How to Use QR Codes for Smart Packaging?

The global product packaging market is projected to reach $500 billion by 2030, which indicates how seriously brands take product packaging. Smart product packaging is a small but growing segment of product packaging, expected to reach $38 billion by 2030. 

If you want to turn your product packaging into a branding and customer engagement powerhouse, smart packaging should be a part of your branding efforts. And QR codes make smart packaging more accessible and effective. 

Here’s how you can use QR codes for smart packaging. 

Table of Contents

1. Product packaging: An underutilized marketing and branding tool
2. Why use smart packaging?
3. QR codes for smart packaging
4. Benefits of using QR codes for smart packaging
5. Some QR code packaging mistakes to avoid
6. Final thoughts

Product packaging: An underutilized marketing and branding tool

Before moving further, look at these two products:

Suppose you go to Walmart and see these two products lying on the same shelf. Which one would you be tempted to purchase? 

Most people would go for the second because — let’s face it — it looks more appealing. Good product packaging can attract customers. And the importance of product packaging doesn’t end here. 

Let’s see why product packaging is a crucial asset for your brand. 

• Stand out on the shelf: If you sell your products in retail stores like Walmart and Target, you already know how competitive they can be. Good product packaging can make your product stand out on the shelf and grab customers’ attention. 
• Streamline your branding: Top-notch product packaging can go a long way in positioning your brand. You can use your brand’s logo, fonts, color tone, graphics, and other brandable elements on the packaging to align your products with your brand. 

• Improve customer experience: Strategic product packaging can also help you provide a stellar customer experience. Including helpful information on the packaging can help consumers make informed buying decisions, resulting in a better experience. 
• Increase sales: Good product packaging directly impacts your bottom line by increasing your sales and revenue. In fact, 72% of consumers say product packaging influences their purchase decisions. 
• Build customer relationships: Product packaging can help you connect with consumers and build meaningful relationships. You can encourage consumers to connect with your brand on your website, social media, email, and other channels. 

Why use smart packaging?

While product packaging is a crucial branding and engagement asset, it has some drawbacks:

• Limited space, i.e., limited scope for sharing information
• Not actionable
• No way to track its performance and effectiveness

Intelligent product packaging resolves these hurdles. 

Let’s first understand what smart product packaging is. 

Smart product packaging (or interconnected packaging) refers to product packaging comprising sensors and technologies like QR codes, NFC, RFID, and more. It has various applications, like engaging consumers, displaying useful information, monitoring freshness, and more. 

Let’s look at some benefits of smart product packaging and why you should implement it:

• Share in-depth product information with consumers, such as the sourcing details, materials used, manufacturing process, etc. 
• Bring people to your website, social media, and other online channels and build meaningful relationships with them. 

• Ensure originality and fight against counterfeit products. 
• Trace products in real-time.
• Enable seamless quality control.

Brands can use various technologies to implement interconnected packaging, as discussed before. However, no technology is more versatile and effective than QR codes. 

QR codes for smart packaging

QR codes are inarguably the best technology for smart packaging. They’re cost-effective, easy to use, and highly versatile. 

A problem with interconnected product packaging, especially for new brands, is wrapping their head around technology. Working with embedded sensors isn’t the easiest thing to do and requires expert knowledge. 

But that’s not the case with QR codes. They’re easy to create and platform-independent. And unlike NFC and RFID chips that could cost you a dime, QR codes are highly affordable and don’t hurt your wallet. 

Additionally, no other technology can beat QR codes in versatility. You can create a QR code for every possible smart packaging application. 

Here are some ways to use QR codes for interconnected packaging:

• Share helpful information with PDFs, docs, images, videos, etc. 
• Bring people to your website and social media channels.

• Share app download links and increase app downloads
• Collect consumer feedback
• Share your contact information 

Want to learn more about using QR codes for intelligent packaging? Check out the following resources:

• Elevate Your Product Packaging with QR Codes
• QR Code Label: Using a QR Code on Product Packaging

Benefits of using QR codes for smart packaging

You may realize why QR codes are the best smart packaging technology. Let’s delve further and discuss the benefits of using QR codes for interconnected packaging. 

Highly versatile

If some technology had to get a gold medal for versatility, it’d be QR codes. The use cases of QR codes are massive. You can use them to bring consumers to your website, share your social media profiles, promote app downloads, and much more. No other technology offers such versatile applications. 

Easy to create and manage

QR codes are effortless to create. All you need to do is visit qrcodechimp.com, enter the details, and create a QR code. It takes only a few seconds, and anyone can do it without needing specific skills, knowledge, or experience. 

QRCodeChimp also helps you seamlessly manage all your QR codes. You can view your QR codes in your QRCodeChimp dashboard and manage them in one place. 

Cost-effective

QR codes are the most affordable smart packaging technology. Here’s a quick comparison between the price of NFC, RFID, and QR codes. 

NFC chip: $0.25 per chip

RFID chip: $0.05-$0.10 per chip

QR code: $0-$0.04 per QR code per month

Hence, QR codes are pocket-friendly and don’t hurt your wallet.

Real-time editing

You can edit your dynamic QR codes in real time without reprinting them. This means you can change the URL or contents of your QR code on product packaging without changing the QR code. Moreover, editing a QR code is quick and easy. 

Design and customization potential

Unlike other interconnected packaging technologies like NFC and RFID, which remain hidden, QR codes are visible on the packaging. You can customize them using shapes, colors, and other design options to make them appealing and align them with your brand. Attractive QR codes are also likely to get more scans. 

Some QR code packaging mistakes to avoid

Having discussed the potential of QR codes in product packaging, let’s look at some QR code packaging mistakes you should avoid. 

Not defining the purpose of your QR code

QR codes on product packaging should serve a clear purpose. If you put a QR code to bring people to your website, have a clear post-scan strategy. For example, you can get consumers to a landing page where they can submit their email addresses and connect with your brand. 

All in all, use QR codes strategically — not just for the sake of using them. 

Not making your QR code visible

The placement of the QR code on your product packaging is vital. Your QR code should be on the front of your product packaging so that people can see it instantaneously. Additionally, it should be large enough to be scanned in a single attempt. 

Not customizing your QR code

Set your brand apart by decorating your QR codes and making them look stunning. With most QR codes being black-and-white, you can get a competitive edge by making your QR codes unique and compelling. Use QR shapes, colors, logos, and other options to decorate your QR codes. 

Overlooking analytics and numbers

Including QR codes on your product packaging is only half the work done. It’s equally important to track their scans and analytics. You can track the scans of your dynamic QR codes in your QRCodeChimp dashboard. The dashboard further shows scans based on the location, device, and browser. 

Final thoughts

Smart packaging is an effective way to level up your branding and better engage your consumers. With QR codes, you can make your product packaging more engaging and enhance the user experience. 

Ready to implement interconnected product packaging with QR codes? You’re at the right place. QRCodeChimp enables you to create custom QR codes to truly elevate your product packaging. 

Create a QR Code