Method, apparatus, and computer readable medium for providing a self-service interface

• US 9,996,859 B1
• Filed: 09/27/2013
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Inventors: Koshy, Tanya, Arenas, Matias, L'Huillier, Gaston, Larrain, Francisco, Kaplan, Lori E., Zilleruelo, Ricardo, Kochar, Kavita, Koren, Amit, Wooten, Stephen, Kaushik, Karan, Scholl, Nathaniel B., Harris, Seth, Crawford, Jason A., Duenas, Rodrigo, Genc-Kaya, Latife, Lai, Kamson, Eyal, Aviv, Misra, Deepika, Corominas, Natalia, Nkengla, Mechie, Van Orden, Mathew
• Primary Examiner(s): Boveja, Namrata
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ansari, Azam
• Application Number:
  US14/039,842
• Time in Patent Office: 1,719 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1465
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation

Abstract

Provided herein are systems, methods and computer readable media for programmatically generating and/or revising promotion offers for a merchant based on one or more merchant self-service indicators. In providing such functionality, the system can be configured to, for example, facilitate registration and verification of merchant identities, determine promotion content and parameters based on merchant self-service indicators, and monitor and analyze promotion offers for merchants with similar merchant self-service indicators. The system may determine the relative successfulness of a promotion offer for a merchant and/or category of merchant. In some embodiments, the system may be further configured to revise the promotion offer programmatically and/or upon receiving the merchant'"'"'s approval of the programmatically generated proposed edits to the promotion offer.

Claims

1. A method for providing a merchant interface comprising:

identifying a merchant;

providing an interface to the merchant, the interface providing an interface control that allows the merchant to generate a promotion;

receiving an indication via the interface of a promotion type, wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or a service provided by the merchant;

determining a merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the self-service indicators comprise at least a merchant category, a geographic area, and customer purchase histories;

selecting a promotion template based on the promotion type, merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and the one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the promotion template is configured to control content of the promotion, the content comprising images and text, terms and conditions of the promotion, a price of the promotion, and one or more parameters of the promotion, the one or more parameters comprising cost to the consumer, value of the product or service offered, and fee charged to the merchant;

presenting the merchant with the promotion template associated with the promotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at least one promotion parameter for the promotion,

wherein the promotion template comprises a plurality of sliders that are dependent upon one another, wherein as a price parameter is adjusted by the merchant, one or more other parameters move in concert, wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate increased volume of promotions to be offered, a slider associated with a fee per promotion sold is decreased, and wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate an increase in the purchase price of the promotion by the merchant, an estimate of a number promotions that will be sold decreases, an expected revenue decreases, and a slider associated with the fee charged per promotion increases;

generating the promotion in real-time; and

publishing the promotion, in real-time, via a promotion and marketing service.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the promotion to the merchant for approval and wherein the promotion is published in response to receiving approval from the merchant.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a set of terms and conditions for the promotion, and wherein the promotion is generated with the determined set of terms and conditions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set of terms and conditions is selected from a list of a plurality of sets of terms and conditions by the merchant.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a modification of the at least one promotion parameter defined by the promotion template via the interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least one price term for the promotion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one price term is determined based on a set of historical promotion performance data.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one price term establishes a minimum return-on-investment for the merchant.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the promotion template is selected by the merchant from a plurality of promotion templates.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of promotion templates defines a different set of promotion content.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving merchant identification information;

verifying that a user interacting with the interface is a representative of a particular merchant using the merchant identification information; and

generating the promotion only in response to verifying that the user is an authorized representative of the merchant.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving transaction data from a point-of-sale system related to one or more transactions conducted by the merchant; and

wherein indication of the promotion type is determined using at least the transaction data.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a list of products and/or services for sale by the merchant;

generating inventory information based on the list of products, wherein the inventory information is configured to facilitate point-of-sale functionality at the merchant; and

using the inventory information to provide at least one suggested promotion parameter to the merchant for use in the promotion.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the promotion for approval; and

only publishing the promotion upon receiving confirmation of the approval of the promotion.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the promotion is presented for approval to an automated approval system, and wherein the automated approval system determines whether the promotion is approved by a method comprising:

determining that the at least one promotion parameter falls within an approved range of values defined for the at least one promotion parameter; and

in response to determining that the at least one promotion parameter falls within the approved range of values for the at least one promotion parameter, approving the promotion for publication.

16. An apparatus for providing a merchant self-service interface, the apparatus comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the apparatus to:

identify a merchant;

provide an interface to the merchant, the interface providing an interface control that allows the merchant to generate a promotion;

receive an indication via the interface of a promotion type, wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or a service provided by the merchant;

determine a merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the self-service indicators comprise at least a merchant category, a geographic area, and customer purchase histories;

select a promotion template based on the promotion type, merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and the one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the promotion template is configured to control content of the promotion, the content comprising images and text, terms and conditions of the promotion, a price of the promotion, and one or more parameters of the promotion, the one or more parameters comprising cost to the consumer, value of the product or service offered, and fee charged to the merchant;

present the merchant with the promotion template associated with the promotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at least one promotion parameter for the promotion,

wherein the promotion template comprises a plurality of sliders that are dependent upon one another, wherein as a price parameter is adjusted by the merchant, one or more other parameters move in concert, wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate increased volume of promotions to be offered, a slider associated with a fee per promotion sold is decreased, and wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate an increase in the purchase price of the promotion by the merchant, an estimate of a number promotions that will be sold decreases, an expected revenue decreases, and a slider associated with the fee charged per promotion increases;

generate the promotion in real-time; and

publish the promotion, in real-time, via a promotion and marketing service.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to provide the promotion to the merchant for approval and wherein the promotion is published in response to receiving approval from the merchant.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to determine a set of terms and conditions for the promotion, and wherein the promotion is generated with the determined set of terms and conditions.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the set of terms and conditions is selected from a list of a plurality of sets of terms and conditions by the merchant.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to receive a modification of the at least one promotion parameter defined by the promotion template via the interface.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to determine at least one price term for the promotion.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one price term is determined based on a set of historical promotion performance data.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one price term establishes a minimum return-on-investment for the merchant.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the promotion template is selected by the merchant from a plurality of promotion templates.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein each of the plurality of promotion templates defines a different set of promotion content.

26. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to:

receive merchant identification information;

verify that a user interacting with the interface is a representative of a particular merchant using the merchant identification information; and

generate the promotion only in response to verifying that the user is an authorized representative of the merchant.

27. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to:

receive transaction data from a point-of-sale system related to one or more transactions conducted by the merchant; and

wherein indication of the promotion type is determined using at least the transaction data.

28. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to:

receive a list of products and/or services for sale by the merchant;

generate inventory information based on the list of products, wherein the inventory information is configured to facilitate point-of-sale functionality at the merchant; and

use the inventory information to provide at least one suggested promotion parameter to the merchant for use in the promotion.

29. The apparatus of claim 16, further configured to:

present the promotion for approval; and

only publish the promotion upon receiving confirmation of the approval of the promotion.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the apparatus presents the promotion for approval to an automated approval system, and wherein the automated approval system is configured to:

determine that the at least one promotion parameter falls within an approved range of values defined for the at least one promotion parameter; and

in response to determining that the at least one promotion parameter falls within the approved range of values for the at least one promotion parameter, approve the promotion for publication.

31. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to:

identify a merchant;

provide an interface to the merchant, the interface providing an interface control that allows the merchant to generate a promotion;

receive an indication via the interface of a promotion type, wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or a service provided by the merchant;

determine a merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the self-service indicators comprise at least a merchant category, a geographic area, and customer purchase histories;

select a promotion template based on the promotion type, merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and the one or more merchant self-service indicators,

wherein the promotion template is configured to control content of the promotion, the content comprising images and text, terms and conditions of the promotion, a price of the promotion, and one or more parameters of the promotion, the one or more parameters comprising cost to the consumer, value of the product or service offered, and fee charged to the merchant;

present the merchant with the promotion template associated with the promotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at least one promotion parameter for the promotion,

wherein the promotion template comprises a plurality of sliders that are dependent upon one another, wherein as a price parameter is adjusted by the merchant, one or more other parameters move in concert, wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate increased volume of promotions to be offered, a slider associated with a fee per promotion sold is decreased, and wherein when a slider is adjusted to indicate an increase in the purchase price of the promotion by the merchant, an estimate of a number promotions that will be sold decreases, an expected revenue decreases, and a slider associated with the fee charged per promotion increases;

generate the promotion in real-time, and

publish the promotion, in real-time, via a promotion and marketing service.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to provide the promotion to the merchant for approval and wherein the promotion is published in response to receiving approval from the merchant.

33. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to determine a set of terms and conditions for the promotion, and wherein the promotion is generated with the determined set of terms and conditions.

34. The computer readable storage medium of claim 33, wherein the set of terms and conditions is selected from a list of a plurality of sets of terms and conditions by the merchant.

35. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to receive a modification of the at least one promotion parameter defined by the promotion template via the interface.

36. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to determine at least one price term for the promotion.

37. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the at least one price term is determined based on a set of historical promotion performance data.

38. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the at least one price term establishes a minimum return-on-investment for the merchant.

39. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the promotion template is selected by the merchant from a plurality of promotion templates.

40. The computer readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein each of the plurality of promotion templates defines a different set of promotion content.

41. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to:

receive merchant identification information;

verify that a user interacting with the interface is a representative of a particular merchant using the merchant identification information; and

generate the promotion only in response to verifying that the user is an authorized representative of the merchant.

42. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to:

receive transaction data from a point-of-sale system related to one or more transactions conducted by the merchant; and

wherein indication of the promotion type is determined using at least the transaction data.

43. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to:

receive a list of products and/or services for sale by the merchant;

generate inventory information based on the list of products, wherein the inventory information is configured to facilitate point-of-sale functionality at the merchant; and

use the inventory information to provide at least one suggested promotion parameter to the merchant for use in the promotion.

44. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that configure the processor to:

present the promotion for approval; and

only publish the promotion upon receiving confirmation of the approval of the promotion.

45. The computer readable storage medium of claim 44, wherein the processor is configured to present the promotion for approval to an automated approval system, and wherein the automated approval system is configured to:

determine that the at least one promotion parameter falls within an approved range of values defined for the at least one promotion parameter; and

in response to determining that the at least one promotion parameter falls within the approved range of values for the at least one promotion parameter, approve the promotion for publication.