Social mobile shopping system

• US 9,558,516 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Anbalagan, Vijeya Aravindan, Muthupandian, Rajeshwari
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US14/637,240
• Publication Number:
  US 20150178813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 701400-541, 705/14.49, 705/26.7, 705/27.1, 705/14.53, 705/26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3476 using point of interest [POI] information, e.g. a route passing visible POIs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations

Abstract

Methods and system are provided for enhancing consumer shopping. The methods and systems allow consumers to more readily purchase products of interest to them. The consumers'"'"' ability to shop effectively and efficiently is enhanced while a payment provider, such as PayPal, Inc., and/or an online seller, such as eBay, is given a mechanism for recruiting new users. For example, a user'"'"'s online searches and/or stored shopping list can be used to determine which products the user is interested in purchasing and the availability of at least some of these products can be provided to the user, along with directions to the nearest POS brick-and-mortar stores where the products can be purchased.

Claims

1. A social mobile shopping system comprising:

a non-transitory memory storing computer executable code comprising a recommendation application programming interface (API) and a product availability API; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to;

receive, from a device associated with a user via a network connection, search information for the user;

process the search information using the recommendation application programming interface (API);

in response to processing the search information using the recommendation API, receive, from the recommendation API, at least one item of interest to the user based on the search information;

process the at least one item of interest using the product availability API;

in response to processing the at least one item of interest using the product availability API, receive from the product availability API, shopping locations providing the at least one item of interest for sale to the user;

receive, from the device associated with the user via the network connection, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of one or more destinations for travel by the user;

determine, using the shopping locations and the GPS coordinates, a proposed route for the user, wherein the proposed route comprises at least one of the shopping locations; and

cause the device associated with the user to display the proposed route.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the search information comprises web search queries.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommendation API determines an affinity of the user for products identified in the search information utilizing the product availability API.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the shopping locations provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined area.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to:

determine a location of the user from a GPS of the device,

wherein the shopping locations further provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined distance of the location of the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to:

determine a current route of the user from a GPS of the device,

wherein the shopping locations further provide products sold by merchants along the current route.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to:

access a shopping task list of the user from the device,

wherein the proposed route is determined using the shopping task list.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, by a social mobile shopping system from a device associated with a user via a network connection, search information for the user;

processing the search information using a recommendation application programming interface (API) stored in a non-transitory memory;

in response to processing the search information using the recommendation API, receiving, by the social mobile shopping system from the recommendation API stored in a non-transitory memory, at least one item of interest to the user based on the search information;

processing the at least one item of interest using a product availability API;

in response to processing the at least one item of interest using the product availability API, receiving from the product availability API shopping locations providing the at least one item of interest for sale to the user;

receiving, from the device associates with the user by the social mobile shopping system via the network connection, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of one or more destinations for travel by the user;

determining, by the social mobile shopping system using the shopping locations and the GPS, a proposed route for the user, wherein the proposed route comprises at least one of the shopping locations; and

causing the device associated with the user to display the proposed route.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the search information comprises web search queries.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the recommendation API determines an affinity of the user for products identified in the search information utilizing the product availability API.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the shopping locations provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined area.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

determining a location of the user from a GPS of the device, wherein the shopping locations further provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined distance of the location of the user.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

determining a current route of the user from a GPS of the device, wherein the shopping location further provide products sold by merchants along the current route.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

accessing a shopping task list of the user from the device for use with the determining the proposed route.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a social mobile shopping system from a device associated with a user via a network connection, search information for the user;

processing the search information using a recommendation application programming interface (API) stored in a non-transitory memory;

in response to processing the search information using the recommendation API, receiving, by the social mobile shopping system from the recommendation API, at least one item of interest to the user based on the search information;

processing the at least one item of interest using a product availability API stored in a non-transitory memory;

in response to processing the at least one item of interest using the product availability API, receiving from the product availability API, shopping locations providing the at least one item of interest for sale to the user;

receiving, by the social mobile shopping system from the device associated with the user via the network connection, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of one or more destinations for travel by the user;

determining, by the social mobile shopping system using the shopping locations and the GPS coordinates, a proposed route for the user, wherein the proposed route comprises at least one of the shopping locations; and

causing the device associated with the user to display the proposed route.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the search information comprises web search queries.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the shopping recommendation API determines an affinity of the user for products identified in the search information.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the shopping locations provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined area.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a location of the user from a GPS of the device, wherein the shopping locations further provide products sold by merchants within a predetermined distance of the location of the user.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a current route of the user from a GPS of the device, wherein the shopping locations further provide products sold by merchants along the current route.