Online ordering medium and method

• US 7,412,409 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2005
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Tarvydas, Martin, Sutton, Becky, Licardi, Courtney Ann, Hammond, Jeffrey T., Frangos, Jr., Anargiros Zacharias, Dalton, Noreen, Aliabadi, Amir
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunham, Jason B.
• Application Number:
  US11/125,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20050273396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

Systems and methods for facilitating an on-line purchase of at least one item on behalf of a consumer are disclosed. A consumer may shop and request purchase of at least one item on a consolidated shopping (CS) website displaying one or more items available for purchase on one or more different merchant websites. A host computer providing the CS website may access a merchant website selling the requested item, and order the requested item on behalf of the consumer, and charging a transaction fee, listing fee, receiving a rebate and/or offering a rebate for performing such. One embodiment allows a consumer to purchase/order multiple items from multiple websites in a single purchase request to the CS website.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to facilitate an on-line purchase of an item on behalf of a consumer, said method comprising:

receiving a product feed from a source, wherein said source is at least one of;

a supplier and provider;

extracting an image from said product feed when said source is said supplier;

retrieving an image from a web site associated with said provider when said source is said provider;

creating a normalized product feed from said product feed such that said supplier feed and said provider feed are in the same format;

storing said image and said product feed in a database, wherein said database includes product data from a plurality of web sites;

displaying said product data including said images from said plurality of web sites, wherein said product data is displayed at a single Uniform Resource Locator;

receiving a request to purchase said item from among product data, wherein said request includes order data entered into a first electronic form of a first website by said consumer and, wherein, said request is received at said first website of a host computer;

placing an order, by said host computer, for said item on a second website by automatically inserting said order data into a second electronic form of said second website without redirecting said consumer to said second website, wherein said second website offers said item for sale; and

charging a transaction fee to said second website used for placing said order.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said transaction fee is at least one of a set fee, a random fee, and a variable fee.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said step of charging a transaction fee comprises charging a set transaction fee based on at least one of a number of items purchased, a purchase amount, number of websites where said ordering occurs, type of item purchased, payment method, type of payment instrument and per transaction.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said step of charging a transaction fee comprises charging a variable transaction fee based on at least one of a number of items purchased, a purchase amount, number of websites where said ordering occurs, type of item purchased, payment method, type of payment instrument, per transaction and a percentage.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying information on said first website related to said item, wherein said item is capable of being ordered on said second website.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising charging a listing fee from at least one of said second website, a wholesaler and a manufacturer of said item.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said step of charging a transaction fee comprises charging an affiliated merchant website said transaction fee.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said step of charging a transaction fee comprises charging a non-affiliated merchant website said transaction fee, wherein said non-affiliated merchant website is solicited for said transaction fee.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of receiving and offering a rebate for placing said order.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a rebate from at least one of said second website, a wholesaler of said at least one item, a manufacturer of said at least one item and an issuer of a payment instrument.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising offering a rebate to at least one of a consumer, a school, a church, a research facility and a charitable organization.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising offering a rebate which is at least one of a set fee, a random fee, and a variable fee.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising offering a set rebate based on at least one of a number of items purchased, a purchase amount, number of websites where said ordering occurs, type of item purchased, payment method, type of payment instrument and per transaction.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whererin said order data is retrieved from a personal profile that is associated with said consumer.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising parsing said normalized data feed and said image into categorized data elements to determine when a category exists in a product table which corresponds to said categorized data elements, wherein said categorized data elements are added to a buffer table when said category does not exist and said categorized data elements are integrated with said product data within said product table when said category exists to create integrated data.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising providing said integrated data to a user such that said user may utilize a single shopping website to search for, compare prices and order said products, wherein said products are associated with said stored product data from said plurality of websites, wherein each of said plurality of websites may be associated with a different provider.

14. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, said plurality of instructions when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform a method comprising the steps of:

receiving a product feed from a source, wherein said source is at least one of;

a supplier and provider;

extracting an image from said product feed when said source is said supplier;

retrieving an image from a web site associated with said provider when said source is said provider;

creating a normalized product feed from said product feed such that said supplier feed and said provider feed are in the same format;

storing said image and said product feed in a database, wherein said database includes product data from a plurality of web sites;

displaying said product data including said images from said plurality of web sites, wherein said product data is displayed at a single Uniform Resource Locator;

receiving a request to purchase said item from among product data, wherein said request includes order data entered into a first electronic form of a first website by said consumer and, wherein, said request is received at said first website of a host computer;

placing an order, by said host computer, for said item on a second website by automatically inserting said order data into a second electronic form of said second website without redirecting said consumer to said second website, wherein said second website sells said item; and

at least one of charging a transaction fee, receiving a rebate, charging a listing fee, and offering a rebate by said host computer to said second website.

15. A computer-implemented method to facilitate an on-line purchase of an item on behalf of a consumer, said method comprising:

receiving a product feed from a source, wherein said source is at least one of;

a supplier and provider;

extracting an image from said product feed when said source is said supplier;

retrieving an image from a web site associated with said provider when said source is said provider;

creating a normalized product feed from said product feed such that said supplier feed and said provider feed are in the same format;

storing said image and said product feed in a database, wherein said database includes product data from a plurality of web sites;

displaying said product data including said images from said plurality of web sites, wherein said product data is displayed at a single Uniform Resource Locator;

receiving a request to purchase said item from among product data, wherein said request includes order data entered into a first electronic form of a first website by said consumer and, wherein, said request is received at said first website of a host computer;

placing an order, by said host computer, for said item on a second website by automatically inserting said order data into a second electronic form of said second website without redirecting said consumer to said second website, wherein said second website offers said item for sale;

placing a second order, by said host computer, for a second item on a third website by automatically inserting order data into an electronic form of said third website without redirecting said consumer to said third website, wherein said third website offers said second item for sale, and wherein said first website, said second website, and said third website are each different website; and

at least one of charging a transaction fee, receiving a rebate, charging a listing fee, and offering a rebate by said host computer to said second or said third website.