PROXMIMITY-BASED METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING CUSTOMIZED INCENTIVES

• US 20130297420A1
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Catalina Marketing Corporation
• Original Assignee: Catalina Marketing Corporation
• Inventors: Roberts, Gregory B., Wills, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 10,643,241 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.57
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices

Abstract

A method and system for generating customized incentives involving electronic distribution of coupons to remote personal computers based on proximity of the computer to a retail center are disclosed. A repository, such as an online service provider or a web site on the Internet, stores packages of incentive data for downloading automatically or on demand to a user'"'"'s computer. A plurality of data fields is used to associate a user'"'"'s location with a specific incentive.

Claims

1. A system for providing customized incentives to consumers, which comprises:

a repository for storing incentive data;

location means for receiving or retrieving user location data corresponding to a remote user computer;

association means for associating the user location data with said incentive data; and

transmission means for transmitting the incentive data to said remote user computer.

2. A method for providing customized incentives to consumers comprising:

storing incentive data in a repository;

receiving or retrieving user location data corresponding to a remote user computer;

associating the user location data with the incentive data; and

transmitting the incentive data to the remote user computer.

3. A customized incentive for distribution to a remote user computer, which comprises:

incentive data selected according to the general formula;

I_Ux=P_Rn when L_n>

x>

L_n-1;

wherein I_Ux is the incentive (I) transmitted to the remote user computer (Ux) corresponding to location data (x);

wherein P_Rn is a predetermined incentive corresponding to a geographic region (Rn) defined on an outer perimeter by n and on an inner perimeter by n−

1; and

wherein n denotes each of a plurality of geographic boundaries (L_n) and is any positive integer ranging from 1 to a predetermined value representing a total number of geographic boundaries.

4. A customized incentive for distribution to a remote user computer, which comprises:

incentive data selected according to the general formula;

I_Ux=P_Rn,C when L_n>

x>

L_n-1 and y>

C;

wherein I_Ux is the incentive (I) transmitted to the remote user computer (Ux) corresponding to location data (x);

wherein P_Rn,C is a predetermined incentive corresponding to a geographic region (Rn) defined on an outer perimeter by n and on an inner perimeter by n−

1;

wherein n denotes each of a plurality of geographic boundaries (L_n) and is any positive integer ranging from 1 to a predetermined value representing a total number of geographic boundaries;

wherein y is a number of competitor retail centers corresponding to the location data (x); and

wherein C is a competitor parameter.