More and more, you see strange checkerboard squares in magazines, newspapers, and other media. Called QR, or “quick response,” codes, they’re designed to be scanned by an app-equipped smart phone, which then delivers product offers, video streams, personal identifications, and other things.

In research that could be of great interest to bank marketers, comScore, Inc., which specializes in measuring the digital world, released results of a study on mobile QR code scanning. Put simply, the research gives an idea of who tends to actually use the codes.

The study found that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the United States, representing 6.2% of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR code on their mobile device. Further a mobile user who scanned a QR code during the month was more likely to be male (60.5%), skew toward ages 18-34 (53.4%), and have a household income of $100,000 or above (36.1%).

The study also analyzed the source and location of QR code scanning, finding that users are most likely to scan codes found in newspapers/magazines and on product packaging and do so while at home or in a store.

“QR codes demonstrate just one of the ways in which mobile marketing can effectively be integrated into existing media and marketing campaigns to help reach desired consumer segments,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice-president of mobile. “For marketers, understanding which consumer segments scan QR codes, the source and location of these scans, and the resulting information delivered, is crucial in developing and deploying campaigns that successfully utilize QR codes to further brand engagement.”

For more detailed results from the study, click here.