While initially developed for automotive parts tracking, Quick Response (QR) Codes have proven their versatility and are now indispensable in customer order management. These simple, creative solutions bridge the gap between physical and digital experiences, simplifying ordering processes and enhancing customer convenience.
Whether you run a retail store, restaurant, or any other type of business that utilizes mobile ordering, QR Codes are an invaluable tool. They promote faster and more efficient transactions by providing direct access to your order page, making things easier for both customers and staff.
In this post, we look at how these 2D barcodes improve mobile orders and offer some tips for boosting their efficiency.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
Why QR Codes are ideal for mobile orders
QR Codes eliminate the need for printed menus and complex ordering steps. Rather than contacting your staff to place orders or searching your website for “place an order” links, customers simply need to scan designated codes to access your mobile ordering page. This not only saves time but is also far more convenient.
Beyond providing quick access to digital menus, QR Codes enable:
- Seamless payment integration: You can use QR Codes for payments by linking them to your checkout page. This makes it easier for customers to use their digital wallets (like Google Pay and Apple Pay) for transactions.
- Contactless experiences: QR Codes minimize contact between customers and staff, potentially increasing safety and hygiene.
- Real-time updates: If you use Dynamic QR Codes, you can update menu items in real time or redirect customers to entirely new menus, ensuring they always have access to the latest options.
- Tracking insights: QR Codes offer insights into your customers’ preferences through scan analytics, allowing you to improve your ordering processes to meet their needs.
Common use cases for QR Codes in mobile ordering
QR Codes can elevate ordering processes for businesses like retail stores, restaurants, and event vendors. Here are some QR Code use cases to give you an idea of how you might leverage these innovations:
Restaurants
With over 905,000 restaurants in the U.S. alone, saying this industry is competitive is an understatement. To remain on top, you have to improve your services continuously—and QR codes for restaurants can help.
These pixelated images provide direct access to your online menu or payment page, allowing customers to place and pay for orders quickly and easily. Using QR Codes reduces physical contact between customers and staff and improves order accuracy and speed, which can help you deliver a better guest experience and differentiate your business from the competition.
To improve engagement with your QR Codes, add them to customer-facing materials, like signs outside your restaurant, flyers, and receipts.
Retail stores
QR Codes can help retail store owners improve customers’ shopping experiences by streamlining purchase processes. They provide direct access to product and checkout pages, allowing both in-store and online shoppers to place orders without assistance from store employees.
To leverage QR Codes for this purpose, link them to desired pages (product or checkout) and add them to shelves or price tags, letting customers know what to expect with clear calls to action (CTAs). You can use a call to action like “Scan to Request Delivery” or “Scan to Pay,” depending on what you embed in your code.
If you’re running an email marketing campaign, you can also add QR Codes to emails to make it easy for online customers to place orders.
Event concessions
With QR Code technology, customers don’t need to miss out on the action while waiting in line at concession stands to place orders. You can improve their experiences by simplifying mobile ordering.
To do this, link your QR Codes to landing pages where they can order food, drinks, or merchandise and provide their contact information or table numbers. This way, they only need to scan designated codes to place orders right from their seats. You can then deliver their items or contact them for pickup.
Using QR Codes at crowded venues like stadiums or festivals can reduce wait times and improve order accuracy during peak hours.
Delivery and pickup services
If you offer delivery services, link QR Codes to mobile-friendly landing pages where customers can reorder items, pay for them, schedule pickup or delivery times, and track their delivery status. Then, add the codes to relevant materials so customers have an easy and convenient self-service option.
You might add QR Codes to promotional cards that link to reordering pages with exclusive discounts or to receipts that direct users to package tracking information. These options streamline reordering and delivery tracking and create a seamless customer experience from start to finish.
Top tips for improving mobile orders with QR Codes
Now that you know why and where to use QR Codes, how do you optimize them to improve mobile orders? Read on for some tips.
Provide QR Codes with incentives for customers
A whopping 90% of consumers say they’re more willing to engage with brands that offer incentives. So use QR Codes to direct customers to exclusive rewards.
For example, you could link QR Codes to your loyalty program landing page and encourage customers to scan them to unlock exclusive member discounts. You can also make a QR Code for a link that directs shoppers to coupon codes they can use when placing orders online. This can encourage more engagement and boost your mobile ordering numbers.
Embrace contactless options for different actions
Create unique codes for each customer touchpoint to improve engagement. This might include QR Codes on restaurant tables for faster, contactless ordering and another code on bills that links to a mobile payment option. This reduces physical touchpoints and offers a more interactive experience for customers.
If you create codes for every touchpoint, include a clear call to action for each one to make sure customers know which QR Codes to scan and where they lead. Go for something simple, like “Scan to Complete Payment” or “Scan to Order,” to eliminate confusion. Offering clear instructions can increase trust in your QR Code ordering system, resulting in greater adoption.
Ensure QR Codes are accessible and scannable
Customers will only adopt your QR Code system if it simplifies the ordering process. Make sure this is the case by confirming your codes’ accessibility and scannability before launching them. For optimal results, your codes should be:
- Visible: Place QR Codes in areas where customers can see them, such as at the bottom of receipts, on tables, on flyers, and on business signage.
- Compatible with mobile devices: Test your codes’ scannability with different smartphones (iOS and Android) to confirm their compatibility. If they’re not scannable by some, adjust your printing and QR Code image resolution to make them easier to read.
- Large enough: Codes should be no smaller than 2 x 2 cm for seamless mobile scanning, but the ideal size varies depending on the use case and scanning distance.
Integrate with your POS systems for better efficiency
Integrate QR Codes with your point of sale (POS) system to promote faster and more efficient mobile ordering. Integration reduces errors by sending customers to pages linked to your POS system when they scan designated codes. There, they can automatically send their orders to your retail, wait, or kitchen staff.
It also ensures smooth transactions by ensuring your POS system registers QR Code payments immediately when they occur.
To integrate QR Codes with your POS system, you’ll need to connect your online ordering platform to your POS, then generate unique product links or payment URLs, and use a QR Code generator like Bitly to make QR Codes for the links. However, this process may vary depending on your POS software, so it’s always best to confirm how yours works with your provider.
Transform your ordering process with QR Codes
QR Codes improve mobile ordering experiences by providing direct access to product and checkout pages. This minimizes physical contact and speeds up the ordering process, which can result in better customer experiences. For the best results, ensure your codes are easy to scan, provide incentives for scanning them, and integrate them with your POS system.
Bitly’s easy-to-use QR Code generator streamlines QR Code creation and makes it simple to customize your codes with your brand colors, logo, and more. Plus, you’ll get real-time scan analytics and insights you can use to continuously optimize your approach. With Bitly, you get everything you need to implement an effective QR Code strategy and minimize friction in your ordering process.
Sign up for Bitly today to elevate mobile ordering processes and improve payment experiences with reliable, trackable QR Codes!
