NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Between two-thirds and three-quarters of U.S. consumers say they are interested in using NFC for nonpayment retail applications, according to a study funded by the NFC Forum by research firm Strategy Analytics.

The study, published Thursday, included results of surveys finding that a majority of consumers polled said they were interested in NFC for viewing product information, receiving offers, and other retail use cases. In addition, the study found that a larger proportion of respondents said they preferred NFC over other technologies, such as QR codes or beacons. QR codes maintained between 20% and 30% of consumers’ preference, however, while beacons lagged behind with under 20% for most use cases, according to the study, which included a Web survey with over 1,000 U.S. participants. A “significant” number of survey respondents had no NFC experience, though the research firm did not release a figure for this.

The NFC Forum is a trade and standards group promoting NFC technology and the interests of suppliers of the technology. It hired the research firm as it seeks to promote additional uses for NFC outside of payments.