Customer shopping help system

• US 9,760,927 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2014
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Todasco, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Thein, M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GALLUP, KAITLIN
• Application Number:
  US14/178,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20150154674A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing customer shopping help include a system provider device that receives first customer location information from a plurality of beacon devices at a merchant physical location. The first customer location information is collected during a shopping session from a first customer device that is associated with a first customer. The system provider device analyzes the first customer location information to determine a merchant physical location area that is included in the merchant physical location and in which the first customer has not been located during the shopping session. The system provider device then selects a first product, from a plurality of products that are associated with the merchant physical location in a database, which is located in the merchant physical location area. The system provider device then provides a product recommendation for the first product over the network for display on the first customer device.

Claims

1. A customer shopping help system, comprising:

a plurality of beacon devices;

a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

determining an association between a first customer device and a second customer device based on a linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device;

detecting, using the plurality of beacon devices, the first customer device and the second customer device entering a merchant physical location;

linking, in response to the determining the association between the first customer device and the second customer device established prior to the detecting of the first customer and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location, the first customer device and the second customer device for a multi-customer shopping session;

beginning, in response to the linking, the multi-customer shopping session for the first customer device and the second customer device, wherein the multi-customer shopping session exists for a continuous time period following the detecting of the first customer device and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location, and wherein the multi-customer shopping session ends when the first customer device and second customer device are no longer detected by the plurality of beacon devices as a result of leaving the merchant physical location;

receiving, over a network from the plurality of beacon devices, a first customer location information and a second customer location information that is collected during the multi-customer shopping session from the first customer device that is associated with a first customer and the second customer device that is associated with a second customer, wherein the first customer location information is based on a first tracked path of the first customer through the merchant physical location and second customer location information is based on a second tracked path of the second customer through the merchant physical location that is different from the first tracked path;

determining that the first customer is located in a checkout area of the merchant physical location;

analyzing, in response to the determining the first customer is located in the checkout area, the first customer location information and the second customer location information to determine a merchant physical location area that the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session;

selecting, from a plurality of products, a first product that is located in the merchant physical location area;

providing, over the network for display on the first customer device, a product recommendation for the first product in response to the first product being located in the merchant physical location area in which the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session; and

providing, over the network for display on the second customer device in response to at least one instruction from the first customer device, the product recommendation for the first product.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the first product that is located in the merchant physical location area is associated with a discounted price in the non-transitory memory and, in response, selecting the first product.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a first customer purchase history of the first customer includes a purchase of a product type of the first product during a previous shopping session and, in response, selecting the first product.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the first customer has been located adjacent the first product during a plurality of previous shopping sessions and, in response, selecting the first product.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

retrieving a first customer shopping list over the network from the first customer device; and

determining that the first product is included on the first customer shopping list and, in response, selecting the first product.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving the linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device prior to detecting the first customer device and the second customer device; and

storing the linking relationship in the non-transitory memory.

7. A method for providing customer shopping help, comprising:

determining an association between a first customer device and a second customer device based on a linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device;

detecting, by a system provider device over a network using a plurality of beacon devices at a merchant physical location, the first customer device and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location;

linking, by the system provider device in response to determining the association between the first customer device and the second customer device established prior to the detecting of the first customer and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location, the first customer device and the second customer device for a multi-customer shopping session;

beginning, by the system provider device in response to the linking the first customer device and the second customer device, the multi-customer shopping session for the first customer device and the second customer device, wherein the multi-customer shopping session exists for a continuous time period following the detecting of the first customer device and the second customer, and wherein the multi-customer shopping session ends when the first customer device and second customer device are no longer detected by the plurality of beacon devices as a result of leaving the merchant physical location;

receiving, by the system provider device over the network from the plurality of beacon devices at the merchant physical location, a first customer location information and a second customer information that is collected during the multi-customer shopping session from the first customer device that is associated with a first customer and the second customer device that is associated with a second customer, wherein the first customer location information is based on a first tracked path of the first customer through the merchant physical location and the second customer location information is based on a second tracked path of the second customer through the merchant physical location that is different from the first tracked path;

determining, by the system provider device, that the first customer is located in a checkout area of the merchant physical location;

analyzing, by the system provider device in response to the determining the first customer is located in the checkout area, the first customer location information and the second customer location information to determine a merchant physical location area that the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session;

selecting, by the system provider device from a plurality of products associated with the merchant physical location in a database, a first product, that is located in the merchant physical location area;

providing, by the system provider device over the network for display on the first customer device, a product recommendation for the first product in response to the first product being located in the merchant physical location area in which the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session; and

providing, by the system provider device over the network for display on the second customer device in response to at least one instruction from the first customer device, the product recommendation for the first product.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, by the system provider device, that the first product that is located in the merchant physical location area is associated with a discounted price in the non-transitory memory and, in response, selecting the first product.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, by the system provider device, that a first customer purchase history of the first customer includes a purchase of a product type of the first product during a previous shopping session and, in response, selecting the first product.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the system provider device, that the purchase of the product type of the first product is associated with an expiration date that has passed and, in response, selecting the first product.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, by the system provider device, that the first customer has been located adjacent the first product during a plurality of previous shopping sessions and, in response, selecting the first product.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

retrieving a first customer shopping list by the system provider device over the network from the first customer device; and

determining, by the system provider device, that the first product is included on the first customer shopping list and, in response, selecting the first product.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the system provider device, the linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device prior to detecting the first customer device and the second customer device;

storing, by the system provider device, the linking relationship.

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

determining an association between a first customer device and a second customer device based on a linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device;

detecting, over a network using a plurality of beacon devices at a merchant physical location, the first customer device and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location;

linking, in response to the determining the association between the first customer device and the second customer device established prior to the detecting of the first customer and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location, the first customer device and the second customer device for a multi-customer shopping session;

beginning, in response to the linking the multi-customer shopping session for the first customer device and the second customer device, wherein the multi-customer shopping session exists for a continuous time period following the detecting of the first customer device and the second customer device entering the merchant physical location, and wherein the multi-customer shopping session ends when the first customer device and second customer device are no longer detected using by the plurality of beacon devices as a result of leaving the merchant physical location;

receiving, over the network from the plurality of beacon devices, a first customer location information and a second customer location information that is collected during the multi-customer shopping session from the first customer device that is associated with a first customer and the second customer device that is associated with a second customer, wherein the first customer location information is based on a first tracked path of the first customer through the merchant physical location and the second customer location information is based on a second tracked path of the second customer through the merchant physical location that is different from the first tracked path;

determining that the first customer located in a checkout area of the merchant physical location;

analyzing, in response to determining the first customer is located in the checkout area, the first customer location information and the second customer location information to determine a merchant physical location area that the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session;

selecting, from a plurality of products associated with the merchant physical location in a database, a first product that is located in the merchant physical location area; and

providing, over the network for display on the first customer device, a product recommendation for the first product in response to the first product being located in the merchant physical location area in which the first customer and the second customer have not been located during the multi-customer shopping session; and

providing, over the network for display on the second customer device, the product recommendation for the first product in response to at least one instruction from the first customer device.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the first product that is located in the merchant physical location area is associated with a discounted price and, in response, selecting the first product.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that a first customer purchase history of the first customer includes a purchase of a product type of the first product during a previous shopping session and, in response, selecting the first product.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16,

wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the purchase of the product type of the first product is associated with an expiration date that has passed and, in response, selecting the first product.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that the first customer has been located adjacent the first product during a plurality of previous shopping sessions and, in response, selecting the first product.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14,

wherein the operations further comprise:

retrieving a first customer shopping list over the network from the first customer device; and

determining that the first product is included on the first customer shopping list and, in response, selecting the first product.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17,

wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving the linking relationship between the first customer device and the second customer device prior to detecting the first customer device and the second customer device;

storing the linking relationship.