System and method for linking POS purchases to shopper membership accounts

• US 10,325,250 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2015
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meijer (Meijer Cos. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Meijer (Meijer Cos. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Pugh, Brian, Robinson, Jr., Elmer L., Pallas, David Scott, Ross, K. Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayles, Ashford S
• Application Number:
  US14/965,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20160171468A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 705 16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules

Abstract

A system and method that links point-of-sale purchases to shopper membership accounts includes a database in which each of one or more electronic payment systems specified by a customer is associated with one of a plurality of enterprise membership service identification codes stored in the database that uniquely identifies the customer as one of a plurality of shopper members of an enterprise membership service program associated with a retail enterprise. In response to tender of an electronic payment system to the point-of-sale system as part of a transaction for the purchase of items, information about the items is stored in one of a plurality of purchase histories that is associated with the one of the plurality of enterprise membership service identification codes that is associated with one of at least two specified electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system.

Claims

1. A method of linking point-of-sale (POS) purchases to customer purchase histories, the method comprising:

in a database having stored therein a plurality of purchase histories each containing information identifying items previously purchased by one of a plurality of customers of a retail enterprise and a plurality of electronic payment systems each to be used to process payments for purchases made at any of one or more point-of-sale systems of the retail enterprise, associating, with a processor, each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchases made by that customer at any of the one or more point-of-sale systems of the retail enterprise with one or more of the plurality of purchase histories assigned to or associated with that customer, and

in response to tender of an electronic payment system to a purchase interface of the retail enterprise as part of a transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of one or more items,

(i) searching, with the processor, the plurality of electronic payment systems stored in the database for the tendered electronic payment system,

(ii) determining, with the processor, the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system,

(iii) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the matching electronic payment system is a single one of the plurality of purchase histories, storing, with the processor, information about the one or more items in the transaction in the single one of the plurality of purchase histories stored in the database, and

(iv) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the matching electronic payment system includes two or more of the plurality of purchase histories,

(a) prompting, with the processor via the purchase interface, a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories,

(b) receiving, with the processor, a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories via user interaction with the purchase interface, and

(c) storing, with the processor, information about the one or more items in the transaction in the selected one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories stored in the database.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the database further has stored therein a plurality of enterprise membership identification (EMSID) codes each identifying one of the plurality of customers of the retail enterprise and each identifying a different one of the plurality of purchase histories, the method further comprising associating, with the processor, each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchases made by that customer at any of the one or more point-of-sale systems of the retail enterprise with one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes identifying that customer,

and wherein determining the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system comprises:

determining, with the processor, the one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes associated in the database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and

determining, with the processor, each of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the determined one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the purchase interface comprises a display device and an input device, and wherein the method further comprises:

prior to executing steps (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv), controlling, with the processor, the display device to display a message requesting permission to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system,

executing steps (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system, and

bypassing steps (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to deny linking of purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the database further has stored therein a plurality of customer preferences each defining one or more preferences to be automatically implemented by the processor during processing of purchase transactions at the purchase interface using the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers, wherein the one or more preferences include at least one of (a) a manner in which a purchase transaction receipt is to be supplied to the customer, (b) one or more purchase transaction-related items to be displayed or not displayed on a display device of the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions, and (c) one or more messages to be displayed to a cashier operating the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions,

and wherein the method further comprises:

with the processor, associating in the database each of the plurality of customer preferences with the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers,

with the processor, determining the one or more preferences defined by the one of the plurality of customer preferences associated in the database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and

with the processor, automatically implementing the determined one or more customer-selected preferences during the transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of the one or more items.

2. A system for linking point-of-sale (POS) purchases to customer purchase histories, the system comprising:

a plurality of purchase interfaces of a retail enterprise,

at least one database having stored therein a plurality of purchase histories each containing information identifying items previously purchased by one of a plurality of customers of the retail enterprise, and a plurality of electronic payment systems each to be used to process payments for purchases made at any of the plurality of purchase interfaces, wherein each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchases made by that customer at any of the plurality of purchase interfaces of the retail enterprise is associated with one or more of the plurality of purchase histories assigned to or associated with that customer,

a processor configured to control, at least in part, each of the plurality of purchase interfaces, and

memory having instructions stored therein which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to, in response to tender of an electronic payment system to any of the plurality of purchase interfaces as part of a transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of one or more items, (i) search the plurality of electronic payment systems stored in the at least one database for the tendered electronic payment system, (ii) determine the one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the at least one database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system, (iii) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the at least one database with the matching electronic payment system is a single one of the plurality of purchase histories, store information about the one or more items in the transaction in the single one of the plurality of purchase histories in the at least one database, and (iv) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the at least one database with the matching electronic payment system includes two or more of the plurality of purchase histories, (a) prompt, via a respective one of the plurality of purchase interfaces, a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories, (b) receive a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories via user interaction with the respective one of the plurality of purchase interfaces, and (c) store information about the one or more items in the transaction in the selected one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories stored in the at least one database.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one database further has stored therein a plurality of enterprise membership identification (EMSID) codes each identifying one of the plurality of customers of the retail enterprise and each identifying a different one of the plurality of purchase histories,

wherein the instructions stored in the memory further include instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to associate each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchase made by that customer at any of the one or more point-of-sale systems of the retail enterprise with one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes identifying that customer,

and wherein the instructions stored in the memory further include instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system by determining the one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes associated in the database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and determining each of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the determined one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of purchase interfaces comprises a display device and an input device,

and wherein the instructions stored in the memory further include instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

prior to executing actions (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv), control the display device of the one of the plurality of purchase interfaces at which the tendered electronic payment system is tendered to display a message requesting permission to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system,

execute actions (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system, and

bypass actions (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to deny linking of purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one database further has stored therein a plurality of customer preferences each defining one or more preferences to be automatically implemented by the processor during processing of purchase transactions at the purchase interface using the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers, wherein the one or more preferences include at least one of (a) a manner in which a purchase transaction receipt is to be supplied to the customer, (b) one or more purchase transaction-related items to be displayed or not displayed on a display device of the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions, and (c) one or more messages to be displayed to a cashier operating the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions,

and wherein the instructions stored in the memory further include instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

associate in the at least one database each of the plurality of customer preferences with the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers,

determine the one or more preferences defined by the one of the plurality of customer preferences associated in the database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and

automatically implement the determined one or more customer-selected preferences during the transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of the one or more items.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of purchase interfaces comprises one or more point-of-sale systems.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of purchase interfaces comprises at least one web-based purchase interface.

3. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, result in the at least one processor:

storing, in at least one database, a plurality of purchase histories each containing information identifying items previously purchased by one of a plurality of customers of the retail enterprise, and a plurality of electronic payment systems each to be used to process payments for purchases made at any of a plurality of purchase interfaces,

associating, in the at least one database, each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchases made by that customer at any of the plurality of purchase interfaces of the retail enterprise with one or more of the plurality of purchase histories assigned to or associated with that customer, and

in response to tender of an electronic payment system to any of the plurality of purchase interfaces of the retail enterprise as part of a transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of one or more items,

(i) searching the plurality of electronic payment systems stored in the database for the tendered electronic payment system,

(ii) determining the one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system,

(iii) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the at least one database with the matching electronic payment system is a single one of the plurality of purchase histories, storing information about the one or more items in the transaction in the single one of the plurality of purchase histories contained in the at least one database, and

(iv) in response to determining that the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the at least one database with the matching electronic payment system includes two or more of the plurality of purchase histories,

(a) prompting via a respective one of the plurality of purchase interfaces a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories,

(b) receiving a selection of one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories via user interaction with the respective one of the plurality of purchase interfaces, and

(c) storing information about the one or more items in the transaction in the selected one of the two or more of the plurality of purchase histories stored in the at least one database.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the at least one database further has stored therein a plurality of enterprise membership identification (EMSID) codes each identifying one of the plurality of customers of the retail enterprise and each identifying a different one of the plurality of purchase histories,

wherein the plurality of instructions include instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, result in the at least one processor associating each of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by a corresponding one of the plurality of customers to be used to process payments for purchases made by that customer at any of the one or more point-of-sale systems of the retail enterprise with one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes identifying that customer,

and wherein the plurality of instructions include instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, result in the at least one processor determining the one or more of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the one of the plurality of electronic payment systems that matches the tendered electronic payment system by determining the one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes associated in the database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and determining each of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the determined one or more of the plurality of EMSID codes.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of purchase interfaces comprises a display device and an input device,

and wherein the plurality of instructions include instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, result in the at least one processor

controlling, prior to executing actions (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv), the display device to display a message requesting permission to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system,

executing actions (i), (ii) and (iii) or (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to link purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system, and

bypassing actions (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) upon receipt, via user interaction with the input device, of an instruction to deny linking of purchases made during the transaction to one of the plurality of purchase histories associated in the database with the tendered electronic payment system.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the at least one database further has stored therein a plurality of customer preferences each defining one or more preferences to be automatically implemented during processing of purchase transactions at the purchase interface using the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers, wherein the one or more preferences include at least one of (a) a manner in which a purchase transaction receipt is to be supplied to the customer, (b) one or more purchase transaction-related items to be displayed or not displayed on a display device of the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions, and (c) one or more messages to be displayed to a cashier operating the point-of-sale system during the purchase transactions,

and wherein the plurality of instructions include instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, result in the at least one processor

associating in the database each of the plurality of customer preferences with the at least one of the plurality of electronic payment systems specified by the corresponding one of the plurality of customers,

determining the one or more preferences defined by the one of the plurality of customer preferences associated in the at least one database with the matching one of the plurality of electronic payment systems, and

automatically implementing the determined one or more customer-selected preferences during the transaction for the purchase from the retail enterprise of the one or more items.