Method and system for interactively providing product related information on demand and providing personalized transactional benefits at a point of purchase
First Claim
1. A method of providing personalized transactional benefits at a point of purchase over a network based on personalized identification information provided by a consumer and stored at a first server, the first server also having stored thereat a plurality of product identification numbers which are used to identify articles of commerce, each article of commerce bearing an indicia on which one product identification number is encoded, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a code symbol reader, operably connected to the first server of the network, for scanning the indicia on the product, the indicia being associated with the product identification number, the code symbol reader including a personalized identifier to identify the consumer;
reading at least a portion of the indicia on the article of commerce using the code symbol reader;
retrieving from the first server the product identification number associated with the indicia on the article of commerce;
processing the at least one personalized identifier of the consumer and retrieving from the first server the personalized identification information provided by the consumer;
displaying at least one of pricing information, purchasing options, and product information for the article of commerce; and
offering personalized transactional benefits for the purchase of the article of commerce based on the personalized identification information provided by the consumer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for interactively providing product and related information to a user based upon product identification information, such as a UPC code, and enabling the user to engage in various transactions related to the product. According to one aspect of the present invention, the system informs and educates the user about a particular product or service which the user is interested in and enables the user to efficiently purchase the product or service. The system is also configured to offer personalized transactional benefits to the user based on the amount and/or type of personal information that is provided by the user.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of providing personalized transactional benefits at a point of purchase over a network based on personalized identification information provided by a consumer and stored at a first server, the first server also having stored thereat a plurality of product identification numbers which are used to identify articles of commerce, each article of commerce bearing an indicia on which one product identification number is encoded, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a code symbol reader, operably connected to the first server of the network, for scanning the indicia on the product, the indicia being associated with the product identification number, the code symbol reader including a personalized identifier to identify the consumer;
reading at least a portion of the indicia on the article of commerce using the code symbol reader;
retrieving from the first server the product identification number associated with the indicia on the article of commerce;
processing the at least one personalized identifier of the consumer and retrieving from the first server the personalized identification information provided by the consumer;
displaying at least one of pricing information, purchasing options, and product information for the article of commerce; and
offering personalized transactional benefits for the purchase of the article of commerce based on the personalized identification information provided by the consumer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of providing personalized transactional benefits at a point of purchase over a network based on personalized identification information provided by a consumer and stored in a database at a first server of the network, the first server also storing a plurality of identification numbers which are used to identify one of the articles of commerce and services, each one the articles of commerce and articles associated with the services bearing an indicia on which one identification number is encoded, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a code symbol reader, operably connected to the first server of the network, for scanning the indicia on one of the products and service articles, the indicia being associated with the identification number, the code symbol reader including a personal identifier to identify the consumer to the first server;
reading at least a portion of the indicia directly from one of the articles of commerce and service articles using the code symbol reader;
transmitting the personal identifier to the first server from the code symbol reader;
retrieving from the database at the first server the identification number associated with the indicia;
processing the at least one personal identifier of the consumer at the first server and retrieving from the database the personalized identification information provided by the consumer;
classifying the read product or service based on at least the identification number as belonging to a first group;
gathering from one or more other servers information related to the first group;
displaying at the code symbol reader location options for purchasing the product or service and comparative information including a comparison between the product or service and one or more other members of the first group; and
offering personalized transactional benefits to the consumer from the first server based on the personalized identification information provided by the consumer and stored in the database at the first server. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of providing personalized transactional benefits at a point of purchase based on personalized identification information provided by a consumer and stored at a first server of a network, the first server also having stored thereat a plurality of identification numbers which are used to identify one of products and services, each one of the products and articles associated with the services bearing an indicia on which one identification number is encoded, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a code symbol reader, operably connected to the first server of the network, for scanning the indicia on one of the products and service articles, the indicia being associated with the identification number, the code symbol reader including a personal identifier to identify the consumer to the first server;
reading at least a portion of the indicia directly from one of the products and service articles using the code symbol reader;
transmitting the personal identifier to the first server from the code symbol reader;
retrieving from the database at the first server the identification number associated with the read indicia;
processing the at least one personal identifier of the consumer at the first server and retrieving from the database the personalized identification information provided by the consumer;
determining whether the consumer belongs to an aggregate buying group;
linking the consumer with an aggregate buying server if the consumer belongs to the aggregate buying group;
determining at the aggregate buying server whether the read product or service has an active bid status and permitting the consumer to join other members in placing a bid for a predetermined amount of the product or the performance of the service, the aggregate buying server being in communication with other servers which provide purchasing of the product or service;
entering the bid through the code symbol reader and transmitting the bid to the aggregate buying server where it is processed;
confirming at the code symbol reader that the bid has been transmitted and the consumer has become a member of an aggregate buying group;
notifying the consumer through the code symbol reader when a purchase is made by the aggregate buying group; and
if the consumer is not a member of the aggregate buying group or the read product or service does not have an active bid status, then;
classifying the read article or service based on at least the identification number as belonging to a first group;
gathering from one or more other servers information related to the first group;
displaying at the code symbol reader options for purchasing the scanned article or service and comparative information including a comparison between the scanned product or service and one or more other members of the first group; and
offering personalized transactional benefits to the consumer from the first server based on the personalized identification information provided by the consumer and stored in the database at the first server.
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Specification