EASY: A QR code on a physical receipt can be scanned to create a digital version

Retail giant Walmart is introducing a digital receipt service across its 4,200 US stores, enabling shoppers to store a digital version of their receipt in a mobile app by scanning a QR code shown on their paper receipt or by entering their mobile number at the point of sale. Customers will then be able to use the receipts to create a shopping list on their device, making their in-store experience “easier and more convenient”.

“A lot of people think about e-receipts as just giving the customer a digital version of your physical receipt and that is what we are doing, but in a very different way than other companies,” Wendy Bergh, vice president of mobile and digital strategy at Walmart, told NFC World+.

“A lot of companies will just email you the digital version and it is up to the customer to manage that and organise it. What we are doing is storing the customer’s e-receipt in their Walmart mobile app. There is essentially a locker they will be able to go to to see their e-receipts. [There] they will be able to search those e-receipts, access them and add items from them to their shopping lists, so it will help them in future shopping trips to remember what they bought in the past.”

Bergh continued: “We have really tried to integrate it into the overall shopping experience and make it easier for the customer.

“There are multiple ways that a customer can register for an e-receipt. The first way is on every physical receipt in our stores, there will be a QR code at the bottom. The customer can scan that QR code to register or, if they have already registered, they will be able to view their e-receipt by scanning that.

“The other way is during checkout in-store. Every time a customer checks out in-store, on the debit card reader there will be a prompt saying ‘do you want an e-receipt?’ If they do, the customer can enter their mobile phone number and, if they are registered, we will send them the e-receipt. If they are not registered, we will send them a text and walk them through how to register.

“It is pretty simple; the main thing is we just validate the mobile phone number they entered is truly their phone number.

“It is really part of our longer-term vision to leverage technology to enhance our in-store experience. Mobile is a top priority for the company. We know more than 50% of our customer have a mobile device and are looking for great digital experiences.

“It is a gradual roll out over several weeks,” Bergh concluded. “It will be in 100% of the stores across the US.”

STORED: A Walmart digital receipt, allowing users to build a shopping list on their device