Providing automated gift registry functionality to assist a user in purchasing an item for a recipient

• US 7,660,746 B1
• Filed: 08/10/2005
• Issued: 02/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Song, Zhengrong
• Primary Examiner(s): MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M
• Application Number:
  US11/201,957
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/26.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0253 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes

Abstract

Techniques are described for providing automated functionality to assist a user in purchasing an item for a recipient. An automated system may track various information about a series of item purchases from one or more services through which items can be purchased, and use information about past item purchases to provide various automated functionality for users that want to purchase items for various recipients. Types of functionality provided by the system include assisting in preventing recipients from receiving inappropriate items by monitoring item gift purchases and item self-purchases and responding to user requests to determine whether a specified gift would be appropriate for a recipient. In addition to information about past item purchases (e.g., whether a recipient has already received a copy of an item), the system can also use other information when determining whether a purchase of an item for the recipient is appropriate.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for assisting a user in acquiring an item for a recipient, the method comprising:

receiving information related to previous item acquisitions;

at a first time, receiving from a user an indication of a potential acquisition of an item for a recipient;

retrieving from the received information indications of items acquired for the recipient by others;

after the first time, automatically determining based on the retrieved indications whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, the determining being based at least in part on an amount of time that has elapsed since at least one of the indicated items was previously acquired for the recipient, the determining being performed by an automated system being executed by one or more computer systems and being performed without using any indication specified by any user prior to the first time of whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient; and

if the item for the potential acquisition is determined to not be appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, automatically providing by the automated system a warning for presentation to the user that indicates inappropriateness of the item for the recipient, and otherwise not providing the warning.

2. The method of claim 1 including, for each of the previous item acquisitions, tracking activities related to the items in order to generate the received information.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the tracked activities include acquisition of an item.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the tracked activities include cancellation of an item acquisition.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes:

determining from the retrieved indications whether the item has already been acquired for the recipient; and

if it is determined that the item has already been acquired for the recipient, determining that the item is not appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes:

determining from the retrieved indications whether the item has already been acquired for the recipient; and

if it is determined that the item has already been acquired for the recipient, determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes:

generating recommendations of items that are appropriate to be acquired for the recipient by selecting items that are related to the items indicated by the retrieved indications;

determining whether the item for the potential acquisition is among the recommended items; and

if it is determined that the item for the potential acquisition is among the recommended items, determining that the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient includes an indication of a request from the user of whether the recipient already has the item, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes:

determining from the retrieved indications whether the item has already been acquired for the recipient; and

if it is determined that the item has not already been acquired for the recipient, determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising, if the item for the potential acquisition is determined to be appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, providing information for presentation to the user that includes an indication that the potential acquisition is determined to be appropriate.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, wherein the item for the potential acquisition is determined to be appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, and wherein the method further comprises automatically permitting the initiated attempt to acquire the item for the recipient to continue without preventing the initiated attempt.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the previous item acquisitions are performed by multiple acquirers for multiple recipients.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the retrieved indications indicate that the item for the potential acquisition has previously been acquired for the recipient, and wherein the amount of time elapsed since the at least one indicated item was previously acquired for the recipient on which the automatic determining is based is an amount of time that has elapsed since a time at which the item for the potential acquisition was previously acquired for the recipient.

13. The method of claim 1 including retrieving stored information related to the indicated recipient, and wherein the retrieving of the indications of items includes using the retrieved stored information to determine whether each of the previous item acquisitions was acquired for the recipient.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the item is a service that will be performed for the recipient after the acquisition of the item for the recipient.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the item for the potential acquisition is available to be acquired for only a limited time.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the warning indicates at least a possibility of the inappropriateness.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, and wherein the providing of the warning to the user further includes querying the user regarding whether to proceed with the attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises receiving a response from the user to the querying that indicates to proceed with acquiring the item for the recipient, and proceeding with the acquiring of the item for the recipient based on the response.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the querying of the user includes presenting at least one user-selectable control, and wherein the receiving of the response from the user is based on selection of a presented control.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises receiving a response from the user to the querying that indicates not to proceed with acquiring the item for the recipient, and canceling the acquiring of the item for the recipient based on the response.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient is based on determining from the retrieved indications whether the item has already been acquired for the recipient by the user.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein it is determined that the item has already been acquired for the recipient by the user, and wherein the user is the recipient.

23. A computer-readable medium whose contents include instructions for an automated system that when executed enable a computer system to assist a user in acquiring an item, by performing a method comprising:

at a first time, receiving from a user an indication of a potential acquisition of an item for a recipient;

receiving information related to previous item acquisitions for the recipient, and retrieving from the received information indications of items acquired for the recipient by others;

after the first time, automatically determining based on the retrieved indications whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, the determining being based at least in part on an amount of time that has elapsed since at least one of the indicated items was previously acquired for the recipient, the determining being performed by the automated system when executed by the computer system and being performed without using any indication specified by any user prior to the first time of whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient; and

if the item for the potential acquisition is determined to not be appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, automatically providing by the automated system a warning for presentation to the user that indicates inappropriateness of the item for the recipient, and otherwise not providing the warning.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the method further comprises, for each of the previous item acquisitions, tracking activities related to the items in order to generate the received information.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein the tracked activities include at least one of acquisitions of items, cancellations of item acquisitions, deliveries of acquired items, and returns of acquired items.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein the tracked activities include acquisitions of items, cancellations of item acquisitions, deliveries of acquired items, and returns of acquired items.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the at least one indicated item previously acquired for the recipient is the item of the potential acquisition, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is not appropriate to be acquired for the recipient based at least in part on the item having already been acquired for the recipient.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the received information includes indications of items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, and wherein the at least one indicated item was previously acquired by the recipient.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29 wherein the recipient is the user.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the at least one indicated item previously acquired for the recipient is the item of the potential acquisition, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient based at least in part on the item having already been acquired for the recipient.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31 wherein the received information includes indications of items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, and wherein the at least one indicated item was previously acquired by the recipient.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the recipient is the user.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient includes an indication of a request from the user of whether the recipient already has the item.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the retrieved indications indicate that the item for the potential acquisition has previously been acquired for the recipient, and wherein the amount of time elapsed since the at least one indicated item was previously acquired for the recipient on which the automatic determining is based is an amount of time that has elapsed since a time at which the item for the potential acquisition was previously acquired for the recipient.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, and wherein the providing of the warning to the user further includes querying the user regarding whether to proceed with the attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 37 wherein the method further comprises proceeding with the acquiring of the item for the recipient only if the user responds to the querying with an indication to proceed with acquiring the item for the recipient.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computer system.

40. A computer system configured to assist a user in acquiring an item for a recipient, comprising:

a processor;

an item acquisition analysis component that is configured, when executed by the processor, to receive at a first time from a user an indication of a potential acquisition of an item for a recipient, to receive information related to previous item acquisitions that include item acquisitions for the recipient by others, to retrieve from the received information indications of items acquired for the recipient, and to, after the first time, automatically determine based on the retrieved indications whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, the determining being based at least in part on an amount of time that has elapsed since at least one of the indicated items was previously acquired for the recipient, the determining being performed without using any indication specified by any user prior to the first time of whether the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient; and

an item acquisition appropriateness indicator component that is configured to, when executed by the processor, if the item for the potential acquisition is determined to not be appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, automatically provide a warning for presentation to the user that indicates inappropriateness of the item for the recipient, and otherwise not provide the warning.

41. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the item acquisition analysis component is further configured to, for each of at least some of the previous item acquisitions, track activities related to the items in order to generate the received information.

42. The computer system of claim 41 wherein the tracked activities include multiple of acquisitions of items, cancellations of item acquisitions, deliveries of acquired items, and returns of acquired items.

43. The computer system of claim 41 wherein the tracked activities include acquisitions of items, cancellations of item acquisitions, deliveries of acquired items, and returns of acquired items.

44. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the at least one indicated item previously acquired for the recipient is the item of the potential acquisition, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is not appropriate to be acquired for the recipient based at least in part on the item having already been acquired for the recipient.

45. The computer system of claim 44 wherein the received information includes indications of items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, wherein the retrieved indications of the items acquired for the recipient are one or more of the items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, and wherein the at least one indicated item was previously acquired by the recipient.

46. The computer system of claim 45 wherein the recipient is the user.

47. The computer system of claim 46 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

48. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the at least one indicated item previously acquired for the recipient is the item of the potential acquisition, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient based at least in part on the item having already been acquired for the recipient.

49. The computer system of claim 48 wherein the received information includes indications of items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, wherein the retrieved indications of the items acquired for the recipient are one or more of the items previously acquired for the recipient by the recipient, and wherein the at least one indicated item was previously acquired by the recipient.

50. The computer system of claim 49 wherein the recipient is the user.

51. The computer system of claim 50 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

52. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes:

generating recommendations of items that are appropriate to be acquired for the recipient by selecting items that are related to the items indicated by the retrieved indications;

determining whether the item for the potential acquisition is among the recommended items; and

if it is determined that the item for the potential acquisition is among the recommended items, determining that the item for the potential acquisition is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

53. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient includes an indication of a request from the user of whether the recipient already has the item.

54. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, and wherein the item acquisition appropriateness indicator component is further configured to provide information for presentation to the user that includes an indication that the potential acquisition is determined to be appropriate.

55. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is not appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, and wherein the computer system comprises one or more components configured to automatically block the initiated attempt to acquire the item based on the determining that the item is not appropriate to be acquired for the recipient.

56. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, wherein the automatic determining of whether the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient includes determining that the item is appropriate to be acquired for the recipient, and wherein the computer system comprises one or more components configured to automatically permit the initiated attempt to acquire the item for the recipient to continue without preventing the initiated attempt.

57. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the retrieved indications indicate that the item for the potential acquisition has previously been acquired for the recipient, and wherein the amount of time elapsed since the at least one indicated item was previously acquired for the recipient on which the automatic determining is based is an amount of time that has elapsed since a time at which the item for the potential acquisition was previously acquired for the recipient.

58. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the received information includes indications of items previously acquired by the recipient for others.

59. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the indication received from the user of the potential acquisition of the item for the recipient is an indication of the user initiating an attempt to acquire the item for the recipient, and wherein the providing of the warning to the user further includes querying the user regarding whether to proceed with the attempt to acquire the item for the recipient.

60. The computer system of claim 59 wherein the computer system comprises one or more components configured to proceed with the acquiring of the item for the recipient after the querying of the user only if the user responds to the querying with an indication to proceed with acquiring the item for the recipient.

61. The computer system of claim 59 wherein the computer system comprises one or more components configured to receive a response from the user to the querying that indicates not to proceed with acquiring the item for the recipient, and to automatically cancel the acquiring of the item for the recipient based on the response.

62. The computer system of claim 40 wherein the item acquisition analysis component and the item acquisition appropriateness indicator component each include software instructions for execution by the processor.