Email Me That Receipt Please!

With another last minute Christmas shopping crusade in my rear view mirror, I am encouraged with the growing number of retailers that gave me the option of receiving an emailed receipt for my purchase. The eCommerce sales process has always been a beautiful thing in regards to receiving virtual receipts … but those pesky, curled up, crumpled, illegible, tiny slips of paper from brick & mortar retailers have frustrated me many times in my adult life.

I can still remember the delight of receiving one of my first emailed receipts after a purchase from Nordstrom Rack. During the checkout process the clerk asked me for my email but did not say it was for the purpose of emailing a receipt. I was “OK” with giving out my email and was delightfully surprised to see a receipt moments later when checking email on my phone. IMHO, the Nordstrom clerk should have communicated the value proposition of an emailed receipt so as to avoid opt outs that may result from jaded consumers wary of a torrent of junk email.

 

To-date the best POS emailed receipts execution I have experienced is from Dick’s Sporting Goods. Once the clerk enters your Scorecard Rewards number your email address is visible on the PINpad’s LCD screen with the message “EMAIL RECEIPT …. YES /NO.” My only criticism would be that the clerks don’t talk it up enough during the checkout process, but it works like a charm if you remember to look at the PIN pad.

 

If your POS system has the functionality to email a receipt you have an incredible customer loyalty tool that most customers will opt in for if you just ask them if they would like the option of an emailed receipt. Emailed receipts are a new and unique POS feature that consumers appreciate, and the retailer benefits from by capturing the two of most important components of a loyalty program – an opt in and a method of customer contact.

 

Admittedly, the two examples I referenced are huge big box retailers with beaucoup $$$ to outfit their POS, but several really cool new, low cost, simple POS solutions are bringing email receipt functionality down to the mom & pop retail store level. One system that I am intimately familiar with because we recommend it to our merchants is the cloud-based NCR Silver iPad-based Point of Sale solution.

 

The acquisition of an email at the POS can be frustrating for both the clerk and the customer. NCR Silver remedies this situation by providing a strudy iPad stand that attaches to the cash drawer or counter and easily swivels the iPad to face the customer to allow them to enter their own email address as well as sign on the screen for a credit card transaction. This truly speeds things up and effectively eliminates email entry error. Once the email address is captured it is linked to the customer for future transactions and not only emails subsequent transaction receipts, but also captures valuable customer data with every transaction to ensure the most relevant marketing possible. For example, if you’re a sporting goods store you can send a message to someone who bought a pair of running shoes and hasn't been back in four months; or if you're a wine shop, and you just got a new shipment of red Bordeaux, you can send a message to everyone in your database who has bought red Bordeaux there before.

 

NCR Silver's email marketing can also be set on auto-pilot to automatically send an HTML email to all new customer registrations, or to customers that have not visited the store for a specific period of time. These emails can also contain a coupon special offer to further motivate a return visit.  The initial set-up is simple.

 

My virtual organization is pretty good, if I say so myself. Though admittedly my inner geek has me spending probably way too much time naming, archiving and just generally thinking about saving the things I accumulate in my daily life … but it sure is a beautiful thing when I can pull up that email receipt when I need it. On the other hand, my brick & mortar receipts are intermixed in growing pile owner’s manuals, instructions, and warranties ... can't wait to quit adding to that jumble of paper!