the number of scans i got was around 10. no one scans QR codes
I have been thinking about printing up my own posters, like "Scan the code below to donate to Toys for Tots", but i still don't think I'd get many scans. here's an article http://www.veracode.com/blog/2012/06/dangers-of-scanning-qr-...
If you put the codes on top of other people's advertisement's then one could assume that the advertising wasn't effective enough for someone to be interested in scanning the code. Plus if the ad didn't say what the benefit of scanning the code was since it probably wasn't designed with that in mind, then why would they bother?
Also, from my experience in online retail, a response of 2% is often considered a good return. Just depends on what you are doing.
I just think you possibly conducted a less than useful test and possibly came to an invalid conclusion.
See http://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/10/no-one-scans-qr-codes-apart-... http://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/01/real-qr-statistics-from-tfl/
For example I can see just scanning a QR code on a tesco card might be more convenient than remembering to type tesco.com/clubcard/join or texting a specific thing to a phone number.
The bus use case is quite good too since looking stuff up on timetables is always a bit of a pain.
OTOH when I see one on some random movie poster on the street, I'm really not likely to stand there in the cold, advertising the fact I have a smartphone to anyone around and possibly holding up foot traffic just to get redirected to some website that's probably going to load slowly over 3G anyway.
I was sitting outside a brewery last week that is right next to a mall here in Colorado. This is a mall that has both an outside and inside. We were right near a mall kiosk with a mini-map and a QR code that will let you download a map of the mall. Over the course of 2 hours, I saw about 10 people scan the QR code.
I think it takes non-technical people more time to understand how to use, and incorporate new technologies into their lives. I am of the belief that most people only realized how to use the internet effectively in the last few years. Meanwhile, it's been integral to the lives of many HNers for over a decade.
Year-old example (it's changed slightly since then): https://nuxx.net/gallery/v/travel/local_places/biking/PB1500...
I don't have anything in place (unique URLs or whatever) to track how often it's done, but I've personally seen a number of people using it just in times that I've been at the park and sitting near the trail head.
http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/10/29/koreas-e...
Excluding those, I've occasionally done things like scanning ones at museums that give more info about an exhibit and I've also scanned a couple of ones on menus etc at restaurants that have links to special offers. I realise I'm very much in the minority though.