• The New York Times, Monday, August 8, 2011 12:12 PM

How can a brand bolster its online marketing efforts through in-store purchases? For one, by offering electronic versions of receipts, either e-mailed or uploaded to password-protected Web sites. Not only is the practice spreading among retailers, but, as The New York Times reports, an increasing number of customers are opting for paperless receipts.

"To the rubbish pile that the Internet is creating, alongside the road maps, newspapers and music CDs, add one more artifact of consumer life, the paper receipt," NYT writes. Major retailers getting on board the paperless train include Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom, Gap Inc. (which owns Old Navy and Banana Republic), Anthropologie, Patagonia, Sears and Kmart, and Apple.

"Beyond the cost savings and environmental benefit ... the e-receipts present marketing opportunities for retailers," The Times notes. "Gap, Nordstrom and many other stores, for example, add the customer's e-mail address to a mailing list for follow-up offers."

Read the whole story at The New York Times »