AUTOMATICALLY DETECTING LOST SALES DUE TO AN OUT-OF-SHELF CONDITION IN A RETAIL ENVIRONMENT
First Claim
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1. A system for detecting a lost sale due to an out-of-shelf condition in a retail environment, the system comprising:
- a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the retail environment for monitoring a behavior of a customer in the retail environment during a current visit to the retail environment, wherein the behavior indicates that the customer wishes to purchase a product during the current visit;
a first database for storing a purchasing history of the customer, wherein the purchasing history identifies that the customer has purchased the product in the retail environment during a past visit to the retail environment; and
a matching system coupled to the at least some of the plurality of sensors and to the first database, for automatically detecting when the customer fails, during the current visit, to purchase the product and for inferring, based on the automatically detecting, that the expected product is out-of-shelf, without necessarily being out-of-stock.
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Abstract
One embodiment of a system for detecting a lost sale due to an out-of-shelf condition in a retail environment includes a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the retail environment for monitoring a current behavior of a customer in the retail environment, a database for storing a purchasing history of the customer, and a matching system for automatically detecting when the customer fails to purchase an expected product, based at least in part on the current behavior and on the purchasing history, and for inferring, based on the automatically detecting, that the expected product is out-of-shelf.
39 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for detecting a lost sale due to an out-of-shelf condition in a retail environment, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the retail environment for monitoring a behavior of a customer in the retail environment during a current visit to the retail environment, wherein the behavior indicates that the customer wishes to purchase a product during the current visit; a first database for storing a purchasing history of the customer, wherein the purchasing history identifies that the customer has purchased the product in the retail environment during a past visit to the retail environment; and a matching system coupled to the at least some of the plurality of sensors and to the first database, for automatically detecting when the customer fails, during the current visit, to purchase the product and for inferring, based on the automatically detecting, that the expected product is out-of-shelf, without necessarily being out-of-stock. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for detecting a lost sale due to an out-of-shelf condition in a retail environment, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors positioned within the retail environment, where a first subset of the plurality of sensors is positioned to detect an entry of a customer into a retail environment, a second subset of the plurality of sensors is positioned to detect a movement of the customer throughout the retail environment, and a third subset of the plurality of sensors is positioned to detect an exit of the customer from the retail environment; an identification system coupled to the first subset of the plurality of sensors, for determining an identity of the customer; a database coupled to the identification system, for storing a profile associated with the customer, the profile including a purchasing history of the customer; a tracking system coupled to the plurality of sensors, for generating a trajectory that traces the movement of the customer through the retail environment during a current visit to the retail environment, from the entry to the exit, and for detecting when the customer stops in a section of the retail environment during the current visit; and a matching system coupled to the tracking system and to the identification system, for identifying a product that is both stocked in the section of the retail environment and that appears in the purchasing history as having been purchased by the customer during a past visit to the retail environment, for inferring that the customer wished to purchase the product during a current visit to the retail environment occurring between a time of the entry and a time of the exit, for reviewing a purchase made by the customer during the current visit to the retail environment, and for inferring that the product is out-of-shelf when the product is not part of the purchase.
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15. An apparatus comprising computer readable storage medium containing an executable program for detecting a lost sale due to an out-of-shelf condition in a retail environment, where the program performs steps comprising:
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automatically detecting when a customer fails to purchase an expected product during a current visit to the retail environment, based at least in part on an observation of a behavior of the customer during the current visit and on a purchasing history of the customer, wherein the behavior indicates that the customer wishes to purchase the expected product during the current visit and the purchasing history identifies the expected product as a product that the customer purchased during a past visit to the retail environment; and inferring, based on the automatically detecting, that the expected product is out-of-shelf, without necessarily being out-of-stock. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification