Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Electronic shopping
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-26
2001-06-12
Swann, Tod R. (Department: 2162)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Electronic shopping
C705S026640
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246997
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of electronic commerce (e-commerce) as can be conducted over the Internet, and in particular, to a query interface for a retailer's point of sale (POS) system to facilitate on-line shopping.
2. Description of Related Art
Developing the Internet as a consumer-direct marketing channel is receiving much focus by dealers of retail goods. However, current practice has identified several contributing factors acting as barriers to wide acceptance of this new marketing channel. First, the typical retail inventory may vary from a few items to tens of thousands of items. Such magnitudes make the first time shopping experience overwhelming. Shopping on-line the first time from an inventory of thousands of items has required a very serious time commitment from the consumer. If the demand is too great, an on-line retailer may lose the customer, let alone lure the customer back on a regular basis for repeat or replenishment shopping activity. Second, consumers may not want to shop exclusively on-line. On occasion, they are likely to return to the conventional store, as opposed to the virtual store embodied in an e-commerce on-line site, to view new items firsthand. Finally, consumers opting to utilize an on-line shopping service are doing so to save time. If consumers cannot save time by shopping on-line they cannot be expected to shop on-line.
Of all the on-line shopping services available today, for example Peapod (accessible at www.peapod.com), PCFoods (accessible at pcfoods.com) and Wal-Mart (accessible at www.wal-mart.com), none takes advantage of the data already being gathered by POS systems on consumer shopping habits and preferences. Any on-line retail shopping service operating over the Internet or offered through any public or private on-line consumer service would benefit from this invention. None of these services can create a personalized, first-time on-line shopping experience.
Only one service provider, Streamline (accessible at www.getstreamlined.com), is attempting to create personalized first-time shopping lists. This is accomplished by going into the shopper's home and literally scanning everything in the shopper's pantry. This method has two major disadvantages. First, if the service provider is performing the scanning function, a shopper has to be willing to let a stranger into their home, and into their pantry and closets and cabinets, to perform the function, an unlikely scenario in today's security-conscious society. Second, if the consumer is provided with the scanning apparatus so they can scan items themselves, the time required to scan the entire household would be too long and hence be unattractive for the shopper, who is interested in on-line shopping to save time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the inventive arrangements, a unique method is provided for eliminating these barriers to on-line e-commerce shopping by providing a query interface to a retail vendor's point of sale (POS) system that can extract a consumer's prior shopping history from the retail vendor's POS database. The data extracted can then be used by shopping list builder tools to maintain or create an initial shopping list or personal inventory. The relatively small size of the resultant list will facilitate a faster, and therefore more satisfying on-line shopping experience, leading to repeated use of the on-line shopping service.
The POS query interface can advantageously be implemented as a client/server-based tool. A list builder tool can query a POS system for the prior shopping history of a customer, when that customer has previously shopped the POS system or is otherwise of record in the POS system, for example as a result of a registration process. The query can be qualified by, for example, last purchase date, a range of dates, or a specific holiday period. The query can be qualified by other criteria as well. A customer is preferably known to the POS system when that customer is a member of a POS-managed frequent shopper or loyalty program. Security and authentication of the transactions can optionally be supported.
Any invention that can minimize the time that it takes to select items for a first-time purchase from large retail inventories will provide significant advantages to the consumer in terms of time saved. The retailer will also benefit by making the initial on-line shopping experience so attractive that the consumer will return for subsequent, replenishment shopping on-line or in the store.
A method for engaging in electronic commerce (e-commerce) at an e-commerce site, in accordance with an inventive arrangement, comprises the steps of: establishing a point of sale (POS) system, having a POS loyalty database and a POS purchase history database; establishing a list builder tool having an on-line shopping history database; establishing a query interface enabling communications between said POS system and said list builder tool; accepting data from an on-line shopper accessing said list builder tool; enabling the on-line shopper to recall at least one historical shopping list from the on-line shopping history database; and, updating the databases with information from the on-line shopping.
The method can further comprise the step of establishing a POS authentication database for the POS system.
The method can further comprise the step of updating the on-line shopping history database with information from in-store shopping.
The method can further comprise the step of enabling communications between the query interface and the list builder tool over one or more of the Internet, a wide area network and an on-line area network.
The method can further comprise one or more of the following steps: loading the POS loyalty database with a frequent shopper identification (FSID), at least one preferred payment method and demographic information; loading the POS purchase history database with a purchase time stamp and a list of items purchased, and for each item on a given list, the universal product code (UPC), quantity and purchase price; and, loading the on-line shopping history database with purchase histories returned by the POS system.
An electronic commerce (e-commerce) site, in accordance with another inventive arrangement, comprises: a point of sale (POS) system, having a POS loyalty database and a POS purchase history database; a list builder tool having an on-line shopping history database; a query interface between the POS system and the list builder tool, the POS system accepting data from an on-line shopper received by the list builder tool and routed through the query interface; the list builder tool returning at least one historical shopping list from the on-line shopping history database to the network browser through the query interface responsive to the on-line shopper's request; and, the on-line shopping history database of the list builder tool being updated with information from the POS system transmitted through the query interface.
The POS system can further comprise a POS authentication database.
Communications can be enabled between the query interface and the list builder tool over one or more of the Internet, a wide area network and an on-line area network.
The POS loyalty database can be loaded with a frequent shopper identification (FSID), at least one preferred payment method and demographic information for each frequent shopper.
The POS purchase history database can be loaded with a purchase time stamp and a list of items purchased, and for each item on a given list, a universal product code (UPC), a quantity and a purchase price.
The on-line shopping history database can be loaded with purchase histories returned by the POS system.
The e-commerce site can be embodied in a computer or a computer network, having one or more computers programmed with respective routine sets of instructions.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5201010 (1993-04-01), Deaton et al.
patent: 5347632 (1994-09-01), Filepp et al.
patent: 571088
Cybul Richard C.
Szabo Robert M.
Toohey James J.
Akerman & Senterfitt
International Business Machines Corp.
Myhre James W.
Swann Tod R.
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