Kat is Confused – Why Is Her CVS Receipt 3 Feet Long? [OPINION]

I stopped in to my nearest CVS for just a couple of things and the receipt ends up being nearly 3 feet long. Take a look.

Yesterday I started to have a bit of a sore throat, and I had been sneezing, so I stopped into CVS to grab some throat drops & tissues - welcome to my world when the seasons change. I get to the cash register and swipe my card as the young lady is ringing up my purchase. $4.26 is the total. Awesome! How often do we get out of any place for under 5 bucks? Then the girl hands me this monstrosity...

I really only have one question. Why? Why is my receipt 3 feet long? Now don't get me wrong, I love that CVS is trying to help me save money by offering me coupons that I will likely never use. I understand that by offering me coupons their hope is that I will return to spend more of my hard earned money in their stores as opposed to with their competition.

I understand the business-minded thought process behind this. But I also understand that the receipt paper is an expense to them - an expense that is passed to the consumer (me & you) just like any other business expense is passed along. So I want you to think about this for a second - if there were 100 customers that visited the same store that I did yesterday, and all 100 of them received a 3 foot receipt, that is 300 feet of receipt paper from just one store! Now think about how many stores are in Evansville, alone. Now the country... That is a lot of wasted paper! And a lot of additional expense passed on to the consumer.

Again, I understand the premise of what the folks at CVS are trying to do, but is this really the right way to do it? Why not offer these coupons and incentives online through an account with my "Extra Care Card?" Then I can print off the coupons that I want to use, and not be stuck with a receipt a kajillion miles long. Or even better than printing them myself, make them available digitally so that I can simply show them on my smartphone!