U.S. patent application number 13/437706 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-27 for retail system for selling products based on a flexible product description.
Invention is credited to Keith Bemer, Andrew P. Golden, James A. Jorasch, Peter Kim, Magdalena Mik, Raymod J. Mueller, Russell Pratt Sammon, Daniel E. Tedesco, Kathleen Van Luchene, Jay S. Walker.
Application Number | 20120330771 13/437706 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26861393 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120330771 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Walker; Jay S. ; et
al. |
December 27, 2012 |
RETAIL SYSTEM FOR SELLING PRODUCTS BASED ON A FLEXIBLE PRODUCT
DESCRIPTION
Abstract
According to one described embodiment, a method is provided in
which transaction information is determined. The transaction
information is associated with (i) a buyer who has arranged to
purchase a product from a central controller at a first price
established between the buyer and the central controller and (ii) a
merchant that offers the product for sale at a second price,
different from the first price, without offering the product for
sale to buyers at the first price. Information is transmitted that
facilitates the acquisition of the product by the buyer, in
exchange for payment provided by the buyer to the central
controller. An amount based on the second price is provided to the
merchant.
Inventors: |
Walker; Jay S.; (Ridgefield,
CT) ; Kim; Peter; (Stamford, CT) ; Jorasch;
James A.; (Stamford, CT) ; Mik; Magdalena;
(Greenwich, CT) ; Tedesco; Daniel E.; (North
Westport, CT) ; Sammon; Russell Pratt; (Stamford,
CT) ; Golden; Andrew P.; (New York, NY) ;
Mueller; Raymod J.; (Weston, CT) ; Bemer; Keith;
(New York, NY) ; Van Luchene; Kathleen; (Norwalk,
CT) |
Family ID: |
26861393 |
Appl. No.: |
13/437706 |
Filed: |
April 2, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11746714 |
May 10, 2007 |
8150735 |
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13437706 |
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09540035 |
Mar 31, 2000 |
7711604 |
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11746714 |
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08889503 |
Jul 8, 1997 |
6249772 |
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09540035 |
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08997170 |
Dec 22, 1997 |
6356878 |
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08889503 |
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09220191 |
Dec 23, 1998 |
7386508 |
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08997170 |
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09337906 |
Jun 22, 1999 |
6754636 |
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09220191 |
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09359265 |
Jul 22, 1999 |
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09337906 |
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09388723 |
Sep 2, 1999 |
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09359265 |
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60165435 |
Nov 15, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0208 20130101;
G06Q 40/12 20131203; G06Q 20/204 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 30/0283 20130101; G06Q 30/0621
20130101; G06Q 30/0222 20130101; G06Q 30/0613 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.1 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20120101
G06Q030/06 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: determining transaction information
associated with (i) a buyer who has arranged to purchase a product
from a central controller at a first price established between the
buyer and the central controller and (ii) a merchant that offers
the product for sale at a second price, different from the first
price, without offering the product for sale to buyers at the first
price; transmitting information that facilitates the acquisition of
the product, by the buyer, from the merchant, in exchange for
payment provided by the buyer, to the central controller, of an
amount based on the first price; and providing an amount based on
the second price to the merchant.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/746,714, filed May 10, 2007 entitled
"Retail System For Selling Products Based On A Flexible
Description," (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,735) which is a
divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/540,035 filed
Mar. 31, 2000 entitled "Retail System For Selling Products Based On
A Flexible Description" (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,604), which
claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
60/165,435, filed Nov. 15, 1999 entitled "Uniseller Internet
Pricing".
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/540,035 is also a
continuation-in-part for each of the following U.S. patent
applications:
[0003] (i) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/889,503, filed Jul.
8, 1997 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,772 on Jun. 19, 2001
entitled "Systems and Methods Wherein a Buyer Purchases a Product
at a First Price and Acquires the Product from a Merchant that
Offers the Product for Sale at a Second Price";
[0004] (ii) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/997,170, filed Dec.
22, 1997 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,878 on Mar. 12, 2002
entitled "Conditional Purchase Offer Buyer Agency System";
[0005] (iii) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/220,191, filed
Dec. 23, 1998 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,386,508 on Jun. 10,
2008 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Facilitating a Transaction
Between a Buyer and One Seller";
[0006] (iv) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/337,906, filed Jun.
22, 1999 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,754,636 on Jun. 22, 2004
entitled "Purchasing Systems and Methods Wherein a Buyer Takes
Possession at a Retailer of a Product Purchased Using a
Communication Network";
[0007] (v) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/359,265, filed Jul.
22, 1999 entitled "System and Method for Facilitating and Managing
the Sale of Customized Travel Product Restrictions"; and
[0008] (vi) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/388,723, filed Sep.
2, 1999 and now abandoned entitled "Purchasing Systems and Methods
Wherein a Buyer Takes Possession at a Retailer of a Product
Purchased Using a Communication Network".
[0009] Each of the above-referenced applications, including U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/746,714 (issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,150,735), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/540,035 (issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,604), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
60/165,435, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/889,503 (issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,772), U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/997,170 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,878), U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/220,191 (issued as U.S. Pat. No.
7,386,508), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/337,906 (issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 6,754,636), U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/359,265, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/388,723, is
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention relates to systems for selling
products to customers. More specifically, the present invention
relates to a system for selling a product to a customer based on a
flexible product description provided by the customer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0011] According to conventional retail pricing systems, a
particular product is offered to all potential customers for a
single price. Therefore, a conventional retailer endeavors to
determine an "optimal" single price for a product that will
generate more profit than any other single price.
[0012] Shortcomings exist even if a conventional retailer succeeds
in determining an "optimal" price. Specifically, profit generated
by sales at an "optimal" price will likely be less than a
theoretical maximum profit, because some customers will be willing
to pay more than the "optimal" price for the product. In this
regard, the theoretical maximum profit is a profit resulting from
charging each customer a maximum price he is willing to pay. Profit
may also fall short of the theoretical maximum because no profit
will be obtained from potential customers who are willing to pay
more than the retailer's cost for the product but are unwilling to
pay the "optimal" price. Due to these and other shortcomings,
retailers have experimented with alternative pricing systems
intended to generate a profit closer to the theoretical
maximum.
[0013] Individualized bargaining is one such alternative system. In
individualized bargaining, a retailer or a retailer's agent
individually negotiates with each potential customer in an attempt
to extract a highest price from each customer. However, associated
transaction costs incurred by the retailer increase in proportion
to the number of transactions. Accordingly, individualized
bargaining is not desirable for retailers having more than a few
customers, since the associated transaction costs would outweigh
any resulting increase in profit from sales.
[0014] In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a pricing system
for increasing a retailer's profit without incurring unacceptable
transaction costs.
[0015] Improvements are also needed in other types of conventional
pricing systems. For instance, conventional systems for discounting
prices create several problems for retailers. According to these
conventional systems, a retailer reduces a price of a product from
an original price to a lower, discounted price to achieve some
goal, such as reducing excess inventory of the product.
[0016] As described above with respect to retail pricing, some
customers who buy the product for the discounted price may have
been willing to buy the product for a higher price, and the
retailer therefore loses potential profit. Individualized
bargaining, as also described above, can be used to reduce these
effects. However, in a vast majority of situations, individualized
bargaining involves unacceptable transaction costs. Individualized
bargaining also fails to address other problems caused by
conventional discount pricing systems, such as price dilution and
brand dilution.
[0017] Generally, price dilution describes a situation in which a
reduction of a product's price decreases demand for the product at
a higher price. In more detail, discounting a price of a product
causes potential customers to believe that the discounted price is
the "correct" price of the product, and therefore the customers
become unwilling to accept any higher price for the product.
Accordingly, conventional discount pricing systems can negatively
affect future profits generated by a product.
[0018] Conventional discount pricing systems can also lead to brand
dilution. Brand dilution refers to a reduction in the prestige of a
brand in the minds of consumers. In this regard, conventional
publicized price discounts for a product of a particular brand tend
to reduce the amount of prestige that consumers attribute to the
brand. Since brand prestige, or "goodwill", is a valuable asset
vigorously protected by successful manufacturers (e.g., via
trademark protection), these manufacturers are reluctant to allow
retailers to discount prices for their products or to advertise the
discounted prices. As a result, it is difficult for retailers to
reduce excess inventory of these products.
[0019] Certain industries have attempted to address the foregoing
deficiencies in conventional pricing systems. For example, the
airline industry attempts to set prices for airline tickets based
on speculated demand of individual customers. In this regard, each
customer is categorized as a leisure traveler or a business
traveler based on when a ticket is purchased. For example, a
customer who buys a ticket for a flight more than twenty-one days
before the flight is categorized as a leisure traveler and a
customer who buys a ticket less than twenty-one days before the
flight is categorized as a business traveler. Tickets for the
flights are priced according to the categorization--lower prices
for leisure travelers and higher prices for business travelers.
[0020] In view of the foregoing, two customers who submit identical
itineraries to a travel agent may pay vastly different prices for
tickets to identical flights, if the tickets are bought at
different times. Such a result is perceived as unfair by customers.
Moreover, a business traveler who purchases a ticket to a flight
more than twenty-one days before a flight is categorized as a
leisure traveler and therefore pays much less than she is willing
to pay, resulting in lost revenue to the airline providing the
flight. Accordingly, airline pricing fails to adequately address
the deficiencies in conventional pricing systems.
[0021] Accordingly, what is also needed is a system for discounting
prices which reduces price dilution and brand dilution, and which
is perceived as fair to customers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] In consideration of the above needs, Applicants have
discovered that customer demand for a product can be approximately
quantified based on a customer's specification of desired product
values. Applicants have also discovered that retailers are willing
to reduce prices in return for customer flexibility in sale terms.
In addition, Applicants have invented a system to use these
discoveries to efficiently charge different prices to different
customers in order to optimize profits while being fair to
customers, and to discount prices while minimizing losses, price
dilution, brand dilution and perceived unfairness.
[0023] The present invention addresses the foregoing by providing,
in one aspect, a system in which a sale price is determined based
on a product description, and the sale price is transmitted to a
customer. In addition, no specific product is identified to the
customer as a particular product that will be sold to the customer
before an agreement to purchase a product for the sale price is
received from the customer. Accordingly, the customer is not
guaranteed what specific product will be purchased before an
agreement to purchase a product for the sale price is received from
the customer.
[0024] It should be understood that the customer will agree to the
purchase if the customer is willing to accept, in return for the
sale price, any product conforming to the product description. Both
the customer and retailer benefit as a result of the foregoing
system. The customer can receive lower prices in exchange for
flexible description parameters and may also receive discounts that
would normally not be advertised to the general public for fear of
price and brand dilution. The retailer is able to evaluate a
customer's individual demand based on the received description and
determine a sale price accordingly, thereby reducing losses
associated with the single-price systems described in the
background. Although the inventive system may result in the sale of
a product to two different customers for two different sale prices,
the system is perceived as fair by both customers because a
higher-paying customer likely agreed to a less flexible product
description than a lower-paying customer, and neither customer
would have agreed to the other's product description and sale
price. The product descriptions received from customers also allow
a retailer to determine what condition values are important to
customers and to purchase and price regular inventory
accordingly.
[0025] In addition, the foregoing features allow a retailer to mask
product discounts. For example, a retailer may wish to reduce
inventory of a product by selling the product at a discounted
price. To mask the discount, the retailer chooses undesirable
purchase terms under which to sell the product, such as pickup at a
faraway location, even if the product is available at a closer
location. As a result, the customer believes that the discount is
attributable to the undesirable terms, rather than to the product
quality or to decreased demand. Accordingly, price and brand
dilution are minimized. In other embodiments, a product description
is determined based on a sale price. According to some of these
embodiments, a retailer receives a first sale price from a first
customer, determines a first product description based on the first
sale price, and transmits the first product description to the
first customer. Similarly, the retailer receives a second sale
price from a second customer which is lower than the first sale
price, determines a second product description based on the second
sale price, and transmits the second product description to the
second customer. If a product exists which conforms to both the
first product description and the second product description, the
retailer may sell the product to the first customer for the first
sale price and to the second customer for the second sale price.
Even though the two customers pay different sale prices for the
same product, the two customers will likely perceive the system as
fair because each is agreeing to a different product description
corresponding to their sale price. In this regard, the retailer may
determine and transmit a broad product description based on the
lower second sale price to give the second customer an impression
that the product was sold for the second sale price only because
the second customer agreed to a broad product description. This
latter method is intended to mask any discount reflected by the
lower sale price, thereby reducing perceived unfairness and
allowing a retailer to sell a product at a discounted price while
minimizing price and brand dilution.
[0026] The present invention also addresses the problems discussed
above by providing, in one aspect, a system in which a product
description is received and a product is selected, with a sale
price of a particular selected product being a first sale price if
the description is a first description and being a second sale
price if the description is a second description.
[0027] The foregoing aspect provides a system by which a same
product may be sold to different customers for different prices.
Such pricing may be desirable if a product description received
from one customer indicates a greater demand for a particular
product than a product description received from another customer.
It should be, noted that, in contrast to the airline pricing
systems discussed in the background, a system according to this
aspect is perceived as fair because different product descriptions
are received from each customer, and because each customer would
likely not have been willing to purchase a product conforming to
the other customer's description for the other customer's sale
price.
[0028] With these and other advantages and features of the
invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the
invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the
following detailed description of the invention, the appended
claims and to the several drawings attached hereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a retail system in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the retail system controller of
FIG. 1;
[0031] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the customer device of FIG.
1;
[0032] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate sample tables of the transaction
database of FIG. 2;
[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates a sample table of the customer database
of FIG. 2;
[0034] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate sample tables of the flexibility
database of FIG. 2;
[0035] FIGS. 7 A to 7D illustrate sample tables of the product
pricing database of FIG. 2;
[0036] FIG. 8 illustrates a sample table of the product description
database of FIG. 2;
[0037] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate sample tables of the retailer
database of FIG. 2;
[0038] FIG. 10 illustrates a sample table of the product database
of FIG. 2;
[0039] FIG. 11 illustrates a sample table of the purchase terms
database of FIG. 2;
[0040] FIG. 12 illustrates a sample table of a redemption database
according to one embodiment of the invention;
[0041] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps of a
sales transaction according to an embodiment in which a product
description is received from a customer;
[0042] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps to
determine a sale price based on a product description according to
one embodiment of the invention;
[0043] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps to
determine a sale price based on a product description according to
one embodiment of the invention;
[0044] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps to
select a product conforming to a product description according to
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0045] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps to
process a product redemption according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0046] FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps of a
sales transaction according to an embodiment in which a sale price
is received from a customer;
[0047] FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps to
determine a product description based on a sale price according to
one embodiment of the invention; and
[0048] FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps of a
sales transaction according to an embodiment in which a product
description and a sale price are transmitted to a customer.
[0049] FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating process steps of a
transaction for the sale of airline tickets according to one
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0050] To ensure clarity of the following detailed description, set
forth below are definitions of terms used herein. The scope of the
present invention is not to be deemed limited by the
definitions.
[0051] Condition: a category of values which are descriptive of a
product (see definition below) and/or a transaction. Examples
include Manufacturer, Features, and Pickup Location.
[0052] Condition value: a specific value corresponding to a
condition. Using the above examples of conditions, corresponding
condition values may be "Sony", "27 in.", and "New York".
[0053] Conforming product: a specific product deemed to meet the
requirements of a product description or a sale price.
[0054] Customer: any person, group of people, or other entity that
patronizes a retailer (see definition below) and who purchases
products from the retailer.
[0055] Mutually-exclusive condition: a condition, such as
Manufacturer, for which a conforming product possesses only one
condition value. In order for a product to conform to a product
description, the product must include only one condition value for
each mutually-exclusive condition in the product description.
Therefore, when mutually exclusive condition values are added to a
product description, a number of products conforming to the product
description usually increases.
[0056] Mutually-inclusive condition: a condition, such as Features,
for which a conforming product may contain more than one condition
value. In order for a product to conform to a product description,
the product must include each mutually-inclusive condition value in
the product description. Therefore, when mutually-inclusive
condition values are added to a product description, a number of
products conforming to the product description usually
decreases.
[0057] Product: a specific good or service, usually identified by a
make and model number. Identical products sold by a retailer may be
assigned an identical product identifier such as a Uniform Product
Code ("UPC") or Stock Keeping Unit ("SKU"), while different
products are usually assigned different product identifiers.
[0058] Product category: a classification of a product, or the
general type of product a customer desires. Examples include
Standard Television, Home Computer, and Airline Ticket.
[0059] Product description: a set of condition values that
describes a product (see Product-specific condition) and may also
describe a sales transaction (see Transaction-specific
condition).
[0060] Product-specific condition: a condition relating to a
product, e.g. Manufacturer, Features, etc. Contrast with
Transaction-specific condition, defined below.
[0061] Purchase terms: Sale-related terms which are accepted by a
customer. Purchase terms may comprise a product description, a sale
price, and a retailer's agreement to sell a product conforming to
the product description for the sale price.
[0062] Redemption information: Information specifying a specific
product to be sold and information relating to the mechanics of a
sales transaction, such as payment method, pickup location, and
time of redemption.
[0063] Retailer: any person, group of persons, or entity that
provides the sale of products to customers. Examples include a
manufacturer, an online store, a traditional "brick-and-mortar"
store, a sales broker, and an online "storefront" selling products
offered by traditional stores.
[0064] Retailer data: data accessible by or on behalf of a retailer
which can be used to determine sale prices based on received
product descriptions, product descriptions based on received sale
prices, and/or whether to encourage sales of particular products.
Retailer data may include sales data, inventory data, demand data
or subsidy data.
[0065] Sale Price: a price for which a product is sold to a
customer. A sale price according to the invention is often less
than a retail price, which is a price for which a product is sold
through conventional channels.
[0066] Transaction-specific condition: a condition relating to
details of a sales transaction, e.g. Pickup Location, Pickup Date,
Payment Method, etc.
System
[0067] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a retail system in accordance
with one aspect of the present invention. As shown, a retail system
100 according to embodiments of the present invention includes a
retail system controller 200 that is in communication with customer
devices 220, 230 and 240 through a communication network 210. The
communication network 210 may be a Local Area Network or a Wide
Area Network to which the controller 200 and the customer devices
220, 230 and 240 are connected. Other examples of networks usable
in the present invention include a satellite-based network, a
cellular network, an RF network, a telephone network, a cable
television network, a bulletin-board system, or any other network
for transferring data between locations. Also, even though the
communication network 210 is illustrated as an intermediary between
the retail system controller 200 and the customer devices 220, 230
and 240, it should be noted that direct connections may also exist
between the controller 200 and the customer devices 220, 230 and
240.
[0068] In a case that communication network 210 is the World Wide
Web ("Web"), the retail system controller 200 may include a Web
server for receiving requests for Web pages (documents on the Web
that typically include an HTML file and associated graphics and
script files), for generating Web pages, and for transmitting Web
pages over the Web. The Web server allows communication between the
retail system controller 200 and the Web (communication network
210) in a manner known in the art.
[0069] Each of the customer devices 220, 230 and 240 may comprise
computers, such as those based on the Intel.RTM. Pentium.RTM.
processor, that are adapted to communicate with the controller 200
over the communication network 210. Each of the customer devices
220, 230 and 240 may also comprise a portable computer, a dedicated
terminal, an Internet kiosk, a Personal Digital Assistant, a pager,
a cellular phone, a pay phone, a video game console, an Automated
Teller Machine, a slot machine, a watch, a vending machine, or any
other device capable of receiving and transmitting data over the
communication network 210. For example, in a case that the
communication network 210 is the Web, each of the customer devices
220, 230 and 240 may execute a Web browser application for
requesting, receiving, and reviewing Web pages. Any number of
customer devices may be in communication with the communication
network 210 and the controller 200.
[0070] Those skilled in the art will understand that devices in
communication with each other need not be continually transmitting
to each other. On the contrary, such devices need only transmit to
each other as necessary, and may actually refrain from exchanging
data most of the time. For example, a device in communication with
another device via the Web may not transmit data to the other
device for weeks at a time.
Devices
[0071] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the controller 200. The
controller 200 may be implemented as a system controller, a
dedicated hardware circuit, an appropriately programmed general
purpose computer, or any other equivalent electronic, mechanical or
electro-mechanical device.
[0072] The controller 200 of FIG. 2 comprises a processor 250, such
as one or more Intel.RTM. Pentium.RTM. processors. The processor
250 is coupled to a communication port 260 through which the
controller 200 communicates with other devices, such as the
customer devices 220, 230 and 240, through communication network
210. The controller 200 may also communicate with locally attached
devices through the communication port 260. Accordingly, the
communication port 260 may be adapted to communicate using
protocols supported by the communication network 210 and the
locally attached devices.
[0073] Also connected to the processor 250 are an input device 270
and a display 280. The input device 270 can be any device for
inputting data, such as a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, a
voice input device, an infrared port, or the like. The input device
270 can be used by a retailer to enter data for use by the
controller 200 in accordance with the invention. Of course, data
may also be input to the controller 200 by a retailer using a
device connected directly to the controller 200 or to the
communication network 210. The display 280 is used to display
graphics and text and may be a CRT computer monitor, a flat-panel
display or another display device.
[0074] The processor 250 is also in communication with a data
storage device 290. The data storage device 290 is generally a data
memory and may include any appropriate combination of magnetic,
optical and/or semiconductor memory. The data storage device 290
may also include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM),
Read-Only Memory (ROM), a compact disc and/or a hard disk.
Furthermore, the storage device 290 and the other elements of FIG.
2 may each be, for example: (i) located entirely within a single
computer or other computing device; or (ii) connected to each other
by a remote communication medium, such as a serial port cable,
telephone line or radio frequency transceiver. In one embodiment,
the controller 200 comprises one or more computers that are
connected to a remote server computer for maintaining
databases.
[0075] The data storage device 290 stores a program 300 of
processor-executable process steps for basic operation of the
controller 200. The processor 250 executes the process steps of the
program 300 and thereby operates in accordance with the present
invention, and particularly in accordance with the methods
described in detail herein. The program 300 may be stored in a
compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. The process steps
of the program 300 can be stored in the storage device 290 during
manufacture of the storage device 290, can be downloaded from a
compact disc or other computer-readable medium, or can be retrieved
from a remote or local source via the communication port 260 in the
form of a signal having the process steps encoded thereon.
[0076] The data storage device 290 also stores processor-executable
process steps for basic operation of the controller 200, such as
the process steps of an operating system, a database management
system and "device drivers" for allowing the controller 200 to
interface with computer peripheral devices. These latter process
steps are known to those skilled in the art, and need not be
described in detail herein.
[0077] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the
steps of the program 300 are transferred from the data storage
device 290 into a main memory, such as a RAM, and executed
therefrom by the processor 250. In alternative embodiments,
hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination
with, processor-executable software process steps for
implementation of the processes of the present invention. Thus,
embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any
specific combination of hardware and software. Moreover, steps
performed in accordance with the invention may be allocated between
the controller 200 and the customer devices 220, 230 and 240.
[0078] The storage device 290 also stores (i) an offer database
400, (ii) a customer database 500; (iii) a flexibility database
600, (iv) a product pricing database 700, (v) a product description
database 800, (vi) a retailer data database 900, (vii) a product
database 1000, (viii) a purchase terms database 1100, and (ix) a
redemption database 1200. The databases 400 to 1200 are described
in detail below and depicted with sample entries in the
accompanying figures. In this regard, and as will be understood by
those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations and
accompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein are
merely intended to demonstrate operable and preferred systems for
associating and storing information. A number of other data
structures may be employed besides those suggested by the tables
shown. For example, rather than using database tables as described
herein, the present invention may be implemented using only
rules-based methods or a combination of database tables and
rules-based methods. Similarly, the illustrated entries of the
databases represent sample information only; those skilled in the
art will understand that the number and content of the entries can
be different from those illustrated herein.
[0079] FIG. 3 illustrates several elements of the customer device
220 according to one embodiment of the invention. In this
embodiment, the customer device 220 is used to input data and
instructions to the retail system controller 200, and to present
data from the retail system controller 200 to a customer. As shown,
the customer device 220 includes a processor 221, such as an
Intel.RTM. Pentium.RTM. processor or the like, connected to a
communication port 222. The communication port 222 transmits data
to and receives data from external devices such as a printer,
scanner, or the like, and therefore supports communication
protocols used by the external devices. Also connected to the
processor 221 is an input device 223 for receiving data from a
customer and a display 224 for presenting data to the customer. The
input device 223 and the display 224 can be any of the input
devices or displays discussed above.
[0080] A storage device 225 is connected to the processor 221, and
stores data and processor-executable process steps for the
operation of the customer device 220. For example, the storage
device 225 stores data and process steps of an operating system 226
which controls the operation of the customer device 220. Also
stored in the storage device 225 are processor-executable process
steps of a Web browser 227, which can be executed by the processor
221 to provide communication between a customer device 220 and the
retail system controller 200 through the Web. Of course, depending
on the nature of the connections between the customer device 220,
the communication network 210, and the controller 200, other known
applications or hardware may be needed for the customer device 220
to communicate with the retail system controller 200.
Databases
Offer Database
[0081] FIG. 4A illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the offer database 400 according to one embodiment of the present
invention. The offer database 400 stores data relating to offers
submitted by customers to the retail system controller 200. The
tabular representation includes a number of sample records each
including details of an offer consisting of a customer-input
product description. Those skilled in the art will understand that
the database 400 may include any number of records. In the tabular
representation shown, the database 400 includes fields associated
with each of the records. The fields specify: (i) an offer
identifier 402 that uniquely identifies a particular record; (ii) a
customer identifier 404 that uniquely identifies the customer from
whom a product description contained in the record was received;
(iii) a Manufacturer 406 (if any) specified in the received product
description; (iv) Features 408 (if any) specified in the received
product description; (v) Pickup Locations 410 (if any) specified in
the received
[0082] product description; (vi) Product States (if any) 412
specified in the received product description; and (vii) an offer
status 414 of an offer represented by the record. Usage of the data
stored in the offer database 400 will be discussed in detail
below.
[0083] FIG. 4B illustrates a tabular representation of the offer
database 400 according to another embodiment of the present
invention. In this embodiment, a customer initiates a transaction
by submitting a sale price and is thereafter presented with a
product description based on the sale price. The tabular
representation includes several records, each of which represents a
single offer and contains several fields. Specifically, each record
contains the offer identifier 402, the customer identifier 404, and
the status 414 as described above, as well as an offered price 416.
The offered price 416 associated with a particular record is the
sale price submitted by the customer to initiate the offer
represented by the record. Operation of the embodiment reflected in
FIG. 4B is described below in conjunction with FIGS. 18 and 19.
Customer Database
[0084] FIG. 5 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the customer database 500 stored in the storage device 290. The
tabular representation includes a number of sample records and
fields for each of the records. The fields specify: (i) a customer
identifier 502; (ii) a customer name 504; customer contact
information 506; and (iv) a payment identifier 508.
[0085] For each record in the customer database 500, the customer
identifier 502 identifies a customer to whom data in the record
correspond. In one embodiment, the customer identifier 502 serves
as a link between the data in the databases used in the invention.
For example, a customer identifier 404 in the offer database 400
identifies a same customer as an identical customer identifier 502
in the customer database 500.
[0086] The first name and last name of a customer are stored as the
customer name 504, and contact information provided by the customer
is stored as customer contact information 506. The contact
information may include one or more of a street address, an e-mail
address, a telephone number, a facsimile number, a pager number, or
any other information using which a customer can be contacted.
[0087] The payment identifier 508 of a record includes information
that can be used to charge a sale price to and/or extract payment
from a customer. The tabular representation shown in FIG. 5
includes credit card numbers as example payment identifiers 508. In
a case that a payment identifier 508 is used only to charge a sale
price to a customer, the payment identifier 508 need not be
maintained after the sale price has been charged. Accordingly, for
security reasons, it may be desirable to delete the payment
identifier 508 from the customer database 500 after a sale price
has been charged to the customer and to substitute a payment
identifier 508 such as "PAID".
Flexibility Database
[0088] FIG. 6A illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the flexibility database 600 according to an embodiment in which a
flexibility score is determined based on a product description and
a sale price is determined based on the flexibility score. Specific
details of the operation of this embodiment will be described in
detail below.
[0089] The flexibility database 600 as shown in FIG. 6A includes
data grouped according to a particular product category. For each
product category, conditions 610 and corresponding flexibility
points 620 are stored. Generally, and as will be described below,
the flexibility database 600 is used to determine a flexibility
score based on condition values in a product description. For
example, using the tabular representation of FIG. 6A, each
Manufacturer value specified in a product description adds ten
points to a flexibility score. The points are added because each
additional Manufacturer value in a product description may increase
a number of conforming products that can be selected by a retailer,
and therefore may increase a retailer's flexibility in selecting a
product to sell. On the other hand, each Feature value in a product
description reduces a flexibility score by five points, since each
Feature value added to a product description likely reduces a
number of conforming products. More generally, positive flexibility
points 620 are associated with mutually-exclusive conditions 610
and negative flexibility points 620 are associated with
mutually-inclusive conditions 610. It should be noted that the
flexibility database 600 may include additional conditions 610 and
corresponding flexibility points 620, as well as conditions 610 and
corresponding flexibility points 620 for additional product
categories.
[0090] FIG. 6B illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the flexibility database 600 according to another embodiment of the
invention. In this embodiment, a condition value 630 for a product
category is associated with a number of flexibility points 640 and
a weighting factor 650. A weighting factor 650 determines an effect
that an associated condition value 630 has on a determined sale
price. Usage of weighting factors 650 will be described below with
respect to FIG. 14.
[0091] As described with respect to FIG. 6A, the data shown in FIG.
6B are used to determine a flexibility score of a product
description, which in turn is used to determine a sale price. As
also described, the flexibility database 600 of FIG. 6B may include
additional condition values 620, flexibility points 640, and
weighting factors 650 for the Standard TV product category and for
additional product categories.
Product Pricing Database
[0092] Shown in FIG. 7 A is a tabular representation of a portion
of the product pricing database 700 according to one embodiment of
the invention. As shown, the tabular representation includes
several ranges of flexibility scores 710 and corresponding sale
prices 720 for a particular product category. Since the ranges of
flexibility scores 710 and corresponding sale prices 720 will
likely vary across product categories, a portion of the product
pricing database 700 such as that illustrated in FIG. 7 A exists
for each product category defined by a retailer.
[0093] The product pricing database 700 according to this
embodiment is used to determine a sale price based on a product
description flexibility score. For example, after reception of a
product description from a customer, a flexibility score is
determined using a flexibility database 600 such as that described
with respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B. Next, a score range 710 including
the determined flexibility score is located in a portion of the
product pricing database 700 corresponding to an appropriate
category, and a sale price 720 corresponding to the located score
range 710 is determined to be the sale price. A detailed
description of this process is set forth below.
[0094] FIG. 7B illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the product pricing database 700 according to another embodiment of
the invention. In contrast to the product pricing database 700 as
represented in FIG. 7 A, the FIG. 7B representation includes
percentage discount data 730 corresponding to each flexibility
score range 710. F or a given flexibility score of a product
description, corresponding percentage discount data 730 is
determined using the product pricing database 700 of FIG. 7B and is
applied to a specified price in order to determine a sale price.
Specifics of this embodiment are also described below. It should be
noted that the product pricing database 700 of FIG. 7B may include
data for additional product categories.
[0095] A representation of a portion of the product pricing
database 700 according to another embodiment is shown in FIG. 7C.
The FIG. 7C representation includes, for a particular product, sale
prices 740 corresponding to various ranges of flexibility scores
710. Of course, the product pricing database 700 of FIG. 7C may
include data for other products. Usage of the product pricing
database 700 according to FIG. 7C is described below. Generally, a
conforming product is selected based on a received product
description, a flexibility score corresponding to the product
description is calculated, and data of the product pricing database
700 of FIG. 7C which corresponds to the selected product is used to
determine a sale price. Accordingly, in contrast to the embodiments
reflected in FIGS. 7 A and 7B, products of a same product category
may be priced differently in response to a single product
description.
[0096] FIG. 7D illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the product pricing database 700 according to yet another
embodiment. According to this embodiment, which is described in
detail below, a product description is evaluated based on
predefined requirements to determine a percentage discount. The
percentage discount is then used to determine a sale price.
[0097] The tabular representation shown in FIG. 7D includes data
for a specific product category. A set of related condition 750,
requirement 760, and percentage discount data 770 is stored for the
specific category. Generally, each condition 750 is associated with
any number of requirements 760, with each requirement corresponding
to a percentage discount 770. For example, according to the first
record in the illustrated table, a 0% discount corresponds to a
product description including only one Manufacturer value. Of
course, the product pricing database 700 as shown in FIG. 7D
includes additional data for the Standard TV product category and
data for other product categories.
[0098] Although the FIGS. 7 A to 7D databases associated a greater
flexibility with a higher flexibility score, it should be noted
that a greater flexibility may be represented by 5 a lower
flexibility score. Of course, the discounts and/or prices
associated with flexibility scores in the illustrated databases
would be altered accordingly.
Product Description Database
[0099] FIG. 8 shows a tabular representation of a portion of the
product description database 800 according to one embodiment of the
present invention. The product description database 800 is used in
embodiments in which a customer inputs a sale price and is
presented with a corresponding product description. The product
description database 800 may include additional data to that shown
in FIG. 8 and data for additional product categories.
[0100] The tabular representation includes, for a product category,
several ranges of product discounts 810 and description broadening
rules 820 corresponding to each range. In one contemplated use, an
input sale price is compared to an average retail price of an input
product category in order to calculate a percentage discount
reflected by the input sale price. Description broadening rules 820
corresponding to the percentage discount are identified and used to
create a product description. For example, using the data shown in
FIG. 8, if the received sale price reflects a fifteen percent
discount off the average retail price, a product description is
created specifying two manufacturers, two guaranteed features and
two pickup locations. Advantages, variations and further details of
the above process will be set forth in the following
discussion.
[0101] The product description database 800 may also be used to
determine a sale price based on a received product description. In
this regard, a rule 820 most closely fitting an input product
description is identified, and a discount 810 associated with the
identified rule is applied to a specified price to determine a sale
price corresponding to the product description.
Retailer Data Database
[0102] FIG. 9A illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of
the retailer data database 900 according to one embodiment of the
invention. The illustrated portion stores information concerning
products within a single product category. The tabular
representation includes several records, each comprising several
fields. The fields specify: (i) a manufacturer 902; (ii) current
inventory 904; (iii) forecasted current inventory 906; and (iv) a
current/forecasted inventory ratio 908.
[0103] The manufacturer 902 of a record indicates a product
manufacturer, the current inventory 904 represents a number of
products in current inventory produced by the manufacturer, and the
forecasted current inventory 906 represents a forecasted current
amount of inventory produced by the manufacturer. The
current/forecasted ratio 908 for a particular record reflects the
current inventory 904 of the record divided by the forecasted
inventory 906, and is used in one embodiment, described in detail
below, to determine weighting factors 650 of the flexibility
database 600 as represented in FIG. 6B. It should be noted that
additional retailer data for the Standard TV product category and
for other product categories can be included in the retailer
database 900.
[0104] Another tabular representation of a portion of the retailer
data database 900 is illustrated in FIG. 9B. The data within the
tabular representation are similar to that shown in FIG. 9A, except
that instead of each record being directed to a particular
manufacturer 902, each record is directed to a particular product
identified by a product identifier 910. In an embodiment to be
described below, current/forecasted ratios 908 of FIG. 9B are used
to determine which of two conforming products should be selected by
the retail system controller 200 to fill a customer-accepted offer.
Of course, data for additional products may be contained in the
retailer database 900 of FIG. 9B.
Product Database
[0105] A portion of the product database 1000 is represented in a
tabular form in FIG. 10. Each record in the tabular representation
represents one product, and comprises: (i) a product identifier
1002; (ii) a manufacturer 1004; (iii) features 1006; (iv) pickup
locations 1008; (v) product states 1010; (vi) a minimum acceptable
price 1012; and (vii) a retail price 1014.
[0106] For each record, the product identifier 1002 identifies a
particular product available from a retailer. In one embodiment,
the product identifier 1002 for a product is identical to a product
identifier 910 used in the retailer data database 900 to identify
the same product. The manufacturer 1004 identifies the manufacturer
of the particular product, the features 1006 identify the features
of the particular product, the pickup locations 1008 identify
locations at which the product is available, and the product states
1010 identify physical states, such as new or used, in which the
particular product is available. The minimum acceptable price 1012
indicates a minimum price at which the retail system controller 200
is permitted to sell the product, and the retail price 1014
specifies the price of the product when sold through conventional
channels. Other types of data, as well as data for products other
than those shown, may be included in the product database 1000.
Purchase Terms Database
[0107] FIG. 11 shows a tabular representation of the purchase terms
database 1100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The
data shown in FIG. 11 are sample data, and are not intended to
reflect a complete database 1100. The tabular representation
comprises several records, each of which includes (i) a purchase
terms identifier 1102; (ii) an offer identifier 1104; and (iii)
generated purchase terms 1106. The purchase terms identifier 1102
identifies a particular record in the database 1100. In other
embodiments, the purchase terms database 1100 also includes a
product identifier identifying a product to be sold to the
customer. The offer identifier 1104 identifies a particular offer
initiated by a customer-input product description or price, and can
be used to reference related data associated with an identical
offer identifier 402 from the offer database 400.
[0108] The generated purchase terms 1106 include terms generated by
the retail system controller 200 and accepted by the customer. For
example, in a case that a transaction was initiated by customer
input of a product description, the generated purchase terms 1106
would include a corresponding sale price generated by the
controller 200. On the other hand, if the transaction was initiated
by customer input of a sale price, the generated purchase terms
1106 would include a generated product description.
Redemption Database
[0109] FIG. 12 illustrates a portion of a tabular representation of
the redemption database 1200. The redemption database 1200 includes
several records containing associated fields. The fields specify:
(i) a redemption identifier 1202; (ii) a purchase terms identifier
1204; (iii) a product identifier 1206; (iv) redemption information
1208; and (v) a redemption status 1210. Upon receiving a redemption
identifier from a customer, the controller 200 locates an identical
redemption identifier 1202 in the database 1200. A purchase terms
identifier 1204 associated with the redemption identifier 1202 is
then used to retrieve associated data from the purchase terms
database 1100 needed to validate and process a redemption of the
product identified by the product identifier 1206. The redemption
information 1208 specifies details of a redemption such as
transaction-specific condition values under which a redemption must
take place, and the redemption status 1210 indicates a status of
the redemption identified by the record.
Processes
I. Retailer Determines a Sale Price Based on a Product
Description
[0110] FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram 1300 of process steps for
an embodiment of the present invention in which a customer inputs a
product description and receives a sale price in response. In an
embodiment where the controller 200 performs the process steps of
FIG. 13, the process steps may be embodied in hardware within the
controller 200, in processor-executable process steps stored on a
computer-readable medium such as the storage device 290 and
executed by the processor 250, in processor-executable process
steps encoded in an electronic signal received by the controller
200 and executed by the processor 250, or in any combination
thereof. It should be noted that each other flow diagram of process
steps described herein may be similarly embodied. In addition, the
particular arrangement of elements in the flow diagram 1300, as
well as the other flow diagrams discussed herein, is not meant to
imply a necessary order to the steps; embodiments of the present
invention can be practiced in many different orders.
[0111] The FIG. 13 process steps begin at step 1302, in which a
product description is received from a customer. In one embodiment,
a product category is also received with the product description.
The product description is a set of condition values describing a
desired product. For example, the product description "Sony",
"Magnavox", "Toshiba", "Picture-in-Picture", and "`New`", describes
both a new twenty-seven inch Magnavox television with
picture-in-picture as well as a new thirty-five inch Sony
television with picture-in-picture, digital comb filter, V-chip,
and surround sound features. It should be noted that a product
description may also include limiting condition values, such as "27
in. to 35 in.".
[0112] In one embodiment, a customer inputs the product description
prior to step 1302. For example, a customer using the customer
device 220 selects the product category Standard Television and
inputs the product description "Sony", "Magnavox", "Toshiba",
"Picture-in-Picture", and "New" using the input device 223 and the
display 224. In this regard, the interface provided by the customer
device 220 for input of the product description may present
retailer-defined conditions for which values are selected by the
customer using well-known graphical user interface elements such as
pull-down menus, check boxes, or radio buttons. Text-entry boxes
may also be provided for customer entry of condition values. The
product description may be input in any number of other ways
depending on the nature of the customer device 220, such as by
using voice recognition or character recognition, or from a
computer-readable medium storing a product description. In another
embodiment, the customer device 220 presents the customer with
several product descriptions, and the customer inputs a product
description prior to step 1302 by selecting one of the presented
product descriptions. It should be noted that the customer device
220 used to input the product description may be located within a
store operated by a retailer.
[0113] Returning to step 1302, the condition values of the received
product description are stored in appropriate fields of the offer
database 400 along with an offer identifier 402 generated to
identify the present offer and a customer identifier 404 that
identifies the customer. Also stored in association with the
product description is a status 414 of "Pending System".
[0114] In step 1304, a sale price is determined based on the
received product description. Several systems for determining the
sale price are discussed below with respect to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15;
these systems primarily use data stored in the flexibility database
600, the product pricing database 700, and the retailer data
database 900. After the sale price is determined, the sale price is
transmitted to the customer in step 1306. Accordingly, the
associated status 414 is updated to "Pending Customer" to reflect
that the system is awaiting acceptance or rejection of the sale
price.
[0115] In one embodiment, the sale price is transmitted from the
retail system controller 200 over the communication network 210 and
back to the customer device 220 from which the product description
was received in step 1302. After reception of the sale price, the
customer device 220 displays the sale price to the customer using
the display 224. Of course, in a case that the customer device 220
does not have a display 224, the sale price is communicated to the
customer in some other manner, such as through a speaker or a
printout. The sale price may also be transmitted to the customer in
step 1306 using other known methods.
[0116] In another embodiment, the sale price transmitted in step
1306 is specified in terms of a discount amount, such as "25% off
the retail price of the selected product", or "$50 off the retail
price of the selected product".
[0117] Transmitted along with the sale price are other purchase
terms which facilitate formation of a binding agreement between the
customer and the retailer. The other purchase terms include, in one
embodiment, the received product description and an offer from the
retailer to sell a product conforming to the product description
for the sale price. However, the controller 200 does not transmit,
in step 1306, and before an agreement to purchase a product for the
sale price is received, any information to the customer identifying
a particular product to be sold to the customer upon completion of
the transaction. The customer is also not guaranteed, before an
agreement to purchase a product for the sale price is received,
what specific product will be purchased. By avoiding transmission
of this information, a retailer is provided with flexibility in
selecting a product to sell after the customer is bound to the
agreement. However, in another embodiment, specific details of two
or more particular products are transmitted to the customer in step
1306 along with an indication that an unspecified one of the
particular products will be sold to the customer upon receiving an
agreement from the customer. This embodiment also provides the
retailer with some flexibility in selecting a product to sell after
the customer is bound.
[0118] It should be noted that a particular product conforming to
the product description mayor may not be selected prior to step
1306.
[0119] After step 1306, it is determined in step 1308 whether or
not the customer agrees to the sale price. In one embodiment, the
customer is required to select an "I Agree" symbol displayed on the
display 224 and the selection is transmitted to the retail system
controller 200 via the communication network 210. Of course, other
known systems for communicating an agreement can be used in step
1308. The customer may also be required to provide customer and
payment information, such as a credit card number, so that the
retailer is ensured of payment. The customer and payment
information are stored in the customer database 500 along with an
associated customer identifier 502. In other embodiments, the
customer and payment information are received with the product
description in step 1302, and a credit check/pre-authorization for
the sale price is performed prior to transmission of the sale price
in step 1306.
[0120] If it is determined in step 1308 that the customer does not
agree to the sale price, the process steps of FIG. 13 terminate. In
some embodiments, the customer can edit the product description
rather than agree to the sale price, or the retail system
controller 200 can suggest changes to the product description that
would reduce the sale price. Once it is determined that the
customer agrees to the sale price, flow continues to step 1310.
[0121] In step 1310, a product is selected that conforms to the
product description. One system for such selection is described
below in conjunction with FIG. 16. After the conforming product is
selected in step 1310, redemption information is transmitted to the
customer in step 1312. In one embodiment, the redemption
information includes specific details identifying the selected
product and selected transaction-specific details such as pickup
location and redemption time. The transaction-specific details may
be selected so as to mask a discount reflected in the sale price,
as will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 16. In
another embodiment, the customer is not presented with information
identifying the selected product until the product is redeemed. In
this regard, the product may not even be selected until the
customer attempts to redeem the product. The latter arrangement
provides retailers with significant flexibility in choosing a
product to sell and retailers may therefore significantly discount
products redeemed in this manner.
[0122] The redemption information may be transmitted via the
communication network 210 used to receive the product description
or by another communication network. In a case that the product
will be picked up by the customer at a retail location, also
transmitted in step 1312 is a redemption identifier embodied in a
paper voucher, a personal identification code, a frequent shopper
card, or other record of purchase details. Similarly to step 1205,
step 1312 may also be performed once a customer arrives at a retail
location to pick up a product.
[0123] A product redemption is processed in step 1314. In one
embodiment, a product redemption involves receiving a redemption
identifier from a customer and presenting the customer with a
corresponding product identified in the redemption database 1200.
The retailer presented with the redemption identifier need not be
in communication with the retail system controller 200. In this
regard, the presented redemption identifier may represent, perhaps
in encoded form, all the information needed for the redemption,
such as the information shown in the redemption database 1200. In
addition, there may be no need to process a product redemption in a
case that the selected product is shipped to the customer. Details
of product redemption will be discussed with respect to FIG.
17.
[0124] It should be noted that the foregoing process steps do not
describe each embodiment of the invention. For example, a
conforming product may be selected any time after a product
description is received. In another embodiment, a customer is
presented with suggestions to change a product description after
the product description is received, in a case that no conforming
product is available or for other reasons. Moreover, a sale price
and alternative product descriptions may be transmitted in step
1306. The alternative product descriptions may be similar to the
received product description but with different condition values.
In this embodiment, it would be determined in step 1308 whether the
customer agreed to the sale price and to what product description
the customer agreed.
[0125] The customer and the retailer benefit as a result of the
FIG. 13 process steps. Specifically, the customer can receive lower
prices by providing flexible description parameters and may receive
discounts that would not be given to the general public for fear of
price and brand dilution. The retailer is able to evaluate a
customer's individual demand based on the received description and
determine a sale price accordingly, thereby reducing losses
associated with conventional retail pricing systems. In embodiments
where the retailer does not select the product to sell until well
after the customer agreement, the retailer further benefits by
being able to optimize the ordering of inventory based on
outstanding offers. Although the process steps may result in a
single product being sold for different sale prices, the system is
perceived as fair because a higher-paying customer likely agreed to
a different product description than a lower-paying customer, and
neither would have agreed to the other's product description and
sale price. The product descriptions received from customers also
allow a retailer to determine what features are important to
customers and to purchase and price inventory accordingly.
[0126] FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram 1400 of process steps
that may be used in step 1304 of FIG. 13 to determine a sale price
based on a received product description. The process steps begin at
step 1402, in which a number of flexibility points is determined
for each condition value in the received product description. The
number of flexibility points is determined using the flexibility
database 600 as represented in FIG. 6A. In operation, a condition
value in the description is determined to correspond to a number of
flexibility points 620 associated with the corresponding condition
in the flexibility database 600. Next, in step 1404, the
flexibility points corresponding to each condition value are summed
to determine a flexibility score.
[0127] As an example of steps 1402 and 1404, a case is considered
in which a flexibility score is determined for the product
description "Sony", "Magnavox", "Toshiba", "V-chip", "stereo
sound", and "Picture-in-Picture". According to the database 600 as
represented in FIG. 6A, the condition values "Sony", "Magnavox" and
"Toshiba" are determined to correspond to +10 flexibility points
each, and the remaining feature values are determined to correspond
to -5 flexibility points each. Accordingly, the flexibility score
corresponding to the product description is fifteen
(10+10+10-5-5-5=15).
[0128] According to another embodiment, steps 1402 and 1404 are
performed using data shown in the flexibility database 600 of FIG.
6B. Flexibility scores are determined using the flexibility
database 600 of FIG. 6B by multiplying, for each condition value
630, a corresponding number of flexibility points 640 with a
corresponding weighting factor 650. Using the previous product
description, the condition values "Sony", "Magnavox", "Toshiba",
"V-chip", "stereo sound", and "Picture-in-Picture" would correspond
to flexibility points (+10.times.5)=+50, (+10.times.0.5)=+5,
(+10.times.1)=+10, (-5.times.1)=-5, (-5.times.4)=-20 and
(-5.times.3)=-15, respectively. Accordingly, a flexibility score of
50+5+10-5-20-15=25 would be determined in step 1302.
[0129] As described above, a weighting factor 650 of the
flexibility database 600 may reflect the desirability of a
corresponding condition value in view of retailer data. For
example, if a ratio 908 of current inventory 904 of a manufacturer
902 to forecasted inventory 906 of the manufacturer 902 in the
retailer database 900 is 5, the retailer may wish to price the
manufacturer's products so as to increase sales thereof.
Accordingly, the retailer would like to associate a high
flexibility score with received product descriptions including the
desired manufacturer as a condition value. Therefore, a
corresponding weighting factor 650 in the flexibility database 600
of FIG. 6B is set to 5. On the other hand, a current/forecasted
ratio 908 of 0.5 indicates that a second manufacturer's products
are selling better than expected. Since the retailer would likely
prefer to continue selling these products without a discount,
inclusion of the second manufacturer in a product description does
not significantly increase the flexibility available to the
retailer in selecting a product to sell. As a result, the weighting
corresponding to the second manufacturer is set to 0.5 in the
database 600 of FIG. 6B.
[0130] The embodiment of the flexibility database 600 illustrated
in FIG. 6B thereby allows retailer data such as inventory, sales,
demand and subsidies to be used in creating a flexibility score
which more accurately reflects a flexibility and a desirability of
a particular description. For example, manufacturers of certain
products may offer subsidies to a retailer to promote sales of the
products. Therefore, condition values 630 representing the
subsidized products are associated with relatively large weighting
factors 650 so that a product description to which a subsidized
product conforms will likely produce a high flexibility score.
[0131] In one embodiment, weighting factors 650 are generated for
each condition value in each product category, either manually or
using ratios as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. It should also be noted
that other retailer data can be used in determining weighting
factors 650 corresponding to particular condition values, such as
current sales v. forecasted sales, current sales lower than current
demand, and current inventory higher than historical inventory.
Moreover, the weighting factors 650 can be updated periodically or
in "real time" by triggering off of changes made to the retailer
data.
[0132] Returning to the flow diagram 1400, a sale price is
determined in step 1406 based on the flexibility score by using the
product pricing database 700. In the embodiment of the database 700
represented in FIG. 7 A, the previously-determined flexibility
score of 25 corresponds to a sale price of $250. The corresponding
sale prices 720 shown in FIG. 7 A can be derived in many ways. The
prices 720 may be based on a range of previously-offered discount
prices of products within the product category, on a range of
percentage discounts off an average retail price of products in the
category, on incremental price steps between the lowest and highest
retail prices in the product category, or on any other data. It
should be noted that the sale prices 720 in the product pricing
database 700 are not necessarily related to a product which will be
eventually sold to the customer.
[0133] Using the FIG. 7B embodiment of the database 700, the
flexibility score of 25 corresponds to a 20% discount, and the sale
price is determined in step 1406 by applying the percentage
discount 730 to a retail price corresponding to the product
category. The retail price to which the discount 730 is applied may
be a retail price of a product already selected for sale to the
customer, a retail price of another conforming product, an average
retail price of conforming products, or another price. Again, the
retail price is not necessarily related to the product which will
be eventually sold to the customer.
[0134] In a case that a conforming product for sale is selected
prior to determination of a sale price, data shown in FIG. 7C are
used to determine the sale price in step 1406. As shown, the data
associate a flexibility score 710 with a sale price 740 for a
particular product. For example, in a case that product P-1000 was
selected and a flexibility score of 25 was determined prior to step
1406, a sale price of $250 is determined using the data of FIG.
7C.
[0135] It should be noted that the databases 600, 700 as shown in
FIG. 6A to FIG. 7B may be organized by specific product rather than
by product category. In this case, a product is selected prior to
step 1304 and entries of the databases 600, 700 corresponding to
the selected product are used as described above to determine the
sale price in step 1406.
[0136] FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram 1500 of process steps to
determine a sale price based on a product description (step 1304)
according to another embodiment of the invention. The process
begins at step 1502, in which the retail system controller 200
determines a number of condition values specified in the product
description for each condition. Next, in step 1504, a discount is
determined for each condition using the product pricing database
700 as illustrated in FIG. 7D. Specifically, for each condition
750, an appropriate requirement 760 is identified and a percentage
discount 770 associated with the requirement is determined. For
example, in a case that a product description includes three
manufacturer values and two features, percentage discounts of 10%
and 5% are determined in step 1504.
[0137] In step 1506, a cumulative discount corresponding to the
product description is calculated by summing the determined
percentage discounts. In the previous example, the cumulative
discount is 15%. Next, in step 1508, the sale price is determined
by discounting a particular retail price by the cumulative
discount. The particular retail price may be a retail price of a
specific conforming product, an average retail price of the subject
product category, or any other price.
[0138] It should be noted that the percentage discounts 770 stored
in the product pricing database 700 of FIG. 7D may be condition
value-specific as described with respect to FIG. 6B. In this case,
the requirements 770 would include particular condition values, and
discounts, either weighted or unweighted, would be associated with
each value. As also described with respect to FIGS. 6A to 7B, the
product pricing database 700 of FIG. 7D may be organized by
specific product rather than by product category. In this case, a
product is selected prior to step 1304 and entries of the database
700 corresponding to the selected product are used as described
above to determine the sale price in step 1508.
[0139] In another embodiment of step 1304, the retail system
controller 200 stores product descriptions and associated sale
prices. Accordingly, in this embodiment, a stored product
description most similar to the received product description is
identified and a sale price is determined to be equal to a sale
price associated with the stored product description. Still other
methods for determining a sale price based on a product description
will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0140] FIG. 16 illustrates a detailed flow diagram 1600 of process
steps to select a product that conforms to a product description
according to step 1310 of FIG. 13. Initially, at step 1602, the
product database 1000 is searched to identify products that conform
to the product description received in step 1302. When searching
the database 1000, it is not necessary to consider products having
a minimum acceptable price 1012 greater than the sale price
determined in step 1304.
[0141] In step 1604, a product to sell is selected from the
identified conforming products. In one embodiment,
transaction-specific condition values conforming to the product
description are also selected in step 1604. The selection of a
product and of condition values can be based on many different
factors. For example, a product may be selected that optimizes
profit, inventory, sales, demand, subsidies, or any other variable.
In this regard, a product having excess inventory may be selected
for sale even though the determined sale price reflects a
substantial discount off the retail price.
[0142] A retailer may be more likely to sell a product at a
discount in a case that the received product description includes
an undesirable transaction-specific condition value, such as pickup
at an inconvenient location, because the undesirable value can be
used to mask the discount. In other words, although the product may
be available at a more convenient location, the retailer can select
to sell the product at the inconvenient location specified in the
product description. The customer will therefore tend to feel like
the discount was earned, and other customers paying more for the
product but picking up the product at a convenient location will
feel fairly treated. Moreover, price and brand dilution can be
minimized because the discount will be attributed to the details of
the transaction rather than to the product.
[0143] Many other transaction-specific conditions can be used to
justify and/or mask a product discount, such as Time of Redemption
and Product State. The Time of Redemption condition specifies a
time period during which the customer is willing to wait before
redeeming the product. In a case that a customer has specified a
Time of Redemption value such as three months, the retail system
controller 200 can use the customer's willingness to wait for the
product as an apparent reason for offering a large price discount.
Moreover, the retailer may be willing to discount a price of a
product in exchange for future demand guaranteed by the three month
condition value, because the retailer will be able to reorder
inventory tailored to the future demand or to select a particular
product in step 1310 that hasn't sold well through conventional
channels.
[0144] The Product State condition may have values such as "new",
"used", "refurbished", "demo", or the like. These values are useful
because a retailer may want to discount a non-new product to
dispose of products that aren't selling and that cannot be returned
to the manufacturer. The non-new condition values may also be used
to justify a discount in an attempt to minimize price dilution,
brand dilution, and perceived unfairness.
[0145] A retailer may have other reasons for selecting a particular
product and particular transaction-specific condition values. For
example, if a new or remote pickup location is specified in a
product description along with other locations, a retailer may
choose to select a product to be picked up at the specified
location simply to increase customer traffic at the new or remote
location.
[0146] In step 1606, the purchase terms database 1100 is updated.
The database 1100 is updated by creating a purchase terms
identifier 1102 corresponding to the current offer identifier 1104
and by storing the generated purchase terms 1106 in conjunction
with the created purchase terms identifier 1102. Next, in step
1608, the redemption database 1200 is updated by generating a
redemption identifier 1202 and associating the purchase terms
identifier 1204, a product identifier 1206 identifying the selected
product (if any), and any transaction-specific redemption
information 1208 therewith. Also associated therewith is a
redemption status 1210.
[0147] FIG. 17 illustrates a flow diagram 1700 of process steps to
process a customer redemption of the selected product according to
one embodiment of step 1314 of FIG. 13. The process begins at step
1702, wherein a redemption identifier is received from the
customer. The redemption identifier may be embodied in a voucher, a
personal identification code, or the like transmitted to the
customer in step 1312. The redemption may occur at a retail store
or, in a case that the product will be shipped to the customer, may
be initiated by transmission of the redemption identifier from a
customer device 220 to the retail system controller 200. In a case
that redemption information 1208 associated with a record indicates
that a redemption must occur at a future time, a retailer may send
a reminder to an associated customer that the future time is
approaching.
[0148] In step 1704, the redemption is analyzed to validate whether
all requirements for the transaction are satisfied. According to
one embodiment of step 1704, the received redemption identifier is
used to locate a corresponding record in the redemption database
1200 and, specifically, to locate redemption information 1208
associated with the redemption identifier. The current redemption
is then analyzed in step 1704 to determine whether the current
redemption satisfies the details of the redemption information
1208. For example, it is determined in step 1704 whether the
customer is picking up the product at the location and time
specified in the redemption information 1208, if any. In other
embodiments, the received redemption identifier encodes redemption
information such as the redemption information 1208 and the
redemption identifier is decoded to retrieve the information used
in step 1704.
[0149] It is then determined, in step 1706, whether a payment has
been received from the customer. In one embodiment, this
determination is made by referring to the redemption status 1210 of
the corresponding record in the redemption database 1200. If
payment has not been received from the customer, flow proceeds from
step 1706 to step 1708 to receive payment from the customer. The
payment may be in any form acceptable to the retailer, such as
cash, check, credit card, debit card, or the like. In a case that
the redemption is not conducted in-person, it may be easiest to
receive payment by credit card. In some embodiments, payment is
guaranteed with payment information in conjunction with customer
acceptance of a received sale price. In this regard, the customer
may be charged a penalty if he does not attempt redemption.
[0150] If the payment has been received, the customer is presented,
in step 1710, with the product identified by the product identifier
1206 of the corresponding record. If the corresponding record does
not include a product identifier 1206, the product is also selected
in step 1710. The presentation may include handing the product to
the customer or shipping the product to the customer. In this
regard, the product may be a software-based product which is
shipped to the customer by encoding the product in an electrical
signal and sending the signal to a customer device 220 over the
communication network 210 using an appropriate transmission
protocol.
II. Retailer Determines a Product Description Based on a Sale
Price
[0151] FIG. 18 illustrates a flow diagram 1800 of process steps of
a sales transaction according to another embodiment of the present
invention. Generally, the process steps differ from those
illustrated in FIG. 13 in that a sale price is received from a
customer and a product description is determined based on the sale
price.
[0152] In more detail, a sale price is received from a customer at
step 1802. The sale price may be received in any known manner,
including those specified above with respect to step 1302 of FIG.
13. In alternative embodiments, the sale price received in step
1802 is in the form of a range of sale prices, a percentage
discount off a retail price, or a discount amount off a retail
price. A product category may also be received along with the sale
price. For example, the data "$200" and "Standard Television" may
be received in step 1802. The received sale price may also be
specified in terms of a discount, such as "$10 less than retail
price" or "20% off retail price", or a range of values, such as
"$400 to $425". In one embodiment, the received sale price is
stored in the offered price field 416 of the offer database 400 in
association with an offer identifier 402 created to represent the
current offer.
[0153] Next, in step 1804, a product description is determined
based on the received sale price. In one embodiment, a database may
be used which contains, for each product category, several ranges
of sale prices and a product description corresponding to each
range. In this embodiment, step 1804 is performed simply by
identifying the range of prices in which the received sale price
falls and obtaining the corresponding product description. In a
variation of this embodiment, several descriptions may correspond
to each range of sale prices.
[0154] In another embodiment, the product description database 800
is used in step 1804 to identify a rule 802 corresponding to the
received sale price. A product description is created based on the
corresponding rule 802, with the condition values of the product
description identifying related or similar values. For example, if
the rule 802 calls for three manufacturers, three low-end or three
high-end manufacturers may be included in the created product
description. Details of another embodiment of step 1804 will be
described in conjunction with FIG. 19.
[0155] After step 1804, the product description is transmitted to a
customer in step 1806. The transmission can be performed using one
of the methods discussed with respect to step 1306, or using other
known methods. In one embodiment, the product description is
transmitted with purchase terms which, along with a customer's
agreement to the product description, creates a binding contract to
purchase a product. The purchase terms may include the received
sale price, the product description, and an offer from the retailer
to sell a product conforming to the product description for the
sale price. In another embodiment, the controller 200 does not
transmit, in step 1806, any information to the customer identifying
a particular product to be sold to the customer before an agreement
to purchase a product conforming to the product description is
received. The controller 200 also does not guarantee to the
customer, before an agreement to purchase a product conforming to
the product description is received, what specific product will be
purchased. By avoiding transmission of this information, a retailer
is provided with flexibility in selecting a product to sell after
the customer is bound to the sale.
[0156] Alternatively, two or more particular products are
identified to the customer in step 1806 along with an indication
that an unspecified one of the particular products will be sold to
the customer upon receiving an agreement from the customer. This
embodiment also provides the retailer with some flexibility in
selecting a product to sell after the customer is bound.
[0157] Next, in step 1808, it is determined whether the customer
agrees to purchase a product conforming to the product description
for the sale price. Similar mechanisms to those described in
conjunction with step 1308 can be used to determine whether the
customer has made such an agreement. If the customer does not
agree, the FIG. 18 process steps terminate. The customer may have
an opportunity to resubmit the sale price in hopes of receiving
another product description, or the customer may have the option of
submitting a new sale price. If the customer agrees, flow proceeds
to step 1810. Steps 1810 to 1814 proceed similarly to steps 1310 to
1314 and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted for the sake of
brevity.
[0158] According to the FIG. 18 process steps, the retailer may
sell a same product to two customers for two different sale prices.
However, the two customers will likely perceive the system as fair
because each is agreeing to a different sale price and product
description. In addition, the retailer may determine a broad
product description based on the lower sale price to give an
impression that the lower sale price is available only because the
lower-paying customer agrees to a broad product description. This
method masks any discount reflected in the lower sale price,
reduces perceived unfairness and allows a retailer to sell a
product at a discounted price while minimizing price and brand
dilution.
[0159] FIG. 19 illustrates a flow diagram 1900 of process steps
according to one embodiment of step 1804. The process steps can be
used to determine a product description based on a received sale
price.
[0160] First, products which conform to the sale price received in
step 1802 are identified by referring to the minimum acceptable
prices 1012 of the product database 1000. Specifically, for each
product of a product category received in step 1802, an associated
minimum acceptable price 1012 is compared with the received sale
price. The products having an associated minimum acceptable price
1012 less than the received sale price are identified as conforming
products in step 1902. For example, if the received sale price is
$300, products P-1000 and P-1002 of FIG. 10 are identified as
conforming products.
[0161] In step 1904, products for which discounts are preferred are
selected from the identified conforming products. In one
embodiment, only those conforming products that are selling more
slowly than forecasted are selected in step 1904. These
slow-selling products can be identified from the retailer database
900 as those having a current/forecasted ratio 908 of less than
unity. In the present example, the product having an identifier 910
P-1000 is selected as a product for which discounts are preferred.
It should be noted that more than one product may be selected in
step 1904.
[0162] Of course, other methods may be used and other retailer data
considered when selecting preferred products to discount in step
1904. For example, it may be preferable to determine a desired
price for each identified conforming product and to select only
those products for which the desired price is less than the
received sale price.
[0163] In step 1906, a product description is created which covers
the products selected in step 1904. In one embodiment, the created
product description includes all mutually-exclusive condition
values present in each selected product. In addition, the product
description includes only those mutually-inclusive conditions
present in all selected products. Using these guidelines and the
data representing product identifiers 1002 P-1000 and P-1002 in the
product database 1000, a product description is created including
the mutually-exclusive condition values "Magnavox", "Toshiba",
"Stamford", "Hartford", "Teaneck", "New", and "Refurbished", and
the mutually-inclusive condition value "Picture-in-Picture".
[0164] In step 1908, the created product description is broadened
in order to mask any discount that may result from the sale of a
product at the sale price. In general, the description is broadened
by removing condition values for mutually-inclusive conditions and
by adding condition values for mutually-exclusive conditions. By
broadening the product description, any discount will appear to be
due to the customer's willingness to accept the uncertainty
presented by a flexible product description.
[0165] In one embodiment of step 1908, the description is broadened
based on a percentage discount off a retail price reflected by the
sale price. The retail price may be a retail price of a particular
product to be sold to the customer, in a case that the particular
product has been selected, an average retail price of the products
selected in step 1802, or another retail price. As shown in the
FIG. 8 representation of the product description database 800,
ranges of percentage discounts 810 and associated description
broadening rules 820 are established for a product category. In
operation, a percentage discount is calculated, a corresponding
range 810 is located in the product description database 800, and
description broadening rules 820 associated with the range are
identified. It is then ensured that the description created in step
1804 is at least as broad as specified in the identified rules. If
not, condition values are added (for mutually-exclusive conditions)
and/or removed (for mutually-inclusive conditions).
[0166] In another embodiment of step 1908, the product description
database 800 is organized by product rather than by product
category. Accordingly, a product is selected to sell prior to step
1908, a percentage discount reflected by the sale price is
calculated, and data in the database 800 corresponding to the
product is accessed to identify appropriate description broadening
rules 820 corresponding to the percentage discount 810.
[0167] The description may also be broadened in step 1908 to
include mutually-exclusive condition values normally possessed by
expensive products in order to encourage the customer to agree to
the product description. On the other hand, the product description
may be broadened to describe lower-quality items in order to give a
customer agreeing to the product description a pleasant surprise
when the customer learns that the product to be purchased is a
better-quality product.
III. Retailer Transmits Product Description and Sale Price
[0168] FIG. 20 illustrates a flow diagram 2000 of process steps of
a sales transaction according to yet another embodiment of the
invention. The process steps are used to determine a product
description and a sale price and to transmit the product
description and the sale price to a customer.
[0169] Specifically, a product description and a sale price are
determined in step 2002. In one embodiment, step 2002 occurs in
response to customer input of a product category. The product
description may be determined in step 2002 based on a manual entry
or using an automated analysis of retailer data, with the sale
price being determined based on the product description using any
of the methods described above. Alternatively, the sale price can
be determined based on a manual entry or using an automated
analysis, with the product description being determined based on
the sale price as described above or by using other methods.
[0170] Next, in step 2004, the product description and sale price
are transmitted to a customer device 220 from which the product
description and sale price can be presented to customers. For
example, the product description and the sale price may be
transmitted to a publicly-located kiosk or ATM machine, where they
can be presented to customers approaching the kiosk or ATM machine
for information or banking services. Alternatively, a retail store
can include such kiosks for display of information and special
deals to browsing customers. In addition, the product description
and the sale price may be transmitted to electronic price tags and
presented to customers thereby.
[0171] In one embodiment, the product description and the sale
price are transmitted along with information to facilitate
formation of a binding agreement between the customer and the
retailer. The information may include the product description, the
sale price and an offer from the retailer to sell a product
conforming to the product description for the sale price. It is
contemplated to avoid transmitting, before receiving an agreement
to purchase a product conforming to the product description for the
sale price, any information to the customer identifying a
particular product to be sold to the customer upon completion of
the transaction. It is also contemplated to avoid guaranteeing to
the customer, before receiving an agreement to purchase a product
conforming to the product description for the sale price, what
specific product will be purchased. By avoiding transmission of
this information, a retailer is provided with flexibility in
selecting a product to sell after the sale is secured. In another
embodiment, specific details of two or more particular products are
also transmitted to the customer in step 2004 along with an
indication that an unspecified one of the particular products will
be sold to the customer upon receiving an agreement from the
customer. This embodiment also provides the retailer with some
flexibility in selecting a product to sell after a sale is
secured.
[0172] Thereafter, in step 2006, it is determined whether a
customer has agreed to purchase a product conforming to the product
description for the sale price.
[0173] The customer can indicate agreement in any known manner,
including using the customer device 220 from which the sale price
and the product description were presented to the customer. Steps
2008, 2010 and 2012 proceed similarly to steps 1310, 1312 and 1314
of FIG. 13, respectively, and descriptions of these steps are
therefore omitted for the sake of brevity.
IV. Airline Ticket Embodiment
[0174] FIG. 21 illustrates a flow diagram 2100 of process steps to
sell an airline ticket according to one embodiment of the present
invention. The process steps begin at step 2102, in which a product
description describing a desired air travel itinerary is received
from a customer. The description may be submitted using any of the
methods described with respect to step 1302. The description may
include one or more condition values corresponding to the
conditions Departure City, Departure Date, Departure Time, Arrival
City, Arrival Date, Arrival Time, Airline, Class, or the like. In
one embodiment, the condition values are specified in terms of a
range, such as a Departure Time condition value of "1:00 pm to 4:00
pm".
[0175] In step 2104, the retail system controller 200 determines a
sale price corresponding to the product description. The sale price
may be determined based on any of the methods discussed with
respect to step 1304, or using other methods. The sale price is
then transmitted to the customer in step 2106. In one embodiment,
also transmitted in step 2106 is an agreement from the retailer to
sell, for the sale price, an airline ticket for flights that
conform to the product description.
[0176] Next, in step 2108, an agreement is received from the
customer to purchase an airline ticket for flights conforming to
the product description for the sale price. In one embodiment, the
controller 200 does not transmit, before an agreement to purchase
an airline ticket for the sale price is received, any information
to the customer identifying a particular flight on which the
purchased airline ticket will allow the customer to travel. The
customer is also not guaranteed, before an agreement to purchase an
airline ticket for the sale price is received, to what specific
flight or flights the airline ticket corresponds. By avoiding
transmission of this information, a retailer is provided with
flexibility in selecting an airline ticket to sell after the
customer is bound to the agreement. However, in another embodiment,
specific details of two or more particular flights are transmitted
to the customer in step 2108 along with an indication that the
airline ticket that will be sold will allow the customer to travel
on an unspecified one or more of the particular flights. This
embodiment also provides the retailer with some flexibility in
selecting a ticket to sell after the customer is bound.
[0177] An airline ticket for flights conforming to the product
description is selected in step 2110. In one embodiment, the
selection of the airline ticket and flights is delayed so as to
give the retailer an opportunity to determine what flights will not
sell out and to bind the customer to those low-demand flights.
After step 2110, the identity of the selected flights is
transmitted to the customer in step 2112.
[0178] It should be noted that the airline ticket may be selected
at any time after the product description is received in step 2102.
It should also be noted that the alternative arrangements discussed
in sections I. to III. may be incorporated, where appropriate, to
the steps of FIG. 21.
Additional Embodiments
[0179] The following are several examples that illustrate
additional embodiments of the present invention. These examples do
not constitute a definition of all possible embodiments, and those
skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is
applicable to many other embodiments. Further, although the
following examples are briefly described for clarity, those skilled
in the art will understand how to make any changes, if necessary,
to the above-described embodiments to accommodate these and other
embodiments and applications.
[0180] According to an additional embodiment, a customer-input
product description includes condition values weighted or ranked in
order of preference. The condition values may be weighted by
assignment of a dollar amount to each condition value, or by using
"slider" bars of a graphical user interface to indicate an amount
of preference. The condition values in such a product description
therefore do not reflect absolute requirements of a conforming
product, but guidelines for selecting a product. Accordingly, such
a product description provides significant flexibility to a
retailer in selecting a product to sell. The retailer may be
willing to provide a deep discount in exchange for this
flexibility.
[0181] In another embodiment, the customer is bound to the
transaction for a specified period but the retailer is not.
Accordingly, once the customer has accepted a sale price/product
description, the retailer can choose to sell a conforming product
to a customer at any time within the specified period. The retailer
may also choose not to sell a product to the customer during the
specified period, based on inventory, demand from other buyers,
competitors' prices, or other factors. Again, the retailer may be
willing to offer a substantial discount in exchange for the
flexibility provided by such an arrangement.
[0182] As mentioned above, the present invention advantageously
allows a retailer to collect data regarding condition values
desired by customers. Therefore, in one embodiment, the retailer
system controller 200 includes an optimization program that orders
or reorders inventory tailored to the collected data. Such a
program could, for example, identify the most-commonly desired
condition values and order products that conform to those condition
values. In identifying the most-commonly desired condition values,
the optimization program can give more weight to the condition
values of received product descriptions which result in a sale, as
opposed to condition values of received product descriptions which
do not result in a sale.
[0183] The collected data may also be used to determine a perceived
value of various condition values. The perceived values may be used
in cases where the retailer cannot satisfy a received product
condition by replacing unsatisfiable condition values with
satisfiable condition values having similar perceived values.
[0184] The retail system controller 200 may also include a list of
preferred products to sell. In a case that a listed product
conforms to a received product description, a retailer may be
willing to transmit a discounted sale price. On the other hand, if
no listed products conform to the received product description, the
retailer may transmit suggested changes to the product description
so as to persuade the customer to submit a product description to
which a listed product conforms.
[0185] In another embodiment, the retail system controller 200
considers the transaction history of a customer from whom a product
description/sale price was received during determination of a sale
price/product description based on the received description/price.
For example, a first-time customer may be presented with a
substantial discount or a narrow product description in order to
retain the customer. The retail system controller 200 may also
consider other customer activities during determination of a sale
price/product description. In this regard, a customer may "earn"
additional flexibility points, price discounts or a narrower
product description by filling out a surveyor by providing
additional product descriptions during the sales transaction. For
example, a first customer who submits a product description and
agrees to complete a survey receives a lower sale price than a
second customer who submits an identical product description and
does not agree to complete the survey. The lower sale price may be
determined by using a more favorable flexibility database 600
and/or product pricing database 700 for the first customer than the
second customer. Similarly, a first customer who submits a sale
price and agrees to complete a survey receives a narrower product
description than a second customer who submits an identical sale
price and does not agree to complete the survey. This latter
scenario may be implemented by using a more favorable product
description database 800 for the first customer.
[0186] In responding to reception of a product description from a
customer, the retailer may present alternatives that foresee the
customer's response. For example, the retailer may present a
customer with a low price and a product description which conforms
closely, but not exactly, to the received product description, with
a high price and a product description having more desirable
mutually-inclusive condition values than the received product
description, and, with the received product description, a price
between the high price and the low price. Such an approach
increases a likelihood that an agreement will be reached, and
provides the retailer with an opportunity to move undesirable
products or to generate greater profit. This approach may also be
incorporated into embodiments in which a sale price is received
from a customer.
[0187] While the present invention has been described above with
respect to several embodiments, the scope of the invention is not
deemed limited to the above embodiments. Rather, the present
invention covers all embodiments falling within the scope and
spirit of the following claims as well as equivalent arrangements
thereof.
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