Computer system for facilitating the use of coupons for electronic presentment and processing
First Claim
1. A computer system for facilitating the use of coupons for electronic presentment and processing comprising:
- a transceiver adapted to receive coupon information from a communication network;
a storage device for storing coupon information received from the transceiver, a database containing a set of known coupon information values, and a plurality of customer accounts;
a comparator adapted to retrieve the coupon information from the storage device and to validate the coupon information by comparing the coupon information with the database of known coupon information values; and
a linker adapted to associate the coupon information with the customer account upon successful validation of the coupon information and to store the coupon information in the customer account.
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Abstract
A computer system for promotion management, analytics and interactive marketing enabling consumers, retailers and product manufacturers to administer all of these activities electronically and in real-time. Consumers have the ability to store paper coupon data and Internet coupon data to an account accessible through the use of a grocery loyalty card, a different type of card, cell phone, PDA, key ring transponder or other portable device or the like capable of storing electronic account data. Online reporting capabilities enable manufacturers and retailers to track and analyze promotion performance, redemption payments, sales dollars, unit volume, accounts receivable, accounts payable and other important data. Manufacturers and retailers have the ability to communicate directly with individual customers or groups of customers to promote their products and services. The system is accessible to consumers, manufacturers and retailers via PC, cell phone, PDA or any device with Internet capabilities.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A computer system for facilitating the use of coupons for electronic presentment and processing comprising:
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a transceiver adapted to receive coupon information from a communication network;
a storage device for storing coupon information received from the transceiver, a database containing a set of known coupon information values, and a plurality of customer accounts;
a comparator adapted to retrieve the coupon information from the storage device and to validate the coupon information by comparing the coupon information with the database of known coupon information values; and
a linker adapted to associate the coupon information with the customer account upon successful validation of the coupon information and to store the coupon information in the customer account. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for facilitating the use of coupons for electronic presentment and processing comprising:
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maintaining a customer account;
receiving coupon information from a customer over a communication network;
verifying the coupon information to determine if the coupon is valid;
associating the coupon information with the customer account. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for a customer to register coupons for electronic presentment and processing comprising:
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providing an authorization code to a computer system;
accessing a customer account on the computer system;
transmitting coupon information to the computer system over a communication network;
causing the computer system to validate the coupon and to associate the coupon with the customer account.
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16. The method of claim 16 wherein the coupon information comprises a coupon identification code.
Specification