Product activity data collection system

Details Product activity data collection system Product activity data collection system

1998-05-29

2001-06-12

Trammell, James P. (Department: 2162)

Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co

Automated electrical financial or business practice or...

Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register

C705S022000, C705S020000, C340S870030, C340S870030, C340S870030

Reexamination Certificate

active

06246995

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to point of sales (POS) terminals, and, more specifically, to product management in a merchandising store.
In a typical retail store, various products are displayed for examination by customers and eventual purchase. The product typically includes a barcode in the exemplary form of the one-dimensional universal product code (UPC). The barcode represents a unique number typically known as a product look-up unit (PLU) number for identifying the specific product and its sale price.
When the product is brought to a POS terminal for purchase, a barcode scanner reads the barcode for determining its price. The terminal typically transmits the PLU number to a central server or computer which accesses a price look-up database to obtain the price therefor which is then returned to the terminal for display on a monitor. In this way individual products are scanned and priced, and listed on a receipt which is printed at the terminal for delivery to the customer upon completion of the purchase transaction.
In a recent development, price verifiers are now being introduced in stores to complement the POS terminals. Like the POS terminal, a price verifier includes a barcode scanner for reading the product barcode to determine its identification number, and is also joined to the common server to access the price database and determine the price for the product. The look-up price is returned to the price verifier and is displayed on a small monitor thereon so that a customer may confirm or verify the price of the product prior to purchase at the POS terminal. Unlike the POS terminal, the price verifier is not configured for completing a purchase since it lacks a cash register, receipt printer, and associated hardware and software found in the more complex terminal.
Whereas the POS terminals are typically centralized in a row thereof near the store entrance, one or more of the price verifiers are distributed throughout the store for being readily available to customers for verifying product prices from the barcodes. Since the POS terminal determines product price from the price database, this price may not match the price label displayed on the product itself or on the display shelf. Accordingly, price verifiers presently found in retail service are experiencing heavy use for price confirmation. Price verifier usage is presently determined by a simple sequential counter which records the number of price look-ups made at the verifier over a period of time.
Product manufacturers and retailers manage the various categories of products displayed in a retail store based primarily only on which and how many products are actually sold. This data is obtained from inventory records as products are sold. Of course some products sell better than others, and some products have the capability of being sold in larger quantities which is affected by various marketing factors including advertising, store displays, quantity and location of the products in the stores as a few examples.
It is an object of the present invention to improve management of product inventory for promoting sales performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method are provided for collecting activity data for a plurality of products displayed in a merchandising store. A transaction terminal identifies a product presented for purchase and prints an itemized receipt therefor. A remote price verifier permits price verification of the product independently of the terminal. Purchase data from the terminal is stored. Verification data from the verifier is stored. Comparison of the purchase and verification data for a specific product may be used for improving its sales performance.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4649481 (1987-03-01), Takahashi
patent: 4751641 (1988-06-01), Collins, Jr. et al.
patent: 4780599 (1988-10-01), Baus
patent: 4843546 (1989-06-01), Yoshida et al.
patent: 4870577 (1989-09-01), Karasawa et al.
patent: 5172314 (1992-12-01), Poland et al.
patent: 5216233 (1993-06-01), Main et al.
patent: 5250789 (1993-10-01), Johnsen
patent: 5294781 (1994-03-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 5331544 (1994-07-01), Lu et al.
patent: 5347115 (1994-09-01), Sherman et al.
patent: 5424524 (1995-06-01), Ruppert et al.
patent: 5457307 (1995-10-01), Dumont
patent: 5493107 (1996-02-01), Gupta et al.
patent: 5629511 (1997-05-01), Iwaguchi et al.
patent: 5642279 (1997-06-01), Bloomberg et al.
patent: 5710416 (1998-01-01), Belknap et al.
patent: 5839116 (1998-11-01), Goodwin III
patent: 5870714 (1999-02-01), Shetty et al.
patent: 5923735 (1999-06-01), Swartz et al.
patent: 5978772 (1999-11-01), Mold
patent: 0749091 A2 (1996-12-01), None
The electronic edge: in a marketplace characterized by slim margins and a shrinking labor pool, electronic equipment can offer retailers a substantial competitive edge, Progressive Grocer v69, n11, p71, Grudzinzki, Gregory L. Oct. 1990.*
FM hand-held units speed price changes; labor costs saved. (date-entry units), Supermarket News, v37, p44(2), Cobb, Holly A. Jan. 1987.*
ConsumerScan ; http://www.bassinc.com/consumerscan.html.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Product activity data collection system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Product activity data collection system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Product activity data collection system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2482938