A new survey by Marketing Charts is suggesting merchants are beginning to warm up to the use of bar codes in their retail stores.  The survey showed 47% are using the codes compared to only 8% last year. Only 38% said they weren’t going to use them this year, which is well down from 72% who did not want to adopt bar codes last year.

The report also showed merchants are using bar codes primarily in print catalogues and in post cards/flyers, and as part of marketing promotional collateral. Do you think they’re ready for prime time and POP? Do you think manufacturer and retailer offers via qr codes are worth pursuing?  How have you seen qr codes being used in retail?

A survey conducted by Scanlife revealed that consumers are scanning 157% more than they did last year.  The company reviewed data from 5 million scanlife users and thousands of unique QR code campaigns.  Nielsen from its May 2012 study, revealed that smartphone users are scanning bar codes to access product details. In fact, 57% of mobile scanners did so.

According to a Nellymoser survey, the top reasons for merchants using QR codes was to showcase a video, push ecommerce, opt-in/sweepstakes email, store locator, coupons, photo galleries, downloads and social media.

The growing use of barcodes is peaking interest in mobile retail, sms in retail, instore deals, and shopper marketing. The demographic currently is young, however as retailers adopt mobile marketing technology, it’s almost certain we’ll see every demographic group begin to respond to texted offers, contests, and other promotions delivered through qr codes on packaging.

Looking to improve your POP campaigns in 2013. Read up on retailing trends, most popular displays, and get some tips on boosting your POP campaign ROI. The 2012 POPAI Shopper Study is worth a look too.