“Luddite” retailers waste £32m a year with paper receipts
Research by receipt processing and management service ExpenseMagic has found that “Luddite” British retailers are wasting £32m every year by dispensing 11.2 billion paper receipts, while some US retailers are beginning to use digital.
Apple, Sears, Kmart, Gap, Banana Republic, Best Buy and Old Navy routinely issue digital receipts, which ExpenseMagic says opens new marketing opportunities and helps improve accounting standards and the management of expense claims.
Adam O’Kane, co-founder of ExpenseMagic, said: “The use of e-receipts here in the UK is still in its infancy – compared to the US our retailers look Luddite.
“There, the paper receipt is rapidly coming to the end of the roll, yet British companies are wasting millions of pounds and missing out on valuable marketing opportunities by using them.
“Strategically, consumers are changing the way they’re shopping and are using technology like their mobile phone to pay for purchases. Increasing numbers of retailers are looking into mobile payments, and inevitably this will practice will drive the convergence to digital receipts.
“Many stores in the US add the customer’s e-mail address to a mailing list for follow-up offers. All this data can really help retailers generate and retain a sense of loyalty with their customers – something no retailer can take for granted in the current economic environment.”
Receipt image via Shutterstock