System and method for message-based purchasing

• US 8,533,059 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2012
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nihalani, Vishay S., Gupta, Diwakar, Huang, Chih-Jen, Yuen, Philip, Gefen, Howard B., Yuen, Gerald
• Primary Examiner(s): STOPP, COURTNEY L
• Application Number:
  US13/569,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20120303482A1
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

Various embodiments of a system and method for message-based purchasing are described. The system and method for message-based purchasing may include a message-based purchase service configured to determine that a selection has been performed through a network-based interface. Such selection may be indicative of one or more items offered for sale via the network-based interface. The message-based purchase service may be configured to, in response to the selection of one or more items, send to a communication device, a message indicating a code corresponding to the selection. The message-based purchase service may receive from the communication device through a communication channel that does not include the network-based interface, a message including the code. The message-based purchase service may be configured to, in response to determining that the message received from the communication device includes the code, generate a purchase request for the one or more previously selected items.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory comprising program instructions; and

one or more processors coupled to said memory, wherein the program instructions are executable by at least one of said one or more processors to;

receive at a communication device a message indicating a code from a message-based purchase service, wherein said message is received at the communication device subsequent to a determination by the message-based purchase service that a location of the communication device is within a given geographical region, wherein said code indicates a selection of a particular item by a user of a network-based interface for a sales listing of the particular item offered for sale via the network-based interface, wherein said user is linked to a user account that is also linked to said communication device;

receive input at the communication device to generate a message including said code in order to generate a purchase request for the user to order the particular item; and

send from the communication device through a communication channel that does not include said network-based interface, the message including said code to the message based purchase service.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one or more processors to receive at the communication device via a particular communication channel, an authorization request message for requesting validation information, wherein the particular communication channel is a communication channel other than the communication channel through which the received message including the code is received.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the at least one or more processors to, in response to receiving the authorization request message including the requested validation information, send from the communication device the requested validation information via the particular communication channel to indicate that the purchase request is authorized.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the received message including said code is a text message.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said text message adheres to a Short Message Service (SMS) protocol.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said text message is an email message.

7. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a communication device, a message indicating a code from a message-based purchase service, wherein said message is received at the communication device subsequent to a determination by the message-based purchase service that a location of the communication device is within a given geographical region, wherein said code indicates a selection of a particular item by a user of a network-based interface for a sales listing of the particular item offered for sale via the network-based interface, wherein said user is linked to a user account that is also linked to said communication device;

receiving input at the communication device to generate a message including said code in order to generate a purchase request for the user to order the particular item; and

sending from the communication device through a communication channel that does not include said network-based interface, the message including said code to the message based purchase service.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving at the communication device via a particular communication channel, an authorization request message for requesting validation information, wherein the particular communication channel is a communication channel other than the communication channel through which the received message including the code is received.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said message including the code is sent via a text message communication channel, and wherein said particular communication channel is a voice communication channel.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the received message including said code is a text message.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising prior to sending the message including the code, receiving, at the communication device, a message indicating a promotional discount for the particular item of the sales listing.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising prior to sending the message including the code, receiving, at the communication device, a second message indicating the code corresponding to said selection, wherein said second message is received after a given time period has elapsed.

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, storing program instructions that when executed by one or more computing devices implements:

receiving, at a communication device, a message indicating a code from a message-based purchase service, wherein said message is received at the communication device subsequent to a determination by the message-based purchase service that a location of the communication device is within a given geographical region, wherein said code indicates a selection of a particular item by a user of a network-based interface for a sales listing of the particular item offered for sale via the network-based interface, wherein said user is linked to a user account that is also linked to said communication device;

receiving input at the communication device to generate a message including said code in order to generate a purchase request for the user to order the particular item; and

sending from the communication device through a communication channel that does not include said network-based interface, the message including said code to the message based purchase service.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the program instructions when executed by the one or more computing devices further implement receiving at the communication device via a particular communication channel, an authorization request message for requesting validation information, wherein the particular communication channel is a communication channel other than the communication channel through which the received message including the code is received.

15. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein said message including the code is sent via a text message communication channel, and wherein said particular communication channel is a voice communication channel.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the program instructions when executed by the one or more further implement in response to receiving the authorization request message including the requested validation information, sending the requested validation information via the particular communication channel to indicate that the purchase request is authorized.

17. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the program instructions when executed by the one or more computing devices further implement prior to sending the message including the code a message indicating a promotional discount for the particular item of the sales listing.

18. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the program instructions when executed by the one or more computing devices further implement prior to sending the message including the code, receiving, at the communication device, a second message indicating the code corresponding to said selection, wherein said second message is received after a given time period has elapsed.