Black Friday Marketing Ideas with QR Codes: Beat the Competition and Boost Sales

Considered to be the busiest shopping day of the holiday season, Black Friday is a gold mine for businesses trying to generate sales and increase profit.  

With a staggering revenue of over $10 billion, Black Friday is perhaps the most important commercial event to take place every year. 

In 2021, nearly 150 million Americans shopped during the Black Friday sale. Out of which, over 88 million people made a purchase online only.

Needless to say, having a Black Friday Marketing strategy is key to your business. In a sea of promotions and advertisements, it is crucial that your brand stands out. 

QR Codes are a great way to enrich your Black Friday marketing ideas. From JCPenny to Macy’s, several brands have started incorporating QR Codes to their marketing campaigns.

Adding QR Codes to your Black Friday marketing strategy allows you to establish a seamless connection between the offline and online spaces. 

For instance, you can place QR Codes across your physical stores to collect useful customer data. This data can help you target users with relevant products and offers. 

As a business owner, there is immense potential for you to tap into. Let’s find out how you can utilize QR Codes to attract shoppers and grow your business during the Black Friday sale. 

Table of contents

1. Launch your Black Friday campaign early
2. Use QR Codes to boost sales on Black Friday
3. Share promotional content and increase brand recall value
4. Retarget customers after the Black Friday sale

Launch your Black Friday campaign early

#1 Create pre-sale buzz

Generate buzz around your Black Friday sale by launching your marketing campaign early. This will build anticipation among customers well before the big day. 

American retailer Best Buy famously launched its Black Friday campaign as early as July. The campaign was a smart move to bring attention to the brand, especially when no one else was talking about the Black Friday sale. 

If you are contemplating Black Friday marketing ideas, consider adding QR Codes to your marketing collaterals. QR Codes are efficient, cost-effective, and a great way to capture leads.

You can print dynamic QR Codes on posters, flyers, and even business cards. With a quick scan, customers can get a sneak peek into early deals. Dynamic QR Codes offer you the flexibility to alter their destination, which will come in handy whenever you need to change or update your Black Friday deals.

You can also create a custom QR Code landing page where you can showcase all your Black Friday deals in one place. Uniqode’s QR Code landing page is mobile-friendly, and you can design it yourself. You can also choose from the wide range of ready-to-use templates.

Already have a landing page? Learn how to convert it to a QR Code 

#2 Launch an early email marketing campaign

Email marketing allows you to communicate with customers and nurture long-term relationships. When it comes to Black Friday promotions, email marketing plays a vital role. Some would even say it’s the bread and butter of marketing. 

American apparel brand Satchel and Page reportedly acquired 47% of the Black Friday sales from email marketing alone. 

“With email marketing, you can take your time and talk about specific details, like the quality of the leather, where the leather comes from, the quality of construction, down to like the nitty-gritty details of the type of hardware we use.” – Daniel Ralsky (Founder at Satchel & Page). 

Keeping this in mind, it is beneficial to start your Black Friday email marketing in advance. You can make a QR Code link to email and target your existing and potential customers with exclusive early-bird deals. 

Add your own spin to the emails with QR Codes. Don’t clutter your email with images and videos. As an alternative, add QR Codes for a better experience. Nudge customers to scan and watch ads using video QR Codes. 

Instead of attracting customers with discounts, you can appeal to their emotional sensibilities and build a narrative. 

Walmart chose to address the shopper’s anxiety around Black Friday. Instead of worrying about grabbing the best deals, Walmart’s video ad portrays the Black Friday shopping experience as a family trip for everyone to enjoy. 

You can also provide exclusive offers to existing customers by sharing password-protected QR Codes. With a quick scan, customers can access the unique coupon code.

Another great way to promote your brand on Black Friday is by creating email signatures with QR Codes. 

You can ask your employees to add QR Codes to their email signatures for the entire holiday season. Link it to a special offer or your official website and promote the sale. 

Also read: Black Friday strategies to maximize ROI

#3 Create buzz on social media

With interactive content, spread the word about your Black Friday deals on social media. Whether an Instagram filter or a game of spin the wheel, engage customers with exciting content. This will increase click-through rates and improve your social media reach.  

Walmart turned its Black Friday sale into a fun and engaging experience with a TikTok campaign called #Unwrapthedeals. The custom TikTok filter enabled customers to “unwrap” Black Friday offers and discover surprises. The campaign broke several records, setting a new benchmark with 5.5 billion hashtag views. 

You can also add QR Codes to your social posts and redirect users to a game page or a quiz. The winners get to enjoy exclusive deals and perks.

#4 Host Black Friday giveaways

Giveaways are a great way to improve brand awareness and drive sales. When you offer gifts or vouchers, people easily remember you. Brands that give back to customers promote loyalty and boost their brand recall.

Use QR Codes instead of paper fill-in forms for your Black Friday giveaway campaign. Place QR Codes inside stores, on sale posters, and promote them via social posts. With a quick scan, customers can win instant gifts. 

American retailer Macy’s increased its app downloads by leveraging QR Codes during the Black Friday sale. Using Macy’s mobile app, customers could scan the QR Codes placed in-store to win coupons worth up to $250. 

#5 Create a loyalty program for customers

Loyalty programs come in handy when it comes to long-term customer retention. Since Black Friday will bring in a higher footfall than usual, turn them into regular customers with a loyalty program.

With a website QR Code, you can get customers to sign up with a quick scan. Print it on placards and place it near the billing counter. Offer exclusive discounts or loyalty points for every dollar they spend. This will help you retain customers even after the Black Friday sale. 

Use QR Codes to boost sales on Black Friday

#1 Share discount coupons via QR Codes 

The biggest reason why people shop on Black Friday is because of the massive discounts. Make it easy for customers to get their hands on offers by using QR Code Coupons. 

You can add them to your print ads, brochures, and billboards. Let customers scan and avail discounts in exchange for email signups or contact information. This will allow you to build a mailing list and reach out to customers even after the Black Friday Sale is over. 

You can also use SMS QR Codes to share personalized coupon codes with customers. Upon scanning, customers will be redirected to their messaging app with a pre-written message. The message will include a coupon code that can be used for shopping later.

#2 Redirect customers to your online website

While in-store shopping is the norm during Black Friday, data shows that over 80 million Americans shopped online in 2021. Online holiday sales rose by 9% between 2020-2021 to $257 billion. American consumers spent $8.9 billion online on Black Friday alone. (Source: NRF) 

Give your customers the option to shop online and offline. Appeal to the time-constrained consumer who may not have the time to visit stores. 

Use QR Codes to redirect customers to your online marketplace. Include QR Codes in posters, banners, price tags, and digital campaigns like emails and social media. 

British retailer Tesco used QR Codes to increase online shopping. They placed life-size banners across stores and public places like subways and metro stations. The banners display products with QR Codes for each item. The idea is simple- scan the item and get it home delivered within 24 hours. 

Related: How to create a free QR Code for a link

#3 Show a digital catalog of your products

Shoppers come in two types- those who know exactly what to buy and those who come to a store without any particular purchase intent.

Appeal to the latter by making their search easier. Use PDF QR Codes to show them a catalog of your products. With a quick scan, one can download the PDF of your catalog.

Advertise top-sellers and clearance products with high discounts. Place QR Codes at the storefront or outside shop aisles so customers can scan to immediately know what’s available.  

Combine this with Black Friday offers, and you have a great Black Friday marketing strategy in place. 

#4 Offer personalized gifts using QR Codes

The holiday season usually means people are actively looking to purchase gifts. Custom gift boxes signify thoughtfulness and elevate the customer experience. 

Offer your customers the choice of creating QR Code stickers. They are cost-effective, durable, and can be placed on gift boxes. 

Customers can record a video or a video message using video and MP3 QR codes. A quick scan by the gift receiver will reveal the message.

JCPenny leveraged this concept by adding QR Santa Tag to their Black Friday promotions. Customers could record a personalized message on the JCPenny app, convert it to a QR Code and add it to their gifts. 

#5 Attract shoppers with flash sales

A flash sale is a great way to build anticipation among customers. Since Black Friday is no longer a single-day event, you can run a flash sale for your products now and then over a long period. 

Create a single dynamic QR Code and add it to your email, social posts, and other digital marketing campaigns. 

Redirect them to a custom landing page with the flash sale offers. You can modify the page as and when the offer changes. 

Shoppers are more likely to purchase when they know what you have to offer, so make the customer journey easy with QR Codes. Nudge them to check out attractive Black Friday deals with a quick scan.

#6 Share product demo with QR Codes

The most trending products during the 2021 Black Friday sale were electronics and home appliances. Shoppers flocked to stores to get their hands on appliances like air fryers, LED TVs, kid’s toys, and gaming consoles. (Source: Adobe Digital Insights)

More often than not, products require assembling, especially appliances or furniture items. 

Offer product previews and demos with QR Codes. Use video QR Codes or image QR Codes to provide a visual aid. You can easily link a QR Code to a Youtube video and make it convenient for customers to visualize the product and assemble it easily. 

Instruction manuals and product walkthroughs go a long way in influencing purchasing power. It may seem like a minor upgrade, but it is enough to convert a potential customer. 

Share promotional content and increase brand recall value

Black Friday marketing ideas are evolving, and brands want to connect with their audience at a more realistic level. 

Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia launched a ‘Buy Less, Demand More’ Black Friday campaign in 2020. The idea was to raise awareness about saving the plant. They timed the campaign with the Black Friday shopping frenzy to remind shoppers of the ecological impact of ‘buying less’. 

Rather than marketing the usual Black Friday discounts, you can promote content unique to your business, like behind-the-scenes, sustainability initiatives, etc.

Use QR Codes to promote your campaigns. Whether it’s a print ad, a billboard, or a poster outside your store- include QR Codes and link them to relevant content. With a single scan, customers can be redirected to videos, image galleries, and landing pages based on your use case.

To execute this strategy, you will have to visit and use specific online channels. For example, your ideal customers could be B2B wholesalers who are active on wholesale marketplaces like SeeBiz. To directly interact with these customers, you should also create accounts on these platforms.

Retarget customers after the Black Friday sale

 #1 Track user engagement with QR Codes

Your Black Friday campaign does not end with the sale. While you may have acquired new customers, it is important to focus on long-term relationships.

Dynamic QR Codes help you gather some basic information about end-user demographics. With Uniqode’s in-house analytics, you can check metrics like total scans by specific date and time, location, device type, and unique visitors. 

You can use this data to understand consumer behavior and optimize marketing strategies accordingly. 

Suppose you want to go beyond these insights and zero in on your end user. In that case, Uniqode offers Google Analytics integration that lets you analyze traffic in more detail. 

Read here: How to track your QR Codes in Google Analytics

#2 Retarget users on Facebook and Google using QR Codes

Dynamic QR Codes also help businesses retarget potential customers on Facebook and Google. There is a chance that many customers who’ve interacted with your brand during the Black Friday sale never made a purchase. 

You can retarget these customers using Facebook Pixel and Google Ads. Whenever you create a dynamic QR Code on Uniqode, you can add Facebook Pixel or Google Ads to the campaign. Extract data and use it to analyze audience behavior and retarget potential customers.

Note: Retargeting via Facebook Pixel and Google Ads is only available for Enterprise customers. 

Go ahead and plan your Black Friday campaign using QR Codes

Black Friday is a once-a-year opportunity that every business should take advantage of. In fact, the entire holiday season is when most brands achieve their annual sales target. 

Using QR Codes, you can optimize your Black Friday marketing strategy. They are easy to create, cost-effective, and function as a great marketing tool. 

If you are interested in using QR Codes for your Black Friday marketing, check out Uniqode’s dynamic QR Code by signing up for a free trial.   

• Author Details

Author Details

Veni

Veni is a content marketer with Uniqode. She specializes in B2B SaaS-focused content, intending to educate audiences about products and services. Connect with her on LinkedIn if you want to discuss content creation, SEO marketing, and conversion strategies.  

https://www.uniqode.com/blog/

veni.e@beaconstac.com