QR Codes for Seasonal Sales: 5 Creative Marketing Tactics To Try

From Black Friday to New Year, retailers lean on seasonal events to drive high sales. But in a competitive market and challenging economic times, you need to pull out all the stops on your marketing strategy.

QR Codes improve sales promotions and enhance the customer experience across every channel, whether in person or in your online store. They can even drive sales productivity behind the scenes.

It’s all because of their power to connect the online and offline worlds with just a quick smartphone scan. You can use them to share holiday experiences, offer targeted promotions, provide extra product information, and even encourage charitable donations to celebrate the holiday season.

Read on for five creative ways to take your holiday marketing campaigns to the next level. 

*Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.

1. Promote seasonal lookbooks

Seasonal lookbooks are targeted, miniature catalogs that highlight your best products for a specific season, festival, or holiday. They’re a powerful marketing tool for themed promotions and product lines, especially for lifestyle businesses like fashion and interior design.

There are two ways you can use Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) alongside a seasonal lookbook:

First, you could create a PDF QR Code that links to the lookbook itself. You can display the code on any screen or printed marketing materials, such as billboards, in-store signage, or flyers. You could even include it in product packaging, so one product is the jumping-off point for a whole book of inspiration.

Alternatively, you can flip the QR Code campaign on its head. If you publish a print catalog or set up a live experience, you can use QR Codes for direct sales links.  

Fashion and home décor brand Anthropologie created a holiday showhouse ahead of the 2024 winter season. It was an interactive live experience where customers could literally “step into Christmas” and wander around.

Everything in the house was shoppable. Visitors could scan a QR Code on every item and furnishing with their mobile devices and instantly check out online. 

It’s important to tailor a lookbook or experience to your target audience and their tastes. In Anthropologie’s case, they only opened the holiday house to members of their loyalty program.

The result? They knew exactly what would appeal to their most devoted customers, and it created a successful buzz of exclusivity. With Dynamic QR Codes, they could even monitor when and which products were scanned most frequently, which could inform their future marketing efforts. 

2. Share seasonal coupons and limited-time discounts

Special offers, giveaways, and exclusive discounts are key motivators for seasonal sales. The existence of holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday is built on the appeal of limited-time offers.

However, there’s more to a marketing campaign than just putting out a sign that reads “50% off.” You can drive holiday sales more effectively with targeted deals that help you learn more about your audience. 

For example, you can share coupon QR Codes for product discounts. But it’s up to you who gets those coupons. You could distribute them to loyalty program members, use them to recruit new customers, or reward people who interact with your brand on social media.

Take this campaign from Bud Light celebrating the start of college football season. They drew customers in by releasing a limited-edition series of beverage cans in team colors. Each can also had a QR Code which entered customers into a giveaway prize draw.

By attracting fans from various teams, they collected contact information from their customers. That data would allow them to compare which teams garnered the most sales.

One benefit of coupon marketing with QR Codes is that you can trace how they’re used. You can access metrics like scan time, place, and the type of mobile device to get more insight into your target audience and their shopping habits. Then you can feed that data into your marketing strategy for even more impactful customer engagement. 

3. Send shoppable holiday cards 

Holiday cards are a classic way to thank your loyal customers and add to the customer experience. They can also turn into a valuable marketing opportunity when they’re pitched correctly.

The first thing you’ll need to consider is your audience. Not every person celebrates every holiday. Many retailers solve this by asking people to opt in for specific celebrations or allowing them to opt out of certain holidays. Being thoughtful about your approach to holiday cards will already go a long way toward building a meaningful relationship with your audience.

Once you know who you’re communicating with, you can use QR Codes to bring holiday cards to life and help drive sales. For example, you can include Dynamic QR Codes on a card that links to an exclusive discount, video message, or even a holiday-themed game via URL.

For lifestyle brands, one of the most effective uses of a holiday card is a shoppable QR Code. If your products or designs are shown on the card, then customers can simply scan the code to treat themselves. Think holiday decorations, homewares in festive colors, or even products arranged in a seasonal design—like this juice brand’s cute Valentine’s layout. 

You can customize the code to give it a festive appearance, add a themed call to action, and include your brand logo. If you choose Dynamic over Static QR Codes, you’ll also be able to track how people interact with the card.

4. Encourage donations during the giving season

The holidays have traditionally been a time of giving. Even modern seasonal events like Black Friday have their charitable counterparts, like Giving Tuesday. It’s the perfect time to remind customers of your brand values and encourage their generosity. You can strengthen your reputation and customer relationships while doing some good in the world. 

Making corporate donations and committing volunteer hours are ways to demonstrate your brand’s values from within. But you can also invite customers to support your chosen causes. You can even motivate them by offering to match their donations. 

QR Codes are popular with businesses and charities because they make donating easier. Customers just have to scan their phones to visit a landing page and make a donation in real time. That’s especially valuable when cash donations are declining, and passing a hat around the office or leaving a jar on the counter doesn’t cut it anymore.

You can display donation collection QR Codes anywhere from store signage to receipts, limited-edition product packaging, and parcel packaging. You could even print them on t-shirts for live fundraisers or include them on holiday greeting cards.

5. Enhance holiday product packaging

Product packaging has become a vital part of the customer experience and brand awareness. You can magnify its effect with themed and limited-edition packaging to mark specific seasons.

It’s not just about coming up with festive packaging ideas or turning everyday products into a build-your-own Christmas tree. You can also use interactive elements, like QR Codes, to transform everyday paper and plastic into smart packaging. 

QR Codes for smart packaging include valuable features such as supporting customers with extra information, linking them to your social media, and even providing analytics about how, when, and where people interact with your products.

They can also help make products accessible to a wider audience. Nestlé has used QR Codes to make product information on some snacks compatible with screen readers and other technology for visually impaired people. This makes their products more accessible and communicates their values as a company.

Smart packaging is particularly useful for seasonal campaigns because you can use it to offer themed experiences. Past campaigns have ranged from Halloween drink giveaways to family-friendly games on back-to-school snack packs.

Customize QR Codes for any holiday, season, or event

QR Codes are an endlessly versatile tool that can transform your holiday marking strategy. From festive product packaging to immersive experiences, they can help you build deeper connections with your customers.

You can increase customer engagement by customizing QR Codes to reflect the season. With tools like QR Code Generator PRO, designing holiday-themed codes is just a few clicks away. You’ll be able to create unique QR Code design ideas with festive colors, themed frames, logos, and calls to action to reflect the season. You can even upload different versions of your logo tweaked to match the season—like adding a Santa hat during the holidays. Our platform also offers a suite of powerful features, including enhanced metrics that let you track how customers interact with your campaigns and optimize on the fly! 

Customize your holiday marketing with QR Code Generator PRO. Get started today!