“Would you like a copy of your receipt?”
“Would you like a copy of your receipt?”
We encounter this question more often than we realize, whether it’s by a cashier or a payment screen. Sure, these paper receipts are a reminder of the hard-earned cash we’re spending on coffee and fuel, but they — too — have a cost. We know there's no such thing as a free lunch; the same is true for the omnipresent, tiny pieces of paper that complement nearly every financial decision we make.
They float in our wallets, escape into seat cushions, crumple in pockets, fly into wastebaskets or decay in boxes that are shelved and forgotten. But let’s back up: Why do businesses print receipts in the first place?
Paper receipts are an expensive relic for businesses to manage and offer less and less value for customers who prefer the convenience of the cloud over their pockets. Paper receipts are printed on thermal paper that is susceptible to damage via heat exposure, fading, ripping or loss. The cost of receipts adds up quickly, totaling up to $900 to get set up and a few hundred dollars every month for storage and supplies.
That’s the financial cost of the receipts. Environmentally, receipts cost much more than that. According to The Huffington Post, producing paper receipts takes:
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And that’s just for one year… in the United States alone. The numbers are worse in India.
That scale is tremendous, and you don’t need to be an active environmentalist to realize that this is a practice with diminishing returns. Arguably worst of all, printed receipts can’t be recycled because they are printed on chemically treated thermal paper, which poses another largely overlooked threat.
Is it advisable and easy to move away from printed receipts? Sure, as a customer you could opt to not receive a receipt, but that puts you at risk if you end up needing proof of purchase down the road. However, the digital age is here and thriving, offering businesses and customers alike easy searchability of receipts via the cloud or email, reducing the risk of loss and saving businesses hundreds of dollars monthly in storage costs. Along with a tree or 10 million for the environment.
So tell us, would you like a copy of your receipt?