MADRID: Danone is introducing a new range of QR, or Quick Response, codes on its packaging, to enable Spanish consumers to benefit from discounts.

The French food producer aims to take advantage of high levels of smart phone use in Spain, which has the second-highest level of penetration in Europe, reports Just Food.

According to the Instituto Superior para el Desarrollo de Internet, Spaniards download over 2.7m apps a day.

"We want to help our consumers in these challenging times and new mobile technology provides us with the opportunity to help consumers make savings both quickly and conveniently," said Juanjo Saez-Torres, director of marketing at Danone.

The company said shoppers will be able to save some 40 euros a month by using QR codes to connect to its Alimenta Sonrisas scheme, and Danone has also developed an app to make it easier to scan and register for the scheme.

The news follows a study by the Journal of Advertising Research, which has found that QR codes are being used increasingly in cross-media advertising campaigns throughout the world.

But the study found that consumers remain wary of disclosing their personal information when using codes to access discounts, which is a requirement for schemes like that being introduced by Danone.

Data sourced from Just Food; additional content by Warc staff