U.S. patent application number 14/178125 was filed with the patent office on 2015-06-04 for customer shopping help system.
The applicant listed for this patent is EBAY INC.. Invention is credited to Michael Todasco.
Application Number | 20150154675 14/178125 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53265699 |
Filed Date | 2015-06-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150154675 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Todasco; Michael |
June 4, 2015 |
CUSTOMER SHOPPING HELP SYSTEM
Abstract
Systems and methods for providing merchant recommendations
include receiving sets of shopping session information from beacon
devices in a merchant physical location. Each set of shopping
session information is collected from a respective customer device
during a respective shopping session, and the sets of shopping
session information and information about the merchant physical
location are analyzed to determine a merchant physical location
area in the merchant physical location in which the customers have
been located in less often than a plurality of other merchant
physical location areas in the merchant physical location. A
product or product-related item that is located in the merchant
physical location area is selected and a merchant recommendation is
provided to move the selected product or product-related item from
the merchant physical location are to one of the plurality of other
merchant physical location areas.
Inventors: |
Todasco; Michael; (San Jose,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
EBAY INC. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53265699 |
Appl. No.: |
14/178125 |
Filed: |
February 11, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61910636 |
Dec 2, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.41 ;
705/26.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0613 20130101;
G06Q 30/0633 20130101; G06Q 30/0261 20130101; H04W 4/70 20180201;
G06Q 30/0639 20130101; G06Q 30/0631 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06 |
Claims
1. A merchant recommendation system, comprising: a non-transitory
memory storing information about a merchant physical location that
includes a plurality of beacon devices, and information about a
plurality of products in the merchant physical location; one or
more hardware processors coupled to the memory and operable to read
instructions from the memory to perform the steps of: receiving a
plurality of sets of shopping session information over a network
from the plurality of beacon devices, wherein each set of shopping
session information includes respective customer movement
information through the merchant physical location that is
collected during a respective shopping session from a respective
customer device; analyzing the plurality of sets of shopping
session information and the information about the merchant physical
location to determine a first merchant physical location area that
is included in the merchant physical location and in which the
plurality of customer movement information associated with the
plurality of sets of shopping session information shows lower
customer traffic relative to the plurality of customer movement
information in a plurality of second merchant physical location
areas that are included in the merchant physical location and that
are different than the first merchant physical location area;
selecting a product or a product-related item, using the
information about the plurality of products, that is located in the
first merchant physical location area; and providing a merchant
recommendation, over the network for display on a merchant device,
to move the selected product or the selected product-related item
from the first physical location area to one of the plurality of
second merchant physical location areas.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected product or the
selected product-related item includes a sale sign.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected product or the
selected product-related item includes a product display.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each set of the plurality of sets
of shopping session information is collected by the plurality of
beacon devices from the respective customer device using a
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication system.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the providing the merchant
recommendation, over the network for display on the merchant
device, to move the selected product or the selected
product-related item from the first merchant physical location area
to the one of the plurality of second merchant physical location
areas further includes: providing, over the network for display on
the merchant device, a map of the merchant physical location using
the information about the merchant physical location; and providing
an indication of the one of the plurality of second merchant
physical location areas on the map of the merchant physical
location.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the providing the merchant
recommendation, over the network for display on the merchant
device, to move the selected product or the selected
product-related item from the first merchant physical location area
to the one of the plurality of second merchant physical location
areas further includes: providing an indication of the first
merchant physical location area on the map of the merchant physical
location.
7. A method for providing merchant recommendations, comprising:
receiving, by a processing system, a plurality of sets of shopping
session information over a network from a plurality of beacon
devices that are located in a merchant physical location, wherein
each set of shopping session information includes respective
customer movement information through the merchant physical
location that is collected during a respective shopping session
from a respective customer device; analyzing, by the processing
system, the plurality of sets of shopping session information and
information about the merchant physical location that is stored in
a database to determine a first merchant physical location area
that is included in the merchant physical location and in which the
plurality of customer movement information associated with the
plurality of sets of shopping session information shows lower
customer traffic relative to the plurality of customer movement
information in a plurality of second merchant physical location
areas that are included in the merchant physical location and that
are different than the first merchant physical location area;
selecting, by the processing system, a product or a product-related
item that is located in the first merchant physical location area
using information in the database about a plurality of products
that are located in the merchant physical location; and providing a
merchant recommendation, over the network by the processing system
for display on a merchant device, to move the selected product or
the selected product-related item from the first merchant physical
location area to one of the plurality of second merchant physical
location areas.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected product or the
selected product-related item includes a sale sign.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selected product or the
selected product-related item includes a product display.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein each set of the plurality of
sets of shopping session information is collected by the plurality
of beacon devices from the respective customer device using a
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication system.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the providing the merchant
recommendation, over the network for display on the merchant
device, to move the selected product or the selected
product-related item from the first merchant physical location area
to the one of the plurality of second merchant physical location
areas further includes: providing, over the network by the
processing system for display on the merchant device, a map of the
merchant physical location using the information about the merchant
physical location; and providing, over the network by the
processing system for display on the merchant device, an indication
of the one of the plurality of second merchant physical location
areas on the map of the merchant physical location.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the providing the merchant
recommendation, over the network by the processing system for
display on the merchant device, to move the selected product or the
selected product-related item from the first merchant physical
location area to the one of the plurality of second merchant
physical location areas further includes: providing, over the
network by the processing system for display on the merchant
device, an indication of the merchant physical location area on the
map of the merchant physical location.
13. The method of claim 7, further comprising: analyzing, by the
processing system, the plurality of sets of shopping session
information and the information about the merchant physical
location to determine a temperature profile for the merchant
physical location.
14. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality
of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or
more processors, are adapted to cause the one or more processors to
perform a method comprising: receiving a plurality of sets of
shopping session information over a network from a plurality of
beacon devices that are located in a merchant physical location,
wherein each set of shopping session information includes
respective customer movement information through the merchant
physical location that is collected during a respective shopping
session from a respective customer device; analyzing the plurality
of sets of shopping session information and information about the
merchant physical location that is stored in a database to
determine a first merchant physical location area that is included
in the merchant physical location and in which the plurality of
customer movement information associated with the plurality of sets
of shopping session information shows lower customer traffic
relative to the plurality of customer movement information in a
plurality of second merchant physical location areas that are
included in the merchant physical location and that are different
than the first merchant physical location area; selecting a product
or a product-related item that is located in the first merchant
physical location area using information in the database about a
plurality of products that are located in the merchant physical
location; and providing a merchant recommendation, over the network
for display on a merchant device, to move the selected product or
the selected product-related item from the first merchant physical
location area to one of the plurality of second merchant physical
location areas.
15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein
the selected product or the selected product-related item includes
a sale sign.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein
the selected product or the selected product-related item includes
a product display.
17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein
each set of the plurality of sets of shopping session information
is collected by the plurality of beacon devices from the respective
customer device using a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication
system.
18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein
the providing the merchant recommendation, over the network for
display on the merchant device, to move the selected product or the
selected product-related item from the first merchant physical
location area to the one of the plurality of second merchant
physical location areas further includes: providing, over the
network for display on the merchant device, a map of the merchant
physical location using the information about the merchant physical
location; and providing an indication of the one of the plurality
of second merchant physical location areas on the map of the
merchant physical location.
19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein
the providing the merchant recommendation, over the network for
display on the merchant device, to move the selected product or the
selected product-related item from the first merchant physical
location area to the one of the plurality of second merchant
physical location areas further includes: providing an indication
of the first merchant physical location area on the map of the
merchant physical location.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein
the method further comprises: analyzing the plurality of sets of
shopping session information and the information about the merchant
physical location to determine a temperature profile for the
merchant physical location.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 61/910,636, filed on Dec. 2, 2013, and
entitled "CUSTOMER SHOPPING HELP SYSTEM," the entire disclosure of
which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to physical
merchant locations, and more particularly to a customer shopping
help system for physical merchant locations.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] More and more consumers are purchasing items and services
over electronic networks such as, for example, the Internet.
Consumers routinely purchase products and services from merchants
and individuals alike. The transactions may take place directly
between a conventional or on-line merchant or retailer and the
consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit card or
other financial information. Transactions may also take place with
the aid of an on-line or mobile payment service provider such as,
for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment service
providers can make transactions easier and safer for the parties
involved. Purchasing with the assistance of a payment service
provider from the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile
device is one main reason why on-line and mobile purchases are
growing very quickly.
[0006] Some payment service providers provide online and mobile
payment services for merchants with physical merchant locations and
their customers. For example, payment service providers may provide
the online and/or mobile payment services discussed above, and in
the course of doing so, collect data about customer payment habits
with the merchants. However, such data is limited to transactions
conducted between customers and merchants, and thus any attempt to
analyze that data for assisting the customer in making purchases is
limited to data collected from purchases by that customer from that
merchant or other merchants.
[0007] Thus, there is a need for an improved customer shopping help
system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
merchant physical location.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
beacon device;
[0010] FIG. 3a is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer shopping help system that includes a plurality of the
beacon devices of FIG. 2 in the merchant physical location of FIG.
1;
[0011] FIG. 3b is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of
the customer shopping help system of FIG. 3a with the beacon
devices providing communication areas;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a
method for providing shopping help to a customer;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer moving through the merchant physical location of FIG.
1;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
system provider device analyzing the customer movements illustrated
in FIG. 5, along with other information, to provide shopping help
to a customer;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment a
plurality of merchant physical location areas that are included in
the merchant physical location of FIG. 1 and in which the customer
has not been located during a shopping session;
[0016] FIG. 8a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a product recommendation screen;
[0017] FIG. 8b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a product recommendation screen;
[0018] FIG. 8c is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a product recommendation screen;
[0019] FIG. 8d is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a product recommendation screen;
[0020] FIG. 8e is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a shopping list product location
screen;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
plurality of linked customer devices;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
plurality of customers moving through the merchant physical
location of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 11a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a product recommendation screen;
[0024] FIG. 11b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
customer device displaying a linked customer messaging screen;
[0025] FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a
merchant device displaying a merchant screen;
[0026] FIG. 13 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
networked system;
[0027] FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of
a customer device;
[0028] FIG. 15 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
computer system; and
[0029] FIG. 16 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a
system provider device.
[0030] Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages
are best understood by referring to the detailed description that
follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are
used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the
figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating
embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of
limiting the same.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] The present disclosure provides a system and method for
helping a customer with shopping at a merchant physical location. A
plurality of beacon devices at the merchant physical location
collect customer location information from customer devices that
allow the position of customers to be tracked throughout the
merchant physical location during customer shopping sessions. A
system provider device receiving the customer location information
for a given customer may analyze that customer location information
to determine areas in the merchant physical location that the
customer has not been. The system provider device may then use a
variety of merchant information, product information, and/or
customer information to select a product in an area of the merchant
physical location that the customer has not been, and recommend
that product to the customer. For example, the service provider
device may determine that the customer has not been in an area
where a product is on sale and, in response, recommend that product
to the customer. In another example, the service provider device
may determine that the customer has not been in an area that
includes a product that the customer regularly purchases but has
not purchased in a predetermined amount of time and, in response,
recommend that product to the customer. In another example, the
service provider device may determine that the customer has not
been in an area that the customer has regularly visited in previous
shopping sessions and, in response, recommend to the customer a
product in that area. In another example, the service provider
device may determine that the customer has not been in an area that
includes a product on a customer shopping list and, in response,
recommend that product to the customer.
[0032] Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a merchant
physical location 100 is illustrated. The merchant physical
location 100 includes a merchant building 102 having a plurality of
exterior walls 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d that define a merchant
physical location interior 104 that, in the embodiments illustrated
and discussed below, is utilized as a grocery store. However, one
of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will
recognize that the customer shopping help system described herein
may be utilized with virtually any merchant physical location such
as, for example, an electronics store, a clothing store, a book
store, a hardware store, and/or a variety of other merchant
physical locations known in the art. The exterior wall 102a
includes pair of exterior doors 106a and 106b (e.g., "front" doors
in the illustrated embodiment).
[0033] In an embodiment, the merchant physical location interior
104 of the merchant physical location 100 includes a plurality of
product sections. For example, as discussed above, in the
embodiments discussed below the merchant physical location 100 is a
grocery store and the merchant physical location interior 104
includes a Coffee section 108, a Bakery section 110, a Meat section
112, a Dairy section 114, a Produce section 116, and a Pharmacy
section 118. While a few examples for a grocery store have been
provided, one of skill in the art will recognize that any variety
of different product sections in any merchant physical location
will fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The merchant
physical location interior 104 also includes a plurality of product
shelves 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, and 120e, each of which may hold
products. The merchant physical location interior 104 also includes
a plurality of check-out stands 122a, 122b, 122c, and 122d that may
each include systems for allowing customers to purchase products
located in the merchant physical location 100.
[0034] Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a beacon device
200 is illustrated. The beacon device 200 includes a chassis that
houses a first communications system 204 such as, for example, a
Wifi communications system. The first communications system 204 is
coupled to a beacon engine 206 that may be provided by instruction
on a memory system (not illustrated) in the beacon device 200 that,
when executed by a processing system (not illustrated) in the
beacon device 200, cause the processing system to perform the
functions of the beacon device 200 discussed below. The beacon
engine 206 is coupled to a second communication system 208 such as,
for example, a Bluetooth.RTM. Low Energy (BLE) communication
system. The beacon engine 206 may be configured to receive any of a
variety of sensor signals through the second communication system
208 and transmit those sensor signals using the first communication
system 205. While a few examples of communications components in
the beacon device 200 have been described, one of skill in the art
will recognize that other communications devices, as well as other
components that have been omitted for clarity of discussion and
illustrated, may be included in the beacon device 200 and will fall
within the scope of the present disclosure. One of skill in the art
will recognize that the components described above allow for the
beacon device to be provided in a relatively small form factor such
that it may be placed inconspicuously almost anywhere. As such, the
chassis 202 of the beacon device 200 may include any of a variety
of features that allow for the coupling of the beacon device to any
part of a merchant physical location, discussed below.
[0035] Referring now to FIGS. 3a and 3b, an embodiment of a
customer shopping help system 300 is illustrated. As illustrated in
FIG. 3a, the customer shopping help system 300 is provided by
positioning a plurality of the beacon devices 200, discussed above
with reference to FIG. 2, in and around the merchant physical
location 100, discussed above with reference to FIG. 1. As
discussed above, the beacon devices 200 may be sized such that they
may be inconspicuously positioned virtually anywhere in or around
the merchant physical location 100. For example, the beacon devices
200 may be positioned on the ceiling of the merchant physical
location interior 104, on the product shelves 120a-e, on the
check-out stands 122a-d, and/or in any other part of the merchant
physical location 100. Each of the beacon devices 200 in the
customer shopping help system 300 may be configured to wirelessly
communicate, via its first communications system 204, with a
merchant network communication device 302 such as, for example, a
Wifi wireless router connected to a network such as the
Internet.
[0036] Referring now to FIG. 3b, in operation, each of the beacon
devices 200 is configured to create a communication area 304 with
its second communications system 204. For example, the second
communications system 204 in each beacon device 200 may be BLE
communications device that provides an approximately 100 foot
radius communications area. However, other communications systems
providing other communications areas are envisioned as falling
within the scope of the present disclosure. As can be seen in the
illustrated embodiment, the beacon devices 200 may be positioned in
and around the merchant physical location 100 such that the
communications areas 304 abut, overlap, or otherwise provide
coverage for any area of interest within and around the merchant
physical location 100. As such, one of skill in the art in
possession of the present disclosure will appreciate that different
configurations of the beacon devices 200 within and around the
merchant physical location 100 may be selected to cover any area
within and around the merchant physical location 100 with a
communications area 304. As discussed in further detail below, each
of the beacon devices 200 are configured to communicate with
customer devices within their respective communications area 304
(e.g., using the second communication system 208) to collect
information, and then send that information to the merchant network
communication device 302 (e.g., using the first communication
system 204) such that the data may be provided to a merchant
device, a system provider device, and/or any other device operating
to provide customer shopping help system discussed below.
[0037] In the embodiments illustrated and discussed below, the
beacon devices 200 and their communications areas 304 are not
illustrated for clarity, but it should be understood that the
communications and retrieval of information from beacon
communication devices, and the provision of that information to a
system provider device, is accomplished using beacon devices
providing communications areas such as the beacon devices 200 and
communications areas 304 illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b. While a
specific example of a customer shopping help system 300 is
provided, one of skill in the art in possession of the present
disclosure will recognize that a wide variety of different merchant
physical locations may incorporate the beacon devices 200 in a
variety of manners while remaining within its scope.
[0038] In the embodiments discussed below, the customer shopping
help systems and methods involve a system provider using a system
provider device to retrieve information collected by the beacon
devices 200 through a network (e.g., the Internet). In such
embodiments, the system provider may associate the merchant
physical location 100 (or its merchant), the beacon devices 200,
merchant devices, and/or other components of the system with a
merchant account in a database located in a database in a
non-transitory memory. As such, information received from the
beacon devices and merchant devices may be associated with the
merchant account in the database, and any results of the analysis
of that information may be stored in associated with that merchant
account. In other embodiments, the system provider device may be a
merchant device that is local to the merchant physical location 100
and that communicates with the beacon devices 200 using the
merchant network communication device 302.
[0039] In an embodiment, the operation of the customer shopping
help system 300 may include providing a map of the merchant
physical location 100 and the relative locations of the products
provided therein. For example, the dimensions, relative locations,
and/or other characteristics of the Coffee section 108, Bakery
section 110, Meat section 112, Dairy section 114, Produce section
116, Pharmacy section 118, product shelves 120a-d, check-out stands
122ad, product advertisements, marketing materials, and/or any
other feature in the merchant physical location interior 104 may be
provided to the system provider device. As discussed below, the
provision of such information to the system provider device allows
the system provider device to create and utilize a detailed map,
layout, or other reproduction of the merchant physical location
interior 104. Furthermore, the positions/locations of products in
the merchant physical location interior 104 may also be provided to
the system provider device. In one example, the positions/locations
of products may be provided by the merchant or a system provider by
selecting areas on a map of the merchant physical location 100. In
another example, beacon communication devices may be attached to
each product, and those beacon communication devices may be
configured to report a product identification and a location for
each product to the beacon devices 200 (e.g., using a communication
systems such as the BLE communications system discussed above.) As
discussed below, the provision of such information to the system
provider device allows the system provider device to determine the
current location of any product in the merchant physical location
interior 104. While a few examples of the provision of merchant
physical location layout information and product location
information to the system provider device have been described, one
of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will
recognize that a wide variety of merchant physical location
information, product information, and information provisioning
techniques will allow for the functionality of the system provider
device discussed below, and thus will fall within the scope of the
present disclosure.
[0040] Furthermore, FIGS. 1, 3a, and 3b illustrate a merchant
physical location 100 that is a single building, and the beacon
devices 200 are positioned to provide communications areas 304 that
cover the interior of that single building, and outside sections in
the front of that single building. However, beacon devices 200 may
be positioned virtually anywhere to retrieve information associated
with a merchant physical location. For example, the merchant
physical location may be located adjacent to or associated with a
parking lot, and beacon devices may be positioned around that
parking lot, at the entrances or exits of that parking lot, and/or
anywhere else relative to that parking lot in order to collect and
send information from customer devices to the system provider
device. In another example, the merchant physical location may be
located in a mall, and beacon devices may be positioned around that
mall, at the entrances or exits of that mall, and/or anywhere else
relative to that mall in order to collect and send information from
customer devices to the system provider device. In some examples,
the first communication system may be connected to Wifi networks
available outside the merchant physical location in order to
communicate collected information to a system provider device. In
other examples, the first communication system may be a cellular
communications system that allows the beacon devices to be
positioned anywhere in range of a cellular communications tower,
allowing beacon devices to be positioned in virtually any physical
location when providing the customer shopping help system.
[0041] Referring first to FIGS. 4 and 5, an embodiment of a method
400 for providing customer shopping help is illustrated. The method
400 begins at block 402 where customer location information is
collected during a customer shopping session from the beacon
devices. In an embodiment, a shopping session of a customer may
include the detection by the beacon devices 200 of that customer
entering the merchant physical location 100, the beacon devices 200
tracking the location of that customer throughout the merchant
physical location 100, and the beacon devices 200 detecting that
customer leaving the merchant physical locations. For example, a
shopping session for a customer may include the period that the
customer is detectable by the beacon devices 200. In some
embodiments, the shopping session may include a transaction
conducted between that customer and the merchant at the merchant
physical location 100. For example, a shopping session for a
customer may end when that customer makes a purchase from the
merchant. However, in other embodiments, a transaction may not be
part of the shopping session (e.g., a "window shopping" session).
Furthermore, in some embodiments, shopping sessions may include
multiple detections of the customer entering and exiting the
merchant physical location 100.
[0042] Further still, as discussed below, a shopping session may be
associated with more than one customers. Thus, while a few examples
are provided, a shopping session may include any number of customer
visits to the merchant physical location 100 that are tracked using
the beacon devices and used to determine one or more areas in the
merchant physical location 100 that the customer has not been
located during that shopping session.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of the collection of
customer location information at block 402 is illustrated. In the
embodiments discussed below, the term "customer" is applied to
people that conclude a shopping session with a transaction with the
merchant at a check-out stand 122d in the merchant physical
location 100. However, "customer" may also apply to people that
simply position themselves within range of a communication area 304
of a beacon device 200 in the merchant physical location 100 (e.g.,
potential customers, customer that are browsing products in the
merchant physical location 100 without actually buying any
products, etc.). FIG. 5 illustrates a customer 500 that is
initially detected by one or more of the beacon devices 200 at a
location 500a on an exterior walkway outside of the merchant
physical location 100. At block 402, one or more of the beacon
devices 200 operate to communicate with a customer device of the
customer 500 in order to detect the customer 500 and collect
customer location information that may be transmitted to the system
provider device and associated with that customer 500 and a
merchant account in a database.
[0044] In an embodiment, the customer device of the customer 500
may be customer mobile phone that is configured to communicate with
the second communications systems 208 in the beacon devices 200
when the customer mobile phone is located in the communications
areas 304 of the beacon devices 200. For example, the customer
mobile phone may include a BLE communications system that is
configured to communicate with the BLE communications systems in
the beacon devices 200 when the customer mobile phone is located in
the communications areas 304 provided by those beacon devices 200.
The BLE communications system in the customer mobile phone may be
configured to access any data (e.g., stored in the customer mobile
phone, from sensors located in the customer mobile phone, over a
network that the customer mobile phone is connected to, in
databases accessible by the customer mobile phone over the network,
etc.) and provide that data to the beacon devices 200.
[0045] In a specific embodiment, the customer shopping help system
is provided by a payment service provider such as, for example,
PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., that provides merchant services
to allow the merchant to track customer activities, and payment
services that allow customers and merchants to perform transactions
with each other. In such embodiments, the merchants and customers
may include accounts with the payment service provider such that
the merchant includes a merchant account with the payment service
provider, and each customer includes a respective customer account
with the payment service provider. Thus, at block 402, the customer
500 may include a customer account with a payment service provider
that providers the customer shopping help system. In some
embodiments, the customer mobile phone of the customer 500 may
include a payment service application that is linked to a customer
account and that provides for automatic communication between the
customer mobile phone and beacon devices 200 when the customer
mobile phone is located in a communications area 304 provided by
the beacon device 200 (e.g., the customer 500 may have previously
provided permission for the exchange of data between their customer
mobile phone and the beacon devices 200). In other embodiments, the
customer mobile phone or payment service application may ask the
customer for permission to communicate with the beacon devices 200
upon detecting a communication area 304.
[0046] Thus, at block 402, the customer 500 includes a customer
device that is communicating with the beacon devices 200 when that
customer is located in any of the communications areas 304. At
block 402, the customer device of the customer 500 may operate to
communicate customer location information available to or
determined by the customer device to the beacon devices 200. In an
embodiment, the customer device may be a customer mobile phone that
communicates location information retrieved from a location
determination device (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) device)
in the customer mobile phone. In another embodiment, the beacon
devices 200 may be configured to determine a location of the
customer device using, for example, triangulation or other location
determination techniques known in the art. As such, as the customer
500 moves through the communication areas 304 provided by the
beacon devices 200, customer location information associated with
that customer (e.g., retrieved or otherwise determined by the
beacon devices 200 from that customers mobile phone) is collected
by the beacon devices 200 (e.g., via its first communication system
204) and sent by the beacon devices 200 (e.g., via operation of its
beacon engine 206 and use of its second communication system 208)
over the network to the system provider device.
[0047] FIG. 5 illustrates the customer 500 initially being detected
by one or more of the beacon devices 200 at a location 500a on an
exterior walkway outside of the merchant physical location 100. The
movement of the customer 500 throughout the merchant physical
location 100 is indicated in FIG. 5 by dashed lines between
different areas in the merchant physical location 100 where the
customer 500 is detected by the beacon devices 200 as stopping or
slowing movement for some period of time. In the illustrated
example, the customer 500 is detected by the beacon devices 200
moving through the exterior door 106a and to an area 500b in the
merchant physical location interior 104 that is located adjacent to
or within the coffee section 108, then to an area 500c in the
merchant physical location interior 104 that is located between the
product shelves 120a and 120b, then to an area 500d in the merchant
physical location interior 104 that is located adjacent to or
within the meat section 112, then to an area 500e in the merchant
physical location interior 104 that is located adjacent to or
within the pharmacy section 118, and then to an area 500d in the
merchant physical location interior 104 that is located adjacent to
or within the check-out stand 122d.
[0048] While a few examples have been illustrated and described,
one of skill in the art will recognize how customer location
information of customers may be retrieved using beacon devices
positioned anywhere in or around the merchant physical location 100
and used to track the location of those customers in, around,
and/or relative to the merchant physical location 100. As such,
customers may be tracked entering, moving about, parking in, and
exiting a parking lot; entering, moving about, and exiting a mall;
moving past merchant physical locations; entering, moving about,
and existing merchant physical locations; and/or moving through any
location covered by a communication area 304 of a beacon device
200. Any location information retrieved from the customer device of
a given customer may then be associated with that customer (e.g.,
via a customer account) and/or the merchant (e.g., via a merchant
account) such that for the merchant physical location 100,
collected location information associated with any particular
customer may be distinguished from collected location information
associated with other customers. Thus, while a specific tracked
path of the customer 500 is illustrated and used below in providing
customer shopping help, one of skill in the art in possession of
the present disclosure will recognize that customer location
information may describe any path throughout the merchant physical
location 100 and may be used to provide the customer shopping help
described below.
[0049] While the examples above discuss the collection of location
information, any information available to the customer device may
also be collected. For example, temperature information from
temperature sensors, humidity information from humidity sensors,
pressure information from pressures sensors, physiological
information from physiological sensors, and/or any other sensed
information may be communicated from the customer device to the
beacon devices 200 in substantially the same manner as discussed
above for the location information. Furthermore, multiple different
types of sensed information may be collected from a given customer
device, allowing that information to be associated (e.g., location
and temperature information) such that trends around the merchant
physical location 100 (e.g., a temperature profile within the
merchant physical location) may be determined.
[0050] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6, the method 400 the proceeds
to block 404 where the customer location information is analyzed to
determine merchant physical location area(s) in which the customer
has not been located, and then to block 406 where one or more
products are selected that are located in those determined merchant
physical location area(s). FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of a
customer shopping help system 600 that includes a system provider
device 602 communicatively coupled to beacon devices 604, a
customer location information database 606, a customer information
database 608, and a merchant database 610. While illustrated as
separate databases, the customer location information database 606,
customer information database 608, and merchant database 610 may be
the same database and/or may be linked using techniques known in
the art.
[0051] In an embodiment, the customer location information storage
606 may store customer location information 606a that is collected
from customers that are currently involved in a shopping session at
the merchant physical location 100 (illustrated in FIG. 6 by
graphical data associated with the customer location information
collected as described above with reference to block 402). The
customer information database 608 includes customer account
information 608a, customer purchase history information 608b,
customer movement history 608c, and/or a variety of other customer
information known in the art, any of which may be linked with any
other customer information in the customer information database
608. For example, the customer account information may identify the
customer 500, and may be linked to a customer purchase history of
the customer 500 that includes transactions between the customer
and the merchant at the physical merchant location 100, as well as
linked to a customer movement history of the customer 500 that
includes customer location information collected during previous
shopping sessions by the customer 500 at the merchant physical
location 100. The merchant database 610 may include details about
the layout of the merchant physical location 100, product
identifications, product locations in the merchant physical
location 100, the locations of sales in the merchant physical
location 100, the positioning of marketing materials in the
merchant physical location 100, and/or any other merchant
information known in the art.
[0052] At block 404, the system provider device may analyze the
customer location information 606a to determine merchant physical
location areas that are located in the merchant physical location
100 and in which the customer 500 has not been located during their
shopping session. At block 606, the system provider device may
select one or more products that are located in those merchant
physical location areas using any of a variety of information
available to the system provider device. While illustrated as
separate method blocks, one of skill in the art in possession of
the present disclosure will recognize that blocks 404 and 406 may
be performed, at least partially, at the same time. A few examples
of the variety of information that may be used along with the
determined merchant physical location areas (in which the customer
500 has not been located during their shopping session) to select
products in those merchant physical location areas are provided
below, but one of skill in the art in possession of the present
disclosure will recognize that any information available from the
customer device (e.g., through the beacon devices 604), from the
beacon devices 604 themselves, from the customer location
information storage 606, from the customer information database
608, from the merchant database 610, and/or from other information
sources may be leverage to select products that may be of interest
to the customer 500 and which are located in areas of merchant
physical location where the customer has not been during their
shopping session.
[0053] Referring now to FIG. 7, a schematic of the merchant
physical location 100, which illustrates the customer location
information received at block 402, is provided to illustrate a
plurality of merchant physical location areas 700, 702, 704 and 706
that were determined at block 404. In some embodiments, the system
provider device may operate to first determine all of the areas in
the merchant physical location 100 that the customer 500 has not
been located, and then reference other information (e.g., product
information, customer information, merchant information, etc.) to
select products at block 406 that are included in the merchant
physical location areas 700, 702, 704, and 706, discussed in
further detail below. However, the determination of merchant
physical location areas in the merchant physical location 100 that
the customer 500 has not been located in during their shopping
session may be performed in a variety of manners while remaining
within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0054] Following the determination of the merchant physical
location areas at block 404 and the selection of product(s) at
block 406, the method 400 proceeds to block 408 where product
recommendations are provided to customer(s). In an embodiment, the
system provider device may operate to send product recommendations
over the network to the customer device of the customer 500 for
whom the customer location information was collected at block 402.
While a few examples are provided below, the selection of products
at block 406 and the provision of product recommendations to the
customer may be performed in a variety of manners while remaining
within the scope of the present disclosure. In the examples
discussed below, the customer 500 may position themselves in the
area 500f of the merchant physical location 100 that is adjacent to
or within the check-out stand 122d (e.g., by stopping or slowly
moving near the check-out stand 122d such that it appears that the
customer 500 is about to pay for the products they selected and/or
leave the merchant physical location 100), and that location of the
customer 500 may be reported by the beacon device(s) 200 to the
system provider device 602. In response, the system provider device
602 may perform block 408 of the method 400 and send the product
recommendation. The product recommendation(s) may be sent a block
408 without any request from the customer 500 (e.g., as a "pop-up",
text message, email, or other communication method known in the
art). However, in other embodiments, the product recommendation may
be sent while the customer 500 is moving through the merchant
physical location, based on a request from the customer 500, and/or
in a variety of other scenarios while remaining within the scope of
the present disclosure.
[0055] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8a, a customer device 800
is illustrated that is associated with the customer 500 and that
includes a display device 800a and an input button 800b. The
display device 800a is displaying a product recommendation screen
802 using a product recommendation received at block 408 from the
system provider device 602 over the network. The product
recommendation screen 802 includes a merchant physical location map
804 that shows the path of the customer 500 through the merchant
physical location 100, and includes a merchant physical location
area indicator 804a positioned over the portion of the merchant
physical location map 804 that depicts the Bakery section 110. The
product recommendation screen 802 also includes a product
recommendation information area 806. In one example of the
illustrated embodiment, at blocks 404 and 406 of the method 400,
the system provider device 602 used the customer location
information 606a retrieved at block 402 to determine areas in the
merchant physical location 100 in which the customer 500 had not
been. The system provider device 602 then retrieved merchant
information from the merchant database 610 that included the
locations of sales, discounted pricing, and/or other product
pricing events throughout the merchant physical location 100, and
used that merchant information and those determined areas in the
merchant physical location 100 to determine that, during their
shopping session, the customer 500 had not been located in the
merchant physical location area 700 in which a sale, discounted
pricing, and/or other product pricing event is occurring. In
response, the system provider device creates a product
recommendation that is sent to the customer device 800 such that
the product recommendation screen 802 is displayed.
[0056] As can be seen in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8a, the
product recommendation information area 806 informs the customer
500 that, based on the customer location information received
during their shopping session, they missed a sale in the Bakery
section 110 of the merchant physical location 100, and includes
sale details ("HALF PRICE ON ALL STORE-BAKED GOODS") along with
images of the products for sale. In addition, the product
recommendation information area 806 informs the customer that the
merchant physical location area indicator 804a is provided on the
merchant physical location map 804 to indicate where the sale is
located, which allows the customer 500 to use their current
location (depicted on the merchant physical location map 804 at the
end of the customer shopping session path) to determine how to find
the sale in the merchant physical location 100. While the
embodiment associated with FIG. 8a is discussed as recommending to
the customer that they visit the merchant physical location area
700 based only on a sale occurring there, other information (e.g.,
information used in the embodiments discussed below) may be used to
make the product recommendation. For example, a customer purchase
history and/or customer movement history may indicate that the
customer 500 typically buys the product(s) that are on sale in the
merchant physical location area 100, and that information may be
used along with the sale information to determine that the product
recommendation should be provided to the customer.
[0057] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8b, the display device 800a
on the customer device 800 is illustrated displaying a product
recommendation screen 808 using a product recommendation received
at block 408 from the system provider device 602 over the network.
The product recommendation screen 808 includes a merchant physical
location map 810 that shows the path of the customer 500 through
the merchant physical location 100, and includes a merchant
physical location area indicator 810a positioned over the portion
of the merchant physical location map 810 that depicts the Dairy
section 114. The product recommendation screen 802 also includes a
product recommendation information area 812. In one example of the
illustrated embodiment, at blocks 404 and 406 of the method 400,
the system provider device 602 used the customer location
information 606a retrieved at block 402 to determine areas in the
merchant physical location 100 in which the customer 500 had not
been during their shopping session. The system provider device 602
then retrieved customer information (e.g., purchase history
information 608b) from the customer information database 608 that
includes previous purchases of product types by the customer 500,
and used that customer information and those determined areas in
the merchant physical location 100 to determine that, during their
shopping session, the customer 500 had not been in the merchant
physical location area 702 in which a product type that the
customer 500 typically purchases is located, but that the customer
500 has not purchased in a particular time period. In response, the
system provider device creates a product recommendation that is
sent to the customer device 800 such that the product
recommendation screen 808 is displayed.
[0058] As can be seen in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8b, the
product recommendation information area 812 informs the customer
500 that, based on the customer location information received
during their shopping session, they did not visit the Dairy section
114, and informs them that their last purchase of milk indicates
that they likely need to purchase milk during their current
shopping session. In some embodiments, the system provider device
may determine that the last purchase of a product type is
associated with a product including an expiration date, and that
the time period that has passed since their last purchase of the
product is within a predetermined amount of or exceeds that
expiration date. In such embodiments, the product recommendation
may be made based on that determination (e.g., that the last
purchase of milk is associated with a date that indicates that milk
is about to, or has already, exceeded its expiration date). In
addition, the product recommendation information area 812 informs
the customer that the merchant physical location area indicator
810a is provided on the merchant physical location map 810 to
indicate where the milk located in the merchant physical location
100, which allows the customer 500 to use their current location
(depicted on the merchant physical location map 810 at the end of
the customer shopping session path) to determine how to find the
milk in the merchant physical location 100. While the embodiment
associated with FIG. 8b is discussed as recommending to the
customer that they visit the merchant physical location area 702
based only on a product being located there that a customer
purchase history indicates the customer typically buys but has not
bought in a particular time period, other information (e.g.,
information discussed in the embodiments herein) may be used to
make the product recommendation. For example, merchant information
and/or a customer movement history may indicate that there is a
sale on milk in the merchant physical location 100, and that
information may be used along with the purchase history information
to determine to provide the product recommendation.
[0059] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8c, the display device 800a
on the customer device 800 is illustrated displaying a product
recommendation screen 814 using a product recommendation received
at block 408 from the system provider device 602 over the network.
The product recommendation screen 814 includes a merchant physical
location map 816 that shows the path of the customer 500 through
the merchant physical location 100, and includes a merchant
physical location area indicator 816a positioned over the portion
of the merchant physical location map 810 that depicts the Produce
section 116. The product recommendation screen 814 also includes a
product recommendation information area 818. In one example of the
illustrated embodiment, at blocks 404 and 406 of the method 400,
the system provider device 602 used the customer location
information 606a retrieved at block 402 to determine areas in the
merchant physical location 100 in which the customer 500 had not
been. The system provider device 602 then retrieved customer
information (e.g., movement history information 608c that includes
the movement patterns of the customer 500 saved from previous
shopping sessions), and used that customer information and those
determined areas in the merchant physical location 100 to determine
that, during their shopping session, the customer 500 had not been
in the merchant physical location area 704 that the customer 500
typically stops in such that that customer is located adjacent
product in that merchant physical location area 704. In response,
the system provider device creates a product recommendation that is
sent to the customer device 800 such that the product
recommendation screen 814 is displayed.
[0060] As can be seen in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8c, the
product recommendation information area 818 informs the customer
500 that, based on the customer location information received
during their shopping session, they did not visit the Produce
section 116. The product recommendation information area 818 also
informs the customer 500 that during their current shopping session
they did not stop in the Produce section 116, which they have
regularly stopped in during their previous shopping sessions. In
one example, the system provider device may have reviewed merchant
information from the merchant database 610 to determine that the
Produce section 116 currently includes ripe avocados, and the
product recommendation information area 818 may recommend avocados
to the customer 500. In another example, the system provider device
may have reviewed customer information from the customer
information database 608 to determine that the customer regularly
purchases avocados, and the product recommendation information area
818 may recommends avocados to the customer 500. In addition, the
product recommendation information area 818 informs the customer
that the merchant physical location area indicator 816a is provided
on the merchant physical location map 816 to indicate where the
avocados are located in the merchant physical location 100, which
allows the customer 500 to use their current location (depicted on
the merchant physical location map 816 at the end of the customer
shopping session path) to determine how to find the avocados in the
merchant physical location 100.
[0061] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8d, the display device 800a
on the customer device 800 is illustrated displaying a product
recommendation screen 820 using a product recommendation received
at block 408 from the system provider device 602 over the network.
The product recommendation screen 820 includes a merchant physical
location map 822 that shows the path of the customer 500 through
the merchant physical location 100, and includes a merchant
physical location area indicator 822a positioned over the portion
of the merchant physical location map 822 that depicts a portion of
the product shelf 120c. The product recommendation screen 820 also
includes a product recommendation information area 824. In one
example of the illustrated embodiment, at blocks 404 and 406 of the
method 400, the system provider device 602 used the customer
location information 606a retrieved at block 402 to determine areas
in the merchant physical location 100 in which the customer 500 had
not been. The system provider device 602 then retrieved customer
information (e.g., a customer shopping list from the customer
device 800), and used that customer information and those
determined areas in the merchant physical location 100 to determine
that, during their shopping session, the customer 500 had not been
in the merchant physical location area 706 that includes a product
on the customer shopping list. In response, the system provider
device creates a product recommendation that is sent to the
customer device 800 such that the product recommendation screen 820
is displayed.
[0062] As can be seen in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8d, the
product recommendation information area 824 informs the customer
500 that, based on the customer location information received
during their shopping session, they did not visit the portion of
the product shelf 120c that includes coffee, and informs them that
coffee is on their shopping list. In addition, the product
recommendation information area 824 informs the customer that the
merchant physical location area indicator 822a is provided on the
merchant physical location map 822 to indicate where the coffee is
located in the merchant physical location 100, which allows the
customer 500 to use their current location (depicted on the
merchant physical location map 816 at the end of the customer
shopping session path) to determine how to find the coffee in the
merchant physical location 100.
[0063] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8e, the display device 800a
on the customer device 800 is illustrated displaying a shopping
list product location screen 820 that may be provided by the system
provider device 602 to the customer device 800 over the network
using the systems and methods discussed above. The shopping list
product location screen 820 includes a merchant physical location
map 828 that shows the path of the customer 500 through the
merchant physical location 100, and includes merchant physical
location area indicators A, B, C, D, E and F positioned over
different portions of the merchant physical location map 822. The
shopping list product location screen 820 also includes a shopping
list 830. In one example of the illustrated embodiment, the system
provider device may operate to retrieve a shopping list that is
stored on the customer device 800 and use that shopping list to
determine the merchant physical location areas in the merchant
physical location 100 that includes the products on the shopping
list. The shopping list 803 may then be provided with reference
characters adjacent each product (e.g., A-F in the shopping list
830) that corresponds to the merchant physical location area
indicators A, B, C, D, E and F on the merchant physical location
map 828. Thus, the customer 500 may view the shopping list product
location screen 820 to determine where in the merchant physical
location 100 any product on the shopping list 830 is located.
Furthermore, the shopping list 830 may be editable such that the
customer may remove products and, in response, have the merchant
physical location area indicator for that product removed from the
merchant physical location map 828.
[0064] In an embodiment, the customer shopping help systems
discussed above may also be utilized to perform a transaction
between the customer 500 and the merchant at the merchant physical
location 100. As discussed above, each beacon device 200 provides a
communication area 304 that may, for example, include a 100 foot
diameter. However, any of the beacon devices 200 may be throttled,
modified, or otherwise adjusted to reduce the size of their
associated communication area 304 (e.g., by adjusting the power
provided to the beacon device 200, adjusting the operation of a
communication system, etc.). For example, the operation of the
second communication system 208 in a beacon device 200 may be
adjusted to reduce the diameter of the communication area 304 from
a 100 foot radius to an approximately 2-3 foot radius such that
only a single customer device may communicate with that beacon
device 200.
[0065] Referring to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, when the
customer 500 is positioned in area 500f of the merchant physical
location 100 in order to conduct a payment transaction with the
merchant to purchase product(s) selected at the merchant physical
location 100, the beacon device 200 located at the check-out stand
122d may be adjusted to reduce the size of its communication area
304 until only the customer device of the customer 500 is
communicating with that beacon device 200. By providing such
communications between the beacon device 200 at the check-out stand
122d and the customer 500 at area 500f, a payment transaction may
then be conducted between a merchant device coupled to that beacon
device 200 and the customer device of the customer 500 by
exchanging payment or identifier data that is known in the art.
Furthermore, because beacon devices 200 are located throughout the
merchant physical location 100, similar operations may be conducted
with beacon devices 200 at any of the check-out stands 122a-c, the
coffee section 108, the bakery section 110, the meat section 112,
the dairy section 114, the produce section 116, the pharmacy
section 118, and/or anywhere else in or around the merchant
physical location 100.
[0066] While the embodiments discussed above involved the tracking
of a single customer 500 through the merchant physical location
100, any number of customers may be simultaneously tracked through
the merchant physical location such that each customer may be
provided shopping help substantially as discussed above.
Furthermore, multiple customers may be linked such that the
locations of those multiple customers in the merchant physical
location 100 may be used to provide product recommendations.
Referring to FIG. 9, a customer device linking system 900 is
illustrated that includes a system provider device 902
communicatively coupled to the beacon devices 904 that are
communicating with each of a first customer device 906a and a
second customer device 906b that are linked to each other
(illustrated by the dashed line). The first customer device 906a
and the second customer device 906b may be linked based on
instructions from either or both of the customers devices 906a and
906b, based on linked customer device identifiers stored by the
system provider device 902, based on customer location information
received by the beacon devices 904 from the customer devices 906a
and 906b that indicates that their associated customers entered the
merchant physical location 100 together, and/or using any other
linking instructions, techniques, or information known in the art.
The linking of the customer devices 906a and 906b may provide
benefits when two customers are shopping together for products, as
detailed below.
[0067] FIG. 10 illustrates the customer 1000, along with the
customer 500, initially being detected by one or more of the beacon
devices 200 at a location 1000a on the exterior walkway outside of
the merchant physical location 100. In an embodiment, upon
detection of the customers 500 and 1000 via communication between
their customer devices and the beacon devices 200, the proximity of
the customers 500 and 1000 may be analyzed and used to determine
whether to link their customer devices as illustrated in FIG. 9.
The movement of the customer 1000 throughout the merchant physical
location 100 is indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 10 between the
different areas in the merchant physical location 100 where the
customer 1000 is detected by the beacon devices 200 as stopping or
slowing movement for some period of time. In the illustrated
example, the customer 1000 is detected by the beacon devices 200
moving through the exterior door 106a and to an area 1000b in the
merchant physical location interior 104 that is located adjacent to
or within the Bakery section 110, and then to an area 1000c that is
located adjacent to or within the Meat section 112.
[0068] Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 11a, the display device
800a on the customer device 800 is illustrated displaying a product
recommendation screen 1100 using a product recommendation received
at block 408 from the system provider device 602 over the network.
The product recommendation screen 1100 includes a merchant physical
location map 1102 that shows the paths of the customers 500 and
1100 through the merchant physical location 100, and includes a
merchant physical location area indicator 1102a positioned over the
portion of the merchant physical location map 822 that depicts a
portion of the product shelf 120c. The product recommendation
screen 1100 also includes a product recommendation information area
1104. In one example of the illustrated embodiment, at blocks 404
and 406 of the method 400, the system provider device 602 used the
customer location information retrieved at block 402 from both the
customer 500 and the customer 1100 to determine areas in the
merchant physical location 100 in which neither of the customers
500 and 1000 had been. The system provider device 602 then
retrieved customer information (e.g., a customer shopping list from
the customer device 800), and used that customer information and
those determined areas in the merchant physical location 100 to
determine that, during their shopping session, neither of the
customers 500 and 1100 had been in the merchant physical location
area 706 that includes a product on the customer shopping list. In
response, the system provider device creates a product
recommendation that is sent to the customer device 800 such that
the product recommendation screen 1100 is displayed.
[0069] As can be seen in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11a,
the product recommendation information area 1104 informs the
customer 500 that, based on the customer location information
received from the customer 500 and the customer 1100 during their
shopping session, they did not visit the portion of the product
shelf 120c that includes coffee, and informs them that coffee is on
their shopping list. In addition, the product recommendation
information area 1104 informs the customer 500 that the merchant
physical location area indicator 1102a is provided on the merchant
physical location map 1102 to indicate where the coffee is located,
which allows the customer 500 to determine how to find the coffee
in the merchant physical location 100.
[0070] In the illustrated embodiment, the product recommendation
screen 1100 also includes a linked customer messaging button 1106
that allows the customer 500 to send messages to the customer 1100.
Referring now to FIG. 11b, the product recommendation screen 1100
is illustrated following the customer 500 selecting the linked
customer messaging button 1106.
[0071] In response to the selection of the linked customer
messaging button 1106, a linked customer indicator 1102b is added
to the merchant physical location map 1102, and a messaging section
1108 is provided that indicates that the current location of the
customer 1110 is indicated by the linked customer indicator 1102b
on the merchant physical location map 1102, while also providing a
messaging input box and keypad that allows the customer 500 to send
a message to the customer 1100 (e.g., "I'm ready to go--get coffee
and creamer on product shelf 120c on your way to check-out stand
122d"). In an embodiment, the messaging input box may be prefilled
using the information determined for the product recommendation and
provided on the product recommendation screen 1100 of FIG. 11a.
[0072] Referring now to FIG. 12, a merchant device 1200 including a
display device 1200a that is displaying a merchant screen 1202 is
illustrated. The merchant screen 1202 is provided to illustrate an
example of how the information collected and analyzed for the
method 400 may be used to provide information to the merchant at
the merchant physical location 100. In the illustrated embodiment,
the customer location information collected from a plurality of
different customers during their respective shopping sessions has
been analyzed to determine areas in the merchant physical location
100 that receive the least customer traffic (e.g., customer
location information across a plurality of different customer
shopping sessions that indicates that customers are located in
those areas less often than other areas in the merchant physical
location.) The system provider device may then access merchant
information to make recommendations to the merchant based on the
areas that are determined in the merchant physical location 100 to
receive the least customer traffic.
[0073] In the illustrated example, the merchant screen 1202
includes a merchant physical location map 1204 with a plurality of
merchant physical location area indicators 1204a, 1204b, 1204c, and
1204d that indicate the areas in the merchant physical location 100
that were determined to receive the least customer traffic. The
merchant screen 1202 also includes an area indicator information
section 1206 that informs the merchant that the merchant physical
location area indicators 1204a, 1204b, 1204c, and 1204d on the
merchant physical location map 1204 indicate areas in the merchant
physical location 100 that receive relatively low traffic. The
merchant screen 1202 also includes an first merchant recommendation
section 1208 that informs the merchant that an area in the merchant
physical location 100 indicated by the merchant physical location
area indicator 1204a includes a sale sign that should be moved to a
higher traffic area in the merchant physical location 100 indicated
by a merchant physical location area indicator 1208a. The merchant
screen 1202 also includes an second merchant recommendation section
1210 that informs the merchant that an area in the merchant
physical location 100 indicated by the merchant physical location
area indicator 1204d includes a high value product display that
should be moved to a higher traffic area in the merchant physical
location 100 indicated by a merchant physical location area
indicator 1210a.
[0074] Thus, systems and methods for providing customer shopping
help recommendations have been described that utilize a network of
beacon devices that are configured to communication with customer
devices. The communication between the customer devices and the
beacon devices collects any information that sensors in the
customer devices can sense, and in specific embodiments, collects
customer location information for the customers in and around a
merchant physical location to track the locations of the customers
and analyze their changing locations to determine areas in the
merchant physical location that the customer have not been so that
those customers may be helped with shopping within the merchant
physical location. The systems and methods described herein may
utilize a variety of merchant and customer information to determine
products that are located in the areas in the merchant physical
location where the customers have not been so that those products
may be recommended to those customers.
[0075] Referring now to FIG. 13, an embodiment of a network-based
system 1300 for implementing one or more processes described herein
is illustrated. As shown, the network-based system 1300 may
comprise or implement a plurality of servers and/or software
components that operate to perform various methodologies in
accordance with the described embodiments. Exemplary servers may
include, for example, stand-alone and enterprise-class servers
operating a server OS such as a MICROSOFT.RTM. OS, a UNIX.RTM. OS,
a LINUX.RTM. OS, or other suitable server-based OS. It can be
appreciated that the servers illustrated in FIG. 13 may be deployed
in other ways and that the operations performed and/or the services
provided by such servers may be combined or separated for a given
implementation and may be performed by a greater number or fewer
number of servers. One or more servers may be operated and/or
maintained by the same or different entities.
[0076] The embodiment of the networked system 1300 illustrated in
FIG. 13 includes a plurality of customer devices 1302, a merchant
device 1304, a plurality of beacon devices 1306, a payment service
provider device 1308, and/or a system provider device 1310 in
communication over one or more networks 1312. The customer devices
1302 may be the customer devices discussed above and may be
operated by the customers discussed above. The merchant devices
1304 and beacon devices 1306 may be the merchant devices and beacon
devices discussed above and may be operated by the merchants
discussed above. The payment service provider device 1308 may be
the payment service provider devices discussed above and may be
operated by a payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal
Inc. of San Jose, Calif. The system provider devices 1310 may be
the system provider devices discussed above and may be operated by
the system providers discussed above.
[0077] The customer devices 1302, merchant device 1304, beacon
devices 1306, payment service provider device 1308, and/or system
provider device 1310 may each include one or more processors,
memories, and other appropriate components for executing
instructions such as program code and/or data stored on one or more
computer readable mediums to implement the various applications,
data, and steps described herein. For example, such instructions
may be stored in one or more computer readable mediums such as
memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to
various components of the system 1300, and/or accessible over the
network 1312.
[0078] The network 1312 may be implemented as a single network or a
combination of multiple networks. For example, in various
embodiments, the network 1312 may include the Internet and/or one
or more intranets, landline networks, wireless networks, and/or
other appropriate types of networks.
[0079] The customer devices 1302 may be implemented using any
appropriate combination of hardware and/or software configured for
wired and/or wireless communication over network 1312. For example,
in one embodiment, the customer devices 1302 may be implemented as
a personal computer of a user in communication with the Internet.
In other embodiments, the customer devices 1302 may be a smart
phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop computer, and/or
other types of computing devices.
[0080] The customer devices 1302 may include one or more browser
applications which may be used, for example, to provide a
convenient interface to permit the customer to browse information
available over the network 1312. For example, in one embodiment,
the browser application may be implemented as a web browser
configured to view information available over the Internet.
[0081] The customer devices 1302 may also include one or more
toolbar applications which may be used, for example, to provide
user-side processing for performing desired tasks in response to
operations selected by the customer. In one embodiment, the toolbar
application may display a user interface in connection with the
browser application.
[0082] The customer devices 1302 may further include other
applications as may be desired in particular embodiments to provide
desired features to the customer devices 1302. In particular, the
other applications may include a payment application for payments
assisted by a payment service provider through the payment service
provider device 1308. The other applications may also include
security applications for implementing user-side security features,
programmatic user applications for interfacing with appropriate
application programming interfaces (APIs) over the network 1312, or
other types of applications. Email and/or text applications may
also be included, which allow customer payer to send and receive
emails and/or text messages through the network 1312. The customer
devices 1302 includes one or more user and/or device identifiers
which may be implemented, for example, as operating system registry
entries, cookies associated with the browser application,
identifiers associated with hardware of the customer devices 1302,
or other appropriate identifiers, such as a phone number. In one
embodiment, the user identifier may be used by the payment service
provider device 1308 to associate the user with a particular
account as further described herein.
[0083] The merchant device 1304 may be maintained, for example, by
a conventional or on-line merchant, conventional or digital goods
seller, individual seller, and/or application developer offering
various products and/or services in exchange for payment to be
received conventionally or over the network 1312. In this regard,
the merchant device 1304 may include a database identifying
available products and/or services (e.g., collectively referred to
as items) which may be made available for viewing and purchase by
the customer.
[0084] The merchant device 1304 also includes a checkout
application which may be configured to facilitate the purchase by
the payer of items. The checkout application may be configured to
accept payment information from the user through the customer
devices 1302 and/or from the payment service provider through the
payment service provider device 1308 over the network 1312.
[0085] Referring now to FIG. 14, an embodiment of a customer device
1400 is illustrated. The customer device 1400 may be the customer
devices 800 or 1302 discussed above. The customer device 1400
includes a chassis 1402 having a display 1404 and an input device
including the display 1404 and a plurality of input buttons 1406.
One of skill in the art will recognize that the customer device
1400 is a portable or mobile phone including a touch screen input
device and a plurality of input buttons that allow the
functionality discussed above with reference to the methods above.
However, a variety of other portable/mobile customer devices and/or
desktop customer devices may be used in the methods discussed above
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0086] Referring now to FIG. 15, an embodiment of a computer system
1500 suitable for implementing, for example, the customer devices
1302, merchant device 1304, beacon devices 1306, payment service
provider device 1308, and/or system provider device 1310, is
illustrated. It should be appreciated that other devices utilized
by customers, merchants, beacon devices, merchant beacon
communication devices, payment service providers, and/or system
providers in the system discussed above may be implemented as the
computer system 1500 in a manner as follows.
[0087] In accordance with various embodiments of the present
disclosure, computer system 1500, such as a computer and/or a
network server, includes a bus 1502 or other communication
mechanism for communicating information, which interconnects
subsystems and components, such as a processing component 1504
(e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP),
etc.), a system memory component 1506 (e.g., RAM), a static storage
component 1508 (e.g., ROM), a disk drive component 1510 (e.g.,
magnetic or optical), a network interface component 1512 (e.g.,
modem or Ethernet card), a display component 1514 (e.g., CRT or
LCD), an input component 1518 (e.g., keyboard, keypad, or virtual
keyboard), a cursor control component 1520 (e.g., mouse, pointer,
or trackball), a location determination component 1522 (e.g., a
Global Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, a cell tower
triangulation device, and/or a variety of other location
determination devices known in the art), and/or a camera component
1523. In one implementation, the disk drive component 1510 may
comprise a database having one or more disk drive components.
[0088] In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure,
the computer system 1500 performs specific operations by the
processor 1504 executing one or more sequences of instructions
contained in the memory component 1506, such as described herein
with respect to the customer devices 1302, merchant device 1304,
beacon devices 1306, payment service provider device 1308, and/or
system provider device 1310. Such instructions may be read into the
system memory component 1506 from another computer readable medium,
such as the static storage component 1508 or the disk drive
component 1510. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be
used in place of or in combination with software instructions to
implement the present disclosure.
[0089] Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which
may refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions
to the processor 1504 for execution. Such a medium may take many
forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile
media, and transmission media. In one embodiment, the computer
readable medium is non-transitory. In various implementations,
non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks, such as the
disk drive component 1510, volatile media includes dynamic memory,
such as the system memory component 1506, and transmission media
includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including
wires that comprise the bus 1502. In one example, transmission
media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those
generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.
[0090] Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for
example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any
other magnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch
cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of
holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or
cartridge, carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer
is adapted to read. In one embodiment, the computer readable media
is non-transitory.
[0091] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution
of instruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may be
performed by the computer system 1500. In various other embodiments
of the present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 1500
coupled by a communication link 1524 to the network 1312 (e.g.,
such as a LAN, WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless
networks, including telecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone
networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice the present
disclosure in coordination with one another.
[0092] The computer system 1500 may transmit and receive messages,
data, information and instructions, including one or more programs
(i.e., application code) through the communication link 1524 and
the network interface component 1512. The network interface
component 1512 may include an antenna, either separate or
integrated, to enable transmission and reception via the
communication link 1524. Received program code may be executed by
processor 1504 as received and/or stored in disk drive component
1510 or some other non-volatile storage component for
execution.
[0093] Referring now to FIGS. 16, an embodiment of a system
provider device 1600 is illustrated. In an embodiment, the device
1600 may be the system provider device discussed above. The device
1600 includes a communication engine 1602 that is coupled to the
network 1312 and to a shopping help engine 1604 that is coupled to
a customer information database 1606 and a merchant information
database 1608. The communication engine 1602 may be software or
instructions stored on a computer-readable medium that allows the
device 1600 to send and receive information over the network 1312.
The shopping help engine 1604 may be software or instructions
stored on a computer-readable medium that is operable to collect
information from the beacon devices, analyze that information, and
provide the information, analysis, and recommendations to the
customer and/or merchant as discussed above, as well as provide any
of the other functionality that is discussed above. While the
databases 1606 and 1608 have been illustrated as located in the
device 1600, one of skill in the art will recognize that it may be
connected to the shopping help engine 1604 through the network 1312
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0094] Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the
present disclosure may be implemented using hardware, software, or
combinations of hardware and software. Also, where applicable, the
various hardware components and/or software components set forth
herein may be combined into composite components comprising
software, hardware, and/or both without departing from the scope of
the present disclosure. Where applicable, the various hardware
components and/or software components set forth herein may be
separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or
both without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In
addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software
components may be implemented as hardware components and
vice-versa.
[0095] Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as
program code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer
readable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identified
herein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or
specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked
and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps
described herein may be changed, combined into composite steps,
and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described
herein.
[0096] The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the
present disclosure to the precise forms or particular fields of use
disclosed. As such, it is contemplated that various alternate
embodiments and/or modifications to the present disclosure, whether
explicitly described or implied herein, are possible in light of
the disclosure. For example, the above embodiments have focused on
merchants and customers; however, a customer or consumer can pay,
or otherwise interact with any type of recipient, including
charities and individuals. The payment does not have to involve a
purchase, but may be a loan, a charitable contribution, a gift,
etc. Thus, merchant as used herein can also include charities,
individuals, and any other entity or person receiving a payment
from a customer. Having thus described embodiments of the present
disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize
that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from
the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure
is limited only by the claims.
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