommerce game.

Fragile retail relationships

The fact remains that many major consumer packaged goods brands still do a vast majority of their sales through retail channels and fear they could potentially damage these valuable relationships if they opened up another path to more revenue (and significantly better margins).

And yet, the value of digital content to the consumer continues to increase. How do manufacturers reconcile the value of digital marketing content with a completely real-life brick & mortar sales experience.

Well first, make sure there’s access to digital content at point of sale … enter, the mobile smartphone. And second, provide a path to the content.

Enter, the scannable 2D barcode

The technology is old – UPC barcodes have been in regular use at retail locations since 1974. But, as we always like to point out here at Tippingpoint Labs, what’s old is new again. Technology like QR codes, Microsoft’s TAG, and others, are providing easy paths to valuable product content via mobile devices.

Leveraging point of sale barcodes

Consumers looking for that extra push over the cliff in a retail environment will likely be moved by an extremely practical and beneficial demonstration of the product in action.

In addition, video streaming is an extremely critical component in the mobile browsing experience with Cisco predicting 2/3 of all mobile traffic will be video-based by 2015.

Here are three essential content elements to help optimize the point-of-sale experience in the mobile age:

• Product reviews. After price comparison, the most common activity for smartphone usage was researching and reviewing consumer reviews of products, according to InsightExpress.
• Brief product demo videos. Video may be popular, but no one is going to stand in front of your widget watching a 10-minute demonstration. The video should be a very brief demonstration of the immediate benefit of owning the product.
• Reward. The consumer has just spent the time to research YOUR product. Ideally, that last incentive to purchase should be a financial one. A coupon for a discount on the product researched should be the last push they need.

Barcodes aren’t just links

The biggest mistake to avoid squandering the point-of-sale opportunity. If a consumer is in a store and has made the effort to scan a code to learn more, they’ve got the cash to spend and the sale is yours to lose. DON’T link that barcode to your corporate website’s homepage.

If nothing else, link them to the product’s specific product page. And still, if it’s not mobile optimized, this is a less than effective experience. This is the final stage of the sales process, and you need to get the relevant content in front of the consumer FAST. Make sure that the content you’re delivering is a purely mobile experience: quick to load, relevant, and easy to navigate.

The possibilities…

Mobile barcode marketing would be a quick, easy win for a brand like Whole Foods. Consider the possibilities of promoting the source and freshness of produce. For those who are picky about where and how their fruits and vegetables were cultivated, a quick barcode scan could reveal the source, route, ship date, and even soil type of that avocado you may want to turn into guacamole.

Or better still, how about a quick guacamole recipe video to demonstrate the immediate value of having that avocado in your kitchen?

The result is a completely user-initiated sales experience, free from the shipping limitations of eCommerce and without the installation of expensive point-of-sale video technology.

Point-of-sale barcodes are just one digital opportunity you may be missing. Learn more about how Tippingpoint Labs analyzes your brand’s unique values and opportunities to uncover your true digital potential.