RETAIL CHECKOUT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20170364889A1
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: RASTOGI, Vibhor, PURBIA, Preetam, KUMAR, Vivek, DEVERACHETTY, Praveen, GANDOTRA, Lalit, MOHANTY, Soumya Ranjan, RAO PISE, Dinesh Amarnath
• Application Number:
  US15/525,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20170364889A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/903 Querying for retrieval from the web G06F16/953
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

Provided are a retail checkout system and method. A customer record includes registered identification information related to a store customer. An input device receives unique customer identification information from a purchaser card of the store customer. A customer identification analyzer verifies that the received unique customer identification information is included in the registered identification information of the customer record. An order linking module associates purchase data with the unique customer identification information of the purchaser card. A customer record processor updates the customer record to include the purchase data.

Claims

1. A retail checkout system, comprising:

a customer registration database that stores a plurality of customer records, wherein a customer record of the plurality of customer records includes registered identification information related to a store customer;

an input device that receives unique customer identification information from a purchaser card of the store customer;

a customer identification analyzer that verifies that the received unique customer identification information is included in the registered identification information of the customer record;

an order linking module that associates purchase data with the unique customer identification information of the purchaser card; and

a customer record processor that updates the customer record to include the purchase data.

2. The retail checkout system of claim 1, further comprising an order processor that receives

the purchase data from the input device and outputs the purchase data to the order linking module for associating the purchase data with the unique customer identification information of the purchaser card.

3. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the input device communicates with a point-of-sale device to receive at least one of the purchase data and the unique customer identification information or the input device includes a point of sale device for receiving at least one of the purchase data and the unique customer identification information.

4. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the customer record processor creates a new customer record from the unique customer identification information recorded on the purchaser card in response to a determination that the customer identification analyzer fails to verify that the received unique customer identification information is included in the registered identification information of the customer record.

5. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the purchaser card includes at least one of a credit card, a debit card, a driver'"'"'s license, a social security card, a passport, a membership card, or an identification card.

6. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the unique customer identification information includes at least one of a name, an address, a date of birth, an identification number, an account number, or a phone number.

7. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the input device receives unique customer identification information from a plurality of purchaser cards of the store customer, and wherein the customer record processor updates the customer record to include the unique customer identification information from each of the plurality of purchaser cards, and purchase data related to each of the purchase cards.

8. The retail checkout system of claim 1, further comprising a recommendation cart generator that generates a list of recommended store items for purchase based on historical purchase data in the customer record.

9. The retail checkout system of claim 1, further comprising an inventory search engine that generates available store items based on a search result of a store inventory database.

10. The retail checkout system of claim 1, further comprising a purchase history generator that receives and outputs store customer purchase history data from the customer record to a display.

11. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the retail checkout system is deployed at a brick-and-mortar store checkout, a kiosk at a public location, or an online checkout.

12. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the store customer registration database includes purchaser information from a plurality of stores.

13. The retail checkout system of claim 1, wherein the input device collects biometric data related to the store customer, and compared to the registered identification information in the customer record for identifying the store customer.

14. A checkout kiosk, comprising:

an input device that receives unique customer identification information from a purchaser card;

a customer identification analyzer that verifies the received unique customer identification information;

an order linking module that associates purchase data with the unique customer identification information of the purchaser card; and

a customer record processor that updates the customer record to include the purchase data.

15. The checkout kiosk of claim 14, wherein the input device communicates with a point-of-sale device to receive at least one of the purchase data and the unique customer identification information or the input device includes a point of sale device for receiving at least one of the purchase data and the unique customer identification information.

16. The checkout kiosk of claim 14, wherein the checkout kiosk is deployed at a brick-and-mortar store checkout or a public location.

17. The checkout kiosk of claim 14, further comprising a recommendation cart generator that generates a list of recommended store items for purchase based on historical purchase data in the customer record.

18. The checkout kiosk of claim 14, further comprising an inventory search engine that generates available store items based on a search result of a store inventory database.

19. The checkout kiosk of claim 14, further comprising a purchase history generator that receives and outputs store customer purchase history data from the customer record to a display.

20. A method for purchasing store items, comprising:

receiving at an input device unique customer identification information from a purchaser card;

verifying the received unique customer identification information;

associating purchase data with the unique customer identification information of the purchaser card; and

updating the customer record to include the purchase data.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

performing at least one purchase-related action in response to a determination that the card is linked to the information related to the purchaser stored at the store customer registration database.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one purchase-related action includes displaying a purchase history of the purchaser.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one purchase-related action includes searching a database for store inventory.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the store checkout is a brick-and-mortar store checkout, a kiosk at a public location, or an online checkout.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

collecting, at the store checkout, biometric data related to the purchaser, wherein the biometric data is linked to the information related to the purchaser stored at the store customer registration database.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising creating a new customer record from the unique customer identification information recorded on the purchaser card in response to a determination that the customer identification analyzer fails to verify that the received unique customer identification information is included in the registered identification information of the customer record.