PEP system still in the 80s

My ex husband and I co parent and when he buys things he doesn’t give the receipt. He bought school uniform and I needed to exchange the shoes because they are one size smaller. We are both in two different provinces. I went to the store to exchange they asked for a receipt. I asked him to send me the receipt and he did but the girls at the store wanted a physical one. The receipt has the barcode and all the information which I believe could have been punched in and the information would have appeared. I was turned back and was told to take the shoes to the other province to change them then send them back to kzn where I am based. I called the customer care line and they also told me the same *******. This is ridiculous. Doesn’t your system keep the receipts on a cloud. This is so stupid, I can’t believe I couldn’t do an exchange with the proof of purchase on my phone but not physical. Backward *********** service