In a newly released study by the mobile marketing and technology company, Nellymoser, QR Code usage by publishers, has increased sharply since last year. In Q1 of last year only 352 codes were published by the top 100 U.S. magazines. During Q1 of this year that number rose to 1,365. The positive trend continued into Q2 with the number of printed codes soaring t0 2,200.

It’s important to note that the study did not look at the number of code “scans”, but only the number of times they were used. Still, the study suggests that the popularity of QR Codes amongst advertisers is on the rise, at least in publishing. Not surprisingly, there has been steady growth in smartphone ownership in the past two years. In a Pew Internet study conducted at the beginning of this year, 46% of American adults owned a smartphone. That was up from 35% during the same time the previous year. Currently, more Americans own smartphones than traditional “dumb” phones.

What do you think about using QR Codes? Have you used them and if so, were they effective? Please sound-off below!