DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SYSTEM WITH CENTRALIZED VIRTUAL SHOPPING CARTS

• US 20100042515A1
• Filed: 10/21/2009
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Arturo Crespo, Catherine Caroline Lacavera, Louis Perrochon
• Inventors: Crespo, Arturo, Perrochon, Louis, Lacavera, Catherine Caroline
• Granted Patent: US 8,015,071 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

An electronic commerce system includes a broker that enables customers to purchase items from multiple different merchants. A customer interacts with the merchants to identify items to purchase, and the merchants send descriptions of the items to the broker. The broker maintains a virtual shopping cart that stores the items received from the different merchants. The customer can purchase the items in the shopping cart in a single purchase transaction with the broker. Further, the customer can publish a reference that identifies the shopping cart and invite other customers to purchase the items in the cart via the broker.

Claims

1. An electronic commerce system having a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable code, the computer-executable code comprising:

a shopping cart module adapted to store a plurality of virtual shopping carts associated with a customer, the plurality of shopping carts adapted to contain items from a plurality of online merchants and wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to select one of the plurality of shopping carts in which to store an item from one of the plurality of online merchants responsive to customer criteria; and

a transaction module adapted to enable the customer to purchase the items within one of the plurality of shopping carts.

2. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the transaction module enables the customer to purchase the items stored in a shopping cart in a single transaction.

3. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of merchants are located within a plurality of different domains.

4. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the shopping cart module allows the customer to manipulate the items within a shopping cart.

5. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the shopping cart module allows the customer to selectively share a shopping cart with other customers.

6. The electronic commerce system of claim 5, wherein the shopping cart module allows the other customers to manipulate the items within the shopping cart.

7. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the shopping cart module deletes a stored shopping cart after an expiration of a specified time interval.

8. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the transaction module allows the customer to arrange recurring purchases of the items in a shopping cart from the plurality of merchants.

9. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the customer criteria identify one of the plurality of shopping carts as a default shopping cart in which to store items.

10. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to allow the customer to move the item among the plurality of shopping carts.

11. The electronic commerce system of claim 1, wherein the customer criteria indicate to store the item in a particular one of the plurality of shopping carts responsive to the characteristics of the item.

12. A computer program product having a computer-readable storage medium having executable computer program instructions embodied therein for supporting an electronic commerce system, the computer program instructions comprising:

a shopping cart module adapted to store a virtual shopping cart adapted to hold a plurality of items offered by a plurality of different online merchants; and

a transaction module adapted to conduct a purchase transaction enabling a customer to purchase the items in the shopping cart and for maintaining the items in the shopping cart after the purchase transaction.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the items in the virtual shopping cart are offered by a plurality of different merchants in a plurality of different domains.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to enable the customer to purchase the items in the shopping cart in a single purchase transaction.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to provide a link to the shopping cart and wherein the transaction module is further adapted to conduct the purchase transaction with the customer responsive to receiving the link from the customer.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to conduct purchase transactions with a plurality of different customers from whom it receives the link.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to provide an interface allowing the customer to manipulate the items in the shopping cart.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to store a plurality of shopping carts.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the plurality of shopping carts are associated with a plurality of customers.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to delete a stored shopping cart after an expiration of a specified time interval.

21. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to enable the customer to arrange recurring purchases of the items in the shopping cart from the plurality of merchants.

22. A broker in an electronic commerce system, the broker having a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable code, the computer executable code comprising:

a shopping cart module adapted to store a plurality of virtual shopping carts associated with a customer, each shopping cart for holding a plurality of items offered by different online merchants located in different domains than the broker and wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to select a virtual shopping cart from among the plurality of virtual shopping carts in which to store an item from a merchant responsive to customer criteria; and

a transaction module adapted to enable the customer to purchase items in a virtual shopping cart, the items from a plurality of different merchants in different domains.

23. The broker of claim 22, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to enable the customer to purchase the items in the virtual shopping cart in a single transaction.

24. The broker of claim 22, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to provide a link to the virtual shopping cart and wherein the transaction module is further adapted to conduct the purchase transaction with the customer responsive to receiving the link from the customer.

25. The broker of claim 24, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to enable a plurality of customers from whom it receives the link to purchase the items in the virtual shopping cart.

26. The broker of claim 24, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to provide an interface allowing a plurality of customers from whom it receives the link to manipulate the items in the virtual shopping cart.

27. The broker of claim 22, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to delete a stored virtual shopping cart after a period of time.

28. The broker of claim 22, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to enable the customer to arrange recurring purchases of the items in the virtual shopping cart.

29. The broker of claim 22, wherein the transaction module is further adapted to receive payment information from the customer and to provide the payment information to the plurality of different merchants in the different domains.

30. The broker of claim 22, wherein the computer-executable code further comprises:

a communications module for receiving an item offered by a merchant;

wherein the shopping cart module holds the received item in a virtual shopping cart.

31. The broker of claim 30, wherein the communications module receives the item from the merchant offering the item responsive to the customer designating the item in an interaction with the merchant.

32. The broker of claim 30, wherein the communications module receives the item from the customer responsive to the customer designating the item in an interaction with the merchant offering the item.

33. The broker of claim 22, wherein the shopping cart module is further adapted to designate a virtual shopping cart as public, wherein a plurality of different customers can access a public virtual shopping cart.

34. The broker of claim 33, wherein the plurality of different customers can manipulate items within the public virtual shopping cart.