2014 was quite a year for mobile technologies. Smartphone penetration hit 75% in the United States, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt declared, “The trend has been that mobile was winning, but it has now won.” According to the Adobe Digital Index, purchases made from smartphones and tablets increased by 18% year-over-year on Cyber Monday 2014. In addition, 26% of all Black Friday transactions were conducted via smartphone. Although the days following Thanksgiving are just a short blip on the overall consumer behavior index, this does show that consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with purchasing via their mobile devices. Consumer behavior will not necessarily be uniform, but PCs are expected to become secondary to smartphones and tablets for a significant share of consumers. This trend is driving marketers to focus on mobile application development. To engage consumers, service providers must develop content and applications that seamlessly integrate print and mobile technologies.

While some of us have heard mixed reviews on QR codes and their future, it’s important to consider what leading marketers are doing as they roll out their campaigns. At Mobile Marketer’s Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2014, Martine Reardon (Chief Marketing Officer at Macy’s) stated that personalization and combining QR codes with image recognition will be major trends for retailers in the near future. Mobile bar codes are clearly relevant at Macy’s. Reardon explains, “Mobile bar codes are important because we want consumers to choose how they interact with us. Consumers go through QR codes differently than image recognition, so we must leverage both technologies to reach the maximum number of individuals.”

During the most recent holiday season, Target stores demonstrated that QR codes are alive and well. To facilitate holiday shopping for its customers, Target attached QR codes to the season’s hottest toys. By scanning the QR code, shoppers were taken to a mobile site that enabled them to purchase the toy and have it delivered anywhere in the country free of charge. Customers with grandchildren, nieces, and nephews scattered around the country could actually see the merchandise and have it delivered directly without worrying about incurring hefty postal charges for Christmas gifts. Meanwhile, busy parents who were shopping with their kids were still able to keep holiday gifts a secret—by discreetly scanning a QR code, parents could purchase gifts on the spot and have them delivered to their homes. Retailers are clearly demonstrating that QR codes will remain an integral part of the mix in 2015, and service providers need to listen!