Scheduled for April 1, the end of the systematic printing of receipts should finally come into force only this summer, because of inflation. But this measure is still divisive by its implications for data processing…
Originally scheduled for 1er January then for the 1er April 2023, the ban on the systematic printing of receipts is once again postponed due to inflation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said on Sunday at the Parisian. “We consider that the moment is not the right one for the measure to come into force”told the newspaper the office of Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism. “We have feedback from the field, we are talking with consumer associations, with large retailers, who tell us that in the face of inflation, many French people want to check the accuracy of the amount of the shopping they do. In terms of symbol, it was rather a bad idea to remove it from the 1er April, when inflation is most important.”
Paper receipt: always useful on a daily basis
It must be said that with the constant increase – and significant! – prices for a year, in particular for the most common foodstuffs – oils, pasta, sugar, meat, vegetables, etc. –, more and more consumers have got into the habit of carefully peeling their receipts at the leaving the supermarkets, both to analyze their purchases and to detect any errors – more frequent than one might think. According to INSEE, prices increased by 6% between February 2022 and February 2023, including nearly 15% for food products (+ 14.8%). A new date should be announced soon. Two dates are currently under discussion, namely the 1er August and the 1er September, with a preference for the first because, “September is the time for back-to-school shopping, it could be even more disruptive”. This gives businesses a bit more time to get up to speed, with many employees not even aware of the measure…
With this measure of law on the fight against waste and the circular economy, published on February 11, 2020 in the Official Journal, merchants will have to ask customers if they wish to obtain a paper ticket, a dematerialized ticket (by SMS, email or by scanning a QR code) or no ticket at all. This is a way to fight against waste, to reduce the environmental impact of receipts – according to the Ministry of Ecology, each hypermarket in France consumes an average of more than 10,000 rolls of paper each year – and to reduce contact with substances hazardous to health present on it. Note that merchants will not be obliged to offer a dematerialized receipt. However, the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) wishes to alert consumers to the use of their data in the event that they opt for this solution – they could receive advertising for example – and to remind, in a press releasethe rules to follow.
End of systematic printing: which receipts are concerned?
Printed receipts will no longer be provided by default, but can be claimed at checkout. As reminded The Public Goodthe following tickets are concerned:
- Receipts produced in sales areas and in establishments open to the public;
- Tickets issued by machines;
- Credit card receipts;
- Purchase vouchers and promotional or reduction tickets.
On the other hand, receipts mentioning the existence and duration of the legal guarantee of conformity of a good, receipts/credit card transactions relating to transactions canceled or subject to credit, tickets issued by automatic machines, the conservation and presentation of which are necessary to benefit from a product or service, or even cash receipts printed by non-automatic weighing instruments will always be printed automatically.
End of systematic printing: what options for receipts?
During checkout, the merchant must inform the customer of the three options available to him so that he can make his choice according to his preferences, but also taking into account ecological issues and the protection of privacy. :
- Do not ask for a ticket at all: in the event that this does not affect their rights as a consumer — to obtain a refund for example — this option helps preserve the environment while protecting their personal data;
- Request a paper ticket: for those who have their own habits and wish to protect their personal data;
- Request a dematerialized ticket: it can be sent by SMS, by e-mail, by scanning a QR code or even via the application or the store’s website. The merchant is not obliged to offer this option.
Note that choosing to use the dematerialized receipt is not a trivial choice. The CNIL invites merchants who would like to implement this solution to assess the environmental footprint of such a choice before proposing it, given that certain organizations contest the environmental benefits of the dematerialized ticketdue to the carbon emissions emitted by the digital sector — which represent 2.5% of CO emissions2 from France. In addition, this solution raises another major problem: the security of the consumer’s personal data and respect for their privacy.
Dematerialized receipt: what guarantees for personal data?
The dematerialization of receipts has several technical and legal consequences in terms of data protection, security and the exercise of their rights by customers. The CNIL recommends a first display at the checkout or on the interface of an automatic checkout “indicating the identity of the data controller and the objectives pursued by the collection of the data so that the persons understand the use which could be made of it.” It also recommends a reference to more complete information that the customer can access – via a QR code for example.
The Commission encourages merchants to favor solutions “which require the least amount of personal data to be collected” for the implementation of the dematerialized receipt, such as the QR code. Indeed, at Unlike SMS or e-mail, it does not require the collection of the consumer’s contact details, but only that of the technical data necessary to establish the connection between the devices. In the event that the ticket is sent by SMS or email, the digital policeman fears that merchants and/or their partners will use them for other purposes, in particular for commercial prospecting. And as much to say that, given the number of brands where we shop, we can very quickly find ourselves overwhelmed! In all cases, sending dematerialized receipts must comply with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act.
Dematerialized receipt: what are the consumer’s rights?
According to the law, it is in no way compulsory to create a loyalty account with the merchant, to subscribe to a newsletter or to accept to receive advertising from the shop in order to receive your ticket. dematerialized checkout. Moreover, consumers must give their consent before being solicited electronically, except “when the prospecting concerns products or services similar to those you have purchased”, explains the CNIL. In all cases, consumers must be able to object at any time to any solicitation by telephone call.
In cases where the merchant does not provide complete information on the use of data, does not respect the rights – that of opposition to prospecting for example – or that his requests are unsuccessful, the consumer can exercise his rights with commerce or the data protection officer and, in the event of a lack of response within one month of the sending of the request or if the response is not satisfactory, he may send a report to the CNIL via a form in a few clicks.