The pandemic has accelerated the usage of QR codes, taking them from niche status to an essential tool for businesses and marketers.
Look no further than Sunday's Super Bowl commercial of nothing but a floating QR code sending users to the website of Coinbase.
By the numbers: 76 million Americans scanned a QR code in 2021, up 44% from 2019, according to eMarketer.
That’s expected to rise to 100 million by 2025.
Of note: During the pandemic, many restaurants have replaced physical menus with QR codes that diners scan to peruse food and drink options.
Marketers are now poised to embrace the “gamification” of QR codes, encouraging users to scan them to get deals, product details and reviews, according to eMarketer.
Yes, but: Law enforcement officials are sounding the alarm about the risks.
Threat level: The FBI issued an alert in January warning Americans that cybercriminals “are tampering with QR codes to redirect victims to malicious sites that steal login and financial information.”
If you’re scanning a physical code, make sure it hasn’t been tampered with. For example, watch out for “a sticker placed on top of the original code,” the FBI advises.
The bottom line: QR codes can be helpful. But don’t click unless you’ve verified that the source is legitimate — and make sure the site is authentic once you reach your digital destination.
A Democratic state senator in California introduced a bill Thursday that would require employers to disclose salary ranges for open positions, and publicly report employee and contractor pay data.
Actor and director Eva Longoria wants to "change the gatekeepers" in Hollywood to ensure that more people of color, especially Latinos, are represented on television, in film and behind the scenes.
The big picture: Hollywood is “not built to welcome people who don't have experience, and traditionally, people of color, especially Latinos, have not been in a place where they can get that experience,” Longoria tells Axios.
Walmart reported earnings this morning that beat estimates, driven in part by comparable sales growth of 5.6% for the fourth quarter, but it also noted that its ad services business generated some $2.1 billion in sales.
Why it matters: It wasn't all that long ago industry insiders were predicting the demise of Walmart, but it can now go toe-to-toe with Amazon after heavily investing in e-commerce and diversifying into services from advertising to health to financial.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a new investigation into Tesla vehicles Thursday, this time for unexpected braking while in autopilot and driving at highway speeds.
Why it matters: It's the third investigation that NHTSA has opened into the electric vehicle manufacture's driving features in the last six months.
Nickelodeon is canceling “The Casagrandes,” a cartoon about the dynamics of a multi-generational Latino family that lives under one roof, Axios has learned.
IDG Communications, the nearly 60-year-old publisher that's home to brands like PCWorld, Macworld and TechHive, is rebranding as Foundry, its president Kumaran Ramanathan exclusively told Axios.
Why it matters: The rebrand comes as the company prioritizes its growing marketing technology business over its traditional publishing roots.
An analysis releasedThursday by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) drops the hammer on NuScale's small modular reactor (SMR), which is arguably the most prominent next-generation nuclear reactor project currently planned in the U.S.
Why It Matters: NuScale is among the handful of companies developing SMRs, with the intent of reinvigorating the U.S. nuclear power sector.
Sequoia Capital last fall disclosed plans to blow up the traditional VC model, saying it would form a single fund to hold all of its U.S. and European investments (including publicly-traded shares).
Driving the news: Now it's laying out its next moves, including a $600 million fund focused on liquid crypto investments.
Carl Icahn says he's prepared to launch a proxy fight at McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) if the fast-food giant doesn't stop using suppliers who house pregnant pigs in small boxes.
Why it matters: Icahn is demanding that McDonald's prioritize something other than profits, which is a jagged departure from the activist investor's oeuvre. It's also unusual because Icahn holds only around $25,000 worth of McDonald's stock.
IBM will provide pro bono tech services and expertise to organizations serving communities vulnerable to climate change and other environmental hazards.
Driving the news: The tech giant's new IBM Sustainability Accelerator is live today with a public request for proposals from nonprofit and government organizations. The 2022 awards will focus on clean energy.
You love it when your Uber driver says: "You are my 5-star passenger." But they don't always. Uber released these city rankings, based on how many stars drivers give riders.
The big picture: The lowest-ranked cities were concentrated on the coasts: New York City, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Boston.
When it comes to job postings with a vaccination requirement, 9 of the top 10 cities went blue in the 2020 election, according to a new Indeed analysis.
The one metro area that went red is Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Facebook parent Meta is reorganizing its communications and public affairs team to combat an onslaught of negative press and try to repair its reputation.
Why it matters: The new structure, according to internal memos obtained by Axios, gives communications and public affairs executives more power across the organization to respond to public relations crises.
The companies that purchase drugs for employers and government programs don't anticipate switching quickly to cheaper copycats of the popular immunology drug Humira.
Why it matters: Humira, one of the world's most-used drugs that registered $20.7 billion in global sales in 2021, fended off competition for years for this very reason — to keep its U.S. market share high for as long as possible.
