NEWBURYPORT — To many, the two-dimensional matrix barcodes known as QR codes may look like the latest in modern art or a psychology test gone haywire.
But to an increasing number of tech-savvy consumers, QR codes — short for Quick Response — are a tool to make their shopping experiences richer and easier.
With a simple scan, consumers who have downloaded a QR reader on their smartphones will be taken directly to a company's website. Free websites, which will convert URL codes into QR codes, are becoming more plentiful as advertisers come up with new ways to take advantage of this latest trend.
Locally, one of the city's leading real estate companies, RE/MAX on the River, has embraced the marketing tool. For the past couple of months, the real estate company based in The Tannery Marketplace has been using QR codes to market their properties to potential buyers as well as in its advertising with The Daily News.
When potential homebuyers scan the QR codes on their smartphones, they are whisked to the Web page for the property listing. Instead of one grainy black-and-white photo plus an abbreviated listing that can take some time to decipher, homebuyers can see dozens of photos and a full listing as well as schedule an appointment to visit the property, according to RE/MAX on the River sales and marketing director Steven Babjak.
"We're trying to obviously serve all our clients and at the same time appeal to the appropriate target audience that are tech-savvy," said Babjak, who defined the tech-savvy target audience as between 32 and 38 years old.
"They want info when they want it, and they want it right then," Babjak said.
QR codes, along with text messages, are streamlining the homebuying process, Babjak added, saying that relying on telephone calls and fax machines can unnecessarily bog things down.
"It's definitely sparked a lot of people's interest and curiosity," Babjak said. "With anything, it takes a while for people to get used to it, but it's been well received."
The QR codes are being embraced by real estate brokers, too.
RE/MAX on the River broker Kim Weeks, who has 15 years' experience selling real estate, said she believes every Realtor should adopt the new technology.
"This is certainly the age of the smartphone, and I just think knowledge is key," Weeks said. "I think everything is technology-driven in today's consumer world."
The idea for using the QR codes came during a recent brainstorming session when RE/MAX on the River associates were discussing how consumers are shopping in 2011.
"What's cutting edge and what are people responding to," Babjak said. "We want to be on the forefront of it and stay on top."
For RE/MAX on the River, the investment is a sound one considering it costs them nothing to generate QR codes and the printing costs for newspaper advertising are no greater than traditional real estate ads.
So far, it seems, RE/MAX on the River has met its goal of being at the local forefront of this advertising tool. Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce executive director Ann Ormond said she hasn't yet noticed QR codes spreading throughout the business community.
But Ormond said as a whole, mobile/text marketing is gaining traction. That means it's only a matter of time before QR codes pop up in unexpected places. T-shirts are just one latest example.
Hemlock Ink of Somerville, which prints logos and designs on T-shirts and other clothing for clients across the country, recently delivered a large order of T-shirts with QR codes for the Boston-area company iZotope. The shirts were distributed during a San Francisco gaming conference with the hope they would direct traffic to the audio-technology company's website.
"Obviously, it's pretty cool because you're taking the print medium and you're kind of making it interactive, so that kind of makes it valuable to our clients," Hemlock Ink co-owner Neal Cadogan said.
Hemlock Ink clients include Puma North America, nationally known musical acts and even a New Jersey dodgeball league.
RE/MAX on the River has yet to see any home sales resulting specifically because of the QR codes. But Babjak said it's only a matter of time before they seriously catch on. Soon, the QR codes will be included on the company's "for sale" signs.
"We've gotten calls from it, and we're actually seeing not only the clients using, but, obviously, our sales associates are using it to have more information," Babjak said. "I definitely think it's the wave of the future."
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