How retail stores are using 2D barcodes to offer better service

Imagine you are at your local grocery store and you pick up a Nestle’s chocolate package. You notice that there is a call-to-action on the package and it says scan the 2D, 1D, or QR barcode with your mobile phone to get a coupon. So you figure, why not?

Snap a pic of the barcode, seconds later on your mobile screen, you have the option to not only get a coupon, but also get a recipe on how to bake cookies with Nestle chocolate chips and even watch a cooking video on your mobile phone!

So now all of a sudden Nestle has given the consumer valuable information like ingredients, recipes, coupons, and videos all from the packaging itself! Now the packaging can be transformed into a multi-media shopping experience. Or what if you are strolling in the dairy aisle. Maybe a promotion for milk will be sent to your mobile phone. Maybe stores will begin to offer loyalty programs on cellphones, not just on plastic cards. Stores who know how to use technology to make shopping easier for consumers will flourish.

How about being able to literally window shop – actually stand outside a store, take a picture of an item in the store window with your mobile phone, and buy it? Even when the store is closed? Sounds futuristic? Nope. Scanlife technology actually is already doing this.

Extending the phone to use as a scanner in the retail world definitely makes the shopping experience more entertaining. As one can see, it is a very convenient way to create interactivity between the brand and the consumer.

Read more about mobile technologies that are making shopping easier at FoneGigsBlog.com.