In The Digital Age Paper Receipts Are Still Important
With the emergency of new technology, you see many things become obsolete. This is no exception in the retail industry. Today, checks used as payment are seen few and far between, and credit and debit cards are becoming more common than cash. While this is true, and the use of digital receipts for these transactions is increasing, the era of paper receipts has not yet come to an end.
The fact is, paper receipts still serve an extremely important role for many consumers who are dedicated to remaining on top of their financial records and budgets. Some of the reasons that paper receipts are still so important can be found here.
Permanence
In a world and a time where email inboxes are saturated with hundreds of different emails day after day, paper receipts can be extremely valuable. It is easy to have a digital receipt filtered out and into your spam box, or get lost in translation or even deleted accidently. With paper receipts, this is not an issue. While you are at risk to lose them, they are typically easier to keep up with and hang on to.
Gift Receipts
When you receive (or give) a paper receipt your customers will be able to give gift receipts to someone they are giving a present to. With a digital receipt this is typically not possible and somewhat impractical. For those who want the gift receipt option, having paper on hand is a must.
Tax Purposes
It is important to have physical documentation that detail your expenses for tax purposes. This is absolutely essential when tax time arrives. It is even more important if you wind up having to undergo an audit. Having physical, paper receipts will help you prove what you have spent during the year.
Errors and Mistakes
If you opt for an e-receipt, then the concept of out of sight and out of mind may occur. This is because it is not as likely that you are going to catch a mistake in your transaction when you receive something digitally. As a result, you may be charged double for an item or not receive a discount when you should of and you will never know unless you get a paper receipt.
Even with more and more credit card companies pushing clients to use digital receipts, paper receipts are still an extremely important part of any business. The receipts are going to help protect the consumer and something that won’t be going away any time soon.