INDIANAPOLIS - Receipts are going digital. More retailers are ditching paper receipts for the more environmentally friendly and inexpensive method of email, the Indianapolis Star reports.

Nordstrom offers paperless receipts, so does Gap and Apple. Finish Line and Vera Bradley have begun pilot programs on emailed receipts. Even smaller companies are seeing the benefits to forgoing paper.

"It does a lot of different things," said Colin Johnson, Nordstrom spokesman. "If they (customers) prefer to save paper, they can get it electronically. If they want to save some time, it can do that."

But some see paperless receipts as a chance for retailers to get customer email addresses. "It's a subtle way of saying, 'How can I invade your personal life but not offend you at the same time?' I've got to give them credit ?" it's a pretty ingenious act," said Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group.

Paperless receipts piggybacks on the trend of merchants to connect with consumers on their computers and smartphones. Consumers already can sign up to receive emails and texts about deals.

Retailers are using email receipts to also extend offers or discounts to consumers for future purchases, much like paper receipts do already. Merchants are embracing digital receipts quickly, with more offering the service and others testing programs for sending them to customers.

"It's how things are moving," said Colleen Dobbs, owner if Three Days in Paris. "I think you'll pretty much have to. I think the consumer will expect it, and it will just become the standard."