Some households use it to do their accounts; in others, it lines the drawer bottoms. The receipt is no longer printed systematically since the 1er August, in the name of ecological sobriety. The brands may instead offer, without being obliged to do so, a dematerialized ticket, sent by email, compiled in a customer account or displayed by QR code. Customers will still be able to obtain a paper ticket if they expressly request it, and retailers will be required to display the existence of this possibility.
Of the exceptions are provided : the ticket will continue to be systematically printed in hotels and restaurants when the document is required to claim a guarantee or for services over 25 euros.
Provided for by the anti-waste law for a circular economy, of 2020, this measure aims to preserve resources, in particular forests. Each year in France, twelve billion receipts are printed, representing 150,000 tons of paper, according to the authorities.
The entry into force, initially scheduled for January, has been postponed twice. On the one hand, to give traders time to prepare. On the other hand, the Minister Delegate in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises, trade, crafts and tourism, Olivia Grégoire, “had wanted a postponement when price inflation in supermarkets was at its maximum”prompting households to scrutinize their spending even more, explained the minister’s office during a press briefing on July 24. Gold “We have been observing a decline in inflation for several weeks”according to the firm, which sees an opportunity to make this provision a reality.
“The big winner is the merchant”
In April, in the name of consumer protection, twelve associations were opposed to the removal of the ticket printed by default, requiring that the merchant be required to systematically offer his customers a physical ticket. They did not win. The obligation to display this option near the checkouts is not enough, however, according to Antoine Autier, head of the studies and lobby department at UFC-Que Choisir, for whom the question of the “quality of information”. According to him, some customers might forget to ask for their ticket and “suffering the consequences”being unable to return a product or to verify the conformity of the price paid with that which is displayed on the shelf.
Morgane Lenain, administrator of the National Union of Family Associations (UNAF) in charge of consumer protection, agrees: “The big winner of this measure is the merchant, who will save paper, but also save money on disputes and complaints in the event of a missing receipt. »
To these criticisms, a spokesperson for the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) replies that it will always be possible to request a paper ticket and stresses that“in practice, merchants already offer it”.
The dematerialization of the ticket is also in question. “The trader will be able to build a database, know how his customers consume and direct his pricing policy accordingly”, deplores Mme Lenain, for whom “it’s an invasion of privacy and the door open to a number of unwanted advertisements” when sent by email. The DGCCRF recalls that the collection of personal data, which must be “minimal”is required to comply with the general data protection regulations, and that the National Commission for Computing and Liberties “watch the law”.
Controlling your expenses
Beyond questions of private life, the UNAF, which also offers on behalf of the State free budget management tips aimed at households, sees the receipt as a valuable financial education tool. Gold “dematerialization cuts the consumer off from the reality of his expenditure”, according to Morgane Lenain, inducing “a difficulty in realizing that the money is slipping away”.
The World Buying Guides
Reusable water bottles
The best water bottles to replace disposable bottles
Read
What do the first concerned think? In March, a study by the OpinionWay institute for the federation of distributors Perifem showed some ambivalence. Three-quarters of the 1,063 people surveyed (73%) say they are in favor of ending the systematic printing of receipts. At the same time, 89% of them say they use the printed ticket to check the details of the price paid. A majority of respondents intend to continue to ask for it: 91% in household appliance stores and 76% for food purchases.
A small majority of respondents (59%) say they are ready to take a loyalty card to receive their dematerialized receipt, a solution they prefer to email and QR code. As for giving out personal contact information, 76% don’t want to do it in front of other customers, and 66% see it as a waste of time.
Analysis by Franck Charton, General Delegate of Perifem: “What the French need is not paper, it’s the service provided by the receipt. But to move towards dematerialization, you need pedagogy. » For him, the electronic ticket “will be able to provide many more services” to households, such as the construction of expenditure statistics in applications.
It remains to be seen what the net benefit for the planet will be of the end of the systematic printing of receipts if customers massively switch to electronic means, the impact of which on the environment is not zero. Ademe, the ecological transition agency, says it does not have any information on the subject. Moreover, the hypothesis of a total conversion of paper tickets into electronic tickets is not “not realistic” in the eyes of the DGCCRF: “The sense of measurement is to limit the number of tickets, whether printed or dematerialized”, according to the administration, which recognizes the importance of avoiding “impact transfers” environmentally friendly, in particular by working at a “best eco-design of digital services”.