[codingdave]

Yes, they are extremely useful if you actually need to pull data off a physical object. We use them at all of our conferences to scan badges. I embedded a reader into a web page, so my coworkers can just open a web page on their tablets, and they have a fully working system that can scan a QR code from a badge to log attendance at sessions, or assist people on the fly, without having to send people over to the registration desks for help with scheduling or other questions.

That is just one use - but anywhere that you see a barcode, a QR code would serve the same purpose. Really, that is all a QR code is - a fancier barcode.

You may be thinking of the marketing gimmicks where when you scan a code, an embedded URL is opened. That use case does feel gimmickky. But that is not their most practical use.