LOYALTY OFFER MODELING

• US 20120143669A1
• Filed: 12/02/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Anantha, Anoop, Krishnan, Murali R., Abel, Miller Thomas
• Application Number:
  US12/958,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20120143669A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems

Abstract

Loyalty offer modeling techniques are described. In one or more implementations, interaction with a loyalty service via a network is performed to model one or more loyalty offers for a use in conjunction with a merchant. Information is transmitted via the network for receipt by the loyalty service, at least a portion of the information describing consumer interaction with the merchant that pertains to the loyalty offer that is sufficient for use by the loyalty service to manage participation of the consumers with the one or more loyalty offers of the merchant.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:

interacting with a loyalty service via a network to model one or more loyalty offers for a use in conjunction with a merchant; and

transmitting information via the network for receipt by the loyalty service, at least a portion of the information describing consumer interaction with the merchant that pertains to the loyalty offer and is sufficient for use by the loyalty service to manage participation of the consumers with the one or more loyalty offers of the merchant.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the interaction involves interacting with a template provided by the loyalty service to model the one or more loyalty offers.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the interacting is performed through local execution of an application by the computing device.

4. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the application is downloaded to the computing device via an Internet from an application marketplace.

5. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the application is a browser.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the information also includes an identifier of the loyalty offer and an identifier of a mobile communication device that was used to communicate the identifier of the loyalty offer to the merchant.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the interacting and the transmitting are performed by the merchant.

8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the loyalty service is configured to manage participation of consumers with loyalty offers obtained from a plurality of different merchants.

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the loyalty service is configured to communicate data to mobile communication devices of respective said consumers that describes the consumer'"'"'s participation in at least one of the loyalty offers.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the interacting and the transmitting are performed by a mobile communication device having telephone functionality.

11. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to provide information to mobile communication devices of the consumers of the merchant to cause the mobile communication device to automatically provide identifiers usable to participate with at least one of the loyalty offers.

12. A method as described in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the information is provided to a merchant that performs the transmitting by a mobile communication device of a respective said consumer, the at least the portion of the information provisioned on a secure element of the mobile communication device using a private key to decrypt the information without exposing the information or the private key outside of the secure element.

13. A method implemented by one or more servers of a loyalty service, the method comprising:

collecting information from a plurality of merchants that describes participation in one or more loyalty offers associated with respective merchants, the information including an identifier of a respective said loyalty offer provided by a mobile communication device having telephone functionality to a respective said merchant to participate in the offer at a physical location of the merchant; and

generating reports for communication to respective said merchants that describe the participation and relative qualification for respective said offers of the merchant.

14. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the information describes transactions for goods or services initiated at physical locations of respective said merchants and includes identifiers that uniquely identify mobile communication devices that were used to initiate the transactions.

15. A method as described in claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the information is obtained by employing a secure element of the mobile communication device implemented in tamper-resistant hardware.

16. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the report describes other purchases made by a respective said consumer that do not qualify for the one or more loyalty offers.

17. A mobile communication device comprising:

a processor;

hardware configured to implement telephone communication;

tamper-resistant hardware implementing a secure element as storing;

purchase credentials usable to initiate a purchase of a good or service; and

loyalty offer credentials usable to participate in a loyalty offer of a respective one of a plurality of merchants; and

memory having instructions stored therein, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the mobile communication device to search the loyalty offer credentials stored in the secure element.

18. A mobile communication device of claim 17, wherein the search is based on least in part on a current geographic location of the mobile communication device.

19. A mobile communication device of claim 17, wherein the search is based on least in part on identification of a particular merchant with which the mobile communication device is interacting to purchase the good or service using the purchase credentials in the secure element and the search is performed automatically and without user intervention responsive to the identification of the particular merchant.

20. A mobile communication device of claim 17, wherein the search is based on least in part on identification of a particular merchant with which the mobile communication device and is performed automatically and without user intervention responsive to identification of a particular merchant and causes output of data in a user interface on a display device of the mobile communication device that describes one or more of the loyalty offers that correspond to the particular merchant.