PROOF POINTS OF PRODUCT PRICE REDUCTIONS

• US 20140149214A1
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Argue, Stuart, Marcar, Emile
• Application Number:
  US13/688,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20140149214A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.53
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history

Abstract

A system and method for notifying a retail customer with respect to recent price reductions for products of interest to the customer. The system and method include identification of such products of interest by gathering and analyzing past purchase behavior, demographic data, and the like. By analyzing such data to identify products of relatively high importance to the customer and presenting notifications of price reductions of such identified products, the retailer may successfully instill in the customer the impression that the retailer offers lower prices than its competitors. Such impressions may be likely to increase customer loyalty and encourage repeated return shopping trips.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of notifying a customer regarding a product price reduction comprising:

receiving, at a database, records of shopping purchases by the customer;

identifying, at a product identification module, at least one product of interest to the customer by analyzing the records of shopping purchases;

determining, at the product identification module, if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction; and

notifying the customer if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the customer if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction comprises presenting a notification on a display of a mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising presenting an electronic receipt on the display simultaneously with presenting the notification.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein presenting an electronic receipt on the display simultaneously with presenting the notification occurs upon completion of a retail transaction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the customer if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction occurs while the customer is within a retail store.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating a projected cost savings for the customer for the at least one product of interest.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the projected cost savings is estimated over a time period of one month.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the projected cost savings is estimated over a time period of twelve months.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a push notification message indicating that an electronic receipt is available for the customer to view.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the customer if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction comprises communicating a percentage price reduction to the customer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the customer if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction comprises communicating a dollar amount price reduction to the customer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction comprises determining if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction in a preceding two week period.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction comprises determining if any of the at least one product of interest have received a price reduction since a previous shopping trip undertaken by the customer.

14. A system for notifying a customer regarding a product price reduction comprising:

a transaction database adapted to aggregate retail transaction information;

a user account database adapted to aggregate data related to a retail consumer;

a reduced-price product database adapted to aggregate data related to products having recently-reduced prices;

a product identification module adapted to identify products from the reduced-price product database that may be of interest to the customer by analyzing data from the user account database; and

an application server adapted to transmit instructions to an application installed on a mobile computing device, whereby said instructions selectively cause the smartphone to notify the customer regarding recently-reduced prices of products that may be of interest to the customer.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the reduced-price product database is adapted to aggregate data related to products having received a price reduction in a preceding two week period.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the reduced-price product database is adapted to aggregate data related to products having received a price reduction since a previous shopping trip undertaken by the customer.

17. A computer-implemented method of notifying a customer of a product price reduction, comprising:

transmitting, from a mobile computing device, a unique identification number corresponding to a retail customer'"'"'s user account;

displaying, at the mobile computing device, a receipt for a retail transaction between a retailer and the retail customer;

receiving, at the mobile computing device, data related to at least one product of interest to the customer; and

displaying, at the mobile computing device, a notification that the retailer has lowered a retail price of the at least one product of interest;