Paper or email? That’s the new question you may be asked the next time you pay for something and the clerk offers you a receipt. Do you want it electronically sent to your inbox? If you opt for an e-receipt, what else could start popping up in your inbox? Is this a convenience or a hindrance to your privacy?
Electronic receipts are the wave of the future. Major banks email customers ATM slips. Mobile vendors only send you e-receipts. The number of retail stores, like Alex and Ani Jewelry, offering customers electronic invoices is exploding. Shaleighne Murphy manages the Alex and Ani Newbury Street store in Boston. “More customers are opting to receive their receipts via email because it’s saving on paper and it’s also more convenient for them.”
That’s why CPA Stephen Macary loves e-receipts. He manages a fleet of company cars. When one needs an oil change the repair shop emails him the invoice. “It gets you the information in a timely manner, and you're able to view the documents pretty much right away.”
But shortly after Macary gave the shop his email-- surveys, coupons, and reminder notices started popping up. “All these vendors capture information; they're going to capture it for emailing you something.”
He’s right. Other recipients we talked to say as soon as they went paperless, e-offers followed. Retail insiders like Robert Smith, CEO of Champion Media Worldwide, confirms some businesses make big bucks by filling your inbox with offers and sometimes even selling your information. "Nothing is as profitable as your own in house mailing list. When you give that information you’re building a stores mailing list."
We found retailers can actually track you through e-receipts and coupon offers! Mark Johnson, president of the Loyalty Marketers Association, reveals the details. “When you send a digital receipt, you can see the person open it, you can see if they clicked on a subsequent offer.”
Consumer advocates tell us some retailers take that info and build profiles about you like:
· Who you are
· Your age
· Your buying habits
Privacy experts say before you opt for an e-receipt find out:
· Can you opt out from e-offers?
· Does a company sell your information to third parties?
· How do they keep your info secure?
Because even Johnson admits this information is ripe for hackers! “These email addresses can now be as valuable as a credit card number because they have huge data insights into the individual transactional behavior and product interests.”
Other precautions: Take a close look at what e-offers you get. If a retailer is hacked, scammers could send emails that appear to be from the store, when in fact, it could really be a phishing scheme. If you do opt for paperless receipts make sure you have good virus protection on your computer. You may also want to save back up copies on a flash drive in case your computer ever breaks, you don’t want to lose the e-receipts, especially if you’re saving them as tax records.
At Alex and Ani, marketing director, Iris Carlomusto says all promotional emails are opt-in. "The customer has the option to opt into additional emails and the option to opt out with one click at any stage. If the customer chooses to go paperless, Alex and Ani may decide to reward them with a coupon code on the confirmation email. Our email databases are held in the same datacenters used by Fortune 500 corporations, with biometric secured access restrictions and multi-layer encryption and firewalls."
At Alex and Ani, marketing director, Iris Carlomusto says all promotional emails are opt-in. "The customer has the option to opt into additional emails and the option to opt out with one click at any stage. If the customer chooses to go paperless, Alex and Ani may decide to reward them with a coupon code on the confirmation email. Our email databases are held in the same datacenters used by Fortune 500 corporations, with biometric secured access restrictions and multi-layer encryption and firewalls."
Macary recommends setting up a separate email account just for e-receipts. He says despite the slight risk of scams and spam, he actually loves getting the coupons and reminders sent to his inbox. “I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons when it comes to going paperless. I whole heartedly endorse it.”
