Method and system for electronic commerce using multiple roles

• US 7,912,756 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Amazon.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Mohit, Maryam, Spiegel, Joel R.
• Primary Examiner(s): FADOK, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US11/537,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20070078727A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,635 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• 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 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A computer system for conducting electronic commerce. The system provides multiple electronic shopping carts for each user. Each electronic shopping cart has an indication of items currently within the electronic shopping cart and billing and shipment information. The system generates a display that identifies each of the electronic shopping carts and sends the generated display to a user computer system. The system then receives a selection of one of the identified electronic shopping carts from the user computer system and receives a selection of an item from the user computer system. In response to receiving the selection of the item, the system adds the item to the selected electronic shopping cart. The system then receives an indication to checkout the items in the selected electronic shopping cart from the user computer system. In response to receiving the indication to checkout, the system ships the items in the selected electronic shopping cart in accordance with the shipment information of the selected electronic shopping cart and bills for the items in the selected electronic shopping cart in accordance with the billing information for the selected electronic shopping cart. The system thus allows a user to select each of the electronic shopping carts for adding items to each electronic shopping cart.

Claims

1. A method in a computing system for conducting electronic commerce, comprising:

establishing an account for conducting electronic commerce for an organization, the established account including payment information usable to obtain payment for electronic commerce activities of any of a plurality of persons associated with the organization; and

for each of the plurality of persons associated with the organization;

establishing an electronic commerce context for the person;

displaying an indication of items stored in the electronic commerce context, the items including items selected by the person that have not been ordered;

storing in connection with the electronic commerce context an indication of items ordered by the person and items selected by the person that have not been ordered, and associated information relating to interactions engaged while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities in the electronic commerce context; and

using the stored information in connection with the person'"'"'s electronic commerce activities while the person is conducting the electronic commerce activities; and

providing, to a user of the account for conducting electronic commerce for the organization, access to the electronic commerce context of at least one other person in the organization.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the organization is a family, and each of the plurality of persons associated with the organization is a member of the family.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein available electronic commerce activities include browsing within a set of items, and wherein information is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts the items of the set that may be browsed by the person.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic commerce activities include ordering items among a set of items, and wherein information is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts the items of the set that may be ordered by the person.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used, to the exclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, to select items to recommend to the person.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has browsed, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used, to the exclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, to select items to recommend to the person.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used to display a list of items including only items that the person has ordered.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality specifying shipping information for the person, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the shipping information specified by the stored information is used to ship items ordered by the person.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the associated information comprises information relating to items viewed by the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the associated information comprises information relating to searches conducted by the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information is used to generate a recommendation for an item to the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information is used to provide a recommendation for an item to another person in the organization.

9. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to perform a method for conducting electronic commerce, the method comprising:

establishing an account for conducting electronic commerce for an organization, the established account including payment information usable to obtain payment for electronic commerce activities of any of a plurality of persons associated with the organization; and

for each of the plurality of persons associated with the organization;

establishing an electronic commerce context for the person;

storing in connection with the electronic commerce context information relating exclusively to the person'"'"'s electronic commerce activities;

displaying an indication of items currently stored in the electronic commerce context, the items including items selected by the person but have not been ordered;

storing information identifying items that the person has ordered and items selected by the person that have not been ordered, and associated information relating to interactions engaged while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities in the electronic commerce context; and

using the stored information in connection with the person'"'"'s electronic commerce activities while the person is conducting the electronic commerce activities; and

providing, to a user of the account for conducting electronic commerce for the organization, access to the electronic commerce contexts of the persons in the organization, the providing including generating, for the user of the account for conducting electronic commerce for the organization, a display of the electronic commerce context of at least one other person in the organization without the at least one other person submitting said electronic commerce context to the user.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the organization is a family, and each of the plurality of persons associated with the organization is a member of the family.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein available electronic commerce activities include browsing within a set of items, and wherein information is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts the items of the set that may be browsed by the person.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the electronic commerce activities include ordering items among a set of items, and wherein information is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts the items of the set that may be ordered by the person.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used to select items to recommend to the person.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has browsed, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used, to the exclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, to select items to recommend to the person.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality identifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the stored information is used, to the exclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, to display a list of items including only items that the person has ordered.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein information is stored for each person of the plurality specifying shipping information for the person, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the shipping information specified by the stored information is used to ship items ordered by the person.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the associated information comprises information relating to items viewed by the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the associated information comprises information relating to searches conducted by the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the stored information is used to generate a recommendation for an item to the person while the person is conducting electronic commerce activities within the electronic commerce context.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the stored information is used to provide a recommendation for an item to another person in the organization.