There are several companies, including PetHub, that have create pet id tags with a QR code. These new QR tags are just like regular id tags except instead of having all the information visible on the tag, you need to scan the QR code with your smartphone to see the information. In theory, this is an great use of new technology and a wonderful idea. In practice, I don’t think you should rely on only this tag for finding your lost pet. The problem is that the adoption rate for QR codes has been slow so many people don’t have a QR reader on their smartphone and you have to have a smartphone in order to have a QR reader. In order to scan the code, you need to download an app like QR Code Reader and Scanner from ShopShavvy, Inc.
comScore reported that one in five U.S. smartphone owners scanned a QR code with their phone in December. Forrester said adoption of 2D barcodes, including QR codes, increased from 1% to 5% among all U.S. mobile users, and 15% among smartphone owners.
Yankee Group predicts QR code scanning will peak at 8% of mobile users in 2012 before losing ground to NFC technology in the coming years as a superior alternative for mobile marketing and m-commerce
