System and method for identifying customer offers

• US 20060095327A1
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agilysys Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Agilysys Incorporated
• Inventors: Alexander, Leslie B., Wright, Robert B., Vaughn, Charles A.
• Application Number:
  US11/261,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20060095327A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements

Abstract

A system and method for identifying customer-specific offers by utilizing information on promotions such as vendor allowance programs and information on customer purchase histories are provided. By correlating information on products that are subject to predefined promotions with a customer'"'"'s purchase history, offers on products, which meet various criteria, are supplied to the customer. The criteria can include, for example, whether the customer has purchased the product in the past, whether the product is discounted through a vendor allowance, and whether the product is not a loss-leader that is used to attract customers to a store.

Claims

1. A method of filtering a plurality of predefined promotions, the method comprising:

obtaining identity information that identifies a customer;

using the identity information to obtain purchase information for a product purchased previously by the customer; and

selecting at least one of the plurality of predefined promotions based on the previously purchased product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of predefined promotions are vendor promotions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of predefined promotions exceeds five hundred predefined promotions.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting information relating to the selected predefined promotions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein outputting the information relating to the selected predefined promotions comprises printing the information.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein outputting the information relating to the selected predefined promotions comprises displaying the information.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein outputting the information relating to the selected predefined promotions comprises transmitting the information.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the information relating to the selected predefined promotions is output as a shopping list.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the shopping list includes twenty or fewer predefined promotions.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the shopping list includes generic promotion information on at least one generic promotion.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the shopping list includes at least one of a predetermined header and a predetermined footer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity information is associated with a loyalty membership of the customer for a store or a chain of stores.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity information is obtained from at least one of an identification document, a bar encoded card, a magnetic strip card, a personal electronic device and a biometric identifier.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity information, the purchase information and the information relating to the predefined promotions are stored in at least one database.

15. A system for filtering a plurality of predefined promotions, the system comprising:

a first database for storing purchase information on a product purchased previously by a customer; and

a second database for storing promotion information for a plurality of predefined promotions;

offer logic for determining if at least one of the predefined promotions corresponds to the product previously purchased by the customer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of predefined promotions are vendor promotions.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of predefined promotions exceeds five hundred predefined promotions.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the offer logic comprises customer identity logic for obtaining identity information that identifies the customer.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the identity information is associated with a loyalty membership of the customer for a store or a chain of stores.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the identity information is obtained from at least one of an identification document, a bar encoded card, a magnetic strip card, a personal electronic device and a biometric identifier.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the offer logic further comprises purchase history logic for retrieving the purchase information related to products previously purchased by customers from the first database based on the identity information obtained by the customer identity logic.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the offer logic further comprises determine promotion logic for using the purchase information to search the second database to determine if the at least one of the predefined promotions corresponds to the product previously purchased by the customer.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the offer logic further comprises output promotion logic for outputting the promotion information for the at least one of the predefined promotions that corresponds to the product previously purchased by the customer.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the promotion information is output as a shopping list.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the shopping list includes twenty or fewer predefined promotions.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the shopping list includes generic promotion information on at least one generic promotion.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the shopping list includes at least one of a predetermined header and a predetermined footer.

28. The system of claim 15, wherein the offer logic comprises determine offer expiration logic for determining if at least one of the predefined promotions has expired based on expiration information associated with the at least one of the predefined promotions.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the expiration information includes an expiration date.

30. The system of claim 15, wherein the offer logic comprises determine effective offer logic for determining if at least one of the predefined promotions is active based on activation information associated with the at least one of the predefined promotions.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the activation information includes an effective start date.

32. The system of claim 15, wherein the first database and the second database are the same database.