Method and system for redeeming product marketing rebates

• US 6,748,365 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2000
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Plusnetmarketing Incorporated, The Ohana Companies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Chris Quinlan, Edward A. Devlin
• Inventors: Devlin, Edward A., Quinlan, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): Myhre, James W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lastra, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/495,819
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/14.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/209 Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures

Abstract

A system and method for processing product marketing rebate claims submitted by a consumer in satisfaction of a rebate offer, the consumer having purchased designated products in a qualified transaction recorded by a point-of-sale data processing and storage system that issues a receipt containing a corresponding transaction serial number. The method comprises providing a designated site of a computer information network and accessible by the consumer, and receiving a rebate claim on the designated site. The rebate claim comprises (i) the transaction serial number corresponding to the qualified transaction, and (ii) identifying information corresponding to the consumer. The transaction serial number and the identifying information is stored as a stored data record. An electronic file transfer is received from the point-of-sale data processing and storage system comprising purchase data records, each record comprising the list of products purchased and the transaction serial number for a qualified transaction in which at least one designated product was purchased. Each stored data record is associated with a purchase data record having an identical serial number, and the records are processed to validate the rebate claim. Finally, the value of the rebate offer is transferred to the consumer. Consumer access by the designated site may be via the global computer information network or by telephone, and may also optionally integrate paper-based and smart/credit/debit-card-based rebate claims. A system for performing the above method is also claimed.

Claims

1. A method for processing a plurality of rebate claims submitted by a consumer is satisfaction of rebate offers each having a monetary value, the consumer having made, in each of plural transactions recorded by a data processing system, a designated purchase having a rebate offer associated therewith, and each transaction having a transaction code assigned thereto identifying the specific qualified transaction but not identifying a particular designated purchase, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a plurality of rebate claims from the consumer, each rebate claim comprising (i) customer identifying information, and (ii) a transaction code which does not include information which identifies a designated purchase in the transaction identified by the transaction code;

(b) matching the transaction code identified in the rebate claims with a transaction code in a data record containing information from the data processing system which contains for each transaction code the identification of each designated purchase associated with the transaction identified by such transaction code;

(c) processing the plurality of rebate claims and data records to create a plurality of validated rebate claims by matching the identification of each designated purchase in the corresponding data record to a corresponding identification in a database of rebate offers to determine the value of each rebate offer;

(d) aggregating the monetary value of the plurality of validated rebate claims; and

(e) transferring the aggregated monetary value to the customer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some of the rebate offers require the purchase of plural items in order to qualify for a rebate.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the rebate claims are received electronically.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction code includes the date of the transaction.