You’ve probably heard of the South Korean retail chain, E-Mart, as the creator of this wonderful, award-winning QR code marketing campaign. That particular QR code won E-Mart a number of fans across the world and succeeded in increasing the footfall to their outlets. The retailer, which is South Korea’s largest, is now expanding its use of QR codes to include tags which are being used to identify genuine designer goods.
This is an effort by E-Mart to combat the steadily growing supply of fake designer goods flooding the market. Once scanned, the QR codes will take users to a page which will lists details such as importer, item classification, item trade name, date of customs clearance and port of entry.
Will this move by the retailer really help curb the supply of fake designer goods? It is hard to tell at this point as much of the demand for fake goods often comes from the consumers themselves, who are unwilling to pay the high price of the genuine articles. The key thing to remember here is that such consumers are perhaps not looking for great quality and are interested only in purchasing a product that looks like it might be worth more than what they paid for it.
While E-Mart’s QR codes will help in raising consumer awareness about brand/product authenticity, brands themselves that need to step in if they wish to combat the trade in counterfeit goods. By attaching QR code or NFC tags of their own which will explain why a designer goods are worth the money paid by the customers, brands will bring around more consumers to their point of view. For instance, a brand could use a video to show an interview with a designer or demonstrate to users the exact manner in which their products are made. This assure consumers that they are indeed getting value for money and they are then far less likely to pick up fake products.
