ITC’s Classmate uses QR gamification and omnichannel reach to stay relevant
Classmate is pairing interactive QR-led eduGAMES with broader stationery categories and digital commerce to defend share in India’s price-sensitive paper stationery market. The ITC brand is leveraging its paper supply chain as learning shifts further online.
What happened
ITC’s Classmate is using QR-led gamification, wider stationery categories and omnichannel distribution to defend relevance amid digital learning. The brand
Key facts
- 2003 launch
- Rs 16,500 crore Indian paper stationery market
- FY25 ITC FMCG revenue: Rs 219,81 crore
- Classmate consumer spends exceeded Rs 1,000 crore
- 11 interactive eduGAMES challenges
Why this matters
Classmate’s shift toward a digitally enabled stationery ecosystem makes edtech content, youth engagement platforms, and direct-to-consumer capabilities potential partnership or acquisition targets.
What to watch
- QR scan rates, repeat-scan frequency, time spent in eduGAMES and conversion from scans to commerce or loyalty enrollment.
- Growth in Classmate's non-notebook categories and the online share of brand sales.
- Competitor launches of QR-led learning, rewards or digital-content packaging by Navneet, DOMS, Kangaro and regional brands.
- Notebook volume trends by urban versus non-urban markets, especially during back-to-school and examination seasons.
- ITC's ability to hold price gaps versus unbranded and regional notebooks amid paper-pulp cost volatility.
- Evidence of marketplace search-share gains, quick-commerce availability and direct-to-consumer bundle adoption.
- School restrictions on branded digital engagement, children's-data rules or parent concerns about screen time.
- Expand eduGAMES into grade- and curriculum-linked content, with recurring challenges that incentivize repeat scans rather than one-off packaging interactions.
- Use QR journeys to build parental consent-based CRM, segment users by age and geography, and target back-to-school, exam-season and art-and-craft bundles.
- Create exclusive online assortments and subscription-like replenishment packs for notebooks, pens, labels and project supplies across ITC Store, marketplaces and quick commerce.
- Pair gamification with tangible rewards such as school supplies, learning content, contest entries or partner offers to increase scan conversion.
- Use ITC's paper procurement and manufacturing scale to maintain entry price points while selectively premiumizing high-margin formats and specialty stationery.
- Seek school, tutoring-platform and edtech partnerships that make Classmate content more useful than generic branded games.