The curious versus the overwhelmed: Factors influencing QR codes scan intention

Quick Response (QR) codes are widely employed in promotional campaigns worldwide. Adding a QR code to an advertisement increases visual design complexity, yet there remains little research on its impact on consumers. Drawing upon relevant marketing and psychology theories, we address how curiosity, visual design complexity, and perceived fit jointly affect consumers' QR codes scan intention. We hypothesize that highly curious consumers are likely to be more attracted to visually complex advertisements, thereby demonstrating greater scan intention. However, slightly curious consumers may feel overwhelmed by visual design complexity, but are likely to be more attracted to a good perceived fit between the QR code advertisement and the brand, which overcomes the negative effects of visual design complexity, leading to greater scan intention. The experimental findings support our main predictions. We conclude by discussing theoretical and managerial implications, recognizing important limitations, and suggesting future research directions.