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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to discounting of goods and services to consumers, and, more particularly, to the electronic distribution of promotions, such as discounts and rebates for goods and services, and the subsequent resolution
upon the redemption of the promotions by consumers.
Heretofore, consumer discounts have been in the form of physical tokens or coupons by which a consumer can obtain a discount on the price of a good or a service by redeeming the coupon. Typically, paper coupons are physically distributed to
consumers. For instance, coupons are often distributed with newspapers, or by blanket mailing to residents of a neighborhood or region. Coupons are sometimes distributed with items so that purchasers are encouraged to continue their purchases of the
item, i.e., to encourage brand loyalty.
More recent forms of coupon distribution have attempted to better target the potential purchasers of particular items. For example, coupons are placed on the back of store purchase receipts, such as those at supermarkets, so that the coupons
target those who actively shop. The coupons can be changed at the stores to quickly respond to changes in marketing campaigns. Another form of coupon distribution takes advantage of the computerization of sales networks. When a sale of a particular
item is entered on a Universal Product Code (UPC) reader at a store, such as a supermarket, a coupon for the same item or family of items may be created for the purchaser to ensure brand loyalty. Alternatively, the coupon may be for a competing band to
encourage "brand-switching." Because the UPC reader is typically part of a large computer network, the distribution of the coupons can be changed or terminated very quickly.
Nonetheless, the problems of paper coupons still remain. Besides the distribution of coupons, the expense of the administration for the redemption of the coupons is high. Fraud remains a problem in coupon redemption and the targeting of
consumers for particular goods and services can still be improved. Even electronic coupon distribution requires complex actions on the part of the consumer, such as printing a coupon or token, and taking it to a store for redemption. In the ideal case,
electronic discounts should only require simple selections by the consumer.
Furthermore, from the producer's and retailer's standpoint, the targeting of consumers remains difficult and expensive. Ideally, a database of all consumers would allow the precisely targeting of advertisements, discounts being a form of
advertisement, to individual consumers. The effectiveness of customer targeting would be maximized. To that end, producers and retailers have used emerging technologies to identify consumers and their purchasing interests. Surveys using modern polling
techniques have helped create such consumer databases, and computers have been used to correlate buying patterns of customers through store loyalty cards, for example.
However, such consumer identification remains elusive and expensive. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, such goals of consumer identification are repugnant to notions of individual privacy. With the increased linking of computers by
electronic networks, such concerns are likely to increase. Besides the individual resistance to divulging personal information, legal restraints on the use and gathering of personal information are possible, if not likely.
The present invention provides for a system and method which addresses these privacy concerns in a flexible way, while providing for the effective targeting of consumers. The most appropriate discounts or other promotions are directed toward the
individual consumer, yet the anonymity of the consumer is preserved. The present invention eliminates the paper coupon or its electronic counterpart, and is highly resistant to fraud. No paper coupons are handled by the consumer, the merchant, the
manufacturer of the goods, or provider of the service.
In addition to targeting consumers individually by their purchasing habits, the present invention also permits the consumer to view their total buying history. This is not a feature currently available at the level of retail sales. While credit
card companies today track purchases at the store level, purchases at the level of individual items are not tracked. The ability of a consumer to track his or her total consumption history is a unique feature of the current invention.
The present invention also permits the aggregation of several kinds of discounts. For example, a retailer loyalty program may offer a discount on an item, and a manufacturer may offer a discount on the same or a different item. The present
invention permits a unified display and reconciliation of both discounts; in the former case by adding two discounts on the same item, and in the latter case, by displaying both discounts in the same account.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To reach these seemingly contradictory goals, the present invention provides for a method and system for distributing and redeeming electronic promotions to a consumer through a communications network, such as the Internet. An account is
maintained for each consumer and a unique key is associated with each consumer account. This account may be established by a registration process, such as is used in so-called "loyalty card" programs many retailers currently have in place. Access is
permitted to the consumer account upon presentation of the unique key over the communications network. The consumer is presented discount choices of items available in at least one store associated with the unique key, or a collection of such stores,
over the network and the selections of the discount choices made by the consumer over the communications network are recorded. Upon purchase of items at the associated store by the consumer, such data are received, and the selections and purchases are
reconciled to record a credit in the consumer account.
In one embodiment of the present invention, no direct consumer identification is maintained in the consumer account to preserve the anonymity of the consumer. For example, only the loyalty card identifier need be managed according to the present
invention; the identity of the consumer is not needed. The purchasing history of the consumer at the store where the promotion is redeemed for items (which need not be limited to the item(s) being promoted) is maintained in a database, and the consumer
may access this history (in one embodiment of the invention). This history can then be used not only to help the consumer in personal finance management efforts, but also to help the consumer identify trends in his buying habits which may benefit from
modification or reinforcement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an Internet computer network link between consumers and the Discount Administration Process (DAP), according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a representative point-of-sale computer network system, as found in a typical modern retail operation, and its connection to the DAP; and
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer network connection between the discounters and the DAP, according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
The channels of distribution of, and payment for, good s in a modern society are complex. Broadly stated, there is the producer which manufactures the goods, the retailer which sells the goods, and the consumer who purchases the goods. There is
often a financial institution which supplies credit, for example, through a credit card, or which administers some other non-cash payment system, for example, through a debit card or a so-called smart card, for the consumer to purchase the goods. To
compete in the marketplace, the producer and the retailer of goods employ advertising, including discounts, e.g., coupons, to encourage consumers to purchase their goods.
Increasingly, retail stores, especially chains of retail stores, are offering loyalty cards which reward shoppers for frequenting the store(s) covered by the loyalty card. Stores generally obtain customer information (such as name and mailing
address) and assign the customer a unique (to the store or chain) number for identification purposes. When the loyalty card is used, advertised promotions are given to the consumer in the form of discounts or points, which may be redeemed directly at
the point of sale as a credit against a purchase.
In such complex circumstances, the present invention takes advantage of another development in modern society, that of the Internet, and in particular, the Worldwide Web. With the development of the personal computer, the emergence of the
so-called network computer, and computer/TV devices designed specifically to operate over the Internet, such as WebTV or NetPC units, more and more people are using the Internet to receive and transmit information. The present invention uses the
Internet by which the consumer receives advertising and discount information, and selects the desired promoted products. In certain cases, the consumer also receives information on the credits obtained by his or her purchase of discounted items.
Conversely, the producer and retailer obtain useful consumer information to precisely target their advertising and promotional offers. This is all achieved without requiring the particular identities of consumers to be revealed. Privacy is thus
preserved to a large extent.
In general terms and in accordance with the present invention, consumers communicate with an Electronics Discount Administrator (DAP) over the Internet. Each consumer identifies him or herself to the DAP by a unique KEY, which provides an
identification of the consumer to the DAP, and at the same time, a barrier for the consumer from the DAP. The DAP makes the consumer aware of discounted and promotional items, which have been made available by discounting entities (the discounters),
which offer the discounts to the consumer. A discounter may be one or more direct producers, such as cereal makers; repackagers, such as stores offering products manufactured by producers under the stores' names; or stores which offer many discounted
products which the stores resell. The discounts are indicated by amount, locations where the discounted items may be purchased, and time of expiration of the discounts. The consumer makes his or her selections electronically, and the selections are
recorded by the DAP.
To obtain the discounts, the consumer visits an associated location, e.g., a store, and purchases the discounted items. To identify himself or herself to the store, the consumer uses the unique Key. The store sends a record of the purchases
with the consumer's identifying Key to the DAP. The DAP reconciles the consumer's selections with the purchases at the store. The consumer may receive the discount at the time of purchase, or receive a credit in a designated financial account, e.g.,
the consumer's credit card account.
It should be noted that there is an exchange of benefits between the consumer and the discounter. In return for information containing the consumer's purchasing interests, the discounter gives the consumer a discount or some other promotional
benefit. Hence it is important that the consumer make the selection of discounted items. Without the selection, the discounter of the product is simply posting lower prices to the general public over the Internet. Additionally, while this
specification mentions the distribution, discounting and sale of goods, it should be understood that the present invention is equally applicable to discounted services as well.
The Electronic System Organization
The present invention operates over an organization of computers linked over networks. It should be understood that while a single computer might be described, the computer might be one or more computers which are tightly coupled (e.g.,
connected over a backplane), or more loosely coupled (e.g., connected by a network).
FIG. 1 illustrates the general interconnection of consumers to the Discount Administration Process (DAP) by which the consumers receive advertising and discount information and make their selection of the "electronic discounts." The consumers use
their computers 10 for connection to the computer 11 of the DAP through the Internet. The consumer computers 10 may be standard personal computers, the emerging so-called network computers, computer/TV devices designed specifically to operate over the
Internet, such as WebTV or NetPC devices, or other data entry systems which permit two-way communication over the Internet. The consumer computers 10 access the Internet through a computer server 12 of an Internet service provider (ISP). The ISP server
12 is connected to the Internet, a network of computers, represented by an Internet computer 13. The DAP computer 11 is connected to the Internet through a DAP Internet computer server 14.
The DAP computer 11 is also connected to the computers of the seller of the discounted goods. FIG. 2 is illustrative of the general organization of the point-of-sale operation, i.e., a large store chain, for goods (and services). The store,
e.g., a supermarket, typically operates with electronic cash registers 21, essentially computers which record each item sold, calculate the sales totals, prints the receipt, and so forth. Each cash register 21 is often connected to a Universal Product
Code (UPC) scanner 26 and/or an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) reader 27. The UPC scanner 26 identifies bar codes on the products to the cash register 21. The ATM reader 27 reads the magnetically encoded account number of a credit/debit/smart card
which has been issued by some financial institution, such as a bank, or a store-issued loyalty card, belonging to a consumer. Some cards may also encode their identification number as a bar code which is read by the UPC scanner. The ATM reader 27 also
typically accepts typed-in, or otherwise entered, private information, such as a personal information number (PIN), to securely identify the card holder.
In some larger stores, the cash registers 21 are connected to a store computer 22, which maintains the centralized inventory, pricing and discount information of the store. In turn, the store computer 22 is connected via a network to a master
store computer 23. The master store computer feeds pricing information to many store computers 22. Of course, there can be multiple levels for store computers 22 depending upon the size of the retail operation. Naturally, nationwide store chains are
likely to have many more computers and computer interconnections.
Outside of the retail network, the master store computer 23 is connected to the computers 24 of financial institutions (FIT). The FIT computers 24 verify and process the financial transactions involving credit, debit and smart cards, including
those at the store register 21. Besides the connections to the FIT computers 24, the master store computer 23 is connected to the DAP computer 11. This connection permits the DAP computer 11 to reconcile the selections made by the consumer with the
purchases at the store.
It should be noted that the computer network which interconnects the cash registers 21, UPC readers 22, ATMs 23, store and master store computers 22 and 23, and the FIT computers 24 belong a private network, i.e., not the Internet. Such networks
are typically in the form of WANs (Wide Area Networks) of varying degrees of complexity. The DAP computer 11 is connected to this network to make the interconnections described above.
FIG. 3 illustrates the general network interconnection of the DAP computer 11, not only with the DAP Internet server 14 and master store computer 23, but also with the computer 31 of a discounter (DIS) and a computer 32 of the discounter's
financial institution (DISFIT). The connection to the DIS computer 31 allows the DAP computer 11 to receive discount information, detailed below, from the discounter. The DAP computer 11 communicates with the DISFIT computer 32 so that the discounter's
account is debited for goods purchased by the consumers under the discounter's discount. The DAP computer 11 may also be connected to the computer 24 of the consumer's financial institution (CONFIT). This connection allows credit obtained by the
purchase of discounted goods to be placed into the consumer's account at the consumer's financial institution in an embodiment of the present invention wherein the discount is not taken at a store register 21.
As in the case of the store WAN above, the computer network for the discounter and its financial institution(s) is another private network, typically a WAN. The DAP computer 11 is connected to this network and other private networks belonging to
the financial institutions of the consumers.
Operations of the System
The Discount Administration Process Computer
The DAP computer 11 maintains a Key Database of the consumers' accounts. As explained above, a unique Key identifies the account of each consumer, but not necessarily the actual identity of the consumer. Each consumer may select his own Key, as
long as the Key does not conflict with other Keys, or the Key may simply be assigned to a consumer.
Keys may be distributed by financial institutions, such as credit/debit/smart card companies, or by a third party, such as the operator of the DAP. A Key might also issued as a part of a retailer's loyalty card program. The stores accepting a
particular Key are associated with the Key. For example, when the consumer specifies a unique identification (ID) bound to a particular loyalty program, retailer or chain, the stores associated with the Key are clearly defined. Of course, only certain
identified stores within a chain may offer a particular promotion.
There can be different levels of identification in the Key Database. One level is the secure registration level. At this level, the Key Database, which is stored on the DAP computer 11, contains a consumer's KEY and one or more
credit/debit/smart card account numbers (FIDs) issued by a financial or retail institution to the consumer. The Key Database appears as (note that there is a database for each set of KEY's obtained by a separate registration process. Thus, if two
different store chains with separate loyalty programs are in the database, the same consumer may be represented by two different KEY's, and the identity of the chain is implicit in which database is accessed):
<KEY.sub.0, FID.sub.0, FID.sub.1, . . . FID.sub.K >
<KEY.sub.1, FID.sub.0, FID.sub.1, . . . FID.sub.K >
<KEY.sub.2, FID.sub.0, FID.sub.1, . . . FID.sub.K >
. .
<KEY.sub.m, FID.sub.0, FID.sub.1, . . . FID.sub.K >
The Key Database may conta | | |
