E-COMMERCE ACTIVITY LOG

• US 20080270257A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: AL-AZZAWE, Abdul
• Granted Patent: US 8,015,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

An activity log is displayed in a dedicated area in a business to consumer e-commerce web site that tracks activities that occur during a current e-commerce account session. The activity log is updated automatically, without requiring user intervention. The activity log displays information such as the activity type, the activity name, and the time the activity was performed. The activity log may also provide an option for the user to view details about or to undo an individual activity. The activity log tracks activities that would conventionally be lost from view, such as the removal of items from a list and the changing of the password. In addition, the activity log automatically displays updates that are not conventionally available, such as greater granularity in the status of an asynchronous transaction.

Claims

1. A computer system for displaying user activities during an electronic commerce (e-commerce) account session, the computer system comprising:

a processor, the processor being a hardware component of the computer system; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing a plurality of instructions that are executable by the processor, the plurality of instructions comprising instructions to implement, a presentation layer to display a first area on a web site and receive user input performing one or more activities during an e-commerce account session including placing an item in the first area or removing an item from the first area, the first area displaying a first list of items placed in the first area,

wherein the presentation layer further displays an activity log on the web site,

the activity log including a second list of the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session, the second list of the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session including

a listing corresponding to each item placed in the first area and

a listing corresponding to each item removed from the first area.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the first area comprises a wish list or a shopping cart.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the web site is part of an online rental application.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session further. includes one or more of ordering an item for purchase or rent, changing a password, rating or reviewing an item, or updating account information associated with the user.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein, for each activity listed in the second list associated with the activity log, the presentation layer displays one or more of:

an undo button to undo the activity;

an activity type corresponding to the activity;

an activity name corresponding to the activity;

or

a time the activity was performed by the user.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the presentation layer displays the activity log in a dedicated area on the web site separate from the first area.

7. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a database layer to store data concerning the one or more activities, the stored data being later accessible by the user during a subsequent e-commerce account session.

8. A computer readable medium with program instructions tangibly stored thereon for displaying activities during a current e-commerce account session for an ecommerce account, the program instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving user input initiating an e-commerce account session;

displaying a first area on a web site;

receiving user input performing one or more activities during the e-commerce account session including placing an item in the first area or removing an item from the first area, the first area displaying a first list of items placed in the first area; and

displaying an activity log on the web site, the activity log including a second list of the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session, the second list of the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session including a listing corresponding to each item placed in the first area and a listing corresponding to each item removed from the first area.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions for displaying a first area on a web site comprise instructions for displaying a wish list or displaying a shopping cart.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more activities performed by the user during the e-commerce account session further includes one or more of ordering an item for purchase or rent, changing a password, rating or reviewing an item, or updating account information associated with the user.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions for displaying an activity log on the web site include instructions for displaying the activity log in a dedicated area on the web site separate from the first area.