The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we think about in-store customer experiences, especially in places where transmission risks are higher, like restaurants. QR codes have been great for contact tracing in general, but also to help reopen bars and restaurants safely. QR codes are like a digital label your customers can scan with your phone’s camera to open all the information it holds.

QR codes have been great for contact tracing in general, but also to help reopen bars and restaurants safely.

The name stands for Quick Response Code, a type of barcode that stores information as a series of pixels in a square-shaped grid and can be easily read by a digital device. Developed in 1994 by a Japanese Company named Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary to allow fast decoding speeds, in order to help in the manufacturing process, they aided in tracking vehicles and parts.

QR codes exist as a result of the development and success of barcodes. Since their inception, barcodes have grown in popularity due to the speed with which they can be scanned, the accuracy they provide, and their numerous functionalities. With increased popularity and proper recognition of the convenience associated with barcodes, demand for barcodes that could store more information, had more variation, and took up less printing space grew steadily.

As a result, many efforts were made to improve barcode technology and the amount of information it could store. What action was taken? The number of digits in the codes was increased, the layout was changed to accommodate multiple codes, and so on. However, these changes were not without their drawbacks. The size of the barcode and the amount of printing space required increased, raising printing costs. In addition, as the technology evolved, some issues arose when attempting to read/scan the new codes.