Promotional receipt validation has gained more traction in recent years. Viewed as a fundamental tool in the fight against online fraud, receipt validation is essential for digital record-keeping.
Any receipt for an in-app or application purchase will be authorised by the retailer. You may have noticed an e-receipt sent by Apple if you’ve purchased additional products, services or content within an app. This secure mechanism and proof that Google or Apple has validated your purchase.
There’s even the option to add a validation code to your application. But why bother? Well, for starters adding a validation code to your application automatically prevents unauthorised copies of your purchase from being accessed by third parties.
Understanding receipt validation requires knowledge of various coding techniques and even cryptography. Developers need to understand that any solution must be fully conversant with the application itself. But let’s not get bogged down in a load of technical stuff. Let’s look at what’s in it for consumers. Ideal for loyalty promotions, receipt validation is intertwined with receipt capture. In the past, activating a proof-of-purchase sales promotion or loyalty program required a significant investment of commercial resources.
Today, however, this has changed. Thanks to OCR receipt technology it’s possible for scale-able and flexible automated processing purchase validation to be incorporated into sales promotions. Sound complicated? Well, it’s not. Consumers submitting receipts can have them validated automatically. Pertinent data will be captured line by line – and consumers will never have to worry about fraud.
So, here’s the question: is receipt validation right for you and in what circumstances is it used?
As an Alternative to Unique Codes
Able to be deployed swiftly – and having zero impact on printing or packaging, OCR receipt validation allows businesses to validate purchases instantly. Moreover, any commercial promotions or loyalty schemes can be operated in a more cost-effective manner – and businesses can negate any costly packaging design or production costs.
Should Retailer Support Be Unavailable
Sound marketers seek a holistic approach to digital and mobile marketing. Negating the dependency on the integration of Pos systems and experience a limited geographic reach, receipt capture validation allows for the implementation of solutions that can be seamlessly integrated with a variety of retailers.
What does this mean? The instant the purchase is identified, the receipt can be validated, and the rewards activated. This is especially helpful for businesses who offer inexpensive product rewards on a grand scale.
Brand Connection
Brands should consistently strive to make connections with existing and potential customers. This is what builds loyalty – and ultimately increases a brand’s revenue, allowing it to prosper and grow. By using OCR receipt validation, brands can create a ‘communication loop’ with consumers, without negatively impacting third-party retailers.
Why is this so good? It helps to strengthen brand-partner relationships, provides valuable marketing insights and activates the mutually beneficial rewards of cultivating brand and retailer loyalty.
An Optimal Loyalty Solution
When all’s said and done, receipt capture validation can drastically enhance marketing insights and brand recognition. However, before you go all gung-ho at it, there are a few considerations to make. The optimal loyalty solution is what you should be striving before but test the water’s first.
Taking some time to consider the data gleaned from any OCR receipt validation program. Once you understand what consumers are purchasing, who they are, when and why they make purchases etcetera you can then begin to create an optimal loyalty solution.
There is one goal that you should keep in mind: designing a well-planned and succinctly-executed customer promotion that reaches a wide customer and geographical demographic. This is how you will build your brand.
So, there you have it. Four ways that that receipt validation can be used to maximise your consumer promotions – and emphasise your business. Do you think it’s worth giving it a try?