Mobile consumers want innovations that remove hassle from their busy days
Mobile consumers are often busy, on-the-go people who use their smartphone to save them time and effort in addition to entertainment and socializing.
Imagine if you were to write a step-by-step list of everything that goes in to your work day from the time you get up in the morning to when you shut off the light and go to bed. Your list would be pages long and likely have a few tasks you dread. Now imagine if you could use your mobile device to completely eliminate some of those tasks.
Tesco Case Study
Tesco, one of the top grocery and general merchandise retailers worldwide with stores in 14 countries, did a test campaign in South Korea in an attempt to oust the first-place grocer in that country by eliminating the “stop by the grocery store on way home” task that so many of us dread. Tesco created a QR Code-enabled virtual grocery store and located it where mobile consumers congregate: the waiting area of the subway system. Consumers were able to select items with their smartphone, checkout and arrange delivery while waiting for their train.
This innovative use of QR codes can help Tesco gather multi-channel contact info for future marketing and build brand loyalty by offering convenience and solving problems for consumers.
It’s not perfect, but I give it an A for effort and innovation. Some people may drop out before completing the process of downloading, installing, and using QR code apps if they run into a snag along the way. The wall posters themselves are also vulnerable to graffiti and make it difficult to keep product listings fresh.
QR Codes for Productivity …
QR Codes can be effective as a productivity tool: assisting shoppers with comparing products, gathering product information, and in a retail setting such as this Tesco case. I would like to see retailers and manufacturers use QR codes to provide specific product information that may otherwise take several steps and searches to find through a web-browser – now that would be a productivity gain.
… Not as Navigation
We too often see QR code used incorrectly, just because they are cool and new and trendy. How often do you scan a code that takes you straight to the home page of a web site? Isn’t it easier to just navigate to that site? And have you ever had a code take you to a company’s LinkedIn or Facebook page? That’s equally annoying to me.
Innovate to Engage
The bottom line is that a time-saving tool that actually takes more time and introduces complexity isn’t awesome. It’s like an abbreviation that is longer than the original name. If you truly want to engage consumers, think of new ways to use technology that make things easier, simpler for the user.
I think there’s something wrong with the RSS feed here. Seems like a broken link to me?