Springfield, Mass. — According to a recent national survey, an overwhelming majority of American consumers prefer to receive paper over electronic receipts when shopping in-person at retail locations. The poll, conducted by Tulchin Research for the Paper Receipts Converting Association (PRCA), also found that consumers want to choose between paper and electronic receipts rather than be forced only to receive electronic receipts. American consumers prefer paper receipts primarily due to concerns about privacy rights and the worry that eliminating paper receipts could result in personal information being sold without permission.

Recent efforts to limit or ban the use of paper receipts, in fact, run counter to what the vast majority of American consumers want. Currently, when it comes to making a purchase in-person at a retail location, the poll found that nearly three out of four respondents (72%) prefer to receive a paper receipt compared to only a quarter (25%) who prefer a receipt sent to their email or texted to their phone.

Additionally, American consumers overwhelmingly want to have the option to choose which type of receipt is best for them, and they oppose efforts that attempt to make that choice for them by eliminating paper receipts. Indeed, looking at the poll results, over eight-in-ten consumers (85%) say they prefer “having the option to choose between a paper receipt and an electronic one” when shopping in-person at a retail location. By contrast, just 11% say they prefer “only having the option to receive an electronic receipt or no receipt at all.”

These preferences for paper receipts are driven largely by concerns over privacy rights and how eliminating paper receipts—and only offering electronic receipts—could result in consumers’ personal information being used and stored without their consent. Specifically, two thirds of respondents (67%) cite being concerned about their “personal information and shopping habits being sold without [their] permission,” including 40% who say they are “extremely” concerned. 

“The findings of this independent, third-party poll conclusively show, regardless of social-economic status, gender, age, or geography, that consumers broadly prefer paper receipts over electronic receipts when shopping in-person,” said Mike Rapier, President of PRCA. “And they want to continue to be able to choose which type of receipt is best for them rather than have that decision made for them.”

The online poll of 1,000 randomly selected adults ages 18+ was conducted on January 7-12, 2023.

To learn more about the value of paper receipts, visit
paperreceipts.org.