On-the-go shopping list

• US 20100082447A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lin, Gloria, Mikhak, Amir Mahmood
• Granted Patent: US 8,239,276 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 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing shopping-related information to a consumer are provided. Embodiments of the system allow a consumer to create an electronic shopping list by scanning products. In some embodiments, shopping-related information may be obtained for items in the shopping list, such as pricing information, product quality, consumer ratings, and other information that may help a consumer to make an informed purchasing decision. Other embodiments allow a consumer to obtain and compare retail prices offered by several retailers for products in the shopping list. Still other embodiments provide a store-wide network that allows a shopper to scan items in the store, add the scanned items to a shopping list, and then check-out electronically.

Claims

1. A method of electronic shopping, comprising:

using an electronic device to acquire one or more product identifiers corresponding with products to be purchased;

adding the product identifiers to a shopping list stored in the electronic device using a processor of the electronic device;

transmitting the shopping list to a data manager;

receiving retailer information from the data manager, the retailer information comprising a retailer identifier and product prices associated with the retailer identifier and the product identifiers;

specifying a number of stops using the electronic device; and

dividing the shopping list into one or more shopping trips based on the number of stops, each shopping trip comprising a number of partial shopping lists equal to or less than the number of stops, wherein each partial shopping list is associated with one of the retailers identified in the retailer information and comprises one or more of the product identifiers.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising;

choosing two or more retailers from the retailer information; and

dividing the shopping list into two or more partial shopping lists, wherein each partial shopping list is associated with a respective one of the two or more retailers and comprises one or more of the product identifiers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein dividing the shopping list into two or more partial shopping lists comprises associating the product identifiers with the two or more retailers that offer the lowest price for the product corresponding with the product identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more shopping trips comprises a different combination of retailers, and wherein each partial shopping list is generated by associating the product identifiers with the retailer that offers the lowest price for the product corresponding with the product identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more shopping trips is generated to provide a lowest total price for the products identified in the shopping list.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more shopping trips is generated to provide a shortest total travel time or shortest total travel distance between the retailers.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein specifying a number of stops comprises receiving a user input though the electronic device that identifies the number of stops.

4. (canceled)

8. A method of creating a shopping list in a handheld electronic device, comprising:

acquiring a product identifier;

transmitting the product identifier from the handheld electronic device to a data manager via a wireless network and receiving product information corresponding to the product identifier from the data manager; and

adding a product entry to the shopping list using a processor of the electronic device, the product entry associated with the product identifier and corresponding with an item to be purchased by a user of the handheld electronic device, wherein the item is identified by the product identifier, and wherein the product entry comprises an entry type indicator indicating whether the user intends to purchase the item identified by the product identifier or intends to purchase a product similar to the item identified by the product identifier.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein generating the product identifier comprises sending a data request via a near field communication interface included in the handheld electronic device to a near field communication device associated with the product and receiving the product identifier from the near field communication device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the near field communication device comprises a radio frequency identification tag.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the product entry comprises an attainment indicator that indicates whether the item corresponding with the product entry has been purchased.

29. The method of claim 8, wherein the entry type indicator selectively indicates a lack of brand preference for the item.

30. The method of claim 8, comprising generating a modified shopping list where the product similar to the item identified by the product identifier is substituted for the item identified by the product identifier.

12. (canceled)

13. A method of conducting a sales transaction, comprising:

receiving connectivity information from a first near field communications device through a handheld electronic device, the connectivity information comprising information for establishing communications with a wireless network associated with a store;

using the connectivity information to communicatively couple the handheld electronic device to a server via the wireless network;

acquiring one or more product identifiers from one or more additional near field communications devices associated with the store'"'"'s merchandise through the handheld electronic device; and

transmitting the one or more product identifiers to the server via the wireless network.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising downloading information about the store from the wireless network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information comprises product information, promotional information, a store map, a software application, or a combination thereof.

16. A method of conducting a sales transaction, comprising:

transmitting connectivity information from a first near field communications device to a handheld electronic device, the connectivity information comprising information for establishing communications with a wireless network associated with a store;

allowing the handheld electronic device to communicatively couple to a server via the wireless network;

receiving one or more product identifiers from the handheld electronic device via the wireless network; and

creating a purchase order corresponding to the one or more product identifiers received from the handheld electronic device.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising displaying the purchase order to an employee of the store so that the order may be gathered and delivered to a pickup area.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising sending a message to the handheld device informing a user of the handheld device that the user'"'"'s order is ready for pickup.

19. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a product identification device configured to generate a product identifier corresponding with a product to be purchased by a user of the handheld electronic device;

a memory comprising a software application configured to allow the user to turn on the product identification device, obtain the product identifier, and store the product identifier to a shopping list;

a display configured to display the shopping list; and

a wireless networking interface configured to transmit the shopping list to a data manager via a wireless network and receive product information associated with the shopping list from the data manager;

wherein the product information comprises at least two total prices for all of the products in the shopping list as offered by two or more retailers.

22. The handheld electronic device of claim 19, comprising a positioning device, and wherein the handheld electronic device is configured to transmit a position of the handheld electronic device to the data manager via the wireless network and receive information pertaining to one or more retailers located within a specified distance from the electronic device.

23. The handheld electronic device of claim 19, wherein the two or more retailers are specified by the user of the electronic device.

31. The handheld electronic device of claim 19, comprising displaying a first total price for all of the products as offered by a first retailer and displaying a second total price for all of the products as offered by a second retailer.

20. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

24. A method of electronic shopping, comprising:

using an electronic device to generate a shopping list identifying products to be purchased;

obtaining shopping trip information for a plurality of retailers, wherein the shopping trip information comprises a total price of the products in the shopping list at each retailer and a travel distance to each retailer;

displaying selectable retailer entries on the electronic device, wherein each of the selectable retailer entries corresponds to one of the plurality of retailers and displays the shopping trip information for that retailer; and

generating a modified shopping list in response to user selection of at least one of the selectable retailer entries, wherein the modified shopping list includes the shopping trip information for the retailer corresponding to the selected retailer entry.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the shopping trip information comprises a number indicating how many of the products are available at each retailer.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein generating a modified shopping list comprises substituting a similar product for at least one of the identified products.

27. The method of claim 24, comprising receiving a user selection of at least two of the selectable retailer entries, and wherein generating a modified shopping list comprises dividing the shopping list between the retailers corresponding to the selectable retailer entries based on which of the retailers offers a lowest price for each of the products.