B2C

The largest opportunity for the adoption of 2D barcodes will be within the B2C segment through the distribution of tickets and promotional coupons, generically referred to as vouchers.

Vouchers

These can be earned through paying for a service or by receiving a coupon for a free item, for example a coffee from your nearest Starbucks.

Air New Zealand has already adopted the use of 2D barcodes, specifically the PDF417 format, as a key enabler of their self service check-in solution. This approach could easily be transcribed to adjunct service providers as a means of distributing tickets to customers.

By applying a different format that can be easily presented from a mobile phone screen to an appropriate barcode reader, TicketMaster could transform the purchase, distribution and admission process for venue events for example; concerts, sporting events, trade shows and cinemas.


Similarly businesses that wish to reward customers with free products or merchandise through a promotion, typically be sending coupons, could utilise 2D barcodes to revolutionise this form of marketing campaign.

A coffee franchise could adopt 2D barcodes in the following process. First, send the coupon in the form of a matrix code to a known customer as an SMS or MMS. On receiving the electronic message, the customer can then present the coupon on their mobile handset. The square, compact nature of matrix codes such as QR Code or DataMatrix, lends itself to the size and proportiions of the average mobile phone screen. This is not the case for traditional linear barcodes. The data capacity of 2D barcodes gives the franchisee greater flexibility in tailoring coupon content. It is therefore possible to achieve personalised coupons that contain coffee choice, member information and location data in a very compact and portable coupon form.

Another example: Dynamic Advertisement