QR Codes on Windows

1. A brief history of window shopping

The year is 1874 and Macy’s is about to unveil the first major holiday window display: a collection of porcelain dolls and scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Prior to this, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, which made plate glass widely available, and the consumer revolution, which marks the beginnings of heightened demand for consumer goods, shops all across the US and in London, UK started inexpensively installing large glass windows on their storefronts. These are the steps that led to what we now refer to as window-shopping.

Learning how to use window displays as an incentive for consumers to enter stores became an art, and in 1914, Saks Fifth Avenue had the ingenious idea of creating hype around their holiday window shop display with the “window unveiling.” An event that still garners so much attention, it is live-streamed on their website and viewed across the world. 1938 marks the year Lord & Taylor shifted from product only window displays to a purely decorative display.

Nowadays, despite the rise in online shopping, window shop displays are still a staple during the festive seasons in many High Streets. However, with the increase in smartphone use, store display designers have to focus their attention to a more mobile-friendly marketing strategy and QR Codes are the perfect tool to bridge the gap between the offline and online world.

2. QR Codes can help improve consumer experience

Web 2.0 and the advent of the third screen (smartphones) means it’s important for you to not just innovate your marketing, but to also keep customers interested by engaging them on the most used platform worldwide.

Imagine streamlining your web content with your offline business spaces. Already equipped with a mobile-friendly layout, QR Code Generator helps step-up your shop windows’ game. Since its early beginnings, the window was intended to draw people, generate interest and provoke a buzz. So, make them even more discussion-worthy by adding a QR Code, which allows passersby to interact with your products and services even before they have crossed the threshold into your store.

Put a mobile catalog in the palm of their hands with no extra printing cost to you by adding a Image Gallery QR Code to your window display, and a CTA encouraging customers to discover more of what you have to offer. This QR Code allows you to upload a gallery’s worth of pictures, which people can zoom into, save and even share with family and friends. In this day and age transparency is the new normal, so entice your customers with your ethical approach to sourcing materials by taking them on a journey through your supply chain with a Video QR Code. Or, share your story, your opening hours or additional store locations with a Business Page QR Code, and add a Button that leads to any landing page with our Dynamic URL QR Code.

3. Measure your Performance

The tracking feature, which gathers statistical values, is vital to optimizing your marketing campaign by seeing what did and did not work with your QR Code. In addition to amassing the frequency of scans and unique scans, you will get information about the location, date, time, device, and operating system used for each one. With this real-time data, you will always be up to date on your QR Code’s performance success. Find out more about all the benefits you can glean from our tracking feature here.

How to create a QR Code for your Shop Window?

1. Go to QR Code Generator and select the type of QR Code you’d like on your shop window. We recommend using the URL QR Code to start with.*
2. Enter your website address.
3. Your QR Code will be generated automatically.
4. Now, customize the design of your QR Code by adding a frame and a “Scan Me” logo.*
5. Select colors to match your style or company brand identity.
6. Select ‘Download’ to receive your QR Code file in .jpg format.
7. Integrate your newly-created QR Code to your window display design.

*Sign up to choose more QR Codes such as Event, Video, and Coupon, where you have the option of adding more information, more visuals, and edit or replace all the information without reprinting a new QR Code. You can also choose from a variety of frames and upload your own logo.

1. Add instructions

One big mistake QR Code users have made in the past is printing them without a short written explanation of what the consumer would gain or learn from scanning one. Make sure to incentivize your consumers to scan your Code, or else all your marketing efforts will be for naught.

2. Frame it

With our customizable frames, you can make your QR Code complement your creative design. When generating your Code, you will be offered a wide variety of ready-made frames with different Call to Action (CTA) messages and color options from which to select. If you want to add personalized details, you have the option of customizing even more by choosing a different shape, a different icon, and even adding your own text. Check-out our guide to QR Code frames here.

3. Add a logo inside your QR Code

Once you have selected a frame option and customized your Code’s shape and color, you can choose to incorporate a brand image or company logo at the center of your QR Code. Our system automatically detects the best and largest size for uploaded logos to make sure QR Codes remain scannable, so you do not have to worry about making the correct adjustments.

4. Save your designs

Reuse the same, branded QR Code design without fretting about recreating an old one manually. QR Code Generator PRO allows you to save all your designs as templates, so you can reuse them for any of your marketing or service endeavors.

5. Customizable URL

By default, every Dynamic QR Code gets a random short URL that redirects to any page you want when the QR Code is scanned. The short URL can be customized to your preference, using your company’s name, for example, to help you stand out from competitors and build more trust among users. Follow these steps if you would like to edit your short URL.

6. Test before printing

The minimum recommended printing size for a QR Code on any marketing material is 2 x 2 cm (about 0.8 x 0.8 in). From there, you can always make it bigger, but we do not recommend going smaller as it would render your Code unscannable or even unnoticeable. Elaborate designs and low color contrast, or a large number of encoded characters require a larger printing size. To ensure your Code is perfectly readable, you should do extensive field testing with various smartphones and apps, which gives you the assurance that every user will be able to scan your Code.

For more information on getting started with QR Codes, visit our Help Center page. And visit our blog to get tips on how to get creative with your QR Code design for optimal results on your shop window.

Retailers

Discount offers are some of the most popular ways to attract leads, which is exactly why Elle Boutique placed a Coupon QR Code on their storefront window. Their CTA encouraged passersby to scan and register their email address to receive even more in-store discount deals. And with the versatility the Dynamic QR Code offers, Elle Boutique can regularly update their coupon offers to keep customers coming back for more deals without having to reprint the Code every time.

Real Estate Agencies

The Home Finders wanted to upgrade their real estate marketing strategy in a simple, cost-effective way. But they did not want to just show off their available properties in a cookie-cutter format, they really wanted to engage customers’ desire to find their dream home. So, they printed a Video QR Code on their office shop window, announcing that once scanned, one could browse through a library of videos showing a tour of each property listed. This gave interested customers a good idea of what the property looked like before booking a viewing appointment.

Tourism

A picture is worth a thousand words, and by making an entire gallery of destination pictures available for anyone passing their storefront window, World Trekker Tours made sure the Gallery QR Code spoke for their services. A mobile-friendly page that displays a series of images, the Code makes it easy to zoom, full-screen view, share on social media and download to any device. This allowed people to take a little piece of imagination with them, and if they were interested in booking a trip, a customized button links them directly to World Trekker Tours’ website for more information.

Cities & Culture

A group of locals had decided to create a podcast dedicated to discussing local lore and myths of Springfield City. Seeing it as an opportunity to create an engaging, unofficial tour of the city’s most mystifying cites, the Springfield town hall placed a huge sticker with an MP3 QR Code linking to a different episode every month. A customized button lets listeners link to their official city website where they could download the whole podcast on iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, and more.

Photographers and Videographers

Everyone is always on the go, and Through the Lens Studio is aware that making their services as convenient and portable as possible means more business for them. By placing a Dynamic URL QR Code on their shop window, they linked customers directly to a well-designed, mobile-friendly website that exhibits samples of their work and enables prospective customers to book their services instantly.