METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REDEEMING PRODUCT MARKETING REBATES

• US 20040215514A1
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Plusnetmarketing Incorporated, The Ohana Companies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Plusnetmarketing Incorporated
• Inventors: Devlin, Edward A., Quinlan, Chris
• Granted Patent: US 8,560,382 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure

A system and method for processing product marketing rebate claims submitted by a consumer in satisfaction of a rebate offer, the consumer having purchased designated products in a qualified transaction recorded by a point-of-sale data processing and storage system that issues a receipt containing a corresponding transaction serial number. The method comprises providing a designated site of a computer information network and accessible by the consumer, and receiving a rebate claim on the designated site. The rebate claim comprises (i) the transaction serial number corresponding to the qualified transaction, and (ii) identifying information corresponding to the consumer. The transaction serial number and the identifying information is stored as a stored data record. An electronic file transfer is received from the point-of-sale data processing and storage system comprising purchase data records, each record comprising the list of products purchased and the transaction serial number for a qualified transaction in which at least one designated product was purchased. Each stored data record is associated with a purchase data record having an identical serial number, and the records are processed to validate the rebate claim. Finally, the value of the rebate offer is transferred to the consumer. Consumer access by the designated site may be via the global computer information network or by telephone, and may also optionally integrate paper-based and smart/credit/debit-card-based rebate claims. A system for performing the above method is also claimed.

Claims

1. In a method by which an entity who offers for sale a plurality of product/services,

at least one or more of which product/services having a product code associated therewith and at least one of the product/services having a promotional offer associated therewith,

at a time subsequent to the purchase transaction and subsequent to an act by the purchaser,

provides something of value to the purchaser for the purchase of one or more of the plurality of product/services offered for sale with which a promotional offer is associated,

the improvement wherein the act by the purchaser is independent of the identification of the product code associated with any of the product/services purchased in the purchase transaction.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein the purchaser to whom something of value is provided is identified at the point-of-sale for the purchase transaction.

3. The method of Claim 1 wherein the act by the purchaser is subsequent to the purchase transaction.

4. The method of Claim 1 wherein the act by the purchaser includes an electronic submission.

5. The method of Claim 1 wherein the act by the purchaser includes the identification of the purchase transaction.

6. The method of Claim 5 wherein the purchase transaction is identified by the date of the purchase transaction.

7. The method of Claim 1 wherein the act is limited to a single purchase transaction.

8. The method of Claim 1 wherein the value provided by the entity to the purchaser is an aggregation of value associated with plural product/services in the purchase transaction.

9. The method of Claim 1 wherein the value provided by the entity to the purchaser is an aggregation of the value associated with plural purchase transactions.

10. The method of Claim 1 wherein the value provided by the entity is selected from the group comprising a negotiable instrument, a credit to the purchaser, and an electronic transfer.

11. The method of Claim 1 wherein the value provided by the entity is provided subsequent to the expiration of the promotion offer.

12. The method of Claim 1 wherein the purchaser to whom something of value is provided is identified at the point-of-sale for the purchase transaction;

wherein the value provided by the entity is provided subsequent to the expiration of the promotion offer;

wherein the act by the purchaser is subsequent to the purchase transaction and includes the identification of the purchase transaction; and

wherein the value provided by the entity to the purchaser is an aggregation of value associated with plural product/services in one or more purchase transactions.

13. In a method by which an entity who offers for sale a plurality of product/services,

at least one or more of such product/services having a product code associated therewith and at least one of such product/services having a promotional offer associated therewith,

provides, for the purchase of one or more of the plurality of product/services offered for sale with which a promotional offer is associated and at a time subsequent to the purchase transaction, something of value to the purchaser subsequent to receipt of information provided by the purchaser,

the improvement wherein the information provided by the purchaser to receive the value is independent of the identification of the product code associated with any one or more of the product/services purchased in the purchase transaction.

14. The method of Claim 13 wherein the purchaser to whom something of value is provided is identified at the point-of-sale for the purchase transaction.

15. The method of Claim 14 wherein the information provided by the purchaser is provided subsequent to the purchase transaction.

16. The method of Claim 14 wherein the information provided by the purchaser is prior to the purchase transaction.

17. The method of Claim 13 wherein the information provided by the purchaser is provided by an electronic submission.

18. The method of Claim 17 wherein the electronic submission is via the Internet.

19. The method of Claim 17 wherein the electronic submission is telephonic.

20. The method of Claim 17 wherein the electronic submission is via a terminal at the point of sale.

21. The method of Claim 13 wherein the information provided by the purchaser includes the identification of the purchase transaction.

22. The method of Claim 21 wherein the information provided by the purchaser includes only the identification of the purchase transaction.

23. The method of Claim 21 wherein the purchase transaction is identified by date.

24. The method of Claim 21 wherein the purchase transaction is identified by a transaction number associated with the purchase transaction at the time and point of sale.

25. The method of Claim 13 wherein the information is provided after the purchase transaction and includes the identification of the purchase transaction,

wherein the purchase transaction is identified by a transaction number associated with the purchase transaction at the time and point of sale, and

wherein the value provided is an aggregation of the value associated with the promotions associated with a plurality of product/services.

26. The method of Claim 13 wherein the information provided by the purchaser includes a request [to the marketing entity] for automatic transfer of the value associated with future purchases of product/services with which a promotion offer is associated.

27. The method of Claim 13 wherein the information provided by the purchaser is limited to the identification of a single purchase transaction.

28. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value provided by the entity to the purchaser is an aggregation of the values associated with the purchase of plural product/services in a single purchase transaction.

29. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value provided by the entity to the purchaser is an aggregation of the values associated with plural purchase transactions.

30. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value is in the form of a negotiable instrument.

31. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value is in the form of a credit to the purchaser’

s account.

32. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value is in the form of an electronic transfer.

33. The method of Claim 13 wherein the form of the value is selected by the purchaser at the time the information is provided by the purchaser.

34. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value is provided [by the marketing entity] subsequent to the expiration of the promotion offer with which the value is associated.

35. The method of Claim 13 wherein the value is provided to the purchaser at predetermined intervals.

36. A method of processing a claim from a purchaser purchasing one or more product/services from a marketing entity in a single purchase transaction, in which one or more of the product/services purchased is associated with a promotional offer, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving from the supplier of the product/services information relating to the promotions associated with such product/services;

(b) receiving from the marketing entity information relating to the identity of a purchase transaction and the product/services purchased in that transaction;

(c) receiving from the purchaser subsequent to the purchase transaction information relating to the identity of a purchase transaction, such information being independent of the product/services purchased in such purchase transaction;

(d) using the identification of the purchase transaction provided by the purchaser to access the information provided by the supplier and the marketing entity to ascertain the applicability of promotions to the goods/services in the identified purchase transaction and the value associated therewith; and

(e) providing the purchaser with the ascertained value.

37. The method of Claim 36 wherein the promotional information is associated with product codes;

wherein the product/services identified by the marketing entity includes a product code for each product/service purchased; and

wherein the identification of the purchase transaction includes an identifier assigned by the marketing entity to the purchase transaction at the point of sale.

38. A method of developing marketing information about the purchase of product/services with which no promotion is associated through the motivation of a customer to purchase a product/service with which a promotion is associated, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving [from a marketing entity] information associating product codes for (1) a product/service with which a promotion is associated and (2) a product/service with which no promotion is associated;

(b) receiving [from the marketing entity] information relating to a purchase transaction including an identification of the purchase transaction which includes both (1) one or more of product/services with which a promotion is associated and (2) one or more product/services with which no promotion is associated;

(c) subsequent to the purchase transaction, receiving from the purchaser the identification of the purchase transaction; and

(d) using the identification of the purchase transaction [provided by the purchaser] to access the purchase transaction information [provided by the marketing entity] to correlate (1) the purchased product/services with which no promotion is associated with (2) the product/services with which a promotion is associated.

39. A method for generating consumer data comprising the steps of:

(a) associating a promotion with a product/service in a database;

(b) transferring two or more product/services to a consumer in a single transaction, at least one of such product/services having a promotion associated therewith;

(c) assigning a transaction number to the single transaction;

(d) storing the transaction number and the identification of the product/services as a data record;

(e) providing the transaction number to the purchaser;

(f) receiving the transaction number from the purchaser; and

,

(g) using the transaction number to correlate the information to the data record with the database, thereby generating consumer data.

40. A method of processing purchaser promotion claims comprising the steps of:

(a) transferring two or more product/services to a consumer in a single purchase transaction, at least one of such product/services having a promotion associated therewith;

(b) assigning a transaction number to the single purchase transaction;

(c) storing the identification of the product/services included in the purchase transaction as a data record indexed by the transaction number;

(d) receiving the transaction number from the purchaser;

(e) accessing the data record by the transaction number to identify the promotions associated with the purchased product/services; and

(f) transferring the value associated with all of the promotions in the single purchase transaction to the purchaser.

41. The method of Claim 40 including the further steps of:

(g) repeating steps (a) through (e) with respect to a second purchase transaction by the same purchaser;

(h) aggregating the value associated with the promotions in both purchase transactions prior to the transfer of step (f).