Providing gift clustering functionality to assist a user in ordering multiple items for a recipient

• US 8,738,470 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2005
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Agarwal, Amit D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosen, Nicholas D
• Application Number:
  US11/298,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20060178946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,091 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/27, 705/14.49, 705/14.72, 705/14.73, 705/26.2, 705/26.62, 705/26.8
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A method and system for creating of gift clusters of multiple items in a client/server environment by users, and for the ordering of such user-defined gift clusters of multiple items. In particular, a user can specify multiple items to be associated together as a gift cluster, and can also specify a variety of descriptive information about the gift cluster. That user or another user can then order the gift cluster as a gift for themselves or for another recipient, and may also order the gift cluster for the same or different recipients multiple times. When customers are later searching for appropriate gift clusters, the various categorization or other descriptive information can then assist is identifying appropriate gift clusters. The gift clustering functionality may be provided by and work in conjunction with a particular item ordering service, or instead may work independently from any particular item ordering service.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored contents including instructions that, when executed, configure a computer system to perform a method, the method comprising:

determining, by the configured computer system, one or more categories associated with a user-defined group of multiple items that is defined by a first user to be treated as a group, the first user being one of multiple customers of an item ordering service that makes the multiple items available to the multiple customers;

providing, by the configured computer system, information for display to a second user that identifies the user-defined group of multiple items based on at least one of the associated categories for the user-defined group, wherein the second user is one of the multiple customers and is distinct from the first user, and wherein the provided information, when displayed, identifies the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item to be ordered and includes a visual indication of an action that is to be performed to order the user-defined group of multiple items from the item ordering service as the single item;

in response to the indicated action being performed by the second user, initiating an order of the user-defined group of multiple items for the second user; and

based at least in part on the defining of the user-defined group of multiple items by the first user, compensating the first user.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the initiating of the order is performed to cause delivery to an indicated recipient of the multiple items together as a group.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the provided information identifies multiple user-defined groups each having multiple items, and wherein performance by the second user of the indicated action includes a selection by the second user of which of the multiple user-defined groups of multiple items is to be ordered.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the user-defined group includes an item representing a product to be supplied and an item representing a service to be provided, and includes items that are different types of products.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the user-defined group includes an item that is another user-defined group of multiple items.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the user-defined group has associated shipping instructions specified by the first user, and wherein the initiating of the order is performed to cause delivery of the multiple items as specified by the shipping instructions.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the providing of the information is performed in response to determining that the user-defined group satisfies one or more search criteria specified by the second user, the one or more search criteria including an indication of the at least one category associated with the group.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises, before the providing of the information, defining the group of multiple items based on one or more received indications from the first user.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the method further comprises receiving an instruction from the first user to make the defined group of multiple items available for ordering by customers other than the first user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the providing of the information based on the at least one associated category for the user-defined group includes providing categorization information related to the user-defined group for display that includes an indication of the at least one category.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the indicated at least one category reflects at least one of one or more occasions for which the user-defined group is appropriate, of a mnemonic moniker associated with the user-defined group, and of one or more types of users for which the user-defined group is appropriate.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the determining of the one or more categories associated with the user-defined group of multiple items includes receiving information from the first user that indicates the one or more categories.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the one or more categories associated with the user-defined group are automatically determined by the configured computer system based at least in part on aggregating information about multiple recipients for whom the user-defined group of multiple items is acquired.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the one or more categories associated with the user-defined group are automatically determined by the configured computer system based at least in part on aggregating information about the multiple items of the user-defined group.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the providing of the information based on the at least one category for the user-defined group includes receiving one or more search criteria from the second user that include the at least one category.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the multiple items of the user-defined group are associated with one or more categories, and wherein the one or more determined categories for the user-defined group of multiple items are distinct from the one or more categories associated with the multiple items.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the computer-readable storage medium is a memory of the computer system that stores the contents.

18. A configured computer system comprising:

one or more processors;

a categorizer component that is configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, determine one or more first categories for a user-defined group of multiple items, the user-defined group being defined by a user that is one of multiple customers of an item ordering service that makes the multiple items available to the multiple customers, at least one of the multiple items being associated with one or more second categories that are not included in the one or more determined first categories;

a viewer component that is configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, provide information for display to the user identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item to be ordered, wherein the information, when displayed, indicates an action that is to be performed to order the user-defined group of multiple items from the item ordering service as the single item; and

an item ordering component that is configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, and after performance by the user of the indicated action, initiate an order for the user-defined group of multiple items for the user.

19. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the initiating of the order is performed to deliver the multiple items to an indicated recipient as a group.

20. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the providing of the information for display includes identifying multiple groups each defined by a user and each having one or more items, and wherein performance by the user of the indicated action includes a selection by the user of the user-defined group of multiple items to be ordered.

21. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the viewer component is further configured to provide information for display to a second user distinct from the user that identifies the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item to be ordered, and wherein the item ordering component is further configured to initiate ordering for the second user of the user-defined group of multiple items in response to an instruction from the second user.

22. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the user-defined group includes an item representing a product to be supplied and an item representing a service to be provided, and includes items that are different types of products.

23. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the user-defined group has associated shipping instructions specified by the user, and wherein the initiating of the order is performed to cause delivery of the multiple items as specified by the shipping instructions.

24. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the providing of the information is performed in response to determining that the user-defined group satisfies one or more search criteria specified by the user, the one or more search criteria including an indication of at least one of the determined one or more categories.

25. The computer system of claim 18 further comprising oneor more components configured to, before the providing of the information, define the group of multiple items based on received indications from the user.

26. The computer system of claim 25 wherein the one or more components are further configured to make the defined group of multiple items available for ordering by the multiple customers in response to a received instruction from the user.

27. The computer system of claim 18 further comprising one or more memories.

28. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the categorizer component consists of a means for performing the determining of the one or more first categories associated with the multiple items of the user-defined group, wherein the viewer component consists of a means for performing the providing of the information for display to the user identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item to be ordered, and wherein the item ordering component consists of a means for performing the initiating of the order for the user-defined group of multiple items for the user.

29. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining, by one or more configured computing systems, one or more first categories for a user-defined group of multiple items, the user-defined group being defined by a user that is one of multiple customers of an item ordering service that makes the multiple items available to the multiple customers, at least one of the multiple items being associated with one or more second categories that are not included in the one or more determined first categories;

providing, by the one or more configured computing systems, information for display to the user identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item to be ordered, wherein the information, when displayed, indicates an action that is to be performed to order the user-defined group of multiple items from the item ordering service as the single item; and

after performance by the user of the indicated action, initiating, by the one or more configured computing systems, an order for the user-defined group of multiple items for the user.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising receiving an indication of a recipient to whom the ordered group of multiple items is to be delivered as a group, and wherein the initiating of the order for the user-defined group of multiple items is performed in accordance with the received indication.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the provided information enables the indicated action by providing an indication of a user-selectable control to be displayed to the user, the user-selectable control for use by the user to indicate to place the order for the user-defined group of multiple items as a group without any further interaction by the user.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the provided information further includes an indication of an additional user-selectable control to be displayed to the user, the additional user-selectable control for use by the user to add the user-defined group to a collection of items for later ordering.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group of multiple items is a first group, wherein the provided information identifies multiple user-defined groups each having multiple items to be displayed to the user, the multiple user-defined groups including the user-defined first group of multiple items, and wherein the indicated action performed by the user includes an indication of a selection by the user of the user-defined first group of multiple items to be ordered.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the multiple user-defined groups of multiple items are each previously defined by one of the multiple customers of the item ordering service.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein each of the multiple user-defined groups has one or more associated categories, and wherein the multiple user-defined groups are selected for display to the user based on the associated categories of the multiple user-defined groups having at least one common category.

36. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group includes an item representing a product to be supplied and an item representing a service to be provided.

37. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group includes items that are different types of products.

38. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group includes an item that is another user-defined group of multiple items.

39. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group has associated shipping instructions that are specified by the user, and wherein the initiating of the order is performed to deliver the multiple items of the user-defined group as specified by the shipping instructions.

40. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group has associated wrapping instructions for the multiple items that are specified by the user, and wherein the initiating of the order is performed to wrap the multiple items of the user-defined group as specified by the wrapping instructions.

41. The method of claim 29 wherein the provided information is at least part of a Web page for display on a client system of the user.

42. The method of claim 29 further comprising, under control of a client system of the user, displaying the provided information to the user, receiving an indication of the indicated action being performed by the user, and providing an indication to the one or more configured computing systems of the indicated action being performed.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the performing of the indicated action by the user includes clicking a mouse button when a cursor is positioned over a visual indication corresponding to the indicated action that is displayed as part of the displayed information.

44. The method of claim 29 wherein the providing of the information identifying the user-defined first group of multiple items to the user is performed in response to determining that the user-defined group satisfies one or more search criteria specified by the user, the one or more search criteria including an indication of at least one of the determined one or more first categories for the user-defined group.

45. The method of claim 44 further comprising assisting the user to specify the one or more search criteria by:

providing indications to the user of multiple categories related to multiple user-defined groups of items, the multiple categories including the at least one determined category; and

receiving indications from the second user of a selection of at least one of the multiple categories.

46. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined group satisfies relate to popularity of the user-defined group among other users.

47. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined group satisfies relate to demographic information about an intended recipient.

48. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined group satisfies identify groups of multiple items that each has a specified price.

49. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined group satisfies identify groups of multiple items defined for a specified recipient.

50. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined first group satisfies identify user-defined groups appropriate for a specified occasion.

51. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more search criteria that the user-defined group satisfies identify groups of multiple items defined for users with specified interests.

52. The method of claim 29 further comprising, before the providing of the information, creating the user-defined group of multiple items based on received instructions from the user.

53. The method of claim 52 further comprising assisting the user to define the group of multiple items by:

providing indications of multiple items for display to the user; and

in response to received indications of at least some of the multiple items, adding the indicated items to the user-defined group.

54. The method of claim 52 wherein the received instructions include an indication from the user to make the user-defined group of multiple items available to other users for ordering.

55. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group of multiple items is at least part of a gift cluster.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein the gift cluster is defined by the user for use in ordering the multiple items together as a single item.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein the gift cluster is further defined by the user for use in having the multiple items delivered together as a group to a recipient.

58. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group of multiple items is defined by the user for use in ordering the multiple items as a single item.

59. The method of claim 29 wherein the user-defined group of multiple items is defined by the user for use in ordering the multiple items as a group multiple times.

60. The method of claim 29 wherein the initiating of the order for the user-defined first group of multiple items includes treating the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item.

61. The method of claim 29 further comprising processing the order of the user-defined group of multiple items and initiating delivery of the multiple items of the user-defined group together as a single item.

62. The method of claim 29 wherein the information identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item includes a single price to be displayed for ordering of the group of multiple items together.

63. The method of claim 29 wherein the information identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item includes a single delivery date for delivery of all the multiple items of the user-defined first group together.

64. The method of claim 29 wherein the information identifying the user-defined group of multiple items as a single item includes an indication of whether all or none of the multiple items of the user-defined group are currently available in inventory of the item ordering service.

65. The method of claim 29 further comprising compensating the user for defining the user-defined first group of multiple items.

66. The method of claim 65 wherein the compensating of the user for defining the user-defined group of multiple items is based at least in part on making the user-defined group of multiple items available for ordering by others.

67. The method of claim 65 wherein the compensating of the user for defining the user-defined first group of multiple items is based at least in part on one or more other users ordering the user-defined group of multiple items.