MERCHANT BENCHMARKING TOOL

• US 20090048884A1
• Filed: 08/14/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Epelman, Alex, Moser, Dennis Norman, Olives, Jeffrey Rolland, Salters, James C., DeWitt, Jay Allen, DiGioacchino, Laura
• Granted Patent: US 8,781,881 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A benchmarking tool generates reports for delivery to a merchant illustrating a performance of the merchant as compared to the performance of the merchant'"'"'s peers. The performance is illustrated through metrics that algorithmically combine data on transactions of consumers with the merchant or its peers, respectively. The metrics may be further subdivided into consumer groups such as new consumers, consumers that have shopped within the merchant in the past, consumers that no longer shop within the merchant, or consumers that use a commercial account to pay for purchases. The reports may be rendered in a graphical display for use by the merchant.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

accumulating data from a plurality of transactions each of which is conducted on a corresponding account issued to a consumer by an issuer within a payment processing system that includes a transaction handler processing the transaction for both a merchant and processing other said transactions for other said merchants, each said merchant submitting the corresponding said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests the issuer of the corresponding said account to obtain payment for the corresponding said transaction from the corresponding said account and for which the issuer forwards the payment to the transaction handler who forwards the payment to the acquirer to pay the merchant for the corresponding said transaction;

calculating from the accumulated data;

a percentage change in the transactions of one said merchant in a category of said merchants for a current time period as compared with a past time period; and

a percentage change in the transactions of other said merchants in the category for the current time period as compared with the past time period;

and

rendering a report showing;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for the other said merchants in the category, whereby the rendered report identifies growth in cashless sales of the merchant within the category compared to the cashless sales of the other said merchants in the category.

2. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

repeating the calculating for a series of sequential pairs of adjacent time periods;

and

generating a report for each said pair of adjacent periods showing;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for the other said merchants in the category, whereby the report for each said pair of adjacent periods identifies growth in cashless sales by the transactions of the merchant within the category compared to the cashless sales by the transactions of the other said merchants within the category.

3. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

there is a difference between;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for the other said merchants in the category;

and

the value of the difference is rendered in the rendered report in an intensity corresponding to the value thereof.

4. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising, for each said account for the current time period and the past time period:

calculating from the accumulated data the number of transactions on the account for;

the one said merchant in the category and the percentage change thereof for the current time period and the past time period; and

the other said merchants in the category and the percentage change thereof for the current time period and the past time period;

and

generating a report showing;

the percentage change in the number of transactions for the one said merchant within the current time period as compared with the past time period; and

the percentage change in the number of transactions for the other of the merchants within the current time period as compared with the past time period.

5. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising generating a report from the accumulated data showing:

an existing customer designation for each said account for which there is at least two said transactions with the one said merchant in the category including;

a first said transaction during a first time period;

and

a second said transaction during a second time period prior to the first said time period;

a new customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period but not during the second time period;

a lost customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but not during the first time period;

and

a lost to competitor customer designation for each said account for which there is;

at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but there are no said transactions with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period; and

at least one said transaction with at least one other said merchant in the other said merchants in the category during the first time period.

6. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising using a merchant identifier to determine the category, wherein the category is unique to the corresponding merchant within the payment processing system.

7. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the percentage change in the transactions is at least one of:

a percentage change in a total funds transferred in the transactions for the current time period as compared with the past time period;

a percentage change in an average of funds transferred in the transactions for the current time period as compared with the past time period;

a percentage change in a number of times one said account was charged in the transactions for the current time period as compared with the past time period;

a percentage change in a number of times corresponding said accounts of an account classification were charged in the transactions for the current time period as compared with the past time period; and

combinations thereof.

8. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising calculating from the accumulated data:

a total funds transferred in the transactions of the one said merchant for the current time period; and

a total funds transferred in the transactions of the other said merchants for the current time period, wherein the rendered report further shows;

the total funds transferred for the one said merchant; and

the total funds transferred for the other said merchants.

9. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 8, further comprising:

repeating each said calculating of total funds for a series of sequential of adjacent time periods;

and

generating a report for each said adjacent periods showing;

the total funds transferred for the one said merchant; and

the total funds transferred for the other said merchants, whereby the report for each said adjacent periods identifies growth in cashless sales by the transactions of the merchant within the category compared to the cashless sales by the transactions of the other said merchants within the category.

10. A computer implemented method comprising:

accumulating data from a plurality of transactions each of which is conducted on a corresponding account issued to a consumer by an issuer within a payment processing system that includes a transaction handler processing the transaction for both a merchant and processing other said transactions for other said merchants, each said merchant submitting the corresponding said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests the issuer of the corresponding said account to obtain payment for the corresponding said transaction from the corresponding said account and for which the issuer forwards the payment to the transaction handler who forwards the payment to the acquirer to pay the merchant for the corresponding said transaction;

classifying, from the accumulated data, each said account according to;

an existing customer designation for each said account for which there is at least two said transactions with one said merchant in a category including;

a first said transaction during a first time period;

and

a second said transaction during a second time period prior to the first said time period;

a new customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period but not during the second time period;

a lost customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but not during the first time period;

and

a lost to competitor customer designation for each said account for which there is;

at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but there are no said transactions with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period; and

at least one said transaction with at least one other said merchant in the other said merchants in the category during the first time period;

and

reporting, from the accumulated data, for each said account classification;

a percentage change in the transactions of the one said merchant in the category for a current time period as compared with a past time period;

a percentage change in the transactions of the other said merchants in the category for the current time period as compared with the past time period,

and

a gap difference between;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for the other said merchants in the category.

11. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 10, further comprising, for each said account classification repeating the reporting for a series of sequential pairs of adjacent time periods.

12. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 10, wherein each said account is issued by the corresponding said issuer as a type selected from the group consisting of:

a prepaid account;

a credit account;

a debit account;

a corporate account;

a non-corporate account;

a Flexible Savings Account;

a Health Savings Account;

a small business account; and

a government account.

13. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 10, further comprising reporting for each said account classification:

a total funds transferred in the transactions of the one said merchant for a current time period; and

a total funds transferred in the transactions of the other said merchants for the current time period.

14. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 13, further comprising reporting, for each said account classification:

a percentage of the total funds transferred for the one said merchant for the at least one said account classification compared with another said account classification; and

a percentage of the total funds transferred for the other said merchants for the at least one said account classification compared with another said account classification, wherein the rendered report further shows;

the percentage for the one said merchant; and

the percentage for the other said merchants.

15. A system comprising:

means for accumulating data from a plurality of transactions each of which is conducted on a corresponding account issued to a consumer by an issuer within a payment processing system that includes a transaction handler processing the transaction for both a merchant and processing other said transactions for other said merchants, each said merchant submitting the corresponding said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests the issuer of the corresponding said account to obtain payment for the corresponding said transaction from the corresponding said account and for which the issuer forwards the payment to the transaction handler who forwards the payment to the acquirer to pay the merchant for the corresponding said transaction;

means for calculating from the accumulated data;

a percentage change in the transaction of one said merchant in a category of said merchants for a current time period as compared with a past time period; and

a percentage change in the transaction of the other said merchants in the category for the current time period as compared with the past time period;

and

means for rendering a report showing;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for other said merchants in the category, whereby the rendered report identifies growth in transactions of the merchant within the category compared to the transactions of the other said merchants in the category.

16. The system as defined in claim 15, further comprising:

means for repeating the calculating for a series of sequential pairs of adjacent time periods;

and

means for generating a report for each said pair of adjacent periods showing;

the percentage change for the one said merchant in the category; and

the percentage change for the other said merchants in the category, whereby the report for each said pair of adjacent periods identifies growth in transactions of the merchant within the category compared to the transactions of the other said merchants within the category.

17. The system as defined in claim 15, further comprising means for rendering from the accumulated data:

a total of funds transferred in the transactions of the one said merchant for the current time period as compared with the past time period; and

a total of funds in the transactions of the other said merchants for the current time period as compared with the past time period.

18. The system as defined in claim 15, further comprising, for each said account for the current time period and the past time period, means for calculating, from the accumulated data, the number of transactions on the account for:

the one said merchant in the category and the percentage change thereof for the current time period and the past time period; and

the other said merchants in the category and the percentage change thereof for the current time period and the past time period, wherein the report further shows;

the percentage change for the one said merchant within the current time period as compared with the past time period; and

the percentage change for the other of the merchants within the current time period as compared with the past time period.

19. The system as defined in claim 15, further comprising means for generating a report from the accumulated data showing:

an existing customer designation for each said account for which there is at least two said transactions with the one said merchant in the category including;

a first said transaction during a first time period;

and

a second said transaction during a second time period prior to the first said time period;

a new customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period but not during the second time period;

a lost customer designation for each said account for which there is at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but not during the first time period;

and

a lost to competitor customer designation for each said account for which there is;

at least one said transaction with the one said merchant in the category during the second time period but there are no said transactions with the one said merchant in the category during the first time period; and

at least one said transaction with at least one other said merchant in the other said merchants in the category during the first time period.

20. The system as defined in claim 15, wherein the each said account is issued by the corresponding said issuer as a type selected from the group consisting of:

a prepaid account;

a credit account;

a debit account;

a corporate account;

a non-corporate account;

a Flexible Savings Account;

a Health Savings Account;

a small business account; and

a government account.