Browsing by Subject "QR code"

New products are being introduced to the markets constantly and a big portion of them fail within the first few years of launch (Sivadas & Dwyer 2000). Lack of market understanding is a commonly mentioned cause of new product failure (Baker & Hart 1999, 356). Dynamic launch strategies allow for changes to be made to the launch strategy based on market information at the time of the actual launch in attempt to improve the success of it. New technologies offer new ways of interacting with consumers and acquiring timely consumer and market information. This thesis looked at the perquisites that affect the usability of QR codes as a way to acquire consumer information during a dynamic new product launch. Cui et al. (2011) dynamic model of a new product launch was used as the basis of the theoretical framework of the study. An online survey was constructed with questions on factors affecting consumers’ willingness to use QR codes on a new product package and factors affecting their willingness to give personal information through a QR code. The survey yielded 104 responses that were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS modeler. The findings of the study suggest that perceived ease of use of QR codes has an effect on consumer’s likelihood of scanning codes. In addition to ease of use there needs to be relevant incentives for consumers to be willing to scan QR codes and give personal information. Findings suggest that opportunity to receive a discount coupon, acquire more information about a product or an opportunity to give feedback about the product could work as incentives for scanning a QR code on a new product package. These were not however seen as strong incentives for giving personal information, indicating that stronger benefits are needed to motivate consumers. This study gives insight into the usability of QR codes, but the skewed demographic background of the respondents and limited findings related to incentives of giving personal information indicate that more research is needed on the topic.