QR codes seem to have become part of the new normal after popping up everywhere since March 2020. The convenience of pointing your smartphone at a code and getting a menu or paying the bill at shops, restaurants, and pubs has led to their widespread use. QR codes are now even being used on Covid-19 vaccine apps to prove vaccination status and gain entry to certain venues. A new study from YouGov, however, shows some British consumers still find using QR codes hard.
Before the pandemic, more than half of consumers aged 65+ hadn’t used a QR code, compared to just 15% of 18-24 and 25-39-year-olds. That left a lot of older people with catching up to do when it came to this re-born technology.
But our research shows that they have done just done that. Of those aware of QR codes, older consumers are only about as likely today to find QR codes difficult to use as Brits overall (12% of those 65+ find them difficult to use vs. 13% nationally).
Do QR codes work for promoting goods and services?
In the last three months, nearly two-thirds of GB adults who know what a QR code is (65%) had used them at least once at a bar/restaurant, venue or store.
But while QR codes are also becoming increasingly popular in marketing activities, only 29% of GB adults have used the technology for marketing, advertising or promotional offers in the last three months, out of which 40% were 18-24-year-olds, followed by 41% of 25-39-year-olds. These figures seem correlated to age, with each advancing age group expressing a lower likelihood to have used a QR code related to marketing offers.
Are QR codes here to stay?
Most GB adults are willing to use QR codes in the future (79%), and that includes older age groups. Four in five GB adults aged 65 and older say they’re willing to use QR codes more, just three points less than the proportion of 18-24-year-old consumers who told us the same (83%).
Nearly two-thirds of the general population in the GB consider QR codes to be a permanent part of using their phones in the future, and that includes older demographics.
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Methodology: YouGov polled 1,185 GB adults online on September 14, 2021, between 4:43 p.m. BST and 6:05 p.m. BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. Results are nationally representative of adults in the United Kingdom. The margin of error is 5% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.
