Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store : A Qualitative Study

This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details. Author(s): Title: Year: Version: Copyright: Rights: Rights url: Please cite the original version: CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store : A Qualitative Study © University of Maribor, University Press Published version Paananen, Tiina; Holkkola, Matilda; Makkonen, Markus; Frank, Lauri; Kemppainen, Tiina Paananen, T., Holkkola, M., Makkonen, M., Frank, L., & Kemppainen, T. (2023). Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store : A Qualitative Study. In A. Pucihar, M. Kljajić Borštnar, R. Bons, G. Ongena, M. Heikkilä, & D. Vidmar (Eds.), 36th Bled eConference : Digital Economy and Society : The Balancing Act for Digital Innovation in Times of Instability (pp. 171188). University of Maribor. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2023.11 2023 DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2023.11 ISBN 978-961-286-751-5 CUSTOMERS’ QR CODE USAGE BARRIERS IN A BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY Keywords: QR codes, omnichannel, channel, retail, customer perspective, commerce, QR code barriers, usage barrier, brick-andmortar store, B&M, Finland T IINA P AANANEN ,1 M ATILDA H OLKKOLA ,1 MARKUS MAKKONEN,1 LAURI FRANK,1 TIINA KEMPPAINEN2 1 University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Information Technology, Jyväskylä, Finland tiina.e.[email protected], [email protected]i, [email protected], [email protected] 2 University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Jyväskylä, Finland tiina.j.kem[email protected] The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that hinder customers from utilizing QR codes when they visit brick-andmortar (B&M) stores. The research was conducted at a Finnish fashion retailer, where three types of QR codes were displayed for customers to use. In order to identify the barriers that customers face, two different sets of data were collected and analyzed: open-ended survey data (n = 101) and interview data (n = 16). The findings showed two main categories of barriers, customer and company related, with seven sub-barriers. The customer-related barriers included lack of interest in QR codes, user-related usage issues, desire for a device-free B&M store, and dislike toward QR codes. The company-related barriers included unnoticeable QR codes in the B&M store, service personnel in the B&M store, and QR code-related technical problems. 172 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY 1 Introduction The customer journey is going through a digital transformation (Zimmermann, 2016), and due to the change from a multichannel to omnichannel environment, the digital and physical worlds are evolving into an single entity instead of being separate channels. Physical channels, such as brick-and-mortar (B&M) stores, include digital elements, such as electronic displays (Roggeveen et al., 2016) and quick response (QR) codes (Tiwari, 2016) to name a few. QR codes are becoming more and more common, as they allow for easy and quick access to value via a smartphone. Thus, QR codes are a way to guide customers to engage with the digital world as part of their shopping experience in a B&M store, but customers are not utilizing this opportunity (Lau et al., 2022). Previous research on customers’ QR code usage has focused on QR codes’ visual appearance (Gao et al., 2015; Tsai & Peng, 2023); acceptance (Kim & Woo, 2016); use alongside with mobile trust and technology acceptance in omnichannel (Lawry & Choi, 2013); perceptions of codes on milk packages (Lau et al., 2022); impact on customer satisfaction and purchase intention (Hossain et al., 2018); customer experience (Shin et al., 2012); and print advertisements with codes (Trivedi et al., 2019). Even though QR codes have been investigated from multiple perspectives, there is a gap in our understanding of why customers do not use QR codes in B&M stores. This knowledge may help companies to understand the customers’ perspective and make strategic decisions when implementing QR codes as a source of value in B&M stores to enable omnichannel shopping. Hence, this study focuses on identifying the barriers that prevent customers from using QR codes while shopping in B&M stores. The research was conducted at a Finnish fashion retailer, where three types of QR codes were displayed for customers to use. To gather information about the challenges that customers face when using QR codes, we collected and analyzed two sets of data: open-ended survey data (n = 101) and interview data (n = 16). T. Paananen, M. Holkkola, M. Makkonen, L. Frank, T. Kemppainen: Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store: A Qualitative Study 173 2 Literature Review A QR code is a two-dimensional matrix code which enables high-speed decoding via a smartphone’s built-in camera. It was developed in 1994 by Denso Wave (a Toyota subsidiary) to track vehicle parts, and it has been implemented in marketing campaigns since 2011 (Tiwari, 2016). Ever since, QR codes have been a way for customers to navigate to the desired digital end point. The visual appeal of QR codes has been noted as a usage barrier, as Gao et al. (2015) criticized that the tedious black-and-white code distracts from the quality of the advertisement. Thus, beautified (Tsai & Peng, 2023), invisible (Gao et al., 2015), stylized aesthetic (Xu et al., 2019), and colorful and decorated QR codes have been invented in an attempt to make the codes more attractive (Lin et al., 2013). In the luxury context, the visual appeal of QR codes was linked to customers’ QR code scanning intentions (Lawry & Choi, 2013). Additionally, Singhal and Pavithr (2015) explained that the optimal size of a QR code for scanning should be calculated. Sometimes, QR codes are not accepted by customers. Shin et al. (2012) studied QR code acceptance and found that while users might have a positive perception toward QR code features, this does not lead to QR code usage because confirmation of what will happen upon scanning the QR code is missing. The major technology acceptance drivers are perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and usability (Pucihar, 2020). Scanning intentions can prevent acceptance of QR codes and lead to their rejection. Lawry and Choi (2013) found that mobile trust was not related to QR code scanning intentions in the luxury retail context and called for experimental studies in real-life retail settings. Oppositely, Liébana-Cabanillas et al. (2015) found that attitude, innovation, and subjective norms were linked with intentions to use QR codes in the future in the context of mobile payment acceptance. Similarly, Kim and Woo (2016) found that customers have a positive intention toward using QR codes as an information tool. Additionally, QR codes have been criticized as unclear and cumbersome from customers’ perspectives. Lau et al. (2022) found that in low-cost items (e.g., milk), the ‘hassle cost’ of scanning many QR codes to get a discount was too much effort. The study found that the perceived value of or trust toward QR codes did not lead to scanning and that the novelty of QR codes resulted in a lack of interest toward them. 174 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY Some studies have confirmed QR codes’ feasibility. QR code promotions with product information in magazines were found to be motivating for customers (Ertekin & Pelton, 2014). Also, QR codes can be a bridge to move traditional pushbased marketing (e.g., print) to a digitalized environment (Trivedi et al., 2019). This idea for using QR codes follows the omnichannel logic by Brynjolfsson et al. (2013), in which digital and physical spaces become one entity instead of channel clutter. Internal and external touchpoints in the customer journey can support each other (Mali et al., 2022; Paananen et al., 2022a; Holkkola, 2022a) with the aim of creating a seamless customer experience (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). Digital transformation might increase the familiarity of QR codes. A study by Zhong and Moon (2022) found that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the use of contactless services, leading to familiarity with contactless technologies, such as QR codes, which are most likely to continue being used after the pandemic. Additionally, Rotsios et al. (2022) found that QR codes’ contents can be entertaining and enriching for customers. The problem lies in QR code scanning barriers, which previous research has failed to address. As there are justified reasons for using QR codes, such as omnichannel operations, it is crucial to understand what prevents the use of QR codes in B&M stores. 3 Methodology To map customers’ real-life experiences of QR code usage barriers during a B&M store visit, we put QR codes on display at one of the case company’s B&M stores and asked about customers’ thoughts on them. The case company was a Finnish fashion retail company and clothing brand. Three different types of QR codes (see Appendix A) were on display from May 2022 to September 2022: 1. The first type of QR code was placed next to a clothing rack that contained the brand ambassador’s (long term influencer) favorite items. The QR code led to the ambassador’s Instagram post about the company’s products. 2. The second type of QR code was placed next to jackets and trousers. The QR code led to the product page of the company’s online store. 3. The third type of QR code was placed close to a sale outlet clothing rack, inside the fitting booth, at the checkout, and at the front door. In addition, the salesperson placed a promotional leaflet with the QR code on it in the shopping bag with the purchased items. The QR code led to the survey. T. Paananen, M. Holkkola, M. Makkonen, L. Frank, T. Kemppainen: Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store: A Qualitative Study 175 The survey data collection was carried out using both a pen-and-paper survey and an online survey that was implemented with the LimeSurvey service and could be accessed by either entering a web address or scanning a QR code. The survey questionnaires of both the surveys were identical and inquired the customers about their background information, B&M store visit frequency, use of the brand’s other channels, customer experience, previous QR code use experience, and QR code usage during the B&M store visit. Those who answered that they had not used a QR code during the B&M store visit were asked why via an open question. After filling out the survey, customers could take part in prize drawing of a €50 gift card and, also, volunteer for an interview to receive an additional reward (a bag valued at €40) and tell their experience in more depth. The interview data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews with 16 selected volunteers (see Appendix B): three males and 13 females (referred to as Participants 1–16: P1–P16). The selection criteria were persons who had visited the B&M store between May 2022 and September 2022 while the QR codes were on display (see Appendix C). Data saturation was reached after 16 interviews, when new information was no longer obtained. One test interview was conducted. The interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams in September 2022 with an average duration of 59 minutes. The participants were asked to describe their shopping experiences when visiting the B&M store, their IT skills, their QR code usage before and during the visit, and their general brand relationship with the company. The order of the interview questions was not strictly defined in advance, which enabled additional questions, following Myers and Newman’s (2007) advice for semistructured interviews. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed. The quotes were translated from Finnish to English. Inductive coding was selected to process the data (Thomas, 2003). The survey data showed the themes, and the interviews explained them. First, the survey data’s open answers to why customers did not use QR codes in the B&M store (i.e., usage barriers) were imported into Microsoft Excel starting with collecting the QR code usage related barriers. Second, after multiple rounds, two main categories were identified: company-related and customer-related QR code usage barriers. Third, after several rounds of examination, seven sub-categories emerged under these two main categories. After careful familiarization with the interview data, we took the seven identified sub-categories from the survey data’s open answers and coded the 176 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY interview data with these barriers using the ATLAS.ti qualitative analysis software. Finally, seven-sub barriers with the deeper explanations were identified from the interview data. 4 Findings In total, 101 valid survey responses were obtained. The demographics (gender, age, and socioeconomical status) of respondents (referred to as R1–R101) are reported in Table 1. Most of them were women (74.3%). Many were 30–39 years old (28.7%). The average age was 39.9 years and the standard deviation 14.6 years. The respondents presented varying socioeconomic statuses, but the most of them were employed (72.3%). The respondents were able to pick multiple socioeconomic status choices. All the respondents were from Finland. Almost all answered yes to having previous experience with QR code usage (93.1%). Table 1: The survey respondents’ demographics (n = 101) n % n % Gender Socioeconomic status Male 26 25.7 Student 23 22.8 Female 75 74.3 Employed 73 72.3 Self-employed 5 5.0 Age Unemployed or unable to work 3 3.0 15–29 years 26 25.7 Stay-at-home parent 1 1.0 30–39 years 29 28.7 Pensioner 7 6.9 40–49 years 20 19.8 Has used QR codes before 50–59 years 11 10.9 Yes 94 93.1 60+ years 15 14.9 No 6 5.9 No response 1 1.0 Despite their previous experiences with QR codes, only 11 (10.9%) of the respondents reported using QR codes during their B&M store visit. In contrast, 83 of the respondents (82.2%) did not use the QR codes during the store visit, and seven (6.9%) did not respond to the question. For all respondents who answered that they did not use QR codes while visiting the B&M store, we asked the open question: “Why did you not use QR codes when visiting the B&M store?” Of the 83 non-users, 78 (93.98%) answered this question. The non-users’ open answers were T. Paananen, M. Holkkola, M. Makkonen, L. Frank, T. Kemppainen: Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store: A Qualitative Study 177 analyzed and divided into two main categories of usage barriers (company and customer related) with seven sub-barriers (see Table 2). These are presented in more detail in Table 2 and expanded upon using insights from the interviews. Table 2: Themes and open answer counts from the survey Theme Count Customer-related QR code usage barriers 54 Lack of interest in QR codes 32 User-related usage issues 12 Desire for a device-free B&M store 6 Dislike toward QR codes 4 Company-related QR code usage barriers 36 Unnoticeable QR codes in the B&M store 26 Service personnel in the B&M store 8 QR code-related technical problems 2 4.1 Customer-Related QR Code Usage Barriers Lack of interest in QR codes. The lack of interest in QR codes could be seen through the open answer data, appearing as a passive resistance to QR codes. This passive resistance emerged in the form of ignoring QR codes but not directly resenting them. This topic was explained by the survey respondents as, for instance, too tired to use them (R12, R63), no need (R28, R55, R58, R72, R87, R91, R98, R99), or I wasn’t buying products right now (R7, R17). The interview data revealed that QR codes were uninteresting for some interviewees because the codes did not seem rewarding or clear enough to be scanned. For example, some interviewees were too confused to get excited about scanning the QR code. “Well, maybe. I don’t know what [value] these QR codes bring for me or why should I read them.” (P3) “I don’t know. Maybe those [QR codes] were nothing worth mentioning, so I just saw that there is one and maybe wondered what that was but haven’t started to investigate or look into it any further.” (P5) 178 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY Some interviewees found the design of the QR codes and tags unappealing, describing them as “just black-and-white” (P9) or “just some paper with that QR code” (P6). Also, the QR codes were associated with products that were irrelevant to the interviewees. “Maybe I wasn’t interested enough because they were not included with products I would buy anyways. So, then, I didn’t see it as relevant.” (P2) User-related usage issues. The data revealed that customers entering the B&M store had varying technical skills and devices, leading to some being unable to utilize the QR codes even if they wanted to, as indicated by the responses “I did not have the application to scan the QR codes” (R43), “lack of Internet” (R25), “lack of skill” (R73), “low battery” (R67), “I did not have a mobile phone with me” (R75), and “unfamiliar” (R92). Problems with the user’s skills or their device’s functionality created barriers to QR code use. In the interviews, however, many interviewees described QR code usage as an “easy thing to do” (P2) and an “everyday thing” (P13) in a technical sense. Most of the interviewees described their general IT skills as advanced. Despite this, some interviewees faced issues when figuring out how to use the QR code scanner. “I remember that it was like ‘all fingers and thumbs’ moment when you don’t use them every day, like, how does this work.” (P7) The interviews also revealed that dysfunctional user devices created a barrier to QR code usage. For example, one interviewee’s phone did not have a QR scanner directly in the camera application. Additionally, the QR code scanner application’s flood of ads was distracting to another interviewee. “These QR code scanners that I have, those have so many ads in them, that there is such a great danger of hitting an ad and then going to the wrong page.” (P9) Desire for a device-free B&M store. The reluctance to adopt QR codes was further justified by the preference for a B&M store to be free of digital devices. One of the survey respondents indicated that “in a B&M store, I want to concentrate on looking and trying out physical products. In a B&M store, I don’t surf on the Internet” (R47). Another survey respondent reported that they just “prefer trying clothes on me instead of looking for inspiration from the Internet” (R70). This did not encourage the use of QR codes since phones were viewed as a distraction and T. Paananen, M. Holkkola, M. Makkonen, L. Frank, T. Kemppainen: Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store: A Qualitative Study 185 Vidmar (Eds.). Proceedings of the 35th Bled eConference: Digital Restructur-ing and Human (Re)action (pp. 495-510). University of Maribor. Pirkkalainen, H., Salo, M., Tarafdar, M., & Makkonen, M. (2019). Deliberate or instinctive? Proactive and reactive coping for technostress. Journal of Management Information Sys-tems, 36(4), 1179–1212. Pucihar, A. (2020). User acceptance of electronic commerce: Contributions from the Bled eConference. Electronic Markets, 30(1), 29–37. Roggeveen, A. L., Nordfält, J., & Grewal, D. (2016). Do digital displays enhance sales? 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In Proceed-ings of International Conference: Liberec Informatics Forum: ICT in the Role of Services: State of the art and perspectives (pp. 138–146). Tech University Liberec. 186 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY Appendix A: Examples of QR code tags Figure 2: Promo material of R-Collection brand (https://www.r-collection.fi/) T. Paananen, M. Holkkola, M. Makkonen, L. Frank, T. Kemppainen: Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store: A Qualitative Study 187 Appendix B: Details about the study’s interview participants Gender Age Employment Status Interview Duration (Min) P1 Female 37 Employed 43 P2 Female 30 Student, employed 53 P3 Female 23 Student 64 P4 Female 40 Employed 84 P5 Female 29 Employed 47 P6 Male 29 Student, employed 65 P7 Male 24 Student, employed 52 P8 Female 33 Employed 58 P9 Female 42 Employed 49 P10 Female 25 Student 40 P11 Male 38 Employed 69 P12 Female 33 Employed 70 P13 Female 59 Employed 69 P14 Female 24 Student 51 P15 Female 32 Employed 65 P16 Female 29 Employed 64 188 36 TH B LED E C ONFERENCE - D IGITAL E CONOMY AND S OCIETY : T HE B ALANCING A CT FOR D IGITAL I NNOVATION IN T IMES OF I NSTABILITY Appendix C: Setting of the experiment in the brick-and-mortar store