ScanLife?s Q3 Trend Report showed a 440 percent increase in scans year-over-year from the third quarter of 2010, indicating consumers are more willing to interact and engage with content delivered through QR codes.  

The report, which marks the one-year anniversary of the first ScanLife Trend Report, reveals that more than 20 million scans have been recorded through the quarter. 

?The technology is definitely moving toward the mainstream,? said Mike Wehrs, president/CEO of Scanbuy, New York. ?This can be seen in the types of codes that are being scanned. 

?For example, there has been a sharp increase in number of 1D codes scanned in the grocery (food) category from 14 percent of all 1D products scanned to 40 percent of all 1D products scanned,? he said. ?In addition, females now make up 40 percent of our millions of app users which is a big change from a year ago.? 

According to Scanbuy, the system is now processing well over one scan per second, and will continue to accelerate through the next year.  

Scanbuy predicts that the fourth quarter will see another boost in activity as more smartphones become activated over the holiday season.

?The industry is going through massive growth with millions of people scanning every day,? Mr. Wehrs said. ?We anticipate the mobile bar code industry to continue growing as more brands and marketers integrate codes that engage consumers and provide relevant content and value.

?We expect marketers to get smarter and more strategic in how they are using codes to drive conversion, purchase and activation,? he said. ?We are really just scratching the surface on the potential of these codes.? 

According to the report, 44,653 2D codes were generated from the ScanLife platform in the third quarter of this year, and there was a 13 percent increase in female users from the last quarter. 

Additionally, the grocery category jumped 26 percent in overall 1D products scanned. 

The Q3 ScanLife campaigns, the largest of which netted 400,000 scans in a 6-week period, have seen the most success with the Starbucks Fall campaign, Taco Bell?s ?Unlock the Box? campaign, Staples? PC-a-Day Giveaway promotion and FedEx?s ?Ship Smart? campaign.  

According to Scanbuy, Taco Bell and MTV?s the ?Unlock the Box? VMA promotion campaign saw over 420,000 scans over a 6-week period, mainly because it was the only way for consumers to access that content. 

Weekly updates ensured returning users, who were able to track the scanned code in real time.  

?Our campaigns with both Starbucks and Taco Bell were strategically executed by placing codes in a relevant context and providing valuable content to consumers scanning the code,? Mr. Wehrs said. ?Content that went beyond pointing to a static Web page.?