• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, November 23, 2016

There is a timely reminder from the ICO about e-receipts that serves two very useful purposes. First, there's the legal, very useful, information you would expect from a privacy watchdog. Secondly, it's a huge kick to the backside of any retailer that isn't already offering e-receipts. Honestly, if you're not offering these as the festive season begins, you really need to be asking yourself why.

I had a great discussion with a toy and computer games retailer just a few months ago about how they are rolling out e-receipts, which touched on many of the points raised by the ICO today.

First are the benefits, and there are so many, it's hard to know where to begin. In a nutshell, e-receipts are the best way to forge a link between in-store and digital shopping. As such, it's right up there with a mobile loyalty app -- which, strangely enough, e-receipts will almost certainly end up either being added to or could even be the initial reason why a scheme is downloaded and signed up for. Rather than just letting people leave, you can provide a useful service that has the added benefit of allowing you to stay in touch with that customer.

Let's not forget that e-receipts are incredibly useful, particularly at this time of year when people are buying for friends and family. What could be better than storing those receipts for the unlikely occasion of something needing to be returned, repaired or replaced? Far easier than going through the top drawer for that scrap of paper that you know is in there somewhere. 

What's more, e-receipts tell the retailer two incredibly useful things: what a customer bought and where. That's great for segmentation around a store and any activities it may have planned as well as slotting the customer into someone who buys x type of product. That can be useful when accompanying items and accessories become available, or perhaps when the object might need some routine maintenance.

Now to the points laid out by the ICO today. E-receipts are incredibly useful, but staff must be trained to be up front about the process. It's not just a useful service -- it will allow the shop to keep in contact with the customer, should they so wish.

In fact, it's at this sign-up stage that you can be really clever. Several shops allow customers to offer their email address on a small tablet next to the till. It's here that you can ask for permission to market to the person but also get some extra details. Was this a gift, for example? Any particular subcategories you are interested in hearing more about? These questions can be tailored to the retailer concerned, of course. Just as long as they are offering a free, informed opt-in they will not only cover you for now but also when GDPR's huge fines are introduced in 18 months time.

So don't get bogged down by the legal side -- see it as a bonus that allows you to hone in on what the customer may want so you can segment them and offer a more personalised experience in the future.

if you currently do not offer e-receipts, you seriously need to ask yourself why you wouldn't want to the double "win" of a service that enables consumers to store receipts and offers you the chance to market to them again further down the line. It's got to be the simplest decision any email marketer will ever face, doesn't it?