Shipping boxes & mailers
QR Codes on Shipping Boxes and Mailers
The shipping box is the one piece of packaging every online customer touches. A QR code printed on it, or on the inside flap, turns that moment into a setup guide, a reorder, a review or a return, and tells you how many customers actually opened it up and looked.
Free plan: 3 dynamic codes, no time limit. Pro types free for 14 days, no card.
Last 30 days · people only, bots filtered
Example data
What the code can do
One printed code, pointing wherever you choose. Change the destination later and every printed copy follows.
Unboxing and setup
Point to a setup video or quick-start page so customers get going without a support ticket.
Video QR code (Pro)Reorder in one scan
Link straight to the product page or a pre-filled cart for consumables people run out of.
Website QR codeAsk for a review
Send happy customers to the review page while the product is new in their hands.
Review QR code (Pro)Returns and support
Open your returns portal or help center, so the question reaches the right place first time.
Website QR codeFollow and join
Grow the audience you already paid to acquire: social profiles or a newsletter sign-up.
Social media QR code (Pro)Analytics
What the scans tell you
Every scan of a dynamic code is counted, with link previews and bots filtered out, so the numbers are people.
How many customers engage after delivery
Scans against orders shipped is a real unboxing-engagement rate, something a plain box never tells you.
Which box or campaign works
Give each box size, product line or seasonal insert its own code and compare them side by side.
Where your customers are
Scans by US state and city show where engaged customers live, useful for ads and retail expansion.
When they open it
Hour-of-day and day-of-week patterns show when deliveries actually get opened.
Reported for every code: scans over time, unique vs total, country, US state and city, iPhone vs Android, operating system, hour of day and day of week, with CSV export and a weekly email report.
Printing it so it scans
- Print on the inside flap or the inside lid if you want the code seen at unboxing, not by every courier along the way.
- On corrugated board, keep the code larger than usual (at least 1.25 in / 3 cm) because flexo printing on cardboard spreads ink and softens edges.
- Use dark ink on a light, uncoated area; avoid printing over box seams, folds or tape lines.
- Put one short line next to the code saying what scanning gets you. A bare code is scanned far less than one that says "Scan for setup video".
- Print one proof and scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone before the full run, in the lighting where it will be used.
Set it up
- Step 1
Choose one job per code
Setup, reorder or review. A code that tries to do everything gets fewer scans than one with a clear purpose.
- Step 2
Create a dynamic code
So you can change the destination for next season's campaign without reprinting the boxes.
- Step 3
Send the file to your box printer
Download a high-resolution PNG, or SVG on Pro, for crisp printing at any size.
- Step 4
Watch the first week of scans
Compare scans to orders shipped and adjust the call to action if engagement is low.
Frequently asked questions
Will couriers or warehouse scanners pick up the QR code by mistake?
Shipping labels use their own barcodes, and logistics scanners look for those. To keep the code for your customer, print it inside the box or on a part of the outside away from the shipping label.
Can I change where the code points after the boxes are printed?
Yes, with a dynamic code. The box points at a short link and you change the destination in ScanOrbit whenever the campaign changes.
How do I compare two box designs?
Give each design its own code, put them in the same folder, and compare their scans in analytics. For two destinations from one printed code, A/B split testing (Pro) sends half the scans to each.
Does the code stop working if I stop paying?
Website-link codes keep working on the free plan with no time limit. Codes using Pro-only types (video, review, social) pause if the account goes back to Free, and start again when you upgrade, so nothing needs reprinting.
QR codes on products and deliveries