Systems and methods of controlling retail store environment customer stimuli

• US 10,505,754 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2018
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Steven J., Jones, Matthew A., Jones, Nicholaus A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowman, Mary Ellen
• Application Number:
  US16/136,733
• Publication Number:
  US 20190097826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 446 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

In some embodiments, systems and methods are provided to provide customer sensitivity retail store environment control system, comprising: a plurality of lighting systems of the store; a plurality of audio systems of the store; a mapping database; a sensitive customer database maintaining information registered customers requesting a sensitivity roaming environment zone; and a customer sensitivity environment control circuit configured to: identify a first customer in the retail store is registered as an environment sensitive customer; track movement of the first customer through the retail store; an cause some of the lighting systems and the audio systems corresponding in location to the movement of the first customer to reduce from normal lighting outputs and audio outputs, respectively, maintaining in real-time a roaming environment zone surrounding the first customer as the first customer travels through the retail store.

Claims

1. A customer sensitivity retail store environment control system, comprising:

a plurality of lighting systems distributed throughout the sales area of the retail store and each configured to illuminate at least one known specific lighting zone of the sales area and each comprising a lighting control circuit;

a plurality of audio systems positioned at known locations about the sales area of the retail store and each configured to generate audible content within audible zones and each comprising an audio control circuit and at least one acoustic generator;

a mapping database maintaining retail store mapping coordinate information of at least the different lighting zones of the plurality of lighting systems and the audible zones within the sales area of the retail store;

a sensitive customer database maintaining information regarding a set of registered customers requesting a sensitivity roaming environment zone of modified retail store environment while the customer is in the sales area; and

a customer sensitivity environment control circuit coupled with the sensitivity customer database, the mapping database, the plurality of lighting systems and the plurality of audio systems, wherein the environment control circuit is configured to;

identify a first customer in the retail store is registered as an environment sensitive customer;

track movement of the first customer through the retail store;

cause some of the lighting systems and the audio systems corresponding in location to the movement of the first customer to reduce from normal lighting outputs and audio outputs, respectively, maintaining in real-time a roaming environment zone surrounding the first customer as the first customer travels through the retail store;

receive feedback from an application implemented on a customer portable device associated with the first customer and while the first customer is within the retail store, and to adjust a first sensitivity parameter within the sensitive customer database associated with the first customer, wherein sensitivity parameters define levels of lighting within the roaming environment zone, volume of sound within the roaming environment zone, and dimensions of the roaming environment zone; and

adjust, based on the feedback, a default sensitivity parameter corresponding to a set of default sensitivity parameters assigned to a subsequent customer that registers with a similar sensitivity.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit further communicatively couples with multiple different marketing systems placed at different locations through the sales area, and temporarily disables at least a first marketing system of the multiple marketing systems when the roaming environment zone is within a threshold of the first marketing system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit is configured to identify at least one of a first lighting system and a first audio system corresponding to a location of the roaming environment zone at the time the feedback is received, and to define the adjustment to the first sensitivity parameter specific to the at least one of the first lighting system and the first audio system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to:

identify a second customer in the retail store is registered as an environment sensitive customer;

identify, from the sensitive customer database, that a set of sensitivity parameters corresponding with the second customer are within a threshold of a first set of sensitivity parameters corresponding to the first customer; and

direct the second customer to an area of the retail store that the first customer is in and clustering the first customer and the second customer.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to access a first customer shopping list corresponding to the first customer and a second customer shopping list corresponding to the second customer, and identify overlapping areas of the retail store the first customer and the second customer are to travel based on the first shopping list and the second shopping list, and in directing the second customer the environment control circuit is configured to direct the second customer along the overlapping areas.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to communicate to store associates working at the retail store and direct the store associates away from the roaming environment zone.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to modify a first boundary of the roaming environment zone as a function of a current location of the first customer and as a function of a concentration of lighting systems, of the plurality of lighting systems, located relative to the current location of the first customer.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to cause the customer portable device, through the application implemented on the customer portable device, to display a graphical representation of at least a part of the retail store corresponding to the current location of the first customer within the retail store and graphically illustrate the roaming environment zone relative to the current location of the first customer.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the environment control circuit in causing the display of the graphical representation of the at least the part of the retail store is configured to illustrate representations of one or more lighting systems of the plurality of lighting systems, and display, relative to the representations of the one or more lighting system, a level of output and quantity of modification of output for one or more lighting systems corresponding to the illustrated representations of the one or more lighting systems.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the environment control circuit is further configured to cause the customer portable device to display to the first customer a graphical representation of at least a part of the retail store corresponding to a current location of the first customer within the retail store and graphically illustrate the roaming environment zone relative to the current location of the first customer.

7. A method of temporarily establishing within a retail store limited roaming environment zones surrounding registered environment sensitive customers, the method comprising:

identifying, by a customer sensitivity environment control circuit and based on a sensitive customer database maintaining information regarding a set of registered customers requesting a sensitivity roaming environment zone of modified retail store environment while the customer is in the sales area, a first customer that is in the retail store and is registered as an environment sensitive customer;

tracking movement of the first customer through the retail store; and

causing lighting systems and audio systems within the retail store and corresponding in location, based on a mapping database, to the movement of the first customer to reduce from normal lighting outputs and audio outputs, respectively;

maintaining in real-time a roaming environment zone surrounding the first customer as the first customer travels through the retail store;

receiving feedback from an application implemented on a customer portable device associated with the first customer and while the first customer is within the retail store;

adjusting a first sensitivity parameter within the sensitive customer database associated with the first customer, wherein sensitivity parameters define levels of lighting within the roaming environment zone, volume of sound within the roaming environment zone, and dimensions of the roaming environment zone; and

adjusting, based on the feedback, a default sensitivity parameter corresponding to a set of default sensitivity parameters assigned to a subsequent customer that registers with a similar sensitivity.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

temporarily disabling at least a first marketing system, of multiple marketing systems placed at different locations through the sales area, when the roaming environment zone is within a threshold of the first marketing system.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

identifying at least one of a first lighting system and a first audio system corresponding to a location of the roaming environment zone at the time the feedback is received; and

defining the adjustment to the first sensitivity parameter specific to the at least one of the first lighting system and the first audio system.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

identifying a second customer in the retail store is registered as an environment sensitive customer;

identifying, from the sensitive customer database, that a set of sensitivity parameters corresponding with the second customer are within a threshold of a first set of sensitivity parameters corresponding to the first customer; and

directing the second customer to an area of the retail store that the first customer is in and clustering the first customer and the second customer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

accessing a first customer shopping list corresponding to the first customer;

accessing a second customer shopping list corresponding to the second customer; and

identifying overlapping areas of the retail store the first customer and the second customer are to travel based on the first shopping list and the second shopping list;

wherein the directing the second customer comprises directing the second customer along the overlapping areas.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

communicating to store associates working at the retail store and directing the store associates away from the roaming environment zone.