The Pros and Cons of Offering eReceipts and Prints

Offering eReceipts creates a powerful tool for retailers for one simple reason — customers who opt for e-receipts must divulge their email addresses to get them.

Combined with the client management power of a retail POS system from Runit, building an opt-inemail list opens the door to a broad array of marketing tools, from the ability to target special offers to particular customers to the ability to link to social media sites so customers can easily post reviews, likes and recommendations.

There’s a downside, though. Some customers still prefer printed receipts for keeping records, and some do not want to give their email address to a marketer.

The National Retail Federation estimates that 60 percent of retailers have instituted the ability to offer electronic receipts, but the number of print-persistent customers is still significant. Clothing retailer L.L. Bean recently estimated that 30 percent of its customers prefer e-receipts because they are more convenient, but that leaves 70 percent who still want print.

Because of the divide, most retailers who offer e-receipts offer print as well, but the attractiveness of e-receipts and the email campaigns that go with them makes it worthwhile to try to encourage more customers away from print. Customers who accept digital receipts, after all, spend up to 40 percent more than customers who don’t, according to the NRF.

Some strategies have been proven to work.

For example, nothing is more effective than a good sale. A customer’s willingness to provide an email address skyrockets from 5 percent to 60 percent when the retailer promises to attach a special offer to an emailed receipt, experts tell Runit.

Environmental concerns may also motivate some customers, especially millennials, so retailers who promote the environmental gains of going paperless might see significant gains in e-receipt acceptance.

The case is an easy one to make. By some estimates, more than 250 million gallons of oil, 10 million trees and 1 billion gallons of water are consumed every year just to produce paper receipts for the U.S. market.

Finally, when all is said and done, retailers tend to gain broader acceptance for retail receipts and get far more out of the email lists that follow if they make sure their email marketing campaigns are useful, non-intrusive and effective.

Runit is the only specialty retail system that backs its e-receipts service with an email design team to help maximize your opportunity. Along with custom designs, logos and banner ads, Runit’s designers can include links to your social media sites and Twitter links so customers can instantly comment on their purchase to friends. They can also install a customer feedback tool and link your banners to any url you choose.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/will-hines/going-paperless-the-hidde_b_3008587.html
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/23/paper-or-email-pros-and-cons-of-digital-receipts.html
https://nrf.com/events/go-beyond-the-sale-digital-receipts
http://www.runit.com/features/ereceipt/