Top 9 Benefits of Switching to Digital Receipts in 2024

Receipts are important for business and customers, since they act as proof of financial transactions. 

The bad news: They have a nasty habit of getting lost or damaged, when you need them; or turning up in an old jeans pocket when you least expect it. 

The good news: Digital Receipts!

Irrespective of the business size or type, digital receipts are transforming retail marketing, and it’s time for your business to jump on the bandwagon. 

In this post, we’ll tell you why. 

What are the benefits of using digital receipts? 

You may already have a record of all the transactions on your point of sale or bookkeeping system. But here’s why we still recommend setting up digital receipts: 

1. Saves money 

There are more than 300 billion receipts printed each year. Apart from the environmental damage, businesses need to shell out thousands of dollars on thermal paper, ink cartridges, printers, and more. 

Digital receipts are far less expensive and reduce overhead operating costs. All you need is a Payment Service Provider like PayBy to automate creating and sharing them. 

2. Promotes sustainability 

Since the figures are burned and not printed on the surface, paper receipts cannot be recycled. Moreover, the production and disposal of receipt paper emits the carbon equivalent of over 471,000 cars on the road.

In the early 2000s, before retail mobile apps and email marketing, only the Apple Store and a few startups pushed digital receipts as part of the growing sustainability movement. Today, the  benefits of eco-friendly receipts are widely understood. 

For example - A report by Green America showed how a single Walgreens-sized company could save over 55,000 trees, 58.8 million gallons of water, and 17.6 million pounds of CO₂ emissions annually by ditching paper receipts. 

3. Enhances customer satisfaction

Digital receipts also create an opportunity to follow up with customers and collect feedback on their experiences and purchases. 

Knowing their purchase details (like product, offers available, etc.,) and the support salesperson can be instrumental while analyzing customer feedback. It helps you see how your business is doing in real-time; improving overall strategy and enhancing customer experience.

4. Facilitates hassle-free tax season

Paper receipts need to be hunted for, sorted and then organized during the tax season. This is both time consuming and prone to human errors while recording spends and expenses. 

Digital receipts can be stored on the cloud, which is easily accessible during tax season. There is no risk of losing or throwing digital receipts away, so you won’t have to deal with books that don’t balance at the end of each month. 

When you use a payments solution like PayBy, you can record all digital receipts by integrating it with the bookkeeping software or tax filing systems. 

5. Eases post-purchase interaction 

Customers prefer digital receipts because, unlike thermal paper receipts, they don’t fade or get lost. This helps in post purchase interactions like return, exchange, warranty or alteration. 

For a business, digital receipts can act as proof to check the validity of requests being made and to tally transaction records. 

6. Boosts customer engagement 

Business owners should focus on consumer relationships that extend beyond transactional communications. With digital receipts, you get access to your customers’ contact information to create email and SMS lists. This can be useful for product launches, special offers, or educational content about the product/service. 

You can also embed links to the website, social media handles and loyalty programs to create avenues to establish stronger relationships with your customers. 

7. Creates upsell and cross-sell opportunities 

76% of customers get frustrated without a personalized experience with a brand. With digital receipts, you have access to the data at the transaction level. This can help you recommend complimentary or similar products/ services to the purchase; and add discounts/offers to sweeten the deal. 

With tailored content, you can drive higher repeat purchases and boost the overall CLTV, leading to greater business profits. 

8. Improves customer retention

With customer acquisition costs increasing by the day, marketing efforts need to encompass customer retention. The data gathered through digital receipts can be used to identify top customers and their purchase behavior - including preferred products, purchase power, purchase frequency and more. 

This can further help you segment and tailor the communication with customers, improving the retention rate. 

9. Protects your employees and customers

Approximately 93% of paper receipts are coated with Bisphenol-A (BPA) or Bisphenol-S (BPS). They could lead to fetal development issues, type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions, reproductive impairment, and other health concerns.

Unfortunately, employees who manage the point of sale have regular contact with receipts and have over 30% more BPA or BPS found in their bodies; putting them at risk. A shift to no-contact digital receipts protects both employees and frequent shoppers. 

Conclusion 

The benefits of digital receipts are countless, and is a reminder that we need to continue replacing outdated, wasteful processes, with innovative solutions. 

Forward-thinking businesses must move towards paperless options - no matter what the industry. 

With comprehensive payment solutions like PayBy, it is also easy for businesses to get started with digital receipts. From the online payment gateway to the point of sale systems and scan-to-pay QR codes, PayBy enables you to automate sending branded digital receipts to customers via email and SMS without switching tools. 

Ready to track and record transactions more efficiently? Learn more about Digital Receipts or book a demo today.