Blackburn: NOUMI founder takes concept to EG Group

Shakir Lincoln founded NOUMI Digital Receipts based on an idea he had in 2019 to develop a new app that would allow customers to receive their receipts seamlessly and digitally.

Now he has taken this to the next level by taking his proof of concept to Blackburn-based EG Group and is planning to expand the concept to incorporate AI and a rewards system.

Mr Lincoln said: “It really was a very valuable proof of concept meeting with EG and we came away having learned a lot.”

He added: “Everything is centred around the digital receipt but with AI implementation it can also give retailers instant analytics about what customers want while also helping to take away real man hours worth of work that those retailers have to do.”

The app and chip and pin at work (Image: Newsquest)

So far the company has already scored major successes, teaming up with app development company APADAMI and securing a proof of concept with Londis, who run 7,000 UK stores.

Speaking from his offices in Preston, Mr Lincoln said he had been discussing the app with EG Group and other major retailers.

He said that EG Group’s support had been “priceless” and that he wanted to thank them for their support.

Development began in 2020, followed by a quick expansion thanks to backing from Preston based Angel Investors.

Mr Lincoln explained that for customers the app would work by giving them a simple and seamless way of downloading their receipts by tapping their phones on point of sale devices.

The device could soon be seen in shops all around the country (Image: Newsquest)

This would allow them to keep all their receipts in one place while also allowing them to access special offers and to be entered in for prizes.

The receipts will also be sorted into different categories, such as groceries, making them easier to store, keep track of, and gain access to later.

NOUMI is also intended to work in future as a payments app and to incorporate loyalty and rewards schemes, with push notifications and event reminders.

For retailers, the app would allow them to analyse customers’ spending habits giving them better insights into people’s needs and how to meet them.

But the removal of paper receipts would also have a wide-ranging impact on the environment, Mr Lincoln said.

Using the example of Blackburn’s Beehive service station, he said that paper receipts amounted to a staggering 454KG of waste being created every year, the equivalent of ten trees being felled.

This means that 500 stores across the country with a similar footfall would equate to around 419 trees being cut down every year.

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Around £300billion traditional paper receipts are estimated to be produced in the UK every year.

But Mr Lincoln said this was likely to worsen given “dramatic” changes in shopping habits and the declining use of cash meaning that more and more receipts are likely to be needed.

The solution, he said, was his “super app” which has already garnered interest from international companies as far afield as Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

NOUMI has already been nominated for awards at Prolific North, in the Innovation of the Year category, and at the Grocer Gold Awards.