One of the interesting trends we will be seeing at our Under the Radar Conference in November is the emergence of mobile scanning. Mobile scanning companies (such as stickybits, BarcodeHero, CheckPoints, etc.) have begun to change the marketplace as we know it by offering coupons, incentives, games, and rewards for scanning the barcodes on retail items. The potential here is huge and it is likely that these startups attending Under the Radar will become household names in no time at all. Mobile scanning is a trend we will see in the mainstream very quickly. In preparation for Under the Radar, let’s look at a few interesting stats about mobile scanning and it’s impressive growth.

Barcode technology provider ScanBuy released a report offering insight into usage barcodes based on its own platform data between June 1 and September 15, 2010.

Among the key findings:

1. There were more barcode scans performed in a single month starting in July than in all of 2009 , highlighting the technology’s growth as an ad vehicle.

2. Scanning via the company’s barcode system has increased 700% from the start of 2010.

3. Linking to a Web site was by far the most common type of action encouraged by a 2D code, with 85% driving traffic to a URL .

4. Among traditional 1D, or UPC, codes, health and beauty products were the most popular category , making up 21% of scans, followed by groceries (14.4%), books (12.6%), and kitchen items (9.2%).

5. The study found that half of barcode users are ages 35 to 45 and skew male , reflecting the smartphone and early-adopter populations.

6. Android was easily the most popular smartphone platform among barcode users, with 45% owning devices powered by Google mobile operating system . Second was BlackBerry (27%), followed by the iPhone (15%), Symbian (9%), Java (3%) and Windows Mobile (1%).

More insight on Barcode Scanning:

1. According to Consumer Goods Technology Magazine, 49% of respondents said mobile barcodes have tremendous potential in the next 1-5 years .

2. 80% of US consumers surveyed expressed interest in scanning mobile barcodes.

3. 58% indicated willingness to download a code scanner solutions (22% prefer a preload).

4. 63% want a code scanner solution from their carrier .

5. 69% said they would scan to receive coupons and discounts .

In Japan they are far ahead of the USA with Barcode Scanning:

* 86% of consumers scan 4 or more times a month.

* 81% of consumers scan for discounts and coupons.

* 73% of scans occur on websites.

* 67% scan to navigate to a website rather than typing the URL.

* 52% scan ads seeking more information.

* 39% scan to win prizes.

* Wide spread adoption in Japan was a direct result of wireless carriers driving awareness in order to drive revenue from mobile data plans.

Are you using a mobile scanning app already? Tell us what you think!

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