Note: As part of my effort to become more “retail product management centric” (expanded role at work), I have decided it would be a good idea for me to make regular posts to the blog on things I see and can comment on in the retail tech space. I know it sounds boring, but it’s what I do. And publishing things here can at least begin to make me look like I know what I’m talking about

So… let’s start with this article I found regarding retail customer aggravation with the ever increasing length of a point of sale receipt. I found the article really hitting home with me at work as we are in the middle of writing a new receipt generation engine.

Why are we writing a new receipt engine? Well, frankly, we’re doing it so that our retailers can do exactly what the people in the article are complaining about. We’re doing it so that we can give complete control to the retailer for what they want to put on the receipt:

• Want to put a survey request on the receipt? You can do that.
• Want to print coupons on the receipt? You can do that too.
• Want the items to be categorized by department, print a special thank you message when you spend more than $50, print a survey to every 10th customer, print a message to apply for a store branded credit card to save 10% only if the customer paid with a credit card, print a customer signature line because you purchased a hazardous item, and print a gift receipt - all at the same time? Well sure, you can do that too.

So essentially, we are about to unleash the capability to our retailers so that they can make the aggravating receipts that are mentioned in the article. I designed a good portion of the new software. So I am about to be indirectly responsible for the aggravation of millions of people.

I will admit that I don’t always like that I get a 24 inch receipt when I buy two items. I’m looking at a Home Depot receipt right now where I bought three items and the receipt is literally 18 inches long. The physical bulk of the receipt is annoying, but the question becomes, was it effective?

For this particular Home Depot receipt there are things on it that were effective to me. First, there is an explanation of the return policy. While it is a little lengthy, it was helpful to know when I could return items. Not only when, but which items I could return. So this section I found valuable.

Then there is the survey portion. You’ve all seen it. Go to some web page, enter information from the receipt, answer some questions, then you’re entered to win. Not only that, but the survey announcement is in English and Spanish, making it even longer. I admit that the first few times I received this survey I went to the internet and completed the survey. I even completed it truthfully. It is for a chance at $5000 after all. But then my behavior changed. I began filling out the survey quickly, just checking whatever to get the thing submitted so that I would be entered. And now, I don’t even bother. It now seems pointless since no good has come out of it. I certainly haven’t won the $5000. But more than that, I have received no reciprocal return. Home Depot has never contacted me for more input or even to thank me for filling out the survey so many times. The only time I fill out the survey now is if I had some serious complaining to do. But even that has been fruitless. Instead, it’s easier just to let the poor service people at the front counter get a piece of my mind.

I could go on and on about surveys. Surveys can be a great thing. But you have to use them correctly and be sure that they are serving your purpose. For more information on customer satisfaction surveys, look at this article.

For the Home Depot receipt, that’s pretty much all that was on it. There are all sorts of other things that could be put on the receipt. But the real question becomes the same age old story: just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

The best advice that I can give to retailers in terms of their receipts are these three things:

1. The receipt should be very informative to the customer in terms of what they have just transacted. Item numbers, descriptions, break-down of pricing, explanation of discounts, sub totals, and tendering information is all vital to be not only represented on the receipt, but presented in a manner that is easy to understand.
2. Any extra “fluff” on the receipt must be of value for the customer. If you want to put a survey on the receipt, fine.  But make it worthwhile for the customer. Putting coupons on the receipt is good, if they get used. Give even more information on the receipt in regards to the customer’s history if possible.  Even to the point that maybe the coupons that print are a reflection of that customer’s history.
3. In regards to the extra fluff, keep it changing. It is important that the transaction portion of the receipt remain as constant as possible. If I shop somewhere often I will expect to see things in the same place. But when it come to the “extra stuff”, changing it often can keep a customer engaged and often drives the customer to pay more attention to what comes on the receipt.

I’m looking forward to getting our new receipt functionality out into retailer’s hands. I’m interested to see what they end up doing with it. I strongly believe that if they do it correctly, it can actually drive customer loyalty. And don’t we all need a little more customer loyalty in our lives?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Retail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.