QR-Codes-On

Using QR codes in menus

Digital menus are transforming the food industry by making dining more convenient, sustainable, and efficient. By adding a QR code to your restaurant, café, or delivery service menu, you can easily update prices and items anytime without reprinting costs, while giving customers a smoother and more engaging experience.

QR codes in Menus
QR codes in Menus
QR codes in Menus
QR codes in Menus
QR codes in Menus
QR codes in Menus

Benefits of incorporating QR codes in menus

During the COVID-19 pandemic, QR codes became an essential tool for many businesses. In restaurants, QR code menus allowed customers to enjoy their meals safely by reducing physical contact with printed menus. However, the benefits go beyond hygiene. QR code menus make it easy to update items and prices without printing costs, align with modern digital marketing trends, offer convenient payment options, and speed up the ordering process.

The boom of QR codes during COVID-19 +

The year 2020 brought major changes for people and businesses around the world. To help slow the spread of COVID-19, the focus shifted toward hygiene and preventing infection. Restaurants turned to delivery and takeout services to keep earning revenue while their doors were closed. At the same time, QR codes became a simple and safe solution that allowed customers to maintain distance and avoid touching shared items such as printed menus, catalogs, payment machines, or cash. As a result, many restaurants began using digital menus and QR codes to connect customers to online platforms. Since then, QR codes have remained an integral part of the dining experience.

An ecological and hygienic alternative for your menus +

Today, it’s common for restaurants to use table tents with QR codes to share their digital menus. This allows customers to easily view the menu, place orders, and even make payments directly from their phones. Using a QR code for daily menus reduces contact between staff and customers while helping to save on printing costs. Additionally, since the menu remains on the customer’s phone, it’s convenient for them to place repeat orders later from home or anywhere else.

Digital menus can also include link list QR codes that direct customers to your Instagram, Facebook, or other social media pages. By showcasing photos of your dishes and linking to your platforms, you can attract more online customers. This approach helps boost followers, increase visibility, and encourage greater engagement with your restaurant online.

Improve your customers’ experience +

Many restaurants and bars offer more than just food; they also provide entertainment, such as live music or performances. You can keep your customers engaged, whether they are dining in or ordering takeout, by using QR codes in creative ways. For example, you can share an MP3 QR code to support local bands and allow customers to enjoy their music while they dine.

You can also build trust by offering a behind-the-scenes look at your kitchen or supply chain. A video QR code can link to a playlist that shows how your dishes are prepared or where your ingredients come from. To promote special deals, such as a 2-for-1 offer or discounts for returning customers, use a coupon QR code on your menu. This allows customers to save the offer to their phone and redeem it during their next visit or online order.

With the variety of QR codes available from Divsly, you can share diverse types of content and keep your customers informed, entertained, and connected to your brand.

Take advantage of the tracking feature +

By using Divsly’s dynamic QR codes on your menus, you can track your marketing campaigns in real time. You’ll receive useful data such as scan location (city and country), scan time, device type, and whether scans are from new or returning users. This information shows how well your QR codes perform and whether they are reaching the right audience. With these insights you can make smarter decisions and improve your campaigns over time.

How to add a QR code for menus?

1

Sign up to access the QR code generator and choose the type of QR code you want to add to your menus. We recommend starting with the URL QR code.

2

Simply enter your website link, and your QR code will be generated automatically

3

Personalize your QR code design by adding a frame and a "Scan Me" label.

4

Select the colors for your QR code to match your brand or personal style.

5

Click “Download” to save your QR code as a JPEG file.

6

Insert the QR code into your menu layout before publishing or printing.

Top ways to incorporate QR codes for menus

Today, QR codes are no longer limited to plain black-and-white designs. Now you can customize them with creative tools to match your brand or campaign style. Here are some of the features you can use.

1
Add instructions

Many people forget an important detail when using QR codes: adding a short message that tells customers why they should scan it. When you create your code with Divsly for your menu, include a clear call to action such as “Check out our lunch specials,” “Get a discount on your next meal,” or “Order for delivery.” This small step can make a big difference in how many people scan your code.

2
Frame it

Use our customizable frames to make your QR code match your brand or giveaway design. After generating your QR code, you can pick from many frame styles, colors, and CTA messages to catch people’s attention. You can also choose a different icon, change the shape, and add your own custom text.

3
Add a logo inside your QR code

After customizing the frame, shape, and color of your QR code, you can add your logo in the center. Choose one of the presets in Divsly’s QR code generator or upload your own image. You can also include a custom call to action such as “Veggie menu” or “See promotions.” Don’t worry about the logo size; our system automatically adjusts it to ensure the QR code remains easy to scan.

4
Save your designs

Sign up on Divsly to save and manage your QR code designs for future use. You can store all your customized designs and easily reuse them in upcoming campaigns without starting over. Whether you’re promoting a new product, event, or contest, keeping a consistent look across your QR codes helps strengthen brand recognition and saves valuable time.

5
Customizable URL

Every dynamic QR code is automatically assigned a random short URL that redirects users to your destination page. With Divsly, you can personalize this URL by adding your company name, making it easier to recognize, more professional, and more trustworthy for your audience.

Explore QR codes in action for menus

If you are still unsure how to use QR codes in your menu, here are five simple and creative examples, some real and some fictional, to give you ideas:

Cashless payment icon
Allows you to pay without cash

A simple way to offer cashless payments for both dine-in and online orders is to add an app QR code to your digital or printed menus and at the register. This promotes your restaurant’s payment app and gives customers quick and easy access to checkout and payment options.

Menu icon
Make ordering easy with images

If you run a food stall or cart in a public space such as a shopping mall, you have less room to promote your dishes than in a restaurant. For example, the fictional fast food chain Los Burgueses set up a dessert stand in local malls, offering promotional prices on cakes and ice creams. They decorated the stall with photos of their desserts and added a menu QR code that linked to the day’s menu with pictures of every option. They also included a coupon QR code next to the promotional items so customers could easily access discounts and share them with friends via text, email, or social media.

Production process icon
Show the production process of your dishes

QR codes can link to various types of content, bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds. For example, you can use a video QR code on your menu to give customers a virtual tour of your kitchen. This allows them to see how their meals are prepared while they wait, whether they’re dining in your restaurant or ordering from home. It’s an excellent way to build transparency and trust with your customers.

Community icon
Create your online community

A link listing QR code connects customers directly to your online channels, making it easy for them to find and follow your restaurant without searching. Divsly’s dynamic QR codes also let you keep your menu, hours, location, and special offers up to date.

Less waste icon
Less paper waste

Using QR codes on menus lets restaurants, bars, and food chains combine all their options into a single code. If you previously had separate drink and dessert menus, you can now share everything with a menu QR code. This saves table space and reduces paper waste. Plus, Divsly’s dynamic QR codes can be updated at any time to add new dishes, fix mistakes, or change seasonal items without the need for reprinting.

Frequently asked questions

Some restaurants are hesitant to use QR codes on their menus because they worry about changing how they serve customers and fear that some customers might resist new technology. Additionally, some see the investment in tech as a big hurdle, rather than seeing how it can improve the customer experience and streamline operations. For example, in Singapore, QR codes have changed dining by allowing customers to scan a code at the table to view the menu and order from their phones. This has reduced wait times and made service more efficient, giving diners a more convenient and contactless experience.

Using a digital menu app in a restaurant offers many benefits. It provides a more interactive and personalized experience for customers, allowing them to easily browse the menu, learn about dishes, and order and pay from their phones. It also saves on the costs of printing physical menus and makes it easy to update prices and availability. This improves the restaurant’s efficiency and gives it a modern, tech-savvy image that can attract younger, digitally-focused customers.

Digital menus are becoming a big trend in the dining industry. As technology advances and people use mobile devices more, more restaurants will likely adopt digital menus. They offer benefits like easy updates for prices and products, detailed nutritional info, and the ability to personalize for customers. Plus, in a post-COVID-19 world, digital menus are a safer, contactless option that promotes hygiene. Because of these advantages, digital menus will likely keep growing in popularity and become a standard in restaurants.

The goal of digital menus and QR codes isn't to replace traditional menus, but to complement them. However, with a focus on sustainable marketing, it’s important to reduce waste and unnecessary printing. QR codes provide an efficient way to share information in a compact, mobile format, using printed materials as a starting point. In this way, digital menus enhance the dining experience, making it more interactive and smart.

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