Communication beacon based promotions for mobile devices

• US 10,643,243 B1
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Inventors: Krishna, Varun, Ciocirlan, Marius, Bergstrom, Peter, Kim, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Sittner, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US14/454,673
• Time in Patent Office: 2,098 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1464
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 for mobile advertising
• 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

Systems and related methods of providing promotions to consumers based on proximity to communication beacons are discussed herein. Some embodiments may provide for a system including a communication beacon and a central system. The communication beacon may be associated with a merchant and located at a merchant shop. Based on receiving consumer presence data from the communication beacon indicating that a consumer device and the communication beacon has formed a direct wireless connection, the server may be configured to provide merchant information, promotions, or other messages to the consumer device. In some embodiments, messages may be generated by the merchant and targeted to consumers based on consumer device location, consumer demographics, among other things. Furthermore, the server may provide consumer information to a merchant device to facilitate consumer service, point-of-sale, and seamless transactions and promotion redemptions.

Claims

1. A system configured to facilitate location based networked communications, comprising:

a communication beacon configured to;

communicate with a consumer device via a direct wireless connection when the consumer device is within a wireless direct communicable range of the communication beacon; and

poll the consumer device via the direct wireless connection for presence; and

one or more servers connected with the communication beacon and the consumer device via an Internet connection, wherein the Internet connection between the one or more servers and the communication beacon is separate from the direct wireless connection, the one or more servers configured to;

associate beacon identifier data that identifies the communication beacon with a merchant;

receive consumer presence data and the beacon identifier data from the communication beacon indicating that the consumer device and the communication beacon has formed the direct wireless connection, wherein the one or more servers are configured to receive the consumer presence data from the communication beacon via the Internet connection and the one or more servers are further configured to relate the consumer presence data to a consumer profile record associated with consumer data, the consumer profile record and associated consumer data stored in a consumer database of consumer profile records;

receive message data from a merchant device associated with the merchant via the Internet connection, and wherein the message data defines a particular location of a plurality of locations at a merchant shop for providing the merchant message to consumer devices; and

subsequent to receiving the consumer presence data;

determine merchant information associated with the merchant by querying a merchant database based on the beacon identifier data;

determine, based on the consumer presence data, whether the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop, wherein the determination includes the one or more servers being configured to;

determine a threshold time period; and

determine, based on the polling of the consumer device by the communication beacon via the direct wireless connection, that the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop when the consumer device has maintained the direct wireless connection with the communication beacon within the threshold time period;

in response to determining that the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop, provide the merchant information to the consumer device, wherein at least a portion of the merchant information comprises the merchant message;

generate visitation data based on the consumer presence data received from the communication beacon; and

update the consumer data associated with the consumer profile based on the visitation data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the message data defines a time that the merchant message can be sent; and

the one or more servers are further configured to;

determine whether a time at which the consumer presence data is received from the communication beacon corresponds with the time that the merchant message can be sent; and

in response to determining that the time at which the consumer presence data is received from the communication beacon corresponds with the time that the merchant message can be sent, provide the merchant information to the consumer device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the message data defines a target consumer demographic; and

the one or more servers are further configured to;

determine whether the consumer data associated with the consumer profile corresponds with the target consumer demographic; and

in response to determining that the consumer data associated with the consumer profile corresponds with the target consumer demographic, provide the merchant information to the consumer device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more servers are configured to:

provide a user interface to the merchant device including one or more preconfigured templates associated with target consumer demographics;

receive the message data from the merchant device including a selection of a preconfigured template and associated target demographic; and

generate the merchant message based on the preconfigured template.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the target consumer demographics include one of:

a new consumer demographic when the consumer profile record is new to the merchant;

a lapsed consumer demographic when the consumer profile record indicates a previous visitation to the merchant occurred before a first predefined time;

a regular visitor demographic when the consumer profile record indicates more than a threshold number of visits within a predefined period of time;

or

a VIP demographic when the consumer profile record indicates more than a threshold amount of spending at the merchant.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the message data defines a number of instances of the merchant message that can be sent to consumer devices; and

the one or more servers are further configured to;

determine whether the number of instances of the merchant message that can be provided to consumer devices has been exhausted, wherein each merchant message provided to the consumer devices exhausts an instance of the merchant message that can be sent to the consumer devices; and

in response to determining that the number of instances of the merchant message that can be provided to consumer devices fails to be exhausted, provide the merchant information to the consumer device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more servers are further configured to, subsequent to receiving the consumer presence data from the communication beacon, provide the consumer data associated with the consumer profile to the merchant device via the Internet connection, wherein the consumer data includes one or more of:

consumer preference data indicating a preference for an item;

consumer item purchase history data;

consumer identifying data that identifies the consumer; and

historical visitation data generated based on consumer presence data received from one or more communication beacons.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the particular location of the plurality of locations at the merchant shop includes a location outside of the merchant shop and within the wireless direct communicable range of the communication beacon.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more servers are configured to provide the consumer data associated with the consumer profile to the merchant device; and

the message data is generated at least in part based on the consumer data.

10. A machine-implemented method, comprising:

associating, by networked circuitry, a communication beacon with a merchant, the communication beacon configured to;

communicate with a consumer device via a direct wireless connection when the consumer device is within a wireless direct communicable range of the communication beacon; and

poll the consumer device via the direct wireless connection for presence;

receiving, by the circuitry, consumer presence data from the communication beacon indicating that the consumer device and the communication beacon has formed the direct wireless connection, wherein the circuitry is configured to receive the consumer presence data from the communication beacon via a network connection that is separate from the direct wireless connection between the communication beacon and the consumer device and the one or more servers are further configured to relate the consumer presence data to a consumer profile associated with consumer data;

receiving, by the circuitry, message data from a merchant device associated with the merchant via the network connection, wherein the message data defines a particular location of a plurality of predefined locations at a merchant shop for providing the merchant message to consumer devices; and

subsequent to receiving the consumer presence data, and by the circuitry;

determining merchant information associated with the merchant by querying a merchant database;

determining, based on the consumer presence data, whether the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop, wherein the determination includes;

determining a threshold time period; and

determining, based on the polling of the consumer device by the communication beacon via the direct wireless connection, that the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop when the consumer device has maintained the direct wireless connection with the communication beacon within the threshold time period;

in response to determining that the one or more criteria is satisfied, providing the merchant information to the consumer device, wherein the merchant information comprises the merchant message;

generating visitation data based on the consumer presence data received from the communication beacon; and

updating the consumer data associated with the consumer profile based on the visitation data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the message data defines a time that the merchant message can be sent; and

the method further includes;

determining whether a time at which the consumer presence data is received from the communication beacon corresponds with the time that the merchant message can be sent; and

in response to determining that the time at which the consumer presence data is received from the communication beacon corresponds with the time that the merchant message can be sent, providing the merchant information to the consumer device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the message data defines a target consumer demographic; and

the method further includes;

determining whether the consumer data associated with the consumer profile corresponds with the target consumer demographic; and

in response to determining that the consumer data associated with the consumer profile corresponds with the target consumer demographic, providing the merchant information to the consumer device.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising, by the one or more servers:

providing a user interface to the merchant device including one or more preconfigured templates associated with target consumer demographics;

receiving the message data from the merchant device including a selection of a preconfigured template and associated target demographic; and

generating the merchant message based on the preconfigured template.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the target consumer demographics include one of:

a new consumer demographic when the consumer profile record is new to the merchant;

a lapsed consumer demographic when the consumer profile record indicates a previous visitation to the merchant occurred before a first predefined time;

a returning consumer demographic when the consumer profile record indicates more than a threshold number of visits within a predefined period of time;

a regular visitor demographic;

or

a VIP demographic when the consumer profile record indicates more than a threshold amount of spending at the merchant.

15. The method of claim of claim 10, wherein:

the message data defines a number of instances of the merchant message that can be sent to consumer devices; and

the method further includes;

determining whether the number of instances of the merchant message that can be provided to consumer devices has been exhausted, wherein each merchant message provided to the consumer devices exhausts an instance of the merchant message that can be sent to the consumer devices; and

in response to determining that the number of instances of the merchant message that can be provided to consumer devices fails to be exhausted, providing the merchant information to the consumer device.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising, by the one or more servers and subsequent to receiving the consumer presence data from the communication beacon, providing the consumer data associated with the consumer profile to the merchant device via the network connection, wherein the consumer data includes one or more of:

consumer preference data indicating a preference for an item;

consumer item purchase history data;

consumer identifying data that identifies the consumer; and

historical visitation data generated based on consumer presence data received from one or more communication beacons.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the particular location of the plurality of predefined locations at the merchant shop includes a location outside of the merchant shop and within the wireless direct communicable range of the communication beacon.

18. The method of claim 10 further comprising providing, by the one or more servers, the consumer data associated with the consumer profile to the merchant device, and wherein the message data is generated at least in part based on the consumer data.

19. A system configured to facilitate location based networked communications, comprising:

a communication beacon configured to;

communicate with a consumer device via a direct wireless connection when the consumer device is within a wireless direct communicable range of the communication beacon; and

poll the consumer device via the direct wireless connection for presence; and

one or more servers connected with the communication beacon and the consumer device via an Internet connection, wherein the Internet connection between the one or more servers and the communication beacon is separate from the direct wireless connection, the one or more servers configured to;

associate beacon identifier data that identifies the communication beacon with a merchant;

receive consumer presence data and the beacon identifier data from the communication beacon indicating that the consumer device and the communication beacon has formed the direct wireless connection, wherein the one or more servers are configured to receive the consumer presence data from the communication beacon via the Internet connection and the one or more servers are further configured to relate the consumer presence data to a consumer profile record associated with consumer data, the consumer profile record and associated consumer data stored in a consumer database of consumer profile records, and wherein the consumer presence data includes wallet identifying data associated with the consumer device that was generated by the one or more servers;

receive message data from a merchant device associated with the merchant via the Internet connection, and wherein the message data defines a particular location of a plurality of locations at a merchant shop for providing the merchant message to consumer devices; and

subsequent to receiving the consumer presence data;

determine merchant information associated with the merchant by querying a merchant database based on the beacon identifier data;

determine, based on the consumer presence data, whether the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop, wherein the determination includes the one or more servers being configured to;

determine a threshold time period; and

determine, based on the polling of the consumer device by the communication beacon via the direct wireless connection, that the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop when the consumer device has maintained the direct wireless connection with the communication beacon within the threshold time period; and

in response to determining that the consumer device is located at the particular location at the merchant shop, provide the merchant information to the consumer device associated with the wallet identifying data, wherein at least a portion of the merchant information comprises the merchant message.