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An electronic receipt or e-receipt is a receipt of any product or service that was purchased, stored in electronic form.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2018) |
An electronic receipt or e-receipt is a receipt of any product or service that was purchased, stored in electronic form.
Digital receipts are normally sent via e-mail or via an app or via a scan of a QR-code that is displayed on a screen (cash register or payment terminal). Unlike paper receipts, e-receipts are used to reduce paper usage. These e-receipts are used to inform the customer of rebates and discounts. Another important purpose is to use the digital receipts as marketing instrument. [1] Another reason for the use of e-receipts is business intelligence. Through the usage of these e-receipts, companies can track their customers easier in terms of purchases, which supports the business intelligence. Through this companies can adapt their marketing campaign towards the customers. The e-receipt helps to connect customers to their in-store purchases. Merchants can issue E-receipts using own mechanisms or use external services specialized on electronic payments.
Possible ways of distributing the email receipts may be to send an e-mail, an app, a website/web app, a QR-code or a BLE transmit on mobile. The general idea of the e-receipt remains the same, there are only different ways of distribution. There are many different companies that already offer their customers e-receipts. In the following part these different companies and technologies are compared and their pros and cons are discussed.
In January 2019, a California assemblyman introduced a proposed bill that would prohibit businesses from issuing customers paper receipts unless they explicitly request one. [2]
The shift from paper to electronic receipts has raised privacy concerns in some regions. In Australia, retailers requiring personal information—such as email addresses or phone numbers—to issue digital receipts has sparked debate over data collection practices. A 2024 report by 9News highlighted consumer concerns about the potential misuse of personal data and the lack of transparency in how retailers manage this information [3] . In response to these concerns, platforms like 1receipt have developed privacy-focused alternatives that allow users to receive electronic receipts without disclosing personal contact details [4] .