I told the self-checkout I didn’t want a receipt - so why did it print one anyway?

Saturday, 27 December 2025

Why do supermarket self-checkouts spit out paper after we say we don’t want a receipt?

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This story was first published in September 2025.

The problem

Some of you have asked us to solve the cost of living and housing crises. If we could, we would.

But one thing we did feel able to tackle is Andy Clark’s gripe with supermarket self-checkouts.

“Look, it's a very minor thing I'll be the first to admit, but jeez, it's annoying at New World when it asks if you want to print a receipt, you say no, and it prints one anyway,” he wrote to us.

Andy Clark says unwanted bits of paper damage the customer experience.

Over the phone, Clark tells me it’s a bad customer experience when the self-checkout goes to the trouble of asking, only to ignore the response.

“It feels sloppy. They can afford to make sure their customer experience is seamless.”

As my family’s dedicated grocery mule, it’s a gripe I can relate to. Because I’m stubborn, I leave the paper dangling from the machine, given I said I didn’t want a receipt.

Clark prefers to take the high ground, not wanting to leave it behind for the next person to deal with.

Some supermarkets have bins at the self-checkout for customers to dispose of their unwanted fuel vouchers.

“They are obviously prepared for it because, at our supermarket, there’s a bunch of bins [at the checkouts].”

I tell Clark that what the machine spits out is likely not the receipt for his groceries, but a fuel voucher, usually offering 6 cents off per litre.

He believes a quick fix would be for the self-checkouts to “just stop asking”, or ask customers if they want a receipt and a fuel docket.

“It’s potentially so easily avoidable.”

The ‘Tidy Kiwi’ dilemma

Finding an expert to comment on this issue was a challenge. It turns out self-checkouts are a very niche area of expertise.

So I called the Science Media Centre, an agency which connects journalists with experts in science and technology. One of its advisers told me his colleagues would be keen to read my story: “They're just as peeved as I am with the receipts.”

He sent me to Dr Sandy Bulmer, an associate professor at Massey University’s school of management and marketing, who has researched how self-checkouts influence the consumer shopping experience.

She agrees the self-checkout paper process could be improved.

“Not understanding what’s driving people up the wall is not good marketing practice.

“Maybe the price is not right, but most technical problems are solvable.”

Like Clark, Bulmer says asking the customer if they want a receipt, fuel docket, both or nothing at all could be a simple fix.

“The preciseness of the question is the thing that’s irritating.”

From an early age, New Zealanders are told to “be a tidy Kiwi”. Unwanted receipts make us question everything.

The unwanted paper also had an environmental impact.

“I never use the fuel docket and they just go straight in the bin if I end up with them in my hand.”

Bulmer acknowledges that some people are grateful for the fuel saving - so the supermarkets could consider giving them a voucher electronically, via an app or loyalty card.

(Woolworths already does this with its Everyday Rewards card and app, giving members discounts at g.a.s petrol stations.)

Bulmer says choosing whether to take unwanted - and unasked for - paper is a moral dilemma. After all, most of us were told from a young age: “Be a Tidy Kiwi.”

And leaving the paper would likely mean a checkout supervisor had to tidy up instead.

“Social rules govern every part of our life. People hate looking like an idiot at the checkout.”

Foodstuffs says it’s looking at better ways to give customers fuel vouchers.

An end to receipt rage?

Given Woolworths offer fuel savings electronically, it appears that New World and Pak’nSave are the main sources of the unwanted paper.

I asked their parent company, Foodstuffs, about some of the solutions suggested by Clark and Bulmer.

A spokesperson confirmed that the docket that prints after the customer has said no to a receipt is indeed a fuel voucher.

While some New World and Pak’nSave stores have their own self-service petrol stations where the vouchers can be redeemed, the company also has partnerships with Z and Caltex, she said.

“Like many of our customers, we’re committed to reducing paper waste, which is why we offer the option of not printing a receipt.

“We continue to print fuel vouchers because customers have told us that they enjoy the savings when they buy fuel.”

However, the company understood not all customers wanted the voucher and was “reviewing how these are offered”.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make it as simple as possible for our customers to save money.”

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