By Maureen Aylward
Several large retailers, like Gap and Nordstrom, are shifting away from paper receipts in favor of digital receipts. We asked our Zintro experts to comment on the technologies behind digital receipts and how the service changes the customer experience, if at all.
Robert Cummings, a software sales and marketing expert, says the customer experience is enhanced with the flexibility of having the receipt emailed to a computer of choice. “You don’t misplace the receipt or lose it in your shopping trip, and the customer has extra copies if a rebate is involved,” says Cummings. “If you return to the store, they can find your transaction by email rather than credit card, which is far safer on the security side. The downside is that the store has captured your email and there is a potential for misuse.”
Cummings says legitimate retailers with a long-term view have privacy policies and mechanics for allowing customers to opt in or out of future messages. “Most customers use multi-channel purchasing browsing on the web as well as buying at the store. In my opinion, the smart retailer views the customer once as a buyer (web, store, or both) and carefully breaks down the web/brick barrier in sales and service delivery,” he says. “Offering less than a fully integrated web and store service is a strategic mistake.”
DylanTechPro, a business technology specialist, says that digital receipts are typically sent to a customer in the form of an email. “Some smart phones are being equipped with applications that allow the processing and viewing of digital receipts. Studies show that customers are increasingly appreciative of this option due to the convenience of paperless receipts. They have no need to carry additional items besides the items they have purchased and it’s a simple way of going green,” he says. “Customers don’t have to worry about misplacing a paper receipt and love the option of organizing their purchases within emails since people are increasingly using their emails for everything from calendars to address books.”
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