Electronic promotions systems
First Claim
1. A computer network system, comprising:
- a central incentive computer system;
a database of outstanding offers associated with said central incentive computer, said database of outstanding offers for storing a specification of an incentive offer in association with a customer identification;
a database of offer selection criteria associated with said central incentive computer, said database of offer selection criteria storing criteria for qualifying for said incentive offer;
a retail POS system comprising means for transmitting to said central incentive computer system said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for receiving said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for providing an offer determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy said selection criteria;
means responsive to said offer determination for updating said database of outstanding offers to store said specification of said incentive offer in association with said customer identification;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for providing a benefit determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy an outstanding offer associated with said customer identification stored in said database of outstanding offers; and
said central incentive computer system comprising means for transmitting, in response to said benefit determination, an indication of said benefit to said address indicating origination of the said associated customer identification and purchase data.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, process and computer readable medium for providing purchasing incentives to a plurality of retailers from a central clearing location. The plurality of retailers transmit customer identifiers and, optionally, descriptions of customer purchases to a central incentive system via a communications system. The central incentive system determines purchasing incentives based on the customer identifiers and stored information and then transmits the purchasing incentives that have been associated with the customer identifiers to the originating retail store via the communications system. The Point of Sale system in the retail store determines if the customer qualifies for an incentive and will transmit data defining applied incentives to the central incentive system. The central incentive system may transfer funds, which cover the cost of the incentive, from an account of the incentive'"'"'s sponsor to an account belonging to the retailer providing the incentive. Alternative embodiments will determine qualification for incentives and apply them at the central incentive system. One embodiment will locate a central incentive system at a financial services provider and use existing communications from retailers to the financial services provider to implement the communications system.
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Citations
67 Claims
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1. A computer network system, comprising:
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a central incentive computer system;
a database of outstanding offers associated with said central incentive computer, said database of outstanding offers for storing a specification of an incentive offer in association with a customer identification;
a database of offer selection criteria associated with said central incentive computer, said database of offer selection criteria storing criteria for qualifying for said incentive offer;
a retail POS system comprising means for transmitting to said central incentive computer system said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for receiving said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for providing an offer determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy said selection criteria;
means responsive to said offer determination for updating said database of outstanding offers to store said specification of said incentive offer in association with said customer identification;
said central incentive computer system comprising means for providing a benefit determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy an outstanding offer associated with said customer identification stored in said database of outstanding offers; and
said central incentive computer system comprising means for transmitting, in response to said benefit determination, an indication of said benefit to said address indicating origination of the said associated customer identification and purchase data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system for providing purchasing incentives, comprising:
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a central incentive computer system, said central incentive computer system comprising;
i) a database storing purchasing incentive specifications;
ii) means for determining purchasing incentives to provide to a customer based upon a customer identifier associated with said customer and information stored in said database and iii) means for applying a benefit associated with said purchasing incentives to said customer;
and a plurality of retailer POS systems, wherein one or more of said plurality of retailer POS systems are not part of a single retail chain and wherein at least one of said plurality of retailer POS systems comprises;
i) customer identification means operating to determine said customer identifier, ii) means for generating an electronic description of customer purchase selections, and iii) means for communicating to said central incentive system said electronic description of customer purchase selections. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for providing purchasing incentives, comprising:
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a central incentive computer system, said central incentive computer system comprising a database and further comprising i) means for selecting purchasing incentives to provide to a customer based upon a customer identifier associated with said customer and information stored in said database and ii) means for transmitting said purchasing incentives to a plurality of retailer POS systems;
and wherein one or more of said plurality of retailer POS systems are not part of a single retail chain and at least one of said POS systems comprises customer identification means for determining said customer identifier.
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34. A computer process, comprising:
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storing a specification of an incentive offer in association with a customer identification in a database of outstanding offers associated with a central incentive computer;
storing criteria for qualifying for said incentive offer in a database of offer selection criteria associated with said central incentive computer;
transmitting to said central incentive computer system said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data from a retail POS system;
receiving said customer identification in association with purchase data and an electronic address indicating origination of the associated customer identification and purchase data at said central incentive computer system;
providing an offer determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy said selection criteria at said central incentive computer system;
updating said database of outstanding offers to store said specification of said incentive offer in association with said customer identification in response to said offer determination;
providing a benefit determination by determining if said purchase data satisfy an outstanding offer associated with said customer identification stored in said database of outstanding offers at said central incentive computer system; and
transmitting, in response to said benefit determination, an indication of said benefit to said address indicating origination of the said associated customer identification and purchase data at said central incentive computer system. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 67)
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62. A process for providing purchasing incentives, comprising:
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storing purchasing incentive specifications in a database of a central incentive computer system;
determining purchasing incentives to provide to a customer based upon a customer identifier associated with said customer and information stored in said database;
applying a benefit associated with said purchasing incentives to said customer;
determining said customer identifier at at least one of a plurality of retailer POS systems, wherein one or more of said plurality of retailer POS systems are not part of a single retail chain;
generating an electronic description of customer purchase selections at said at least one of said plurality of retailer POS systems; and
communicating to said central incentive system said electronic description of customer purchase selections at said at least one of said plurality of retailer POS systems. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65)
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66. A process for providing purchasing incentives, comprising:
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selecting purchasing incentives to provide to a customer based upon a customer identifier associated with said customer and information stored in a database of a central incentive computer system;
transmitting said purchasing incentives to a plurality of retailer POS systems from said central incentive computer system; and
determining said customer identifier at at least one of said plurality of retailer POS systems, wherein one or more of said plurality of retailer POS systems are not part of a single retail chain.
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Specification