First, 2D tags are heavily used in Japan, the only market in which that’s the case. Carriers, handset makers, and advertisers banded together around a common format and ecosystem. Carriers wanted to push mobile Internet use. A recent study found that over 80 percent of mobile users had used a 2D tag, and the two most common uses were for ads and–get this–capturing a code from a Web page for use elsewhere (such as continuing to read an article you’d started on a desktop when you moved to your mobile).

Second, cell phones outside Japan generally don’t have the code software installed, and, if installed, it’s not at the top level of the menu or a button away as it is in Japan. Scanbuy has the most prominence in the west, even though they use a more robust tag that requires a roundtrip through servers the company controls, because it has deals in place with all major carriers in Spain and Denmark, and has nascent deals in the Americas and other European countries. The deals come with preloaded software, which means users may be able to access the codes easily.

Now, all that’s fine, but you have to have an advantage for the consumer, and that’s where coupons, special deals, more info, and easier reference should come in.

We’ll see if it takes off, but prior to the last few months, there simply wasn’t enough software adoption. You can’t get a mass-market trend going (except Flash?) by asking users to install software.