U.S. patent application number 14/012982 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-27 for method and apparatus for selecting a supplemental product to offer for sale during a transaction.
This patent application is currently assigned to Walker Digital Holdings, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Walker Digital Holdings, LLC. Invention is credited to David H. Douglas, George M. Marrazzo, Raymond J. Mueller, Andrew S. Van Luchene, Shane Whalquist.
Application Number | 20140089085 14/012982 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26886483 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140089085 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mueller; Raymond J. ; et
al. |
March 27, 2014 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCT TO OFFER
FOR SALE DURING A TRANSACTION
Abstract
According to some embodiments, a supplemental product or service
may be offered to a user during a transaction, either in addition
to products and/or services the user is purchasing, or as a
replacement to one or more of the products and/or services that the
user is purchasing. The functionality may be implemented, for
example, in a retail embodiment where a user is purchasing products
and/or services at a cash register or other point-of-sale terminal.
One or more embodiments may be implemented online where a user is
purchasing products and/or services using a computer, terminal,
telephone or other client or user device and accessing a World Wide
Web site, online catalog, interactive voice response unit or
system, etc.
Inventors: |
Mueller; Raymond J.; (Palm
Beach Gardens, FL) ; Douglas; David H.; (Darien,
CT) ; Van Luchene; Andrew S.; (Santa Fe, NM) ;
Marrazzo; George M.; (Camilus, NY) ; Whalquist;
Shane; (Copell, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Walker Digital Holdings, LLC |
Stamford |
CT |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Walker Digital Holdings,
LLC
Stamford
CT
Walker Digital, LLC
Stamford
CT
|
Family ID: |
26886483 |
Appl. No.: |
14/012982 |
Filed: |
August 28, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13356890 |
Jan 24, 2012 |
8533003 |
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14012982 |
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12365629 |
Feb 4, 2009 |
8103520 |
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13356890 |
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09603677 |
Jun 26, 2000 |
7542919 |
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12365629 |
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08920116 |
Aug 26, 1997 |
6119099 |
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09603677 |
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08822709 |
Mar 21, 1997 |
6267670 |
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08920116 |
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13975408 |
Aug 26, 2013 |
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08822709 |
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60190818 |
Mar 21, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.51 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0255 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0253 20130101; G06Q 30/0623 20130101;
G06Q 30/0217 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101; G06Q 20/12 20130101;
G07F 7/00 20130101; G07G 1/0036 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.51 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: determining, by at least one of a user
device and a second device in communication with said user device,
transaction information at said user device; determining, by at
least one of said user device and said second device, one or more
respective scores for one or more of a plurality of possible
supplemental products based on said transaction information and one
or more of the following: a respective profitability of at least
one of said possible supplemental products, a respective popularity
of said at least one possible supplemental products, one or more
preferences of a user of said user device, a respective number of
said at least one possible supplemental products in inventory, a
business rule for scoring said plurality of possible supplemental
products, and a purchase history of said user of said user device;
and selecting, by at least one of said user device and said second
device, said one or more supplemental products based on said one or
more respective scores of said one or more possible supplemental
products; and providing, via said user device, an indication of
said one or more selected supplemental products.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting comprises choosing
a supplemental product that has a respective score higher than at
least one other supplemental product of said plurality of possible
supplemental products.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting comprises choosing
a supplemental product having a respective score higher than each
of said plurality of possible supplemental products.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said second device comprises at
least one of a controller device, a web server, a point-of-sale
terminal, and a retailer device.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing said indication of said
one or more selected supplemental products comprises: transmitting,
by said user device to said second device, said indication of said
one or more selected supplemental products.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein providing said indication of said
one or more selected supplemental products comprises: outputting,
by said user device, said indication of said one or more selected
supplemental products.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said indication includes an offer
to sell said one or more selected supplemental products.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said indication includes an offer
to sell said one or more selected supplemental products for an
offer amount during said transaction.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said transaction comprises a
purchase of a product, said transaction being conducted by a user
and a retailer via a web site.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by said
user device, an indication of at least one business rule for
scoring possible supplemental products; and storing said indication
of said at least one business rule.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising one of the following:
receiving an indication of an acceptance of an offer to purchase
said selected one or more supplemental products; or receiving an
indication of a rejection of an offer to purchase said selected one
or more supplemental products.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying at least
one product category involved in said transaction; determining at
least one complementary product category for said at least one
product category; and selecting said plurality of possible
supplemental products based on said at least one complementary
product category.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining at least
one potential replacement product; and selecting said plurality of
possible supplemental products based on said at least one potential
replacement product.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said transaction information
includes at least one of the following: a transaction subtotal
amount; a user identifier; a user device identifier; a payment
identifier; a destination identifier; a location identifier; a
point-of-sale terminal location identifier; an employee identifier;
a transaction identifier; a product identifier; a retailer
identifier; a point-of-sale terminal identifier; a retailer
identifier; a time for said transaction; a date for said
transaction; credit history of a user; characteristics of a user;
weather information; time of day information; day of week
information; holiday information; competitor information; user
demographic information; information regarding a user's brand
loyalty; information regarding a user's brand indifference; product
quantity information; product inventory information; and a price
for a product being purchased during said transaction.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: maintaining a
transaction database; maintaining a database of possible
supplemental products; and maintaining a user database.
16. A system comprising: a processor; a communication port
connected to said processor, said communication port configured to
enable communication between a user device and a second device; and
a storage device connected to said processor, said storage device
storing instructions configured to direct said processor to
perform: determining transaction information at said user device;
determining one or more respective scores for one or more of a
plurality of possible supplemental products based on said
transaction information and one or more of the following: a
respective profitability of at least one of said possible
supplemental products, a respective popularity of said at least one
possible supplemental products, one or more preferences of a user
of said user device, a respective number of said at least one
possible supplemental products in inventory, a business rule for
scoring said plurality of possible supplemental products, and a
purchase history of said user of said user device; and selecting
said one or more supplemental products based on said one or more
respective scores of said one or more possible supplemental
products; and providing, via said user device, an indication of
said one or more selected supplemental products.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein said selecting comprises
choosing a supplemental product that has a respective score higher
than at least one other supplemental product of said plurality of
possible supplemental products.
18. The system of claim 16, wherein said selecting comprises
choosing a supplemental product having a respective score higher
than each of said plurality of possible supplemental products.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein said second device comprises at
least one of a controller device, a web server, a point-of-sale
terminal, and a retailer device.
20. The system of claim 16, wherein providing said indication of
said one or more selected supplemental products comprises:
transmitting, by said user device to said second device, said
indication of said one or more selected supplemental products.
21. The system of claim 16, wherein providing said indication of
said one or more selected supplemental products comprises:
outputting, by said user device, said indication of said one or
more selected supplemental products.
22. The system of claim 16, wherein said indication includes an
offer to sell said one or more selected supplemental products.
23. The system of claim 16, wherein said indication includes an
offer to sell said one or more selected supplemental products for
an offer amount during said transaction.
24. The system of claim 16, wherein said transaction comprises a
purchase of a product, said transaction being conducted by a user
and a retailer via a web site.
25. The system of claim 16, said instructions being further
configured to direct said processor to perform: receiving, by said
user device, an indication of at least one business rule for
scoring possible supplemental products; and storing said indication
of said at least one business rule.
26. The system of claim 16, said instructions being further
configured to direct said processor to perform one of the
following: receiving an indication of an acceptance of an offer to
purchase said selected one or more supplemental products; or
receiving an indication of a rejection of an offer to purchase said
selected one or more supplemental products.
27. The system of claim 16, said instructions being further
configured to direct said processor to perform: identifying at
least one product category involved in said transaction;
determining at least one complementary product category for said at
least one product category; and selecting said plurality of
possible supplemental products based on said at least one
complementary product category.
28. The system of claim 16, said instructions being further
configured to direct said processor to perform: determining at
least one potential replacement product; and selecting said
plurality of possible supplemental products based on said at least
one potential replacement product.
29. The system of claim 16, wherein said transaction information
includes at least one of the following: a transaction subtotal
amount; a user identifier; a user device identifier; a payment
identifier; a destination identifier; a location identifier; a
point-of-sale terminal location identifier; an employee identifier;
a transaction identifier; a product identifier; a retailer
identifier; a point-of-sale terminal identifier; a retailer
identifier; a time for said transaction; a date for said
transaction; credit history of a user; characteristics of a user;
weather information; time of day information; day of week
information; holiday information; competitor information; user
demographic information; information regarding a user's brand
loyalty; information regarding a user's brand indifference; product
quantity information; product inventory information; and a price
for a product being purchased during said transaction.
30. The system of claim 16, said instructions being further
configured to direct said processor to perform: maintaining a
transaction database; maintaining a database of possible
supplemental products; and maintaining a user database.
31. The system of claim 16, wherein said user device comprises said
processor.
32. The system of claim 16, wherein said second device comprises
said processor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/975,408 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
SELECTING A SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCT TO OFFER FOR SALE DURING A
TRANSACTION, filed Aug. 26, 2013; which is a continuation of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 13/356,890 filed Jan. 24, 2012; which
is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/365,629
filed Feb. 4, 2009 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,103,520 on Jan.
24, 2012; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 09/603,677 filed Jun. 26, 2000 and issued as U.S. Pat. No.
7,542,919 on Jun. 2, 2009.
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/603,677 claims priority
to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/190,818 entitled
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT SALES, filed
Mar. 21, 2000.
[0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/603,677 also is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/920,116
entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT
SALES AT A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL, filed Aug. 26, 1997 and issued
as U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,099 on Sep. 12, 2000, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/822,709
entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING LOTTERY TICKET
TRANSACTIONS UTILIZING POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS, filed Mar. 21, 1997
and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,670 on Jul. 31, 2001.
[0004] Each of the above-referenced applications is incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] 1. Field of the Invention
[0006] This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus
for conducting a transaction and, more particularly, to a method
and apparatus for selecting one or more supplemental products or
services to offer for sale to a customer during a transaction.
[0007] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0008] Most stores or merchants that are visited by customers have
one or more point-of-sale terminals, such as cash registers. Store
cashiers and check out clerks often use point-of-sale terminals for
calculating the total price of a purchase for one or more products
and/or services and the amount of change due to a customer. Some
point-of-sale terminals track purchases made and adjust a database
of stored inventory accordingly.
[0009] In many situations, a merchant may desire to offer to sell a
customer or user a product or service in addition to the product(s)
and/or service(s) being purchased by the customer or as a
replacement for one of the product(s) and/or service(s) being
purchased by the customer while the customer is shopping at the
merchant or shopping on-line via a merchant's World Wide Web site.
Some prior art transaction systems exist. For example, U.S. Pat.
No. 6,055,513 issued to Katz et al. discloses a method and
apparatus for effecting commercial transactions at remote locations
over communications networks and for selecting and offering an
upsell transaction.
[0010] Unfortunately, despite the state of the art in point-of-sale
and on-line transaction systems, there remains a need for a
customer independent method and apparatus for conducting
transactions for products and services and for determining a
supplemental product or service to offer a customer during a
transaction, either in addition to the products and/or services the
customer is purchasing or as a replacement to one or more of the
products and/or services that the customer is purchasing. The
supplemental product selected may be based on the products or
services that the customer is currently purchasing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a method and apparatus for conducting transactions for
products and services and to provide a method and apparatus for
selecting a supplemental product or service to offer a user during
a transaction, either in addition to the products and/or services
the user is purchasing or as a replacement to one or more of the
products and/or services that the user is purchasing.
[0012] Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the
invention shall be set forth in part in the description that
follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the
art upon examination of the following or may be learned by the
practice of the invention. The objects and the advantages may be
realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and in
combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
[0013] To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance
with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described herein, a method for conducting a transaction includes
receiving information for a transaction, determining a pool of at
least one supplemental product, scoring at least one supplemental
product in the pool, selecting a supplemental product from the pool
for the transaction, and providing an indication of the
supplemental product selected from the pool. The supplemental
product may be an additional supplemental product or a replacement
supplemental product. In some embodiments, selecting the
supplemental product may include selecting at least one
supplemental product from the pool based on the scores. The scoring
of supplemental products may use a profit based scoring approach, a
popularity based scored approach, a discount scoring approach, or
some other scoring approach. Selection of a supplemental product
may also be based on other criteria, such as the preparation time
for products, the amount or number of one or more products in
inventory, marketing and/or consumer research information, or a
"collaborative filter" which incorporates one or more of the other
approaches.
[0014] Also to achieve the foregoing and other objects and in
accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied
and broadly described herein, an apparatus for conducting a
transaction includes a memory, a communication port, and a
processor connected to the memory and the communication port, the
processor being operative to receive information for a transaction,
determine a pool of at least of supplemental product, score at
least one supplemental product in the pool, select at least one
supplemental product from the pool for the transaction, and provide
an indication of the at least one supplemental product selected
from the pool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
form a part of the specification, illustrate the preferred
embodiments of the present invention, and together with the
descriptions serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0016] In the Drawings:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method in
accordance with the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of system components for an
embodiment of an apparatus usable with the method of FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the select supplemental
product(s) step of the method of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the select product from pool
step of FIG. 3 usable in embodiments during which a supplemental
product is added to the products involved in a transaction;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the select product from pool
step of FIG. 3 usable in embodiments during which a supplemental
product replaces a product involved in a transaction;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating food products purchased during
a transaction using the method of FIGS. 1, 3, and 4;
[0023] FIG. 7 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating groups for the food products
illustrated in FIG. 6;
[0024] FIG. 8 is another tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating product groups and
complementary product categories for the food products illustrated
in FIG. 6;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating product groups and
complementary product categories for the food products illustrated
in FIG. 6;
[0026] FIG. 10 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating an offer amount determined for
the food products illustrated in FIG. 6;
[0027] FIG. 11 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating possible additional
supplemental products and associated costs for the food products
illustrated in FIG. 6;
[0028] FIG. 12 is table illustrating possible replacement
supplemental products and associated replacement costs for food
products in the example illustrated in FIG. 6;
[0029] FIG. 13 is a table illustrating possible replacement
supplemental products and associated replacement costs for the food
products illustrated in FIG. 6;
[0030] FIG. 14 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating the use of profit based scoring
for the determine scores for products in poll step of FIG. 3;
[0031] FIG. 15 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating the use of popularity based
scoring for the determine scores for products in poll step of FIG.
3;
[0032] FIG. 16 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating the use of discount based
scoring for the determine scores for products in poll step of FIG.
3;
[0033] FIG. 17 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for a record illustrating the use of profit based,
popularity based, and discount based scoring for the determine
scores for products in poll step of FIG. 3;
[0034] FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a representative
controller or point-of-sale terminal of FIG. 2;
[0035] FIG. 19 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for the product database of FIG. 18;
[0036] FIG. 20 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for the user database of FIG. 18;
[0037] FIG. 21 is a tabular representation of a possible data
structure for the transaction database of FIG. 18; and
[0038] FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a representative
user device of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0039] A first embodiment 100 of a method in accordance with the
principles of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The
method 100 allows a user or other customer, controller,
point-of-sale terminal, etc. to conduct a transaction for the
purchase of one or more products and/or services, during which a
supplemental product or service is offered for sale to a user
during a transaction, the supplemental product being either in
addition to the products and/or services the user is purchasing or
as a replacement to one or more of the products and/or services
that the user is purchasing. The method 100 may be implemented in a
retail embodiment where a user is purchasing products and/or
services at a cash register or other point-of-sale terminal. The
method 100 may also be implemented in an online embodiment where a
user is purchasing products and/or services using a computer,
terminal, telephone or other client or user device and accessing a
World Wide Web site, online catalog, interactive voice response
unit or system, etc.
[0040] The method 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a step 102
during which transaction information is received by a controller,
point-of-sale terminal, user device, or other device, regarding a
user's purchase or attempted purchase of one or more products
and/or services. For purposes of simplicity of explanation and
claiming of the present invention, as used herein, the term
"product" will be used to refer to any of a tangible item, good,
product, a service, a coupon offer, a lottery ticket or fractional
lottery ticket, etc. The method 100 also includes a step 104 during
which a selection is made, either by a controller, point-of-sale
terminal, user device, etc. of one or more supplemental products to
offer for sale to the user. The supplemental product(s) may be in
addition to the product(s) being purchased by the user or in
replacement of one or more products being purchased by the user.
During a step 106, an indication or message of the supplemental
product selection made during the step 104 is provided or indicated
to a user, user device, controller, point-of-sale terminal, or
other device. The indication or message provided during the step
106 may also include information regarding the price of the
supplemental product chosen during the step 104, the amount of time
a user or customer has to indicate a willingness to purchase the
supplemental product chosen during the step 104, the amount of time
a user or customer has to indicate or provide a payment identifier
(e.g., a credit card, a frequent shopper card, smart card, etc.) to
purchase the supplemental product chosen during the step 104, where
and how the supplemental product chosen during the step 104 may be
obtained or received, descriptive information of the supplemental
product chosen during the step 104, etc. The method 100 and the
steps 102, 104, 106 will be discussed in additional detail
below.
[0041] In some embodiments of the method 100, the price to a user
for a supplemental product may be based in whole or in part on an
amount of change due a customer during a transaction. The amount of
change due a customer during a transaction is the difference
between a purchase price for the product(s) being purchased by the
customer and an amount tendered by the customer. Customers
typically tender whole number cash amounts in the form of bills of
paper money, while purchase prices are most often non-whole number
amounts. Accordingly, the amount of change due to a customer at a
point-of-sale terminal typically includes one or more coins, which
the point-of-sale terminal or cashier dispenses to the customer. In
some embodiments, a price for a supplemental product may be based
on a portion of the change due to a customer or on a larger
rounding amount (e.g., the amount of change needed to make the
total customer price for a transaction equal to five dollars, equal
to ten dollars, etc.)
[0042] A significant advantage of the method 100 for a retailer is
that the retailer may be able to entice or convince a customer to
purchase an additional or replacement supplemental product, thereby
increasing incremental sales made by the retailer. One type of
replacement supplemental product is an upgrade supplemental
product. For example, a customer buying shoes, pants, and a shirt
from a retailer might be convinced to purchase matching socks and
ties as additional supplemental products, thereby increasing the
sales made by the retailer. Alternatively, the retailer might
convince the customer to purchase a different pair of shoes as a
replacement supplemental product or a better pair of shoes as an
upgrade replacement product.
[0043] A retailer using the method 100 may generate additional
opportunities to sell products to customers that are perishable,
soon to be out of fashion, etc., that might otherwise go unsold or
otherwise create a loss for the retailer. Furthermore, the method
100 gives a retailer an ability to sell products for which it has
excess inventory, thereby limiting or reducing losses the retailer
may incur if the retailer miscalculates demand for a specific
product. While the retailer may sell the excess products for a
lower price than desired by the retailer, the method 100 allows a
retailer to generate good will on behalf of customers. In some
situations, the retailer may be willing to sell a product at a
reduced price to help motivate the customer to purchase the
product. Since the retailer is offering to sell the supplemental
product to a customer at a reduced price after the customer has
selected products he or she wishes to purchase at normal (i.e., not
reduced) prices, the offer will have little, if any, effect on
sales of the supplemental product at a normal price.
[0044] Another significant advantage of the method 100 for a
retailer is that the retailer may increase impulse purchases by a
customer while the customer is conducting a transaction, paying for
products, standing in a check-out line, etc. Therefore, in addition
to displays of candy, magazines, shoe laces, cosmetics, etc. often
found at a check out line or near a point-of-sale terminal, the
retailer has an additional way to provide opportunities to
customers to make impulse purchases.
[0045] A significant advantage of the method 100 for a customer is
that the customer may receive a benefit by accepting an offer to
buy an additional or replacement product. For example, a customer
might have an opportunity to purchase a product that is better than
(e.g., is more desirable, has a higher retail price, etc.) the
product originally selected by the customer. In addition, a
customer might have an opportunity to purchase an additional
product at a price that is lower the product's normal price,
thereby saving the customer money.
[0046] Now referring to FIG. 2, an apparatus or system 200 usable
with the method 100 is illustrated. The apparatus 200 includes a
controller 202 that may communicate with one or more point-of-sale
terminals 204, 206 and user devices 208, 210 either directly or
indirectly via a computer, data, or communications network 212. The
controller 202 and/or one of the point-of-sale terminals 204, 206
preferably perform the steps 102, 104 and 106 of the method 100 and
receive transaction information from users who may be using the
user devices 208, 210 or who may be interacting with a store
employee operating one of the point-of-sale terminals 204, 206.
[0047] The controller 202 may be operated by, for, or on behalf of
a single retailer, chain of retailers, collection of retailers,
mall, shopping center, one or more manufacturers, one or more
suppliers, a government agency, etc. The controller 202 may also
function as a World Wide Web site server. The operation,
configuration and use of the controller 202 will be discussed in
further detail below.
[0048] The system 200 may also include one or more point-of-sale
terminals, such as the point-of-sale terminals 204, 206. The
point-of-sale terminals 204, 206 may be located in, or associated
with, retail stores, a mall or shopping center, a retail chain
headquarters, etc. and preferably are used to communicate store,
product, service, product category, service category, benefit,
customer, purchase or transaction related information to the
controller 202, the user devices 208, 210 or other devices
connected to the communications network 212. For example, a
point-of-sale terminal may provide a confirmation or indication to
the controller 202 that a customer has purchased a product or
service during a transaction.
[0049] Point-of-sale terminals may communicate indirectly with the
controller 202 and/or the user devices 208, 210 via the
communication network 212 or more directly, such as indicated by
the dashed line 214 in FIG. 2. The operation, configuration and use
of a point-of-sale terminal will be discussed in further detail
below.
[0050] The user devices 208, 210 preferably allow customers to
interact with the controller 202 and the remainder of the apparatus
200. The user devices 208, 210 also enable customers to provide or
receive indications of products or services, customer identifiers,
payment information, purchase confirmations, indications of
benefits, indications of products or services, product information,
service information, etc. Additionally, the user devices 208, 210
may enable a user to receive information, instructions, etc. from
the controller 202, a point-of-sale terminal, or other device. User
devices may be or include a personal computer, portable computer,
mobile or fixed user station, workstation, network terminal or
server, telephone, cellular telephone, beeper, kiosk, dumb
terminal, personal digital assistant, facsimile machine, customer
information display associated with a point-of-sale terminal, etc.
A single user or customer may operate, use or control one or more
user devices and may use different devices and types of user
devices for different functions. The operation, configuration and
use of user devices will be discussed in further detail below.
[0051] The communications network 212 may be the Internet, the
World Wide Web, or some other public or private computer or
communications network or intranet, as will be described in further
detail below. The communications network 212 is only meant to be
generally representative of cable, computer or other communication
networks for purposes of elaboration and explanation of the present
invention and other devices, networks, etc. may be connected to the
communications network 212 without departing from the scope of the
present invention. The communications network 212 is also intended
to be representative of, and include all or a part of, the
Internet, the World Wide Web, and other privately or publicly
operated networks. The communications network 212 can also include
other public and/or private wide area networks, local area
networks, data communication networks or connections, intranets,
extranets, cable modems, routers, satellite links, microwave links,
cellular or radio links, fiber optic transmission lines, ISDN
lines, T1 lines, DSL, etc.
[0052] Now referring again to FIG. 1, the method 100 and the steps
102, 104 and 106 will be discussed in more detail in relation to
the system 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. As previously discussed
above, the method 100 includes a step 102 during which transaction
information is received from a user, a user or client device, a
retailer, a retailer device, etc. relating to the purchase, rental,
lease, etc. of one or more products or services. Transaction
information received during the step 102 may include the product(s)
and/or service(s) involved in the transaction and their quantities,
the prices for product(s) and/or service(s) involved in the
transaction, a user identifier, a user device identifier, a
retailer or store identifier, an employee identifier for an
employee involved in the transaction, a point-of-sale terminal
identifier for a point-of-sale terminal involved in the
transactions, the time and/or date of the transaction, a method of
payment or a payment identifier, preference information for a user,
credit history of a user, characteristics of a user, user
demographic information, information regarding a user's brand,
product or service loyalty or preference, information regarding a
user's brand product or service indifference, a product identifier,
a service identifier, an amount of change due a user as a result of
the transaction, product quantity or inventory information, a price
for a product being purchased during the transaction, a price for a
service being purchased during the transaction, time of day, day of
week, holiday, weather, number of people in a party, etc. Some or
all of the transaction information received during the step 102 may
be stored in a transaction database for later use by the controller
202, a point-of-sale terminal, a user device, etc. An example
transaction database will be described in more detail below.
[0053] While the transaction information preferably will be
received or obtained during the step 102 by the controller 202 or a
point-of-sale terminal directly or indirectly from a user or user
device, the transaction information may also be received by a
retailer, a cashier or check-out clerk, and/or a retailer device or
some other device. In addition, the transaction information
received during the step 102 may be received via any one or more
communication channels, such as via a telephone call, facsimile
transmission, email message, data transmission over the
communications network 212, etc.
[0054] After the transaction information is received during the
step 102, one or more supplemental products are determined,
identified or otherwise selected during the step 104. The step 104
and offers to sell or otherwise provide supplemental products may
occur during any point of a transaction based on the transaction
information or other data received at the point of the
transaction.
[0055] Selection of a supplemental product may be completed by the
controller 202, a point-of-sale terminal, a retailer, a retailer
device, a cashier or check-out clerk, etc. In general, a
supplemental product typically will relate in some way to the
product(s) being purchased or otherwise obtained by a user during
the transaction for which information is received during the step
102. As will be discussed in more detail below, a supplemental
product can be identified or selected in many ways or according to
different rules or procedures. In addition, the rules may change
during operation of the method 100, as information about users,
user preferences, user purchasing history, product inventory
levels, product popularity or market acceptance, product costs or
profit margins, etc. are received or determined. Thus, a system or
entity using the method 100 may adjust or tune itself or the
applied rules over time to optimize use and operation of the method
100.
[0056] Supplemental products for a transaction may include products
in addition to the products being purchased by a user during the
transaction or replacement products for one or more of the products
being purchased during the transaction. For example, if a group of
products being purchased by a user during a transaction at a
sporting goods store or World Wide Web site includes a backpack and
a sleeping bag, an additional supplemental product for the
transaction could be a tent, a hiking stick, hiking boots, a
portable cooking stove, etc. A replacement product for the
transaction could be a different backpack or a different sleeping
bag. In another example, if a group of products being purchased by
a user during a transaction at a fast food restaurant includes a
hamburger, a small order of French fries, and a medium soft drink,
an additional supplemental product might be an ice cream cone or
milk shake. A replacement supplemental product for the hamburger
might be a cheeseburger, a replacement supplemental product for the
small order of French fries might be a large order of French fries,
and a replacement product for the medium soft drink might be a
large soft drink or a large milk shake.
[0057] After one or more supplemental products are determined,
identified or otherwise selected during the step 104, one or more
indications of one or more of the selected products is provided to
a user, user device, point-of-sale terminal, etc. The indication
may be provided by the controller 202, a point-of-sale terminal, a
retailer, a retailer device, a cashier or check-out clerk, etc.
Indications may be provided to multiple places or device at or near
the same time, such as to a point-of-sale terminal and a customer
device.
[0058] An indication may be provided via an email or other data
message or transmission, vocal message, visual display, telephone
call, facsimile transmission, regular or express mail, radio
signal, beeper signal, etc. For example, a user shopping at a
retailer might receive the indication personally and audibly from a
cashier or check out clerk or visually via a display on a
point-of-sale terminal. A user shopping online at a retailer's
World Wide Web site via a user device, such as a personal computer,
may receive the information in a message from the World Wide Web
site. The World Wide Web site may be operating on a controller or
other device. If more than one supplemental product is determined
during the step 104, each product may be associated with a unique
indication. Alternatively, an indication may illustrate that more
than one supplemental product has been selected during the step
104. The indication for a supplemental product selected during the
step 104 may include a product description, a product identifier, a
price, an offer to sell the product for a specific price, a time
limit for the offer, a term or condition associated with the
purchase of the product, and/or other transaction or supplemental
product information.
[0059] In embodiments where the indication provided during the step
106 for a transaction includes an offer to sell a selected
supplemental product to a user, the method 100 may also include a
step wherein an acceptance of the offer to purchase the selected
supplemental product is received by the controller 202, a user
device, a point-of-sale terminal, a cashier or check-out clerk,
etc. If desired, the acceptance may need to be received during a
predetermined period of time in order to be valid or effective. In
some embodiments, the offer provided in the indication may be
assumed to be accepted if no rejection of the offer is received.
Furthermore, the rejection may need to be received during a
predetermined period of time in order to be valid or effective. In
some embodiments, if a response to an offer is negative or if an
offer is otherwise declined, an additional or secondary offer may
be made.
[0060] In some embodiments, more than one supplemental product may
be offered for sale or indicated to a user. In such embodiments,
the user may be allowed to accept one or more of the offers to
purchase a supplemental product. The method 100 may then include
providing or transmitting such an offer or indication to the user
via the controller 202, a point-of-sale terminal, a user device,
etc. and/or receiving a selection or choice from the user as to
which offer or offers to accept.
[0061] In some embodiments of the method 100, a price or offer
amount for the supplemental product(s) selected during the step 104
may also be determined or identified. The price or offer amount for
a supplemental product may be the regular full price for the
product, a discounted version of the regular full price for the
product, or some other amount. In some embodiments, the amount of
change due to a user for a given transaction may be the price or
offer amount for a supplemental product. While the amount of change
may be in cash, the transaction is not limited to cash transactions
and the amount of change due may be computed in a cashless
transaction (e.g., a credit card transaction).
[0062] Receiving and carrying loose change, especially coins, is an
annoyance to many users or customers when making a purchase or
otherwise conducting a transaction. Consequently, users often are
forced to tender non-whole number cash amounts in order to dispose
of their unwanted coins and/or reduce the coins that would
otherwise be provided to them by a cashier or check-out clerk as
change for their purchase. Coins and bills that are tendered by the
user are generally collected by a cashier at a point-of-sale
terminal.
[0063] Both dispensing coins to and collecting coins from a user
increases the amount of time a cashier spends processing a purchase
or transaction, and therefore increases the amount of time that
users wait in line at a point-of-sale terminal. Accordingly,
businesses must often pay wages for time spent handling coins, and
users must experience delays as coins are exchanged between
cashiers and users. In addition, it is possible that the cashier
will make a mathematical error and dispense the wrong amount of
change to a user. Users often anticipate such an error and count
their change to assure that they have received the correct amount.
Such users typically count their change before leaving the
point-of-sale terminal, further delaying other users from
initiating a purchase or transaction. In addition, businesses also
often incur costs associated with counting, rolling, banking and
otherwise handling coins. By some estimates, businesses expend
hundreds of thousands of hours and hundreds of millions of dollars
each year just to handle coins. Therefore, both users and
businesses may benefit by avoiding the need to provide change to
users during a transaction.
[0064] In some embodiments, the price or offer amount of a
supplemental product may be based on the amount of change due to a
user during a transaction. A cashier or check-out device, a
point-of-sale terminal, a user device, the controller 202, or some
other device may determine the change due to a customer in
connection with the user's purchase and price the supplemental
product accordingly or use the amount of change due to determine
which product to select as a supplemental product.
[0065] In some embodiments, the price or offer amount of a
supplemental product may be based on a round-up amount. For
example, in a transaction for clothing products having a
transaction total of $156.75, a round-up amount based on ten dollar
levels would be $3.25 (i.e., $160.00-$156.75). If the round-up
amount is based on one-hundred dollar increments, a round-up amount
for the transaction total of $156.75 would be $43.25 (i.e.,
$200-$156.75). Use of round-up amounts as offer amounts for
supplemental products are particularly applicable in cashless
transactions, such as when a user is paying with a credit or debit
card. A round-up amount may be larger depending on the total
transaction amount (e.g., rounding to the nearest one-hundred
dollar amount instead of the nearest ten dollar amount if the
transaction total exceeds five hundred dollars).
[0066] The operation, use and concept of taking an amount of change
due a customer or user and offering to sell a new product or
"upsell" to the customer or user in exchange for the amount of
change due is discussed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/920,116 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING SUPPLEMENTARY
PRODUCT SALES AT A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL, the contents of which
are incorporated herein by reference.
[0067] A price or offer amount for a supplemental product and an
offer to sell a supplemental product may be provided or indicated
by a point-of-sale terminal. For example, when a user brings a
purchase to a point-of-sale terminal, the point-of-sale terminal
may generate or otherwise determine the purchase price for the
purchase and set a "required payment amount" to be equal to the
purchase price. The required payment amount indicates the amount
the customer is expected to pay. The point-of-sale terminal then
generates or otherwise determines a rounded price for a
supplemental product, preferably by rounding up the purchase price
to a whole number, and calculates therefrom a round-up amount equal
to the difference between the purchase price and the rounded price.
Accordingly, a round-up amount for a transaction may indicate or be
based on the coins or other amount due as change in a cash
transaction, or the nearest and higher ten dollar amount (e.g., a
round-up amount for a $163.50 transaction total is $6.50, i.e.,
$170.00-$163.50) or the nearest and higher hundred dollar amount
(e.g., a round-up amount for a $163.50 transaction total is $36.50,
i.e., $200-$163.50) in a cashless transaction. As previously
discussed above, a round-up amount may be larger depending on the
total transaction amount (e.g., rounding to the nearest one-hundred
dollar amount instead of the nearest ten dollar amount if the
transaction total exceeds one-thousand dollars).
[0068] Now referring to FIG. 3, the select supplemental product(s)
step 104 of the method 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 will now be
discussed in more detail. As previously discussed above, the method
100 includes a step 104 during which one or more supplemental
products are identified or otherwise selected. The step 104 may be
used to determine either of both of an additional supplemental
product or a replacement supplemental product. In some embodiments,
the step 104 may include a step 300 during which a pool of one or
more possible supplemental products is identified or determined, a
step 302 during which the products determined during the step 300
are ranked or scored, and a step 304 during which the supplemental
product(s) to be indicated during the step 106 is selected or
chosen based, at least in part, on the product ranks or scores
computed or determined during the step 302. Each of the steps 300,
302, 304 will be discussed in further detail below.
[0069] During the step 300, the pool of potential supplemental
products is identified or otherwise determined. In general, the
pool of products determined during the step 300 corresponds to the
potential products that may be offered as a supplemental product
during a given transaction. Preferably, the given transaction is
the transaction for which information is received during the step
102. A merchant or retailer may determine potential products in
many different ways, such as by querying a database containing
information regarding relationships between products, checking
product inventory, etc. The pool of potential products determined
during the step 300 may vary depending on whether additional
supplemental products are being determined or replacement
supplemental products are being determined, as will be discussed in
more detail below.
[0070] During the step 302, the potential supplemental products
identified or determined during the step 300 are ranked or scored
so that their relative value, use, etc. as supplemental products
may be ascertained. The candidate list of supplemental products
created during the step 300 may be scored in many different ways,
such as by profitability, user popularity, a discount at which they
can be offered for sale to a user, a number of the products
remaining in inventory, the time to prepare the product for sale or
delivery to a user, a products' associated labor costs, the
occurrence of sale or other promotion, an occurrence of a holiday,
a competitor's sale or promotion, customer preferences, customer
purchase history or buying habits, time to prepare the supplemental
products for sale, marketing or consumer research or data, etc. As
used herein, "scoring" of supplemental products will include and
encompass any kind of rating, ordering, measuring, testing,
appraising, accessing, evaluating, comparing, contrasting, etc.,
that may be used to evaluate and choose possible supplemental
products for a transaction.
[0071] In a profit scoring approach, the cost associated with a
possible supplemental product is compared to the costs of other
possible supplemental products to determine the profit that would
be made if a user accepts an offer to purchase the supplemental
product. The potential supplemental products can then be ranked
according to which supplemental product provides the most profit if
purchased. A more detailed example of the profit scoring approach
is provided below.
[0072] In a popularity scoring approach, each potential
supplemental product is scored based on the percentage of users who
have accepted an opportunity in the past to purchase the
supplemental product when offered the opportunity by a merchant or
retailer. Therefore, the potential supplemental products can be
ranked according to which supplemental product is most likely to be
purchased by a user if the user is given an opportunity to purchase
the supplemental product. Another approach to popularity scoring or
measurement may be based on a particular customer's past buying
habits in purchasing similar products, accepting supplemental
offers for the same or similar products, etc. A popularity scoring
approach may also measure users' perceived value for the potential
supplemental products. A more detailed example of the popularity
scoring approach is provided below.
[0073] In a discount scoring approach, each potential supplemental
product is scored according to the discount at which the
supplemental product may be offered to a user for a given
transaction. Thus, such a discount scoring approach is based at
least in part on the price or offer amount the supplemental
products will be offered for sale to a user, which may vary from
one transaction to another. A more detailed example of the discount
scoring approach is provided below.
[0074] In some embodiments a combination of scoring approaches or
techniques might be used for supplemental products. Thus, a
cumulative score might be generated by using weighted or
non-weighted scores generated by two or more supplemental product
scoring approaches. For example, both the profit scoring approach
and the popularity scoring approach might be used to generate a
single composite or collaborative score. The relative importance or
weight of a score generated using the profit scoring approach
versus a score generated using the popularity scoring approach in a
composite or collaborative score can be varied according to the
desired implementation. Thus, a score generated using the profit
scoring approach may be weighted such that it constitutes a higher
percentage of a final composite score as compared to a score
generated using the popularity scoring approach, thereby reflecting
the relative importance given to each of the two scoring approaches
when determining or selecting a supplemental product.
[0075] During the step 304, one or more products from the pool of
products identified during the step 300 and scored during the step
302 are selected or chosen as the supplemental product(s). The
determination of how many products should be selected as
supplemental products may vary according to implementation. For
example, only the product having the highest or best score as
determined during the step 302 may be selected as a supplemental
product during the step 304. Alternatively, the two, three, four,
etc. products having the highest or best score as determined during
the step 302 may be selected as supplemental products during the
step 304. As another example, all of the products having scores
exceeding a threshold or meeting some other criteria may be
selected as supplemental products during the step 304. In another
example, random or semi-random selection among products having the
top N scores may also be used to select supplemental products
during the step 304.
[0076] As previously discussed above, the step 104 may be used to
determine either an additional supplemental product or a
replacement supplemental product. Therefore, the steps 300, 302,
304 may be used to determine either an additional supplemental
product or a replacement supplemental product. However, the step
104 may operate differently if an additional supplemental product
is being determined as opposed to a replacement supplemental
product. More specifically, the step 300 during which a pool of
possible supplemental products is identified or determined may
operate differently if the supplemental product is an additional
supplemental product as opposed to a replacement supplemental
product.
[0077] Now referring to FIG. 4, the step 300 illustrated in FIG. 3
is illustrated for use in embodiments where an additional
supplemental product might be selected during the step 300 for the
step 104 in the method 100. The step 300 may include a step 350
during which product categories may be determined or identified
based on products purchased or ordered by a user. Categorizing of
products during the step 350 helps to determine complementary
products that would be good choices for supplemental products, as
will be described in more detail below. Product category
information may be retrieved from a product database. An example
product database is discussed in more detail below.
[0078] Product categories may be of various levels of specificity.
For example, product categories might be broadly defined as "food,"
"sporting goods," "housewares," "clothing," "automotive products,"
etc. Alternatively, product categories might be defined more
narrowly as "specialty sandwich," "sandwich," "beverage," "side
order," "dessert," etc., all of which may be related to products
offered for sale by a restaurant. Product categories may also be
based on other criteria, such as product cost, type of customer to
whom a product is sold, popularity of products, etc. Furthermore,
product categories and product groups may be based on any desired
or similar characteristics or products.
[0079] For a user purchasing two hamburgers, one small order of
French fries, one large order of onion rings, one large drink, and
one ice cream cone, the product categories identified during the
step 350 may include two products in the "sandwich" category (e.g.,
the two hamburgers), two products in the "side order" category
(e.g., the small order of French Fries and the large order of onion
rings), one product in the "beverage" category (e.g., the large
drink), and one product in the "dessert" category (e.g., the ice
cream cone). As a second example, product categories might be as
"shirt," "shoes," "pants," "skirt," "blouse," "jacket," "socks,"
"dress," etc., all of which may be related to products offered for
sale by a department store or other retailer. In some embodiments,
a number of different categorization schemes might be used and a
given product might fall within more than one category (e.g., a
product may fall into both a "specialty sandwich" product category
and a "sandwich" product category).
[0080] During a step 352, likely groups of related products are
constructed from the product categories identified during the step
350. For example, in a situation where the categories for a
transaction are food related (e.g., "specialty sandwich,"
"sandwich," "beverage," "side order," "dessert," etc.), a group of
products in certain product categories might be considered as a
"meal." More specifically, a "meal" may be considered as one
product in the "sandwich" category, one product in the "side order"
product category, and one product in the "beverage" category.
Therefore, for a user who is purchasing two hamburgers, one small
order of French fries, one large drink and one small drink, the
user is purchasing one "meal," e.g., one hamburger, one small order
of French fries, and one small drink. Therefore, the first "meal"
comprises a group of product categories determined or identified
during the step 352. The remaining hamburger and one large drink
are not sufficient to complete a second "meal" as "meal" is defined
above.
[0081] As another example, in a situation where the categories for
a transaction are clothing related (e.g., "shirt," "shoes,"
"pants," "skirt," "blouse," "jacket," "socks," "dress," etc.), a
group of products in certain product categories might be considered
as an "outfit." More specifically, an "outfit" may be considered as
one product in the "pants" or "skirt" categories and one product in
the "shirt" or "blouse" categories. Therefore, a user who is
purchasing three pairs of pants, one skirt, one pair of socks, two
pairs of shoes, and five shirts is buying four "outfits," three
"outfits" comprising a pair of pants and a shirt and one "outfit"
comprising a skirt and a shirt. The pairs of socks and shoes and
the remaining shirt are not sufficient to complete a second
"outfit" as "outfit" is defined above.
[0082] During a step 354, at least one complementary product
category is chosen for the categories determined during the step
350 and the groups constructed during the step 352. That is,
product categories complementary or related to the product
categories identified during the step 350 are identified that might
complete or augment a group completely or partially constructed
during the step 352. For the food example discussed above, the
purchase of two hamburgers, one small order of French fries, one
large drink and one small drink comprised one "meal." The remaining
hamburger and one large drink were not sufficient to complete a
second "meal." Therefore, a complimentary product category for this
example may be "side order" since the addition of a "side order"
product to the hamburger and one large drink would complete a
"meal." Another complementary product category for the user may be
"dessert" since the user has purchased at least one complete
"meal," but no desserts to go along with it. There may be other
product categories determined during the step 354 and many
different product categories may be available depending on the
categories identified during the step 350, the groups constructed
during the step 352, etc.
[0083] For the clothing example discussed above, a pair of socks or
shoes may be supplemental additional products for an "outfit" and,
as a result, "socks" and "shoes" are complimentary product
categories for a user purchasing an "outfit." Similarly, a jacket,
umbrella, purse, or other clothing item may also be supplemental
additional products for an "outfit."
[0084] During an optional step 356, an offer amount for a
supplemental additional product may be determined, selected or
identified. An offer amount may be based on a predetermined amount
(e.g., five dollars, fifty cents, etc.), on the total price of the
products being purchased by a user during a transaction, on a price
of one of the products being purchased by a user during a
transaction, the amount of change due to a customer during a
transaction, on transaction information determined during the step
102, product categories identified during the step 350, product
groups constructed during the step 352, etc. The offer amount
determined or identified during the step 356 may be different for
different transactions, different product categories, different
product groups, etc. and may vary with the amount or number of
products in inventory, the occurrence of a sale, promotion or
holiday, etc. For the food example discussed above, the offer
amount may be set or determined to be fifty cents. Alternatively,
the offer amount may be equal to an amount of change due to a user
during a transaction. Thus, if the price of the two hamburgers, one
small order of French fries, one large drink and one small drink is
four dollars and forty cents and a user provides a five dollar bill
to pay for the food, the amount of change due is sixty cents. If
the user provides a ten dollar bill to pay for the food, the amount
of change due may be five dollars and fifty cents.
[0085] During a step 358, one or more supplemental products are
selected or identified which fit or fall into one or more of the
complementary product categories identified during the step 354 and
which can be provided for the offer amount determined or calculated
during the step 356. As will be described in more detail below,
more than one product may be selected during the step 358.
[0086] Now referring to FIG. 5, the step 300 illustrated in FIG. 3
is illustrated for use in embodiments where a replacement
supplemental product might be selected during the step 300 for the
step 104 in the method 100. The step 300 in this embodiment
includes a step 380 during which possible replacement products are
determined or identified for the products being purchased during a
transaction. In some embodiments, information regarding the
products being purchased during the transaction may be included in
the transaction information received by the controller 202 or
during the step 102 and used to determine possible replacement
products. Information regarding possible replacement products for
one or all of the products being purchased during the transaction
may be stored in a product database populated, maintained and/or
accessed by the controller 202, a point-of-sale terminal, a
retailer device, a user device, etc. Potential replacement products
for a specific user may also be selected during the step 380 based
on the user's past purchasing history, known preferences, etc.
[0087] In the food examples discussed above, a cheeseburger might
be a replacement supplemental product for a hamburger and an order
of onion rings might be a replacement supplemental product for an
order of French fries. Alternatively, in the good example, a
supplemental product offer may be based on knowledge of a person's
food preferences. In the clothing example discussed above, a shirt
may be a replacement supplemental product for a shirt or blouse
being purchased by a user and a skirt may be a replacement
supplemental product for a pair of pants being purchased by a user.
Alternatively, in the clothing example, a supplemental product
offer may be based on knowledge of a person's existing
wardrobe.
[0088] During a step 382, the offer amounts, prices and/or costs
for the potential replacement products determined or identified
during the step 380 are determined. The step 382 is similar to the
step 356 previously discussed above. In some embodiments, the
prices or costs may be determined by accessing or querying a
product database. Prices determined during the step 382 may be the
prices to be charged to a user for the replacement products
identified during the step 380. Costs determined during the step
382 may be the costs for the provider of the replacement products
identified during the step 380. In general, the price or offer
amount charged to a user for a supplemental replacement product
will be higher or greater than the cost to the provider for
providing the supplemental replacement product to the user. An
offer amount may comprise only a monetary figure or amount, a
non-monetary figure or amount (e.g., frequent diner points,
frequent flyer miles), a manufacturer or third-party sponsored
payment, coupon, etc., or a combination of a monetary figure or
amount and a non-monetary figure or amount.
[0089] During a step 384, a pool of one or more potential
supplemental replacement products identified during the step 380 is
chosen or identified. In some embodiments, a potential supplemental
replacement product may need to have a higher user price than a
product the supplemental replacement product is offered to replace.
In other embodiments, a supplemental replacement product may need
to have a lower provider cost than a product the supplemental
replacement product is offered to replace. In other embodiments a
supplemental replacement product may need to have an incremental
price increase over the product that it is replacing that is lower
than or equal to an amount of change due to a customer or some
other fixed amount (e.g., one dollar, $1.50, etc.).
[0090] In order to provide a more detailed explanation of one
possible implementation of the method 100 and the system 200, two
detailed examples of an implementation and use of the method 100
will be now be provided, with reference to FIGS. 7-18. While the
following examples are directed to uses of the method 100 and the
system 200 by a restaurant or other food provider to sell food
products such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, etc. to
users, the method 100 and the system 200 is not limited to such an
implementation. The first example is directed to an implementation
of the method 100 to provide an additional supplemental product to
a user purchasing food products and the second example is directed
to an implementation of the method 100 to provide a replacement
supplemental product to a user purchasing food products.
[0091] In an implementation of the method 100 wherein one or more
additional supplemental products are determined during the step
104, the method 100 proceeds in accordance with the steps
illustrated in FIG. 4. As previously discussed above, in this type
of implementation, the steps 350, 352, 354, 356, and 358 comprise
at least part of the step 300 in the step 104.
[0092] Now referring to FIG. 6, a record 400 is illustrated that
may be generated as transaction information by the controller 202,
a point-of-sale terminal or a user device during a transaction
during which a user is purchasing one double-decker burger, two
cheeseburgers, one medium order of fries, one large order of fries,
and one large soft drink, which fall into the product categories
"SPECIALTY SANDWICH," "SANDWICH," "SIDE ORDER," and "BEVERAGE," as
illustrated in the entries in the fields 402, 404, 406 of the
record 400. The record 400 may be generated during a transaction
initiated, conducted or participated in by a user and received
during the step 102 as part or all of the transaction information.
The total retail price for the five products listed in the record
is nine dollars and fifty cents, as illustrated by the entry in the
field 408. The transaction for or with which the record is
associated is "T-41-1730918," as illustrated in the field 410 of
the record 400.
[0093] During the step 350, product categories involved in the
transaction are identified. The product categories to be used are
food related and will comprise the following: "SPECIALTY SANDWICH,"
"SANDWICH," "BEVERAGE," "SIDE ORDER" and "DESSERT." Generally, the
product categories used for a particular application will be
established in advance. With reference to the record 400, the user
is purchasing two products in the "SANDWICH" and "SIDE ORDER"
product categories, and one product each in the "SPECIALTY
SANDWICH" and "BEVERAGE" categories.
[0094] In an embodiment where an additional supplemental product
may be offered for sale to the user, a record 450 illustrated in
FIG. 7 may be created as part of the step 352. As previously
discussed above, the step 352 is part of the step 300 which is, in
turn, part of the step 104 during which one or more supplemental
products are determined or otherwise identified. During the step
352, product groups are constructed using the product categories
determined during the step 350 for the products purchased by the
user.
[0095] In this example, one product group is designated as "MEAL 1"
and includes a specialty sandwich, a side order, a beverage, and a
dessert, as indicated by the entries in the field 452 of the record
450. Groupings of complementary products may be based on criteria
other than "meals." For example, a high profit margin product may
be considered as a complementary product for a low profit margin
product, a ticket to a child oriented movie may be considered as a
complementary product for a child meal at restaurant, and a coupon
for a product may be considered as a complementary product to a
product purchased during a transaction.
[0096] Products which the customer has ordered during the
transaction that fall within the product categories listed in the
field 452 are provided in the entries for the field 454. As shown
in the record 450, the user has ordered four components of a "MEAL
1" product group, namely a double-decker burger, one medium order
of French fries, and one large soft drink. The remaining items that
the user ordered (i.e., the two cheeseburgers and the large order
of French fries) are listed in the record 500 illustrated in FIG.
8, but are not sufficient to complete the product group "MEAL 1."
The remaining items listed in the field 502 fall within the product
categories listed in the field 504. In addition, the remaining
items may form a part of a product group "MEAL 2," as shown in the
record 550 illustrated in FIG. 9.
[0097] The "MEAL 2" product category requires five elements, as
listed in the field 552 in the record 550, namely two products in
the "SANDWICH" product category, one produce in the "SIDE ORDER"
product category, one product in the "BEVERAGE" category, and one
product in the "DESSERT" category. The remaining products (i.e.,
the two cheeseburgers and the large order of French fries) not
associated with the "MEAL 1" product group form three of the five
products needed for the "MEAL 2" group, as shown by the entries in
the field 554 for the record 550.
[0098] During the step 354, at least one complementary product
category is determined in relation to the products being purchased
by the user (i.e., one double-decker burger, two cheeseburgers, one
medium order of fries, one large order of fries, and one large soft
drink) and the product categories identified during the step 350.
As illustrated by the records 450 and 550, a complementary product
might include a "DESSERT," which would complete "MEAL 1" or would
help complete "MEAL 2," or a "BEVERAGE," which would help complete
"MEAL 2." Other complementary product categories may also be
available.
[0099] During the step 356, an offer amount for the supplemental
product is determined or calculated. As shown in the field 408 in
the record 400 illustrated in FIG. 6, the total retail price of the
products being purchased by the user is nine dollars and fifty
cents. As shown in record 600, particularly the field 602,
illustrated in FIG. 10, a round up amount of fifty cents has been
determined during the step 356. While the round up amount of fifty
cents may be determined in many ways, for purposes of the present
example it will be assumed that the user tendered a ten dollar bill
or ten dollars in other bill amounts to cover the nine dollar and
fifty cents price for the products and fifty cents is the change
due to the customer during the transaction (i.e.,
$10.00-$9.50=$0.50).
[0100] During the step 358, a pool of supplemental products is
determined based on the complementary product categories identified
during the step 354 and the offer amount determined during the step
356. The pool of supplemental products may be products that fall
within the complementary product categories determined during the
step 354 but have a cost to the provider less than or equal to the
offer amount determined during the step 356. After the step 358 is
completed a record, such as the record 650 illustrated in FIG. 11
may be created which lists potential supplemental products and
their associated costs.
[0101] Most of the products listed in the record 650 fall within
"DESSERT" or "BEVERAGE" product categories determined to be
complementary product categories during the step 354. The two
products in the "SANDWICH" category listed in the record 650 may
also be considered as possible supplemental products, even though
they don't necessarily fill any particular product group. They may
always be added as a matter of course to the list of potential
supplemental products determined during the step 358, or they may
be added in accordance with a rule, heuristic, process, etc. that
may take into account the number and/or type of products available
or in inventory for a product category or other factors.
[0102] After the step 358 is completed, thereby completing the step
300, the step 104 in the method 100 continues to the step 302
during which scores for the products determined or selected during
the step 358 are calculated. As previously discussed above, many
different scoring processes or approaches are possible, including
scoring approaches based on profits, popularity, and discounts. A
detailed example using several scoring approaches is provided
below.
[0103] As previously discussed above, a second example of a
determination of a supplemental product is provided wherein a
replacement supplemental product is determined using the method
100. Like the previous example where a pool of possible additional
supplemental products was determined, the second example will be
directed to use of the method 100 and the system 200 by a
restaurant or other food provider to sell food products such as
hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, etc. to users.
[0104] In implementations of the method 100 wherein one or more
possible replacement products are determined, the step 300 proceeds
in accordance with the steps illustrated in FIG. 5. As previously
discussed above, in this type of implementation, the steps 380, 382
and 384 comprise at least part of the step 300 in the step 104.
[0105] During the step 380, possible replacement products are
determined for the products being purchased by a user. In this
example, the user is purchasing one double-decker burger, two
cheeseburgers, one medium order of fries, one large order of fries,
and one large soft drink. Possible replacement products may be
determined according to one or more rules or processes and may have
one or more terms or conditions. For example, possible replacement
products may be required to have at least a designated minimum
retail price, a designated minimum profit margin, etc. As a further
example, replacement products for food products may be as
illustrated in the table 700 illustrated in FIG. 12. As shown in
the table 700, food products listed in a item ordered field 702 may
be replaced by food products listed in a replace item field 704.
The cost to replace the food products listed in the field 702 with
the food products listed in the field 704 is listed in a
replacement cost field 706. For example, a hamburger may be
replaced by a cheeseburger, a quarter pound hamburger, or a
double-decker burger. Similarly, a cheeseburger can be replaced by
a quarter pound hamburger or a double-decker burger. Likewise, a
small soft drink can be replaced by a medium soft drink or a large
soft drink. In some embodiments, the replacement rules may be
category driven such that any product from one product category may
replace any other product from that product category.
[0106] For the products being purchased by the user in the current
example, the possible replacement products identified during the
step 380 are shown in the table 750 illustrated in FIG. 13. The
user has two replacement options for one or both of the
cheeseburgers that the user is purchasing and one replacement
option for the medium French fries that the user is purchasing.
[0107] During the step 382, the offer amount for the products
identified during the step 380 and illustrated in the table 750 are
computed or identified. The offer amount may be the amount of
change due a customer during a transaction, a fixed amount (e.g.,
two dollars), etc. In addition, the offer amount may comprise only
a monetary figure or amount, only a non-monetary figure or amount,
or a combination of a monetary figure or amount and a non-monetary
figure or amount. In this example, the offer amount is determined
to be fifty cents, as previously described above.
[0108] During the step 384, one or more replacement supplement
products are identified and selected from the products identified
during the step 380. In general, the pool of potential replacement
supplemental products identified during the step 384 will be those
products identified during the step 380 that can be offered for a
replacement cost that is less than or equal to the offer amount
determined during the step 382. In the present example, all of the
possible replacement products identified during the step 380 and
listed in the table 750 have a replacement cost less than fifty
cents (e.g., the offer amount determined during the step 382).
[0109] After the step 300 in the step 104 is completed, scores for
the possible supplemental products, both replacement and
additional, determined or identified during the step 300 are
calculated or determined during the step 302. Possible scoring
approaches for products include, but are not limited to, a profit
based scoring approach, a popularity based scoring approach, a
discount based scoring approach, a composite or collaborative
scoring approach, etc.
[0110] Now referring to FIG. 14, an example of a profit based
scoring approach will now be described in detail. A record 800
created during the step 300 of the step 104 may contain information
for both an additional supplemental product and a replacement
supplemental product. For the food example discussed above where a
user is purchasing one double-decker burger, two cheeseburgers, one
medium order of fries, one large order of fries, and one large soft
drink during the transaction "T-41-173-0918," possible additional
supplemental products include products falling into the "DESSERT"
and "BEVERAGE" categories, as indicated in fields 802 and 804 of
the record 800, and possible replacement supplemental products
include replacing either or both of the user's cheeseburgers with a
quarter pound hamburger and/or a double-decker burger and replacing
the user's medium order of French fries with a large order of
French fries, as indicated in fields 806 and 808 of the record 800.
The offer amount for the supplemental product is fifty cents, as
indicated in the offer amount field 810 and is presumably based on
the transaction subtotal amount of nine dollars and fifty cents
indicated in the subtotal field 812 and tender amount of ten
dollars offered by the customer to purchase the food products.
[0111] In a profit based scoring approach, the cost of each
supplemental product is used to determine the profit that the
supplemental product would produce for the transaction at the offer
amount, relative to the profits that the other supplemental
products would produce for the transaction. A profit calculation
may be based on a straight monetary amount, on a percentage of
total transaction cost, a commission, etc.
[0112] For example, in the record 800, three potential additional
supplemental products are listed in the field 802 and three
potential replacement products are listed in the field 808. Each of
the six potential supplemental products has an associated cost. The
costs for the three possible additional supplemental products are
provided in an item cost field 814 while the costs for the three
possible replacement supplemental products are provided in an
replacement cost field 816. Based on the offer amount of fifty
cents provided in the field 810 and the costs in the fields 814,
816, item profits can be determined for the three possible
additional supplemental products, as listed in an item profit field
818, and for the three possible replacement supplemental products,
as listed in an item profit field 820. The figures in the item
profit fields 818, 820 are computed by taking the difference
between the offer amount of fifty cents and the respective entries
in the item cost fields 814, 816. For example, the additional
supplemental product of cookies has an item cost of twenty-three
cents, as provided in the field 814, and an item profit of
twenty-seven cents (i.e., $0.27=$0.50-$0.23), as provided in the
field 818. Similarly, the replacement supplemental product of a
quarter pound hamburger has a replacement cost of eighteen cents,
as provided in the field 816, and an item profit of thirty-two
cents (i.e., $0.32=$0.50-$0.18), as provided in the field 820.
[0113] After the individual item profits are calculated for the
possible supplemental products listed in the fields 802 and 808,
their respective relative percentages of profit are determined and
provided in relative profit percentage fields 822, 824 of the
record 800. The percentage of total profit for a possible
supplemental product listed in the fields 802, 808 is computed by
taking the product's associated item profit as provided in the item
profit field 818 or 820 and dividing it by the sum of all of the
profits provided in the item profit fields 818, 820 and forming a
percentage. For example, the sum of all of the individual item
profits in the fields 818, 820 is $1.62 (i.e.,
$1.62=$0.27+$0.19+$0.39+$0.32+$0.25+$0.20). The additional
supplemental product of cookies has an item profit of twenty-seven
cents, therefore its relative profit percentage is 16.67 percent
(i.e., %16.67=%100.times.$0.27/$1.62), as provided in the relative
profit percentage field 822. The additional supplemental product of
an ice cream cone has an item profit of thirty-one cents, therefore
its relative profit percentage is 11.73 percent (i.e.,
%11.73=%100.times.$0.19/$1.62), as provided in the relative profit
percentage field 822. The replacement supplemental product of a
quarter pound hamburger has an item profit of thirty-two cents,
therefore its relative profit percentage is 19.75 percent (i.e.,
%19.75=%100.times.$0.32/$1.62), as provided in the relative profit
percentage field 824.
[0114] In some embodiments, the percentages provided in the fields
822, 824 become the profit based scores for the possible
supplemental products, as provided in profit based score fields
826, 828. For the six possible supplemental products provided in
the record 800, the additional supplemental product of medium soft
drink has the highest score (i.e., 24.07). In some embodiments, the
profit based scores in the fields 826, 828 may be used as part of a
composite score, as will be discussed in more detail below. The
profit based scores may be weighted as part of the composite score
so that the relative importance of the profit based scoring
approach as compared to other scoring approaches can be controlled.
The record 800 includes a weighting factor of four, as provided in
a weight field 830. Therefore, the weighted profit based scores for
the possible supplemental products listed in the fields 802, 808
are the profit based scores provided in the fields 826, 828
multiplied by the weight factor of four provided in the weight
field 830. The weighted profit based scores for the possible
supplemental products listed in the fields 802, 808 are provided in
weighted scores fields 832, 834 in the record 800.
[0115] Now referring to FIG. 15, an example of a popularity based
scoring approach will now be described in detail. A record 850
created during the step 300 of the step 104 may contain information
for both an additional supplemental product and a replacement
supplemental product, as previously discussed above in conjunction
with the record 800. Therefore, for the transaction "T-41-173-0918"
wherein a user is purchasing one double-decker burger, two
cheeseburgers, one medium order of fries, one large order of fries,
and one large soft drink, the record 850 may include the same
fields 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 812, and 830 previously described
above.
[0116] The popularity based scoring approach is based on the
percentage of one or more users who have in the past accepted a
given product as a supplemental product, thereby creating a "take
rate" or "accept rate" for the supplemental product. An accept rate
may be specific to a particular user or a composite of the
particular user's acceptance of an item and overall consumer
acceptance of the item.
[0117] The take or accept rates for the additional supplemental
products provided in the field 802 are provided in an accept rate
field 852 while the accept rates for the replacement supplemental
products provided in the field 808 are provided in an accept rate
field 854. For example, when cookies are offered as an additional
supplemental product during a transaction, the offer is accepted
fifteen percent of the time, as shown in the field 852. Similarly,
when an ice cream cone is offered as an additional supplemental
product during a transaction, the offer is accepted six percent of
the time, as shown in the field 852. Likewise, when a quarter pound
hamburger is offered as a replacement supplemental product for a
cheeseburger during a transaction, the offer is accepted twelve
percent of the time, as shown in the field 854.
[0118] After the individual item accept rates for the possible
supplemental products listed in the fields 802 and 808 are
determined, their respective relative percentage of popularity is
determined and provided in relative popularity percentage fields
856, 858 of the record 850. The percentage of total popularity for
a possible supplemental product listed in the fields 802, 808 is
computed by taking the product's associated item accept rate as
provided in the item profit field 852 or 854 and dividing it by the
sum of all of the accept rates provided in the item accept rate
fields 852, 854 and forming a percentage. For example, the sum of
all of the individual item accept rates in the fields 852, 854 is
ninety-five percent (i.e., %95=%15+%6+%21+%12+%9+%32). The
additional supplemental product of cookies has an item accept rate
of fifteen percent, therefore its relative accept rate percentage
is 15.79 percent (i.e., %15.79=%100.times.%15/%95), as provided in
the relative popularity percentage field 856.
[0119] The additional supplemental product of an ice cream cone has
an item accept rate of six percent, therefore its relative accept
rate percentage is 6.32 percent (i.e., %6.32=%100.times.%6/%95), as
provided in the relative popularity percentage field 856. The
replacement supplemental product of a quarter pound hamburger has
an item accept rate of twelve percent, therefore its relative
accept rate percentage is 12.63 percent (i.e.,
%12.63=%100.times.%12/%95), as provided in the relative popularity
percentage field 858.
[0120] In some embodiments, the percentages provided in the fields
856, 858 become the popularity based scores for the possible
supplemental products, as provided in popularity based score fields
860, 862. For the six possible supplemental products provided in
the record 850, the replacement supplemental product of medium
French fries has the highest score (i.e., 33.68). In some
embodiments, the popularity based scores in the fields 860, 862 may
be used as part of a composite score, as will be discussed in more
detail below. The popularity based scores may be weighted as part
of the composite score so that the relative importance of the
popularity based scoring approach as compared to the profit based
scoring approach discussed above and to other scoring approaches
can be controlled. The record 850 includes a weighting factor of
three, as provided in the weight field 830 for the record 850.
Therefore, the weighted popularity based scores for the possible
supplemental products listed in the fields 802, 808 are the
popularity based scores provided in the fields 860, 862 multiplied
by the weight factor of three provided in the weight field 830. The
weighted popularity based scores for the possible supplemental
products listed in the fields 802, 808 are provided in weighted
scores fields 864, 868 in the record 850.
[0121] Now referring to FIG. 16, an example of a discount based
scoring approach will now be described in detail. A record 900
created during the step 300 of the step 104 may contain information
for both an additional supplemental product and a replacement
supplemental product, as previously discussed above in conjunction
with the record 800. Therefore, for the transaction "T-41-173-0918"
wherein a user is purchasing one double-decker burger, two
cheeseburgers, one medium order of fries, one large order of fries,
and one large soft drink, the record 850 may include the same
fields 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 812, and 830 previously described
above.
[0122] The discount based scoring approach is based on the discount
off the retail price which the possible supplemental products
provided in the fields 802, 808 may be offered if the possible
supplemental products are offered to a user for the offer amount
provided in the field 810. The retail prices for the three possible
additional supplemental products provided in the field 802 are
provided in a retail price field 902. Similarly, the retail prices
for the three possible replacement supplemental products provided
in the field 808 are provided in a retail price field 904. The
discount for each of the three possible additional supplemental
products provided in the field 802 are given in a discount field
906 and are determined by subtracting the offer amount provided the
field 810 (e.g., fifty cents) from the products' respective retail
prices provided in the field 902. Similarly, the discount for each
of the three possible replacement supplemental products provided in
the field 808 are given in a discount field 908 and are determined
by subtracting the offer amount provided the field 810 (e.g., fifty
cents) from the products' respective retail prices provided in the
field 904.
[0123] After the individual item discounts for the possible
supplemental products listed in the fields 802 and 808 are
determined, their respective relative percentage of discount is
determined and provided in relative discount percentage fields 910,
912 of the record 900. The percentage of total discount for a
possible supplemental product listed in the fields 802, 808 is
computed by taking the product's associated discount as provided in
the field 906 or 908 and dividing it by the sum of all of the
discounts provided in the discount fields 910, 912 and forming a
percentage. For example, the sum of all of the individual discounts
in the fields 906, 908 is $2.60 (i.e.,
$2.60=$0.35+$0.60+$0.70+$0.25+$0.50+$0.20). The additional
supplemental product of cookies has a discount of thirty-five
cents, therefore its relative discount percentage is 13.46 percent
(i.e., %13.46=%100.times.$0.35/$2.60), as provided in the relative
discount percentage field 910. The additional supplemental product
of an ice cream cone has a discount of sixty cents, therefore its
relative discount percentage is 23.08 percent (i.e.,
%23.08=%100.times.$0.60/$2.60), as provided in the relative
discount percentage field 910. The replacement supplemental product
of a quarter pound hamburger has a discount of twenty-five cents,
therefore its relative discount percentage is 9.62 percent (i.e.,
%9.62=%100.times.$0.25/$2.60), as provided in the relative profit
percentage field 912.
[0124] In some embodiments, the percentages provided in the fields
910, 912 become the discount based scores for the possible
supplemental products, as provided in profit based score fields
914, 916. For the six possible supplemental products provided in
the record 900, the additional supplemental product of a medium
soft drink has the highest score (i.e., 26.92). In some
embodiments, the discount based scores in the fields 914, 916 may
be used as part of a composite score, as will be discussed in more
detail below. The discount based scores may be weighted as part of
the composite score so that the relative importance of the discount
based scoring approach as compared to the profit and popularity
based scoring approaches discussed above other can be controlled.
The record 900 includes a weighting factor of two, as provided in
the weight field 830 for the record 900. Therefore, the weighted
discount based scores for the possible supplemental products listed
in the fields 802, 808 are the discount based scores provided in
the fields 914, 916 multiplied by the weight factor of two provided
in the weight field 830. The weighted popularity based scores for
the possible supplemental products listed in the fields 802, 808
are provided in weighted scores fields 918, 920 in the record
900.
[0125] Now referring to FIG. 17, a composite score using the profit
scoring approach of FIG. 14, the popularity scoring approach of
FIG. 15, and the discount scoring approach of FIG. 16 is
illustrated for a record 950. The record 950 is directed to the
same three possible additional supplemental products and three
possible replacement supplemental products previously discussed
above. Therefore, the record includes the fields 802, 808, 810, and
812 previously discussed above.
[0126] The record 950 includes the weighted profits scores from the
fields 832, 834 in the record 800, the weighted popularity scores
from the fields 864, 868 in the record 850, and the weighted
discount scores from the fields 918, 920 in the record 900, as
illustrated in scoring fields 952 and 954, 956 and 958, and 960 and
962, respectively, in the record 950. As previously discussed
above, scores based on the profit based scoring approach are
weighted by a factor of four, scores based on the popularity based
scoring approach are weighted by a factor of three, and scores
based on the discount based scoring approach are weighted by a
factor of two. Thus, in this example, the profit based scores are
considered to be relatively more important than both the popularity
based scores and the discount based scores and may influence the
final composite score more significantly than either of the
popularity based scores or the discount based scores.
[0127] The cumulative scores for each of the three possible
additional supplemental products are provided in cumulative score
field 964 while the cumulative scores for the three possible
additional supplemental product are provided in cumulative score
field 966. For example, the cumulative score for the possible
supplemental product of cookies is 140.96 (i.e.,
140.96=66.67+47.37+26.92), as illustrated in the field 964.
Similarly, the cumulative score for the possible supplemental
product of quarter pound hamburger cookies is 136.13 (i.e.,
136.13=79.01+37.89+19.23), as illustrated in the field 966.
[0128] As shown in the record 950, the supplemental products range
in scores from 112.12 to 216.48. At any time during the scoring
process, the system 200 may eliminate one or more potential
supplemental products from further consideration by "filtering" out
supplemental products based on certain criteria. For example, a
"filter" may dictate that no product having a profit score lower
than some predetermined threshold should be included. A different
filter may eliminate products that have been accepted by a user in
the past as a supplemental product. In addition, filters may act to
ensure that no disadvantageous product is offered to a user or
customer. Filters may be based on delivery costs of products,
current service times for products, offer relevancy, the time to
prepare a product for sale, or other factors.
[0129] In addition to filters, the system 200 may use elimination
rules to eliminate certain products or product categories from
further consideration. Elimination rules function in a similar
manner to filters in that they limit one or more products from
being considered or selected as supplemental products. For example,
an elimination rule might be used that instructs the controller 202
or a point-of-sale terminal never to offer bacon as a replacement
supplemental product to a user if the user purchased a bacon
cheeseburger. As another example, an elimination rule might
instruct the controller 202 or a point-of-sale terminal never to
offer a product to a user as a replacement product that the user
has already ordered or that the user is ordering during the current
transaction. An elimination rule may prevent offers that have
previously been offered to a particular user or customer from being
made again to the particular user or customer, thereby preventing
the user or customer from being able to expect that they will
receive a supplemental product offer identical to a supplemental
product offer received during a previous transaction.
[0130] Upon completion of the scoring of possible supplemental
products during the step 302, one or more of the possible
supplemental products may be chosen or selected during the step 304
as supplemental products, thereby completing the step 104 of the
method 100. One or more possible supplemental products may be
chosen during the step 304 or the step 104. In addition to the
filters and elimination rules, the system 200 may force or require
designated products or types of products to be offered as
supplemental products. Such a requirement for a product to be
offered as a supplemental product will be referred to as a "forced
option." For example, during use of the method 100, the controller
202 or a point-of-sale terminal may want to make sure that one
additional supplemental product, one replacement or upgraded
supplemental product, etc. are selected during the step 104 and
offered for sale to a user, regardless of how one or more of the
supplemental products or types of supplemental products scored. A
"forced option" process accomplishes this by "forcing," for
example, a replacement supplementary product to be offered
regardless of its score as compared to other types of offers or the
scores of other products. It still may be the case that the forced
option has the highest score of its type, even though that score
may be significantly less than the score associated with an offer
of another type.
[0131] In some embodiments a "weighted randomization" approach may
be used to randomly select a supplemental product from a pool of
potential supplemental products. According to these embodiments,
each potential supplemental product in a group of possible
supplemental products is selected in proportion to its score, such
as its weighted cumulative score, relative or as compared to the
sum of all of the scores associated with the products that form for
the pool of possible supplemental products. That is, each possible
supplemental product in a group of possible supplement products may
be chosen as the supplemental product to offer for sale to a user,
the chance of each possible supplemental product being chosen being
dependent on its weighted score, such as a weighted cumulative
score, relative to the sum of all of the weighted scores. For
example, for the six possible supplemental products listed in FIG.
17, each has a weighted cumulative score listed in the field 964 or
966. The total of all of the weighted cumulative scores is 900.01
(i.e., 900.01=140.96+112.02+216.48+136.13+128.61+165.81). Thus, the
cookies, which have a cumulative score of 140.96, have a normalized
or relative percentage of 15.66 percent (i.e.,
%15.66=%100.times.140.96/900.01), the ice cream cone has a
normalized or relative percentage of 12.45 percent (i.e.,
%12.45=%100.times.112.02/900.01), the medium soft drink has a
normalized or relative percentage of 24.05 percent (i.e.,
%24.05=%100.times.216.48/900.01), the quarter pound hamburger has a
normalized or relative percentage of 15.13 percent (i.e.,
%15.13=%100.times.136.13/900.01), the double-decker burger has a
normalized or relative percentage of 14.29 percent (i.e.,
%14.29=%100.times.128.61/900.01) and the order of large fries has a
normalized or relative percentage of 18.42 percent (i.e.,
%18.42=%100.times.165.81/900.01). The total of the six relative
percentages for the six possible supplemental products total to
one-hundred percent (i.e.,
%100=%15.66+%12.45+%24.05+%15.13+%14.29+%18.42). In the weighted
randomization process for these six products, cookies will be
randomly chosen as a supplemental product 15.66 percent of the
time, an ice cream cone will be randomly chosen as a supplemental
product 12.45 percent of the time, a medium soft drink will be
randomly chosen as a supplemental product 24.05 percent of the
time, a quarter pound hamburger will be randomly chosen as a
supplemental product 15.13 percent of the time, a double-decker
burger will be randomly chosen as a supplemental product 14.29
percent of the time, and an order of large fries will be randomly
chosen as a supplemental product 18.42 percent of the time. It
should be noted that, in some embodiments, non-weighted
randomization processes may also be used.
[0132] A weighted randomization approach helps protect retailers
from losing sales at full or normal price by not offering the same
product as a supplemental product all the time in response to given
order, thereby simultaneously insuring that reasonably relevant
offers for supplemental products are made the majority of the time
to customers. Thus, customers may not be able to predict which
supplemental product will be offered to the customer, thereby
increasing the chances that the customer will buy a desired product
at normal price. In some embodiments, a management override may
alter the weighting of supplemental products temporarily or
permanently, such as when a manager knows that a particular product
is out of stock or even no longer available.
[0133] In some embodiments, the controller 202 or a point-of-sale
terminal may use flexible and dynamically developed scoring or
other processes for identifying or selecting supplemental products,
thereby permitting the controller 202, point-of-sale terminal, or
an administrator to decide which scoring processes to use and their
sequence of operation. Changing uses and sequences of scoring
processes can have positive effects on the outcome of the offer
generation process and overall user acceptance rates, profits, etc.
of supplemental products. As more information is learned about user
buying patterns, additional offer pool, scoring and/or filtering
processes can be created and easily inserted into the process. For
example, a filter based on individual employee (e.g., cashier,
check out clerk, etc.) skills may be introduced so as to filter out
supplemental product offers for which the employee has shown a
propensity to fail when making the supplemental product offer. The
configuration, operation and use of a method and system for
motivating employees to provide or make supplemental product offers
is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/540,710
entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MOTIVATING AN EMPLOYEE TO PERFORM A
BEHAVIOR RELATED TO AN UPSELL, all of which is incorporated herein
by reference. In addition, the configuration, operation and use of
a method and system for providing promotional offers via
point-of-sale terminals is described in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/538,751 entitled, DYNAMIC PROPAGATION OF PROMOTIONAL
INFORMATION IN A NETWORK OF POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS, all of which
is incorporated herein by reference.
[0134] Many different alternatives are available for selecting
supplemental products or building a pool of possible supplemental
products during the step 104. For example, instead of taking an
initial pool of supplemental products and pairing it down (a
top-down approach), a bottom-up approach could be taken in which a
list of supplement products to offer is built up over time or over
transactions. A method for accomplishing this would be rules-driven
in a manner similar to the present invention. Thus, rather than
starting with the complete selection of options and paring down the
options, the system could use the order content to select from
pre-defined offers and then, only those products that individually
score well during a transaction as compared, one at a time, with
the current order content of the transaction may become
supplemental products for the transaction.
[0135] In some embodiments, a user may initiate the method 100 by
pressing a button, either dedicated or virtual, on a user device or
point-of-sale terminal, asking for an offer for a supplemental
product, swiping a shopper card, etc. By enabling the system 200
and/or the method 100 so as to be user initiated, any possibility
of annoying or offending users with supplementary product offers is
greatly reduced, or even possibly eliminated. Further, the user
device or point-of-sale terminal could be used to present the
supplementary product offer to the user. For example, the user
device or point-of-sale terminal may include a touch-screen monitor
on which supplementary product offers are presented to the user. In
addition, the user's selection or acceptance of a supplemental
product may be received via a touch screen on the user device or
point-of-sale terminal.
[0136] Now referring to FIG. 18, a representative block diagram of
a controller, such as the controller 202, or a point-of-sale
terminal, such as the point-of-sale terminal 204 is illustrated.
The configuration, operation and use of a point-of-sale terminal
for providing offers is described in copending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/538,751 entitled, DYNAMIC PROPAGATION OF
PROMOTIONAL INFORMATION IN A NETWORK OF POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS,
all of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0137] The controller 202 may include a processor, microprocessor
or microchip, central processing unit, or computer 1250 that is in
communication with or otherwise uses or includes one or more
communication ports 1252 for communicating with user devices and/or
other devices. For example, if the controller 202 is connected to
the user device 208 via an Ethernet local area network, the user
device 206 via a cellular telephone network, and the user device
208 via a Token Ring type local area network, the controller 202
may have an Ethernet adapter as one communication port to allow the
controller 202 to communicate with the user device 202, a
connection to a cellular telephone network as another communication
port to allow the controller 202 to communicate with the user
device 206 and a Token Ring adapter to allow the controller 202 to
communicate with the user device 208. Of course, in some
embodiments, the controller 202 and other devices in the system 200
may user wireless communication to communicate with each other and
to exchange information.
[0138] The controller 202 may also include an internal clock
element 1254 to maintain an accurate time and date for the
controller 202 create time stamps for messages, information,
indications, etc. generated via the controller 202 or received by
the controller 202, etc.
[0139] If desired, the controller 202 may include one or more
output devices 1256 such as a printer, infrared or other
transmitter, antenna, audio speaker, display screen or monitor,
text to speech converter, etc., as well as one or more input
devices 1258 such as a bar code reader or other optical scanner,
infrared or other receiver, antenna, magnetic stripe reader, image
scanner, roller ball, touch pad, joystick, touch screen,
microphone, computer keyboard, computer mouse, etc. In addition,
the controller 202 may include a voice recognition system or
interactive voice response unit as an input device 1258 to aid in
or enable receiving and processing of transaction information,
messages, indications, etc. The controller 202 may also include a
fingerprint scanner or reader, a retinal scanner, a voice analyzer,
or other biometrics data input device as an input device 1258 to
allow the controller 202 to identify users. If desired, the
controller 202 may also function as a user device and/or
point-of-sale terminal.
[0140] In addition to the above, the controller 202 may include a
memory or data storage device 1260 to store information, software,
databases, device drivers, customer information, transaction
information, product information, etc. The memory or data storage
device 260 preferably comprises an appropriate combination of
magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, for
example, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), a tape
drive, flash memory, a floppy disk drive, a ZIP.TM. disk drive, a
compact disc and/or a hard disk. The processor 250 and the data
storage device 260 in the controller 202 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 202 may
comprise one or more computers that are connected to a remote
server computer for maintaining databases.
[0141] A conventional personal computer or workstation with
sufficient memory and processing capability may be used as the
controller 202. In one embodiment, the controller 202 operates as
or includes a web server for an Internet environment. The
controller 202 preferably transmits and receives data related to
transactions and is capable of high volume transaction processing,
performing a significant number of mathematical calculations in
processing communications and database searches. A Pentium.TM.
microprocessor such as the Pentium III.TM. microprocessor,
manufactured by Intel Corporation may be used for the processor
1250. Equivalent processors are available from Motorola, Inc., AMD,
or Sun Microsystems, Inc. The processor 1250 may also comprise one
or more microprocessors, central processing units, computers,
computer systems, etc.
[0142] While specific implementations and hardware configurations
for point-of-sale terminals, user devices, controllers, and contact
devices have been illustrated, it should be noted that other
implementations and hardware configurations are possible and that
no specific implementation or hardware configuration is needed.
Therefore, many different types of implementations or hardware
configurations can be used in the system 200 and with the method
100 and the methods disclosed herein are not limited to any
specific hardware configuration for the system 200.
[0143] Software may be resident and operating or operational on the
controller 202. The software may be stored on the data storage
device 1260 and may include some or all of the following: a control
program 1262 for operating the controller 202; a product database
1264 for storing information about products or services; a customer
or user database 1266 for storing information about one or more
users or customers; and a transaction database 1268 for storing
information regarding to sales of products or services.
[0144] Each of the databases 1264, 1266 and 1268 and their use and
potential data structure will be discussed in more detail below. As
will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic
illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the databases
presented herein are exemplary arrangements for stored
representations of information. A number of other arrangements may
be employed besides those suggested by the tables shown. Similarly,
the illustrated entries of the databases represent exemplary
information only. Thus, those skilled in the art will understand
that the number and content of the entries can be different from
those illustrated herein. Not all of the databases 1264, 1266 and
1268 will be used or needed in every embodiment of the method 100
or the system 200. Furthermore, some embodiments of the method 100
or the system 200 may use none or only some of the databases 1264,
1266 and 1268. Of course, there may be embodiments of the method
100 or the system 200 where all of the databases 1264, 1266, and
1268 are used.
[0145] The control program 1262 may control the processor 1250. The
processor 1250 preferably performs instructions of the control
program 1262, and thereby operates in accordance with the present
invention, and particularly in accordance with the methods
described in detail herein. The control program 1262 may be stored
in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. The control
program 1262 furthermore includes program elements that may be
necessary, such as an operating system, a database management
system and device drivers for allowing the processor 1250 to
interface with peripheral devices, databases, etc. Appropriate
program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and need
not be described in detail herein. According to an embodiment of
the present invention, the instructions of the control program 1262
may be read into a main memory from another computer-readable
medium, such as from a ROM to RAM. Execution of sequences of the
instructions in the control program 1262 causes the processor 1250
to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative
embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in
combination with, software instructions for implementation of some
or all of the methods of the present invention. Thus, embodiments
of the present invention are not limited to any specific
combination of hardware and software.
[0146] As previously discussed above, the product database 1264 can
be used to store information and data regarding products, services,
etc. The product database 1264 may be used, populated, accessed,
and/or updated by a controller, a point-of-sale terminal, a user
device, etc. during any of the steps of the method 100. A tabular
representation of a possible implementation of, or data structure
for, the product database 1264 is illustrated in FIG. 19.
[0147] The product database 1264 preferably includes a
product/service identifier field 1300 which may contain identifiers
or other identifying information for products or services, a
product/service name or description field 1302 which may include
descriptive information for the products and services identified in
the field 1300, and a category field 1304 which may include
information regarding the category for the products or services
identified in the field 1300. In some embodiments, the product
database 1264 may also include information regarding the number or
amount available or in inventory of the products identified in the
field 1300, the retail price of the products or services identified
in the field 1300 in a price field 1306, the cost of the products
or services identified in the field 1300 in a cost field 1308,
etc.
[0148] While the product database 1264 illustrated in FIG. 19
provides information for five products 1310, 1312, 1314, 1316,
1318, 1320, 1322 and 1324 identified by the product identifiers
"P-0984-90234," "P-0283-17234," "P-1230-89127," "P-8902-29037,"
"P-0928-09823," "P-5678-12345," "P-7654-09876" and "P-0123-99887,"
respectively, in the product identifier field 1300, there is no
limit to the number of products or services for which information
can be stored in the product database 1264 and different fields may
be used in the product database 1264.
[0149] As previously discussed above, the user database 1266 can be
used to store information and data regarding customers, users, etc.
The user database 1266 may be used, populated, accessed, and/or
updated by a controller, a point-of-sale terminal, a user device,
etc. during any of the steps in the method 100. A tabular
representation of a possible implementation of, or data structure
for, the user database 1266 is illustrated in FIG. 20. A user
database may be used to identify a customer for a variety of
purposes, including signing up agreements, tracking the customer's
purchases, providing benefits to a customer, etc. Information about
the customer may also be stored in the user database, such as the
customer's name, mailing address, email address, shopping
preferences, telephone number, purchasing history, credit card
limit, etc.
[0150] The user database 1266 preferably includes a user identifier
field 1350 which may contain identifiers or other identifying
information for users or customers, potential users or customers,
etc., a name field 1352 which may contain information regarding the
names of the users or customers identified in the field 1350, a
contact information field 1354 which may contain contact
information, such as postal addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile
telephone number, email addresses, etc. for the users or customers
identified in the field 1350, and a payment identifier field 1356
which may contain information regarding credit cards, debit cards,
frequent shopping cards, bank accounts, etc. associated with the
users or customers identified in the field 1350. While the user
database 1266 illustrated in FIG. 20 provides information for seven
users or customers 1358, 1360, 1362, 1364, 1366, 1368 and 1370
identified by the user identifiers "C-12-12-123434,"
"C-49-12-437952," "C-47-83-971234," "C-92-46-982734,"
"C-09-23-178345," "C-03-04-196337" and "C-05-12-100194,"
respectively, in the user identifier field 1350, there is no limit
to the number of users or customers for which information can be
stored in the user database 1266 and different fields may be used
in the user database 1266.
[0151] As previously discussed above, the transaction database 1268
can be used to store information and data regarding transactions
for products and services. The transaction database 1268 may be
used, populated, accessed, and/or updated by a controller, a
point-of-sale device, a user device, etc. during any of the steps
of the method 100. A tabular representation of a possible
implementation of, or data structure for, the transaction database
1268 is illustrated in FIG. 21.
[0152] The transaction database 1268 preferably includes a
transaction identifier field 1400 which may contain identifiers or
other identifying information for transactions initiated or
conducted by users or customers, a date/time field 1402 which may
contain information regarding the date and time of the transactions
identified in the field 1400, a user or customer identifier field
1404 which may contain identifiers or other identifying information
for users or customers involved in the transactions identified in
the field 1400, and a product/service field 1406 which may list one
or more products or services involved in the transactions
identified in the field 1400. If desired, a transaction price or
total field may also be used with the transaction database to store
pricing, customer tender amount, or other information regarding the
price of the transactions identified in the field 1400.
[0153] In some embodiments, the transaction database 1268 may also
store identifiers associated with point-of-sale terminals or other
devices, retailers, manufacturers, employees, supplemental
products, etc. involved in a transaction. In addition, the
transaction database 1268 may also include location information for
the controller 202, point-of-sale terminal, user device, employee,
retailer, user, etc. involved in the transaction. In some
embodiments, the transaction database 1268 may also include a
status field which may store information regarding whether or not
the users identified in the field 1404 accepted or rejected an
offer to purchase a supplemental product. The status field
preferably uses at least three values: "ACCEPTED," "REJECTED," and
"N/A" (for those transactions with no corresponding supplementary
product offers). For those embodiments where more than one
supplementary product is offered, the status field may also store
information relating to which supplementary product was accepted or
rejected by a user. Information in the status field may be
particularly useful in popularity scoring of potential supplemental
products to offer to a user.
[0154] While the transaction database 1268 illustrated in FIG. 21
provides information for five transactions 1408, 1410, 1412, 1414
and 1416 identified by the transaction identifiers "T-1-9348275,"
"T-2-8973462," "T-3-9087234, " "T-4-9087234" and "T-5-9087234,"
respectively, in the transaction identifier field 1400, there is no
limit to the number of transactions for which information can be
stored in the transactions database 1268 and different fields may
be used in the transaction database 1268.
[0155] Now referring to FIG. 22, a representative block diagram of
a user device, such as the user device 208, is illustrated. The
user device 208 may include a processor, microchip, central
processing unit, or computer 1400 that is in communication with or
otherwise uses or includes one or more communication ports 1402 for
communicating with the controller 202 and/or with a point -of-sale
terminal and/or other devices. For example, the user device 208 may
have an infrared or other transmitter as one communication port to
allow the user device 208 to communicate with the controller 202.
In addition, if the user device 202 is connected to the
point-of-sale terminal 204 via an Ethernet local area network, the
user device 208 will preferably include an Ethernet adapter as a
communication port to allow the user device 208 to communicate with
the point-of-sale terminal 204. The user device 208 may also
include a RF or other wireless transmitter as a communication port
1402 for communicating with the controller 202 and other devices in
the system 200.
[0156] The user device 208 may include one or more output devices
1404 for conveying information, messages to a user, etc., such as a
printer, audio speaker, infrared or other transmitter, antenna,
display screen or monitor, text to speech converter, etc., as well
as one or more input devices 1406 for receiving information,
messages, or indications from a user, such as a bar code reader or
other optical scanner, infrared or other receiver, antenna,
magnetic stripe reader, image scanner, roller ball, touch pad,
joystick, touch screen, microphone, computer keyboard, computer
mouse, etc. A user device 208 may include a voice recognition
system or interactive voice response unit as an input device 1406
to aid in receiving and processing messages, transaction
information, etc. The user device 208 may also include a
fingerprint scanner or reader, a retinal scanner, a voice analyzer,
or other biometrics data input device as an input device 1406.
[0157] In addition to the above, the user device 208 may include a
memory or data storage device 1408 to store transaction
information, software, databases, device drivers, customer
information, customer identifications, product information,
messages, etc. The memory or data storage device 1408 preferably
comprises an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or
semiconductor memory, and may include, for example, Random Access
Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), a tape drive, flash memory, a
floppy disk drive, a ZIP.TM. disk drive, a compact disc and/or a
hard disk.
[0158] The user device 208 may also include an internal clock
element 1410 to maintain an accurate time and date for the user
device 208, create time stamps for information, transaction
information, messages, etc. generated or received via the user
device 208, etc.
[0159] As previously discussed above, possible user devices include
a personal computer, portable computer, mobile or fixed user
station, workstation, network terminal or server, telephone,
beeper, kiosk, dumb terminal, personal digital assistant, facsimile
machine, etc. If desired, the user device 208 may also function as
the controller 202 or a point-of-sale terminal.
[0160] The foregoing description is considered as illustrative only
of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous
modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction and process shown and described above. Accordingly,
all suitable modifications and equivalents may be considered as
falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims
which follow. Further, even though only certain embodiments have
been described in detail, those having ordinary skill in the art
will certainly understand that many modifications are possible
without departing from the teachings thereof. All such
modifications are intended to be encompassed within the following
claims.
[0161] The present invention may be embodied as a computer program
developed using an object oriented language that allows the
modeling of complex systems with modular objects to create
abstractions that are representative of real world, physical
objects and their interrelationships. However, it would be
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention
as described herein can be implemented in many different ways using
a wide range of programming techniques as well as general purpose
hardware systems or dedicated controllers. In addition, many, if
not all, of the steps for the methods described above are optional
or can be combined or performed in one or more alternative orders
or sequences without departing from the scope of the present
invention and the claims should not be construed as being limited
to any particular order or sequence, unless specifically
indicated.
[0162] While specific implementations and hardware configurations
for the controller 202, point-of-sale terminal 204, and user device
208 have been illustrated, it should be noted that other
implementations and hardware configurations are possible and that
no specific implementation or hardware configuration is needed.
Therefore, many different types of implementations or hardware
configurations can be used in the system 200 and with the method
100 and the methods disclosed herein are not limited to any
specific hardware configuration.
[0163] Each of the methods described above can be performed on a
single computer, computer system, microprocessor, etc. In addition,
two or more of the steps in each of the methods described above
could be performed on two or more different computers, computer
systems, microprocessors, etc., some or all of which may be locally
or remotely configured. The methods can be implemented in any sort
or implementation of computer software, program, sets of
instructions, code, ASIC, or specially designed chips, logic gates,
or other hardware structured to directly effect or implement such
software, programs, sets of instructions or code. The computer
software, program, sets of instructions or code can be storable,
writeable, or savable on any computer usable or readable media or
other program storage device or media such as a floppy or other
magnetic or optical disk, magnetic or optical tape, CD-ROM, DVD,
punch cards, paper tape, hard disk drive, ZIP.TM. disk, flash or
optical memory card, microprocessor, solid state memory device,
RAM, EPROM, or ROM.
[0164] The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein refers to
any medium that directly or indirectly participates in providing
instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium may take
many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,
volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include,
for example, optical or magnetic disks. Volatile media include
dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes
the main memory. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper
wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system
bus coupled to a processor. Transmission media can also take the
form of acoustic, electrical or electromagnetic waves, such as
those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data
communications.
[0165] The connections or communications between user devices,
customer devices, the controller, point-of-sale terminals, retailer
devices, etc. discussed herein is only meant to be generally
representative of cable, computer, telephone, or other
communication or data networks and methods for purposes of
elaboration and explanation of the present. The connections are
also intended to be representative of, and include all or a part
of, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other privately or
publicly operated networks, including wide area networks, local
area networks, data communication networks or connections,
intranets, routers, satellite links or networks, microwave links or
networks, cellular telephone or radio links, fiber optic
transmission lines, ISDN lines, T1 lines, etc. In addition, as used
herein, the terms "computer," "user device," "terminal," "client,"
"device" and "client device" are generally interchangeable and are
meant to be construed broadly and to include, but not be limited
to, all clients, client devices or machines, personal digital
assistants and palm top computers, cash registers, terminals,
computers, point-of-sale devices, processors, servers, etc.
connected or connectable to a computer or data communications
network and all devices on which Internet-enabled software, such as
the NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR.TM. or NAVIGATOR.TM. browsers, MOSAIC.TM.
browser, or MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER.TM. browsers, can operate
or be run. The term "browser" should also be interpreted as
including Internet-enabled software and computer or client software
that enables or allows communication over a computer network and
Internet-enabled or World Wide Web enabled, monitored, or
controlled devices such as WebTV.TM. devices, household appliances,
phones, etc.
[0166] The words "comprise," "comprises," "comprising," "include,"
"including," and "includes" when used in this specification and in
the following claims are intended to specify the presence of stated
features, elements, integers, components, or steps, but they do not
preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,
elements, integers, components, steps, or groups thereof.
* * * * *