Wireless customer and labor management optimization in retail settings

• US 10,572,843 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2018
• Issued: 02/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BBY Solutions Incorporated (Best Buy Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: BBY Solutions Incorporated (Best Buy Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Azar, Michele, Hake, Lisa, Marble, Andrew, Shiely, Brent, Wortley, William Don, Zorn, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Rotaru, Octavian
• Application Number:
  US16/115,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20190066027A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Techniques and system configurations for tracking customers and employees in a commercial environment such as a retail store are described herein. Customer devices that are operated by an associated customer may be tracked to determine customer shopping activities in a retail store, and to obtain promotions or affect targeted results based on the customer'"'"'s activity and a profile associated with the customer. Employee devices that are operated by an associated employee also may be tracked to identify employee activities and manage the interactions that occur with customers in the retail environment. In-store activities and interactions accordingly may be enhanced as a result of advertising, marketing, and analytics derived from the tracked activities.

Claims

1. A method performed by electronic operations of an electronic tracking system accessible in a physical retail environment, comprising:

establishing a wireless network connection with a portable electronic device via a wireless communications network, the wireless communications network being accessible to the portable electronic device in the retail environment;

identifying an employee user associated with the portable electronic device;

obtaining, from a first set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications;

calculating a position of the portable electronic device in the retail environment from the location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications, wherein the position of the portable electronic device is determined relative to a plurality of zones mapped for the retail environment;

obtaining, from a second set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications;

tracking movement of the portable electronic device in the retail environment by calculating updated positions of the portable electronic device from the location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications, wherein the movement of the portable electronic device is determined relative to the plurality of zones in the retail environment; and

delivering activity-based information to the portable electronic device via a third set of wireless communications over the wireless communication network, the activity-based information being selected for output to the portable electronic device based on a location of the portable electronic device in a particular zone of the plurality of zones and the movement of the portable electronic device among the plurality of zones in the retail environment;

wherein the activity-based information is delivered to be output to the employee user in a user interface of the portable electronic device, the activity-based information being further selected for output to the employee user based on a movement of a proximate customer among the plurality of zones in the retail environment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the position of the portable electronic device includes triangulating a position of the portable electronic device within the retail environment from signal characteristics of the first set of wireless communications, wherein the first set of wireless communications are conducted according to a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network standard from an IEEE 802.11 standards family, and wherein the employee user is identified based on a MAC address of the portable electronic device used in the first set of wireless communications.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the signal characteristics relate to:

timestamp delays, response time, time of flight, signal strength, or direction, of the first set of wireless communications.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the position of the portable electronic device is assisted by information obtained from one or both of a Bluetooth beacon or a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, the Bluetooth beacon operating according to a standard from a Bluetooth standards family, and the NFC device operating according to an exchange of data from a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tag.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying of the employee user is performed based on an identifier used with the portable electronic device, and wherein the identifier is received via the wireless communications network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information includes promotional information for the proximate customer, wherein the promotional information includes one or more:

coupons, discounts, gift certificates, or rebates, to be electronically distributed from the employee user using the portable electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information is customized based on a customer profile associated with the proximate customer, the customer profile maintained by a retail operator entity in the retail environment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information is used to assist the proximate customer based on activity of the proximate customer in the retail environment, and wherein the activity of the customer is determined from tracking the movement of the proximate customer via a customer portable electronic device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information includes assistance or promotional offer information based on identified activity of the proximate customer in the retail environment relative to a particular product or a certain section of the retail environment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of zones mapped for the retail environment respectively correspond to a plurality of product type or product vendor zones mapped for the retail environment.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device is a smartphone, and wherein the activity-based information selected for output to the employee user includes assistance or promotional prompts triggered from activity of the customer occurring among the plurality of zones in the retail environment.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information delivered to the portable electronic device is further customized to deliver promotions for the proximate customer, based on one or more of:

the promotions offered in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, visit duration of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, entry or exit of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, or the movement of the proximate customer among the plurality of zones.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information delivered to the portable electronic device is further customized to present information regarding the proximate customer.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity-based information delivered to the portable electronic device is further customized to present information regarding tracking of the employee user, including one or more of:

information indicating an assignment of the employee user to a respective zone, information indicating assigned activities for the employee user in a respective zone, information indicating time spent by the employee user among respective zones, information indicating a number of employees among respective zones, information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with fellow employees, or information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with customers.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructions for device tracking and interaction in a retail environment, the instructions which when executed by a hardware processor of an electronic tracking system cause the hardware processor to perform operations including:

establishing a wireless network connection with a portable electronic device via a wireless communications network, the wireless communications network being accessible to the portable electronic device in the retail environment;

identifying an employee user associated with the portable electronic device;

obtaining, from a first set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications;

calculating a position of the portable electronic device in the retail environment from the location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications, wherein the position of the portable electronic device is determined relative to a plurality of zones mapped for the retail environment;

obtaining, from a second set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications;

tracking movement of the portable electronic device in the retail environment by calculating updated positions of the portable electronic device from the location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications, wherein the movement of the portable electronic device is determined relative to the plurality of zones in the retail environment; and

delivering activity-based information to the portable electronic device via a third set of wireless communications over the wireless communication network, the activity-based information being selected for output to the portable electronic device based on a location of the portable electronic device in a particular zone of the plurality of zones and the movement of the portable electronic device among the plurality of zones in the retail environment;

wherein the activity-based information is delivered to be output to the employee user in a user interface of the portable electronic device, the activity-based information being further selected for output to the employee user based on a movement of a proximate customer among the plurality of zones in the retail environment.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein calculating the position of the portable electronic device includes triangulating a position of the portable electronic device within the retail environment from signal characteristics of the first set of wireless communications, wherein the first set of wireless communications are conducted according to a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network standard from an IEEE 802.11 standards family, and wherein the employee user is identified based on a MAC address of the portable electronic device used in the first set of wireless communications.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein calculating the position of the portable electronic device is assisted by information obtained from one or both of a Bluetooth beacon or a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, the Bluetooth beacon operating according to a standard from a Bluetooth standards family, and the NFC device operating according to an exchange of data from a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tag.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the activity-based information includes information received to:

assist the proximate customer based on identification of the movement of the proximate customer in the retail environment;

assist the proximate customer based on identified activity of the proximate customer in the retail environment relative to a particular product or a certain section of the retail environment;

obtain promotions for the proximate customer, based on one or more of;

the promotions offered in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, visit duration of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, entry or exit of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, or the movement of the proximate customer among the plurality of zones;

obtain information related to the proximate customer;

or

obtain information regarding tracking of the employee user, including one or more of;

information indicating an assignment of the employee user to a respective zone, information indicating assigned activities for the employee user in a respective zone, information indicating time spent by the employee user among respective zones, information indicating a number of employees among respective zones, information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with fellow employees, or information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with customers.

19. An electronic tracking system, comprising:

wireless communications hardware to perform wireless communications with a portable electronic device via a wireless communications network provided in a retail environment;

a hardware processor configured to perform electronic operations that;

identify an employee user associated with the portable electronic device;

obtain, from a first set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications;

calculate a position of the portable electronic device in the retail environment from the location-identifying data for the first set of wireless communications, wherein the position of the portable electronic device is determined relative to a plurality of zones mapped for the retail environment;

obtain, from a second set of wireless communications exchanged with the portable electronic device via the wireless communications network, location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications;

track movement of the portable electronic device in the retail environment by calculating updated positions of the portable electronic device from the location-identifying data for the second set of wireless communications, wherein the movement of the portable electronic device is determined relative to the plurality of zones in the retail environment; and

deliver activity-based information to the portable electronic device via a third set of wireless communications over the wireless communication network, the activity-based information being selected for output to the portable electronic device based on a location of the portable electronic device in a particular zone of the plurality of zones and the movement of the portable electronic device among the plurality of zones in the retail environment;

wherein the activity-based information is delivered to be output to the employee user in a user interface of the portable electronic device, the activity-based information being further selected for output to the employee user based on a movement of a proximate customer among the plurality of zones in the retail environment.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the operations that calculate the position of the portable electronic device triangulate a position of the portable electronic device within the retail environment from signal characteristics of the first set of wireless communications, wherein the first set of wireless communications conducted according to a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network standard from an IEEE 802.11 standards family, and wherein the employee user is identified based on a MAC address of the portable electronic device used in the first set of wireless communications.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the operations that calculate the position of the portable electronic device are assisted by information obtained from one or both of a Bluetooth beacon or a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, the Bluetooth beacon operating according to a standard from a Bluetooth standards family, and the NFC device operating according to an exchange of data from a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tag.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the activity-based information includes information received to:

assist the proximate customer based on identification of the movement of the proximate customer in the retail environment;

assist the proximate customer based on identified activity of the proximate customer in the retail environment relative to a particular product or a certain section of the retail environment;

obtain promotions for the proximate customer, based on one or more of;

the promotions offered in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, visit duration of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, entry or exit of the proximate customer in a respective zone of the plurality of zones, or the movement of the proximate customer among the plurality of zones;

obtain information related to the proximate customer;

or obtain information regarding tracking of the employee user, including one or more of;

information indicating an assignment of the employee user to a respective zone, information indicating assigned activities for the employee user in a respective zone, information indicating time spent by the employee user among respective zones, information indicating a number of employees among respective zones, information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with fellow employees, or information indicating quantity or duration of interactions with customers.