Methods and system for allocating shelf space
First Claim
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1. A computer implemented method of allocating retail shelf space for a product segment based on sales data indicating past transactions of consumers of products in the product segment, said method comprising:
- defining a product segment of products based on a shared characteristic of the products;
defining a plurality of buyer groups, each group based on consumers who purchase a first product from said defined product segment within a defined time period;
for each buyer group, determining a preference for the consumers in each buyer group to purchase a second product from the defined product segment via a computer processor, said second product being other than the first product and said second product serving a different primary purpose than said first product, said determining comprising calculating a preference index relating the first product and the second product as a function of the sales data; and
allocating the retail shelf space for the defined product segment of products based on the determined preference,wherein determining the preference comprises calculating the preference index as a function of an expected product segment mix and an expected buyer group mix, wherein the expected product segment mix corresponds to a percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased within the product segment after excluding the first products, wherein the expected buyer group mix corresponds to the percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased by the buyer group after excluding the first products.
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Abstract
A method and system for the collection of consumer sales data for use in intelligent management of shelf space in a retail environment based on quantitative analysis of consumer sales data in which interactions between two or more products are quantitatively applied in estimating sales for a particular selection of the shelf space location and/or shelf space amount. Such management may be achieved manually or automatically with the invention.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of allocating retail shelf space for a product segment based on sales data indicating past transactions of consumers of products in the product segment, said method comprising:
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defining a product segment of products based on a shared characteristic of the products; defining a plurality of buyer groups, each group based on consumers who purchase a first product from said defined product segment within a defined time period; for each buyer group, determining a preference for the consumers in each buyer group to purchase a second product from the defined product segment via a computer processor, said second product being other than the first product and said second product serving a different primary purpose than said first product, said determining comprising calculating a preference index relating the first product and the second product as a function of the sales data; and allocating the retail shelf space for the defined product segment of products based on the determined preference, wherein determining the preference comprises calculating the preference index as a function of an expected product segment mix and an expected buyer group mix, wherein the expected product segment mix corresponds to a percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased within the product segment after excluding the first products, wherein the expected buyer group mix corresponds to the percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased by the buyer group after excluding the first products. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer implemented method of allocating retail shelf space for a product segment of products based on sales data indicating past purchases of consumers of products in the product segment, said method comprising:
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defining a product segment of products based on a shared characteristic of the products; defining a plurality of buyer groups, each group based on consumers who purchase a first product in said product segment within a defined time period; for each buyer group, determining a preference for the consumers in each buyer group to purchase each of the other products within the product segment via a computer processor, said determining comprising calculating a preference index as a function of the sales data for each of the other products relative to the product that defines the buyer group, wherein at least one of each of the other products serves a different primary purpose than the first product; predicting a sales impact based on the preference for the consumers in each buyer group to purchase each of the other products within the product segment; and allocating the retail shelf space based on said predicted sales impact, wherein determining the preference comprises calculating the preference index as a function of an expected product segment mix and an expected buyer group mix, wherein the expected product segment mix corresponds to a percentage of the other products purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased within the product segment after excluding the first products, wherein the expected buyer group mix corresponds to the percentage of the other products purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased by the buyer group after excluding the first products. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for allocating retail shelf space for a product segment of products based on sales data indicating past transactions of consumers of products in the product segment, said system comprising:
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data collection instructions for collecting data relating to purchases by a plurality of defined buyer groups from within a defined product segment, wherein the product segment is defined based on a shared characteristic of the products, and wherein each of the groups is defined based on consumers who purchase a first product in said product segment within a defined time period; a database for collecting sales data; and a computer system which, for each buyer group, determines a preference for the consumers in each buyer group to purchase a second product within the product segment, said second product being other than the first product of the buyer group and said second product serving a different primary purpose than said first product, wherein the computer system calculates a preference index relating the first product and the second product as a function of the sales data, said computer system further allocating the retail shelf space based on said determined preference, wherein determining the preference comprises calculating the preference index as a function of an expected product segment mix and an expected buyer group mix, wherein the expected product segment mix corresponds to a percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased within the product segment after excluding the first products, wherein the expected buyer group mix corresponds to the percentage of the second product purchased with respect to the total number of products purchased by the buyer group after excluding the first products. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification