E-Commerce activity log

• US 20030212612A1
• Filed: 05/10/2002
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Al-Azzawe, Abdul
• Granted Patent: US 7,401,033 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

An activity log is displayed in a dedicated area in a business to consumer e-commerce web site that tracks activities that occur during a current e-commerce account session. The activity log is updated automatically, without requiring user intervention. The activity log displays information such as the activity type, the activity name, and the time the activity was performed. The activity log may also provide an option for the user to view details about or to undo an individual activity. The activity log tracks activities that would conventionally be lost from view, such as the removal of items from a list and the changing of the password. In addition, the activity log automatically displays updates that are not conventionally available, such as greater granularity in the status of an asynchronous transaction.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an electronic-commerce (e-commerce) account, comprising a current account session; and

an activity log display, comprising a display of activities performed during the current account session, wherein updates of the activities are automatically displayed without user intervention.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the activities comprises one or more of the group consisting of:

a synchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

an asynchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

an update of a status of the asynchronous transaction; and

a modification of the e-commerce account.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the display comprises one or more of the group consisting of:

an activity type;

an activity data;

a time of an activity;

a mechanism for undoing the activity;

a mechanism for displaying further activity data;

a current status of the activity; and

information concerning activities of a previous account session.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a web site comprising the activity log display.

5. A method for displaying activities during a current e-commerce account session for an e-commerce account, comprising the steps of:

(a) initiating the current account session in the e-commerce account;

(b) displaying an activity log for the current account session, the activity log comprising activities performed during the current account session;

(c) tracking the activities for the current account session; and

(d) automatically displaying updates of the activities without user intervention.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the initiating step (a) comprises:

(a1) authenticating a user identification and password associated with the e-commerce account.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the activities comprise one or more of the group consisting of:

a synchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

an asynchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

update of a status of the asynchronous transaction; and

a modification of the e-commerce account.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the display of the activity log comprises one or more of the group consisting of:

an activity type;

an activity data;

a time of an activity;

a mechanism for undoing the activity;

a mechanism for displaying further activity data;

a current status of the activity; and

information concerning activities of a previous account session.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the tracking step (c)comprises:

(c1) tracking an asynchronous transaction initiated during the current account session.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the automatically displaying step (d) comprises:

(d1) automatically displaying updates of the asynchronous transaction.

11. A computer readable medium with program instructions for displaying activities during a current e-commerce account session for an e-commerce account, comprising instructions for:

(a) initiating the current account session in the e-commerce account;

(b) displaying an activity log for the current account session, the activity log comprising activities performed during the current account session;

(c) tracking the activities for the current account session; and

(d) automatically displaying updates of the activities without user intervention.

12. The medium of claim 11, wherein the initiating instruction (a) comprises:

(a1) authenticating a user identification and password associated with the e-commerce account.

13. The medium of claim 11, wherein the activities comprise one or more of the group consisting of:

a synchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

an asynchronous transaction initiated during the current account session;

an update of a status of the asynchronous transaction; and

a modification of the e-commerce account.

14. The medium of claim 11, wherein the display of the activity log comprises one or more of the group consisting of:

an activity type;

an activity data;

a time of an activity;

a mechanism for undoing the activity;

a mechanism for displaying further activity data;

a current status of the activity; and

information concerning activities of a previous account session.

15. The medium of claim 11, wherein the tracking instruction (c)comprises:

(c1) tracking an asynchronous transaction initiated during the current account session.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein the automatically displaying instruction (d) comprises:

(d1) automatically displaying updates of the asynchronous transaction.