Consumer rewards systems and methods
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving from a merchant via a point of sale (POS) capture device a total transaction data set for a transaction;
receiving a consumer'"'"'s unique identifier and a merchant identifier from the POS capture device as part of a total transaction data set; and
adjusting a points balance for the merchant in the consumer'"'"'s account hosted on a remote server based on the transaction data;
wherein the consumer'"'"'s account aggregates points for a plurality of disparate merchants, the points balance for at least one merchant being exclusive from the points balance of at least one other merchant,wherein each merchant account is private from other merchant'"'"'s accounts and wherein a merchant cannot view exchange of good or service details gathered by any other merchant;
wherein the method is capable of sharing the consumer'"'"'s identity with the merchant, wherein said sharing requires the consumer'"'"'s expressed consent to have said identity shared with the merchant, and wherein the method is also capable of keeping consumer'"'"'s identity confidential from the merchant, andwherein each consumer account includes a consumer demographics module that solicits the consumer'"'"'s demographics, the demographics module allowing the merchant to create and run various queries related to sales of particular goods or services, and evaluate the demographics of purchasing trends of those who are buying or not buying those goods or services,wherein remote server access is prioritized such that the POS capture device receives highest priority to the remote server.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method comprising, in combination: receiving a unique identifier from a consumer; receiving a list of at least one item to be purchased corresponding to a pending transaction; identifying a consumer account associated with the unique identifier; applying at least one accrued point of the consumer account to determine a redemption possibility; and providing a redemption possibility to the consumer. A system comprising, in combination: a point-of-sale (POS) device, further comprising a reader configured to receive a unique identifier and a display configured for providing information to at least one of a merchant and a consumer; an account management system, further comprising an account database containing information regarding at least one consumer account; wherein the POS device and the account management system are communicatively connected to transmit at least one of a unique identifier and a redemption possibility.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving from a merchant via a point of sale (POS) capture device a total transaction data set for a transaction; receiving a consumer'"'"'s unique identifier and a merchant identifier from the POS capture device as part of a total transaction data set; and adjusting a points balance for the merchant in the consumer'"'"'s account hosted on a remote server based on the transaction data; wherein the consumer'"'"'s account aggregates points for a plurality of disparate merchants, the points balance for at least one merchant being exclusive from the points balance of at least one other merchant, wherein each merchant account is private from other merchant'"'"'s accounts and wherein a merchant cannot view exchange of good or service details gathered by any other merchant; wherein the method is capable of sharing the consumer'"'"'s identity with the merchant, wherein said sharing requires the consumer'"'"'s expressed consent to have said identity shared with the merchant, and wherein the method is also capable of keeping consumer'"'"'s identity confidential from the merchant, and wherein each consumer account includes a consumer demographics module that solicits the consumer'"'"'s demographics, the demographics module allowing the merchant to create and run various queries related to sales of particular goods or services, and evaluate the demographics of purchasing trends of those who are buying or not buying those goods or services, wherein remote server access is prioritized such that the POS capture device receives highest priority to the remote server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system comprising, in combination:
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a point-of-sale (POS) capture device comprising at least; a unique identifier reader configured to receive a unique identifier; a display configured for providing information to at least one of a merchant and a consumer; and a POS computer; and a remote server comprising a database containing information regarding at least one consumer account and transaction data for a plurality of transactions; and a server for facilitating communication between the POS capture device and the remote server; wherein the remote server comprises a plurality of consumer accounts, wherein at least one consumer account comprises a points balance for a plurality of disparate merchants, the points balance for at least one merchant being exclusive from the points balance of at least one other merchant, wherein each merchant account is private from other merchant'"'"'s accounts and wherein a merchant cannot view exchange of good or service details gathered by any other merchant; wherein the system is capable of sharing the consumer'"'"'s identity with the merchant, wherein said sharing requires the consumer'"'"'s expressed consent to have said identity shared with the merchant, and wherein the system is also capable of keeping consumer'"'"'s identity confidential from the merchant, and wherein each consumer account includes a consumer demographics module that solicits the consumer'"'"'s demographics, the demographics module allowing the merchant to create and run various queries related to sales of particular goods or services, and evaluate the demographics of purchasing trends of those who are buying or not buying those goods or services, and wherein remote server access is prioritized such that the POS capture device receives the highest access priority to the remote server. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A machine-readable medium containing instructions stored thereon for, with a remote server:
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receiving from a merchant via a point of sale (POS) capture device a total transaction data set for a transaction; receiving a consumer'"'"'s unique identifier and a merchant identifier from the POS capture device as part of a total transaction data set; adjusting a points balance for the merchant in the consumer'"'"'s account hosted on the remote server based on the transaction data; wherein the consumer'"'"'s account aggregates points for a plurality of disparate merchants, the points balance for at least one merchant being exclusive from the points balance of at least one other merchant, wherein each merchant account is private from other merchant'"'"'s accounts and wherein a merchant cannot view exchange of good or service details gathered by any other merchant; wherein the server is capable of sharing the consumer'"'"'s identity with the merchant, wherein said sharing requires the consumer'"'"'s expressed consent to have said identity shared with the merchant, and wherein the server is also capable of keeping consumer'"'"'s identity confidential from the merchant, and wherein each consumer account includes a consumer demographics module that solicits the consumer'"'"'s demographics, the demographics module allowing the merchant to create and run various queries related to sales of particular goods or services, and evaluate the demographics of purchasing trends of those who are buying or not buying those goods or services. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification