We'll email you the reciept.

[junebug17]

I'm fine with it - I'm notoriously bad at keeping track of my receipts - if I decide to return something, there's a really good chance I won't be able to find it, and this is a sure-fire way of having the receipt on hand. I guess I don't shop that much, but I honestly can't remember a time when I was charged incorrectly for something. But I think it's a good idea to make it optional.

 

[Haven]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

 

[Gypsy]

It wasn't presented to me as a choice. If it had been I would be much happier. And the email addy did show up on the screen for corrections. But I didn't follow the transaction to see if there were any issues because I was expecting a receipt.

 

[jewelerman]

i would want my receipt to check for errors....a common mistake and i don't want to take my time,paper and ink to print it out if an item needs to go back to store.and what about people who don't have e-mails or computers.

 

[Autumnovember]

Had the same thing at Old Navy happen to me!

I was completely caught off guard by it and I just said no. I'm surprised that she flat out said "we're emailing you the receipt" instead of asking you??

I agree with the others, I'd rather have the physical receipt in my hand.

I don't know how long they've been doing this for but at some stores, if I need to return something and I've lost the receipt, I give them my credit card and they can pull it up on their screens that way. It's been helpful so far...

 

[mayerling]

I actually like emailed receipts! I hate the clutter of paper receipts and I like the thought of going green.

 

[monarch64]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Y.E.S. This, please!

ETA: unfortunately, retailers will have to get past using disposable bags as part of their advertising. Every store wants the consumer to carry around a bag with their name on it (some prestigious i.e. Tiffany's, Bloomies, etc. some not so i.e. Jewel/Osco, Kroger...) I have completely converted to re-usable fabric bags and it is so much easier. It took me a long time to get into the habit, but once I did I knew I'd never go back to using plastic or even paper store bags, whether at the supermarket or department store.

 

[yssie]

I agree with points made above, however, I do like this in the sense that I won't have extra paper floating around my life that I don't need. So, if I need a receipt for a return or a correction, I can simply print it out and use it. If I don't need it, I never have to think about that silly piece of paper. Also, makes losing a receipt nigh impossible, which I tend to do from time to time as well (unless they eff up your email address of course...to me that is a big concern!)

If you do lose a receipt you need, and you paid w/ a credit card (or added your purchase to a club card or something) they can usually retrieve it for you.

 

[Lauren8211]

If you had a smart phone, you wouldnt need to print out your receipt. You could bring it up on your phone to check errors, and also access it via phone to make returns.

I luff technology!

 

[mrswahs]

I love emailed receipts. When I worked at the apple store we always emailed receipts. But we would also print one if someone wanted as well. I am so bad at hanging onto paper copies so I love to be able to do a quick search in my email for a receipt if I need to do a return. It's way more convenient.

And also-- I always check to make sure I got the emailed receipt on my iPhone before I leave-- that way if they typed in the email address wrong I can get a printed copy.

 

[Octavia]

In some ways, I prefer emailed receipts -- not only because they aren't lost as easily, but also because the thermal receipt paper from many stores is loaded with BPA, and they also fade after awhile so you can't see what they were for anyway. However, I also get the concern for incorrect email addresses and spam. It doesn't help the privacy concerns all that much, but I do like that when I scan my Wegmans club card, I can later access my receipts in my account on their website. Overall, I'm not sure which camp ifall into...other than I enthusiastically endorse reusable bags as an even better way to be green!

 

[soocool]

I still need the receipts, because they may be needed to job related expenses or for taxes.

What I would like to know, what happens if the receipt doesn't get emailed for one reason or another and you have to return or exchange the item and let's say you paid cash so there is no paper trail. How does the store refund your money properly?

 

[lyra]

Just in case this becomes the norm in Canada, I just set up a special email account along the lines of receipts.myname"at"myemail.com. That was a good idea whoever mentioned it here. I don't do email on my phone, it's slow. I also don't like repeating personal information if there is someone behind me in line. I'm not sure when/if this will catch on here as we have pretty tight privacy laws.

As for the recycling of bags. Here at many stores you have to pay extra for a bag if you don't have your own. Mainly it is the larger stores, grocery stores, etc. So we always carry reusable bags with us. This has been the norm in Europe forever.

 

[Mara]

I bet this pilot program goes the way of the dodo. Once they see that it has a negative impact on sales over a period of time, the cost savings won't offset the decrease in sales.

If they were to give you an OPTION of printing or emailing, it would be different because that takes the customer's preference into account (some might be green, some might want to support the paper companies), but forcing a customer to give up their email address is not going to go over well.

It is optional at Urban Outfitters and Apple, and it looks like Old Navy's emailed receipt is optional, too. (ImperfectGirl said she declined it.) It doesn't sound like any stores are forcing customers to do anything.

I think printed receipts are more likely to go the way of the dodo in the future.

This. They usually ask you if you want to have your receipt emailed to you. I am all for it. My purse is a nightmare maze of paper crap I never look at again and then just have to actively make an effort to shred. I also hardly ever bother to look for errors, I am simply too lazy to do it after the fact--I normally watch while they scan things and if I miss it then, chances are I don't even bother with it later. I already have one email address for 'spam' type stuff and my regular non-yahoo/freebie email address (which still gets spam since I have had it for 10+ years).

 

[that_someone_special]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Buuuut what would I put my cat poop in???

We have like 50 million plastic bags (everyone gives them to us) so we use them for kitty poop every day or every other day.

 

[Lauren8211]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Buuuut what would I put my cat poop in???

We have like 50 million plastic bags (everyone gives them to us) so we use them for kitty poop every day or every other day.

Ha! I have the same concern... we use reusable grocery bags, but every once in a while we "forget" so we can have something to scoop poop into!

 

[kama_s]

Apple has done this for a while. I prefer it, personally. If you lose a paper receipt you're screwed, but if they email it you can access it whenever you need it.

You can always just make a separate email for receipts if you don't already have a junk email address.

Yup. With you on this. Printed receipts are on their way out, I give it another 4-5 years before they are pretty much obsolete.

I agree with checking receipts, but these days most retailers have big screens you can monitor as each item is scanned.

 

[kama_s]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Ontario, my province, began charging 5 cents for every plastic bag. I have been saying for years that even if retailers charge 2 cents, people are inherently cheap and would not purchase plastic. And sure enough, plastic bag use has decreased drastically. A lot of stores offer re-usable bags with their logo, which you can buy for a dollar, or get free if you spend a certain amount. One retailer (RW&Co) offers me a dollar off everytime I bring in their re-usable bag.

I stopped using plastic bags almost 5 years ago, unless I really need to. I'd rather carry my groceries by hand than get a plastic bag. A little while ago we had someone over who asked for a plastic bag and I didn't have any at home! Had to lend out my favourite Montreal Jazz Festival re-usable bag!

 

[Haven]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Buuuut what would I put my cat poop in???

We have like 50 million plastic bags (everyone gives them to us) so we use them for kitty poop every day or every other day.

Ha! I have the same concern... we use reusable grocery bags, but every once in a while we "forget" so we can have something to scoop poop into!

We use the World's Best Cat Litter, or something like that. It is FLUSHABLE! No baggies required, and the smell disappears as soon as you flush it! WIN WIN!!!!

 

[Lauren8211]

I would prefer email receipts because they're easier to keep track of, and I'm terrible with paper receipts.

However, if they're TRULY trying to go green, I would LOVE to see stores require people to bring their own bags for the products they purchase. Do you know how much paper and plastic could be saved if people just brought their own bags? I always have cloth shopping bags in my purse, it is so easy to do, and it makes a much larger impact than cutting down on receipts, I imagine.

Buuuut what would I put my cat poop in???

We have like 50 million plastic bags (everyone gives them to us) so we use them for kitty poop every day or every other day.

Ha! I have the same concern... we use reusable grocery bags, but every once in a while we "forget" so we can have something to scoop poop into!

We use the World's Best Cat Litter, or something like that. It is FLUSHABLE! No baggies required, and the smell disappears as soon as you flush it! WIN WIN!!!!

Haven, that's actually what we use! But the boxes are in the basement, and there is no toilet down there!

 

[miraclesrule]

Wow! To think the day may come that I don't have 150,000 receipts in my purse. Yipppeee!!!!

However, I do have a problem with the potential for some young punk to scan something for themselves and me not even notice on my emailed receipt.

I do think it's comical that they printed out the long piece of paper for your customer service call. Classic Irony.

I guess it will be the future. I might as well create a folder in my email, or create a new email account. oy vey...

 

[Porridge]

Ontario, my province, began charging 5 cents for every plastic bag. I have been saying for years that even if retailers charge 2 cents, people are inherently cheap and would not purchase plastic. And sure enough, plastic bag use has decreased drastically. A lot of stores offer re-usable bags with their logo, which you can buy for a dollar, or get free if you spend a certain amount.

I stopped using plastic bags almost 5 years ago, unless I really need to. I'd rather carry my groceries by hand than get a plastic bag. A little while ago we had someone over who asked for a plastic bag and I didn't have any at home! Had to lend out my favourite Montreal Jazz Festival re-usable bag!

[/quote]
They started doing that here a few years ago too. Plastic bags now cost 22¢! Even when they were only a few cents, it really makes you stop and think about using them. I'm so used to keeping reusable bags in my car and handbag now that I haven't used a plastic or paper bag in years Also, most of the grocery stores I shop at leave their empty packaging boxes out for customers to use to pack their groceries, so even if I somehow don't have bags to hand I can use those instead. It really seems to have worked here too.