QR Codes are beginning to have a significant impact on the consumer, appearing on advertising materials and packaging of all descriptions. As buyers become more comfortable with the technology, retailers are able to leverage the potential of QR codes to engage with customers directly through their smartphone.

At present most QR Code Marketing efforts by retailers are almost solely a vehicle for providing additional product information. A customer scans a QR code with a dedicated app on their smartphone and receives some additional on screen information. Although pretty cool for the customer the first time round, after a while the novelty will wear off and they will not be quite so interested the next time round. Less QR code scans mean less potential value-added sales.

Flat Pack Hell

DIY chain Selfix were faced with a major dilemma when sales of their flat pack furniture were far lower than initially predicted. After conducting a number of in-store surveys, the marketing department began to notice a trend in responses; essentially customers were put off by the need to self-assemble the furniture because of the perceived complexity of the procedure. So severe was this misconception that most customers were choosing to pay considerably more for pre-assembled furniture. Probing of survey responses also revealed that the instructions supplied with pre-pack furniture was considered worse than useless, making customers extremely unlikely to buy it.

Realising that this situation would require a creative solution, Selfix approached Paul Lakeman of Near Field Communication (Jersey). Lakeman was able to point out that not only would the solution to the perception problem require “out of the box” thinking, but that the ideal solution to the problem lay outside the product package too.

“Selfix had a problem which was going to be very difficult to solve through traditional methods,” explains Lakeman, “the flat pack furniture had been packaged in China along with the instructions into sealed boxes. The cost of replacing the instructional leaflets was going to be phenomenal in labour and reprinting costs alone.”

Recognising the success of video tutorials online, Lakeman suggested that Selfix create a number of video tutorials showing customers how to assemble each item of furniture and upload them to their company website. Lakeman then suggested creating QR codes which linked to each video and printed them on stickers which could be affixed to the flat pack boxes for a minimal cost.

“Selfix deployed a number of PoS displays in store detailing how to use QR Codes and which apps can be used on various smartphones. Customers were encouraged to scan the QR Codes on the furniture boxes before purchase. When buyers saw how easy it was to assemble the furniture, they felt more confident about successfully completing the task. And the knowledge that all they needed to do was scan the code again with their phone to view the video at home.”

After trialing retail QR Codes in Selfix stores for a few weeks, the marketing department re-canvassed customers to get their impressions. By combining the results of their surveys with the analytical data produced by Lakeman’s QR-Reactor platform which was tracking user scans, it was quickly apparent that customers were scanning codes on a regular basis and that sales of the flat pack range had tripled when compared to the preceding three weeks.

“A creative retail QR code campaign was able to add significant value for the user helping to raise their confidence in the furniture and their own abilities. By the same token, Selfix saved themselves a fortune on a product line they regarded as failing, turning the whole situation round into a success” summarises Lakeman.

Growing Gardening Sales

As the financial downturn began to bite, Selfix identified their garden centre as a potential growth market as consumers sought to grow more of their own produce to reduce their food bills. Buoyed by the success of the previous retail QR code experiment, it was decided to try using them again to engage and inspire customers.

The mobile-optimised section of the Selfix website was extended to include additional information about the fruit and vegetables sold. Each plant or seed pack had a QR code attached which directed the user to a product specific webpage. Along with the obvious information such as cultivation times and the optimal planting periods, Selfix commissioned a number of cooking videos featuring Michelin star chef Pierre du Val cooking with the ingredient. The pages detailed each of the ingredients required for the recipe, and where relevant, the location of the plant in the garden centre.

Paul Lakeman was again asked to consult on the project, “Previously we had used QR-Reactor to track customer interactions with the codes, but this time we felt it was important to go further and try and get the customers to interact with Selfix on a deeper level. We wanted to turn buyers into repeat buyers.”

Selfix set about placing links on their mobile webpages to their company Facebook page, encouraging customers to “Like” them in return for the chance to receive frequent special offers. Selfix also set out to keep customers informed by encouraging them to sign up to their Twitter feed, allowing for the advertisement of flash sales and other price reductions.

Lakeman also helped Selfix begin refreshing their list building efforts by crafting a number of data collection forms linked into the mobile website. “The QR-Reactor platform coupled with permissions-based data collection forms gave Selfix a fantastic insight into their customer’s needs and wishes, helping them create incredibly personalised and increasingly successful marketing campaigns.”

QR Codes And NFC Smart Posters

Inspired by the success of providing instructional videos to customers directly through their smartphones, Selfix began investigating other ways they could take advantage to increase revenues across all of their product lines. Using the concept of “projects”, Selfix produced a number of videos for more complex DIY jobs such as replacing a sink, building a wall and hanging a shelf, which were then hosted on the company website.

Under the guidance of Paul Lakeman, Selfix deployed a number of Smart Posters across their stores which combined retail QR codes with new Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to further enhance the customer experience. As before, customers scanning the printed QR code with their phones were redirected to mobile-optimised version of the company website which showed them the project video and a shopping list of the items and tools required to complete the project.

Customers with NFC-enabled smartphones however could simply “tap” their phone on the smart poster to receive the same video content, as well as a downloadable shopping list, allowing them to check the items off as they picked them up around the store. So far, nothing “new”, but as Lakeman explains, the NFC aspect of the smart posters was remarkable. “Once the customer tapped their phone and acquired the parts list, using GPS technology, the user could see their location on a map of the store along with shelf locations and real-time stock levels. In the event that one of the items was out of stock, the user was immediately offered a suitable alternative allowing for immediate upselling and preventing lost sales. All the user needed to do was to follow the directions provided to find exactly what they needed without any fuss hunting around the store.”

Selfix were again able to record a marked increase in sales of the items listed in the projects. Customers also reported that the provision of video tutorials was exceptionally helpful in completing their own projects and the time saving aspect of store navigation was a real bonus.

Since first dabbling with retail QR Codes and NFC smart posters, mobile advertising has become a staple part of the Selfix marketing portfolio. Such is the success level, Selfix have begun to scale back previous advertising efforts using traditional techniques such as flyers and postcards. “By using the full potential of mobile marketing technologies, Selfix have managed to convert customers into repeat customers,” said Lakeman, “The creativity of the campaigns are key to their success. Best of all, the relative costs of QR codes and NFC tags are quite small. The return on investment is inversely proportional to the initial outlay.”

To find out more about retail QR code marketing and NFC smart posters, contact Paul Lakeman at Near Field Communication (Jersey) on 07797 897 614