METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING BIOMETRIC DATA FOR A CUSTOMER TO IMPROVE UPSALE AND CROSS-SALE OF ITEMS

• US 20080249867A1
• Filed: 09/26/2007
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Blue LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kraemer, James R., Angell, Robert Lee
• Granted Patent: US 9,031,858 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• 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 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for generating customized marketing messages to increase purchases by a customer. In one embodiment, an item selected by the customer is identified to form a selected item. Biometric readings for the customer are received from a set of biometric devices associated with a retail facility to form the biometric data. The biometric data is data regarding a set of physiological responses of the customer. A set of items is selected from a list of items associated with the selected item using the biometric data for the customer to form a set of promoted items. A customized marketing message for the customer is generated using a set of personalized marketing message criteria for the customer. The customized marketing message comprises a marketing message for the set of promoted items.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for generating customized marketing messages to increase purchases by a customer, the computer implemented method comprising:

identifying an item selected by the customer to form a selected item;

receiving biometric readings for the customer from a set of biometric devices associated with a retail facility to form biometric data, wherein the biometric data is data regarding a set of physiological responses of the customer;

selecting a set of items from a list of items associated with the selected item using the biometric data for the customer to form a set of promoted items; and

generating a customized marketing message for the customer, wherein the customized marketing message comprises a marketing message promoting a sale of the set of promoted items.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of upsale items, wherein an upsale item in the set of promoted items is an item that provides a same basic functionality as the selected item, and further comprising:

prompting the customer to purchase the upsale item instead of the selected item using the customized marketing message, and wherein a sale of the upsale item to the customer produces a greater amount of revenue than a sale of the selected item.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the upsale item comprises at least one of a different size than a size of the selected item, a different brand than a brand of the selected item, a different number of constituent parts than a number of constituent parts of the selected item, a different price than a price of the selected item, and a different packaging than a packaging of the selected item.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 2 wherein the upsale item provides an additional feature or improvement over the selected item.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of correlated items, and further comprising:

identifying at least one item in a list of correlated items to form the set of promoted items, wherein a correlated item provides a different basic functionality than the selected item, and wherein the customized marketing message prompts the customer to purchase the correlated item in the set of promoted items in addition to the selected item.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a plurality of items purchased by a set of customers;

analyzing the plurality of items using a set of correlation analysis techniques to identify different items that are purchased in correlation with one or more other items to form the list of correlated items.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving external data associated with the customer from a set of detectors located externally to a retail facility to form external data;

processing the external data with the biometric data to form dynamic data;

analyzing the dynamic data using a set of data models to identify personalized marketing message criteria for the customer,

selecting the set of items from the list of items associated with the selected item using the dynamic data for the customer to form the set of promoted items;

generating the customized marketing message for the customer using the personalized marketing message criteria and the set of promoted items.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the customer is a customer in a set of customers and further comprising:

receiving data associated with the set of customers from detectors associated with a retail facility to form detection data;

processing the detection data for the set of customers to form grouping data for the customer;

analyzing the biometric data with the grouping data to form dynamic data;

analyzing the dynamic data using a set of data models to identify personalized marketing message criteria for the customer;

selecting the set of items from the list of items associated with the selected item using the dynamic data for the customer to form the set of promoted items; and

generating the customized marketing message for the customer using the personalized marketing message criteria and the set of promoted items.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8 wherein the grouping data identifies a grouping category for the customer, and wherein the grouping category is selected from a group consisting of parents with children, teenagers, children, minors unaccompanied by adults, minors accompanied by adults, grandparents with grandchildren, senior citizens, couples, friends, coworkers, a customer with a pet, and a customer shopping alone, and further comprising:

identifying items in the list of items associated with the selected item that are frequently purchased by customers in the grouping category for the customer to form a set of frequently purchased items; and

using the biometric data to identify items in set of frequently purchased items to market to the customer to form the set of promoted items.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving external marketing data from a set of sources to form current events data;

processing the current events data with the biometric data to form the dynamic data;

analyzing the dynamic data using a set of data models to identify personalized marketing message criteria for the customer;

selecting the set of items from the list of items associated with the selected item using the dynamic data for the customer to form the set of promoted items; and

generating the customized marketing message for the customer using the personalized marketing message criteria, wherein the customized marketing message provides an incentive to purchase at least one item in the set of promoted items.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10 further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the current events data indicates an event of interest to the customer occurs within a predetermined period of time, identifying items in the list of items associated with the selected item and the event of interest to form a set of items of interest to the customer; and

using the biometric data to identify items in a set of items of interest to market to the customer to form the set of promoted items.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving data associated with the customer from a set of cameras associated with the retail facility to form detection data for the customer;

processing the detection data with the biometric data to generate identification data for the customer, wherein

the identification data identifies the customer;

retrieving a customer profile for the customer using the customer identification data; and

identifying items in the list of items associated with the selected item that the customer has purchased in the past using the customer profile to form a set of previously purchased items; and

using the biometric data to identify items in set of previously purchased items to market to the customer to form the set of promoted items.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving data associated with the customer from a set of cameras associated with the retail facility to form detection data for the customer;

processing the detection data, by a smart detection engine, to form event data, wherein the event data describes events associated with the customer;

analyzing the event data to identify patterns of events to form customer behavior data;

processing the customer behavior data with the biometric data to form the dynamic data;

analyzing the dynamic data using a set of data models to identify personalized marketing message criteria for the customer;

identifying items in the list of items associated with the selected item using the dynamic data to form the set of promoted items, wherein the customer behavior data and the biometric data indicates an interest of the customer in receiving marketing messages associated with at least one item in the set of promoted items; and

generating the customized marketing message for the customer using the personalized marketing message criteria and the set of promoted items.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein biometric data is data describing at least one of a status state of the customer and a set of physiological responses of the customer.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a change in a biometric reading associated with the customer that exceeds a threshold change; and

responsive to a determination that the customer was viewing the selected item, an item in the set of promoted items, or the customized marketing message when the change in the biometric reading occurred, associating the change in the biometric reading with the selected item, the item in the set of promoted items, or the customized marketing message to form the biometric data.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the biometric readings comprises a measurement of a vital statistics of the customer over a given period of time, wherein the vital statistics of the customer includes at least one of a measurement of a heart rate of the customer, a respiratory rate of the customer, a blood pressure of the customer, a change in voice stress for the voice of the customer, a change in skin temperature, and a change in a dilation of a pupil of the customer.

17. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium including computer usable program code for using biometric data to increase revenue associated with purchases by a customer, the computer program product comprising;

computer usable program code for identifying an item selected by the customer to form a selected item;

computer usable program code for receiving biometric readings for the customer from a set of biometric devices associated with a retail facility to form the biometric data, wherein the biometric data is data regarding a set of physiological responses of the customer;

computer usable program code for selecting a set of items from a list of items associated with the selected item using the biometric data for the customer to form a set of promoted items; and

computer usable program code for generating a customized marketing message for the customer, wherein the customized marketing message comprises a marketing message promoting a sale of the set of promoted items.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of upsale items, wherein an upsale item in the set of promoted items is an item that provides a same basic functionality as the selected item, and further comprising:

computer usable program code for prompting the customer to purchase the upsale item instead of the selected item using the customized marketing message, and wherein a sale of the upsale item to the customer produces a greater amount of revenue than a sale of the selected item.

19. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of correlated items, and further comprising:

computer usable program code for identifying at least one item in a list of correlated items to form the set of promoted items, wherein a correlated item in the set of promoted items is a different item than the selected item, wherein the correlated item provides a different basic functionality than the selected item, and wherein the customized marketing message prompts the customer to purchase the correlated item in the set of promoted items in addition to the selected item.

20. An apparatus for using biometric data for generating customized marketing messages to increase purchases by a customer, the computer implemented method comprising:

a set of detectors associated with a retail facility, wherein the set of detectors identify an item selected by the customer to form a selected item;

a set of biometric devices associated with the retail facility, wherein the set of biometric devices receive biometric readings for the customer to form the biometric data, wherein the biometric data is data regarding a set of physiological responses of the customer;

an analysis server, wherein the analysis server selects a set of items from a list of items associated with the selected item using the biometric data for the customer to form a set of promoted items;

a dynamic marketing message assembly, wherein the dynamic marketing message assembly generates a customized marketing message for the customer using a set of personalized marketing message criteria for the customer, wherein the customized marketing message comprises a marketing message promoting a sale of the set of promoted items.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of upsale items, wherein a set of items in the list of upsale items is identified to form the set of promoted items, wherein an upsale item in the set of promoted items is an item that provides a same basic functionality as the selected item, and further comprising:

a display device, wherein the display device displays the customized marketing message to the customer, and wherein the customized marketing message prompts the customer to purchase at least one upsale item in the set of promoted items instead of purchasing the selected item, and wherein a sale of the upsale item to the customer produces a greater amount of revenue or a greater amount of profit than a sale of the selected item.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the list of items associated with the selected item is a list of correlated items, wherein a set of items in the list of correlated items is identified to form the set of promoted items, wherein a correlated item in the set of promoted items is a different item than the selected item, wherein the correlated item provides a different basic functionality than the selected item, and further comprising:

a display device, wherein the display device displays the customized marketing message to the customer, and wherein the customized marketing message prompts the customer to purchase the correlated item in the set of promoted items in addition to the selected item.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the set of biometric devices associated with the retail facility further comprises:

a biometric device coupled to a shopping container, wherein the biometric device coupled to the shopping container gathers biometric data associated with the customer.

24. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising:

a biometric device coupled to a shelf associated with the retail facility, wherein the biometric device gathers data associated with the customer to form the biometric data.

25. An apparatus comprising:

a bus system;

a communications system connected to the bus system;

a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes computer usable program code; and

a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to identify an item selected by the customer to form a selected item;

receiving biometric readings for the customer from a set of biometric devices associated with a retail facility to form the biometric data, wherein the biometric data is data regarding a set of physiological responses of the customer;

select a set of items from a list of items associated with the selected item using the biometric data for the customer to form a set of promoted items; and

generate a customized marketing message for the customer using a set of personalized marketing message criteria for the customer, wherein the customized marketing message comprises a marketing message promoting a sale of the set of promoted items.