14m mobile phone users in America, representing 6.2 per cent of the total mobile audience, scanned QR codes or barcodes on their phones in June, according to figures from comScore. The study also analyzed the source and location of QR or barcode scanning, finding that users are most likely to scan codes found in newspapers or magazines, and on product packaging, and do so while at home or in a store.
A demographic analysis of those who scanned a QR or barcode with their mobile phone in June revealed an audience that was more likely to be male, young to middle-age and upper income. Men were 25 per cent more likely (index of 125) than the average mobile user to scan QR codes, representing 60.5 per cent of the scanning audience.
More than half of all QR code scanners were between the ages of 18-34 (53.4 per cent). Those between the age of 25-34, who accounted for 36.8 per cent of QR code scanners, were twice as likely as the average mobile user to engage in this behaviour, while 18-24 year olds were 36 percent more likely than average (index of 136) to scan. More than one of every three QR code scanners (36.1 per cent) had a household income of at least $100,000, representing both the largest and most over-represented income segment among the scanning audience.
Analysis of the source and location of QR or barcode scanning revealed further insights into how consumers are interacting with this marketing tool. The most popular source of a scanned QR code was a printed magazine or newspaper, with nearly half scanning QR codes from this source. Product packaging was the source of QR code scanning for 35.3 per cent of the audience, while 27.4 per cent scanned a code from a website on a PC, and 23.5 per cent scanned codes from a poster, flyer or kiosk. 
Among mobile users who scanned a QR or barcode on their mobile devices in June, 58 per cent did so from their home, while 39.4 per cent did so from a retail store, and 24.5 per cent did so from a grocery store. Nearly 20 per cent scanned a QR code while at work, while 12.6 per cent did so outside or on public transport, and 7.6 per cent did so while in a restaurant.
“QR codes demonstrate just one of the ways in which mobile marketing can effectively be integrated into existing media and marketing campaigns to help reach desired consumer segments,” says Mark Donovan, comScore’s senior vice president of mobile. “For marketers, understanding which consumer segments scan QR codes, the source and location of these scans, and the resulting information delivered, is crucial in developing and deploying campaigns that successfully utilize QR codes to further brand engagement.”
