Are QR Codes Dead? Do People Still Use QR Codes?
(a 2025 autopsy that ends in a heartbeat)
“rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated— yours truly, the humble QR code.” —scribbled on a tavern wall in San Francisco, 2025
1. The Vital Signs: Scans, Not Caskets
- 41.77 million global scans recorded in 2025—a 433 % leap over 2021.
- 59 % of smartphone users tap a QR code daily; 9 in 10 engage at least once a week.
- Generation split? 95 % of 18-44-year-olds expect QR to be “permanent furniture” in phone life; even 64 % of 45+ are willing converts.
Bottom line: if QR codes were a start-up, VCs would be throwing term sheets like wedding confetti.
2. Why the Resurrection Stuck
| 2020 Pivot | 2025 Pay-off |
|---|---|
| Contactless menus | Habit loop locked in—75 % of global restaurants now use QR ordering. |
| Vaccine certs | Apple & Google baked native scanning into cameras (iOS 13+, Android 9+); no app friction. |
| Payment fear | 62 % of consumers regularly pay by QR; 240 % growth forecast in restaurant QR payments alone. |
Habit + hardware + hygiene = the holy trinity that took QR from gimmick to utility belt.
3. The New Playbook: Beyond the Menu
- Marketing & Ads – 323 % spike in scans during 2023 campaigns; print ads became portals to AR try-ons.
- Packaging – 68 % of shoppers scan to verify ingredients, snag loyalty points, or prove authenticity.
- Healthcare – 19 % of providers use QR for patient check-in, prescription tracking, instant how-to-inject videos.
- Real-Estate – curb-side sign codes offer midnight 3-D tours; leads jump 38 % vs URL-only signs.
- NFT / Web3 – QR is the on-ramp: scan to mint, bid, or unlock token-gated merch drops.
4. Psychology of the Scan
Users don’t click icons—they hunt relevance.
- 84 % more likely to scan when use-case is obvious.
- 76 % swayed by design quality (branded frames, colour, logo in centre).
Trust cues rule: visible branding + tamper-free placement = higher conversion than banner ads ever dreamed.
5. The Dark Underbelly (and why it’s fixable)
| Threat | 2025 Shield |
|---|---|
| Phishing stickers | Dynamic QR platforms now offer SSL + SOC 2 + GDPR compliance dashboards; scan analytics flag rogue URLs in real time. |
| Ugly codes | Custom-shape, logo-embedded, gradient-coloured codes raise scan rates up to 30 %. |
| Scan fatigue | Pair with clear CTAs (“Scan for secret 20 % coupon”)—generic squares get ignored; contextual squares get adopted. |
6. Show Me the Money: ROI Snapshots
- Restaurant chain replaced laminated menus with QR + upsell modals; average ticket size +18 %, print savings $22 k/year.
- Fashion pop-up printed QR on tote bags; code unlocked NFT discount → 42 % of buyers scanned, 12 % converted to repeat online sale within 30 days.
- B2B SaaS added QR to expo lanyard; scanned leads fed straight to CRM, cut follow-up time by 60 %, $0.04 per lead vs $1.80 for badge-scanner rental.
7. Future-Proof Trends (2026-2028)
- AR marriage: 92 % of brands plan QR-triggered AR experiences in next 18 months.
- Barcode replacement: GS1 predicts QR will supersede traditional 1-D barcodes on retail packaging by 2027.
- Authentication layer: QR + blockchain for anti-counterfeit pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, event tickets.
- Voice-QR hybrid: scan to launch an Alexa skill or Google Assistant routine—hands-free commerce.
8. Bottom Line
Dead? QR codes are scanning harder than ever—433 % growth in four years, daily habit for 6 in 10 smartphone users, and expanding into payments, AR, NFTs, supply-chain authentication.
Ignore the square and you leave money, data and customer intimacy on the table.
So print it proudly, design it beautifully, and tell people why they should scan—because relevance is the real killer app.
See you on the other side of the pixel, —Huzi blogs.huzi.pk
