ReceetMe: kiss paper and email receipts goodbye

This inspiring story is of a rising startup called ReceetMe started by Helene Berkowitz. ReceetMe accelerates digital transformation for offline retailers with a digital receipt platform. Retailers gain detailed insights into consumer purchasing behaviors, including cash transaction data. Consumers enjoy contactless, frictionless checkout, which is payment agnostic and environmentally-friendly. Here is the story of ReceetMe in Helene’s own words.

Introduce us to the idea of ReceetMe

ReceetMe’s software integrates at the Point of Sale, capturing transaction information and routing it to the consumer’s smartphone at checkout. Consumers use our mobile app to aggregate all of their e-receipts – regardless of store or payment method – into one system, giving them greater control over their purchases.

Retailers gain in-depth insights into their customers’ purchasing decisions and more sophisticated engagement tools.

ReceetMe adds value to the ecosystem in 2 ways:

1. We eliminate paper receipts, which contain toxic chemicals and harm both the environment and people, particularly retail workers.
2. We promote digital technologies that make consumers’ lives simpler and more convenient.

What’s your strategy story? What led you to start ReceetMe?

It started with a pair of pants. My husband – who hates to shop for himself – needed a new pair of jeans. Knowing that he dislikes shopping, I went to the store for him, but mistakenly got the wrong size. I wanted to exchange them, but couldn’t find the receipt. I looked everywhere but had no luck.

That’s when I had my lightbulb moment. It occurred to me that our world is so hi-tech, yet many aspects of our lives have remained low-tech and inefficient. I thought about how many paper receipts are generated by retail stores each year, the environmental impact, and the negative customer experience with product returns or exchanges.

I considered existing digital solutions and found very few who addressed the consumer pain point in a significant way. Consumers dislike paper receipts, emails crowd our inboxes, and other solutions require too many manual steps or are restricted to specific banks or e-wallets.

I also knew that retailers were investing millions in technologies that personalized the customer journey, but they had no information on cash-paying customers, their data was fragmented across multiple systems, and shifting behaviors made it difficult to predict – and meet – consumer demand.

But I felt the lack of a simple solution from a clear market leader. I knew that my vision and Fintech background could create a better product and solve both the retailer and customer problem with a simpler method.

What marketing, operation strategies are you adopting at ReceetMe?

In an ironic twist of fate, Covid has made certain strategies easier than when we first began our startup journey.

For example, we understood early on that contactless shopping was going to become very important. Consumers are more health conscious than ever before, so the need to reduce physical interactions between shoppers and store associates was going to be a priority. The pandemic has now pushed the idea of contactless shopping and dining to the forefront of the retail sector.

Digital transformation has been a growing buzzword for some time. Now that people are traveling and commuting less, digital solutions permeate nearly every aspect of our lives. Who hasn’t been on Zoom lately? This has created more value for both our marketing and operations strategies by making it much easier to connect with our retail customers, vendors, and investors.

Any strategy mistakes you have made and what did you learn?

Like all startup founders, I’ve made my share of mistakes, especially at the beginning. I didn’t really target particular clients or partners; I spoke to just about anyone who was willing to speak with me. This wasn’t a productive use of my time, nor was it a smart strategy for cultivating relationships.

I learned quickly how to focus on our ideal customers and learned everything I could about them so that I was well-prepared for a product offering and fine-tuned sales approach.

Finally what advice do you have for your fellow entrepreneur readers?

Be authentic. Don’t try to emulate anyone else and don’t apply any cookie-cutter methods. People will believe in you above all else, less so the detailed features of your product. Stay away from fancy lingo and industry buzzwords. Speak authentically, just the way you would want someone to speak to you.

Disclaimer: The information in the above story is provided by the startup and The Strategy Story takes no responsibility for the authenticity of the product and services offered by the startup. Reader’s discretion is advised.

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