Discount offer redemption system and method
DCFirst Claim
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1. A method for redeeming discount offers comprising:
- providing a circulation medium and providing said medium with indicia which includes a machine readable identification code;
causing said medium to be distributed to potential users;
associating said identification code with data identifying items which are to be offered at a discount provided as part of said medium and storing said data in memory in a data base so as to be addressable by said identification code;
providing means for reading said identification code provided with said circulation medium;
providing means associated with said code reading means for tabulating sales of items so that any discount corresponding to an item listed in said data is deducted from the price of the item in the tabulation; and
using said reading means to identify said code provided with said medium and using said means for tabulating items to obtain a price for the involved item and to cause a discount to be debited against the purchased item if the involved item is listed as part of said data identifying an item as qualifying for a discount as called for by the data base data defined by the identification code of the medium.
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Abstract
A system for redeeming discount offer flyers which are mailed, handed or otherwise distributed to potential customers, provides identifying indicia on the offer flyer/circulars which is used by a point of sale machine to identify items which are offered at a discount and then apply an appropriate credit to the purchased items. The system further resides in a method of tracking purchasing habits of individuals who receive and use the discount offer flyer by creating a data base file identified by the user name or residence address for items so purchased with the flyer/circular program.
289 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for redeeming discount offers comprising:
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providing a circulation medium and providing said medium with indicia which includes a machine readable identification code; causing said medium to be distributed to potential users; associating said identification code with data identifying items which are to be offered at a discount provided as part of said medium and storing said data in memory in a data base so as to be addressable by said identification code; providing means for reading said identification code provided with said circulation medium; providing means associated with said code reading means for tabulating sales of items so that any discount corresponding to an item listed in said data is deducted from the price of the item in the tabulation; and using said reading means to identify said code provided with said medium and using said means for tabulating items to obtain a price for the involved item and to cause a discount to be debited against the purchased item if the involved item is listed as part of said data identifying an item as qualifying for a discount as called for by the data base data defined by the identification code of the medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for redeeming discount offers comprising:
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a circulation medium; said medium having indicia which includes a machine readable identification code; means for distributing said medium to potential users; said identification code being associated with data identifying items which are to be offered at a discount provided as part of said medium; memory means for storing said data in memory in a database so as to be addressable by said identification code; means for reading said identification code provided with said circulation medium; means associated with said code reading means for tabulating sales of items so that any discount corresponding to an item listed by said data in said memory means is deducted from the price of the item in the tabulation; and said reading means identifying said code printed on said medium and said means for tabulating items being used to determine a price for the involved item and to then cause a discount to be debited against the purchased item if the involved item is listed as part of said data identifying an item as qualifying for a discount as called for by discounts defined by the identification code of a circulation medium.
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17. A method of tracking customer purchasing habits comprising:
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providing a circulation medium and providing said medium with indicia including a machine readable identification code means; causing said medium to be distributed to potential users; associating said identification code means with the addressee of the distributed circulation medium and with data identifying at least one item to be offered at a discount; providing means for reading said identification code means provided with said circulation medium; using a code reading means to read the identification code means and to create a data file identified by the information in said identification code means; providing means for tabulating items and for recording the items purchased by the bearer of the circulation medium and providing means for calculating the at least one discount on the item offered at discount by said identification code means; and tabulating items purchased and storing a record of the tabulated items in said data file identified by the identification code means thereby enabling tracking of purchasing habits of individuals who receive and use the circulation medium. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification