METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A TRANSACTION BASED ON BRAND INDIFFERENCE
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving an agreement from a customer to purchase a product from a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
selecting, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
providing an indication of the selected product to the customer;
providing purchasing instructions to the customer for the selected product;
receiving an indication of the purchase of the selected product by the customer; and
providing a benefit to the customer based on the purchase of the selected product.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus allows a customer to indicate his or her brand indifference within a product category, and then receive a benefit for purchasing a product chosen by a third party from within this product category. This method and apparatus is particularly useful in differentiating between brand-loyal or brand-sensitive customers and brand-indifferent customers, and allows manufacturers to price-discriminate between these two types of customers. The method includes a step during which an indication of at least one product or service category of interest is received from a customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which a selection of at least one product or service is made that matches the indicated product or service category, a step during which an indication of the selected product or service is provided to the customer or other potential purchaser or to a device used or accessible by the customer or other potential purchaser, a step during which an indication is received that the customer or other potential purchaser has actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, and a step during which a benefit is provided to the customer or purchaser who actually purchased, rented, leased, obtained, etc. the selected product or service, or to some other person or entity designated by the customer or some other person or entity.
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Citations
70 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving an agreement from a customer to purchase a product from a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
selecting, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
providing an indication of the selected product to the customer;
providing purchasing instructions to the customer for the selected product;
receiving an indication of the purchase of the selected product by the customer; and
providing a benefit to the customer based on the purchase of the selected product. - 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)
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30. A computer readable medium storing instructions configured to direct a processor to:
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receive an agreement from a customer to purchase a product from a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
select, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
provide an indication of the selected product to the customer;
provide purchasing instructions to the customer for the selected product;
receive an indication of the purchase of the selected product by the customer; and
provide a benefit to the customer based on the purchase of the selected product. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. An apparatus, comprising:
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a memory;
a communication port; and
a processor connected to the memory and the communication port, the processor being operative to;
receive an agreement from a customer to purchase a product from a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
select, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
provide an indication of the selected product to the customer;
provide purchasing instructions to the customer for the selected product;
receive an indication of the purchase of the selected product by the customer; and
provide a benefit to the customer based on the purchase of the selected product. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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56. A method, comprising:
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receiving, from a customer, an indication of an amount that the customer is willing to pay for a product within a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
selecting, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
selecting a retailer for the customer from a plurality of retailers offering the product for sale;
providing an indication of the selected product and the selected retailer;
receiving an indication that the customer purchased the selected product from the selected retailer; and
providing a benefit to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A computer readable medium storing instructions configured to direct a processor to:
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receive, from a customer, an indication of an amount that the customer is willing to pay for a product within a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
select, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
select a retailer for the customer from a plurality of retailers offering the product for sale;
provide an indication of the selected product and the selected retailer;
receive an indication that the customer purchased the selected product from the selected retailer; and
provide a benefit to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66)
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67. An apparatus, comprising:
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a memory;
a communication port; and
a processor connected to the memory and the communication port, the processor being operative to;
receive, from a customer, an indication of an amount that the customer is willing to pay for a product within a product category, wherein the product category is selected by the customer such that the selection is not indicative of a customer preference among a plurality of products of the product category;
select, for the customer, one of the plurality of products from the product category;
select a retailer for the customer from a plurality of retailers offering the product for sale;
provide an indication of the selected product and the selected retailer;
receive an indication that the customer purchased the selected product from the selected retailer; and
provide a benefit to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70)
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Specification