A decree published in Official newspaper of December 15, 2022 postpones until April 1, 2023 the entry into force of the law prohibiting the systematic printing of a paper receipt by businesses. This measure, intended to combat the waste of resources and the circulation of substances dangerous to health, was initially to be applied from January 1, 2023.
If the consumer can always request the printing of his proof of purchase, merchants will be required to offer an alternative dematerialized solution. The ticket will thus be sent by SMS, email, QR code or even directly through a notification via the application of his bank.
A few months of respite justified by inflation
But then, why has the government chosen to postpone the entry into force of this new directive? Because of inflation. Indeed, the Ministry of the Economy believes that in these times of rising prices, consumers are attached to the possibility of checking their receipt. Thus, it would not be appropriate to adopt this measure in a hasty manner.
Will inflation have disappeared by next April? It’s unlikely. On the other hand, these few months of respite will undoubtedly be valuable for businesses in order to better prepare. If, within large groups, dematerialization is not a recent issue and that through customer accounts and other loyalty cards, the shift has been underway for a long time, this is not the case for many small establishments. and other artisans whose activity is not yet digitized.
30 billion tickets per year
In France, 30 billion receipts are printed every year, the vast majority of them ending up almost immediately in a trash can. However, is the dematerialized receipt really more ecological? This is a question that we will address in a dossier in preparation, and the answer to which is not as obvious as one might think.
Indeed, if resource savings are made thanks to the absence of paper and ink consumption, it is still necessary to take into account the entire chain of production and life of the two models of receipts, the digital version relying on server resources, sending messages through networks and storing data that must remain accessible over time.