Electronic shopping mall

• US 7,072,860 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2003
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kakuta, Kazumasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew S
• Application Number:
  US10/465,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20030225630A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/14, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0219 based on funds or budget
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

An electronic shopping mall in which customers can enjoy shopping including discount negotiations. The mall includes a shopping mall server that manages the electronic shopping mall, and a shop server that manages a virtual shop in the electronic shopping mall. In response to a discount request provided by the customer, the shopping mall server responds as to the discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall to the customer. When a request for a further-discount which is beyond the discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall is provided by the customer, the shopping mall server negotiates with the shop server for a discount to be borne by the virtual shop managed by the shop server.

Claims

1. An electronic shopping mall that includes one or more virtual shops and is provided on a communication network to offer and sell products or services to a customer in response to an access provided by the customer via the communication network, comprising:

a shopping mall server that manages the electronic shopping mall and a shop server that manages the one or more of the virtual shops in the electronic shopping mall; and

wherein the shopping mall server comprises;

primary offering means for, in response to a request provided by the customer, offering a product or a service that the customer desires to purchase after being selected by the customer from the products or the services handled by the one or more of the virtual shops in the electronic shopping mall together with a price of the product or the service that the customer desires to purchase;

primary-discount means for, in response to an initial discount request provided by the customer, providing a reply on a discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall to the customer; and

secondary-discount negotiation means for, in response to a further discount over the discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall requested by the customer, carrying out a negotiation with the shop server for a discount to be borne by the one or more of the virtual shops managed by the shop server, and providing a result of the negotiation to the customer,

wherein the shop server comprises secondary-discount means for, in response to a discount request provided by the shopping mall server, providing a reply on the discount to be borne by the one or more of the virtual shops managed by the shop server to the shopping mall server.

2. An electronic shopping mall according to claim 1, wherein the shopping mall server further comprises customer information database configuration means for providing the customer with a questionnaire about personal information of the customer and configuring a customer information database by registering the personal information of the customer based on a result of the questionnaire, and

wherein the primary-discount means creates an answer on the discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall at least referring to the customer information database, to the discount request provided by the customer.

3. An electronic shopping mall according to claim 1, wherein the shopping mall server further comprises primary advertisement means for, while the shopping mall server is creating the reply on the discount to be borne by the electronic shopping mall in response to the initial discount request provided by the customer, providing an advertisement of the electronic shopping mall managed by the shopping mall server to the customer.

4. An electronic shopping mall according to claim 1, wherein the shopping mall server further comprises secondary advertisement means for, while the shopping mall server is negotiating with the shop server for the further discount to be borne by the one or more of the virtual shops, providing an advertisement of the one or more of the virtual shops managed by the shop server to the customer.

5. An electronic shopping mall according to claim 1, wherein the shopping mall server further comprises direct negotiation offering means for mediating a direct negotiation between the customer and the shop sever.