Method and system for determining the optimal travel route by which customers can purchase local goods at the lowest total cost
First Claim
1. A method for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising:
- storing vendor information, goods availability, goods attributes, and goods prices for a plurality of vendors;
receiving a search query for goods desired by a customer;
performing a search for the goods;
displaying search results with price information;
receiving confirmation from the customer as to which of the goods the customer wants to add to a virtual shopping list; and
allowing customers to either select vendors from whom they would like to purchase the goods or choosing the vendors so as to minimize total purchasing cost to the customer.
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Abstract
A method and system for providing customers with means to determine a) how far the customer should be willing to travel to a vendor to purchase locally sold goods and b) what routes the customer should take to minimize his or her total costs. Customers use an Internet search engine to find products or services that they are interested in purchasing in their local area. The search results provide a list of goods along with their current price and store location. Customers select one or more goods they are interested in purchasing and add these goods to a shopping list. A recommendation is provided based on variables such as the customer'"'"'s estimated value of time, traffic conditions, gas prices, parking fees, automobile miles per gallon, the difference in prices between stores, or other relevant variables. The recommendation informs the customers as to vendors at which he or she should purchase goods and the order in which the locations should be visited so as to minimize total purchase costs.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for facilitating a purchase transaction, comprising:
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storing vendor information, goods availability, goods attributes, and goods prices for a plurality of vendors; receiving a search query for goods desired by a customer; performing a search for the goods; displaying search results with price information; receiving confirmation from the customer as to which of the goods the customer wants to add to a virtual shopping list; and allowing customers to either select vendors from whom they would like to purchase the goods or choosing the vendors so as to minimize total purchasing cost to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of determining an optimal travel route by which customers can purchase goods at the lowest total cost, comprising:
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showing goods prices for a plurality of vendors; receiving and storing customer information including customer'"'"'s perceived time value of money, automobile make and model, time restraints, and default geographic location; receiving traffic conditions, weather conditions and other data for the local geographic area; receiving a search query for goods desired by a customer; performing a search for the goods; displaying search results arranged by geographic location with price information for the local area; receiving confirmation from the customer as to which of the goods the customer wants to add to a virtual shopping list; determining the ideal route the customer should take to minimize the total cost of purchasing the goods on the virtual shopping list; and displaying to the customer a virtual map of the geographic area with identified vendor locations, which goods are available at each location, the total cost of purchasing the goods at each location, and the preferred routes to use that will result in the lowest total purchase cost. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification