MERCHANT ACTION RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM

• US 20150149254A1
• Filed: 02/26/2014
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Ares
• Granted Patent: US 11,210,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

Systems and methods for recommending merchant actions include a physical merchant location having a plurality of beacon devices. A system provider device receives a plurality of first location information from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a customer beacon communication device that is associated with a customer. The system provider device also receives a plurality of second location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a merchant beacon communication device that is associated with an asset of the merchant. The system provider device analyzes the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information to determine at least one merchant action recommendation related to the customer and the asset of the merchant and provides the at least one merchant action recommendation over the network for display on a display device.

Claims

1. A merchant action recommendation system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing a physical merchant location account that is associated with a physical merchant location that includes a plurality of beacon devices;

one or more hardware processors coupled to the memory and operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of;

receiving a plurality of first location information over a network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a customer beacon communication device that is associated with a customer;

receiving a plurality of second location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a merchant beacon communication device that is associated with an asset of the merchant in the physical merchant location account; and

analyzing the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information to determine at least one merchant action recommendation related to the customer and the asset of the merchant; and

providing the at least one merchant action recommendation over the network for display on a display device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical merchant location is defined within a plurality of exterior walls, and wherein at least some of the plurality of first location information is collected from locations that are outside the plurality of exterior walls.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the asset of the merchant is one of an employee of the merchant, a product of the merchant, and a vehicle associated with the merchant.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving a plurality of third location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a plurality of additional customer beacon communication devices that are each associated with a respective additional customer;

analyzing the plurality of first location information and the plurality of third location information to determine a traffic pattern resulting from the first customer and the plurality of additional customers; and

using the traffic pattern to determine the at least one merchant action recommendation.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further operable to read instructions from the memory to perform the steps of:

receiving a plurality of online action information over the network from an additional customer device that is associated with an additional customer;

determining a product currently being viewed by the additional customer using the online information;

determining an area in the physical merchant location that includes the product currently being viewed; and

providing a representation of the additional customer for display on a map of the physical merchant location, wherein the representation of the additional customer is provided for display in the area that includes the product currently being viewed.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the providing the at least one merchant action recommendation over the network for display on a display device further includes:

providing a plurality of events for display that are associated with the analysis of the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information; and

providing a respective recommendation for display adjacent each of the plurality of events.

7. A method for providing merchant action recommendations, comprising:

receiving, by a system provider device, a plurality of first location information over a network from a plurality of beacon devices that are included at a merchant physical location, wherein the plurality of first location information is collected from a customer beacon communication device that is associated with a customer;

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of second location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a merchant beacon communication device that is associated with an asset of the merchant in the physical merchant location account; and

analyzing, by the system provider device, the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information to determine at least one merchant action recommendation related to the customer and the asset of the merchant; and

providing, by the system provider device, the at least one merchant action recommendation over the network for display on a display device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the physical merchant location is defined within a plurality of exterior walls, and wherein at least some of the plurality of first location information is collected from locations that are outside the plurality of exterior walls.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the asset of the merchant is one of an employee of the merchant, a product of the merchant, and a vehicle associated with the merchant.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of third location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a plurality of additional customer beacon communication devices that are each associated with a respective additional customer;

analyzing, by the system provider device, the plurality of first location information and the plurality of third location information to determine a traffic pattern resulting from the first customer and the plurality of additional customers; and

using, by the system provider device, the traffic pattern to determine the at least one merchant action recommendation.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of online action information over the network from an additional customer device that is associated with an additional customer;

determining, by the system provider device using the online information, a product that is currently being viewed by the additional customer using the online information;

determining, by the system provider device, an area in the physical merchant location that includes the product that is currently being viewed; and

providing, by the system provider device, a representation of the additional customer for display on a map of the physical merchant location, wherein the representation of the additional customer is provided for display in the area that includes the product that is currently being viewed.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing, by the system provider device using the first location information, a representation of the customer for display on the map of the physical merchant location; and

providing, by the system provider device using the second location information, a representation of the asset of the merchant for display on the map of the physical merchant location.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing, by the system provider device, a plurality of events for display that are associated with the analysis of the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information; and

providing, by the system provider device, a respective recommendation for display adjacent each of the plurality of events.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, are adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

receiving, by a system provider device, a plurality of first location information over a network from a plurality of beacon devices that are included at a merchant physical location, wherein the plurality of first location information is collected from a customer beacon communication device that is associated with a customer;

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of second location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a merchant beacon communication device that is associated with an asset of the merchant in the physical merchant location account; and

analyzing, by the system provider device, the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information to determine at least one merchant action recommendation related to the customer and the asset of the merchant; and

providing, by the system provider device, the at least one merchant action recommendation over the network for display on a display device.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the physical merchant location is defined within a plurality of exterior walls, and wherein at least some of the plurality of first location information is collected from locations that are outside the plurality of exterior walls.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the asset of the merchant is one of an employee of the merchant, a product of the merchant, and a vehicle associated with the merchant.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of third location information over the network from the plurality of beacon devices that is collected from a plurality of additional customer beacon communication devices that are each associated with a respective additional customer;

analyzing, by the system provider device, the plurality of first location information and the plurality of third location information to determine a traffic pattern resulting from the first customer and the plurality of additional customers; and

using, by the system provider device, the traffic pattern to determine the at least one merchant action recommendation.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the system provider device, a plurality of online action information over the network from an additional customer device that is associated with an additional customer;

determining, by the system provider device using the online information, a product that is currently being viewed by the additional customer using the online information;

determining, by the system provider device, an area in the physical merchant location that includes the product that is currently being viewed; and

providing, by the system provider device, a representation of the additional customer for display on a map of the physical merchant location, wherein the representation of the additional customer is provided for display in the area that includes the product that is currently being viewed.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

providing, by the system provider device using the first location information, a representation of the customer for display on the map of the physical merchant location; and

providing, by the system provider device using the second location information, a representation of the asset of the merchant for display on the map of the physical merchant location.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

providing, by the system provider device, a plurality of events for display that are associated with the analysis of the plurality of first location information and the plurality of second location information; and

providing, by the system provider device, a respective recommendation for display adjacent each of the plurality of events.