Method and system for enabling unregistered users to manage electronic items across sessions

• US 8,271,320 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2002
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Agrawal, Aseem, Modani, Natwar, Mittal, Parul A, Sureka, Rajendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Boveja, Namrata
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOLDMAN, MICHAEL H
• Application Number:
  US10/317,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20040117247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,568 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/14.22, 705/14.23, 705/14.39
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for enabling an e-commerce website to persist electronic items, such as electronic coupons, gift certificates etc., across multiple browsing sessions. Users are offered electronic items over a communications network during a browsing session. In case the user wishes to save the items for a later browsing session, he/she is prompted for an email address. Details pertaining to the selected items are mapped against the email address. Thereafter, e-mail is sent to the user, containing a URL with the email address of the user embedded in it. Alternatively, entire details corresponding to the items selected during a session are embedded in the URL and in this case they need not be mapped against the email address.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing one of an electronic-coupon (e-coupon) and an electronic-gift certificate (e-gift certificate), acquired by a user across multiple browsing sessions at a computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website, the method comprising:

acquiring, by said user, said one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate during an initial browsing session to said computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website;

associating said acquired one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate and said user by a computerized e-commerce webserver that provides a computerized e-wallet for said user;

upon ending said initial browsing session, redirecting said user to said computerized e-wallet, using said webserver;

saving, by said user, said acquired one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate in said computerized e-wallet;

receiving, by said webserver, from said user, an email address of said user; and

sending an email to said user, from said webserver, said email including a coded Universal Resource Locator (URL) that when subsequently used, accesses information related to said saved one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate in a subsequent browsing session by said user.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising accessing said computerized e-commerce website by said coded URL in said subsequent browsing session;

and

restoring said information related to said saved one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate, from said initial browsing session, to said computerized e-wallet for said subsequent browsing session.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

acquiring, by said user, another said one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate during said subsequent browsing session and associating said acquired another said one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate and said user by said computerized e-commerce webserver;

upon ending said subsequent browsing session, redirecting said user to said computerized e-wallet and saving by said user, said acquired another one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate in said computerized e-wallet, without registering at said computerized e-commerce website; and

sending another email to said user, said another email including a coded URL that accesses information related to any of said saved one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate, from said initial browsing session, and said saved another one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate, from said subsequent browsing session.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising deleting, by said user, one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate from said computerized e-wallet.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate is presented to the user in a form of banner advertisements.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending an e-mail to said user, uses an encryption algorithm to encode details of the one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate on the coded URL.

7. A computer-implemented method for managing an item selected for inclusion in an electronic shopping cart (e-shopping cart) across multiple browsing sessions at a computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website, the method comprising:

selecting, by said user, said item for inclusion in said e-shopping cart during an initial browsing session to said computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website;

associating said selected item and said user by a computerized e-commerce webserver that provides said e-shopping cart at said computerized e-commerce website for said user;

upon ending said initial browsing session, redirecting said user to said e-shopping cart, using said webserver;

saving, by said user, said acquired item in said e-shopping cart;

receiving, by said webserver, from said user, an email address of said user; and

sending an email to said user, from said webserver, said email including a coded Universal Resource Locator (URL) that when subsequently used, accesses information related to said saved item in a subsequent browsing session by said user.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

accessing said computerized e-commerce website by said coded URL in said subsequent browsing session; and

restoring said information related to said saved item, from said initial browsing session, to said e-shopping cart for said subsequent browsing session.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

acquiring, by said user, another item for inclusion in said e-shopping cart during said subsequent browsing session and associating said acquired item and said user by said computerized e-commerce webserver;

upon ending said subsequent browsing session, redirecting said user to said e-shopping cart and saving by said user, said acquired another item in said e-shopping cart, without registering at said computerized e-commerce website; and

sending another email to said user, said another email including a coded URL that accesses information related to any of said saved item, from said initial browsing session, and said saved another item, from said subsequent browsing session.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising deleting, by said user, an item from said e-shopping cart.

10. A computer program storage medium readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method for managing one of an electronic-coupon (e-coupon) and an electronic-gift certificate (e-gift certificate), acquired by a user across multiple browsing sessions at a computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website, the method comprising:

acquiring, by said user, said one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate during an initial browsing session to said computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website;

associating said acquired one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate and said user by an e-commerce webserver that provides an e-wallet for said user;

upon ending said initial browsing session, redirecting said user to said e-wallet, using said webserver;

saving, by said user, said acquired one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate in said e-wallet;

receiving, by said webserver, from said user, an email address of said user; and

sending an email to said user, from said webserver, said email including a coded Universal Resource Locator (URL) that when subsequently used, accesses information related to said saved one of an e-coupon and an e-gift certificate in a subsequent browsing session by said user.

11. A computer program storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said machine to perform a method for managing one of an electronic-coupon (e-coupon) and an electronic-gift certificate (e-gift certificate), acquired by a user across multiple browsing sessions at a computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website, the method comprising:

selecting, by said user, said item for inclusion in said e-shopping cart during an initial browsing session to said computerized e-commerce website, without said user registering at said computerized e-commerce website;

associating said selected item and said user by an e-commerce webserver that provides said e-shopping cart at said computerized e-commerce website for said user;

upon ending said initial browsing session, redirecting said user to said e-shopping cart, using said webserver;

saving, by said user, said acquired item in said e-shopping cart;

receiving, by said webserver, from said user, an email address of said user; and

sending an email to said user, from said webserver, said email including a coded Universal Resource Locator (URL) that when subsequently used, accesses information related to said saved item in a subsequent browsing session by said user.