• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, October 10, 2014

Consumers continue to scan product codes in search of a deal.

Several months ago, Scanbuy re-tooled its Scanlife app to provide discounts and deals based on scanning activity, which I wrote about here at the time (Barcode Scanning & the New Upside).

Now it has some consumer behavioral data based on that change and it shows that deals and coupons still reign and that for new product information, digital delivery is king.

Consistent with many other studies, Scanbuy’s survey of 15,000 of its users globally found that the information desired most (75%) related to receiving product discounts and coupons, followed by new product information.

By category, the majority of coupons usage is in food and beverage. The product categories where coupons are used most frequently:

• 55% -- Food and beverage
• 16% -- Apparel
• 14% -- Electronics
• 12% -- Health and beauty
• 3% -- Tools and hardware

The same category takes the top spot for consumers who scan. When scanning QR or UPC codes, here are the products most frequently scanned:

• 39% -- Food and beverage
• 26% -- Electronics
• 16% -- Clothing
• 12% -- Health and beauty
• 7% -- Travel and tourism

Not surprisingly, most of the knowledge about new products comes online. This is followed by scanning product barcodes, which can be expected since the survey comprises consumers who scan codes. This is how consumers learn more about new products:

• 57% -- Online search
• 20% -- Scan product barcode
• 16% -- Visit store
• 4% -- Through social media channels
• 3% -- Ask family and friends

Perhaps to the dismay of many merchants, shopping is not at the top of the list of favorite apps, though it did at least make the list. Here are consumers’ favorite types of apps:

• 25% -- Games
• 15% -- Fitness and health
• 14% -- Music
• 14% -- Social media
• 13% -- Messaging apps
• 11% -- Shopping
• 8% -- News

Mobile shoppers continue to look for and find deals, and scanning codes is still one of the quick ways find them.

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