Removing the barrier between in store and online.

I am a self confessed mobile addict, I sleep with my phone under my pillow and at this exact moment in time i have 71 apps on my phone. So it is no surprise that a lecture on mobile communications would capture my imagination, I had a weak understanding of what QR codes are but was naive to their colossal presence in Asia. Seen as a gimmick in the UK, a blog by Cliffano Subagio shows the presence of them in Japan. I particualrly love this video below showing the interest Disney has generated using these QR codes in the advertisements, notice how people are crowding around these ads whilst other more traditional advertising is being ignored. 

After researching the phenomenon of QR codes i can hardly believe how uninvolved the UK are. On a personal note I work in Bournemouth nightclub Chilli White and we, like many venues, offer a guest list pass which at the moment is an email, easily forged and time consuming to upload, it is then up to a member of staff to read and validate it. Think of the efficiency and time saved if we could implement QR codes. According to our lecture, customers who attend Chilli are the perfect category to use such a tool, living in a country with a high GDP, most of them are students thus fit into the both appropriate age categories and (arguably) have the education to understand such a concept, so why aren't they being used?  In addition in seminar discussions we worked on how to make Waterstones a relevant online brand, again QR codes were our answer. The idea of placing QR codes under the books which instantly connect to a reviews and ratings, a need that most consumers fulfill using sites such as Amazon would be done in store. Removing the barrier between in store and online.

I can't help but wonder however when or if  such a technique will be viable to smaller companies such as bars and book shops? Or will the Disney's and McDonalds of the world always dominate? At the moment main stream UK QR codes seem like a impossible future, however we can't be naive, the first mobile phone call was only 38 years ago. As students we are constantly described as "The Future" so surely upon graduation or even in our placement years what our now hypothetical solutions could evolve into real life promotion. Maybe not such an impossible future after all. Of perhaps technology will beat us to our graduation ball and we should all keep an eye on our app stores and wait for the day we can scan the commercial world.