Do you really want the Paper Receipt …?
As a customer I have always been frustrated by the clutter created, and the effort required to manage my store sale receipts. More often than not, Murphy strikes, and I cannot seem to find the very same receipt on which a return/exchange needs to be made. Other than the frustrations that a customer like me has to go through in organizing/retaining store receipts, these receipts are also an environmental and procurement problem.
By some estimates, around 2 million trees need to be cut down every year to meet the demand for paper receipts in US. Add to this, the fact that most of the store receipts are printed on a non-recyclable ‘thermal’ paper, we have an environmental issue on our hands. Retailers also spend substantial money as procurement costs for store receipt rolls. Would it not be nice, if in some way we could make these store receipts electronic, without losing the purpose they serve? At least for the people who have access to the web and are willing to go green.
Let me list down a few basic purposes that the store Point of Sale (POS) receipts serve, and these are:
1. Proof of sale for the customer
2. Store policies, Terms and Conditions for the customer to read
3. Coupons, Store promotion and marketing material
4. Used for Returns/Exchanges, Warranty
Any electronic receipt solution approach, apart from serving the above listed purposes, should be accessible and convenient for the customer, and should be able to reach as wide an audience as possible.
One approach is to send the receipt to the Customer via email: The cashier could give the customer an option to get an electronic receipt in his/her email at the time of the sale.
Another approach would be to have a service which spawns across retailers, where customers can log in and view the receipts instead of having them in their email.
For both these approaches, the customer can use the electronic copy as a proof of purchase; maybe take a print-out of the receipt or use a smart phone bar code scan, for return or warranty purposes. The retailer can dissipate coupons or marketing information through emails or use the service to reach out to the customer account
The challenge that remains then is, how does the POS identify that the receipt for a particular transaction needs to go to the email id of the customer or the particular customer account in case of a service?
- The cashier could ask the customer for an email id, or if the customer subscribes to an electronic receipt service, at the time of sale. But neither the customer, and definitely not a high volume retailer, would want to have an additional process at the POS to collect an email id, every time a sale is made.
- One could use loyalty/rewards cards for setting up electronic receipt preferences, but only a small percentage of customers use loyalty/reward cards every time they make a store purchase.
- A better way would be to use the payment method as a link between the customers and the transaction. Someone like a VISA or Mastercard could provide the service, as they are the common and the secure link between a customer, payment method and the POS transaction across most retailers. Every time a customer purchases something using a registered credit/debit card, the service could pull the receipt information and make it available for the customer online. One obvious drawback with this way is that it will not work for methods of payment like Cash, Gift Cards or Checks. And while the bigger retailers may be able to offset the cost for this service with procurement savings, it may not be true for the smaller retailers. The other challenge is the investment required to set up such a service and storage required to capture the receipt. There is also the question of the changes on the POS side, this approach would entail. But all in all, this could be the best way to make electronic receipts convenient and available to a large set of customers.
As our society becomes more environmentally conscious and technologically savvy, our leaning towards paperless receipts will become more pronounced. Doing away with the paper receipts is a win-win for the consumer, the retailer and the environment.
Comments
I totally agree with you. In fact have you ever booked movie ticket in Bookmyshow or pvrcinemas.com? Its entirely paperless. You need to book via internet, they will send you the transaction id and seat no, same transaction no will carry everywhere even in case of return! They have mapped the system so well, next time when u just put your mobile number, system will fill everything except movie time! Even we can say IRCTC allowing passengers just by showing your PNR no to the ticket collector! In fact in IRCTC railway booking truly paperless!!
Posted by: Naveen | March 8, 2010 12:36 PM
https://squareup.com/
There is already a similar service which is still in beta. This uses iphone and a small device, and an app.
Posted by: Chaitanya | March 8, 2010 1:15 PM
Good thought!
Yes there should definitely be a move towards more electronic receipts as the Apple retail stores have been doing for years already.
Sending the customer an electronic receipt via email if they enter an email address at a point of sale terminal, even if cash is used, should be possible. I would think companies would love to do this as they would love to get their customer's email addresses for additional direct marketing.
Now can I get these small cash transactions entered in to my money tracking software easily, as I can download card (credit/debit) transactions?
Posted by: Emmy B. Gengler | March 8, 2010 1:47 PM
An interesting idea. I would like to see Infosy's take the lead in this matter and convince its own customers the benefits of paperless receipts.
Posted by: prashantn | March 8, 2010 4:15 PM
Nice idea. One thing but - a lot of people have a habit of checking the bags against the receipt after checking out. I guess they do it to confirm that everything they have been billed for is in their bags. We need to create a way out for such customers.
Posted by: Piyush | March 9, 2010 4:53 AM
@Naveen: Thanks for your comments. Your information around PVR and IRCTC is quite interesting. One thing I would like to point out is that it is easier for online transactions to be made paperless. In an online scenario the customer details are already available for the retailer, making it easier to process confirmations, receipts and returns online. Compare that with the retails scenario, where all a customer wants to do is pay and walk out of the store as soon as possible.
@Chaitanya: The squareup.com service is an interesting one, looks like an iphone app for small and ‘mobile’ businesses who want to be able to charge customers without having the constraint of a fixed POS terminal. I would imagine that this application stores customer details and receipt preferences the first time that a purchase is made. If the same service can be used across retailers and customers, it could work. Thanks for sharing this information.
@Emmy: You are correct Emmy, Apple stores have been doing electronic receipts for some time, but then the customer volume for an Apple store is not as big as some of the other retailers. Also having a common service across multiple retailers would make life easier for a customer as well. Just register once with the service and you are done. Thanks for your comments!!!
@prashant: I am sure this is something that can be looked at.
@Piyush: Great point Piyush, some stores (Sam’s Club, Costco etc) do indeed check the receipt at the door. Maybe the advent of smart phones could help tide over that issue. But you are correct, something will need to be worked out for such stores.
Posted by: Sameer | March 11, 2010 1:25 AM
Great idea. I think it's clear that paper receipts are outdated and need to be replaced. I've actually been looking into alternative solutions for awhile and found this solution awhile back that is almost exactly what you are describing: www.alletronic.com
I had to scan through their site content for awhile to understand how it works, but essentially this is it: You first link a payment card to your account. Whenever you use that card at a retailer who uses alletronic's service, a "paperless" receipt is sent to you automatically. They also have a "paperless" return feature, which answers the return/warranty issue you mention above (apparently you just walk into the store with an ID and they can verify you purchased the item). And you guessed it...retailers can also give their customers targeted coupons. Not sure how this works, but I'm assuming they show up in your account.
Posted by: Rickus | March 13, 2010 8:00 AM
@Rickus: Thanks for your comments!!! Other than alletronic, there are a few more other initiatives that are being developed for paperless receipts. There are a few more like TransactionTree and Intuit that are working on solutions for paperless receipts. But you are correct, alletronic looks the most promising. Though I am not sure how many retailers alletronic reaches out to.
Posted by: Sameer | March 15, 2010 9:22 PM
Excellent eco-friendly idea Sameer. I would vote for a simple SMS with Bill Num, Date and Amount to customer's mobile which can be checked by security on exit. Another alternative is bag fastners, many retailers lock the shopping bags using plastic fasteners immediately.
Posted by: Rajasundaram_s | April 20, 2010 6:47 AM