What Type of Products Can I Put QR Codes On?

One of the biggest assets of business QR codes is their flexibility. In practice, they can be used in virtually any industry, and placed on any type of product.

In this guide, we take a look at the most prominent industries and products that use QR codes in 2024, examine how they are used, and break down how you can make your very own QR codes completely for free.

Woman scanning the back of a product in a grocery store.

Some Industries That Use QR Codes

Since QR codes are inherently flexible, there is really no limit to how they can be used, or to how many industries can benefit from using them. In practice, they are a great business asset for directing online and offline traffic, boosting marketing campaigns, and increasing total sales at no financial opportunity cost.

Having said that, there are a few industries where the use of business QR codes tends to stand out. These include:

Ecommerce
Hospitality
Real Estate

Recommended: Use our free QR code generator to create customized QR codes — no sign-up or personal information required.

Ecommerce Industry

Businesses within the ecommerce industry use QR codes in several ways. These usually relate to marketing and customer service, but this is not always the case.

Generally, ecommerce businesses use QR codes in the following ways:

Blend online and offline marketing with URL QR codes
Provide product descriptions by including PDF QR codes
Boost social media followings through social media QR codes (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, etc.).
Facilitate customer service through contact QR codes (e.g., phone number QR codes, email QR codes, etc.).

In turn, this can enable them to obtain:

Increased advertising and sales revenue
A higher number of sponsors
Improved brand recognition

Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is one of the best examples of how “broadly” QR codes can be used in a business setting.

Such examples include:

Easier WiFi connections with WiFi QR codes
Alternative digital guidebooks and menus through PDF QR codes
Improved customer service through contact QR codes

Like any other industry, hospitality businesses can also use QR codes for marketing purposes. For example, an Airbnb business or hotel may choose to include a URL QR code in a printed advertising platform (e.g., brochure, newspaper, billboard, etc.), which directs users towards an online listing.

For more information on QR codes within the hospitality industry, see our guide on how to use a QR code for your Airbnb.

Real Estate Industry

Similar to businesses within the ecommerce or hospitality industry, real estate businesses can use QR codes for advertising themselves more effectively.

By including a URL QR code on a website or printed advertisement, for example, a real estate agent or property owner can ensure that interested viewers have a way of instantly accessing a property’s online listing.

This can be used to enquire about further information or see a more in-depth overview of a property (e.g., specifications, photographs, etc.).

Real estate businesses can also use YouTube QR codes in order to provide potential buyers with a virtual tour of the entire property.

Top 10 Business Products That Use QR Codes

A business product is any product that a business uses in order to generate revenue. This could relate to consumers or other businesses.

Business QR codes can be used to increase sales regardless of the product or industry in question. Having said that, there are a few picks that tend to stand out, including:

Product Photography
Printed Advertising
Digital Advertising
Real Estate
Airbnbs and Rental Properties
Vehicular Products
YouTube Videos
Clothing Products
Beverage Products
Music Products

1. Product Photography

Business QR codes can enable photography businesses to share more examples of their previous work within printed and digital advertisements.

An image QR code can be included that directs users towards a listing of high-quality images.

This is more price-efficient, but it also ensures that you can share an adequate amount of content within an advertisement without detracting from other important information.

2. Print Advertising

The use of business QR codes within printed advertising is pivotal for any business because it is one of the only real ways of “linking” a business’s offline and online traffic.

In practice, this can translate to a higher number of conversions and sales because interested users are much more likely to find an online business website or store when all they have to do is quickly scan a QR code.

Similarly, printed advertising can be used to include other types of QR codes:

Social media QR codes
Contact QR codes
PDF QR codes
Image QR codes

3. Digital Advertising

The benefit of incorporating business QR codes within your digital marketing campaigns is that they allow you to “control” your online traffic. You can use this to “guide” your users towards your money-making websites, which can increase your total sales significantly.

Similarly, QR codes can allow you to boost the traffic or your secondary website or social media profiles. This can be done by including either a URL or a social media QR code.

4. Real Estate

As a real estate agent or property owner, business QR codes can be a very powerful tool.

You can use QR codes in order to:

Direct traffic towards your online listings through a URL QR code
Include a higher number of photographs through an image QR code. This can provide a more in-depth overview.
Include a fully-immersive tour video through a YouTube QR code.

5. Airbnbs and Rental Properties

QR codes can bring in the same advertising benefits for rental properties as they can for properties looking to be sold (e.g., increased traffic to online listings, more holistic overviews of property, etc.).

At the same time, business QR codes can be included within an actual rented or Airbnb property as a way of providing a more user-friendly experience to all visitors. This can be done by including the following QR code types:

WiFi QR codes
PDF QR codes
Contact QR codes (e.g., phone number QR code, email QR code, etc.).

6. Vehicular Products

As with any business, QR codes can be used to facilitate communications and help advertise products within the automobile industry.

An inventive example of QR codes within automobiles, however, has regarded passenger safety.

Nowadays, businesses have begun to include PDF QR codes in passenger safety manuals which provide more in-depth descriptions of the precautions that drivers and passengers should take while driving (e.g., airbag safety, etc.).

7. YouTube Videos

As a small business, you should be taking advantage of the benefits of social media marketing.

When it comes to YouTube, you can include QR codes within your video content. This can have many benefits, including:

Increased user-engagement
Increased followers on other social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
Increased online sales through the use of URL QR codes
Increased advertising revenue

8. Clothing Products

QR codes can be used on clothing products for the following reasons:

To provide details about a product (e.g., available sizes, colors, etc.)
To share a brand’s history (This can help build brand recognition as a small business)
To ensure a product is authentic: This can be a great mechanism for avoiding counterfeit products.
To offer advice: Some clothing brands (e.g., Ralph Lauren) allow users to scan QR codes in order to receive styling advice.

Businesses that sell clothing products can also use the more “common” forms of QR codes (e.g., contact QR codes, social media QR codes, etc.).

9. Beverage Products

Businesses that sell beverage products (e.g., Coca-Cola) have begun including QR codes on the back of their products’ cans or bottles.

These are mainly used for advertising and marketing purposes. For example, a Coca-Cola QR code may take users to an online commercial.

They can also be used as a way of acquiring feedback through feedback QR codes.

10. Music Products

Business QR codes in the music industry have become one of the most common ways for starting musicians to promote their music effectively.

Using an online QR code generator, you can create a QR code that is an encoded version of your music file. This means that you can share your songs with whoever chooses to scan them.

At the same time, musicians can use QR codes to share their songs on Spotify.

How QR Codes Help Small Businesses

QR codes help small businesses in several ways. These include:

Blended Marketing

One of the largest advantages of incorporating QR codes in a business setting is the ability to “blend” digital and printed marketing.

This can translate to a much broader advertising reach, which can then benefit businesses in the following ways:

Increased sales revenue
Increased conversions and user engagement
Improved brand loyalty and recognition

QR codes can also be used to boost a business’s social media profiles. This can then translate to more advertising revenue and a higher number of sponsorship deals through social media marketing.

WiFi Connections

Small businesses can use QR codes to enable their customers and/or employees to connect to their WiFi network without needing to know or type in any password.

By scanning a WiFi QR code, users can automatically be connected to a business WiFi network. Besides the obvious convenience factor, WiFi QR codes are beneficial because they improve a business’s internet security.

This is because the actual password of a business’s WiFi network never actually needs to be revealed. At the same time, this means that businesses can afford to make their WiFi passwords increasingly complicated since no person will have to actually manually type them in.

Digital Guidebooks and Instructions

Businesses can use business QR codes to produce digital guidelines which can be accessed by their employees and/or customers.

This can be done by using a PDF QR code, which lets users scan it in order to be directed to a non-editable PDF file document.

This is usually a much more convenient option to providing printed alternatives for businesses because it is significantly cheaper and can be saved permanently.

Similarly, PDF QR codes can be included on a product’s packaging.

Customer Service

QR codes can be used to improve your business’s customer service and your users’ experiences.

This can be done by using the following kinds of QR codes:

Contact QR codes
Feedback QR codes
URL and social media QR codes
PDF QR codes: Can provide more information that relates to a product a consumer has bought.
YouTube QR codes

Depending on the sector in question, businesses can also use WiFi QR codes as a way of providing a more “user-friendly” experience to their customers.

These are usually within the hospitality sector (e.g., Airbnbs, hotels, restaurants, etc.) can really be any business where customers would benefit from connecting to the WiFi.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a QR code?

You can create a QR code by following these three steps:

Find an online QR code generator
Customize your QR codes
Download and share your QR codes on your advertising platforms

When selecting an online QR code generator as a small business, make sure that you prioritize the following factors:

Number of features
Price
Privacy
Ease of use

You will also want to make sure that, when you customize your QR codes, you do not do so in a way that will make them less scannable.

Keep in mind that most QR code readers were developed to read the color contrast of a traditional black and white QR code (i.e., light background and dark foreground). You should ideally not deviate too far from this in order to avoid scanning problems.

What color should my business QR code be?

You should choose colors that align with your business’s branding. This is particularly important as a small business, as it can go a long way in building your online brand image and long-term consumer loyalty.

Do I need a logo to make a business QR code?

You do not need to have a logo in order to make a QR code. Having said that, logos do make QR codes seem more “trustworthy” to consumers.

If you do not have a business logo, check out our Free Logo Generator tool.

Are dynamic QR codes better?

Dynamic QR codes are more complicated than their static counterparts, but this does not necessarily make them better.

In practice, this will really depend on the marketing goals and budget of each business. Dynamic QR codes do provide a few favorable features (e.g., scan tracking, analytics, etc.), but this is likely to be irrelevant for small businesses that merely want to direct traffic to a website or social media profile.

Dynamic QR codes can also be significantly more expensive. As a business, you will need to decide whether the additional opportunity cost is “worth” the additional features or whether a static QR code is good enough as it is.

How many kinds of QR codes should I use?

This will depend on what you aim to achieve as a result of incorporating QR codes within your business.

Generally, you should use at least these three types of QR codes:

URL QR codes
Social media QR codes
Contact QR codes