Online Shopping on the Go: An assessment of QR Code Utilization among African University Students in China

Quick Response (QR) code utilization has exploded in China to a higher extent compared to other Western countries. QR codes have become part and parcel of the digital world and the online shopping environment in China. This study adopted the Theory of Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) as the theoretical framework of this study, to investigate the perceptions of how African students use QR codes for online shopping within China. The study utilized an online questionnaire design to collect data from 615 African students from 9 countries studying in 10 purposively sampled Chinese universities. One key finding of our study shows that the type of QR code mostly used among African students is the product information types and their reason for opting for the product information QR code type is mainly for searching for the right product before they do online shopping or buy. Our study also reported that despite some challenges identified by respondents, which include: the acquisition of a smartphone and the need to download an app, there a general level of acceptance of QR codes among African students in China. In conclusion, 55.9% of the sampled African students for this studying in China specified they were ready to recommend QR code usage in their respective African countries for online shopping