So what do QR-Codes and discount codes have in common? Well discount codes can be used to give online discounts; combine discount codes and QR-Codes and you have an offline discount code.
Discount codes or coupon codes are codes that allow you to receive a percentage or value of a product or service that you decide to purchase. Discount codes are extremely popular online as everyone wants to try and get the most out of there money. Discount codes are also popular with affiliate marketing.
The relationship between discount codes and QR-Codes is that QR-Codes can be programmed to hold any data required. This inevitably allows a retailer to encode a discount code within a QR-Code. The QR-Code can then be scanned, saved and used at a later data e.g. in a retail store. The QR-Code can be displayed to the retailer, the retailer can then scan the QR-Code, which contains the discount code. This would then result in a discounted price in the offline purchase.
There is an advertisement in a newspaper or on a poster for 20% off any item of clothing at a major high street retailer. Next to the advertisement, the retailer has posted a QR-Code. The retailer has created the QR-Code with a set of instructions or discount code, that once scanned by the scanner in the retailers shop, will assign the relevant discount. The user can then use there mobile phone to capture the QR-Code and then save it for a later date. The user can then visit the retailer, select the items they would like to purchase. Upon purchasing the item's, the user can then provide the attendant with there mobile phone, which contains the image of the QR-Code. The attendant can then scan the QR-Code, which would then result in the 20% discount that was mentioned on the advertisement.
As mentioned previously, discount codes are popular with affiliate marketing. On the web, the merchant (seller of goods) provides the discount code to affiliates. The affiliates then market and promote the discount code and whenever a user uses the discount code specifically to a affiliate, the affiliate then receives a commission value set by the merchant e.g. 5% of the total basket value. With QR-Codes, affiliate marketing can be brought offline e.g. because it is easy to track transactions related to one specific discount code, an affiliate could use offline media to promote the discount codes held within the QR-Codes.