Increase Customer Engagement with Auto-Receipt Validation
By Peter Wright on October 18th, 2017
Rewarding customers for purchasing a product is a great way for FMCG brands to incentivise purchases, promote new products, and increase brand loyalty.
Receipt-based purchase promotions are a highly effective marketing tool, allowing brands to run promotions without codes on-pack or any point of sale integration, while still linking the promotion to actual purchases to ensure a positive return on investment.
But traditionally, there have been a few difficulties with this kind of strategy. Brands have to find a way to securely and effectively validate customer purchases, and customers may have a huge process ahead of them if they wanted to redeem their reward – saving their receipt, filling in a form, mailing it – and then waiting to receive the reward. This process can significantly diminish the delight associated and participation rates with the promotion and the brand.
Automatic receipt validation technology streamlines the customer journey experience and increases participation.
Digital entry mechanics and platforms like auto-receipt validation, offer simpler ways to validate purchases and even deliver digital rewards immediately. There are now many more options for creating a consumer reward promotion that will well and truly delight. At the same time, brands can get more value through these promotions by capturing customer data for use in future marketing campaigns.
Here’s how it works and how you can use auto-receipt validation to your advantage in your next promotion.
What is automated receipt validation?
Automated receipt validation (or optical character recognition (OCR)) technology is used to allow brands to run purchase-based promotions without codes on-pack or any point of sale integration.
So, how does it work?
The user visits the promotional claim site (which they find through QR code, SMS, email or a website link), takes a picture of their receipt, product or packaging with their phone, and submits their entry through the preferred channel (text, email, mobile, web, desktop or in-app).
The technology validates the purchase and determines whether it qualifies for the promotion rules. Rewards can then be issued immediately – whether they are movie tickets, gift cards, wine, cash back, vouchers, or anything else.
Some of the key features that make this technology so useful are:
- The ability to use many channels for claim submission
- Accessibility across retailers
- Third party API integration
- Data security and fraud detection
- Advanced analytics and cloud-based reporting
There are also many other benefits of auto-receipt validation that make it so useful for brands running promotions.
Benefits of auto-receipt validation
From the perspective of both customers and brands, auto-receipt validation technology makes consumer promotions simpler and more engaging.
Scalability and reach
Auto-receipt validation provides brands with the ability to accept, process and capture receipts from any retailer, anywhere through any channel to support a range of promotions. It also provides operational and administrative efficiencies, as everything is done for you within the one platform.
Better customer experience
One of the most important benefits is the way auto-receipt validation is able to facilitate real-time rewards. The seamless customer experience provides more instant gratification and creates greater positive association with the brand.
Fast set up
This technology is perfect if you need to get an in-store promotion up and running quickly, as it replaces the need for on-pack codes by validating receipts securely and effectively.
Greater tracking, reporting and data
One of the best things about this technology for brands is the extensive and detailed data capture it provides. It provides a whole comprehensive picture of the shopper rather than just volume data, allowing more opportunities for future targeting, personalisation and product bundling. You can learn more about your customers shopping behaviours and preferences, and analyse purchase and product data to create future offers that better meet your customer and business needs.
Brands that have run effective receipt-based promotions
Wondering what a promotion like this looks like in practice, and how effective it can be? Edge have a new auto-receipt validation product, ‘AutoCHECK’, which our clients have started engaging with and are getting great results. Here are a few example promotions.
Caltex
Caltex ran a competition with a chance to win $1 million, as well as hourly prizes of $100 Starcash. Customers simply spent $20 or more and entered their receipt online for the chance to win. This campaign was enormously successful, exceeding participation rates and sales targets during the promotional period.
Barbeques Galore & XXXX GOLD
Barbeques Galore and XXXX GOLD ran a promotion where consumers could collect $10 from every case of beer bought to spend at Barbeques Galore. The ease of AutoCHECK helped make the process seamless for customers from start to finish.
Cadbury Favourites
Cadbury Favourites is currently running a promotion where customers can validate their receipt from a specially marked pack of Favourites and receive a free movie ticket. Overall Cadbury found their was higher participation during the promotional period due to the ease of entry.
Ready to take your promotions to the next level?
At Edge, we use world-class Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology together with our purpose-built AutoCHECK Engine to validate, analyse and optimise data securely and effectively, whilst improving auto-read rate accuracy and providing access to as much valuable customer data as possible.
We provide a fully integrated solution, from claim site to auto validation and reward fulfilment, with extensive analytics and cloud based reporting you can access anywhere, anytime. Contact us today to find out more.
Peter Wright
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