Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SELLING SUPPLEMENTAL PRODUCTS
AT A POINT-OF-SALE
The present application is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending
Patent Application No. 08/920,116, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
PROCESSING SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT SALES AT A POINT-OF-
SALE TERMINAL, filed on August 26, 1997, which is a continuation-in-part of
co-pending Patent Application No. 08/822,709, entitled SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR PERFORMING LOTTERY TICKET TRANSACTIONS
1o UTILIZING POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS, filed on March 21, 1997, each of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS
The present invention is related to the following United States
Patent Applications co-pending herewith:
U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/045,036, entitled METHOD AND
APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE PLAY OF FRACTIONAL LOTTERY
TICKETS UTILIZING POINT-OF-SALE TERMINALS in the name of Jay S.
Walker et al., U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/045,518, entitled METHOD
2o AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT AT
A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL in the name of Andrew S. Van Luchene, U.S.
Patent Application Ser. No. 09/045,386, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS
FOR CONTROLLING THE PERFORMANCE OF A SUPPLEMENTARY
PROCESS AT A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL in the name of Jay S. Walker et
al., U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/045,347, entitled METHOD AND
APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT SALE
AT A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL in the name of Dean Alderucci et al., and
U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/045,084, entitled METHOD AND
APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OFFERS THAT ARE PROVIDED AT A
3o POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL in the name of Andrew S. Van Luchene, each
filed on March 20, 1998, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and
incorporated by reference herein.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to point-of sale terminals and more
specifically to systems and methods for handling change at point-of sale
terminals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Point-of sale ("POS") terminals, such as cash registers, are used in a wide
variety of businesses for performing processes such as calculating the total
price of
a purchase (goods or services) and calculating the amount of change due to a
customer. Depending on their level of sophistication, such POS terminals may
be
1 o further useful in performing related functions such as inventory
management and
credit card transactions. In addition, POS terminals may be used with and/or
function as an offering system, providing sales offers and/or prompting
operators
to provide sales offers to customers performing transactions thereat. Such
offering
systems may be used, for example, to provide supplemental products or services
to
t5 the customer, and to increase sales to the operator. Such sales offers may
further
function to increase the average profit per transaction recognized by the
operator.
One type of offering system is described in the parent application cited
above, Patent Application No. 08/920,116, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM
FOR PROCESSING SUPPLEMENTARY PRODUCT SALES AT A POINT-OF-
2o SALE TERMINAL, filed on August 26, 1997, in the name of Walker, et al. As
described therein, a customer at a POS terminal is offered an "upsell" in
exchange
for an amount of change due. In the referenced application, the POS terminal
is
operative to determine the amount of change due a customer, and an upsell that
may be offered to the customer in lieu of that change due. For example, a
25 customer purchasing a product for $1.74 and tendering $2.00 is due $0.26 in
change. In operation, the offering system determines one or more upsells that
may
be offered to the customer in lieu of this $0:26 change. The upsell price,
$0.26,
thus depends on the purchase price $1.74 and the amount tendered $2.00 by the
customer. The upsell itself may be selected based on many different
parameters,
3o examples including relation to goods or services purchased, and profit to
the seller.
2
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Another type of offering system is a computer-determined "suggestive
sell". U.S. Patent No. 5,353,219 describes a system for suggesting items for a
customer to purchase at conventional item prices.
As mentioned above, many different criteria may be used for selecting
upsells to offer to customers. An offer to a customer at a fast-food
restaurant, for
example, may include food items, which are typically available at a small
incremental cost to the store owner. Offers to customers at drug stores may
include sample products, coupons, or other items appropriate for the
particular
store type. Precisely which upsell to offer may be chosen according to a
predetermined program, or manually by a manager or other operator.
The Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. "EVEN IT UP!" program, operated in
conjunction with the Salvation Army, provides a system whereby Winn-Dixie
customers can choose to divert any change due from their purchase to a
donation
to the Salvation Army. Funds directed into the "EVEN IT UP!" program are
is dispersed by the Salvation Army as food certificates for the needy. The
food
certificates are redeemable at Winn-Dixie stores for nutritional perishables.
While
noble in nature, the "EVEN IT UP!" program is severely limited in function in
that
it offers only one choice for use of a customer's change. That use is a
charitable
contribution to the Salvation Army, with no option given to the customer to
use the
20 change to his own benefit except the receipt of cash in the normal manner.
U.S. Patent Number 5,621,640 to Burke describes a point-of sale system,
including a cash register, wherein pre-established accounts are used to
collect
change due the customer and apportion that change to selected charities. The
charities are first selected by the customer, and accounts established for
each
25 customer's selected charities. The accounts are identifiable through the
use of a
card issued to the customer.
When a purchase is made at a qualified point-of sale terminal, the change
due the customer is calculated, and the customer indicates whether he would
prefer
the change himself, or that it be donated to the pre-established charities.
When the
3o customer desires to direct the change to the charities, he places the card
into a
reader, and enters data such as a customer identifier which indicates the
change
should be directed to the charities. The point-of sale system them functions
to
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automatically distribute the change to the charities through the pre-
established
accounts. The change may be distributed to the charities in real time, or it
may be
collected in accounts with other donors' change until a minimum donation
amount
is reached. This minimum donation amount is then transmitted to the third-
party
bank or charity.
U.S. Patent No. 5,302,811 to Fukatsu shows a point-of sale system
containing many automatic features for handling credit card, bank note, and
coin
transactions. As one feature, a customer may choose to have change due from a
transaction credited to a prepaid card. Any credit collected on the prepaid
card can
1 o be used to pay for transactions at the point-of sale system. The system
further
provides the options of having the change deposited into a pre-established
account,
the account identified by a credit or cash card readable by the point-of sale
system.
While providing customers alternatives to receiving change, only a single such
alternative is provided, i.e. receiving a currency credit.
15 Generally, the distribution and handling of change is undesirable to all of
the parties involved. It is an expensive burden to the seller, costing upwards
of an
estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for some large businesses.
It
is undesirable for the customer. Coinage is known to carry unhealthy bacteria,
and
is typically perceived as having a very low value in comparison to the
handling
2o burden. Further, many banks will typically charge a significant fee for the
service
of counting and converting coins to credit or paper currency.
The Winn-Dixie, Burke, and Fukatsu systems are limited to providing
change due in the form of a credit to a card or account. The Walker et al.
system,
while the most flexible and useful of the group, contemplates further
developments
25 in the area of how to effectively and usefully provide both customers and
POS
operators systems and methods for processing transactions and particularly for
receiving and processing payments at POS terminals.
In sum, it would be highly desirable to provide systems and methods for
flexibly processing transaction payments at POS terminals.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method
enabling a customer to pre-register instructions for processing transactions
at POS
terminals.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method which
enables a seller to provide supplemental goods and services to a buyer, during
a
transaction, in accordance with pre-registered instructions provided by the
buyer.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method
and apparatus for processing a transaction, the method including the steps of:
to receiving an identifier of a customer account; determining an upsell
associated
with the identifier, the upsell having an upsell price; determining a purchase
price
for a purchase associated with the identifier; and determining an upsell
credit for
applying to the upsell price.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
~ 5 method and system for processing a transaction, the method comprising the
steps
of receiving an identifier of a customer account; determining an upsell
associated
with the identifier; determining a purchase price for a purchase associated
with the
identifier; and determining instructions associated with the identifier for
adjusting
the purchase price to provide an adjusted purchase price including a credit
for the
2o upsell.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will
become apparent to the reader upon consideration of the following detailed
25 description of the invention, when read in conjunction with the drawing
Figures, in
which:
Fig. I is a block diagram showing a point-of sale system in accordance
with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing details of the store controller of Fig. 1;
3o Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a POS register
of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the POS register
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of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a table showing sample contents of the frequent shopper account
database of Fig. 2;
Fig. 6 is a table showing sample contents of the selected upsell database of
s Fig.2;
Fig. 7 is a table showing sample contents of the transaction database of Fig.
2;
Fig. 8 is a table showing sample contents of the purchased upsell database
of Fig. 2;
Fig. 9 is an overview of an upsell registration, transaction, and delivery
process in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figs. l0A-B together show a flow chart showing a process of registering a
frequent shopper for an upsell;
Figs. 11 A-C together constitute a flow chart showing a process of
~ 5 executing a transaction for a frequent shopper having a registered upsell;
Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing a process of redeeming an upsell;
Fig.13 is a flow chart showing a process of converting an upsell monetary
value to a service credit;
Fig. 14 is a plan view of a printed register receipt including customer data
2o in accordance with the present invention; and
Figs.l 5-17 are plan views of alternate embodiments of printed register
receipts including customer data in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
25 While the parent case to Walker et al. discussed above provides various
systems and methods for upsells, the present invention supplements those
systems
and methods with inventions for processing monies concomitant to transactions
in
accordance with pre-registered instructions.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
3o system and method for enabling a customer to buy and a seller to provide
upsells
in accordance with pre-registered, automatically executed instructions,
pursuant to
transactions at POS systems. Such POS systems include, for example, the type
6
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used in retail stores such as supermarkets and drug stores. Such instructions
would
typically identify the goods/services to be upsold, and directions for
adjusting a
purchase price to add a credit to be applied to the upsell.
While the current invention will be seen to have many different
applications, for purposes of illustration it is described herein as
implemented in a
POS system used in a food store or supermarket. Such a supermarket is of the
type
wherein returning customers are encouraged to join a frequent shopper program,
and identified as a participant in such a program by a frequent shopper
account
identifier such as an identification number. Such frequent shopper programs
are
t o well known in the art, and encourage repeat business in exchange for store-
offered
incentives. The terms "customer" and "shopper" are used interchangeably to
indicate a buyer.
"Upsell," as used herein, means supplemental goods, typically identified
through a pre-registration process, towards which a customer may make a
payment
~ 5 during a transaction for a conventional purchase. An upsell may be
"instant," in
that it is purchased during the transaction, or "tiered," in that it is
purchased by the
accumulation of funds over more than a single transaction. As used herein, the
terms "goods" and "products" are inclusive of goods and/or services.
The term "round-up amount" as used herein indicates an amount of
2o currency which, when added to a purchase price, results in a rounding of
the
purchase price to a larger denomination; i.e. a rounding to a multiple of a
coin or a
paper currency denomination. The term "rounded price" comprises the
denomination which is the sum of the purchase price and the round-up amount.
The term "rounding multiple" comprises a multiple of a specified currency
25 denomination, which may be selected as a rounded price.
The term "layaway amount" denotes a customer-identified value to be
added to any purchase price, the sum of which may then optionally be rounded
to a
higher denomination. The term "change due" indicates the difference between
the
price of a purchase and the payment tendered by a purchaser which, in a
3o conventional transaction, would be returned as change to the purchaser.
The term "adjusted price" is used to describe the purchase price as adjusted
by the round-up amount (in which case it equals the rounded price), the
layaway
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amount, or the change due amount. The term "upsell credit" is used to describe
the amount of the adjusted price to be applied towards the price of the
upsell;
alternatively, the round-up amount, the layaway amount, or the change due. The
use of the above-described terminology is further explained with respect to
the
description of the various Figures set out below.
With reference~now to Fig. 1, a POS system 10 includes a centralized store
controller 12, interconnected in a conventional manner to POS registers 14,
16, 18,
the later also known in the art as "cash registers" and "POS terminals". Many
such systems 10 are commercially available and well known to those skilled in
the
to art, including, for example systems sold by IBM, National Cash Register,
and
others. The interconnections between controller I 2 and POS registers 14, 16,
18
include any appropriate communications path, for example a local-area network
(LAN) (wired or wireless), a wireless radio frequency system, a cellular radio
system, and the like. While only three POS registers are shown connected to a
single store controller, many such registers may be used, and the function of
the
controller may be distributed amongst multiple store controllers in a straight-
forward manner.
Continuing with reference to Fig. 2, store controller 12 comprises a
conventional computer system as supplied with a POS system, for example an
2o IBM RS2000~ network server, or an ALPHA' network server as available from
Digital Equipment Corporation, programmed to operate in accordance with the
present invention. Store controller 12 is shown to include a central
processing unit
(CPU) 20 connected to a storage device 22 and a communications interface 24.
CPU 20 comprises a conventional microprocessor of a type dependent on the
selected computer system, for example an Intel PENTIUM~, DEC ALPHA~ or
IBM POWERPC~ compatible microprocessor.
Storage device 22 comprises an appropriate arrangement of magnetic,
semiconductor, and/or optical memory components, many of which are well
known to those skilled in the art. Communications interface 24 is selected to
be
3o compatible with the communications medium chosen above, and would comprise,
for example, a conventional LAN card to interface with a LAN network, or a
conventional cellular interface to support cellular communications.
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In accordance with the present invention, storage device 22 of store
controller 12 is shown to store four databases, including: a frequent shopper
account database 50, an upsell database 60, a transaction database 70, and a
purchased upsell database 80. Further contained in storage device 22 is an
upsell
control program 90, in the form of executable computer software, functional to
operate store controller 12 in accordance with the processes shown and
described
below.
With reference to Fig. 3, an exemplary embodiment of POS register 14 is
shown, including a processor 31 connected to: an input device 32 such as an
alpha-
numeric keypad; a display device 33 such as a light-emitting diode display
(LED),
liquid crystal display (LCD), or video display; a printer 34; a storage device
35
containing a POS control program 36; and a communication device 37, such as a
LAN card, for connecting PO$ register 14 to store controller 12. It will be
appreciated that, while an exemplary embodiment is shown for purposes of
illustrating the present invention, many different, detailed embodiments of
POS
registers are known to those skilled in the art.
Referring now to Fig. 4, an alternate embodiment of a POS register 40 is
shown including all of the elements of POS register 14 as described above, and
further connected to a coupon controller 42 for printing and distributing
coupons
in accordance with the present invention. Controller 42 is seen to include a
processor 44 comprising a conventional processor of the type described above,
connected to: a printer 45; and a storage device 46 containing an upsell
coupon
control program 47.
While POS registers 14 (Fig. 3) and 40 (Fig. 4) provide essentially the
same functionality for purposes of implementing the present invention, the
latter
may provide more flexibility in operation. That is, the printer 45 of coupon
controller 42 may be specially selected for the function of printing coupons
or
receipts pertinent to the present invention. Further, data relating to the
offering
and/or printing of coupons may be maintained in storage device 46, providing
fast
3o and easy access to use and update such data. The present invention
contemplates
the maintenance of data such as that shown in storage device 46 across
multiple
systems, including coupon controller 42. Further, the use of coupon printers
is
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well known in the art, for example as in the systems provided by Catalina Inc.
for
processing grocery coupons.
For purposes of illustration and explanation, the present invention
has been shown with three software programs, upsell program 90 (Fig. 2), POS
control program 36 (Fig. 3), and upsell coupon control program 47 (Fig. 4). In
practice, the various functional aspects of the programs, which are described
in
detail below, can be distributed across the various systems and programs in a
variety of ways, many of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The
invention is not limited to the implementation of particular software or data
on one
o particular system. Further, in an alternate embodiment of the invention, the
functions and features of central controller 12 may be contained in one or
more
POS registers.
With reference now to Fig. 5, frequent shopper account database 50 is
shown in table form to include, for a specified date field 52, six records 54A-
54F,
each record containing seven fields 56A-56G. Fields 56A-G include data
identifying frequent shoppers, their selected upsells, and account credits,
including: a frequent shopper number field 56A comprising a unique identifier
assigned to each frequent shopper account; a name field 56B including a
customer
name; an address field 56C including a customer address; a registered upsell
code
2o field 56D including a code identifying a customer-selected upsell; an
upsell
purchase price field 56E containing the price for the customer-selected
upsell; an
account balance field 56F showing the balance accrued towards the selected
upsell
purchase price 56E on the table date 52; and an upsell instructions field 56G
used
to store customer-designated instructions for determining an upsell amount to
be
added to each purchase.
Continuing with reference to Fig. 5, upsell instructions 56G for record 54A
are seen to identify a rounding multiple (RM) of $1.00, indicating that for
each
customer transaction, the purchase price is to be rounded up to the nearest
whole
dollar amount. A similar upsell instruction is contained in record 54B. Record
54C includes an upsell instruction identifying a layaway amount (L) of $2.00,
indicating that a $2.00 layaway amount is to be added to a purchase price.
Record
54D indicates the amount to be collected and credited towards the upsell is
equal
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to the amount of change due (CD) the customer. Record 54E indicates a layaway
amount of $2.00 to be added to a purchase price. Record 54F contains a
rounding
multiple of $5.00, indicating that the purchase price is to be rounded up to
the
nearest whole dollar multiple of $5.00 (i.e. $5.00, $10.00, $15.00, etc...).
It will be noted that layaway amounts may be implemented with respect to
tiered upsells, as per record54C where the upsell price is seen to be $5.00,
and also
to instant upsells, as in record 54E where the upsell will be seen to
constitute
frequent flyer miles which are purchased on a per-transaction basis. The
difference between a layaway amount and a rounding multiple is that when a
t o rounding multiple is used, a purchase price is rounded to a nearest
multiple of the
selected rounding multiple. When a layaway amount is used, the layaway amount
is added to the purchase price, which may then optionally be rounded up.
Rounding multiples of $X.00 (i.e. a selected "X dollar" value, which may
be a whole or partial dollar value) indicate that a purchase price is to be
rounded
15 up to the nearest multiple of $X.00 greater than the purchase price. For
example,
with a rounding multiple RM = $2.00, prices in the range of 0-$1.99 are
rounded
to $2.00; prices in the range of $2.01-3.99 are rounded to $4.00; prices in
the range
of $4.01-5.99 are rounded to $6.00; etc.... It will be appreciated that
rounding
multiples need not be limited to whole dollar amounts, but may be based on
coin
2o values (i.e. round up to the nearest $0.25 or $0.50, for example), or
larger paper
money denominations (i.e. $10.00, $20.00, etc...). Many other rounding schemes
and formulae will be obvious to those skilled in the art.
With reference now to Fig. 6, upsell database 60 contains data identifying
available upsells, and is shown to include six records 60A-60F, each record
25 comprising three fields: an upsell code field 62A comprising a unique
identifier for
each available upsell and containing data corresponding to registered upsell
code
field 56D of frequent shopper account database S0, a description of each
upsell
62B, and an upsell purchase price 62C for each upsell, this purchase price
data
corresponding to the data in upsell purchase price field 56E of frequent
shopper
3o account database 50.
With reference to Fig. 7, transaction database 70 includes data relevant to
transactions that occur at the various POS registers 14, 16, 18. More
specifically,
n
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each entry table in transaction database 70 includes data specific to one
particular
transaction for a specific frequent shopper identifier. Examining header 72 of
the
database, the illustrated table is seen to include transaction data for a
frequent
shopper identifier 72A, at a particular store 72B, having a transaction number
72C
assigned by POS system 10, at a specific POS register 72D, and on a particular
date 72E. Based on the frequent shopper identifier #123461, this illustrated
transaction is seen to correspond to "Phil Johnson," identified in record 54F
of
frequent shopper account database 50 (Fig. 5). Other such tables (not shown)
in
transaction database 70 include data for other specific transactions.
to Continuing with reference to Fig. 7, for the above-identified transaction,
database 70 is seen to include two records 74A-74B, each containing four
fields
76A-76D relevant to a particular good purchased during the transaction
identified
in header 72. In particular, for each record 74A, B, there is provided an item
code
field 76A containing a unique identifier for a purchased item, a description
field
15 76B containing a description of the purchased item, a price field 76C
including a
price for the item, and a subtotal field 76D, containing a running subtotal of
item
costs. A tax entry 78 includes a tax calculation reflected in the price and
subtotal
fields 76C, 76D, respectively. An adjusted price entry 79 includes an adjusted
price, here a rounded price 79A, to be collected from the consumer (in this
2o instance, $5.00), and a round-up amount 79B equal to the difference between
rounded price 79A and the purchase price including taxes {in this instance
$3.74).
The upsell credit, herein round-up amount 79B, thus comprises: 5.00 - 3.74 =
$1.26.
The adjusted price 79A, in this case a rounded price, is thus seen to be a
25 function of the actual purchase price of customer-selected goods and/or
services,
as modified in accordance with the upsell instructions in field 56G of
frequent
shopper account database 50 (Fig. 5).
In the illustrated embodiment, the rounded price is calculated in accordance
with the upsell instructions field 56G of record 54F (both of Fig. 5),
indicating a
30 rounding multiple of $5.00. The transaction subtotal of $3.74 is thus
rounded in
accordance with the $5.00 rounding multiple to the nearest multiple of $5.00
higher than the purchase price, in this instance $5.00. If, for example, a
$2.00
12
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layaway amount had instead been pre-registered, then $2.00 would have been
added to the $3.74 transaction subtotal for an adjusted price of $5.74 to be
charged
to the customer. If, for example, 'change due' instructions had been
registered in
the upsell instructions, then the adjusted price would have been the payment
tendered, and the upsell credit would have been set equal to the difference
between
the purchase price and a payment amount tendered by the purchaser.
Referring now to Fig. 8, purchased upsell database 80 includes data
identifying upsells which have been paid for in their entirety and are
available for
delivery to/use by the customer. Purchased upsells includes those items which
are
o actually in the possession of the customer (such as delivered goods), those
items
which are available for immediate use by the customer (such as earned
telephone
time credited to an account), and those items for which the customer is
entitled to
take possession.
Continuing with reference to Fig. 8, purchased upsell database 80 is seen to
include four records 84A-84D, each containing four fields 86A-86D. A code
number field 86A includes a code that uniquely identifies each upsell that has
been
fully paid for, and is generated by POS system 10 as needed for specific
transactions. Active date field 86B includes the date of the transaction in
which
the purchase price of the upsell was met or exceeded, while transaction number
2o field 86C includes the corresponding transaction number 72C from
transaction
database 70. Upsell code 86D identifies the upsell as it is similarly
referenced in
field 62A of upsell database 60.
Referring now to Fig. 9, an overview 900 of an upsell process implemented
in accordance with the present invention is shown including a registration
subprocess 900A, a transaction subprocess 900B, and a delivery or redemption
subprocess 900C. In step 92 of the registration subprocess, a customer
described
herein as a frequent shopper registers for an upsell. The details of this
registration
process are shown in Figs. l0A-B.
Pursuant to transaction subprocess 900B, upon shopping at the
3o supermarket, the customer initiates a transaction (step 94) at a POS
register; for
example the purchase of goods. The POS system functions to determine if the
shopper is a registered frequent shopper having an upsell registered with his
13
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WO 99/11006 PCT/US98/17287
frequent shopper account (step 96). If there is no upsell registered, the
transaction
is processed in a conventional manner (step 98). If an upsell is registered,
it is
processed (step 100) in association with the shopper's transaction.
Continuing with Fig. 9, a determination is made as to whether the upsell
process associated with the transaction results in the purchase of that upsell
(step
102); that is, has the upsell been paid for in full? If not, then any
appropriate credit
is applied to the upsell account (step 104). It is noted that an upsell can be
paid
off in several ways, including: accumulating a credit sufficient to pay the
upsell
purchase price; and, where an 'instant' upsell such as telephone time is being
t o purchased, converting the upsell credit from the transaction directly to
the instant
goods. The transaction process highlighted here is described in greater detail
with
respect to Figs. 11 A-C below.
In step 106 of redemption subprocess 900C it is determined if the
purchased upsell is an instant upsell. If so, the goods are provided and/or
the
upsell credit is converted to a service credit (step 108) as described in
detail with
respect to Fig. 13 below. If the purchased upsell is not an instant upsell,
then an
appropriate redemption or delivery process is initiated (step 110) as
described in
further detail with respect to Fig. 12 below.
Referring now to Figs. l0A-B, upsell registration subprocess 900A of
2o upsell process 90 (Fig. 9) is shown, wherein a frequent shopper is
registered to
purchase a pre-selected upsell. Upsell registration subprocess 900A is
preferably
executed with customer input at a courtesy desk provided by a supermarket, the
courtesy desk typically utilized by supermarket personnel to provide customer
services such as frequent shopper registration.
On initiating the upsell registration process (step 902), an operator such as
a customer service representative receives and inputs into store controller 12
(step
904) a customer request to register for an automatic upsell. Such a request
may be
based, for example, on an upsell catalog or other advertising material
containing
information identifying various upsells available to the customer from
3o participation in the supermarket's program.
The customer is interrogated to determine if they are a registered frequent
shopper (step 906), and if they are not, the necessary frequent shopper
information
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is received and input into central controller 12 (step 908). The resulting
frequent
shopper number/identifier, generated by controller 12 is provided to the
customer
(step 910). A new frequent shopper entry is simultaneously created in frequent
shopper account database 50, including the frequent shopper identifier stored
in
field 56A (step 912). The newly registered frequent shopper, as well as any
preregistered frequent shoppers identified in step 906, is then offered a
selection of
upsells (step 914).
As shown in upsell database 60 of Fig. 6, upsells may comprise fixed-price
items such as $ i .00 lottery tickets (record 60B), toaster ovens (record
60D), pre-
o paid phone cards (record 60C), and other goods. Higher cost, fixed-price
items are
referred to herein as 'tiered' upsells, because monies must typically be
accumulated over a number of transactions in order to purchase these items.
Upsells may further comprise instant, or 'coinage-due' goods such as
fractional lottery tickets (record 60A), telephone time (record 60E), and
frequent
~ 5 flyer miles (record 60F), which are awarded at every transaction in an
amount
determined by the corresponding upsell credit: i.e. the round-up, layaway, or
change due amount (record 60A). Instant upsells such as telephone time and
frequent flyer miles may be added into a pre-established account, or provided
with
directions for their individual usage. Instant upsells may further comprise
any
20 other appropriate good wherein any amount of round-up is converted to the
service.
Other exemplary types of upsells include: fast food items; related products
(e.g batteries when an electronic device has been sold); service contracts for
particular products; discount or credit coupons for future purchases; and
'impulse
25 purchase' items. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that a
virtually
limitless number of upsells may be identified and sold depending on the
particular
circumstances of a POS transaction.
Continuing with reference to Fig. l OB, appropriate input is provided to
controller 12 pursuant to a customer selection of an upsell (step 916), for
example
3o an upsell code 62A of upsell database 60. The input data is used to
identify the
upsell and retrieve related upsell data (step 918) from upsell database 60
(Fig. 6).
Upsell instructions are then received from the customer (step 919) wherein the
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customer selects a layaway amount, a roundup amount, or a change due amount to
be added to a purchase cost of each transaction for payment of/towards the
upsell.
The upsell data code and upsell price from fields 62A and 62C of upsell
database
60, and the received upsell instructions, are then entered into appropriate
fields
56D, 56E and 56G of frequent shopper account database 50 (step 920),
respectively, whereby to associate the selected upsell with the frequent
shopper
information. The process then ends (step 922). A rejection of available
upsells by
a customer at step 916 would similarly end the registration process.
Examining now Figs 1 IA-C, upsell transaction subprocess 900B is shown
to wherein a supermarket transaction includes an upsell transaction in
accordance
with the present invention. The process is typically initiated at a POS
register such
as 14, 16, or 18, and includes data input into the POS register, and
subsequently
communicated with controller 12, based on products being purchased during the
transaction, and data provided by the customer.
Upon initiating the process (step 924), an operator receives a frequent
shopper number from the customer and enters same into the POS terminal (step
926). The operator then enters codes and/or prices of goods into the POS
terminal
(step 928), for example by scanning bar codes off of food products. The POS
terminal then cooperates with controller 12 in a well known manner to
calculate
2o the subtotal of the purchased item costs, and to create a transaction
record in
transaction database 70 (step 930). Using the inputted frequent shopper number
to identify the record, the system checks data contained in field 56D of
frequent
shopper account database 50 to determine if the shopper is registered for an
upsell
(step 934). If there is no registered upsell (step 934), or if no frequent
shopper
code was entered to indicate a frequent shopper at step 926, then the
transaction is
processed in a conventional manner (step 936}.
If the shopper is a frequent shopper registered for an upsell, then any upsell
instructions associated with the frequent shopper number are retrieved from
field
56G of frequent shopper database 50 {step 937). For example the frequent
shopper
3o Phil Johnson indicated by record 54F in frequent shopper account database
50 is
registered for upsell "D," a toaster oven as shown in upsell database 60, and
has
indicated at registration a rounding multiple of $5.00 (field 56G).
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In the preferred embodiment, the subtotal of the item cost calculated in step
930 above and shown in field 76D of record 78 of transaction database 70 is
then
adjusted in accordance with the upsell instructions in field 56G of Fig. 5.
For
example, examining the record illustrated for transaction database 70, a
transaction
for frequent shopper 123461 Phil Johnson, the purchase price of $3.74 is
rounded
up to the adjusted, rounded price of $5.00, the nearest multiple of the
designated
rounding multiple of $5.00 that is higher than the purchase price.
Other round-up multiples would be processed in accordance with the
round-up processes described pursuant to Fig. 5 above. If the upsell
instructions
1o were to indicate a layaway amount, then in lieu of rounding up to a
rounding
multiple, that layaway amount would be added to the purchase price to
determine
the adjusted price. For example, if a layaway amount of $3.00 were indicated
in
the upsell instructions, then $3.00 would be added to the purchase price of
$3.74
for an adjusted price of $6.74. If the upsell instructions were to indicate
the
~ 5 amount of change due as the upsell credit, then monies would be collected
from
the customer based on the purchase price (i.e. $3.74), the adjusted price
would
constitute the monies/payment tendered, and any change due from the customer
tendered payment would be credited towards the registered upsell. For example,
if
the customer tendered $10.00 towards the $3.74 purchase price, then the
difference
20 of $6.26 (10.00-3.74) would be credited towards the upsell.
Continuing now with reference to Fig. 11 B, the purchase price adjusted in
accordance with the upsell instructions, providing in the described example
the
rounded price shown in field 76D of record 79 in transaction database 70, is
output
from the POS register (step 940) and provided to the customer. Payment is
25 received from the customer, and an indication of payment is input to the
POS
terminal (step 942). An upsell credit is thus available for applying towards a
registered upsell, the value of the upsell credit dependent on the upsell
instructions. In the example transaction illustrated in Fig. 7, this upsell
credit is
$1.26, the round-up amount resulting from the $5.00 rounding multiple. The
3o invention of course contemplates the use of a credit card, check,
traveler's check,
or any form of payment provided by the customer to pay the total transaction
price.
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The registered upsell data in field 56D of frequent shopper account
database 50 is retrieved and used to index and retrieve upsell data from
upsell
database 60. (Fig. 6) (step 944). A determination is made as to whether the
upsell
is an instant or tiered upsell (step 946). As described above, instant upsells
are
s awarded substantially instantaneously based on the round-up amount, layaway
amount, or change due the customer. Tiered upsells are those for which monies
must be accumulated in order to pay a registered upsell price.
Considering first the delivery of an instant upsell, a purchased upsell code
is generated by controller 12 (step 948) and both stored in field 86A of
purchased
to upsell database 80 and printed on the customer receipt (step 950) for
delivery to
the customer. Purchased upsell database 80 is updated (step 952) through the
creation of a record to store the purchased upsell code and concomitant data.
The
upsell transaction process is then complete (step 954 of Fig. 11 C), and the
actual
conversion of the instant upsell to a service credit is initiated and
performed in
IS accordance with Fig. 13, described below.
Considering now the delivery of a tiered upsell, the upsell credit (i.e. the
round-up amount) calculated above is added to the account balance in field 56F
of
the frequent shopper account database 50 (step 958). As shown in Fig. 11C, the
system then compares the account balance in field 56F to the upsell purchase
price
2o in field 56E {step 960) to determine if the upsell purchase is complete, or
if further
upsell credit must be accumulated during subsequent purchases. If the account
balance is less than the upsell purchase price, the increased account balance
is
printed for providing to the customer {step 962), and the upsell transaction
process
ends.
25 Considering now the situation in which the account balance equals or
exceeds the upsell purchase price, the upsell purchase price is deducted from
the
upsell account balance in the frequent shopper account database (step 964). It
is
noted that this may leave a credit balance in the upsell account, which can
for
example be applied to a future purchase, or returned to the customer.
3o Controller 12 functions to generate a purchased upsell code(step 966) and
create an appropriate record in purchased upsell database 80 (step 968). The
purchased upsell code is printed for providing to the customer {step 970), the
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upsell transaction process ends (step 954), and a redemption or delivery
process is
initiated as described with respect to Fig. 12.
It will be understood that, if the upsell instructions had indicated a layaway
amount or change due amount in lieu of the described rounding multiple, the
upsell credit would have been calculated as the layaway amount (rounded or un-
)
or the change due amount, instead of the illustrated round-up amount.
With reference now to Fig. 12, one embodiment of redemption subprocess
900C is shown for tiered upsells. The upsell redemption process includes data
exchanged with controller 12, and is performed at a location and in a manner
1 o dependent on the particular upsell. Small, stocked items such as grocery
items and
lottery tickets rnay be delivered within the supermarket, for example at the
courtesy desk. Larger items may require delivery at a remote location, or may
be
shipped subsequent to validating the transaction by phone, the Internet, or
mail, for
example. Alternatively, the shipment of a purchased upsell may be initiated
~ 5 automatically by POS system 10, in accordance with instructions stored in
frequent shopper account database 50.
Upon initiating the redemption process (step 972), the purchased upsell
information, particularly the purchased upsell code, is received from the
customer
and entered into controller 12 (step 974), for example through a POS terminal.
2o The upsell code is used to retrieve the corresponding purchased upsell
record from
purchased upsell database 80 (steps 976), and the upsell data in the database
is
compared to that on the customer receipt (step 978), thereby validating the
code.
If the information in the purchased upsell database does not match the
customer
information (step 980), then the upsell redemption is denied (step 982) and
the
25 process ends (step 984). If the customer data matches the database data
(step 980),
the upsell is provided to, or delivery arranged for, the upsell goods (step
986).
Purchased upsell database 80 is then updated to reflect delivery of the goods
(step
988), for example by deleting the record for a delivered upsell.
Alternatively, a
'delivered goods' field may be added to the database in a conventional manner.
3o Referring now to Fig. 13, an alternate redemption subprocess 900C' is
shown wherein the upsell round-up amount is converted into a service credit.
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Upon initiating the conversion process (step 990), the upsell credit (i.e. the
round-up value) is automatically calculated (step 992) as per the process
described
above with respect to Figs. 1 IA-C. The conversion factor is retrieved from
upsell
database 60, and the upsell credit is converted into a service credit value
(step
994). For example, in entry 60E of the upsell database, it is seen that
telephone
minutes cost twelve cents per minute: Entry 60F indicates that frequent flyer
miles
convert at the rate of six cents per mile. A round up value of sixty cents
would
thus convert to five telephone minutes, or ten frequent flyer miles.
Continuing with Fig. 13, a test is performed to determine if a pre-
1o established service account exists (step 996). An appropriate account
identifier
may, for example, be stored in an additional field of frequent shopper account
database 50 (Fig. 5), or provided by the shopper during the transaction. If no
pre-
established account is identified, then the value of the service credit and
redemption instructions are printed on a customer receipt (steps 1004 and
1006).
15 If a pre-established service account is identified, then the service credit
resulting
from the transaction is added to that account (step 998). Preferably, a
confirmation
of the newly added credit is provided to the customer on the customer receipt
(step
1000). Once the service credit is appropriately established and communicated
to
the customer, the process ends (step 1002).
2o Referring now to Fig. 14, an example of a customer receipt for the
transaction illustrated in transaction database 70 of Fig. 7 is shown,
including
(with like data on the receipt indicated by like reference numbers to those
shown
in the transaction record) at the top of the receipt: transaction number 72C,
store
identifier number 72B, POS register identifier number 72D, frequent shopper
25 identifiers 72A, and transaction date 72E. Underneath the above-described
data
are: the purchased items as identified in database records 74A, 74B, the tax
as
described in record 78, and the round up amount of $1.26 and rounded price of
$5.00, together indicated at 79.
Continuing with reference to Fig. 14, further included on the receipt is the
3o upsell description "Toaster Oven" from field 62B, of record 60D in upsell
database
60, and the code "2422879" from field 86A of record 84B in purchased upsell
database 80. As will be apparent from a consideration of record 54F of
frequent
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WO 99111006 PCTNS98/17287
shopper account database 50, the illustrated transaction results in the
completed
purchase of the toaster oven. Accordingly, directions 142 are provided on
receipt
140, indicating that the receipt may be redeemed for the toaster oven at the
service
desk.
Figs. 15, 16, and 17 are examples of other customer receipts for different
upsells or upsell circumstances. For purposes of simplifying the description,
all
identifying data towards the tops of the receipts is removed.
Examining first Fig. 15, a receipt 150 would result from the purchase of a
20 minute telephone card upsell, and includes a purchase code 152 and
description
154 identifying same. Directions 156 are provided for the using the telephone
card.
Fig. 16 shows a receipt 160 wherein the upsell is a toaster oven, but the
transaction generating the receipt has not resulted in the purchase of same.
Information 162 indicates the status of the customer's account.
Fig. i 7 shows a receipt 170 wherein the upsell credit has been converted
from a $1.26 credit to 21 frequent flyer miles, including directions 172 on
how to
claim same.
There has thus been provided a new and improved method and system for
buyers to request and for sellers to provide upsells in accordance with pre-
2o registered, automatically processed instructions. The invention has
particular
application in the retail industry, for example supermarkets, fast-food
restaurants,
pharmacies, and the like. The invention provides consumers with a convenient
and simple method of purchasing goods and/or services. The invention provides
merchants with a valuable service useful not only for increasing sales, but
for
attracting and retaining customers.
While the invention has been described with respect to particular
embodiments, it is not thus limited. ,For example, while specific database
formats
and tables have been shown and described, numerous other embodiments will be
obvious to those skilled in the art. Further, while the invention has been
described
3o with respect to a supermarket frequent shopper program, it is applicable to
any
transaction environment permitting the registration of upsell instructions.
The
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scope of the invention is thus intended to encompass the entire scope of the
appended claims.
22
