Geo-fenced marketplace

• US 10,282,753 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2014
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Cheung, Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Reagan, James A
• Application Number:
  US14/566,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20160171545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program and a computer-implemented method for a geo-fenced zone of commerce are described. Consistent with some embodiments, the method may include subdividing a geographic area, generating corresponding geo-fences, and presenting the corresponding geo-fences as listings in a navigable online marketplace.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory; and

at least one hardware processor coupled to the memory and comprising instructions that cause the system to perform operations comprising;

obtaining social network activity of a plurality of users, the social network activity of the plurality of users comprising location data that identifies geographic locations of the plurality of users;

identifying concentrations of social network activity within a geographic region based on the location data that identifies the geographic locations of the plurality of users, each of the concentrations of social network activity comprising a number of users;

subdividing the geographic region into one or more geographic areas based on the concentrations of social network activity, each of the one or more geographic areas associated with a corresponding number of users based on the concentrations of social network activity;

generating at least a geo-fence that encompasses a geographic area from among the one or more geographic areas;

determining a cost for delivering targeted content through the geo-fence, the cost based on the number of users associated with the corresponding geographic area; and

displaying an interface that comprises a presentation of a listing that identifies the geo-fence and comprises a display of the cost for delivering the targeted content through the geo-fence.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising receiving a bid for the geo-fence via the interface.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

detecting a user device within the geo-fence; and

delivering the targeted content to the user device in response to detecting the user-device within the geo-fence.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the detecting the user device within the geo-fence includes:

receiving geo-location data from the user device, the geo-location data identifying the geographic location; and

determining that the user device is within the geo-fence based on the geo-location data.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the detecting the user device within the geo-fence includes:

receiving a notification from the user device, wherein the notification is a check-in request that identifies the geographic location.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the delivering the targeted content to the user device includes:

transmitting the targeted content to the user device via a push notification.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the displaying the interface that includes the listing further comprises:

causing display of the listing among a set of listings, the set of listings corresponding to a set of geo-fences.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the cost is based on the concentration of the social network activity and a geo-fence parameter that includes a size of the geo-fence.

9. A method comprising:

obtaining social network activity of a plurality of users, the social network activity of the plurality of users comprising location data that identifies geographic locations of the plurality of users;

identifying concentrations of social network activity within a geographic region based on the location data that identifies the geographic locations of the plurality of users, each of the concentrations of social network activity comprising a number of users;

subdividing the geographic region into one or more geographic areas based on the concentrations of social network activity, each of the one or more geographic areas associated with a corresponding number of users based on the concentrations of social network activity;

generating at least a geo-fence that encompasses a geographic area from among the one or more geographic areas;

determining a cost for delivering targeted content through the geo-fence, the cost based on the number of users associated with the corresponding geographic area; and

displaying an interface that comprises a presentation of a listing that identifies the geo-fence and comprises a display of the cost for delivering the targeted content through the geo-fence.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving a bid for the geo-fence via the interactive user-interface.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the determining the price is based on the concentration and geo-fence parameters, the geo-fence parameters including:

a defined period of time for delivery of the targeted content;

a size of the geo-fence; and

one or more identifiers corresponding to the detected user device or an identity of a user, the identifiers being based on demographic information and a transaction history.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the demographic information includes user profile information, a user gender, or a user age.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting a user device within the geo-fence; and

responsive to detecting the user device of the recipient entering into the geo-fence, delivering the targeted content to the user device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting the user device within the geo-fence comprises:

receiving geo-location data from the user device, the geo-location data identifying the geographic location; and

determining that the user device is within the geographic region corresponding to the geo-fence based on the geo-location data.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein an initial cost for the geo-fence increases with respect to a size associated with the corresponding geographic region.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein the targeted content is an advertisement.

17. The method of claim 9 wherein the targeted content is delivered via a push notification.

18. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodying instructions executed by a machine, that cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

obtaining social network activity of a plurality of users, the social network activity of the plurality of users comprising location data that identifies geographic locations of the plurality of users;

identifying concentrations of social network activity within a geographic region based on the location data that identifies the geographic locations of the plurality of users, each of the concentrations of social network activity comprising a number of users;

subdividing the geographic region into one or more geographic areas based on the concentrations of social network activity, each of the one or more geographic areas associated with a corresponding number of users based on the concentrations of social network activity;

generating at least a geo-fence that encompasses a geographic area from among the one or more geographic areas;

determining a cost for delivering targeted content through the geo-fence, the cost based on the number of users associated with the corresponding geographic area; and

displaying an interface that comprises a presentation of a listing that identifies the geo-fence and comprises a display of the cost for delivering the targeted content through the geo-fence.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodying instructions executed by the machine, that cause the machine to perform the operations of claim 18, further comprising:

detecting a user device has entered into the geographic region corresponding to the geo-fence; and

responsive to detecting the user device entering into the geographic region, delivering the targeted content to the user device.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodying instructions executed by the machine, that cause the machine to perform the operations of claim 18, further comprising:

presenting the listing that identifies the geo-fence among a set of listings that identify a set of geo-fences.