According to a report by comScore, smartphone users across Europe are scanning QR codes more than ever – up 96 per cent in the past two years to 17.4 million users for the three month average period ending July 2012.

The results of the research came from the five leading European markets, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom by using data from the comScore MobilLens service. Data comes from a smartphone audience of 17,390,000.

Smartphone users in Germany scanned the most active QR code scanners, with 18.6 per cent of the smartphone market embracing QR codes – that’s a 128 per cent growth from the year before.

Second is Spain, with 16 per cent, while France, Italy and the UK have all risen to 12.5, 11.9 and 11.4 per cent respectively.

QR codes are used for a variety of reasons, like checking-in to a venue, looking up train time-tables, but it seems that product information was by far the most popular result of a QR code scan. Nearly three in four scans (71.7 per cent) directed the user to a product page across all five of these European markets.

The second most popular QR code was event information (31.8 per cent), making it second most popular result across all five European markets.

According to the research, people like to receive coupons or offers through scanning QR codes. Out of the five, Spain does this the most with 22.2 per cent, while the UK does this the least, with 17 per cent. Overall, though, 19.4 per cent of the five markets use QR codes for special offers.

Here on Conversations by Nokia, we publish QR codes along with some of our app stories to make it as easy as possible for you to download the app. In France, 17.5 per cent of smartphone users use the QR method for downloading apps, while in the UK it’s 11.2 per cent. Across all five markets, though, it’s 13.4 per cent.

We find this research fascinating, as QR codes are such an easy way for people to access information, whether it is product information or an app download. If you’ve never scanned a QR code before, here’s you chance. Scan the QR code to go through to the comScore report.

What do you think this research will say this time next year? Would QR usage have increased further, or declined? Let us know, in the comments below.