Receipts and proof of purchase have been used since the earliest days of retail transaction, providing legal proof of the transfer of ownership of goods.
However, the mechanised generation of retail receipts did not occur until the late 19th Century. In 1883, two American inventors, James Ritty and John Birch, patented the cash register, enabling sales to be monitored and deterring sales staff from pilfering profits. Subsequently, the National Cash Register Company improved the design of the machine by adding a paper roll to record sales transactions. This evolved into the receipt as we know it today.
Small and unassuming, the receipt is, in fact, a legal document. It gives consumers a record and proof of their purchase and is the evidence retailers require to return or exchange goods. These days, many receipts include barcodes that allow the transaction to be quickly recognized and validated by the retailer’s computer system.
Increasingly, and particularly at supermarket checkouts, till receipts contain far more than just a record of purchases made. Promotional messages can be included, including discount vouchers that are triggered by the nature of the goods the customer has just purchased.
Contribution to Retail History The receipt not only offers customers assurance and retailers proof of purchase, but the information it carries is relayed to back office computing systems and is used for accounting and reconciliation processes. In some countries, the USA for instance, retailers have to retain information about every receipt so that the tax authorities can verify that no sales have been hidden. Increasingly till receipts are also used by supermarkets to run Price Matching promotions whereby customers can check whether their shop would have been cheaper at a competitor’s outlet and, if so, claim a refund or other incentive against the differential.