Creating and maintaining electronic gift lists

• US 8,442,875 B1
• Filed: 05/14/2012
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cohen, Jacob D., Koepf, Werner G., AbdulJaleel, Nasreen, Newell, Christopher E., Gordon, Natalie F., Smith, Matthew R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Georgalas, Anne
• Application Number:
  US13/471,298
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system for maintaining gift lists for other persons is presented. The system includes a data store and a computing device. The data store stores at least information related to items available for purchase. The computing device is in communication with and has access to the data store. Moreover, the computing device is configured to create a gift list. The gift list includes references to items that are available for purchase by a user, and that are selected by a user as potential gifts for another. Additionally, access to the gift list is controlled by the user that created the gift list. The computing device is further configured in such a way as to add a reference to an item to the gift list while the user browses the items available for purchase.

Claims

1. A system for maintaining gift lists, the system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store gift lists; and

one or more computing devices in communication with the electronic data store, the one or more computing devices configured to;

detect that a user has selected an item offered for purchase via an electronic marketplace, while the user is browsing the electronic marketplace via a browser application;

in response to detecting the selection of the item, providing display information including a list of persons for whom gift lists are stored in the electronic data store;

prompt the user to select, via the browser application, that the item offered for purchase via the electronic marketplace is a potential gift for a person referenced in the list of persons for whom gift lists are stored in the electronic data store;

detect that the user has indicated that the potential gift is for the selected person; and

add a reference to the selected item offered for purchase to a gift list associated with the selected person of the gift lists stored in the electronic data store, in response to detecting that the user has indicated that the potential gift is for the selected person.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to enable the user to create an additional gift list in response to detecting that the user has selected the item offered for purchase by the network shopping service while browsing.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the gift list associated with said person comprises information identifying a relationship between the user and said person.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to:

associate a gift-giving occasion with the gift list associated with said person; and

provide a notification to the user of the gift-giving occasion.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to create the gift list associated with said person and store the gift list associated with said person in the electronic data store.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to obtain, via the browser application, information related to said person and store the information related to said person in the gift list associated with said person stored in the electronic data store.

7. A computer-implemented method for maintaining a gift list, the method comprising:

under control of one or more computer devices configured with specific computer-executable instructions,

determining that a user has selected, via a browser, an item available for purchase from a network shopping service as a potential gift, while the user is browsing the network shopping service;

in response to determining that the user has selected the item available for purchase while browsing, prompting the user for information identifying that the item available for purchase is the potential gift for a person selected from a group of two or more persons, said prompting comprising causing display, via the browser, of information associated with gift lists of each person of the group of two or more persons in combination with information regarding the item available for purchase; and

in response to receiving the information identifying that the item available for purchase is for said person, adding a reference to the item available for purchase to a gift list for said person stored in an electronic data store, the gift list for said person storing information identifying said person and the reference to the item available for purchase selected by the user as the potential gift for said person.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising causing display of the information associated with the group of two or more persons, in response to determining that the user has selected the item available for purchase while browsing.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising preventing said person from accessing the gift list for said person.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising providing display information associated with a plurality of references to items stored in the gift list for said person.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising associating a gift-giving occasion with the gift list for said person and storing information associated with the gift-giving occasion with the gift list in the electronic data store.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising adding an additional reference to a different item available for purchase from a different network shopping service to the gift list for said person.

13. A system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store gift lists; and

one or more computing devices in communication with the electronic data store, the one or more computing devices configured to;

enable a user to select, via a browser, an item offered for purchase via an electronic marketplace, while the user is browsing the electronic marketplace;

in response to the user selecting the item offered for purchase while browsing, provide display information associated with a group of persons for whom gift lists are stored in the electronic data store and prompt the user, via the browser, for information identifying a person from the group of persons for whom the item offered for purchase is a potential gift;

receive, via the browser, information identifying said person for whom the item offered for purchase is the potential gift; and

add a reference to the selected item offered for purchase to a gift list for said person in response to receiving the information identifying said person from the user, said gift list stored in the electronic data store and including information identifying said person.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to enable the user to request display of information associated with references to items added to the gift list for said person stored in the electronic data store.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to enable the user to request display of recommended items with the display of information associated with references to items added to the gift list for said person stored in the electronic data store.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to enable the user to select an item to purchase from the display of information associated with references to items added to the gift list for said person stored in the electronic data store.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to obtain profile information related to said person and store the obtained profile information in association with the gift list for said person in the electronic data store.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to enable the user to create the gift list for said person, via the browser, by providing a gift list name and information about said person indicative of one or more of the following:

a relationship between the user and said person, at least one personality trait of said person, or an event associated with said person.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to cause display of an image associated with the item offered for purchase while prompting the user for information identifying the person from the group of persons for whom the item offered for purchase is the potential gift.