chicot60
07-09-2011, 08:23 PM
By Brittany Shammas, The Indianapolis Star
You've heard it a million times at the checkout counter: "Receipt with you, or in the bag?"
Now, you might hear a third option: your email inbox.
An increasing number of retailers are offering to send receipts by email, touting it as a convenient, environmentally friendly alternative to paper receipts. Gone, they say, are the days of digging through your purse looking for that crumpled slip of paper.
Retailers including Nordstrom and Gap began offering paperless receipts in the past few months, and Indianapolis-based Finish Line and Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Vera Bradley are testing the option or plan to begin testing it.
VIDEO: See Card Case in action
It also has been embraced by smaller businesses.
"It does a lot of different things," said Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson. "If they (customers) prefer to save paper, they can get it electronically. If they want to save some time, it can do that."
But while some praise the policy for its added convenience, others view it as a ploy to gain access to a customer's email account.
"It's a subtle way of saying, 'How can I invade your personal life but not offend you at the same time?' I've got to give them credit it's a pretty ingenious act," said Britt Beemer, a retail analyst and founder of America's Research Group.
It's part of a growing effort by retailers to electronically reach out to consumers via their smartphones and computers.
They send emails and text messages alerting consumers to deals. They have websites and Facebook pages and smartphone apps all aimed at making the store more than just a bricks-and-mortar shop.
Typically, emailed receipts will contain offers for consumers to receive coupons and other deals from retailers in the near future.
Consumers may opt out of receiving those offers, but some are still loath to give stores their email addresses.
Ronda Coon said she was a bit leery when a Gap employee asked whether she'd like her receipt emailed as she shopped at the Fashion Mall in Indianapolis last week.
"I admit I'm a little skeptical they want me on their list so they can spam me," the Danville, Ind., woman said with a laugh.
Although such concerns may be valid, no retailer serious about building a relationship with its customers would consider taking advantage of email access, said John Talbott, assistant director of Indiana University's Center for Education and Research in Retailing.
That's because for the retailer, the most significant benefit is being able to offer a service customers appreciate, he said. It isn't about cutting costs, he said, as less than 1% of a retailer's total revenue goes toward paper and ink for receipts.
Instead, the driving force is providing an option that makes the store a more appealing place to shop.
The prevalence of digital receipts is likely to grow quickly, many retailers said. Already, some retailers in Indianapolis are testing a platform that is both paperless and credit-card-less and declares on its website that "paper receipts are so 2010."
The form of payment, called Card Case, uses mobile-phone and iPad technology. It enables users to pay for products by simply walking up to the cash register and giving their name after registering their card using the Square app.
Their picture shows up on the retailer's iPad, and the customer receives a receipt in the form of a text message. The receipt can be accessed at any time using the app.
Card Case, offered through Square a company led by the co-founder of Twitter is new and available only in select cities.
In Indianapolis, it is being piloted by two retailers, including Three Days in Paris. Owner Colleen Dobbs said many of her customers use credit cards and one is already using Card Case.
She imagines that within 10 years, the majority of retailers will offer some form of paperless receipts.
"It's how things are moving," Dobbs said. "I think you'll pretty much have to. I think the consumer will expect it, and it will just become the standard."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-07-09-email-receipts_n.htm
You've heard it a million times at the checkout counter: "Receipt with you, or in the bag?"
Now, you might hear a third option: your email inbox.
An increasing number of retailers are offering to send receipts by email, touting it as a convenient, environmentally friendly alternative to paper receipts. Gone, they say, are the days of digging through your purse looking for that crumpled slip of paper.
Retailers including Nordstrom and Gap began offering paperless receipts in the past few months, and Indianapolis-based Finish Line and Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Vera Bradley are testing the option or plan to begin testing it.
VIDEO: See Card Case in action
It also has been embraced by smaller businesses.
"It does a lot of different things," said Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson. "If they (customers) prefer to save paper, they can get it electronically. If they want to save some time, it can do that."
But while some praise the policy for its added convenience, others view it as a ploy to gain access to a customer's email account.
"It's a subtle way of saying, 'How can I invade your personal life but not offend you at the same time?' I've got to give them credit it's a pretty ingenious act," said Britt Beemer, a retail analyst and founder of America's Research Group.
It's part of a growing effort by retailers to electronically reach out to consumers via their smartphones and computers.
They send emails and text messages alerting consumers to deals. They have websites and Facebook pages and smartphone apps all aimed at making the store more than just a bricks-and-mortar shop.
Typically, emailed receipts will contain offers for consumers to receive coupons and other deals from retailers in the near future.
Consumers may opt out of receiving those offers, but some are still loath to give stores their email addresses.
Ronda Coon said she was a bit leery when a Gap employee asked whether she'd like her receipt emailed as she shopped at the Fashion Mall in Indianapolis last week.
"I admit I'm a little skeptical they want me on their list so they can spam me," the Danville, Ind., woman said with a laugh.
Although such concerns may be valid, no retailer serious about building a relationship with its customers would consider taking advantage of email access, said John Talbott, assistant director of Indiana University's Center for Education and Research in Retailing.
That's because for the retailer, the most significant benefit is being able to offer a service customers appreciate, he said. It isn't about cutting costs, he said, as less than 1% of a retailer's total revenue goes toward paper and ink for receipts.
Instead, the driving force is providing an option that makes the store a more appealing place to shop.
The prevalence of digital receipts is likely to grow quickly, many retailers said. Already, some retailers in Indianapolis are testing a platform that is both paperless and credit-card-less and declares on its website that "paper receipts are so 2010."
The form of payment, called Card Case, uses mobile-phone and iPad technology. It enables users to pay for products by simply walking up to the cash register and giving their name after registering their card using the Square app.
Their picture shows up on the retailer's iPad, and the customer receives a receipt in the form of a text message. The receipt can be accessed at any time using the app.
Card Case, offered through Square a company led by the co-founder of Twitter is new and available only in select cities.
In Indianapolis, it is being piloted by two retailers, including Three Days in Paris. Owner Colleen Dobbs said many of her customers use credit cards and one is already using Card Case.
She imagines that within 10 years, the majority of retailers will offer some form of paperless receipts.
"It's how things are moving," Dobbs said. "I think you'll pretty much have to. I think the consumer will expect it, and it will just become the standard."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-07-09-email-receipts_n.htm