System, method and computer program product for presenting, redeeming and managing incentives
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- presenting a set of one or more incentives to a consumer to permit the consumer to select at least one incentive from the set of incentives, each incentive being associated with a retailer;
receiving via a network a notification that identifies the incentive selected by the consumer;
storing information relating to the selected incentive in database, the information including information that identifies the consumer, information that identifies the selected incentive, and information that identifies the retailer associated with the selected incentive;
receiving, from a point of sale of a retailer via the network, a query that identifies the consumer and the retailer, the query indicating that a sales transaction involving the customer is occurring at the point of sale of the retailer;
determining whether any of the selected incentives stored in the database are associated with the retailer;
if one or more of the selected incentives stored in the database are determined to be associated with the retailer, transmitting, to the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a reply that identifies the one or more selected incentives stored in the database determined to be associated with the retailer, the retailer determining which of the one or more selected incentives identified in the reply apply to the sales transaction with the consumer, and applying the incentives determined to apply to the sales transaction to the sales transaction;
receiving, from the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a report that identifies the incentives that were applied to the sales transaction; and
updating information stored in the database to reflect application of the incentives to the sales transaction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method and computer program product are disclosed for presenting, redeeming and managing incentives. In one embodiment, a set of incentives may be presented to a consumer to permit the consumer to select at least one incentive from the set. Via a network, a notification may be received that identifies the incentive(s) selected by the consumer. Information relating to each selected incentive may be stored in a database. This information may include information that identifies the consumer that selected the incentive, information that identifies the selected incentive, and information that identifies a retailer associated with the selected incentive. Subsequently, a query may be received from a point of sale of a retailer via the network. The query identifies a consumer and a retailer and indicates that a sales transaction involving the customer is occurring at the point of sale of the retailer. In response to the query, a determination may be made to determine whether any of the selected incentives stored in the database are associated with the retailer and the consumer. If one or more of the incentives selected by the consumer stored in the database are determined to be associated with the retailer, then a reply may be transmitted to the point of sale of the retailer via the network. The reply identifies which of the stored selected incentives were determined to be associated with the retailer. Based on the information contained in the reply, the retailer then determines which of the identified selected incentives apply to the sales transaction with the consumer. These incentives may then be applied to the sales transaction. After the sales transaction is completed at the point of sale, a report may be received from the point of sale via the network that identifies the incentives that were applied to the sales transaction. The information stored in the database may then be updated to reflect application of the incentives to the consumer transaction.
305 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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presenting a set of one or more incentives to a consumer to permit the consumer to select at least one incentive from the set of incentives, each incentive being associated with a retailer;
receiving via a network a notification that identifies the incentive selected by the consumer;
storing information relating to the selected incentive in database, the information including information that identifies the consumer, information that identifies the selected incentive, and information that identifies the retailer associated with the selected incentive;
receiving, from a point of sale of a retailer via the network, a query that identifies the consumer and the retailer, the query indicating that a sales transaction involving the customer is occurring at the point of sale of the retailer;
determining whether any of the selected incentives stored in the database are associated with the retailer;
if one or more of the selected incentives stored in the database are determined to be associated with the retailer, transmitting, to the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a reply that identifies the one or more selected incentives stored in the database determined to be associated with the retailer, the retailer determining which of the one or more selected incentives identified in the reply apply to the sales transaction with the consumer, and applying the incentives determined to apply to the sales transaction to the sales transaction;
receiving, from the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a report that identifies the incentives that were applied to the sales transaction; and
updating information stored in the database to reflect application of the incentives to the sales transaction. - 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, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A system, comprising:
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logic for presenting a set of one or more incentives to a consumer to permit the consumer to select at least one incentive from the set of incentives, each incentive being associated with a retailer;
logic for receiving via a network a notification that identifies the incentive selected by the consumer;
logic for storing information relating to the selected incentive in database, the information including information that identifies the consumer, information that identifies the selected incentive, and information that identifies the retailer associated with the selected incentive;
logic for receiving, from a point of sale of a retailer via the network, a query that identifies the consumer and the retailer, the query indicating that a sales transaction involving the customer is occurring at the point of sale of the retailer;
logic for determining whether any of the selected incentives stored in the database are associated with the retailer;
if one or more of the selected incentives stored in the database are determined to be associated with the retailer, logic for transmitting, to the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a reply that identifies the one or more selected incentives stored in the database determined to be associated with the retailer, the retailer determining which of the one or more selected incentives identified in the reply apply to the sales transaction with the consumer, and applying the incentives determined to apply to the sales transaction to the sales transaction;
logic for receiving, from the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a report that identifies the incentives that were applied to the sales transaction; and
logic for updating information stored in the database to reflect application of the incentives to the sales transaction.
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38. A computer program product, comprising:
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computer code for presenting a set of one or more incentives to a consumer to permit the consumer to select at least one incentive from the set of incentives, each incentive being associated with a retailer;
computer code for receiving via a network a notification that identifies the incentive selected by the consumer;
computer code for storing information relating to the selected incentive in database, the information including information that identifies the consumer, information that identifies the selected incentive, and information that identifies the retailer associated with the selected incentive;
computer code for receiving, from a point of sale of a retailer via the network, a query that identifies the consumer and the retailer, the query indicating that a sales transaction involving the customer is occurring at the point of sale of the retailer;
computer code for determining whether any of the selected incentives stored in the database are associated with the retailer;
if one or more of the selected incentives stored in the database are determined to be associated with the retailer, computer code for transmitting, to the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a reply that identifies the one or more selected incentives stored in the database determined to be associated with the retailer, the retailer determining which of the one or more selected incentives identified in the reply apply to the sales transaction with the consumer, and applying the incentives determined to apply to the sales transaction to the sales transaction;
computer code for receiving, from the point of sale of the retailer via the network, a report that identifies the incentives that were applied to the sales transaction; and
computer code for updating information stored in the database to reflect application of the incentives to the sales transaction.
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Specification