The ROI of Branded Receipts: Measuring What Matters
Every business tracks sales. Fewer track what happens after the sale. Your receipt is the last thing a customer holds before they walk out the door, and if it is not working for you, it is working against you.
Custom printed till rolls are not an expense. They are a marketing channel. The question is not whether they deliver ROI, the question is whether you are measuring it properly.
Print Lord has worked with brands like Brewdog, Uber, and Specsavers, plus restaurants, retail shops, sports venues, and hospitality businesses across the UK. The ones who win are the ones who track what matters.
Here is how to measure the ROI of branded receipts, and what you should be watching.
Why Most Businesses Get This Wrong
Most businesses treat receipts as a legal requirement. Print the transaction details, hand it over, job done. That is a wasted opportunity.
Every receipt is a direct communication with someone who has just given you money. They are already engaged. They trust you enough to spend. The receipt is your chance to turn that single transaction into a relationship.
But if you are not tracking what happens next, you have no idea if your branded receipts are working. You are flying blind.
What You Should Be Tracking
ROI is not a feeling. It is data. Here are the metrics that actually matter when you are running custom printed till rolls.
QR Code Usage Reporting
QR codes on receipts are one of the most powerful tools available, and Print Lord can help you set these up with full usage reporting. That means you know exactly how many people scanned, when they scanned, and what they did next.
Use QR codes to drive customers to:
– Review platforms (Google, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor)
– Loyalty app sign-ups
– Feedback surveys
– Next purchase discounts
– Social media pages
– Event bookings or reservations
Without tracking, a QR code is just a pattern. With usage reporting, it becomes a conversion funnel you can measure and optimise.
Redemption Codes
Print a unique discount code on every receipt, valid for the next purchase. Track how many get redeemed. That tells you two things:
- 1. How many customers are coming back
- How much additional revenue your receipts are generating
If you print “Use code RECEIPT10 for 10% off your next visit” and 8% of customers redeem it, you know your receipt marketing is working. If nobody redeems it, your messaging needs work or your offer is not compelling enough.
Redemption tracking is simple, measurable, and directly tied to revenue.
Social Media Growth
Print your Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok handle on every receipt with a clear call to action. Track follower growth week by week.
If you are handing out 500 receipts a week and your social following is not growing, something is wrong. Either the call to action is not clear, or the incentive is not strong enough.
Some businesses offer a small discount or entry into a prize draw for customers who follow and tag them. That turns a passive receipt into an active growth tool.
Review Increases
Google reviews, TripAdvisor ratings, and Trustpilot scores all impact your business. The best time to ask for a review is immediately after a positive experience, while the customer is still holding your receipt.
Track your review rate before and after adding a review request to your till rolls. If you go from two reviews a month to ten, that is ROI you can measure. Better reviews also mean better visibility in search, which drives more customers through the door.
Repeat Purchase Rates
This one takes a bit more work, but it is worth it. If you have a loyalty system or customer database, track how quickly first-time customers come back for a second purchase.
Compare customers who received a branded receipt with a clear next-step offer versus those who received a generic receipt. The difference in return rate is your ROI.
For restaurants, cafés, and retail, repeat customers are where the real profit lives. A receipt that brings someone back one extra time pays for itself many times over.
How to Build a Measurement Framework
Tracking ROI is not complicated, but it does require a system. Here is how to set one up.
Step 1: Define Your Goal
What do you want your receipt to achieve? Pick one primary goal:
– Drive repeat purchases
– Grow your social media following
– Increase reviews
– Collect customer feedback
– Build your loyalty programme
You can have secondary goals, but your receipt design and messaging should focus on one main action. The clearer the call to action, the better the response rate.
Step 2: Set Up Tracking
For QR codes, Print Lord can help you set up usage reporting so you know exactly how many scans you are getting. For redemption codes, make sure your EPOS system can track them. For social media and reviews, check your numbers weekly and log them.
Create a simple spreadsheet:
– Week starting date
– Number of receipts printed
– QR code scans
– Redemption codes used
– New social followers
– New reviews received
– Repeat purchase rate (if applicable)
This takes ten minutes a week and gives you a full picture of what is working.
Step 3: Test and Optimise
Your first design will not be perfect. Test different offers, different messaging, different QR code placements. Custom printed thermal rolls are available in single colour all the way through to full colour, and designs repeat, so plan carefully to get at least one complete message per typical receipt print-out length.
Run one design for a month, track the results, then try a variation. Small changes can have big impacts.
Step 4: Calculate Cost Per Acquisition
Work out how much each new customer action costs you. For example:
– 1,000 receipts printed = £100 (approximate cost)
– 50 QR code scans = £2 per scan
– 10 new loyalty sign-ups = £10 per sign-up
Compare that to the cost of acquiring a customer through Facebook ads, Google ads, or traditional marketing. Most businesses find that receipt marketing is one of the cheapest channels available, especially when you factor in that you are already printing receipts anyway.
Industry Examples
Different industries track ROI differently. Here is what works well for the sectors Print Lord serves.
Restaurants and Cafés: Track QR code scans to your loyalty app, redemption codes for next visit discounts, and review growth on Google and TripAdvisor.
Retail and Fashion: Monitor social media follower growth, redemption codes for online and in-store purchases, and email list sign-ups via QR code.
Sports Venues and Event Bars: Track next event bookings via QR code, merchandise upsells printed on receipts, and repeat visit offers.
Taxis and Private Hire: Measure app download rates via QR code, repeat booking offers, and review growth on Google and Uber.
Horse Racing and Betting: Track promotional code redemption for future bets, loyalty programme sign-ups, and social media engagement.
Every industry has different goals, but the measurement framework is the same. Pick your goal, set up tracking, test, and optimise.
Why Print Lord Gets This Right
Most till roll suppliers know nothing about design, marketing, or tracking. They sell boxes of rolls and move on. Print Lord understands both design and print, and we work with businesses to set up QR codes with usage reporting, plan messaging that converts, and design receipts that actually deliver ROI.
We have worked with major brands like Brewdog, Uber, and Specsavers, as well as independent restaurants, retail shops, fashion brands, sports venues, and hospitality businesses across the UK. The businesses that win are the ones who treat their receipts as a marketing asset, not an afterthought.
Custom printed EPOS thermal rolls are available in single colour all the way through to full colour. Designs repeat, so careful planning is essential to get at least one complete message per typical receipt print-out length. Print Lord guides you through that process, ensuring your receipts look professional, deliver results, and work within your EPOS system.
Final Thought
If you are not measuring ROI, you are guessing. Branded receipts are not a nice-to-have, they are a channel that delivers measurable results when done properly.
Track QR code scans. Track redemption codes. Track social media growth. Track reviews. Track repeat purchases. The data will tell you what is working and what needs to change.
Every receipt is an opportunity. Make sure you are counting them.
Ready to turn your receipts into a measurable marketing channel? Print Lord can help you design, print, and track custom till rolls that deliver real ROI. Order your custom printed EPOS till rolls here.