How to track QR code traffic to your online shop

Short answer

If you sell on a marketplace, the platform owns your analytics. You can see orders, but not how people arrived. Putting a tracked QR code on your packaging, inserts or print material moves that one measurement back to you: every scan is recorded with a timestamp, device and approximate location, and the code still lands the visitor on your normal listing.

The problem with marketplace listings

You cannot add analytics to a page you do not control. On Amazon, Etsy, eBay or a Shopify storefront you did not build, there is no way to drop in a tag and find out that the postcard in last month's parcels is outperforming the sticker on the box.

A QR code sits one step before the listing. The scan is yours to measure; the destination is still theirs to host.

One code per placement

The single most useful habit is a separate code for each place a code appears. Package insert, outer box, business card, market stall sign, print ad. They can all point at the same listing.

That is what turns "we got some scans" into "the insert gets four times the scans of the box, so print more inserts." Tag each link with the campaign so the dashboard groups them.

Step-by-step

1. Ask the assistant for a tracked QR code to your shop URL. It creates the link and the code together.
2. Make one per placement, naming each after where it goes: insert, outer-box, stall-sign.
3. Download and print. The code is dynamic, so the printed image never has to change.
4. After a few weeks, compare scans per placement in the dashboard.

Going further than a redirect

A code can do more than forward. Two patterns worth knowing:

• Route by device. Send phone users to the marketplace app listing and desktop users to the web version.
• Ask something first. Put a short form in front for a discount code or a warranty registration, and you capture an email you own rather than a marketplace contact you do not.

Limits and caveats

• Scans are not sales. The marketplace still owns the checkout, so you can prove someone arrived, not that they bought. Compare scan timing with your order report to make the link.
• A person who scans twice counts twice unless you look at the new-versus-returning breakdown.
• Location is city-level, derived from the network, not GPS.
• Check the marketplace's rules before putting a code in a parcel. Most allow a link to your own listing; many prohibit steering buyers off-platform.

Frequently asked questions

Can I point a QR code at an Amazon listing?

Yes. The code redirects to any URL, including a marketplace listing, a storefront, or a specific product page.

Will I know which product the scan came from?

If you make one code per product, yes. The scan is attributed to the code, so the granularity is whatever you choose when you create them.

Can I change where the code goes after printing?

Yes. That is the main advantage of a dynamic code. Point it at a seasonal collection now and a different one later, with the same printed image.

Does this work for Etsy and eBay too?

Yes. Nothing about the code depends on the marketplace.

What if the listing is taken down?

Update the destination to something else — your own site, a replacement product — and every previously printed code follows.