Since the receipt of receipts, all retailers have to issue payment slips. In the future, Edeka wants to offer digital receipts that customers can call up using their smartphones.
“Do you need the receipt?” The question is asked by cashiers in supermarkets hundreds of times a day. The receipt is printed out every time, regardless of whether the customer answers yes or no. Edeka now wants to stem the flood of paper and offer digital receipts in the future.
“Customers can choose at the checkout whether they want to have a classic receipt printed out or receive the receipt digitally via a QR code,” said Helene Dahlke, spokeswoman for Edeka Nord, the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. The switch is part of the retail chain’s sustainability strategy.
Edeka offers paper and digital receipts
If customers prefer the digital receipt, they can scan a QR code with their mobile phone after shopping, which is displayed on a monitor at the checkout. It is also possible to receive the payment receipt digitally via the company’s app if it has been downloaded. Customers do not have to collect any slips of paper, the branch saves paper and the environment is protected. The receipt is “an important factor” with regard to sustainability, said company spokeswoman Dahlke.
According to the Kassengesetz, the obligation to issue receipts, generally known as the receipt obligation, has been in force in Germany since 2020. Accordingly, a receipt must be issued for every purchase that is made via a computerized cash register system – even if it is only about cents. The regulation is a thorn in the side of many retailers and leads to high resource consumption. According to the “Hamburger Abendblatt” newspaper, an average of 31.5 rolls of receipt paper are used every day in the 670 Edeka stores. The introduction of the digital receipt is intended to reduce this number by 20 percent.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
