Most ecommerce brands spend heavily to win a holiday order and then put almost nothing in the box beyond a packing slip. The customer opens the package, takes out the product, and the cardboard goes straight into recycling.
That unboxing moment is one of the few times you have someone's full attention. They've just paid you, they're curious, and they're holding something you printed. A well-placed QR code on an insert or the packaging can turn that moment into a review, a referral, a second order, or a brand-new customer if the box was a gift.
With Black Friday on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November this year, now is the time to design inserts before your peak shipping weeks. This guide covers what QR codes on holiday packaging and shipping inserts should do, how to set them up so they stay useful after the season, and how to measure what works.
#Why packaging QR codes work so well during the holidays
Holiday orders bring an unusual mix of people. Some are your regular customers stocking up. Many are first-time buyers who found you through a sale and may never think of you again unless you give them a reason. And a large share of holiday orders are gifts, meaning the person opening the box isn't your customer at all.
A QR code is the easiest bridge from a physical box to a digital action. People already scan codes for menus, payments, and tickets without thinking about it. A printed URL asks someone to type; a code asks them to point a camera.
Packaging inserts also cost very little per order. Once the design is done, adding a printed card to each box is cheap compared with the cost of acquiring a new customer through ads, especially at holiday ad prices.
#Decide what the code should do
The biggest mistake with packaging QR codes is pointing them at your homepage. A homepage gives the person no reason to act. Each code should have one clear job.
A reorder or replenishment offer suits consumables. If you sell coffee, skincare, supplements, or anything people run out of, a code that opens a pre-filled reorder page or a subscription signup with a returning-customer discount is hard to beat.
A review request works well for products people judge quickly. Link straight to the review form for the product they bought, not to a general page. If you offer an incentive, follow the FTC's guidance on endorsements and reviews or the equivalent rules in your market: incentives must not depend on the review being positive, and material incentives should be clearly disclosed. Check the review platform too, since some prohibit incentivized reviews even when the incentive is disclosed.
A referral offer turns customers into promoters. "Give a friend 15% off, get 15% off your next order" works well during gift season, when people are already thinking about others.
Setup guides and how-to videos help with products that need assembly or configuration. Reducing frustration in the first hour of ownership leads to fewer returns and more repeat buyers.
Warranty or product registration captures contact details from customers who bought through a marketplace, where you might not otherwise know who they are.
#Don't forget the gift recipient
Gift recipients are the hidden opportunity in holiday packaging. They've never bought from you, they're holding your product, and if they like it, they're a warm prospect.
Design a separate insert, or a separate code on the same insert, aimed at them: "Received this as a gift? Here's 10% off your first order," or "Love it? See the rest of the collection." If your store offers gift receipts or gift wrapping, you can include the gift recipient insert only in those orders.
Exchange and return information belongs here too. Gift recipients are more likely to need an exchange, and making that easy, with a code that opens your exchange page directly, turns a potential refund into a different product sale instead.
#Use dynamic codes so they keep working after the holidays
Packaging and inserts live longer than campaigns. A box printed in November may still be sitting in a closet in February, and inserts printed in bulk often get used until the stack runs out.
That's why packaging codes should be dynamic. A dynamic QR code points to a short link you can redirect at any time. In December, it can go to a gift guide; in January, to your exchange page and a post-holiday offer; in February, to a Valentine's collection. The printed code stays the same. Our guide to dynamic vs. static QR codes covers the trade-offs in detail.
Put the codes on a custom domain you own, such as go.yourbrand.com. That gives you control of the printed domain. To change tools later, recreate the same short-link paths and HTTPS support before switching DNS. The short URL shown under the code also reinforces your brand.
#Create separate codes for each insert and audience
To learn what works, give each version its own code. Use one for the customer insert and one for the gift recipient insert, one per product category if the offers differ, and one for each packaging type if you use several.
You can also vary codes by sales channel. A code in orders shipped from your own store and a different code in orders fulfilled through a marketplace let you compare how each customer group responds.
Add UTM parameters to each destination URL, using a tool like Google's Campaign URL Builder, so visits and conversions from each insert show up clearly in your web analytics. Something like utm_source=packaging, utm_medium=qr, and utm_campaign=holiday-2026-gift-insert is enough. Because the code points to a short link, the long UTM-tagged URL doesn't make the printed code any denser.
#Design the insert so people actually scan it
Lead with the benefit, not the code. "Scan for 15% off your next order" or "Scan to set it up in 2 minutes" tells people why they'd bother. A bare QR code with no explanation gets ignored.
Make the code large enough. For a postcard-sized insert held in the hand, 2.5 to 3 centimeters is a comfortable minimum. Leave a quiet zone, a clear margin around the code, and keep strong contrast, ideally dark on light.
Print the short URL under the code too. Some people prefer typing, some phones struggle in poor lighting, and a visible branded short link builds trust that the code leads where it says.
Think about placement. An insert sitting on top of the product, or printed inside the lid, gets seen. A card buried under packing material often doesn't. For gift orders, avoid printing offers or prices on the outside of the box, where they might spoil the surprise.
Test before printing in volume. Scan the final proof with several phones at the real print size, then follow the full path on mobile: code, landing page, offer, checkout.
#Make the landing page match the moment
The person scanning is on a phone, standing next to a box, often in the middle of unpacking. The landing page should load quickly, fit a phone screen, and get to the point.
Repeat the offer from the insert at the top of the page, apply any discount automatically if your store supports it, and keep forms short. If the goal is a review, open the review form directly. If it's a reorder, pre-fill the product.
For international shipping, consider geo-targeted links, so one printed code sends scanners in different countries to the right store, currency, and language.
#How to measure what's working
Start with recorded QR-link requests divided by boxes shipped with that insert, and label the metric clearly. Repeat scans, typed short URLs, previews, and automated requests can all affect it, so this is an engagement proxy rather than the percentage of customers who scanned. Compare scan rates between versions, such as customer vs. gift recipient inserts, or different offers.
Then look at conversion. Use your analytics and UTM tags to see how many scanners completed the goal, whether that's a review, a signup, a referral, or a purchase. The insert that gets the most scans isn't always the one that drives the most revenue.
Watch timing too. Scans will spike a few days after each shipping wave and continue through January as gifts are opened. A code still getting scans in February is a sign it's worth keeping in your year-round packaging.
S.EE's link analytics show scans over time, by country, device, and more, so you can see each insert's performance without waiting for an end-of-season report.
#Common mistakes to avoid
Printing static codes with campaign-specific URLs is the most expensive one. When the campaign ends, the code points to an expired page, and you can't fix it.
Sending people to your homepage, using one code for everything so you can't tell what worked, and printing codes so small or low-contrast that phones struggle to read them are the others. So is forgetting the gift recipient, who might be your best new customer of the season.
#Wrapping up
QR codes on holiday packaging and shipping inserts turn the unboxing moment into a reorder, a review, a referral, or a first purchase from a gift recipient. Give each code one clear job, use dynamic codes on your own domain so you can change the destination after the holidays, create separate codes for each insert and audience, and measure scans and conversions per version.
With peak shipping only weeks away, a small amount of planning now can keep paying off well into the new year.
Thanks for reading! If you're planning holiday inserts, S.EE lets you create dynamic QR codes on your own branded domain, change destinations anytime, and track scans in real time, alongside URL shortening and link-in-bio pages.
Ready to get started? Create your first QR code or view pricing to find the plan that fits your season.
#Frequently asked questions about QR codes on packaging and shipping inserts
##What should a QR code on a shipping insert link to?
A specific action, not your homepage. Good options include a reorder page, a review form, a referral offer, a setup guide, product registration, or a first-order offer for gift recipients.
##Should I use a static or dynamic QR code on packaging?
Dynamic. Packaging and inserts often stay in use long after a campaign ends, and a dynamic code lets you change the destination without reprinting, while also tracking scans.
##How big should a QR code be on a packaging insert?
For a handheld, postcard-sized insert, around 2.5 to 3 centimeters wide is a comfortable minimum, with a clear margin around it and strong contrast.
##How do I track scans from different inserts?
Create a separate dynamic QR code for each insert, audience, or offer, and add UTM parameters to each destination URL. Then compare scans and conversions per code.
##Can I offer an incentive for reviews through a packaging QR code?
You can in many markets, but rules apply. In the US, the FTC says incentives must not depend on the review being positive, and material incentives should be clearly disclosed. Some review platforms prohibit incentives entirely, so check their policies as well as the rules for every market you ship to.
##When should I design holiday packaging inserts?
Ideally by October, so inserts are printed and ready before Black Friday and Cyber Monday shipping peaks in late November.
