Method, program, and system for resetting the value of a coupon based on market information

• US 7,725,349 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Rabindranath, Banerjee, Dwip N., Ullmann, Lorin E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Janvier; Jean D.
• Application Number:
  US11/952,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20080077480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 900 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.1, 705/14.12, 705/14.14, 705/14.22, 705/14.19, 705/26, 705/27, 235/275, 235/380, 235/381, 235/382
• US Class Current: 705/14.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0209 Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video game
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0221 Re-usable coupons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A method and computer program for resetting the value of a coupon based on market information is provided. The program receives a request for valuation of a coupon from a retailer, accesses market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon, determines a market demand value based on the market demand information, determines a coupon value based on the market demand value, and provides the coupon value to the retailer.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of setting the value of a coupon comprising:

distributing at least two coupons, each coupon having a coupon value;

receiving by a computer a request for a reset value of one of the at least two coupons in response to a customer presenting the one of the at least two coupons for redemption for a purchase of a product from a retailer, after distributing the one of the at least two coupons;

accessing market demand information for the product corresponding to the one of the at least two coupons in response to the request;

determining by the computer a market demand value based on the market demand information;

setting by the computer the reset value based on the market demand value; and

providing the reset value for the one of the at least two coupons to the retailer, in response to setting by the computer the reset value; and

applying the reset value and not the coupon value to the purchase of the product.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the request for a reset value is in response to the purchase.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein market demand information is accessed from a database storing product sales data.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein market demand information is selected from a database including:

retailer inventory, competitor pricing, current and anticipated competitor inventory, competitor advertising spending, cyclical buying trends, and economic indicators.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the reset value is limited within a predefined range.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein providing the reset value to the retailer is in response to the request for valuation.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating at least a portion of the reset value to the customer purchasing the product.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating at least a portion of the reset value to the retailer.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving the one of the at least two coupons from the customer after distributing the one of the at least two coupons; and

wherein providing the reset value for the one of the at least two coupons comprises providing a discount to a customer'"'"'s purchase of the product.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the purchase is a transaction by the customer.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein receiving the request for the reset value further comprises receiving by a computer a request for a reset value originating with the customer.

9. A computer readable medium containing computer readable code for setting the value of a coupon based on market information comprising:

computer readable code for receiving a request for a reset value of the coupon in response to a customer presenting the coupon for redemption for a purchase of a product from a retailer after distribution of the coupon, the coupon having a coupon value;

computer readable code for accessing market demand information for a product corresponding to the coupon in response to the request;

computer readable code for determining a market demand value based on the market demand information;

computer readable code for setting the reset value based on the market demand value; and

computer readable code for providing the reset value for the coupon to the retailer; and

applying the reset value and not the coupon value to the purchase of the product.

10. The medium of claim 9 wherein the request for a reset value is in response to a purchase.

11. The medium of claim 9 wherein market demand information is accessed from a database storing product sales data.

12. The medium of claim 9 wherein market demand information is selected from a database including:

retailer inventory, competitor pricing, current and anticipated competitor inventory, competitor advertising spending, cyclical buying trends, and economic indicators.

13. The medium of claim 9 wherein the reset value is limited within a predefined range.

14. The medium of claim 9 wherein providing the reset value to the retailer is in response to the request for valuation.

15. The medium of claim 9 further comprising:

computer readable code for allocating at least a portion of the reset value to a customer purchasing the product.

16. The medium of claim 9 further comprising:

computer readable code for allocating at least a portion of the reset value to the retailer.

17. A system for setting the value of a coupon based on market information comprising:

means for distributing at least two coupons, each coupon having a coupon value;

means for receiving a request for a reset value of one of the at least two coupons in response to a customer presenting the one of the at least two coupons for redemption for a purchase of a product from a retailer, after distributing the one of the at least two coupons;

means for accessing market demand information for the product corresponding to the one of the at least two coupons in response to the request;

means for determining a market demand value based on the market demand information;

means for setting the reset value based on the market demand value; and

means for providing the reset value for the one of the at least two coupons to the retailer, in response to means for setting by the computer the reset value; and

applying the reset value and not the coupon value to the purchase of the product.