Proof of purchase is often required for

sales promotion Sales promotion is one of the elements of the promotional mix. The primary elements in the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and publicity/public relations. Sales promotion uses both media and non-media marketing ...

s and manufacturer rebates as evidence that the customer purchased the product. When multiple purchases are required to redeem these rewards, it is referred to as a premium incentive or collector mechanic. A proof of purchase is also required for some

product recall A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action. The recall is an effort to limit ruin ...

s. Traditional proof of purchase systems require the consumer to send some portion of the packaging, as defined by the product's manufacturer, along with a register

receipt A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or propert ...

or sales

invoice An invoice, bill or tab is a commerce, commercial document issued by a sales, seller to a buyer relating to a sale transaction and indicating the product (business), products, quantities, and agreed-upon prices for products or Service (economic ...

proving the product's purchase, with the latter being required for a

product return In retail, a product return is the Action (philosophy), process of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the retailer, and in turn receiving a :wikt:refund, refund in the original form of payment, exchange for another item (id ...

to a retailer. An internal

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

tracking number Tracking numbers are numbers assigned to packages when they are shipped. Tracking numbers are useful for knowing the location of time sensitive deliveries. It is a unique ID number or code assigned to a package or parcel. The tracking number is typ ...

may also be accepted as a proof of purchase, depending on the circumstances. For a defective product such as an

optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...

containing a film or musical album, the company will ask for the return of the defective media in order to facilitate an even exchange with one that properly works, or for the box proof and receipt (or often, a cardboard tab with several proofs separately perforated, so as to not compromise the packaging's integrity) to send back an item (such as a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

piece or pawn, or guide) inadvertently mispacked without it in the original packaging. Unique codes printed on packaging are increasingly used as a mechanism for proof of purchase. Consumers can submit the code electronically for validation against a central database, thus establishing proof of purchase. Such systems allow manufacturers to develop a direct relationship with the consumer, for use in short term sales promotions, loyalty systems and collection and profiling of consumer data.

References

See also