TECHNIQUES FOR ONLINE PRICE MATCH

• US 20140214520A1
• Filed: 01/31/2013
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Longino, Jeffrey David
• Granted Patent: US 10,380,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives

Abstract

Techniques for online price matching are provided. A consumer submits a price offer to a network-based servicer for a product or service. The price offer is directed to or resolved to a specific brick-and-mortar store. The brick-and-mortar store determines whether the price offer can be matched and when it can be matched; a coupon redeemable by the consumer at the brick-and-mortar store is communicated to the consumer. The coupon permits the consumer to acquire the product or service at the price offer provided by an online retailer to the consumer.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method programmed in memory and/or a non-transitory processor-readable medium and to execute on one or more processors of a device configured to execute the method, comprising:

receiving, on the device, an offer from a consumer, the offer tied to an online retailer and the offer directed to a price for a product or service available at a brick-and-mortar store;

submitting, on the device, the offer to the brick-and-mortar store for review; and

communicating, on the device, acceptance to the consumer for the offer when accepted by the brick-and-mortar store, the product or server acquired by the consumer at an acceptable price from the brick-and-mortar store.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the offer as a link to a description and the price for the product or service at a website for the online retailer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the offer from a website interface or a mobile app interface at a direction of the consumer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the offer using an identifier for the consumer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein acquiring further includes contacting a third-party service with the identifier to retrieve the offer as previously registered by the consumer with the third-party service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein submitting further includes verifying details for the offer on behalf of the brick-and-mortar store and informing the brick-and-mortar store that the offer is legitimate and can be relied upon as being accurate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein submitting further includes providing details for the offer to the brick-and-mortar store for the brick-and-mortar store to independently verify the offer and the details.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein submitting further includes sending the offer directly to a Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal at the brick-and-mortar store for review on the POS terminal while the consumer checks out with the product or service at the brick-and-mortar store.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating further includes delivering the acceptance as a coupon redeemable at the brick-and-mortar store for the product or the service at or below the price.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein delivering further includes formatting the coupon for printing by the consumer.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein delivering further includes texting the coupon as an image to a phone of the consumer.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein delivering further includes making the coupon available via an app on a mobile device of the consumer.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein delivering further includes sending the coupon in an email to an email address of the consumer.

14. A processor-implemented method programmed in memory and/or a non-transitory processor-readable medium and to execute on one or more processors of a device configured to execute the method, comprising:

dynamically evaluating, via the device, a price offer for a product or service provided by or for a consumer, the price offer received by the consumer from an online retailer in connection with the product or service; and

dynamically providing, on the device, a coupon to the consumer matching the price offer, the coupon redeemable for the product or service at a brick-and-mortar store.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein dynamically evaluating further includes receiving an identifier for the brick-and-mortar store with the price offer.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein dynamically evaluating further includes resolving an identifier for the brick-and-mortar store based on a current location for a mobile device of the consumer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein resolving further includes receiving the current location from the consumer with the price offer.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein resolving further includes receiving the current location from a mobile app processing on the mobile device that automatically determines the current location of the mobile device.

19. A system, comprising:

memory having a price negotiator that processes as executable instructions on one or more processors of a network;

wherein the price negotiator is configured to receive and evaluate price offers for a product or service for a specific brick-and-mortar store and when acceptable matches the price offers by providing a coupon for redemption at the brick-and-mortar store by a consumer.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the price negotiator operates as a service of the brick-and-mortar store.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the price negotiator operates as a cloud service on behalf of the brick-and-mortar store and additional brick-and-mortar stores.