U.S. patent application number 13/958758 was filed with the patent office on 2013-12-05 for method, system and components for obtaining, evaluating and/or utilizing seller, buyer and transaction data.
This patent application is currently assigned to BUYSAFE, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is BUYSAFE, INC.. Invention is credited to Michael BEVERIDGE, Travis BROWN, Jeffrey E. GRASS, Robert T. KODEY, Marc MOREL, Steven L. WODA.
Application Number | 20130325592 13/958758 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40589140 |
Filed Date | 2013-12-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130325592 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WODA; Steven L. ; et
al. |
December 5, 2013 |
METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPONENTS FOR OBTAINING, EVALUATING AND/OR
UTILIZING SELLER, BUYER AND TRANSACTION DATA
Abstract
Methodologies, systems, components and software are provided
that perform web analytics to measure visitor to consumer
conversion continuously throughout surfing, through conversion and
past completion of a purchase on-line. In accordance with at least
one embodiment, such methodologies, systems, components and
software may be utilized to determine efficacy of a plurality of
parameters relating to one or more Transaction Related Offerings
(TROs). In accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, such methodologies, systems, components and software may
be utilized to configure one or more Consumer Behavior Decision
Models (CBDMs) and/or generate consumer behavior data.
Inventors: |
WODA; Steven L.; (Arlington,
VA) ; KODEY; Robert T.; (Reston, VA) ; MOREL;
Marc; (Silver Spring, MD) ; GRASS; Jeffrey E.;
(Arlington, VA) ; BROWN; Travis; (Washington, DC,
US) ; BEVERIDGE; Michael; (Bethesda, MD) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BUYSAFE, INC. |
Arlington |
VA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BUYSAFE, INC.
Arlington
VA
|
Family ID: |
40589140 |
Appl. No.: |
13/958758 |
Filed: |
August 5, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12263778 |
Nov 3, 2008 |
8515791 |
|
|
13958758 |
|
|
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|
60985001 |
Nov 2, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.45 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0246 20130101;
G06Q 30/0201 20130101; G06Q 40/00 20130101; G06Q 10/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.45 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method for performing systematic analysis of consumer behavior
data to predict consumer demand via an on-line environment, the
method comprising: monitoring behavior of at least one consumer
prior to, during and subsequent to at least one purchase
transaction performed in the on-line environment to generate
consumer behavior data; and analyzing the generated consumer
behavior data to determine efficacy of a plurality of parameters
relating to one or more transaction related offerings.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring consumer behavior
is performed continuously from the at least one consumer's first
exposure to the on-line environment.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring consumer behaviour
is performed past completion of at least one purchase transaction
performed in the on-line environment.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer behavior data
indicates details pertaining to a conversion of the at least one
consumer to a customer in the on-line environment.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the consumer behavior data
indicates whether the at least one consumer accepted one or more
transaction related offerings in connection with the at least one
purchase transaction.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer behavior data
indicates whether the at least one consumer accepted one or more
transaction related offerings.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying consumer
behavior data from at least two different sources to identify
consumer behavior data that pertains to a same consumer; and col
elating the consumer behavior data pertaining to the same
consumer.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising deleting redundant
data in the consumer behavior data pertaining to the same
consumer.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least two different
sources include seller reported data and a consumer behavior
tracking mechanism.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the consumer behavior tracking
mechanism is a shared object.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the consumer behavior tracking
mechanism is a cookie.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least two different
sources include code provided in the on-line environment provided
in connection with at least one transaction related offering, the
code being executed to monitor and record consumer behavior.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transaction
related offering is the underwriting of one party's obligations in
a transaction.
14-24. (canceled)
Description
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/263,778, filed Nov. 3, 2008, now U.S. Pat.
No. 8,515,791, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/985,001,
filed Nov. 2, 2007, entitled "Method, System and Components for
Obtaining, Evaluating and/or Utilizing Seller, Buyer and
Transaction Data" each of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates in general to understanding consumer
behavior relating to on-line purchase transactions. In particular,
the invention relates to methods, systems, components and software
for obtaining information throughout a period of time spanning from
product search to post-purchase regarding on-line consumer behavior
thereby improving management and assessment of the efficacy of
delivery of Transaction Related Offerings (TROs) as well as
improving modeling of consumer behavior, as specified in the
independent claims.
[0003] Conventional consumer behavior modelling practices have been
used in retail sales to identify and implement advertising
strategies that drive consumers' purchases. The relatively new area
of on-line commerce, also known as Internet e-commerce, has become
a well accepted mechanism for consumers, i.e., individuals who are
considering the purchase of a good or service, to become customers
by purchasing products from various sources through the Internet.
This type of on-line commerce enables consumers to decide when they
search for products, how they search for products, and how and
where they buy those products without the inconvenience of
physically visiting numerous different sellers' real-world
locations to comparison shop.
[0004] In the on-line environment, consumer behavior modelling
practices routinely integrate consumer data with behavioral metrics
and demographic information from third-party providers. With this
data, advertisers and advertising channel providers can define and
select populations of consumers, use data mining to build
predictive models, and score consumers and consumer demographic
groups based on relevant criteria. As a result of such predictive
modeling, advertisers aim to determine which consumers are most
likely to purchase products, services, take a desired action (e.g.
a registration/sign-up) or respond to specific advertisements,
which consumer segments maximize Return On Investment (ROI) on
advertising campaigns and which consumers are at risk of attrition.
Moreover, predictive models are conventionally used for consumer
profiling and consumer modelling to predict consumer responses to
marketing and sales campaigns, identify cross-selling and
up-selling opportunities, manage consumer attrition and perform
consumer valuations.
[0005] As a result of on-line commerce, sellers may increase their
number of on-line transactions by, for example, increasing their
visibility to visitors through advertising. This is often performed
by purchasing sponsored searches, or paid searches, which are a
type of contextual advertising where web-site owners pay an
advertising fee, usually based on click-throughs or advertisement
views to have their web-site search results shown in top placement
on search engine result pages.
[0006] Sellers may also increase their number of on-line
transactions by, for example, improving the shopping and purchase
experience for consumers in their on-line environment, e.g., their
on-line storefront or market place. Additionally, sellers may also
increase their number of on-line transactions by increasing the
actual or perceived benefit or value to the buyer through
Transaction Related Offerings (TROs) such as price modifications,
free shipping, bonded transactions, warranties, coupons, etc.
[0007] However, conducting conventional buyer behavior modelling
practices in e-commerce requires measuring transaction volumes in a
verifiable, consistent and reliable (and scalable) way and
evaluating a measured transaction volume and associated data when
various TROs are implemented to determine those the impact of the
TROs on buyer behavior. For example, determining the impact of
offering bonding on the purchase of an expensive piece of
electronics equipment or the impact of free shipping for lawn
furniture purchased on-line requires a comparison of the volume of
on-line purchases of those products with and without their
associated TROs.
[0008] However, a significant limitation of such modeling is that,
conventionally, transaction volume is not measured in a verifiable,
consistent, reliable and scalable way. Rather, advertisers,
advertising channel providers and sellers routinely equate the
number of "clicks" occurring at a web-site with the degree of
interest that a buyer has and, rather inappropriately, the
likelihood that a buyer will become a satisfied customer. Thus, the
success of a web-site is conventionally measured based on the
number of unique visitors, hits, click-throughs, or page views.
However, on-line commerce suffers from the problem that it is
difficult to determine whether, for example, the number of clicks
in fact may be used to consistently and reliably predict the
likelihood that a buyer will enter into an on-line transaction.
[0009] Another conventionally known option for tracking visitor
behavior is the tracking of keywords input to search engines to
determine what is of interest to visitors of a particular web-site.
For example, if a visitor types in the keywords "rear projection
HDTV," it may be assumed that the visitor is looking to learn more
about or purchase such a product. Therefore, search engine
providers have access to a great deal of information regarding
visitors' interests. Accordingly, search engine providers can
provide data indicating what on-line buyers search on and where
those buyers go based on search results. In turn, a particular
seller can track what buyers do when they get to the seller's
on-line environment, what their purchase rates and repeat business
percentages are, etc.
[0010] However, access to such information is limited because
search engines and particular sellers are not privy to buyers'
activities using other search engines or while visiting other
sellers' on-line environments; moreover, the period of time during
which a buyer's click-stream (i.e., the virtual trail that a
visitor leaves behind while surfing the Internet) or key words can
be tracked is limited to that period prior to and including
conversion (e.g., when a consumer becomes a customer as a result of
a purchase of a product on-line).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The following presents a simplified summary in order to
provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various invention
embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the
invention. It is neither intended to identify key or critical
elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the
invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of
the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more
detailed description below.
[0012] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
methodologies, systems, components and software are provided that
are capable of performing analytics to measure activity relating to
consumer-to-customer conversion continuously throughout surfing,
through conversion and past completion of a purchase (or another
desired action) on-line. In accordance with at least one
embodiment, such methodologies, systems, components and software
may be utilized to determine efficacy of a plurality of parameters
relating to one or more Transition Related Offerings (TROs).
[0013] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
such methodologies, systems, components and software may be
utilized to configure one or more Consumer Behavior Decision Models
(CBDMs) and/or generate Consumer Behavior Data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] A more complete understanding of the present invention and
the utility thereof may be acquired by referring to the following
description in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which
like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a framework 100 in which a TRO provider
provides a TRO for a transaction between a seller and a customer,
in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates one example of operations performed in
accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention;
[0017] FIGS. 3-4 provide various illustrative examples provided to
explain options for multivariate testing of TRO impact; and
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates how an exemplary seller and an exemplary
TRO provider may interact and share information to enable delivery
of TRO related information to the seller's on-line environment,
process requests for TROs originating in that environment, and
report information regarding TRO efficacy as well as CBD to the
seller in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] In the following description of various invention
embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which
form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration,
various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is
to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and
structural and functional modifications may be made without
departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
[0020] Moreover, it should be understood that various connections
are set forth between elements in the following description;
however, these connections in general, and, unless otherwise
specified, may be either direct or indirect, either permanent or
transitory, and either dedicated or shared, and that this
specification is not intended to be limiting in this respect.
[0021] Furthermore, there is at least some conflict of interest
affect resulting from the fact that third party advertising
providers are generally the entities monitoring and reporting on
traffic patterns and conversion rates through the third party
advertising provider; this is because that third party advertising
provider also charges sellers based on that data.
[0022] Thus, advertisers, advertising channel providers and sellers
remain incapable of effectively and reliably evaluating what
business practices effectively convert consumers into customers.
Instead, conventional marketing practices focus on quantitative
metrics that are readily available like cost-per-click. Moreover,
there is no mechanism for measuring and modelling consumer behavior
beyond the completion of the transaction. Thus, the assumed
relationship between a consumer's extensive browsing and their
likelihood of purchasing an item is not fully verifiable because
tracking of the consumer's click-stream is generally limited to
various segments of surfing, that is, the click-stream is
disconnected from the consumer's entry point to an on line commerce
environment because there is no way to identify the starting point
of a consumer's relationship/search/visit. Additionally,
click-streams consistently end at the time that payment is tendered
for a purchased item. A consumer's click-stream can include an
indication of every website and every page of every website that
the consumer visits; additionally, information may be gathered
indicating any newsgroups that the consumer participates in and
even the e-mail addresses of mail that the consumer sends and
receives.
[0023] Moreover, although individual web-sites are capable of
tracking a consumer's click-stream, they are only able to track it
for a finite period of time through session or permanent cookies.
Session cookies are limited to the period of time prior to the
consumer closing their browser. Permanent or persistent cookies can
be used collect identifying information about a consumer, such as
web-surfing behavior or user preferences for a specific website;
such cookies are stored on a consumer's hard drive either until it
expires or is deleted by the consumer. Thus, sellers are limited by
the length of time that they may collect data on a consumer.
[0024] Further, conventional web analytics and closed loop
reporting capabilities are limited in scope because consumer
behavior cannot be confidently monitored continuously regardless of
where the consumer visits on the Internet and monitoring is limited
to the period of time prior to and including conversion.
[0025] Accordingly, invention embodiments, methodologies, systems,
components and software are provided that perform web analytics to
measure consumer-to-customer activity continuously throughout
surfing, through conversion and past completion of a purchase
on-line.
[0026] Preliminarily, various terms shall be described to better
enable one of ordinary skill in the art to fully understand the
disclosed features of invention embodiments. The term "TRO," or
Transaction Related Offering, as used herein, is meant to refer to
any product or service of perceived or actual value that is
provided to a consumer in connection with a transaction, such as an
on-line transaction to purchase products or services, for at least
the purpose of motivating the consumer to purchase products or
services at the present time and/or in the future. Accordingly, a
TRO may include but is not limited to a transaction performance
guaranty, wherein a safe transaction service provider underwrites
the obligations of the product or service provider to reduce risk
to the consumer. Alternatively, the TRO may be of some other type,
e.g., free shipping of a purchased product, a warranty for the
product that is not automatically provided by the manufacturer,
preferred or alternative product or service pricing, coupons or
offers for additional products and/or services, etc. It should be
appreciated that a TRO may be provided by a seller or by a TRO
provider working on behalf of the seller either directly or
indirectly.
[0027] At the outset of describing the utility of various invention
embodiments, it should be understood that the infrastructure and
ability to deliver TROs provides an opportunity to gather various
types of otherwise unavailable data in connection with a consumer's
purchase. As a result of the TRO provider's involvement in
improving consumer-to-customer conversion rates and transaction
fulfillment rates, the TRO provider may have access to various
information that are not available in conventional web analytics
technology. For example, if the TRO provider is a safe transaction
service provider, the TRO provider may have access to transaction
related information necessary to bind a transaction performance
guaranty to a specific transaction or provide ongoing service to a
subscriber to the service, e.g., a seller.
[0028] Further, if the TRO is the underwriting of the seller's
obligations, post-transaction activity may include determining
whether a claim has been made by the beneficiary (e.g., the
customer), and processing of the claim. Claim processing may
require various operations associated with claim information
gathering (e.g., gathering information related to a claim received
from a beneficiary from various parties about the underlying
transaction, agreed terms of the transaction, violation of a term
based on which the claim is filed, acquiring relevant information
including terms at the closing of the transaction such as the final
price for the goods recorded and logged activities of the seller or
the customer before or after the closing), dispute resolution
(e.g., setting up a corresponding communication forum designated to
the claim, monitoring any incoming information placed in the
communication forum, collecting evidence in a continuous fashion
and reaching a resolution of the claim) resolution execution (e.g.,
initiating resolution of the claim) and indemnity processing to
ensure that the beneficiary is compensated in accordance with the
underwritten obligation.
[0029] Thus, returning to the invention embodiments, methodologies,
systems, components and software are provided that perform web
analytics to measure consumer-to-customer conversion continuously
throughout surfing, through conversion and past completion of a
purchase on-line. In accordance with at least one embodiment, such
methodologies, systems, components and software may be utilized to
determine efficacy of a plurality of parameters relating to one or
more TROs.
[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates a framework 100 in which a TRO provider
provides one or more TROs for a transaction between a seller 110
and a customer 130. More specifically, the seller 110 may provide
one or more products 120 for sale to a consumer/customer 130. The
product 120 may be combined with one of a plurality of TROs 150,
160, 170 provided by a TRO provider 140 to provide a plurality of
experiences 180, 190, 195 to the consumer/customer 130. Although
one or more TROs may be offered to the consumer/customer 130 at the
request of the seller 110, the TRO(s) may be purchased by either
the seller 110 or the consumer/customer 130.
[0031] Moreover, it should be understood that, although FIG. 1
illustrates a variety of TROs being presented to the
consumer/customer 130, in accordance with at least one embodiment
of the invention, only one TRO may be presented to the
consumer/customer 130 as an added enticement to purchase the
corresponding product 120. The presentation of a TRO (150, 160,
170) may be made by providing a TRO graphic in a seller's on-line
environment (as described below) such that the TRO graphic conveys
the option of using the TRO in conjunction with transactions in the
on-line environment. Moreover, it should be understood that
different TROs (e.g., 150, 160, 170) may be provided to a
consumer/customer 130 at different points during an on-line
shopping experience for the consumer 130. For example, TRO1 may be
presented via a seal graphic, displayed one or more pages in the
on-line environment of the seller 110. Alternatively, or in
addition, TRO2 may be presented to the consumer/customer 130 at
checkout and may, for example, correspond to the option to bond one
or more parts of the transaction between the seller 110 and the
consumer/customer 130. As such, the graphics associated with TRO1
and TRO2 may be different and convey different but potentially
related TROs.
[0032] Further, the option to bundle alternative TROs with an
identical product (or optionally, to alter parameters associated
with TROs) may be utilized to determine the impact of various TROs
and associated parameters to determine and/or validate the impact
of TRO offerings on behavior of customers/consumers 130.
[0033] For example, as explained below, in accordance with at least
one invention embodiment, the methodologies, systems, components
and software provided by the invention may be utilized to determine
efficacy or impact of a plurality of parameters relating to one or
more TROs 150, 160, 170. Thus, the effect of experiences 180, 190,
195 on consumer behavior may be determined and compared.
[0034] The determination of consumer behavior requires the tracking
of such provided by a plurality of different mechanisms, at least
one of which being available only in connection with a TRO
offering. More specifically, in accordance with at least one
embodiment of the invention, consumer behavior is tracked via at
least two ways: (1) code provided in connection with one or more
presence mechanisms, e.g., TRO graphics, code implementing or
associated with such presence mechanisms, etc. provided in sellers'
on-line environments (referred to hereafter as "TRO implemented
tracking"); and (2) information shared between a TRO provider and
sellers provided in connection with the TRO offering (e.g., the
information exchanged with the TRO provider regarding an underlying
transaction to which the TRO relates, referred to hereafter as
"seller reporting"). Thus, a plurality of appropriate tracking
methods may be utilized to measure consumer behavior and
TRO-related activity including tracking of consumer based on
presentation of a graphic associated with the TRO (also referred to
as a TRO graphic) and seller provided TRO related information.
Optionally, (as explained below) both of these data sources may be
combined with cookie or shared object generated data and/or data
obtained through conventionally known device printing/mapping
technology regarding a consumer for the purposes of resolving
conflicting and/or eliminating redundant data. Any one or
combination of more than one of these data gathering mechanisms may
be used to gather Consumer Behavior Data (CBD).
[0035] As mentioned above, one or more TROs may be presented to a
consumer in association with a graphic, e.g., an icon, that may
include, for example, a hyperlink to TRO related information. Such
information may explain the nature of the TRO, terms and
conditions, associated price of the TRO, frequently asked
questions, procedures for a consumer to take advantage of the TRO,
etc. Such a TRO graphic may also be implemented using code such as
a Macromedia Flash medium, Silverlight, JavaFX, HyperText Markup
Language (HTML), eXtensible Markup Language (XML) or code in other
languages capable of rendering a graphical symbol. In general, code
in any language that is capable of achieving the task suffices and
may include authoring software used to create navigation
interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an
antialiased, resizable file format that is small enough to stream
across a normal modem connection.
[0036] The TRO related graphic code may also be incorporated with
an applet (e.g., a Java applet) that may be designed to perform
certain data gathering tasks related to the transaction or the TRO.
For example, such an applet may automatically extract data related
to the underlying transaction. Such data may include, but is not
limited to, the date that the transaction negotiation/bidding is
closed, the number of days between the posting and the closing, the
final price agreed, identification information for the seller and
the customer, e.g., name, delivery/billing address, phone numbers,
IP address, or other terms consented by both parties. Such an
applet may be configured to send the extracted data to a provider
of the TRO and/or seller to record such data for future use.
Alternatively, the TRO graphic and associated generated code may be
incorporated into a posting of the transaction to present the TRO
to the consumer.
[0037] Therefore, by virtue of the presence of the TRO graphic in a
seller's on-line environment, data may be collected regarding the
behavior of consumer's viewing pages in the on-line environment.
Such information may be used to determine how to increase consumer
likelihood to engage with a website by understanding, for example,
actual conversion to usage, time spent on a website or particular
webpage, CTR (Click Through Rate) to a TRO related environment,
e.g., a website associated with a TRO provider, number of page
views, etc. Moreover, it may be determined how one or more TROs
(such as those illustrated in FIG. 1) impact current and future
consumer behavior from point of entry of a consumer in an on-line
environment. Further this analysis may continue throughout a
consumer's shopping experience, providing, for example, an
understanding of shopping cart behavior, payment behavior and post
purchase behavior regarding the purchased goods/services. This is
because a relationship between the seller and the TRO provider
necessitates the sharing of data from the seller to the TRO
provider in order to provide the TRO to the customer. Moreover,
because the offer and acceptance of a TRO by the consumer enables a
direct relationship between the TRO provider and the consumer,
additional information may be obtained regarding post-transaction
activity of the consumer. This may be obtained, for example, using
cookie or shared object technology.
[0038] It is foreseeable that consumer activity may be tracked by
obtaining the consumer's IP address from the code included within
or in conjunction with any TRO graphic provided on any seller's
on-line environment. Alternatively, the IP address may be collected
via seller reporting, e.g., through an Application Protocol
Interface (API; not illustrated) configured for communication
between the seller and the TRO provider. Data generated from many
data points may be logged as part of seller reporting through, for
example, API calls made by a seller to the TRO provider during
checkout and payment. Moreover, tracking of interaction with such
an API may be performed. However, IP addresses may be shared on
corporate networks or when accessing the Internet through specific
Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Thus, in order to have more
"unique" data which can be cross analyzed with IP address activity,
cookies or Macromedia Flash shared objects, or other client side
application objects such as JavaFX and Silverlight may be used to
append the collected data.
[0039] A cookie is a small text file of information that may be
attached to a user's hard drive while the user is browsing a
website.
[0040] A Flash shared object (also referred to merely as a shared
object or local shared-object, is essentially a Flash implemented
cookie. Flash Shared Objects may be used to store various
information including a user's score, favorite color, or a last
frame of a web-site visited. Further, Flash shared objects may
store a self-identified user name, and the number of times the user
visits a particular site. Shared objects are used to store data on
the user machine in much the same way that data is stored in a
cookie created through a web browser. However, shared objects
cannot remember a user's e-mail address or other personal
information unless they willingly provide such information.
[0041] A cookie can contain information such as user ID, user
preferences, archive shopping cart information, etc.
Conventionally, cookies can contain Personally Identifiable
Information (PII) which is information that can be traced back to a
consumer, e.g., name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone
number, or Social Security number. However, it may be preferred or
in most instances inadvisable to include information that may be
used for identity theft in cookies used in association with TROs.
Therefore, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, PII may not be stored in cookies or Flash shared
objects; rather, a unique visitor identifier may be used that helps
to ensure that a TRO provider may securely link to proprietary,
confidential or personal information. Use of unique visitor
identifiers enables tracking but also confidentiality through the
use of look up tables, the contents of which are securely stored.
In this way, data is both recorded for analysis but also
protected.
[0042] The cookie may be a persistent cookie, also called a
permanent cookie, a stored cookie, or a tracking cookie, which is a
cookie that is stored on a user's hard drive until it expires
(persistent cookies are set with expiration dates) or until the
user deletes the cookie.
[0043] A widespread obstacle to the effective use of cookies is a)
negative consumer perception, and b) the easy availability of
cookie-blocking tools, which either block the operation of cookies
or delete cookies automatically.
[0044] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
an alternative to the use of a cookie for tracking is to use a
Macromedia Flash shared object, which has the same functionality as
a cookie, but does not currently suffer from the limitations of
traditional cookies. In addition, the capability of Macromedia
Flash shared objects to store greater quantities of data allows
greater capacity to record consumer behavior.
[0045] Similarly, objects provided by other technology such as
Microsoft's Silverlight or JavaFX have similar functionality and
capabilities and may be used as alternatives to Flash shared
objects or in addition to such objects.
[0046] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
a consumer's experience may be tracked from the start through and
beyond the completion of a transaction. Conventionally, it is
particularly difficult to track a consumer's experience
persistently, i.e., track the consumer's activity throughout their
interaction with the on-line environment using more than one
personal computer. However, using, the combination of TRO
implemented tracking, seller reporting and cookie or
object-implemented (e.g., Micromedia, Silverlight, JavaFX, etc.)
tracking, data may be gathered from multiple sources. This may
provide an improved understanding of how to increase conversion
rates from search (or other relevant shopping navigation) to
product page to purchase, how to decrease the rate of abandoned
shopping carts, how to increase the average cart value, how to
decrease fraud, how to increase consumer return visits, etc.
[0047] For example, in accordance with at least one embodiment of
the invention, it may be determined or verified whether the
presence and/or presentation parameters of an offered TRO may make
consumers more likely to complete the shopping/transaction process,
i.e., consumer-to-customer conversion. This is because, by virtue
of the TRO provider's relationship with the seller and the TRO
implemented tracking, information regarding consumer behavior may
be united with information provided by seller reporting to give a
full picture of a customer's pre-purchase behavior. Additionally,
it may be determined whether the presence and/or presentation
parameters of an offered TRO increase average cart value. Further,
it may be determined whether the presence and/or type of a TRO
decrease fraud. This is because the TRO provider has a direct
connection with not only the seller but also the customer (by
virtue of his acceptance of the TRO), post transaction consumer
behavior activity can be monitored, analyzed and correlated with
data provided by TRO implemented tracking and seller reporting; it
should be understood that this post-transaction monitoring may be
performed using any number of techniques including logging
activities performed in connection with the TRO, and/or launching a
cookie or Macromedia Flash shared object to gather data on
post-transaction CBD.
[0048] Further, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, TRO purchase analysis may be performed to identify
profitability thresholds and revenue planning for either a seller
and/or a TRO provider. Further, on-line environment implementation
and integration may be improved based on the improved understanding
of the implementation and effect of TROs to a seller's specific
on-line environment. For example, CBD may indicate that TROs are
more effective for this particular on-line environment when they
are provided at check-out rather than throughout the on-line
environment.
[0049] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
not only the presence and type of TRO, but also properties
associated with the presentation of TROs, may be identified and
correlated to CBD. Such a level of granularity enables a
determination of how a TRO may be most effectively presented to
impact consumer behavior. Thus, how the TRO is presented, e.g., the
type of TRO or graphic associated with the TRO displayed to
consumers may be determined and correlated to consumer
behavior.
[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates one example of operations performed in
conjunction with CBD gathering for the purposes of formulating a
TRO impact report, or generation of CBD and/or configuration or
optimization of a Consumer Behavior Decision Model (CBDM),
performed in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the operations may begin, at
200 and control may proceed to 205, at which consumer interaction
with an on-line environment with one or more TRO graphics is
registered. Control then proceeds to 210 at which the consumer IP
address is written into a log along with information indicating
various data about the consumer, e.g., the URL of the root site
from which the consumer came, such as a search engine or link from
another site, etc.
[0051] Thus, when a consumer first visits a seller's on-line
environment, it may be assumed that there is no existing cookie or
Macromedia Flash object in place for the TRO provider to track
consumer behavior. The TRO provider may then write a new cookie
file which includes a unique value specific to the consumer's
personal computer. This file may also include a unique identifier
which may be later used for analysis. For example, by appending the
captured client IP address to the TRO provider generated number (if
not incremental, the TRO provider generated number may be random)
(Ex: 0000001-190.145.1.32), this identifier may be used for
analysis purposes. A current consumer IP address may then be used
to ensure that the TRO graphic is consistently displayed throughout
the consumer experience on the on-line environment.
[0052] This file may be appended with any appropriate information
when the consumer sees any graphic associated with the TRO served
by the TRO provider. Such information may include page view total,
type of TRO graphic, interaction with TRO graphic, any value
associated with the TRO graphic (e.g., an amount of bond price if
the TRO is underwriting of the related transaction), on-line
environment visited by consumer, consumer information, such as
resolution, operating system version, browser, etc.
[0053] Associated cookie(s) or shared objects may include many data
points that are persistent (as long as the cookie is not reset or
deleted). For every page on which the TRO graphic is displayed, the
cookie values may be returned to TRO provider and data within the
file may be appended (e.g., total page view, data indicating
consumer interaction, etc.) Thus, the code associated with a TRO
graphic may modify values of data in the cookie/shared object.
Thus, when a TRO graphic is present on a page viewed by the
consumer, various pieces of information about the consumer may be
gathered including unique ID, IP address, IP address change, TRO
type, TRO graphic type, site root, last TRO graphic type, TRO
graphic interaction, etc. Although some data may be specific to a
last TRO graphic hit, some data points may be persistent and
incremented at each TRO graphic impression. Additionally, in
accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention, consumer
data gathered either via cookies or Macromedia Flash objects may be
encoded, e.g., encrypted for further security and client and
customer privacy.
[0054] Additionally, at 210, or in addition to those operations
information regarding the TRO graphic, e.g., the type of graphic,
its location in the on-line environment etc. may be stored. For
example, TRO graphic placement can significantly impact the effect
of the corresponding TRO on consumer behavior. Therefore, capturing
reliable data regarding the placement of a TRO graphic on an
on-line environment's page(s) enables determination of the effect
of the placement on consumer decision making behavior. Thus, in
accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention, a
conversion from HTML to a JPEG file may be performed so that a
screenshot indicating the location of the TRO graphic in an on-line
environment's page(s) may be provided. This JPEG file may also
include an indication of fold lines (which indicate what is
initially displayed to a consumer when a webpage is first loaded)
with various resolutions.
[0055] Moreover, the code for implementing or triggering display of
the TRO graphic may also include functionality to report data
indicating the TRO graphic's location within a web page or frame.
As a result, this data may be used to analyze various parameters in
association with a customer/consumer experience in one or more
on-line environments or environment pages.
[0056] As a result of this information, customized analysis and
verification may be performed for a particular seller by setting a
testing period for the seller's on-line environment, establishing
the ability to provide a plurality of TROs and associated pricing
structures, and establishing persistence at the consumer level.
[0057] Returning to the description of FIG. 2, control proceeds to
215, at which a page view count is incremented and control proceeds
to 220, at which consumer activity is continuously monitored
recording data indicating the activities of the consumer in the
on-line environment. Control then proceeds to 225, at which the
consumer's creation of a shopping cart in the on-line environment
is registered. Various pieces of data may also be registered
including, its contents, data and time of creation, location of
creation in on-line environment, ordering of contents placed in
shopping cart, etc. For example, each update to a cart may create a
time stamped log entry.
[0058] Control then proceeds to 230, at which consumer checkout is
registered; this may include identifying whether and what types of
TROs the consumer has accepted and the relevant data and terms and
conditions for those TROs. Accordingly, at 235, transaction details
and TRO details are written in a log. For example, web logs track
every single request for a TRO graphic on any associated seller's
on-line environment. Thus, every request from any consumer hitting
a page on which the TRO graphic is displayed may be logged in a
format that includes the IP address of the consumer, the root URL,
the TRO graphic name, browser resolution, etc. Additionally, all
web logs may be time stamped.
[0059] Subsequently, at 240, consumer/customer activity is
monitored by virtue of TRO implemented tracking techniques
(explained above), seller reporting and/or cookie or Macromedia
Flash shared object implemented tracking. Accordingly, at 245, post
transaction activity is registered in a variety of logs.
Subsequently, at 250, post monitoring data correlation and
cleansing is performed (as explained below) to correlate data
received, for example, using the TRO implemented tracking and
seller reporting by correlating the two types of data using
cookie/Macromedia Flash shared object tracking data. For example,
tracking data may be reconciled by removing any data pertaining to
a consumer having generated cart or TRO activity from two different
IP addresses. This operation may be performed with increased
granularity by using client based tracking method (e.g., cookie or
Macromedia Flash shared object). To limit the impact of IP address
limitations, double tracking (e.g., TRO graphic tracking and API
tracking) may be used to clean up data by comparing various
parameters in the log data to match up entries, for example, IP
address, cart ID, consumer e-mail address, etc.
[0060] Returning to FIG. 2, control then proceeds to 255, at which
a TRO impact report may be generated to indicate impact and
efficacy of one or more TROs offered in the on-line environment
and/or parameters associated with such TROs, e.g., placement of TRO
graphic, type of TRO graphic, cost of TRO, frequency of placement,
duration of TRO, etc.
[0061] Alternatively, or in addition, the data provided in 245 may
be used to provide CBD that may be used for configuring or
optimizing CBDMs or for other uses. Control may then proceed to
260, at which the operations may end temporarily or
permanently.
[0062] Although operations have been described above wherein a
consumers experience may be based on or altered based on the
consumer's IP address, it should be understood that the
experience(s) may be assigned randomly, based on a predetermined
temporal pattern, assigned based on a presumed or determined
geographical criterion, temporal criterion, etc. Thus, it should be
appreciated that there may be many methods for providing
alternating experiences to consumers.
[0063] As illustrated in FIGS. 3-4, in accordance with at least one
embodiment of the invention, the CBD tracking mechanisms described
above may be used to generate data indicating the impact of the
presence and/or properties associated with the presentation of one
or more TROs on consumer behavior via multivariate (i.e.,
consideration of multiple parameters simultaneously) testing
experiences within a single on-line environment, e.g., seller
storefront or market place.
[0064] Determining the impact of a TRO presence/presentation
requires providing a plurality of consumer TRO experiences from a
single on-line environment. Thus, in accordance with at least one
embodiment of the invention, a TRO impact verification test may
include presenting a plurality of consumer TRO experiences, for
example, two experiences to a positive group (with a TRO) and a
control group (without a TRO). In such an implementation,
experiences may be presented simultaneously to eliminate any affect
of timing on the TRO impact.
[0065] As a result of the TRO impact verification test, data
generated based on TRO implemented tracking may be matched up and
combined with seller reported data using cookie/Macromedia Flash
shared object tracking. For testing, there is no need to tie a TRO
implemented tracking data and the seller reported data. Both
elements can be tracked and measured separately. Subsequently,
reconciliation and adjustment may be performed through analysis,
using the unique visitor identifier IP address and other ways to
cleanse the data, e.g., using a consumer's IP address to identify
each consumer.
[0066] An example of a TRO impact verification test is now
provided. On a single seller's on-line environment, three
experiences are provided: a control group with no TRO in the
on-line environment; a group that is exposed to a first TRO graphic
throughout the on-line environment; and a group that is exposed to
a second TRO graphic throughout the on-line environment. Once a
consumer has been assigned an "experience", the parameters of the
experience remains consistent. The initial experience may be
defined, for example, by the IP address of the very first
interaction with the site. To identify which group a consumer will
be placed on a random basis, all consumers with an IP address
ending with 0 or 9 are assigned to the control group, all consumers
with an IP address ending with 1, 3, 5 or 7 are assigned to the
group exposed to the first TRO graphic, and all consumers with an
IP address ending with 2, 4, 6 or 8 are assigned to the group
exposed to the second TRO graphic. Once, a consumer is assigned to
a particular group, any subsequent exposure of the TRO graphic for
the consumer throughout the seller's on-line environment during the
testing period may be governed by those rules. Consequently, a
consumer's IP address is identified, analyzed and stored to
determine which group the consumer belongs. The consumer's IP
address may be passed on to the TRO provider through an API request
from the seller's on-line environment.
[0067] It should be appreciated that a TRO validation test may be
performed for various parameters associated with a TRO or
corresponding TRO graphic. Therefore, it may be determined at what
cost a TRO is effective at improving conversion rates, a
relationship between TRO cost and conversion rates, etc.
[0068] Moreover, various combinations and sub-combinations of
parameters may be tested, i.e., multivariate testing. For example,
as illustrated in FIG. 3, the effect of more than one TRO (TRO1,
TRO2) may be compared against each other and a control group.
Placement of users into one of the groups (Control, TRO1, TRO2) may
be performed as explained above, based on an IP address of a
user.
[0069] Further, bundling of multiple TROs may be evaluated by, for
example, evaluating the combination of the primary TROs (TRO1,
TRO2) with secondary TROs (TROA, TROB). Further, an additional
level of variation may be provided by evaluating the impact of the
combinations of primary and secondary TROs in combination with
different price points associated with the TROs (Price 1, Price 2).
It should be understood, that this type of multivariate testing may
be used to determine the affect of TROs and/or the affect of TRO
graphics and/or parameters associated with TRO graphics (e.g.,
placement of TRO graphic, type of TRO graphic, cost of TRO,
frequency of placement, duration of TRO, etc.) Similarly, FIG. 4
illustrates evaluating the combination of the primary TROs (TRO1,
TRO2) with different price points associated with the TROs (Price
1, Price 2). Moreover, it should be understood that the experiences
(Experiences 1-3) illustrated in FIG. 1 may conceptually considered
equivalent to the various TRO multivariate testing groups
illustrated in either FIGS. 3-4. Thus, the term experience may be
thought of as pertaining to a particular TRO, TRO graphic, or set
of TRO presentation parameters.
[0070] For each group, a TRO verification test may include rules
for each testing period, for each seller. These may include, number
of groups, in addition to control group (no TRO for control group),
display rules, which establish what consumer IP addresses are
assigned to which groups, maximum duration of test (based, for
example, on a volume of transactions), etc.
[0071] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
modification of TRO verification parameters may be performed, for
example, to remove a parameter if, data provided by the test
indicate that data regarding the parameter is non-determinative or
ineffectual on consumer behavior. As a result, a TRO verification
test may be reconfigurable in order to optimize the test while
minimizing impact on a seller's on-line environment. For example,
with reference to FIG. 3, if after two weeks of testing, the impact
of TRO2 clearly outranks TRO1, the TRO verification parameters may
be adjusted or reconfigured to provide a test bundling TRO2 with
TROA or TROB and associated price points. Thus, TRO1 is no longer
part of the TRO verification test, but testing may continue with
only a single primary TRO and multiple secondary TROs.
[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 5, in accordance with at least one
invention embodiment, a seller 510 and a TRO provider 540 may
interact and share information to enable delivery of TRO related
information to the seller's on-line environment, process requests
for TROs originating in that environment, and report information
regarding TRO efficacy as well as CBD to the seller 510.
Accordingly, one or more connections and/or interfaces, e.g.,
Application Protocol Interface (API) 515, may be provided to enable
such communication. Moreover, the seller 510 has a transaction
related relationship 520 with the consumer/customer 530 by virtue
of the transaction; as a result the seller 510 has provides access
to CBD regarding consumer/customer 530. Additionally, once a
consumer/customer 530 has accepted a TRO, there is an additional
relationship connection 535 between the consumer/customer 530 (via,
e.g., cookie/Macromedia Flash shared object tracking) and the TRO
provider 540 as well as between the seller 510 and the TRO provider
540. As a result, the TRO provider is able to receive, analyze and
correlate CBD received from both the seller 510 and the
consumer/customer 530. Further, by nature of the TRO implemented
tracking, seller reporting and cookie/Macromedia Flash shared
object tracking data, the TRO provider 540 receives, analyzes and
correlates CBD data prior to, during and/or post transaction. In
accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention, a seller
may be provided with an interface that enables selection of one or
more TRO related parameters to be tested.
[0073] In accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
methodologies, systems, components and software may be utilized to
configure one or more CBDMs and/or generate CBD. As a result, it
should be appreciated that the invention enables capture of
appropriate data to allow TRO analysis, Cost Per Action (CPA)
modelling and web analytics modelling to identify how many visitors
visited their site, how many of those visitors were unique
visitors, how they came to the site (i.e., if they followed a link
to get to the site or came there directly), what keywords they
searched with on the site's search engine, how long they stayed on
a given page or on the entire site, what links they clicked on,
whether and what they purchased, whether and what TRO was provided
to the visitor, particular parameters associated with the TRO, what
delivery mechanism they selected, and when they left the site.
Thus, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention,
web analytic software may be provided that can be used to monitor
the effect of one or more TROs on conversion rate for the source
search/keyword, seller, product line, brand, product type, etc.
[0074] Further, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, methodologies, systems, components and software may be
utilized to provide an audit function for, e.g., Cost Per
Conversion (CPC) modelling and/or billing. Recognizing that the
advertisement industry has been plagued with problems of
determining how to identify the size of an audience exposed to
advertising material. CPC has made this determination easier, but
in some ways, CPC makes the problem worse because, often, a
seller/advertiser and a publisher often disagree due to basic
technical challenges related to lost traffic between click and site
arrival. Publishers conventionally reject the notion of relying
upon the advertisers to self-report traffic because of the obvious
moral hazard associated with self-reporting. However, functionality
provided in accordance with at least one invention embodiment may
be used to provide an unbiased, reporting mechanism for actual
traffic/audience.
[0075] Further, in conjunction with the configuring of CBDMs, it
should be appreciated that some amount of CBD may be utilized to
generate an initial CBDM while additional CBD may be analyzed to
optimize and/or reconfigure the CBDM on a continuous or periodic
basis. Accordingly, CBD generated by the invention and resulting
CBDMs may be used in conjunction with various conventionally known
marketing techniques, for example, those described in the
background and disclosure of U.S. Pub. 20050222906, entitled
"System and Method of Targeted Marketing," hereby incorporated by
reference.
[0076] Also, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, the CBDM data may be used to provide or support
contextual advertising operations wherein advertising is directed
to a consumer or group of consumers based on an improved
understanding of their behavior gained from tracking consumer
behavior in accordance with the invention. Accordingly, contextual
advertising could be based on CBD gathered post-transaction
fulfillment. For example, CBD may be generated in accordance with
invention embodiments that indicate that individuals who purchased
a particular type of computer equipment and were offered and
accepted a TRO from a particular seller's on-line environment also
purchased (from a separate, unaffiliated on-line environment)
additional memory or graphics components and/or game programs. With
that information, the seller may be able to identify what
product/service bundlings may be provided to improve consumer
experience and motivate return shoppers. Additionally, such
information may enable the seller to determine with which other
on-line sellers partnering may be beneficial.
[0077] It should be understood that invention embodiments have been
described in relation to conversion, e.g., conversion from
consumer-to-customer. However, it should be understood that
conversion may refer to any other type of conversion. Moreover, it
should be understood that consumer-to-consumer conversion is
intended to refer to individuals who purchase products and/or
services (e.g., registration for service that may be provided over
the Internet, over a mobile phone or in a physical form).
[0078] Although invention embodiments have been explained generally
without particular reference to specific TROs provided or
associated benefits conferred to a customer, the following
explanation of one particular application provides an increased
understanding of invention utility when a TRO is provided by a safe
transaction service provider that provides a TRO in the form of a
transaction performance guaranty for a transaction involving a
consumer receives the safe transaction service through an
underwriting process. In such an example, the underlying
transaction involves a buyer (e.g., consumer/customer 130
illustrated in FIG. 1) and a seller (e.g., seller 110 illustrated
in FIG. 1) 220. There may be a contract between the buyer and
seller including a plurality of contractual terms associated with
the underlying transaction. Such terms may include, but need not be
limited to, a description of goods, a sale price, a delivery date,
a specified payment method, and certain quality measures related to
the goods involved. According to such contractual terms, the buyer
may have a duty to make a payment for the goods involved and the
seller may have a duty to deliver the goods.
[0079] Thus, a safe transaction service provider (e.g., TRO
provider 140 illustrated in FIG. 1) may provide a transaction
performance guaranty service to a party (either the buyer or the
seller) involved in the transaction. The party receiving the
transaction performance guaranty service is a service subscriber,
i.e., a party who pays a fee to subscribe to the services of the
safe transaction service provider, which may be either the buyer or
the seller. The subscription may be termed with respect to a
predetermined fixed period (e.g., one month) or may be termed with
respect to a total coverage in terms of a dollar amount, or a
hybrid.
[0080] The transaction performance guaranty service, which may be
obtained for a fee, may also provide a separate performance
guaranty on behalf of its subscriber for each transaction involving
the subscriber. The guaranty may be exercised in case of default by
a party to the transaction. A default may be defined as a violation
of a term associated with a transaction agreement. For example, if
the seller subscribes to the performance guaranty service and fails
to deliver goods in a particular transaction, a buyer involved in
the same transaction may exercise the guaranty and file a claim to
the safe transaction service provide.
[0081] A transaction performance guaranty service agreement may
provide an indemnity clause, which requires a service subscriber to
indemnify, under certain condition, the safe transaction service
provider for a payout that it has made. For example, if a claim is
filed against the service subscriber who is subsequently determined
to be at fault and the safe transaction service provider
compensated the party who filed the claim, the safe transaction
service provider may seek reimbursement from its subscriber.
[0082] The transaction performance guaranty may be provided in a
variety of different forms, e.g., a surety bond, a specialized bank
guaranty, a specialized insurance policy, or in a form of a safe
transaction guaranty. The safe transaction service provider may
provide various forms of a performance guaranty.
[0083] When a transaction closes, the focus regarding an underlying
transaction may shift from negotiation/bidding to actual
performance. All of the parties may not be known until the
transaction closes. For example, in an auction where the seller is
a subscriber of the transaction performance guaranty service, it is
not clear until there is a successful bidder at the close of the
auction who the buyer will be. The safe transaction service
provider may not be certain who will be the beneficiary under the
performance guaranty provided on behalf of the subscriber (auction
seller). Therefore, the safe transaction service provider may
actually issue a performance guaranty only after the underlying
transaction is closed and the performance guaranty can be provided
to the appropriate party, such as the successful auction
bidder.
[0084] Under a seller's transaction performance guaranty, when the
seller violates a term regarding the transaction (e.g., fails to
deliver the goods after the buyer made the payment), the buyer may
file a claim with the safe transaction service provider. In other
situations, the buyer may file a claim merely based on a belief
that the seller has violated some agreed terms of the transaction.
If the safe transaction service provider determines that the seller
is at fault, it compensates the buyer. Subsequently, the safe
transaction service provider sends an indemnity request to the
seller according to the transaction performance guaranty service
agreement. Finally, the seller may indemnify the safe transaction
service provider in compliance with the service agreement.
[0085] The safe transaction service provider may determine service
subscribers according to their qualifications measured using
different approaches. The safe transaction service provider may
underwrite each applicant requesting different services. There may
be a separate and distinct underwriter involved in the process or
the underwriter may be part of the safe transaction service
provider. Thus, the underwriter may need to communicate with
different entities to gather relevant information in order to make
a qualification decision about each service applicant. It may
gather credit information from different credit agencies. It may
also collect, either internally or externally, ratings of a seller
from various rating information sources. In some situations, the
underwriter may also examine different governmental archives to
identify court proceedings in which an applicant is a party
indicating the applicant's alleged or convicted wrongful conduct.
Furthermore, the underwriter may also look up data from other
public information sources that may reflect the qualification of an
applicant. For instance, there may be a public list posted on a
website that lists all sellers who have participated in fraud in
prior commercial activities. The underwriter may be a person, a
corporation that carries out the underwriting process either
manually or automatically through a computer application program or
semi-automatically.
[0086] Thus, the safe transaction service provider may choose to
offer its service only to applicants who have shown a certain level
of trustworthiness based on information collected from different
sources. This minimizes the potential risk borne by the safe
transaction service provider. Alternatively, the safe transaction
service provider may also provide safe transaction related services
on behalf of other business entities. For example, the safe
transaction service provider may operate as an agency for an
underwriter such as an insurance company. In addition, it may
represent a plurality of independent business entities to offer,
execute, and maintain safe transaction related services.
[0087] In such an example, where a TRO provider is a safe
transaction service provider. Two types of TROs may be presented to
a consumer throughout their experience at a seller's "bonded"
on-line environment: a seal (certified or bonded), which may be
displayed throughout the on-line environment and indicate that an
associated seller(s) is either a certified seller or a bonded
seller; and a bond opt-in TRO, which may provide the consumer with
the opportunity to purchase a bond during a checkout process for a
transaction within the on-line environment. The seal TRO may be
served, for example, dynamically by the safe transaction related
service provider and arbitrarily or purposefully placed in the
seller's on-line environment, while the bond opt-in TRO may be
served and placed, for example, by the partner.
[0088] While this invention has been described in conjunction with
the specific embodiments outlined above and particular examples
used to illustrate relative and absolute utility of the invention
in connection with on-line environments, it is evident that many
alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to
those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the various embodiments of
the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative,
not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0089] For example, although the above-described invention
embodiments have been described as receiving information via
cookies/shared objects, from sellers' on-line environments, etc.,
it should be appreciated that at least one invention embodiment may
be configured to gather information using what is sometimes
referred to as "digital fingerprinting," or "deviceprint"
technology, wherein a consumer's device (e.g., their personal
computer) may be uniquely identified using any one or combination
of more than one proprietary methods wherein hardware, software and
network information is gathered to create a unique profile or
digital fingerprint for each device that accesses an online
network. Because such digital fingerprints are extremely accurate
and resistant to manipulation, this implementation has particular
value.
[0090] Additionally, it should be appreciated that the invention
has been described using various terms that may be used
interchangeably or with reference to one another. For example, the
term "buyer" may be used interchangeably with "consumer" or
"customer" depending on the context. Further, although invention
embodiments have been described in relation to the term "seller,"
it should be understood that the term "seller" may refer to any
type of seller including merchants, market/clearinghouse/reselling
environment providers, etc.
[0091] Further, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, a spider or robot may be used to index sellers' on-line
environments to verify that TRO graphics are properly placed and
functioning. Accordingly, the spider (which may be implemented as a
computer program that locates and analyzes web documents, FTP
archives, and Gopher documents) may be used to generate data
regarding on-line environments, and the presence and presentation
of TROs. This information may be compared with and/or cross
references with data generated by, for example, API tracking, TRO
tracking and cookie tracking to reduce extraneous data by matching
various parameters to link data and eliminate redundancies.
[0092] Also, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the
invention, TROs may be provided in conjunction with an affiliate
program, so that consumer behavior may be tracked prior to the
consumer visiting a seller's on-line environment. In such an
embodiment, the TRO graphic may be provided as an indication of
participation in such an affiliate program. As a result, tracking
of consumer behavior may be extended to all sellers participating
in the affiliate program. As a result, revenue may be distributed
in connection with the affiliate program based on actual
conversions from surfing to purchasing rather than merely on clicks
of page views.
[0093] Further, it should be appreciated that the code utilized by
various invention embodiments may be served by a seller in their
own on-line environment or served by a TRO provider from a remote
location, which may be coupled to the on-line environment and be
implemented using one or more servers. Further, it should be
understood that any or all of the software and associated
functionality utilized to analyze CBD may be included in a seller's
on-line environment and/or components operated by or under the
direction of a TRO provider.
[0094] As a result, it will be apparent for those skilled in the
art that the illustrative embodiments described are only examples
and that various modifications can be made within the scope of the
invention as defined in the appended claims.
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