The different types of use cases for QR codes seem to be growing by the day. Shopping via QR code while commuting to and from work appears to be the latest, with the most recent example provided by SMRT, Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system.
The almost-2 million commuters who travel on SMRT's trains daily can now shop off of the wall spaces in the stations, which SMRT has transformed into virtual shops. Supermarket chain Cold Storage is the first to have ads carrying QR code via specially-designed posters at two stations. From them commuters can order from a menu of 20 Christmas food items and have the order delivered.
SMRT is planning to display a wider array of products in this manner in the future, it says.
Toys R Us, Sears
Retailers are trying out the same concept in the US. Toys R Us installed posters for a QR code-enabled virtual store in New York’s transit system. Sears is also experimenting with this use case for QR codes. It installed a series of mobile shopping walls throughout the country at airports, malls, movies theaters and bus shelters. The walls let customers to buy Sears toys through their mobile devices using QR codes.
