System and method for monitoring consumer purchasing activity
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring consumer purchasing activity of an item, said method comprising:
- associating, at a processor, a retail item identifier with a corresponding manufacturer item identifier, wherein said retail item identifier is a stock keeping unit (SKU) associated with a retailer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is associated with a manufacturer of said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is a universally accepted Universal Product Code (UPC) associated with a manufacturer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer and said retailer are different entities;
associating, at said processor, said manufacturer item identifier with a budget category for each of a plurality of said manufacturer item identifiers and each of a plurality of budget categories;
receiving, at said processor, budget information;
assigning, at said processor, said budget information including a budget to said budget category, based upon said manufacturer item identifier;
receiving, at said processor, purchase data which includes a consumer ID, said retailer item identifier, and a purchase price;
retrieving, at said processor, said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said retail item identifier;
assigning, at said processor, said purchase data to said budget category based upon said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said budget category and adding said purchase price to a current budget balance to obtain an updated budget balance;
determining, at said processor, that said budget is exceeded by said updated budget balance; and
creating, at said processor and in response to said determination, a report which includes said budget category, said purchase data, said updated budget balance, and an indication that said updated budget balance exceeds said budget.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system for implementing a purchaser incentive program on a network-wide level. The system associates SKU and UPC data on a network level to provide consumers with a purchasing environment that is both convenient and cost-efficient. The association of SKU and UPC data at a network level also provides consumers with the ability to analyze their own purchase data for a variety of purposes, including analyses relating to the consumer'"'"'s spending behaviors or patterns for example. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the association of UPC and SKU data by the system facilitates a network-wide search for an item that a consumer desires to purchase under terms or conditions that are selected by the consumer and are therefore perceived to be optimal by that consumer. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the association of UPC and SKU data by the system facilitates data analysis by a consumer based upon any of several factors, including items purchased, prices for those items, retailer ID, SKU number, UPC, manufacturer ID, and/or the like. The system may compile any of the above data across multiple entities for the purpose of data analysis, such as analyses which may be employed in consumer budgeting for example.
414 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring consumer purchasing activity of an item, said method comprising:
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associating, at a processor, a retail item identifier with a corresponding manufacturer item identifier, wherein said retail item identifier is a stock keeping unit (SKU) associated with a retailer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is associated with a manufacturer of said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is a universally accepted Universal Product Code (UPC) associated with a manufacturer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer and said retailer are different entities; associating, at said processor, said manufacturer item identifier with a budget category for each of a plurality of said manufacturer item identifiers and each of a plurality of budget categories; receiving, at said processor, budget information; assigning, at said processor, said budget information including a budget to said budget category, based upon said manufacturer item identifier; receiving, at said processor, purchase data which includes a consumer ID, said retailer item identifier, and a purchase price; retrieving, at said processor, said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said retail item identifier; assigning, at said processor, said purchase data to said budget category based upon said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said budget category and adding said purchase price to a current budget balance to obtain an updated budget balance; determining, at said processor, that said budget is exceeded by said updated budget balance; and creating, at said processor and in response to said determination, a report which includes said budget category, said purchase data, said updated budget balance, and an indication that said updated budget balance exceeds said budget. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21)
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17. A system configured to monitor consumer purchasing activity of an item, said system comprising:
a processor configured to; associate a retail item identifier with a corresponding manufacturer item identifier, wherein said retail item identifier is a stock keeping unit (SKU) associated with a retailer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is associated with a manufacturer of said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is a universally accepted Universal Product Code (UPC) associated with a manufacturer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer and said retailer are different entities; associate said manufacturer item identifier with a budget category for each of a plurality of said manufacturer item identifiers and each of a plurality of budget categories; receive budget information; assign said budget information including a budget to said budget category based upon said manufacturer item identifier; receive purchase data which includes a consumer ID, said retailer item identifier, and a purchase price; retrieve said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said retail item identifier; assign said purchase data to said budget category based upon said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said budget category and adding said purchase price to a current budget balance to obtain an updated budget balance; determining that said budget is exceeded by said updated budget balance; and create, in response to said determination, a report which includes said budget category, said purchase data, said updated budget balance, and an indication that said updated budget balance exceeds said budget. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A tangible computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, causes said computer device to perform a method comprising:
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associating a retail item identifier with a corresponding manufacturer item identifier, wherein said retail item identifier is a stock keeping unit (SKU) associated with a retailer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is associated with a manufacturer of said item, and wherein said manufacturer item identifier is a universally accepted Universal Product Code (UPC) associated with a manufacturer of said item and encoded into a bar code associated with said item, and wherein said manufacturer and said retailer are different entities; associating said manufacturer item identifier with a budget category for each of a plurality of said manufacturer item identifiers and each of a plurality of budget categories; receiving budget information; assigning said budget information including a budget to said budget category, based upon said manufacturer item identifier; receiving purchase data which includes a consumer ID, said retailer item identifier, and a purchase price; retrieving said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said retail item identifier; assigning said purchase data to said budget category based upon said manufacturer item identifier corresponding to said budget category and adding said purchase price to a current budget balance to obtain an updated budget balance; determining that said budget is exceeded by said updated budget balance; and creating and in response to said determination, a report which includes said budget category, said purchase data, said updated budget balance, and an indication that said updated budget balance exceeds said budget.
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Specification