Customers take a flexible, personalized path to purchase and they expect companies to perfect each interaction across multiple channels. According to Foresee, 41% of shoppers use two or more channels during the purchase process. As customers move from one channel to another, providing an omnichannel harmony is a must. Thanks in large part to Amazon, the store is now the fulfillment vessel for digital. Coupon QR codes can bridge the gap between online and offline channels, providing a transparent background for your promotions.
The present is a Mobile
It's not the future anymore, shoppers are already choosing the mobile shopping experience as their preferred channel, as the data shows a dramatic 20% increase in Mobile shopping over the last 18 months. Customers even use their mobiles while shopping in-store, as nearly half of all smartphone users have used their phones while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores – 40% of them to compare the competition’s prices. In another study by Coupon Follow, 73% of millennials search for coupons online before making an online or offline purchase. Retailers need to cater more closely to the unique needs and wishes of their customers across multiple touchpoints. Using QR codes, you can create a seamless experience for your coupons combining both offline and online channels to start attracting and engaging with new and existing customers.
It's well known since the internet altered the marketing dynamic that: Customers call the shots and companies must excel at meeting their needs and perfect each interaction. The customer's journey is taking different paths and shapes - the consumer starts the interaction through a particular channel and completes the purchase in another. Providing an omnichannel experience is no longer a choice. It's becoming faster and easier to understand and meet your customers' needs when you employ both digital and physical outlets.
Why should you integrate QR codes into your promotions?
Connecting online to offline
27% of Mobile shoppers will end up purchasing in-store and 89% of store shoppers will purchase on spot. Being available on mobile and offline, QR codes can be the perfect way to integrate both worlds. You can send the promotion online and the consumer redeems it in your physical store or any other partner location. And this takes us to the next advantage...
Coupon QR codes are mobile-friendly and easy to distribute
As demonstrated earlier in this article, The present is Mobile! The customer doesn't have to print the coupon and remember to bring it. It can be easily added to her mobile wallet, so the customer won't lose it and it will send notifications to remind her of the available coupon and when it will end.
QR codes are trackable
Using coupon software that offers campaign analytics or using web analytics and employing unique coupon QR codes for each campaign and marketing channel, in real-time, you can easily gain valuable information, about what works and what doesn't. This is also a critical point if you are working with affiliate partners, to discourage abuse from "illicit" partners, you must track how much their revenue contribution is driven by vouchers and benchmark the redemptions data altogether.
Vouchery is a coupon, discount & loyalty management, and automation platform where you can create, distribute, track and analyze personalized e-commerce promotions via our User Interface or API integration. You can easily generate unique coupon QR codes attributed to each channel, vendor, user type, product, or campaign. We also enable redemption data, for better and insightful analysis, ultimately, helping to get the most out of your promotional efforts and discourage any potential coupon fraud.
No need for a coupon infrastructure or an electronic cashier
You're worried that there's no QR code generation or scanning integrated into your Point-Of-Sale system? You can use Vouchery mobile app to scan every coupon QR code, even if you or your partners don't have an electronic cashier. This way you always get real-time redemption data and can always track your partner's affiliate sales.
QR codes can be saved for later to the Customer's mobile wallet
QR codes can be sent as an exclusive discount in a personalized email that can be saved to the consumer's mobile wallet, so they can easily access it anytime. The Coupon QR code can be easily redeemed and validated in-store by your staff using the Vouchery Mobile scanning app to painlessly verify the transaction.
Coupon QR codes campaign examples:
An example of an SMS campaign, executed on Vouchery.io through Twilio integration,
by Camden Market, an iconic London's craft marketplace.
1. Utilize QR codes to increase in-store traffic
QR codes can be easily integrated into your location-based marketing strategy to push short-term sales and increase in-store traffic. By targeting consumers around your store, a promo in the form of a QR code can be triggered to be sent to consumers once they are within your store's area. It can be in the form of a flash sale or a dynamic discount that its value decreases over time.
2. Use QR codes in gift cards or loyalty program
QR codes can be used in gift cards saved on consumers' smartphones, which can be redeemed many times. This ensures the customer won't lose it or do an effort to remember to bring it each time she is in your store. The same thing relates to the loyalty card - you can scan a Customer's personal loyalty QR code instead of a stamp card ( so old school, duuuuh! ) and assign a proper amount of points to their account for the purchase. Easy peasy.
3. Keep the conversation going: drive traffic from store to online
Possibly, one certain thing to point out is that there is a lot that can be done with QR codes. As it can be used to attract new customers and increase engagement, it can also be used post-purchase to increase retention. By putting the Dynamic Coupon QR code in use, you can create multiple campaigns with the same QR code. Dynamic QR codes are the upgraded version of the static QR code with the additional capability of changing the URL linked to the code based on location, time, or days. Adding a Dynamic QR code to the packaging to allow the customer to scan for refilling or reordering from your online store, can do wonders to your retention rates. Utilizing geo-location with QR codes, the same QR code that directs the customer to check more information about the product in-store, can display different information when outside the store - in this case, your online store. You can here take an extra step, by adding a coupon to the landing page, offered to motivate repurchase, or after the customer writes a review.
What is the workflow of an effective, trackable Coupon QR code campaign?
A promotional campaign strategy should be a part of a wider mission to shape the brand, deepen the customer relationship, and drive long-term growth. This is what we aim to promote at Vouchery and the mantra that our product is built on.
We are going to present the workflow using our User Interface and Mobile Scanning app for in-store redemption (in just four steps).
1. Campaign setup:
Firstly, you need to set up your campaign name, and description - the campaign details like your target audience, the goal of the campaign, etc. The campaign description should be well thought through as this information is what you will build on and finally assess your entire campaign. In this step, you can select a different type of promotion - a Discount, Gift Card, Referral, or Loyalty Program.
2. Define promotion:
Here you will be adding the promotion/reward basics, like the promo goal, marketing channel, and maximum budget and redemptions.
3. Reward settings and limitations.
In this step, the general reward limitations and restrictions are set up. General reward limitations: These are the basic campaign restrictions. For instance, if you are offering a flash sale then your limitations could be the time of order, how many times the user should be able to redeem your offer and the duration of your sale. Campaign categories: Here you can define the product or other categories related to the transaction, that should be valid for the redemption to take place, eg. product type, customer segment, order area, platform, etc.
4. Coupon QR codes generation and setup.
Finally, the codes are generated and can be simply downloaded as QR codes or picked up automatically via API and displayed to Customers in real-time through integration.
Want to test it yourself? Here you can sign up for a 30days free trial if you don't yet have a Vouchery.io account.
Introducing our mobile coupon scanning app.
Whatever the channel you choose to distribute your Coupon QR codes, when the customer visits your store, the QR code can be shown on any device and scanned and validated using Vouchery's mobile QR codes scanner. In this way, you get real-time redemption tracking data, so you can analyze all redeemed vouchers and filter data by campaign, vendor, user type, channel, and more!
Wrapping Up!
Coupon QR codes can seamlessly connect offline and online worlds, allowing to drive sales from online to offline and the opposite, easily and cost-effectively.
However, it requires a strong infrastructure to generate and scan QR codes. Once you develop the right campaign for your business and use suitable coupon software, QR codes are the most user-friendly way for your customers to use coupons on their mobile phones.