The retailer hopes to use the feature to collect information on what shoppers are buying, that way it can provide suggested items for their shopping list and offers personalized to their shopping history.
"We view this as a platform," Gibu Thomas, Walmart's senior vice president of mobile and digital media said. "It will produce a fire hose of transactional data."
When a customer checks out at one of Walmart's stores, they will be prompted to enter their mobile phone number on the debit card reader. If they choose the e-receipt option a receipt will be sent to their phone. If they have an account with Walmart, those purchases will be synced with the mobile app. They can also scan a QR code on print receipts to add them to the app.
