Written By: eyos Marketing | Last Updated: November 2022
Digital receipts are rapidly increasing in popularity, and not just because of their eco credentials.
While e-receipts have been cutting the carbon footprint of their paper counterparts for some time now, digital receipts go one step further, by providing retailers with the technology they need to convert offline customers to online ones.
Retailers have long struggled with the challenge of gathering data from offline customers. When consumers shop online, brands immediately gain access to a wealth of information about them.
But offline customers are far more problematic, and that means that opportunities can be missed.
Fortunately, digital receipts are capable of solving this issue. And that’s why brands are now starting to snap up the technology.
What do digital receipts do?
Digital receipts are quite unlike the paper ones of years gone by. With digital receipts, customers are emailed a copy of a receipt, with no printing required. But the differences don’t stop there.
As soon as a company introduces digital receipts, it equips staff with a tool that can be used to easily gather customers’ data, to be automatically stored for use at a later date.
Let’s not forget, digital receipts mean purchases can be made from anywhere, so that queue at the till quickly becomes a distant memory – and the in-store customer experience rapidly improves as a result.
When companies make the switch to digital receipts, they can quickly start to connect data gathered in-store to other platforms, using specially designed digital receipts software.
This allows brands to bring together valuable information from a host of other data platforms, connecting the dots in their digital ecosystems.
Offline purchases were once something of a mystery to many brands, with marketers finding it almost impossible to accurately measure the success of their campaigns using offline purchasing data. But digital receipts bridge this gap, allowing marketers to track data in new ways.
Find more information on how digital receipts enable smarter offline conversion tracking.
A missed opportunity in offline sales
Online shopping is now commonplace, but the experience of shopping in-store remains a difficult one to beat. And that’s why many customers will still make the trip to their favourite stores to see products and make purchases in person, even if it is more convenient to do so online.
This isn’t necessarily a problem in itself, but in terms of marketing opportunities, it does present some challenges.
Online customers are infinitely easier to market to after they make a purchase. Stores immediately have their contact information, know a little about their preferences and have a good idea about what they might choose to buy next. With offline customers, brands are in the dark.
Digital receipts can change this. Digital receipts give companies the opportunity to turn an offline customer into an online one, using highly intelligent software that connects online purchases in ways that were never possible before.
How do digital receipts convert offline customers to online ones?
Companies using digital receipts can make full use of the data customers provide them with, and then get straight to work on using that data to increase the profitability of every new connection.
Data gathered through digital receipts is automatically shared with any other data platforms a company uses, providing endless opportunities for marketing teams.
If a customer makes a purchase in-store and chooses a digital receipt, the brand in question has all it needs to market to that customer in the future. Not only that, brands gain access to valuable insights into that customer’s purchasing habits.
When a digital receipt is used, the brand will know what its customer has bought, and when they bought it. Marketers will know if a customer purchased a product at full price or if they’ve waited for a promotion or discount.
They’ll know if the customer used a loyalty code, they’ll know where the customer shopped and they’ll know what time the purchase was made.
All of the above information can be put to use in follow-up marketing campaigns, in the hope of turning the offline customer in question into an online one.
The more data marketers have, the more targeted campaigns can be. And of course, this opens the door to further personalisation opportunities. Personalisation provides further chances to improve the customer experience, giving brands a better chance of making another sale in the near future.
What is the cost of attracting new customers online?
The cost of attracting a new customer via online marketing strategies is infinitely higher than the cost of selling to previous customers. In fact, it’s been estimated to cost five times as much to convert a new customer, than to retain an existing one.
According to figures released by Invesp, the probability of selling to an existing customer is also far better, at 60 – 70%. Compare that to the probability of selling to a new prospect, and it drops to 5-20%.
Existing customers are also 50% more likely to try new products, and they tend to spend 31% more than new customers too.
In the current economic climate, brands can’t afford not to make the most of every opportunity they have. Few brands are making the most of offline purchases, which means that every company that does choose to make use of this technology has a real chance of outshining its competitors and dramatically enhancing the customer experience it offers.
Get advice on digital receipts today
Unlock the power of customer experience with eyos. Our software is used by retailers all over the world, to convert offline customers to online using digital receipts.
Our retail software makes it possible to connect 100% of in-store transactions to a platform of your choice. This means huge amounts of valuable data are at the click of a button – ready and waiting to be put to great use in your next marketing campaign.
If you’d like to find out more about digital receipts and how they work, get in touch with our team.
Additional Reading
What is Omnichannel Retailing?
What is Offline Conversion Tracking?
The Value of Digital Receipts for Small Businesses
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