Adaptable retail pricing environment and electronic exchange, delivering customized buyer promotion rewards and discounts

• US 8,671,018 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Safeway Incorporated (Albertsons Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Safeway Incorporated (Albertsons Cos., Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomas, David Edward, Quinn, Jonathan G., Minasi, Michael Robert, Marian, Michelle, Aamir, Mir Mohammad, Pattison, Tamara Ruth
• Primary Examiner(s): Boveja, Namrata
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuy N
• Application Number:
  US13/072,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20110288925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: 705 141- 1473
• US Class Current: 705/14.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history

Abstract

An individualized discount and reward server includes one or more linked databases to store customer data associated with a loyalty program of a retailer. The server includes a processor configured to select a retail product from a plurality of retail products associated with the retailer. The processor determines a first percentage indicating a percentage of time the loyalty customer purchases the selected retail product on promotion, and determines a second percentage indicating an average percentage of time a plurality of customers forming a peer group purchases the selected retail product on promotion. Further, the processor determines a comparison result by comparing the first and second percentages. Additionally, the processor allocates at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer according to at least the comparison result.

Claims

1. An individualized discount and reward server, the server comprising:

one or more linked databases to store customer data associated with a loyalty program of a retailer, the customer data including at least one retailer account and purchase history associated with a loyalty customer;

a processor configured to;

select a retail product from a plurality of retail products associated with the retailer;

determine a first percentage indicating a percentage of time the loyalty customer purchases, according to the customer purchase history, the selected retail product on promotion at a discount price with respect to a general market price point of the retail product;

determine a second percentage indicating an average percentage of time a plurality of customers forming a peer group purchases the selected retail product on promotion at the discount price with respect to the general market price point of the retail product, the peer group not including the loyalty customer;

determine a comparison result by comparing the first and second percentages;

allocate at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is greater than the second percentage, and not allocate the at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is less than or equal to the second percentage, the at least one customized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing the general market price point of the selected retail product.

2. The server according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a percentile of an amount the loyalty customer spends on the selected retail product compared to an amount each customer included in the peer group spends on the selected retail product, and

allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product to the at least one retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon further determination that the determined percentile is greater than a predetermined percentile.

3. The server according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product upon further determination from the at least one retailer account that no offer for the selected retail product is associated with the at least one retailer account.

4. The server according to claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to redeem the at least one allocated customized offer upon receiving a purchase notification specifying the at least one retailer account associated with the customer and the selected retail product, the at least one allocated customized offer redeemed by associating the selected retail product with the loyalty adjustment independent of a general market price point associated with the selected retail product at a time of reception of the purchase notification.

13. The server according to claim 1, wherein

the first percentage is determined as a number of times the loyalty customer purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price, and

the second percentage is determined as a sum of a number of times each customer in the peer group purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a multiplication of the total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price with the number of customers in the peer group.

5. An individualized discount and reward system, the system comprising:

a server including;

one or more linked databases to store customer data associated with a loyalty program of a retailer, the customer data including at least one retailer account and purchase history associated with a loyalty customer;

a processor configured to;

select a retail product from a plurality of retail products associated with the retailer;

determine a first percentage indicating a percentage of time the loyalty customer purchases, according to the customer purchase history, the selected retail product on promotion at a discount price with respect to a general market price point of the retail product;

determine a second percentage indicating an average percentage of time a plurality of customers forming a peer group purchases the selected retail product on promotion at the discount price with respect to the general market price point of the retail product, the peer group not including the loyalty customer;

determine a comparison result by comparing the first and second percentages; and

allocate at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is greater than the second percentage, and not allocate the at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is less than or equal to the second percentage, the at least one customized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing the general market price point of the selected retail product; and

a point of sale device to transmit a purchase notification to the server, the purchase notification specifying the retailer account associated with the customer and the selected retail product.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a percentile of an amount the loyalty customer spends on the selected retail product compared to an amount each customer included in the peer group spends on the selected retail product, and

allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product to the at least one retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon further determination that the determined percentile is greater than a predetermined percentile.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product upon further determination from the at least one retailer account that no offer for the selected retail product is associated with the at least one retailer account.

8. The system according to claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to redeem the at least one allocated customized offer upon receiving the purchase notification specifying the at least one retailer account associated with the customer and the selected retail product, the at least one allocated customized offer redeemed by associating the selected retail product with the loyalty adjustment independent of a general market price point associated with the selected retail product at a time of reception of the purchase notification.

14. The system according to claim 5, wherein

the first percentage is determined as a number of times the loyalty customer purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price, and

the second percentage is determined as a sum of a number of times each customer in the peer group purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a multiplication of the total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price with the number of customers in the peer group.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor in an individualized discount and reward server causes the server to:

store, in one or more linked databases, customer data associated with a loyalty program of a retailer, the customer data including at least one retailer account and purchase history associated with a loyalty customer;

select a retail product from a plurality of retail products associated with the retailer;

determine a first percentage indicating a percentage of time the loyalty customer purchases, according to the customer purchase history, the selected retail product on promotion at a discount price with respect to a general market price point of the retail product;

determine a second percentage indicating an average percentage of time a plurality of customers forming a peer group purchases the selected retail product on promotion at the discount price with respect to the general market price point of the retail product, the peer group not including the loyalty customer;

determine a comparison result by comparing the first and second percentages; and

allocate at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is greater than the second percentage, and not allocate the at least one customized offer to the retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon determination from the comparison result that the first percentage is less than or equal to the second percentage, the at least one customized offer including a loyalty adjustment changing the general market price point of the selected retail product.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the executable instructions cause the server to

determine a percentile of an amount the loyalty customer spends on the selected retail product compared to an amount each customer included in the peer group spends on the selected retail product, and

allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product to the at least one retailer account associated with the loyalty customer upon further determination that the determined percentile is greater than a predetermined percentile.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the executable instructions cause the server to allocate the at least one customized offer for the selected retail product upon further determination from the at least one retailer account that no offer for the selected retail product is associated with the at least one retailer account.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the executable instructions cause the server to redeem the at least one allocated customized offer upon receiving a purchase notification specifying the at least one retailer account associated with the customer and the selected retail product, the at least one allocated customized offer redeemed by associating the selected retail product with the loyalty adjustment independent of a general market price point associated with the selected retail product at a time of reception of the purchase notification.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein

the first percentage is determined as a number of times the loyalty customer purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price, and

the second percentage is determined as a sum of a number of times each customer in the peer group purchases the selected retail product when the selected retail product is on promotion at the discount price divided by a multiplication of the total number of times the selected retail product is available for purchase at the discount price with the number of customers in the peer group.