Direct mail is a platform that’s well suited to grabbing consumer attention for retail brands’ products and special offers with attractive graphic treatments. A response force multiplier is available to make direct mail an even more powerful retail marketing platform. QR codes enable consumers to rapidly bridge the gap between physical mail and digital experiences and move to the next step in the buying process.
Direct mail marketers, including retailers, use QR codes a lot. According to market intelligence and competitive analysis provider Competiscan, 55% of retail direct mail pieces in the first seven-plus months of 2026 included QR codes.
On the other hand, the fact that nearly half of retail pieces don’t have direct mail QR codes means many of your retail competitors are missing conversion opportunities. It also means you can snatch away those opportunities and gain advantages in response, acquisition, and loyalty.
Making the Most of Direct Mail QR Codes
Here are a few ways to think of direct mail QR codes as you incorporate more of them into your campaigns:
- Convenience tools that enable consumers to use their familiar mobile devices to gain an immediate or long-term economic benefit.
- Friction reducers between consumer interest and action. QR codes free consumers from searching for a website or visiting a physical location first by connecting them directly to tangible value items such as offers and loyalty programs.
- Time savers that give consumers a rapid path to action amid many priorities that compete for their attention.
With these concepts in mind, Freedom reviewed more than 150 direct mail pieces with QR codes in retail subcategories including health and consumer electronics mailed between July 2025 and March 2026. Read on to see how several visionary retail marketers are using QR codes in direct mail to increase conversions—and how you can, too.
1. Use Offers to Increase Direct Mail QR Code Conversions
Coupons and offers reinforce the value consumers anticipate from potential engagement with pieces. In many of the examples we saw, the retail QR code wasn’t just a link—it was tied to a specific incentive, giving recipients a clear reason to act in the moment rather than delay.
Best Buy
SPANX
2. Guide Shoppers to Stores, Appointments, and Purchases
Some retailers use more utilitarian direct mail QR codes that navigate consumers to a place in the buyer’s journey that’s one step away from purchases of goods or services.
We came across several retail mailers that used QR codes to guide consumers to landing pages where they could schedule an appointment or contact the company.
Several others directed consumers to a store locator they could use to find the location nearest them.
CVS
Naturepedic
3. Drive Loyalty Through App Downloads and Program Enrollment
Several mailers featured QR codes linking directly to the app store for the consumer’s mobile OS. App downloads—conversions indicating strong brand loyalty or interest—also deepen consumers’ engagement with brands via their broad mobile content ecosystems.
Other mailers directed consumers to enrollment pages typically tied to specific campaigns.
Bath & Body Works
IKEA
4. Turn Print into Video-Driven Brand Experiences
An example of direct mail QR code-accessed ‘content-forward’ destinations we saw was video. That format offers consumers immersive multimedia brand experiences beyond static print messaging.
Miracle Ear
LensCrafters
5. Give Customers Multiple Ways to Engage
One mailer in the sample featured a QR code that led to the brand’s Linktree page—an all-in-one hub for multiple links and resources. While Afandi could improve the user experience by moving the product label away from the QR code, and including on Linktree links that better align with the customer journey, this is an innovative approach to drive desired conversions. Especially on mobile, simplifying navigation to a specific short list of links gives you more control and is likely to drive more conversions.
QR Code Best Practices That Can Maximize Conversions
These examples employed several direct mail QR code best practices. Apply them when you’re designing your own mail pieces around them:
- Personalize QR codes to individual recipients for attribution.
- Give recipients a clear reason to scan.
- Pair QR codes with offers or incentives when appropriate.
- Make the destination mobile-friendly.
- Use a single primary QR call-to-action whenever possible.
- Align the landing page experience with the expectation the mail piece sets.
How do QR codes increase direct mail response rates?
QR codes reduce friction by allowing recipients to immediately access offers, products, appointment scheduling pages, or other digital experiences directly from a mail piece.
Where should a QR code be placed on a direct mail piece?
While our review of retail brands’ direct mail pieces comprised a small sample, it revealed that more QR codes were located near the top of mail pieces than we saw a year earlier. This practice makes direct mail QR codes more visible and encourages earlier engagement.
What should a direct mail QR code link to?
The best destination depends on campaign goals. Common destinations include product pages, promotional offers, store locators, appointment scheduling pages, loyalty programs, apps, and video content.
Should direct mail have more than one QR code?
Our review found relatively few examples of mailers using multiple QR codes. Tying a single QR code to a dominant call-to-action reduces decision friction for the recipient.