QR Codes in Saudi Arabia: 4 Ways that Map QR Codes’ Popularity

Saudi Arabia slowly seems to be breaking away from the mould of being just the land of riches and culture. Saudi is open to new technologies (read QR Codes) and this post will show you just that.

In case you don’t know what QR Code is—here’s a detailed guide.

A quick overview: QR Codes are 2D barcodes that are made up of black-and-white squares. QR Codes can link to information such as images, videos, text, and webpages. The encoded information can be read by using a smartphone equipped with a QR Code scanning app.

Here are four ways the Government and businesses use QR Codes in Saudi Arabia:

1. City administration

A. To Identify Streets

Streets in the capital city of Riyadh display QR Codes to help people identify street names. Scanning this QR Code will lead people to a page with more information about the area.

Similarly, one of Saudi Arabia’s prominent cities, Jeddah, has QR Codes placed across various streets in the city.

“The signs (QR Codes) have already been mounted at number of Jeddah’s districts. This includes Basateen, Muhamadia, Naeem and Salamh. These new signs includes a property’s GPS coordinates, street name and location inside the district. To make locating and navigating in Jeddah more easier and convenient for visitors and residents.” – Ibrahim Kutub Khana, Undersecretary for Projects and Urban Construction, Jeddah.

Also Read: 3 ways cities can use QR Codes to help citizens and tourists

B. To Check Tyre Efficiency

In March 2016, Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency launched a QR Code campaign. This was to keep automobile tyre efficiency in check. As part of the campaign, each tyre came with a QR Code. People needed to download the Taakkad app to decode the QR Code. The QR Code linked to detailed information about the tyre. This helped people decide which tyre worked best for them, lessening probability of errors. The Taakkad app is available on Google Playstore.

C. For Piligrim Safety

Each year, close to two million Muslims from all over the world visit Saudi to perform Hajj. With numbers this high, there is always a chance of people getting lost. In Sept 2016, the Saudi Government issued QR Code bracelets to Hajj pilgrims for safety and easy identification. The QR Code linked to the pilgrim’s name and contact details. Besides the contact details, the QR Code linked to multi-lingual instructions on Hajj.

Read more here: Hajj 2016: QR Code ID bracelets for pilgrims

2. Hotels

The Signature Hotel, located in Al Khobar, Dammam uses QR Codes to engage guests with promotional offers. Scanning the QR Code leads the guests to a page listing more information on the hotel. The QR Codes also encode links to the hotel’s social media pages.

Also Read: QR Codes in Hotels: Use Cases for Marketing and Customer Engagement

3. Certificates

Solitaire Gem Lab (SGL) is reportedly Saudi Arabia’s first gemology lab. The lab examines and classifies precious stones. SGL creates an official document with the findings and certifies the stones. Each certificate contains a QR Code that links to certificate’s digital format on their website.

4. Recruitment

Aramco, the national petroleum and natural gas company, uses QR Codes for recruitment. A visit to their website will show you a QR Code on the ‘Find a Job’ page. The QR Code links to Aramco’s Job app on the App Store.

The above examples clearly show how Government and private organizations have adopted QR Codes to address issues and better engage with people. In fact whole Middle East is actively using QR Codes for various uses.

If you are a marketer in Saudi Arabia and are looking for ways to better engage with people and increase your business, use QR Codes.