Consumers quizzed on benefits of digital receipts

Monday, November 16, 2015 - 09:42 by David Aiken

When making a purchase at a bricks and mortar outlet, most retailers will still provide customers with a receipt, or at least ask them whether or not they would like a proof of purchase. But a new survey from Bronto has found that in the world of e-commerce, digital receipts are far less common.

41 per cent of the consumers questioned for the report said that they either never receive a receipt after carrying out safe shopping online, or rarely get one sent through to them by the site they have used. And 45 per cent of people believe that a digital receipt should be a mandatory feature of all e-commerce sites.

64 per cent of those questioned said that they would not mind if a digital receipt also included additional promotional details accompanying the standard proof of purchase information. And in fact, younger shoppers are more willing to be engaged with marketing materials in this way than those aged over 25.

The survey also covered consumer habits, focusing on the amount of time people spend safe shopping online and also where they are when they make their purchases.

Two thirds of respondents said that they make online purchases when they are in their living rooms, while 14 per cent said that they shop when they are in bed. Bed-bound shopping is more popular amongst 18 to 24 year olds, with 43 per cent of people in this age group admitting to indulging in retail while between the sheets.

Usually the digital paper trail that makes it possible to track online orders, asses the delivery process and provide feedback is fairly significant, especially when using major e-commerce sites. So perhaps smaller firms need to improve their ability to offer digital receipts to cater to customers’ needs.