Google is giving businesses stickers with QR codes that passersby can scan with this phones and link to a mobile version of a Google page where the business can post coupons and information.

The codes could lead to other avenues for connecting with customers in ways that are measured and controlled, allowing the business to target specific audiences with their advertisements.

Earlier bar code attempts that link with the Web didn’t get much traction. The QR code was released in the 1990s by Japanese scanning equipment maker Denso Wave.

The CueCat was also released in the 90s and let publishers append their printed material with bar codes that people could scan with a handheld reader if they wanted to be taken directly to related information on their computers.

via Bar codes used for more than just groceries – USATODAY.com.

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