There is a QR code located on the Valentine’s Day box of donuts that enables users to send a Krispy Kreme Valentine e-card to someone special. The donuts are available now through Feb. 14 at the Krispy Kreme display inside participating mass merchants and grocery stores.

“The QR code is an extension of the cards that are provided in our Valentines Boxes and a way to extend those cards to a larger audience,” said Kelley O’Brien, a spokeswoman for Krispy Kreme, Winston Salem, NC. “This enables our fans share the joy digitally.

“This is a good test for incorporating mobile into more of our efforts,” she said.

Enhanced shopping
In addition to the QR code linking users to a selection of e-cards, inside each box of heart-shaped donuts are six Valentine cards

Users can also visit Krispy Kreme’s Facebook page to customize a Share Your Heart Facebook cover photo.

The effort is the latest example of how marketers are embracing QR codes to enhance the in-store shopping experience with exclusive content.

While there is growing interest in augmented reality for in-store marketing purposes, QR codes continue to be popular with marketers because many consumers now know how to scan a QR code and they are quick and easy to deploy.

For example, Office Depot is using QR codes on products to deliver content designed to help customers get organized in the new year (see story).

Additionally, Budweiser started gearing up this weekend’s Super Bowl game with an in-store promotion that included QR codes shoppers could can to enter a sweepstakes (see story).

Biting into QR codes
QR codes are also helping retailers close sales and amplify their message via social networks.

Research from ScanLife covering the Black Friday holiday shopping period found that mobile bar code scans on Black Friday increased 50 percent. Additionally, during the third quarter, almost 4 million new people scanned mobile bar codes, representing a 45 percent increase over the same period last year.

This is not Krispy Kreme’s first foray into mobile marketing.

In December 2011, the chain launched the Krispy Kreme mobile app to enable users to find the nearest location (see story).

This is the second time Krispy Kreme has used QR codes as part of its wholesale business. It has also used them for retail promotions inside its own stores such as Dozen Days of Doughnuts, Krispy Skremes and the launch of the Hot Light app.

“If the QR codes are incorporated into a campaign over at least two weeks you will have measurable results,” Ms. O’Brien said.

“You receive more scans when the QR codes are integrated into multiple printed pieces and placed where consumers can see them in your shop and at their eye-level,” she said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York