Vehicle shopping and buying system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A shopping and buying system comprising:
- an internet accessible computer data base having information regarding vehicles for sale;
application software including a routine permitting the selection of specific data from the data base based upon inquiries from a customer;
the application software receiving data input from the customer requesting a vehicle search of the data base for a vehicle configuration prepared by the customer wherein the search results identify a particular vehicle located at one of a manufacturing facility, a distribution center, or in shipment between the manufacturing facility and the distribution center;
the application software notifying the customer of a delivery location consisting of a dealership and a delivery time of the particular vehicle; and
wherein the particular vehicle is delivered to the dealership for the customer to take delivery of the particular vehicle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A complete internet shopping and buying system allows a customer to configure a vehicle of their choice by selecting options and creating and viewing a graphic model, locate a dealership, select a payment option, locate a specific vehicle and purchase the vehicle. The shopping process is divided into non-sequential phases including general information, a virtual vehicle showroom, a vehicle configurator, a dealership locator and payment options. The buying process is divided into sequential phases including customer profile, vehicle configurator, payment options, vehicle location and reservation, and confirmation.
132 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A shopping and buying system comprising:
-
an internet accessible computer data base having information regarding vehicles for sale;
application software including a routine permitting the selection of specific data from the data base based upon inquiries from a customer;
the application software receiving data input from the customer requesting a vehicle search of the data base for a vehicle configuration prepared by the customer wherein the search results identify a particular vehicle located at one of a manufacturing facility, a distribution center, or in shipment between the manufacturing facility and the distribution center;
the application software notifying the customer of a delivery location consisting of a dealership and a delivery time of the particular vehicle; and
wherein the particular vehicle is delivered to the dealership for the customer to take delivery of the particular vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method comprising:
-
providing a database accessible via a website;
providing a number of website shopping pages devoted to shopping for a product including information about the product and including application software for locating a dealership and configuring a product;
providing a number of website buying pages devoted to buying the product wherein data corresponding to the dealership located in the shopping pages is transmitted to the buying pages by the application software and data corresponding to the product configured in the shopping pages is transmitted to the buying pages by the application software so that duplicate entry of data is not required.
-
-
13. A method comprising:
-
entering buying process pages of a website to purchase a product;
submitting a customer profile including required information about a particular customer;
preparing a product configuration from available options and accessories according to the preferences of the customer;
locating a dealership for delivery of a particular product acceptably matching the product configuration;
selecting a method of paying for the particular product from a list of available payment options;
locating the particular product from available products;
reserving the located particular product;
confirming reservation of the located particular product;
informing the customer of the place and time of delivery of the located particular product; and
delivering the located particular product to the customer at the informed place and time. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification