REMINDING USERS OF OFFERS

• US 20140180817A1
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Retailmenot Incorporated (J2 Global, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Retailmenot Incorporated (J2 Global, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zilkha, Eithan
• Granted Patent: US 9,558,507 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.55
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Provided is a computer implemented process for reminding users of offers that were discovered by the user at one location when, at a later time, the user is at another location, the process including: displaying, with a mobile device, an offer and a reminder interface to indicate that the user requests themselves or another reminder recipient to be reminded of the offer when near another computing device of the reminder recipient; receiving an interaction with the reminder interface by the user and, in response, storing a reminder request in memory, the reminder request identifying the offer; obtaining data identifying the other computing device, a geographic area of the other computing device, or a wireless environment of the other computing device; detecting, with a processor of the mobile device, that the reminder recipient has interacted with the other computing device, entered the geographic area, or entered the wireless environment; and in response to the detection, presenting a notification reminding the reminder recipient of the offer.

Claims

1. A method of reminding a consumer to use a coupon at home, where the consumer has access to a computing device with a larger display, after the consumer has requested a reminder using a mobile device having a smaller display while away from home, the method comprising:

sending, from an offers engine, to a mobile device, data describing a plurality of coupons redeemable online, the mobile device being located away from a residence of the user at the time of sending;

receiving, with the offers engine, from the mobile device, a reminder request, the reminder request identifying a coupon among the plurality of coupons and indicating that the user wishes to be reminded of the coupon when at or near their residence;

storing the reminder request in a reminder data store;

after receiving the reminder request, receiving an indication from the mobile device that the user is at their residence, the indication being provided by a native mobile application executing on the mobile device that either detects that the mobile device has crossed a geofence associated with the residence or that the mobile device is receiving a wireless signal from a wireless network of the residence;

in response to the indication, by one or more processors of the offers engine, determining that the user has requested a reminder based on the reminder request stored in the reminder data store;

in response to the determination, sending a reminder of the coupon to the mobile device;

after sending the reminder, receiving a request for an offers webpage from a personal computer of the user, the personal computer being a different device from the mobile device and having a larger display than the mobile device;

in response to both the request for an offers webpage and sending the reminder, retrieving data describing the coupon from an offers data store; and

sending instructions to the personal computer to display the data describing the coupon.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

in response to the indication, identifying another coupon for the same product or service as the coupon for which a reminder was requested, the other coupon having a greater discount or higher redemption rate than the coupon for which a reminder was requested; and

sending the other coupon to the personal computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending instructions to the personal computer to display the data describing the coupon comprises:

beginning a website session with the user by initializing a webpage to display the data describing the coupon.

4. A method, comprising:

displaying, with a mobile device, an offer and a reminder interface to indicate that the user requests themselves or another reminder recipient to be reminded of the offer when near another computing device of the reminder recipient;

receiving an interaction with the reminder interface by the user and, in response, storing a reminder request in memory, the reminder request identifying the offer;

obtaining data identifying the other computing device, a geographic area of the other computing device, or a wireless environment of the other computing device;

detecting, with a processor of the mobile device, that the reminder recipient has interacted with the other computing device, entered the geographic area, or entered the wireless environment; and

in response to the detection, presenting a notification reminding the reminder recipient of the offer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the other computing device is a computing device having a screen larger than six-inches diagonally and is in a residence or workplace of the reminder recipient.

6. The method of claim 4, comprising:

determining the geographic area based on geolocations sensed by a mobile device of the reminder recipient over time prior to presenting the offer, the geolocations being indicative of a residence or a workplace.

7. The method of claim 4, comprising:

sending the reminder request and an identifier of the reminder recipient from the mobile device to an offers engine over a network; and

storing the reminder request in association with an account of the reminder recipient indicated by the identifier.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising:

receiving, with the offers engine, a request from a web browser of the other computing device for an offers interface;

receiving, with the offers engine, an identifier of the reminder recipient from the other computing device;

determining, with the offers engine, based on the identifier and the stored reminder request, that the user requested a reminder of the offer; and

sending, from the offers engine, a reminder of the offer to the other computing device.

9. The method of claim 7, comprising:

receiving, with the offers engine, a request from an offers application executing on the other computing device, the offers application being operative to obtain offer reminders automatically from the offers engine as background process of the offers application and notify reminder recipients of obtained reminders in response to interaction with the other computing device;

receiving, with the offers engine, an identifier of the reminder recipient from the other computing device;

determining, based on the identifier and the stored reminder request, that the user requested a reminder of the offer; and

sending a reminder of the offer to the other computing device.

10. The method of claim 4, comprising:

detecting the reminder recipient has entered the wireless environment, the wireless environment including a wireless network of a residence or workplace of the reminder recipient.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the wireless network is a Bluetooth network in which the mobile device and the other computing device have been paired.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein presenting a notification reminding the user of the offer comprises:

sending data describing the reminder request, via the wireless network, from the mobile device to the other computing device; and

displaying a reminder of the offer with the other computing device.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein presenting a notification reminding the user of the offer comprises:

sending, from the mobile device, to an offers engine, a request for an address of an offers webpage describing the offer;

receiving the address; and

displaying the address in associating with the reminder, the address specifying a webpage that is initialized to display offers for which reminders were requested for the reminder recipient.

14. The method of claim 4, comprising:

obtaining, with the mobile device, identifiers of other users associated with the user of the mobile device by a social graph;

displaying a recipient-selection interface to select one or more of the other users as the reminder recipient; and

receiving a selection via the recipient-selection interface and, in response, designating a selected user as the reminder recipient.

15. The method of claim 4, comprising:

determining that the offer has not expired prior to presenting the notification.

16. The method of claim 4, comprising:

identifying another offer related to the offer for which a reminder was requested; and

presenting a notification alerting the reminder recipient of the other offer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein identifying another offer comprises:

determining that the other offer is for the same good or service as the offer for which a reminder was requested; and

determining that the other offer has more favorable terms or a higher redemption rate than the offer for which a reminder was requested.

18. A method, comprising:

displaying, with a mobile device of a user, a plurality of offers;

receiving user input requesting a reminder of an offer among the plurality of offers, the offer being redeemable in a physical store of a merchant;

obtaining identifiers of other users connected to the user by a social graph based on the connections;

presenting an interface to select a reminder recipient among the other users;

receiving user input selecting a reminder recipient; and

in response to a selection of a reminder recipient, sending instructions with an offers engine to a mobile device of the reminder recipient to display a reminder of the offer, the instructions being configured to cause the mobile device of the reminder recipient to display the reminder after the mobile device of the reminder recipient enters a geographic area associated with a physical location of a merchant at which the offer is redeemable.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising:

receiving, with a mobile device of the reminder recipient, data indicative of the reminder;

determining, with the mobile device of the reminder recipient, that the reminder recipient has crossed a geofence associated with the geographic area; and

in response to the determination, displaying a reminder of the offer on the mobile device of the reminder recipient.

20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

before sending the instructions with the offers engine, determining that a user profile of the reminder recipient indicates the reminder recipient has agreed to receive offers from the user.