MAY I PROFILE YOU, SIR? Using e-receipts to collect customers’ data for marketing purposes may seem like a good idea, but make sure you get their consent AUTUMN 2019 E-RECEIPTS ‘By asking people to opt in to marketing, you’ll get higher- quality data and a more responsive database’ An electronic receipt – or e-receipt – is a proof of purchase for goods and services that is issued instead of a paper receipt, usually via email. There are two main reasons to use e-receipts – to save paper and time. Retailers can also use them to collect people’s data, however, so they can send customers marketing in the future. Issuing an email receipt creates a single view of a customer’s purchases across all channels, including mobile, online and in-store. This sounds like a good idea if you are a retailer, but the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) covers the collection of customers’ email addresses through e-receipts – and you could be breaking the law if you don’t know what you are doing. GDPR, which came into force on 25 May 2018, gives individuals greater control over how organisations can contact them and use their data. Previously, a customer offering their email address for an e-receipt was taken to have given their implied consent to also being sent marketing emails and materials, even long after the purchase was made. Under GDPR, pre-ticked consent boxes are no longer allowed. If you want to use a customer’s email for anything other than a receipt, you must tell them there and then, so they can actively opt in to receive marketing. Customers who say no to marketing but who still want an e-receipt must be given two options: one of supplying their email address for the receipt and another for opting in to marketing. Providing both these options ensures e-receipts really are the customer-friendly tool they were intended to be in the first place. Asking customers to opt in to marketing is a question of short-term pain for long- term gain. You may be faced with a few ‘nos’ – or people ignoring your request – but by asking people to opt in, you’ll end up with higher-quality data and a more responsive database. If problems arise, you must be able to demonstrate clearly what an individual has consented to, how that consent was obtained and when. As always, it is important that customers can easily withdraw their consent. For more on GDPR, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website or see TSBN Winter 2018. Credit: Bob Charnley, Trading Standards consultant Image: iStock / Алексей Белозерский / filo For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service ‘By asking people to opt in to marketing, you’ll get higher- quality data and a more responsive database’ An electronic receipt – or e-receipt – is a proof of purchase for goods and services that is issued instead of a paper receipt, usually via email. There are two main reasons to use e-receipts – to save paper and time. Retailers can also use them to collect people’s data, however, so they can send customers marketing in the future. Issuing an email receipt creates a single view of a customer’s purchases across all channels, including mobile, online and in-store. This sounds like a good idea if you are a retailer, but the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) covers the collection of customers’ email addresses through e-receipts – and you could be breaking the law if you don’t know what you are doing. GDPR, which came into force on 25 May 2018, gives individuals greater control over how organisations can contact them and use their data. Previously, a customer offering their email address for an e-receipt was taken to have given their implied consent to also being sent marketing emails and materials, even long after the purchase was made. Under GDPR, pre-ticked consent boxes are no longer allowed. If you want to use a customer’s email for anything other than a receipt, you must tell them there and then, so they can actively opt in to receive marketing. Customers who say no to marketing but who still want an e-receipt must be given two options: one of supplying their email address for the receipt and another for opting in to marketing. Providing both these options ensures e-receipts really are the customer-friendly tool they were intended to be in the first place. Asking customers to opt in to marketing is a question of short-term pain for long- term gain. You may be faced with a few ‘nos’ – or people ignoring your request – but by asking people to opt in, you’ll end up with higher-quality data and a more responsive database. If problems arise, you must be able to demonstrate clearly what an individual has consented to, how that consent was obtained and when. As always, it is important that customers can easily withdraw their consent. For more on GDPR, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website or see TSBN Winter 2018. AUTUMN 2019 E-RECEIPTS Credit: Bob Charnley, Trading Standards consultant Image: iStock / Алексей Белозерский / filo For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service MAY I PROFILE YOU, SIR? Using e-receipts to collect customers’ data for marketing purposes may seem like a good idea, but make sure you get their consent