“QR Codes can add value to a consumer’s experience through additional information or insight.”, mentioned in Maddie’s blog post “Adding Value with Awesome QR Codes!!“, which reminds me of a video I watched a year ago about how Tesco made use of QR Codes to boost its sales in Korea. In my opinion, Maddie’s view is right, but precisely, how this marketing tool adds value to customers’ shopping experience depends on the target market.

Consumers doing their grocery shopping in subway with QR Codes!

Tesco, an international grocery chain, of which operation in South Korea as “Home Plus” took the advantage of QR Codes to enhance customers’ shopping experience. They set up virtual grocery stores in the subway and allow customers to order the products by scanning the codes on posters during their waiting time for a train. After transactions are confirmed, the products will be delivered to customers’ houses in the same day.

I believe you may doubt about the effectiveness of this marketing strategy since customers may only know the real quality of the chosen items after  delivery. You cannot pick the flawless products on the shelves by yourself. Whether the fruit or meat is fresh is a big question. However, this strategy really works in the Korea market! Why? Because Koreans are the second most hard-working people in the world. Though having the risks of receiving flawed goods, the most valuable thing for the Korean shoppers is “I do not need to spend extra hours in stores picking the products one by one.” Also, you may question about the similarity between online shopping and this virtual grocery shopping. You would probably get the answer that “This experience adds value to the distressing train waiting time, and the process of choosing the products makes me feel like doing shopping in real Tesco.” Though the answer is made-up, the enthusiasm shown on shoppers’ faces in the picture can more or less verify it.

With the rapid growth of technology, the high-tech tools have inextricably been connected with marketing to provide customers with a convenient and memorable shopping experience. QR Codes is one of the many. Wisely using the tool is essential for success. Remember, the first step is to know the behavior of your target market and tailor the implementation to maximize the value of shoppers’ experience.

Here is the video about the virtual grocery store in Korean subway!
Virtual QR Code Supermarket in Korean Subway – Tesco