Going Omnichannel: Leveraging First-Party Data via QR Codes
Summarized by Brij. Original writing by the team at Tydo.
QR codes are popping up everywhere. First, we saw them on menus. Now, they’re on our favorite products. With one touch, consumers can effectively launch a website, and brands can track data in a valuable way.
Kait Stephens is the CEO and cofounder of Brij, a software platform that uses QR codes to help omnichannel brands power product reorder and capture first-party data.
We caught up with Kait to learn more about how Brij is harnessing the power of first-party data and acting as a direct communication channel between brands and their customers.
Building a Direct Relationship with the Customer
Driven by the pandemic, 2020 was the year of QR code adoption. With one touch, QR codes apply a layer of intelligence to products and provide a better consumer experience with those products.
Thinking about how to connect omnichannel brands with their customers, the Brij team quickly realized that every brand is different. So, they created a platform that allows brands to authentically customize their own experience to the end user.
Using Brij’s platform, brands can add QR codes to packaging, product inserts, or the product itself. The platform connects to Shopify, automatically pulling product info, content, and images. Brands can create experiences at the SKU level, or they can choose from pre-optimized modules around reorder or product registration.
“Across the board, the biggest pain point for omnichannel brands is that they’re losing that direct relationship with their customers.”
The Power of Registration and Reorder
Brij’s ideal customer is an omnichannel CPG or durable goods brand.
On the CPG side, Brij powers email captures and product reordering. Their customers include brands such as Fire Cider, Cool Cat, and Skura Style.
And on the durable goods side, the key categories are appliances, consumer electronics, and apparel. One of Brij’s top customers is Canopy, the humidifier brand. They use Brij for warranty registration as well as subscription opt-in.
The two most popular use cases are registration and reordering. Kait uses the term “registration” broadly, referring to first-party data capture. That could be a warranty registration or an email opt-in for direct communication with the customer.
But, Brij’s value extends beyond registration and reorder. QR codes are also communication tools, if optimized right.
QR code best practices:
- Make sure the QR code is visible enough to the customer.
- Have a clear call to action.
The Brij team is always looking for big wins and inconsistencies across brands in their portfolio. For example, in the past couple months, they’ve noticed that product inserts get incredible engagement.
“We really see Brij as a communication channel between brands and customers."
Reaching High-value Customers
Each brand has their own Brij dashboard that’s connected to their Shopify. Brij automatically creates a customer profile for new Brij users. And, they tag both new and existing Brij users as “Brij” in Shopify. All that data flows into Klaviyo for email marketing purposes.
Plus, with a tool like Tydo and its cohort analysis capabilities, data can become even more actionable.
The Brij team tracks LTV via reorder rate, and the other metric they consistently track is engagement, which comes in the form of a QR code scan. The ability for a brand to get a customer’s contact information and have them opt in to communication is super valuable, especially for driving LTV.
Overall, Brij brings and keeps that customer into the brand’s ecosystem.
“With CPG, we see about a 30% scan to registration rate. That’s about 10 times your average email opt-in. On the durable goods side, there’s even stronger engagement with a 50-60% scan to registration rate.”
Prioritizing First-party Data
The data landscape is changing. Google is phasing out cookies. And because of iOS updates and browser restrictions, Facebook and Instagram retargeting isn’t as effective as it used to be.
Now, brands have to move into new channels like Amazon and brick and mortar. So, first-party data is more important than ever before.
For retail and marketplaces, it’s a black box in terms of first-party data. That’s where Brij comes in. They can help bridge that relationship between a brand and their customer to reacquire some of that first-party data.
First-party data becomes a brand’s ability to drive loyalty and ultimately repurchase rate.
“The challenge with moving into these channels is that you lose access to first-party data. Even though you’re more efficient at acquiring customers, you have zero information.”
The Future of QR Codes
Originally, consumers had to download an app on their phone to scan a QR code. Then, in 2017, Apple and Android removed the initial friction and made QR codes native to the phone.
The pandemic created forced consumer behavior adoption, such that in June, 90% of consumers scanned a QR code within the last month.
And now, there’s a movement in retail for QR codes to replace barcodes. Scanning a barcode requires hardware, and QR codes remove that extra step. That’s where we’re heading, says Kait.
Additionally, QR codes are prevalent in Asia, specifically China, where around 80% of payments are made via QR codes. Kait says that’s just one example of what the future could look like.
One-touch world, here we come.
“People are just realizing the value of QR codes. Now, we have the consumer awareness and adoption, and it makes total sense.”
