This tech report describes the findings of a street survey on

awareness of QR codes (2D barcodes) of the general public in

Stockholm, Sweden. 108 passers-by were surveyed. Of these

participants, a large majority (77%) did not recognize a QR code, and

8% reported seeing such a code before, but did not know it could be

scanned using a mobile phone app. Only 15% knew what the shown QR code

was, and that it could be read using a QR code reader on a mobile

phone. The awareness of QR codes by the general public could be

considered rather low, and their utility in Swedish public settings is

currently debatable

Ahmet, Zeynep

Büttner, Sebastian

Cramer, Henriette

English

Swedish Institute of Computer Science Publications Database

SICS technical report T2011:12	  
ISSN 1100-3154 
	  
QR	  code	  awareness	  in	  Stockholm,	  Sweden	  
 
Contacts: 
Sebastian Büttner, Mobile Life @ SICS, sebastian@mobilelifecentre.org 
Zeynep Ahmet, Mobile Life @ Stockholm University, zeynep@mobilelifecentre.org 
Henriette Cramer, Mobile Life @ SICS, henriette@mobilelifecentre.org 
 
Study performed: Sep 2010 
Tech Report public: Dec 2011 
 
 
Summary 
This tech report describes the findings of a street survey on awareness of QR codes (2D 
barcodes) of the general public in Stockholm, Sweden. 108 passers-by were surveyed. Of 
these participants, a large majority (77%) did not recognize a QR code, and 8% reported 
seeing such a code before, but did not know it could be scanned using a mobile phone app. 
Only 15% knew what the shown QR code was, and that it could be read using a QR code 
reader on a mobile phone. The awareness of QR codes by the general public could be 
considered rather low, and their utility in Swedish public settings is currently debatable. 
 
 
Part of the φ² (PhiSquare) project, part of the Mobile 2.0 project at Mobile Life @ SICS.  
	  
	  
Mobile2-0.blogspot.com 
Mobilelifecentre.org 
SICS.se 
	  
	  	  
QR	  code	  awareness	  in	  Stockholm,	  Sweden	  
Despite the apparent growing usage of QR codes in a variety of settings, including street 
advertising, it is currently unclear whether the general public is aware of what QR codes are, 
and how to use them.  	  
Results of previous studies on the awareness of QR codes differ in their findings. A study 
among UK students in late 2008 [3] showed that only 13.8% of the surveyed students knew 
what a QR code was, and only 2.2% had scanned one with their mobile phone. In contrast, a 
Japanese Internet survey in mid 2009 [4] indicated that 66% of Japanese respondents had 
used a QR code. In an online survey by a social media marketing agency focused on the US 
market in late 2010 [1], 52% of the respondents were reported to be aware of QR codes, with 
28% having used one in the past.  
 
International differences appear large, and awareness may increase over time. Publicly 
available data on current QR code awareness in Sweden, with its relatively large numbers of 
smart phone users, and high 3G penetration in urban settings, is scarce. We here report the 
findings of a street survey in Stockholm, Sweden performed in late 2010. 
Survey	  Procedure 
The survey was conducted by two researchers, approaching passers-by. Participants were 
approached on the "Sergelstorget" square, adjacent to Stockholm central station.  
 
Participants were shown a paper with a printed QR code. The code contained an URL to 
mobilelifecentre.org. Apart from the QR code, generated at QRserver.com, the A4 paper was 
blank. Participants were shown the page with the QR code, and asked “Do you know what 
this is?”. If they indicated they did, they were asked to describe what it was and how 
they would use it. If indicated they did not, they were asked if they had seen it before.  
 
108 passers-by took part in the study. 67 were male and 41 female. Ages ranged between 
16 and 64, with an average of 27.5. Participants included 25 students and 22 
pupils/highschool students. Professions of the other participants were varied and included for 
example customer care / sales personnel (9), hair dressers (5), journalists (3), researchers 
(2), a member of parliament, and a variety of other occupations. 
Answers were classified in three groups:  
• Fully aware: Participants, who appeared to recognize the print as a QR code, knew 
what a QR code was, and knew they could scan it with a mobile phone to for example 
look up information. 
• Seen before, but unaware of personal utility: Participants, who appeared to recognize 
the QR code as something they had seen before in some context, e.g. in a 
newspaper, or on a lottery or train ticket, but did not know they could personally use it 
with their mobile phone. 
• Unaware: Participants, who appeared to have never seen, or noticed, a QR code 
before. 
Results	  	  
Of the 108 participants, a large majority of 83 participants (77%) did not recognize the QR 
code, and stated they had not seen anything like it before. When asked what the code 
represented, the most frequent references made were patterns, emerging pictures, and 
references to mazes and even Rorschach tests. 
 
8% reported seeing a similar code before, but did not associate them with mobile phones, 
nor knew that they themselves could scan them using a mobile phone app. Answers in this 
category included for example “It's like a code, there are those on tickets, some sort of 
verification”, “Like something on a lottery ticket that you're not supposed to scratch”. 
 
Only 15% knew what the shown QR code was, and that it could be read using a QR code 
reader on a mobile phone. These participants explicitly referred to the code as a QR code or 
2D barcode, and/or indicated they knew could scan such a code with their phone, or had 
used it in the past. 
	  
Figure 1 - QR code awareness in Stockholm 
Results differed between male and female participants. 22% of the 67 male participants 
appeared fully aware of the usage of QR codes, while only one  of  the  female participants 
(1/41, ~2%) knew how to use such a code with  a mobile phone. 72% of  the male 
participants and 85% of the female participants did not recognize a QR code at all.  
Figure 2 - QR code awareness in Stockholm by gender  
When  considering  the  age  of  participants, QR  code awareness appeared 
lowest  among  adolescents  and  those over 35. 
Figure 3 - QR code awareness in Stockholm by age 
Implications	  
While this informal survey has its limitations, we can however conclude that the awareness of 
the general public in Stockholm of QR codes and how to use them is rather low. The current 
value of adding QR codes to support casual mobile interactions and for example street 
advertising appears questionable. Considering that multiple billboards and advertisements 
used QR codes at time of the survey, the number of users stating to have even seen such 
barcodes is surprisingly low.  
 
QR codes themselves offer no hints on what they are exactly, and how they can be used. It 
has to be noted that this was an informal survey, in which one QR code was presented to 
participants without any context (e.g. not in an ad, no mobile phone graphics etc). One 
participant for example did indicate that on first glance he did not understand what the code 
was, and that its printed size was different from the context in which he had seen them 
 Fully Aware Seen, unaware of 
personal utility 
Unaware 
Male 15 (22%) 4 (6%) 48 (72%) 
Female 1 (2%) 5 (12%) 35 (85%) 
Total 16 (15%) 9 (8%) 83 (77%) 
 Fully Aware Seen, unaware of 
personal utility 
Unaware 
<18 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 16 (94%) 
18-25 10 (24%) 4 (10%) 27 (66%) 
26-35 5 (16%) 4 (13%) 22 (71%) 
>35 1 (5%) 0 (0%) 18 (95%) 
Total 16 (15%) 9 (8%) 83 (77%) 
before. However, without ‘instructions’ on their function it appears unlikely that current 
consumers will recognize QR codes or know what to do with them. An additional concern is 
that in many cases what scanning the barcode will result in for consumers is not clear. 
 
In addition, not all current smart phones come with a QR code scanner app pre-installed, 
adding additional hurdles for end-users. Whether the intended audiences are willing, and 
able, to follow instructions to download a scanner app onto phone, start the app, scan the 
code, and then get to the actual content for casual, in-passing interactions is rather doubtful. 
Our survey did not distinguish between those participants who indicated they knew a QR 
code could be scanned using a mobile phone, and those that had actually done so in the 
past - nor were participants asked to scan the code on the spot. This indicates that the actual 
success rate of QR code usage could even be lower. This was also hinted at by a small-
scale informal study in New York in 2011 with 28 participants reported on Urbanscale.org 
showed that only 2 participants were successfully able to use QR codes to resolve a URL [5]. 
 
Over time, familiarity with QR codes may increase. Follow-ups focusing on different designs, 
and presenting codes within a more elaborate context and with ‘instructions’ could also 
provide other results. However, the current potential of QR codes for general-purpose uses 
‘on the street’ in Sweden, and to for example provide additional information in advertising 
appears limited. 
 
Additional	  information	  
This study was performed as part of the φ² / PhiSquare project (phisq.mobilelifecentre.org), 
which explored different ways of physical check-ins for location-sharing.  The ‘φ² Scanner’ 
was released as an Android app enabling check-ins on location-sharing service foursquare 
by scanning 2D barcode stickers. The φ² website allowed users to generate their own QR-
codes for venues. The project overall focused on the user experience of introducing physical 
artefacts, such as QR code stickers, in mobile interactions. Beyond the concerns surrounding 
(un)familiarity with QR codes, this project highlighted issues surrounding involving users in 
the spread of infrastructure and as de facto service representatives; ownership of physical 
‘places’; increased visibility of interactions within social settings; and durability. More 
extensive information on this project is available on request. 	  
References	  
1. Austin-Williams.com. QR Code Awareness. http://bit.ly/belre6, Nov., 10, (2010). 
 
2. Büttner, S., Cramer, H., Rost, M., Belloni, N. and Holmquist, L.E. φ²: Exploring 
physical Check-Ins for Location-Based Services, Extended Abstracts UbiComp 2010, 
Copenhagen, Denmark, (2010). 
 
3. Ramsden, A. and Jordan, L. Are students ready for QR codes? Findings from a 
student survey at the University of Bath. Working Paper. http://bit.ly/dJWeMk (2009). 
 
4. Whatjapanthinks.com. QR code-reading phones held by almost four in five Japanese. 
http://bit.ly/HyWlm, July, 05, (2009). 
 5. Greenfield, A. / UrbanScale.org. Week 46: QR or not QR. 
http://urbanscale.org/2011/11/20/week-46-qr-or-not-qr (2011).	  


QR code awareness in Stockholm, Sweden

Software institutes' Online Digital Archive

This tech report describes the findings of a street survey on awareness of QR codes (2D barcodes) of the general public in Stockholm, Sweden. 108 passers-by were surveyed. Of these participants, a large majority (77%) did not recognize a QR code, and 8% reported seeing such a code before, but did not know it could be scanned using a mobile phone app. Only 15% knew what the shown QR code was, and that it could be read using a QR code reader on a mobile phone. The awareness of QR codes by the general public could be considered rather low, and their utility in Swedish public settings is currently debatable.Mobile 2.

Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet - Academic Archive On-line

RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden

http://soda.swedishict.se/5122/1/T2011_12.pdf

QR code awareness in Stockholm, Sweden

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Swedish Institute of Computer Science Publications Database

Software institutes' Online Digital Archive

Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet - Academic Archive On-line

RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden