Method, system and program product for measuring customer preferences and needs with traffic pattern analysis

• US 20060010027A1
• Filed: 07/09/2004
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Paul Jason Redman
• Original Assignee: Paul Jason Redman
• Inventors: Redman, Paul Jason
• Application Number:
  US10/887,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20060010027A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

A method, system and program product for determining movement data of a customer or customers in a store to analyze customer decisions and optimize product presentation and customer service in response to the analysis. The movement of customers through a store may be correlated with various environmental and economic factors to indicate impediments to customers purchasing a product. Product presentation may then be attenuated according to the results of the analysis by removing the impediments or providing incentives to purchase a product, optimally those products sold at higher profit margins, thereby increasing overall store profitability.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing traffic pattern data of customers comprising the steps of:

providing a store having one or more products, each offered for sale at a price, the products are located at different locations on one or more paths in the store for customers to traverse to select the products,

recording the path data of a plurality of customers, said path data comprising the location of a portion of the path taken by a customer in the store and/or

the amount of time spent by a customer at a location in the store and/or

the time of day a customer spends at a location in the store and/or

the date a customer spends at a location in the store, then,

statistically correlating the path data of the customers to determine a traffic pattern of the store.

2. The method of claim 1 where the observation and recording is implemented by electronically tracking the path taken by a customer.

3. The method of claim 1 where the path data is entered into a computer.

4. The method of claim 1 where the path data is entered into a computer and correlated with product sales with the computer.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic tracking is a tracking device having a component that is moved by one or more of the plurality of customers.

6. The method of claim 5 where the tracking device comprises a tag and a tag reader.

7. The method of claim 6 where the tag reader reads the tag when the tag and tag reader are in close proximity.

8. The method of claim 6 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader, the tag is an RFID tag affixed to products in the store.

9. The method of claim 6 where the tag is affixed to a shopping implement moved by the customer.

10. The method of claim 9 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader, the tag is an RFID tag affixed to the shopping implement.

11. The method of claim 9 where the shopping implement is a container for carrying products in the store.

12. The method of claim 10 where a plurality of RFID tag readers are placed at different locations in the store.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of taking a remedial measure to increase the sales of a product.

14. The method of claim 13 where the remedial measure includes moving the location of one or more products.

15. The method of claim 13 where the remedial measure includes changing the price of one or more products.

16. The method of claim 13 where the remedial measure includes moving the location of a store asset.

17. The method of claim 16 where the store asset is a store employee.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of correlating the relationship between traffic pattern data and the sales volume of a product, and taking a remedial measure to increase the sales volume of a product based on the correlation.

19. The method of claim 18 where path data further includes recording which products were purchased by one or more individual customers.

20. The method of claim 18 where the remedial measure includes moving the location of one or more products.

21. The method of claim 18 where the remedial measure includes changing the price for one or more products.

22. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of observing the location of one or more store assets and moving one or more store assets to a store location in response to traffic pattern data predicting that an average number of customers exceeds a critical mass of customers at the store location at a given time of day.

23. The method of claim 22 where one of the one or more store assets is an employee of the store.

24. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of observing the location of one or more store assets and moving one or more store assets to a store location in response to traffic pattern data predicting that an average number of customers exceeds a critical mass of customers at the store location on a given date.

25. The method of claim 24 where one of the one or more store assets is an employee of the store.

26. The method of claim 24 further including a tracking device affixed to one of the store assets and the observation of that store asset is achieved by following the store asset with the tracking device.

27. The method of claim 26 where that store asset is an employee of the store.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein a tracking device is affixed to one or more store assets and further including the steps of recording the location of one or more store assets and moving one or more store assets to a store location at a time of day in response to traffic pattern data reflecting that the average number of customers at that store location exceeds a critical mass of customers at that time of day.

29. The method of claim 28 where one of the one or more store assets is an employee of the store.

30. A method for increasing sales of a product in a store, comprising the steps of:

providing a store having one or more products and the products are located at different locations on one or more paths in the store for customers to traverse to select the products,

tracking the location of one or more customers to obtain path data, said path data comprising

the location of a portion of the path taken by a customer in the store and/or

the amount of time spent by a customer at a location in the store and/or

the time of day a customer spends at a location in the store and/or

the date a customer is at a location in the store, and, recording the information.

31. The method of claim 30 where an electronic tracking apparatus is used to track the customer.

32. The method of claim 31 where a component of the tracking device is moved by the customer.

33. The method of claim 32 where the tracking device comprises a tag and a tag reader.

34. The method of claim 33 where the tag reader reads the tag when the tag and tag reader are in close proximity.

35. The method of claim 31 where the path data is entered into a computer.

36. The method of claim 33 where the tag is an RFID tag that is placed on a product in the store.

37. The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of taking a remedial measure to increase the sales volume of a product based on a location of a customer and/or a product.

38. The method of claim 37 where the remedial measure is to provide additional information about a product at a location in the store.

39. The method of claim 38 where the information provided the customer is determined by whether other products are moved in the store by the customer.

40. The method of claim 35 where the tag is an RFID tag and the reader is an RFID reader that is affixed to a shopping implement moved by the customer.

41. The method of claim 40 where the shopping implement is a container for carrying products in the store.

42. The method of claim 37 where the remedial measure is moving one or more store assets to a store location in response to a critical mass of customers being in substantially the same location.

43. The method of claim 42 where one of the one or more store assets that is moved is an employee of the store.

44. The method of claim 42 wherein a tracking device is also affixed to a store asset and further including the step of moving that store asset to a store location in response to a critical mass of customers being in substantially the same location.

45. The method of claim 44 where the store asset that is moved is an employee of the store.

46. A system for gathering traffic pattern data of customers, comprising:

in a store having one or more products offered for sale at a price, where the products are located at different locations on one or more paths in the store,

an electronic tracking device that can track the path of one or more customers while they are in the store.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the electronic tracking is a tracking device having a component that is moved by the one or more customers.

48. The system of claim 47 where the tracking device comprises a tag and a tag reader.

49. The system of claim 48 wherein the tag reader reads the tag when the tag and tag reader are in close proximity.

50. The system of claim 48 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader, the tag is an RFID tag affixed to products in the store.

51. The system of claim 48 where the tag is an RFID tag that is affixed to a shopping implement moved by the customer.

52. The system of claim 51 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader.

53. The system of claim 52 where the shopping implement is a container for carrying in the store products selected by a customer.

54. The system of claim 52 where a plurality of RFID tag readers are placed at different locations in the store.

55. The system of claim 46 further comprising data processing apparatus executing programming steps including the steps of:

recording inputted path data of a plurality of customers in the store, and/or

statistically correlating the locations of the paths taken by the customers.

56. The system of claim 55 further comprising the steps of correlating the relationship between traffic pattern data and the sales volume of a product, and

taking a remedial measure to increase the sales volume of a product based on a correlation.

57. The system of claim 55 where path data further includes recording which products were purchased by one or more individual customers.

58. The system of claim 57 where the recording of the sales of a product is implemented by interfacing with a point of sale device.

59. The system of claim 58 where the electronic tracking device interfaces with the data processing apparatus and automatically correlates the path with the sales indicated by the point of sale device.

60. The system of claim 59 where the electronic tracking device is an RFID reader located in close proximity to the point of sale device.

61. The system of claim 58 where the data processing apparatus further correlates additional data with the correlated path and sales data.

62. The system of claim 59 where the additional data indicates profit margins for products in different locations of the store.

63. A program product, comprising:

a storage device readable by a data processing apparatus and tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the data processing apparatus to perform method steps for customer path data, the method steps comprising;

providing a data processing apparatus to record inputted path data of a plurality of customers in a store having one or more products, each offered for sale at a price, the products are located at different locations in the store and the path data comprises

the location of a portion of the path taken by a customer in the store and/or

the amount of time spent by a customer at a location in the store and/or

the time of day a customer spends at a location in the store and/or

the date a customer spends at a location in the store.

64. The program product of claim 63 further including the step of correlating path data of a plurality of customers to determine average path data.

65. The program product of claim 63 wherein the program product has instructions to interface with an electronic tracking device that can track the path of one or more customers while they are in the store is used to input data to the data processing device.

66. The program product of claim 65 wherein the electronic tracking is a tracking device having a component that is moved by the one or more customers.

67. The program product of claim 66 where the tracking device comprises a tag and a tag reader.

68. The program product of claim 67 where the tag reader reads the tag when the tag and tag reader are in close proximity.

69. The program product of claim 67 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader, the tag is an RFID tag affixed to products in the store.

70. The program product of claim 67 where the tag is affixed to a shopping implement moved by the customer.

71. The program product of claim 70 where the tag reader is an RFID tag reader and the tag is an RFID tag.

72. The program product of claim 71 where the shopping implement is a container for carrying in the store products selected by a customer.

73. The program product of claim 71 where a plurality of RFID tag readers are placed at different locations in the store.

74. The program product of claim 63 further comprising the step of correlating the relationship between traffic pattern data and the sales volume of a product

75. The program product of claim 74 further comprising the step of taking a remedial measure to increase the sales volume of a product based on the correlation.

76. The program product of claim 74 further comprising the step of testing for a change in path data when a remedial measure to increase the sales volume of a product is taken, where that remedial measure is based on a correlation between product sales and path data.

77. The program product of claim 74 where path data further includes recording which products were purchased by one or more customers.

78. The program product of claim 77 where the program further includes instructions to record the sales of a product by interfacing with a point of sale device.

79. The program product of claim 78 where the program further includes instructions to cause the data processing apparatus to automatically correlate the path data with the sales indicated by the point of sale device.

80. The program product of claim 79 further including instructions to correlate additional data with the correlated path and sales data.

81. The system of claim 80 where the additional data indicates profit margins for products in different locations of the store.