System and method of increasing fuel sales at a fuel service station

• US 20010049626A1
• Filed: 02/01/2001
• Published: 12/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Auto-Gas Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Auto-Gas Systems, Inc., Conocophillips Company (ConocoPhillips)
• Inventors: Nicholson, G. Randy
• Application Number:
  US09/773,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20010049626A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/025 wherein the volume is determined during delivery
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10

Abstract

A system and method of cross-selling products and increasing fuel sales at a fuel service station. A price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel is associated with a purchase of a non-fuel product. A display screen at the dispenser then informs the customer of the PPU discount and that a future purchase of fuel can be currently made at today'"'"'s price, or may be purchased over the Internet at a later time. The system determines whether the customer ordered a non-fuel product or future fuel, and records the customer'"'"'s orders. The system then accepts the customer'"'"'s payment for the non-fuel product and the future fuel, and discounts the PPU of the fuel by the amount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product during a current fuel purchase by the customer. This is followed by encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product and the customer'"'"'s purchase of future fuel on a token, and providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption for the non-fuel product and/or for future fuel at a future date.

Claims

1. A method of cross-selling products comprising the steps of:

associating a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel with a purchase of a non-fuel product;

informing a customer of the PPU discount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product;

recording the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product; and

discounting the PPU of the fuel by the associated amount during a fuel purchase by the customer.

2. The method of cross-selling products of

claim 1

wherein the step of informing a customer of the PPU discount includes displaying the associated PPU discount for fuel on a display screen at a fuel dispenser.

3. The method of cross-selling products of

claim 1

wherein the step of discounting the PPU of the fuel includes discounting the PPU of the fuel during at the time of the purchase of the non-fuel product.

4. The method of cross-selling products of

claim 1

wherein the step of discounting the PPU of the fuel includes discounting the PPU of the fuel for a future fuel purchase after the purchase of the non-fuel product.

5. The method of cross-selling products of

claim 1

further comprising the steps of:

encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product on a token; and

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption for the non-fuel product.

6. A method of increasing fuel sales by a fuel company comprising the steps of:

informing a customer that a future purchase of fuel can be currently made at today'"'"'s price;

recording the customer'"'"'s order for future fuel;

accepting the customer'"'"'s payment for the future fuel;

encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of future fuel on a token; and

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption at a future date.

7. The method of increasing fuel sales of

claim 6

further comprising, before the step of informing a customer that a future purchase of fuel can be currently made at today'"'"'s price, the step of providing the customer with access to a central server for the fuel company over the Internet, and wherein the steps of the method are performed over the Internet between a customer Internet access device and the central server.

8. The method of increasing fuel sales of

claim 7

wherein the step of encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of future fuel on a token includes encoding the token with an IP address for the central server.

9. The method of increasing fuel sales of

claim 8

further comprising the step of accepting the token as payment for fuel at a participating fuel company site.

10. The method of increasing fuel sales of

claim 7

further comprising, before the step of providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption at a future date, the steps of:

informing the customer that a price-per-unit (PPU) discount on fuel is available with a purchase of a non-fuel product;

recording a purchase of a non-fuel product by the customer; and

encoding the PPU discount on the token.

11. A method of increasing a merchant'"'"'s fuel sales at a fuel service station comprising the steps of:

informing a customer that the merchant offers a volume-sensitive discount on a future fuel purchase if the customer currently purchases a volume of fuel that exceeds a threshold amount of fuel;

determining whether the customer purchases a volume of fuel that exceeds the threshold amount;

encoding the volume-sensitive discount on future fuel, upon determining that the customer purchased a volume of fuel that exceeds the threshold amount;

recording the customer'"'"'s volume-sensitive discount on future fuel;

encoding the customer'"'"'s volume-sensitive discount on a token; and

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption at a future date.

12. A method of cross-selling products and increasing fuel sales at a fuel service station, said method comprising the steps of:

associating a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel with a purchase of a non-fuel product;

informing a customer of the PPU discount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product, and that a future purchase of fuel can be currently made at today'"'"'s price;

determining that the customer ordered a non-fuel product;

recording the customer'"'"'s order of the non-fuel product;

determining that the customer ordered future fuel;

recording the customer'"'"'s order for future fuel;

accepting the customer'"'"'s payment for the non-fuel product and the future fuel;

discounting the PPU of the fuel by the amount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product during a current fuel purchase by the customer;

encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product and the customer'"'"'s purchase of future fuel on a token; and

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption for the non-fuel product and for future fuel at a future date.

13. The method of cross-selling products and increasing fuel sales at a fuel service station of

claim 12

further comprising the steps of:

informing a customer that the merchant offers a volume-sensitive discount on a future fuel purchase if the customer currently purchases a volume of fuel that exceeds a threshold amount of fuel;

determining whether the customer purchases a volume of fuel that exceeds the threshold amount;

encoding the volume-sensitive discount on future fuel, upon determining that the customer purchased a volume of fuel that exceeds the threshold amount;

recording the customer'"'"'s volume-sensitive discount on future fuel;

encoding the customer'"'"'s volume-sensitive discount on a token; and

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption at a future date.

14. A method of cross-selling products comprising the steps of:

associating a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel with a purchase of a non-fuel product at a first site;

informing a customer at the first site of the PPU discount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product;

determining that the customer ordered the non-fuel product;

discounting the PPU of the fuel by the associated amount during a fuel purchase by the customer;

recording in a database at the first site, a reward file associated with the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product;

encoding the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product on a token;

providing the customer with the encoded token for redemption for the non-fuel product;

determining that the customer has presented the token for redemption at a second site which communicates with the first site over a data network;

requesting by the second site that the first site send the reward file;

sending the reward file from the first site to the second site; and

redeeming the customer'"'"'s token for the non-fuel product at the second site.

15. The method of cross-selling products of

claim 14

wherein the data network is the Internet, and the method further comprises the steps of:

sending information regarding the redeemed token to a central server on the Internet; and

allocating a value of the non-fuel product to the first site.

17. The system for cross-selling products of

claim 14

further comprising:

a printer for printing a token with the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product encoded thereon; and

means for reading the encoded token in order to redeem the token for the non-fuel product.

18. The system for cross-selling products of

claim 17

further comprising:

a plurality of system sites; and

a data network for communicating between each of the plurality of sites and for redeeming tokens at different sites in the network from the sites where the tokens were issued.

19. The system for cross-selling products of

claim 18

wherein the data network is the Internet.

20. The system for cross-selling products of

claim 19

further comprising a central server that collects reward information from the sites and makes allocations to merchants and vendors.

16. A system for cross-selling products comprising:

a display screen at a fuel dispenser that informs a customer of a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel which is awarded if the customer purchases an associated non-fuel product;

means for the customer to purchase the non-fuel product at the dispenser;

a database which records the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product; and

a processor which discounts the PPU of the fuel by the amount of the PPU discount in response to the customer'"'"'s purchase of the non-fuel product.