If you’ve stepped outside your front door in the past week, you’ve probably seen several QR Codes in the wild—and you may have even pulled out your phone to scan one. Brands large and small have embraced QR Codes as a convenient, user-friendly way to share information quickly and capture audience engagement data.
These scannable squares are truly having a moment: Adoption and engagement are up, and it’s no wonder that marketers widely plan to keep doubling down on them. QR Codes are an ideal tool for creating omnichannel experiences, understanding their customers, and offering powerful digital touchpoints from anywhere.
To create a full picture of this tool and its impact, we’ve compiled 30+ of the latest stats you should know about QR Codes to inform your strategy for these strategic squares.
The state of QR Code adoption and usage
Five years ago, QR Codes offered an essential bridge between businesses and their customers. When safety was the top priority and social distancing changed every daily interaction, QR Codes quickly became a necessity for menu access, payment options, and instant access to pandemic policy changes.
But QR Codes weren’t simply a COVID-driven seasonal shift. Instead, they became a marketing mainstay. Gatherings grew safe again, and, while masks largely went away, QR Codes didn’t. They remain a staple of user-friendly engagement and easy access to information, resources, and value-driven offers:
- Over 90% of marketers say they use QR Codes in 2025. (Source: Bitly)
- In 2025, 94% of marketers had increased their usage of QR Codes in the past 12 months. (Source: Bitly)
- Over two-thirds of consumers have used QR Codes at least once in the last year, and half of Gen Z and Millennials say they scan QR Codes at least once a week. (Source: TEAM LEWIS Market Research)
The data shows that marketers and consumers alike see the continued value of these digital tools. QR Code adoption and engagement are holding steady, proving that these quick scans have major staying power.
How consumers engage with QR Codes
QR Codes are an invaluable resource for brands and marketers to share information and offers with their audience and to collect engagement data in real time. But consumer interactions are what give these Codes value. These trends are defining QR Code consumer engagement:
- In 2025, 88% of marketers believe consumer sentiment toward QR Codes has grown more positive in the past 12 months, including 40% who said significantly more positive. (Source: Bitly)
- 39% of marketers say that exclusive content or information proves most effective in encouraging consumers to scan QR Codes. 33% of marketers say that discounts or promotional offers are most effective. (Source: Bitly)
- Consumers most often scan QR Codes to access information like restaurant menus (48%) or product information (43%). They also scan to gain access to resources like mobile apps (47%), Wi-Fi (32%), or event tickets (31%). (Source: TEAM LEWIS Market Research)
- 79% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase products with a scannable barcode or QR Code (via smartphone) that provides the additional product information that they would want to see. (Source: 2024 GS1 Pulse Survey)
- 64% of shoppers have scanned a QR Code on a product while shopping in stores. (Source: World Sync 2024 Consumer Product Content Benchmark)
- 42% of all shoppers have said QR Codes have significantly improved their in-person shopping experience. (Source: World Sync 2024 Consumer Product Content Benchmark)
When consumers interact with a brand and its products or services, they’re always looking for information, convenience, and value. QR codes offer a direct line to all three.
Where and how marketers use QR Codes
Marketers are watching consumer interactions with QR Codes climb, along with the engagement data they gain from every scan. In response, they’re placing these digital tools across a wide range of channels and use cases. Here’s where they show up most often:
- Email is the most common channel where marketers incorporate QR Codes (47%), with product packaging close behind (46%). 43% of marketers use QR Codes for events, 40% use them for print ads, and 40% for in-store displays. (Source: Bitly)
- The top 3 types of content that marketing QR Codes link to are promotional offers or coupons (51%), event information or registration (49%), and product details or specifications (45%). At least a quarter of marketers also link to video demos or tutorials (37%), loyalty programs (33%), surveys or feedback forms (26%), or social media pages (26%). (Source: Bitly)
- The most common business value marketers receive from using QR Codes is an enhanced customer experience (27%). 21% say that lead capture or customer acquisition is the primary business value they receive, 17% cite valuable customer insights and data, 17% report improved business awareness and engagement, and 16% point to direct revenue generation. (Source: Bitly)
- 61% of shoppers have scanned a QR Code on a product after purchase (Source: World Sync 2024 Consumer Product Content Benchmark). This finding shows QR Codes’ staying power to support a lasting relationship and retention.
QR Codes aren’t a one-off touchpoint. Marketers are using QR Codes as a versatile cross-channel tool to drive long-term engagement with consumers and buyers. These tools support real-time omnichannel interactions, data collection for audience insights, and continuous improvement with every campaign.
Dynamic QR Codes and trackable experiences
The average consumer probably doesn’t give a second thought to the behind-the-scenes strategy of the QR Code they scanned to view a menu, use a timely coupon, or download a mobile app. But as we know, marketers invest significant strategy into the creation and placement of these Codes, which is why many choose dynamic QR Codes for flexible and trackable engagement.
Static QR Codes are one-and-done: After creation, their destination cannot be changed. Dynamic QR Codes allow marketers to redirect a QR Code’s URL after creation or printing, so teams can make changes based on A/B testing results, updated offerings, or limited-time promotions. Brands can use dynamic QR Codes to collect first-party audience data in real time and adjust their strategy accordingly.
Here are some of the latest statistics on QR Code trackability:
- Dynamic QR Codes achieved 65% of QR Code market share in 2024. They’re projected to expand at a 19.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2030. (Source: Mordor Intelligence)
- 69% of marketers update or redirect dynamic QR Codes at least monthly. 14% of marketers update their QR Codes rarely or never. (Source: Bitly)
- Marketers say that the most valuable QR Code performance metric is unique users (54%). Close behind, they see the most valuable metrics as conversion rate post-scan (52%), total scans (50%), and scan time or date patterns (50%). (Source: Bitly)
- Understanding the customer journey post-scan is the top challenge marketers face in demonstrating the ROI of QR Codes (87%). (Source: Bitly)
The more flexible your digital marketing tools, the better you can keep up with your customers’ constantly changing needs. Dynamic QR Codes reach customers right where they are with the adaptability to change as the market and offerings do, making them an indispensable tool for today’s brands.
Privacy, trust, and the first-party data shift
Trust is a brand’s most precious asset because it drives awareness, retention, referrals, and, ultimately, revenue. But it’s also harder than ever to build. Customers have been burned by data breaches or plain-old spammy marketing, they’re suspicious of collection methods like third-party cookies, and they’re prioritizing their privacy and security. Here’s the role QR Codes play in the conversation:
- 70% of marketers believe that security concerns are the biggest challenge QR Code marketing will face in the coming years, while 60% point to evolving privacy regulations. Other potential challenges include consumer QR Code fatigue (68%) and technological complexities (59%). (Source: Bitly)
- 55% of marketers think that the largest QR Code barrier consumers face is a lack of understanding of how to use them. Marketers believe that QR Code overload (47%), security concerns (36%), and poor placement (21%) are also top consumer barriers. (Source: Bitly)
- Phishing via look-alike QR codes—known as “quishing”—rose 587% in 2024 and now accounts for 20% of online scams, prompting firms to add encrypted tags and secure scanners. (Source: Mordor Intelligence)
- 49% of marketers say that adding a business logo to their QR Code design is the most valuable aspect of QR Code customization. (Source: Bitly) This addition not only drives brand awareness, but it can also reassure potential scanners of the reliability and trustworthiness of the code.
With consumer skepticism on the rise, brands need to shift to more trusted ways of collecting and activating customer data. A focus on first-party data, voluntarily given by customers through direct interactions with your brand, rebuilds trust and proves to consumers that their privacy matters. That’s why QR Code analytics are an important channel for audience insights and data-driven marketing.
With each short link click or QR Code scan, Bitly helps you collect trusted, secure first-party data about what your audience cares about and how you can reach them. Safety and security are business-critical goals, and when handled well, QR Codes can help create a safer, more conscious world.
Looking ahead: The future of QR Codes
QR Codes are seeing growth in placements, scans, and consumer (and marketer) sentiment, so it’s no wonder they’re making waves across numerous tech fields. Let’s finish by exploring some of the statistics that can preview what’s next—here’s how marketers are looking to the future of QR Codes:
- In 2025, 86% of marketers plan to increase their usage of QR Codes in the next 12 months. (Source: Bitly)
- Marketers’ most desired feature to increase the value of QR Codes for their business is better integrations. (Source: Bitly)
- 86% of marketers say that QR Code integration is critical or very important. (Source: Bitly)
- In the future, 84% of marketers say they plan to integrate AI and machine learning with QR Codes. 61% plan to integrate virtual reality with QR Codes, while 57% plan to integrate augmented reality. (Source: Bitly)
Outside the marketing field, QR Codes are a cutting-edge tool for workflows like payment, supply chain, and personalization. These statistics give a snapshot of these innovations:
- Global contactless transactions reached $7.4 trillion in 2024 and are projected to grow 113% to $15.7 trillion by 2029. (Source: Juniper Research) QR Codes are poised to play a key role in this shift.
- The global QR Code payment market is expected to grow 20% from 2025 to 2033, reaching USD 61.73 billion in 2033. (Source: ResearchandMarkets.com)
- By QR Code application, Payments and Transactions dominated with 46% share of the QR code market size in 2024; Marketing and Advertising applications are positioned to grow at 19.5% CAGR through 2030. (Source: Mordor Intelligence)
- By payment type, push-payment flows captured 60% of the QR code market size in 2024, while pull-payment flows are expected to grow at 18.9% CAGR between 2025 and 2030. (Source: Mordor Intelligence)
- The restaurant industry led the QR Code payment market in 2024 with a global revenue share of 28%. (Source: Grand View Research)
- POS systems equipped with scanners that can read both 2D barcodes and traditional barcodes are being tested in 48 countries, representing 88% of the world’s GDP. (Source: GS1 Sunrise 2027) By 2027, the supply chain industry standard will be 2D barcodes rather than traditional UPC barcodes.
We’re no psychics, but one thing is pretty clear: More QR Codes are definitely on the horizon across industries, from retail to restaurants. Investments in and experiments with QR Codes will pay off as tech-driven fields glean the convenient and data-driven benefits of scanning in seconds.
Quick response and lasting impact with Bitly
If QR Codes are a part of your 2026 marketing strategy, you’re in the right place. Bitly is your source for the newest numbers on QR Codes, along with tangible guidance to help you make the most of all your digital tools. Whether you’re creating your first QR Code or your 500th, get started by signing up for your free Bitly account today.
Ready for more? You can also connect with someone from our team to learn about all of our enterprise features and customize a plan that’s right for your business. With every scan, the possibitlyties are endless.
