Method and apparatus for generating purchase incentive mailing based on prior purchase history
First Claim
1. A system for marketing to customers, said system comprising:
- (1) a purchase data database for storing in association with one another (a) data indicating a first customer identification and (b) data identifying a first purchased product and a brand of said first purchased product, said association indicating that said first customer identification was received as part of a purchase of said first purchased product;
(2) means for categorizing products into a product category set of defined product categories;
(3) means for selecting a product category subset that contains at least two and less than all of the product categories of said product category set;
(4) means for determining a customer identification subset that contains customer identifications stored in said purchase database that are associated with data indicating purchase of any product contained in said product category subset;
(5) means for determining, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, if that customer identification is stored in association (a) with data indicating that a product purchased in a first selected product category of said product category subset is of said first brand, (b) with data indicating that a product purchased in said first selected product category is not of said first brand, or (c) with no data indicating a product purchased in said first selected product category, thereby making for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset a first determination; and
(6) means for generating, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, promotion data depending upon said first determination for that customer identification.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for customizing mailed purchase incentives for selected consumer households, based on a detailed purchasing history of the consumers. Purchase transactions of many consumers, generally in different stores, are accumulated in a purchase history database over a long period of time and then used to generate customized incentive offers for selected consumers. For a selected product category, usually related to a promotional theme, the purchase history database is scanned to select consumers who have made purchases in the same product area as the selected product category. Then each selected consumer'"'"'s purchase transactions are analyzed to determine a profile for the consumer, such as loyal to the promoted brand, loyal to a competitive brand, or new to the selected product category, although a purchaser of related products. The consumer profile is then used to customize a purchase incentive package generated for each consumer household. The package also includes other printed materials to enhance the purchase incentives. Post-processing provides results reports of response and redemption rates, and retention analysis is used to track the targeted consumers'"'"' shopping behavior to assess the long-term effects of a promotion.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for marketing to customers, said system comprising:
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(1) a purchase data database for storing in association with one another (a) data indicating a first customer identification and (b) data identifying a first purchased product and a brand of said first purchased product, said association indicating that said first customer identification was received as part of a purchase of said first purchased product; (2) means for categorizing products into a product category set of defined product categories; (3) means for selecting a product category subset that contains at least two and less than all of the product categories of said product category set; (4) means for determining a customer identification subset that contains customer identifications stored in said purchase database that are associated with data indicating purchase of any product contained in said product category subset; (5) means for determining, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, if that customer identification is stored in association (a) with data indicating that a product purchased in a first selected product category of said product category subset is of said first brand, (b) with data indicating that a product purchased in said first selected product category is not of said first brand, or (c) with no data indicating a product purchased in said first selected product category, thereby making for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset a first determination; and (6) means for generating, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, promotion data depending upon said first determination for that customer identification. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for marketing to customers, said method comprising the steps of:
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(1) storing in a purchase data database in association with one another (a) data indicating a first customer identification and (b) data identifying a first purchased product and a brand of said first purchased product, said association indicating that said first customer identification was received as part of a purchase of said first purchased product; (2) categorizing products into a product category set of defined product categories; (3) selecting a product category subset that contains at least two and less than all of the product categories of said product category set; (4) determining a customer identification subset that contains customer identifications stored in said purchase database that are associated with data indicating purchase of any product contained in said product category subset; (5) determining, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, if that customer identification is stored in association (a) with data indicating that a product purchased in a first selected product category of said product category subset is of said first brand, (b) with data indicating that a product purchased in said first selected product category is not of said first brand, or (c) with no data indicating a product purchased in said first selected product category, thereby making for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset a first determination; and (6) generating, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, promotion data depending upon said first determination for that customer identification. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product storing code for specially programming a computer for marketing to customers, said computer program product comprising instructions for the computer to performing the following steps:
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(1) storing in a purchase data database in association with one another (a) data indicating a first customer identification and (b) data identifying a first purchased product and a brand of said first purchased product, said association indicating that said first customer identification was received as part of a purchase of said first purchased product; (2) categorizing products into a product category set of defined product categories; (3) selecting a product category subset that contains at least two and less than all of the product categories of said product category set; (4) determining a customer identification subset that contains customer identifications stored in said purchase database that are associated with data indicating purchase of any product contained in said product category subset; (5) determining, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, if that customer identification is stored in association (a) with data indicating that a product purchased in a first selected product category of said product category subset is of said first brand, (b) with data indicating that a product purchased in said first selected product category is not of said first brand, or (c) with no data indicating a product purchased in said first selected product category, thereby making for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset a first determination; and (6) generating, for each customer identification contained in said customer identification subset, promotion data depending upon said first determination for that customer identification.
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Specification