Your receipt is in the e-mail
Shoppers who want to save some trees soon will find a new option for rejecting receipts at the checkout counters of major retailers.
A service that will enable consumers to receive digital receipts through big box stores, such as Best Buy and Target, is set to launch May 16.
AllEtronic is an add-in for digital cash registers running popular point of purchase applications. When it recognizes a customer as a sale is rung up, allEtronic blocks the receipt-printing process, triggering details to be sent to its servers instead.
Consumers can visit allEtronic's Web site to view and export receipts to personal accounting software. First, they have to enter the first six and last four digits of a credit card number when they sign up for the program.
To drive home its tree-hugging angle, allEtronic displayed a receipt tree at the Eco City conference April in San Francisco.
(Credit: Elsa Wenzel/CNET)Participating retailers will likely display an allEtronic decal near the usual lineup of credit card logos. Some shops may add allEtronic kiosks or tout the service in their TV commercials.
Retailers that still use paper receipts for internal records could continue to do so, but without printing a customer copy.
AllEtronic won't give users' e-mail addresses to third parties for advertising, according to CEO Isaac Lay. It will share with stores the names and addresses of users, but a contract will prevent retailers from snail-mailing people coupons and ads.
The company is seeking a stamp of approval from Trustwave, which would mark allEtronic as a secure service for storing partial credit card numbers.
AllEtronic touts its product as green for helping to save the trees felled for some 600,000 tons of thermal receipt paper used by stores each year. It takes 15 trees, 19,000 gallons of water, and 390 gallons of oil to make a ton of paper, according to the company, which is based in Fullerton, Calif.
GreenPrint is another free service built to attract treehuggers. The free utility shaves off extra pages when people print from a personal computer.
You won't know before leaving the store whether or not you've received a receipt. So, if you go home and find that it didn't show up - er, what then? There's no returning/exchanging/getting a rebate on your purchase, and good luck going back to the store to try and get one.
What I'd prefer is for retailers to stop giving out receipts for stuff like doughnuts and coffee. What possible scenario is there where I might need my receipt for a breakfast order from Dunkin Donuts -- other than the off chance I can expense it? If I intend to expense it, perhaps I could ask for one, or maybe my employer would say, "you know what, for a buck-fifty, we don't need the documentation." When's the last time someone asked you for proof of purchase on a donut? Ever exchange one the next day because it didn't fit? Perhaps it develops a mechanical problem in the first 30 days of the warranty period...
Oh, and way to rip off Mitch Hedberg FellowConspirator, just cause he's tragically dead doesn't mean you can steal his material.
I completely understand what you mean when you talk about exiting the store. Cosco, Sams, and a number of other places use that double check system (the person standing by the exit takes your printed receipt, glances over your cart, scribbles on the receipt with a sharpie, and then lets you leave.) What allEtronic will eventually do is provide these places with a DIGITAL listing of what someone has just purchased. The customer can swipe their card one more time, pulling up the list on a monitor for the ?exit attendant? to review, click a check box to approve it, and send the patron on their way.
As far as the receipt not showing up?allEtronic was designed to verify that a digital receipt has been sent to, and received by the appropriate allEtronic account before the transaction is completed. This happens within milliseconds. Should there be ANY hick-up in the communication, the retailers POS system will store the data until the problem has been corrected, thus ensuring the delivery of your digital receipt. On top of that, you would still receive a paper receipt to tie you over until the digital receipt arrives.
Furthermore, a buck-fifty may not be much money; it may not need documentation for expensing. However, if you are interested in managing your money responsibly, knowing where it is being spent, down to the ?donut shop?, you are going to want that digital receipt.
Apple is only sending a pdf or jpg to your email, typically lost amongst the spam, bulk, and just uncared for content. allEtronic would be a single location for ALL of your receipts?nothing else. Beyond that, your computer cant read the digits or descriptions of your purchase from a pdf. This makes it impossible to ?export? the receipt information into accounting software. allEtronic is delivering actual text to make this convenience possible. So as you can see, allEtronic is a far more advanced service than just getting a picture of a receipt in the e-mail.
Hey, I think I could legitimately patent this, but I would rather see it freely implemented.
And yes, this just gave me the idea.
That is in fact a good idea. The first hole that I can see however is that it is just ONE MORE THING on your key chain, and ONE MORE swipe of a card. By recognizing your allEtronic account by your debit/credit card/phone number, we accomplish the same goal you have in mind, only faster and easier.
Thumb drive is nice idea, but then I have to get it out and use it.... Same reason I rarely use 'club cards'.. it's an extra thing to juggle while trying to make a purchase. Not enough hands. (one hand on my wallet, one hand on debit/credit card, one hand on what I'm buying, one hand holding a bottle for my 11month old, one hand on my 3yr old, one hand holding the cart/stroller that my 3yr old is trying to push into the next row of customers....ect)
I wish more places simply asked if I even wanted a receipt..... if there's no single item worth more than 50 dollars(your number may vary) on a receipt, don't print one unless I ask for it...
The digital receipt that you could print out from allEtronic would have that barcode on it. Problem solved. Furthermore, that is one of two options for a return. Within your allEtronic account, you can flag any single item listed on a receipt for ?return?. This sends a ?blink? to the Retailers POS. When you go back to the store, you would swipe your card or enter your phone number, and the pending return would activate, bringing up the flagged transaction, which is proof of purchase.
PS ? Opting to decline a receipt is not the best financial decision. Especially now if you can EASILY get it digitally, automatically organized, and saved for whatever reason. You never know when you might need it.
GHASP
The website is www.alletronic.com. And as for the Dell and Enron ?E??I can see the obvious resemblance in the tilt. I guess it?s a staple for either successful companies, or companies trying to go paperless, in that allEtronic and Enron are both trying to destroy paper receipts. (That?s a joke.)
Thanks for the post!
You are correct on the point that you can only get a digital receipt from stores that offer the allEtronic option. We feel that stores will be very compelled to offer this due to the incredible savings they would incur on thermal receipt paper. (Wal-Mart would save over a million dollars per month if 75% of their patrons utilized allEtronic.) On top of that, helping to eliminate the destruction of over 9 million trees per year is a nice statement to make to consumers. Call me crazy but I think this ?Green? thing is really taking off.
Moving forward, SHOEBOXED.com is a fantastic concept for digitizing your already PRINTED thermal paper receipts. The difference between them and allEtronic is ONE: allEtronic is 100% free to all consumers, shoeboxed.com is not. And TWO: Shoeboxed.com is not preventing a paper receipt from being printed, which does nothing to help against deforestation. You?ll be surprised to know that THERMAL RECEIPT PAPER can NOT be recycled. This is because it is impregnated with a cocktail of chemicals on both sides, literally for ?environmental resistance?. These are only two of the many differences between these two companies. They provide completely unrelated services.
LEARN MORE-
www.allEtronic.com
877 296 3446 x104
Dusty Schlabach
I completely understand what you mean when you talk about exiting the store. Cosco, Sams, and a number of other places use that double check system (the person standing by the exit takes your printed receipt, glances over your cart, scribbles on the receipt with a sharpie, and then lets you leave.) What allEtronic will eventually do is provide these places with a DIGITAL listing of what someone has just purchased. The customer can swipe their card one more time, pulling up the list on a monitor for the ?exit attendant? to review, click a check box to approve it, and send the patron on their way.
As far as the receipt not showing up?allEtronic was designed to verify that a digital receipt has been sent to, and received by the appropriate allEtronic account before the transaction is completed. This happens within milliseconds. Should there be ANY hick-up in the communication, the retailers POS system will store the data until the problem has been corrected, thus ensuring the delivery of your digital receipt. On top of that, you would still receive a paper receipt to tie you over until the digital receipt arrives.
Furthermore, a buck-fifty may not be much money; it may not need documentation for expensing. However, if you are interested in managing your money responsibly, knowing where it is being spent, down to the ?donut shop?, you are going to want that digital receipt.
LEE IN SAN DIEGO ?
Apple is only sending a pdf or jpg to your email, typically lost amongst the spam, bulk, and just uncared for content. allEtronic would be a single location for ALL of your receipts?nothing else. Beyond that, your computer cant read the digits or descriptions of your purchase from a pdf. This makes it impossible to ?export? the receipt information into accounting software. allEtronic is delivering actual text to make this convenience possible. So as you can see, allEtronic is a far more advanced service than just getting a picture of a receipt in the e-mail.
HAWKEYEAZ1 ?
That is in fact a good idea. The first hole that I can see however is that it is just ONE MORE THING on your key chain, and ONE MORE swipe of a card. By recognizing your allEtronic account by your debit/credit card/phone number, we accomplish the same goal you have in mind, only faster and easier.
BRIANCGRAHAM ?
The digital receipt that you could print out from allEtronic would have that barcode on it. Problem solved. Furthermore, that is one of two options for a return. Within your allEtronic account, you can flag any single item listed on a receipt for ?return?. This sends a ?blink? to the Retailers POS. When you go back to the store, you would swipe your card or enter your phone number, and the pending return would activate, bringing up the flagged transaction, which is proof of purchase.
PS ? Opting to decline a receipt is not the best financial decision. Especially now if you can EASILY get it digitally, automatically organized, and saved for whatever reason. You never know when you might need it.
TV JAMES ?
The website is www.alletronic.com. And as for the Dell and Enron ?E??I can see the obvious resemblance in the tilt. I guess it?s a staple for either successful companies, or companies trying to go paperless, in that allEtronic and Enron are both trying to destroy paper receipts. (That?s a joke.)
DANENGLANDER ?
You are correct on the point that you can only get a digital receipt from stores that offer the allEtronic option. We feel that stores will be very compelled to offer this due to the incredible savings they would incur on thermal receipt paper. (Wal-Mart would save over a million dollars per month if 75% of their patrons utilized allEtronic.) On top of that, helping to eliminate the destruction of over 9 million trees per year is a nice statement to make to consumers. Call me crazy but I think this ?Green? thing is really taking off.
Moving forward, SHOEBOXED.com is a fantastic concept for digitizing your already PRINTED thermal paper receipts. The difference between them and allEtronic is ONE: allEtronic is 100% free to all consumers, shoeboxed.com is not. And TWO: Shoeboxed.com is not preventing a paper receipt from being printed, which does nothing to help against deforestation. You?ll be surprised to know that THERMAL RECEIPT PAPER can NOT be recycled. This is because it is impregnated with a cocktail of chemicals on both sides, literally for ?environmental resistance?. These are only two of the many differences between these two companies.
- by DustEtronic May 13, 2008 4:14 PM PDT
- FellowConspirator
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(19 Comments)I completely understand what you mean when you talk about exiting the store. Cosco, Sams, and a number of other places use that double check system (the person standing by the exit takes your printed receipt, glances over your cart, scribbles on the receipt with a sharpie, and then lets you leave.) What allEtronic will eventually do is provide these places with a DIGITAL listing of what someone has just purchased. The customer can swipe their card one more time, pulling up the list on a monitor for the ?exit attendant? to review, click a check box to approve it, and send the patron on their way.
As far as the receipt not showing up?allEtronic was designed to verify that a digital receipt has been sent to, and received by the appropriate allEtronic account before the transaction is completed. This happens within milliseconds. Should there be ANY hick-up in the communication, the retailers POS system will store the data until the problem has been corrected, thus ensuring the delivery of your digital receipt. On top of that, you would still receive a paper receipt to tie you over until the digital receipt arrives.
Furthermore, a buck-fifty may not be much money; it may not need documentation for expensing. However, if you are interested in managing your money responsibly, knowing where it is being spent, down to the ?donut shop?, you are going to want that digital receipt.
LEE IN SAN DIEGO
Apple is only sending a pdf or jpg to your email, typically lost amongst the spam, bulk, and just uncared for content. allEtronic would be a single location for ALL of your receipts?nothing else. Beyond that, your computer cant read the digits or descriptions of your purchase from a pdf. This makes it impossible to ?export? the receipt information into accounting software. allEtronic is delivering actual text to make this convenience possible. So as you can see, allEtronic is a far more advanced service than just getting a picture of a receipt in the e-mail.
HAWKEYEAZ1
That is in fact a good idea. The first hole that I can see however is that it is just ONE MORE THING on your key chain, and ONE MORE swipe of a card. By recognizing your allEtronic account by your debit/credit card/phone number, we accomplish the same goal you have in mind, only faster and easier.
BRIANCGRAHAM
The digital receipt that you could print out from allEtronic would have that barcode on it. Problem solved. Furthermore, that is one of two options for a return. Within your allEtronic account, you can flag any single item listed on a receipt for ?return?. This sends a ?blink? to the Retailers POS. When you go back to the store, you would swipe your card or enter your phone number, and the pending return would activate, bringing up the flagged transaction, which is proof of purchase.
PS ? Opting to decline a receipt is not the best financial decision. Especially now if you can EASILY get it digitally, automatically organized, and saved for whatever reason. You never know when you might need it.
TV JAMES
The website is www.alletronic.com. And as for the Dell and Enron ?E??I can see the obvious resemblance in the tilt. I guess it?s a staple for either successful companies, or companies trying to go paperless, in that allEtronic and Enron are both trying to destroy paper receipts. (That?s a joke.)
DANENGLANDER
You are correct on the point that you can only get a digital receipt from stores that offer the allEtronic option. We feel that stores will be very compelled to offer this due to the incredible savings they would incur on thermal receipt paper. (Wal-Mart would save over a million dollars per month if 75% of their patrons utilized allEtronic.) On top of that, helping to eliminate the destruction of over 9 million trees per year is a nice statement to make to consumers. Call me crazy but I think this ?Green? thing is really taking off.
Moving forward, SHOEBOXED.com is a fantastic concept for digitizing your already PRINTED thermal paper receipts. The difference between them and allEtronic is ONE: allEtronic is 100% free to all consumers, shoeboxed.com is not. And TWO: Shoeboxed.com is not preventing a paper receipt from being printed, which does nothing to help against deforestation. You?ll be surprised to know that THERMAL RECEIPT PAPER can NOT be recycled. This is because it is impregnated with a cocktail of chemicals on both sides, literally for ?environmental resistance?. These are only two of the many differences between these two companies.
LEARN MORE:
www.allEtronic.com
877 296 3446 x104
Dusty Schlabach