Lidl’s receipt experiment: customers have to adapt

The classic receipt has probably had its day. If Lidl has its way, the future lies in a purely digital solution. As a test, the paper receipt is now to be abolished in order to protect the environment.

With the app: Lidl tests digital receipts

Regardless of whether customers want a receipt or not, it is still printed out in supermarkets. That should now be the end of it, says the discounter Lidl. On a test basis, customers in selected branches optionally waive the printed receipt. To do this, however, customers must have installed the in-house Lidl Plus app on their mobile phone and activated the payment function. Otherwise the receipt will continue to be printed out.

To sign up exclusively for the digital variant However, customers still have to take action on the Lidl test to decide on the receipt. When shopping, the Lidl Plus app indicates that the receipt can be transferred to the smartphone.

There are no differences in content, because the digital version looks exactly like the one printed on paper. Also with the validity there are no changes. In the event of a return, the smartphone is pulled out instead of the paper receipt (source: Food newspaper via ComputerBild).

Lidl’s digital receipt: more than a test?

Currently, Lidl’s optional waiver of a paper receipt is just a test, the available in some branches is. If there is positive feedback from customers, the test could soon be extended to other markets. But that also depends on the spread and acceptance of Lidl Plus.

in the Video: This is how the Lidl Plus app works.

While Lidl is becoming more digital, the competition is going the opposite way. The supermarket chain Real says goodbye to the online receipt and instead prints the receipt again. The service related to digital receipts will be discontinued altogether.