Customer activity data system and method

• US 7,426,479 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2002
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Otto, Jerome A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett; Jonathan G
• Application Number:
  US10/096,052
• Publication Number:
  US 20030177053A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,380 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/10, 235/383
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

A customer activity data system and method which generate reports for manufacturers, sellers, and other suppliers. The system includes a computer for analyzing transaction data obtained from a transaction terminal and information characterizing customer activity at an information terminal specific to an item bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) label, and for generating a report.

Claims

1. A method of tracking customer activity comprising the steps of:

receiving customer prepurchase activity information from an information terminal operative to present to a customer product information related to an item presented at the information terminal, the customer prepurchase activity linked to the item presented based on item information from a radio frequency identification (RFID) label on the item;

receiving subsequent customer purchase activity information from a transaction terminal, the subsequent customer purchase information including item information from RFID labels on purchased items;

analyzing the subsequent customer purchase activity information obtained from the transaction terminal and the customer prepurchase activity information from the information terminal to identify relationships between customer prepurchase activity taking place at the information terminal before a customer has made a purchase decision, and purchase activity undertaken at the transaction terminal; and

generating a report presenting an analysis of identified relationships between customer prepurchase activity and purchase activity.

11. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 1, including using the item identification from the RFID label to specifically identify that the same unit of an item was presented at the information terminal and subsequently purchased and determining from the circumstances relating to the presentation and the subsequent transaction whether the presentation and the subsequent purchase were performed by the same customer.

2. A method of tracking customer activity comprising the steps of:

obtaining radio frequency identification (RFID) information from an RFID label on an item presented for a price check by a customer to a price verifier;

recognizing customer activity related to the item, including customer prepurchase activity carried put at the price verifier;

storing information characterizing the customer prepurchase activity;

recording transaction data for a subsequent purchase of the item by the customer;

analyzing the transaction data and the information characterizing the customer prepurchase activity to identify relationships between customer prepurchase activity for an item taking place at the information terminal before a customer has made a purchase decision, and transaction data for the subsequent purchase of the item; and

generating a report presenting an analysis of the transaction data and the information characterizing the customer activity, the report including information relating to identified relationships between customer prepurchase activity for the item and subsequent purchase of the item.

3. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

recognizing comparison price checks on two different items at the price verifier utilizing customer activity monitoring software.

4. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

obtaining RFID label identification information from the two different items;

storing the RFID label identification information from the two different items in a customer activity data file; and

linking purchase information from the transaction terminal.

5. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

determining whether a related item was purchased.

12. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 3, wherein identifying relationships between customer prepurchase activity and transaction activity for a subsequent purchase of the item includes noting whether only one of two different items presented at a price verifier was subsequently purchased and which of the two different items was purchased.

13. The method of tracking customer activity as recited in claim 5, wherein determining whether a related item was purchased includes noting whether the item presented at the price verifier and a related item were purchased in the same transaction.

6. A system for tracking customer activity comprising:

a computer for analyzing transaction data obtained from a transaction terminal which records sales of items and identifies RFID label identification information for items involved in sales transactions, and information characterizing customer prepurchase activity at an information terminal operative to present to a customer product information related to items having RFIDs label presented at the information terminal, the information terminal obtaining RFID label identification information from the items presented, and linking the transaction data for a particular item bearing an RFID label and the information characterizing customer prepurchase activity for one or more items bearing the (RFID) labels, and presented to the information terminal prior to sale of the particular item, and for generating a report presenting an analysis of the transaction data and the information characterizing the customer prepurchase activity at the information terminal, the analysis including identifying relationships between prepurchase activity at the information terminal for the customer and transaction data for the customer.

14. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein identifying relationships between customer prepurchase activity and customer transaction activity includes determining whether an item presented at the information terminal was subsequently purchased.

15. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein identifying relationships between customer prepurchase activity and customer transaction activity includes determining whether a purchased item had been previously presented at the information terminal.

7. A system for tracking customer activity comprising:

an information terminal including

a radio frequency identification (RFID) label interrogator for reading RFID label identification information from an RFID label on an item carried by a customer; and

a first computer which recognizes the customer activity related to the item and stores information characterizing the customer activity linked with the RFID label identification information, the activity being an activity engaged in by the customer before a purchase transaction, the information characterizing the customer activity identifying the particular activity and the item subject to the activity;

a transaction terminal for recording transaction data for customer purchase of items; and

a second computer coupled to the transaction terminal and the information terminal for analyzing the transaction data and the information characterizing the customer activity engaged in by the customer before the purchase transaction, and for generating a report presenting an analysis of the transaction data and the information characterizing the customer activity, the analysis including identifying relationships between customer prepurchase activity for an item undertaken at the information terminal before the customer has made a purchase, and transaction activity for purchases of items undertaken at the transaction terminal.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the second computer recognizes comparison price checks on two different items.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein the second computer stores RFID label identification information from the two different items,

determines whether the items were purchased, and takes the determination into account in performing the analysis.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the second computer also determines whether a related item was purchased.