METHOD, PROGRAM, AND SYSTEM FOR RESETTING THE VALUE OF A COUPON BASED ON MARKET INFORMATION

• US 20080077480A1
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dwip Banerjee, Lorin Ullmann, Rabindranath Dutta
• Inventors: Banerjee, Dwip, Dutta, Rabindranath, Ullmann, Lorin
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0209 Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video game
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0221 Re-usable coupons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A method and computer program for resetting the value of a coupon based on market information is provided. The program receives a request for valuation of a coupon from a retailer, accesses market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon, determines a market demand value based on the market demand information, determines a coupon value based on the market demand value, and provides the coupon value to the retailer.

Claims

9. A computer readable medium containing computer readable code for setting the value of a coupon based on market information comprising:

computer readable code for receiving a request for valuation of a distributed coupon from a retailer;

computer readable code for accessing market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon in response to the request;

computer readable code for determining a market demand value based on the accessed market demand information;

computer readable code for setting a coupon value based on the market demand value; and

computer readable code for providing the coupon value to the retailer.

1. A method of setting the value of a coupon comprising:

distributing at least one coupon;

receiving a request for valuation of a coupon from a retailer, after distributing the at least one coupon;

accessing market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon in response to the request;

determining a market demand value based on the accessed market demand information;

setting a coupon value based on the market demand value; and

providing the coupon value to the retailer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the request for valuation is in response to a purchase.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein market demand is accessed from a database storing product sales data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein market demand information is selected from a database including:

retailer inventory, competitor pricing, current and anticipated competitor inventory, competitor advertising spending, cyclical buying trends, and economic indicators.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the coupon value is limited within a predefined range.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the coupon value to the retailer is in response to the request for valuation.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating at least a portion of the coupon value to the customer purchasing the product.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating at least a portion of the coupon value to the retailer.

10. The medium of claim 9 wherein the request for valuation is in response to a purchase.

12. The medium of claim 9 wherein market demand is accessed from a database storing product sales data.

13. The medium of claim 9 wherein the coupon value is limited within a predefined range.

14. The medium of claim 9 wherein providing the coupon value to the retailer is in response to the request for valuation.

17. The medium of claim 9 further comprising:

computer readable code for allocating at least a portion of the coupon value to the customer purchasing the product.

18. The medium of claim 9 further comprising:

computer readable code for allocating at least a portion of the coupon value to the retailer.

12-1. The medium of claim 9 wherein market demand information is selected from a database including:

retailer inventory, competitor pricing, current and anticipated competitor inventory, competitor advertising spending, cyclical buying trends, and economic indicators.

19. A system for setting the value of a coupon based on market information comprising:

means for distributing at least one coupon;

means for receiving a request for valuation of a distributed coupon from a retailer;

means for accessing market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon in response to the request;

means for determining a market demand value based on the market demand information;

means for setting a coupon value based on the market demand value; and

means for providing the coupon value to the retailer.