The Next Big Thing? Not Yet
Not all technological innovations take the world by storm.
Or at least the real estate world.
Case in point: so-called QR codes, short for “quick response.”
Essentially a bar code (like the one at left), they allow anyone with a smart phone to take a snapshot of an image, then instantly link via the Internet to more information — about a restaurant, a car, a new movie, or a house.
Especially a house.
Going Viral. Not.
Just six months ago, I read (and heard) predictions that QR codes were about to become ubiquitous in the housing market.
According to the marketing guru’s, they’d be affixed to Realtors’ marketing literature, sign riders, bus benches, blast email’s, business cards — you name it.
While I do occasionally come across QR codes, I’d characterize their market penetration to date as minimal — at least in the Twin Cities housing market.
The best explanation?
QR codes “solve” a non-existent problem — lack of instantly available information (in fact, the opposite seems to be true today).
Plus, they require consumers to learn a new behavior that can seem less than intuitive.
