Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING A MOBILE DEVICE
TO FOLLOW A PRICE FOR AN ITEM
BACKGROUND
The descriptions that follow generally relate to retail services and, more
particularly,
describe a system and method for providing self service checkout and item
delivery using a
mobile device as well as a system and method for using a mobile device to
follow a price for
an item.
In the art systems and methods for using mobile devices in connection with
retail
services are known. For example, PCT Published Application No. WO 02/33518
generally
describes a system in which a barcode representing a URL is imprinted on a
page of printed
material. A scanner (which can be a web enabled cellular telephone) is used to
scan the
barcode and translate the barcode into the URL address. A browser of the
scanner uses the
URL address to connect to a web page which contains further information
related to the
subject matter found on the printed material. The web page may also provide
for the
purchase of an item or service.
US Published Application No. 2005/0125301 generally describes a system that
enables a user to instantly purchase items using a camera equipped mobile
device, such as a
cellular telephone. To purchase an item, a user utilizes the mobile device to
scan a barcode
for the item as it is displayed on a video screen. The barcode infolination
and user
information is then sent to a vendor server. The vendor server utilizes the
user information to
authenticate the user and to look up the user's payment and account
information. This
information is then passed to a transaction system by the vendor server in
order to complete a
transaction for the item.
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JP Published Application No. 2002/170028 generally describes a system that
allows a
user to receive an electronic coupon on a mobile device, such as a cellular
telephone, by
accessing the Web using the mobile device.
PCT Published Application WO 01/97105 generally describes a system in which a
mobile device with a bar code scanner, such as a cellular telephone, is used
to scan a barcode
associated with an advertisement to access a web page having item information
and/or to
purchase an item via the web.
US Patent No. 7,156,311 generally describes a cellular telephone application
that
decodes an image of a barcode, taken with a digital camera of the cellular
telephone, to
obtain barcode information that is, in turn, used to access web content that
is associated with
the barcode information.
US Patent No. 5,640,193 generally describes a system in which a device,
equipped
with a scanner, is used to read marks on an object, e.g., a barcode. The
device then transmits
a request to a server which includes data related to the read marks and the
server responds by
providing to the device multimedia information about the object.
US Patent No. 6,993,573 generally describes a system in which a cell phone is
used to
capture an image of a barcode and the cell phone uses the image to issue a URL
request. The
URL request is transmitted to a server and the server returns to the cell
phone an information
URL. The cell phone then transmits the information URL to an information
server and in
response receives content that is associated with the scanned barcode.
US Patent No. 6,199,048 generally describes a system in which a device reads a
"data
carrier modulated with an index" (e.g., a UPC label) and which uses the index
to access a
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pointer to a remote computer. The pointer is then used to establish
communication with the
remote computer.
US Patent No. 5,978,773 generally describes a system in which a device reads
an
indicia provided on an ordinary article of commerce (e.g., a UPC label) and
which uses the
indicia to retrieve a network address that has been associated with the
indicia.
US Patent Nos. 6,769,018 and 6,049,835 generally describe a system in which
"jump
codes" are published. A published "jump code" is entered at a first Internet
location and the
first Internet location converts the "jump code" to a URL address.
Various systems and methods for providing retail pickup services are also
known in
the art. For example US Patent No. 7,024,378 generally describes a method for
providing
vehicle pick-up service to a customer. The method involves a customer
providing ID
information to an "identification and control station" upon arriving at the
pick-up
facility/parking lot. The ID information may be read from a card, may be
provided on a
purchase receipt, etc. After the customer's ID information is provided, the
customer is
assigned a parking space and the goods ordered by the customer are delivered
to that parking
space.
US Patent No. 7,054,832 generally describes a method for providing vehicle
pick-up
service to a customer. The method involves a customer providing ID information
to a
"customer detection and identification station" upon arriving at the pick-up
facility/parking
lot. The ID information may be read from a card, a tag, etc. or may be keyed
into "an input
device." Upon providing the ID information, the customer may be assigned a
parking space
to which the goods ordered by the customer will be delivered. Alternatively,
the customer
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can select a parking space and provide their ID information to the "customer
detection and
identification station" that is associated with the parking space selected by
the customer.
PCT Published Application No. WO 2006/126996 generally describes a method for
providing vehicle pick-up service to a customer. The customer is assigned a
PIN and, once
the customer arrives at the pick-up facility, the customer enters their PIN at
a pick-up portal
to receive the goods that were ordered/purchased by the customer.
Still further, various systems and methods are known for tracking the price of
an item
or service. For example, yapta.com provides an online website whereby a user
can find a
flight and thereafter track prices for the flight before electing to buy a
ticket for the flight. To
locate a flight for the purpose of tracking the price of flight tickets, the
user enters into the
yapta.com system flight information such as departing airport, arriving
airport, departing
time and date, and returning time and date. Similarly, websites such as
easypricetracker.com
allow a user to search for a particular item, for example by means of text
entry, and to setup
alerts whereby the easypricetracker.com system will email the user if the
price drops.
SUMMARY
Described hereinafter is a system and method for providing self service
checkout and
item delivery using a mobile device as well as a system and method for using a
mobile
device to follow a price of an item and/or service (hereinafter individually
and collectively
referred to as "an item"). To this end, the system and method involves using a
mobile
device, such as a cellular telephone, to obtain information that is
representative of an item.
This information may be a photograph of the item or information obtained by
scanning
information carrying indicia associated with the item, such as a barcode.
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The obtained information representative of the item may then be used to
redirect a
browser of the mobile device to a first web/WAP page having information
related to the item,
the first web/WAP page having a link that is activatable to allow for the
purchase of the item.
In response to activation of the link, the mobile device is caused to display
a second
web/WAP page that provides a means for the user to specify a method for paying
for the
item, such as by using an e-commerce like wallet, via a customer-service
representative, etc.,
and a third web/WAP page that provides a means for the user to specify a
method by which
the item is to be picked up/checked out/delivered to the user, such as at
home, in-store, at an
in-car pickup facility, etc.
The obtained information representative of the item may also be used to
present on
the mobile device a page by which a user can establish parameters for
following the price of
the item.
A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, properties and
relationships of the system and method will be obtained from the following
detailed
description and accompanying drawing which sets forth illustrative embodiments
which are
indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the system and
method may be
employed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the systems and methods described hereinafter
reference may be had the following drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system in which the principles of the
subject
invention may be employed;
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Figures 2 - 3 illustrate an exemplary method for providing self service
checkout and
item delivery using a mobile device;
Figures 4 and 5 illustrates an exemplary method for providing a price
following
service to a user of a mobile device; and
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate exemplary screen shots of mobile application for
providing
price following information to the user of the mobile device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to Figures, a system and method for providing services that are
tied to
a mobile device, such as self service checkout and item delivery and price
following are
hereinafter described. As will become apparent, the system and method provides
for a user
to utilize a mobile device to obtain an item photograph and/or information
from various
forms of information carrying indicia, such as a barcode, to, among other
things, purchase an
item and/or service, specify purchase delivery options, and/or follow the
price of an item.
While the system and method will be particularly described in the context of a
cellular
telephone 10, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced using
any type of
mobile device having the ability to scan or photograph an image, the ability
to perform
network communications, and the ability to display data, such as Web/WAP
pages, received
via the network.
To facilitate use of the cellular telephone 10 within the system, generally
illustrated in
Fig. 1, the cellular telephone 10 includes a means to obtain information from
the information
carrying indicia 11. To this end, the cellular telephone 10 may include, for
example,
conventional barcode scanner technology or a camera and associated image
processing
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technology as described in U.S. Patent No. 7,156,311. Still further, the
cellular telephone 10
may include convention RFID reading technology. Thus, it will be appreciated
that the
information carrying indicia 11 may include any form of machine-readable code
having
either a public standard encoding or a proprietary encoding and the cellular
telephone 10 will
use the technology that is appropriate to access the information carried by
the particular form
of information carrying indicia that is being employed within the system.
By way of particular example illustrated in Figs. 2-3, to scan a barcode 11 a
user may
utilize a cellular telephone 10 having an attached or embedded digital camera.
In this
example, the user would launch an appropriate barcode imaging application that
has been
downloaded onto the cellular telephone 10 and use the digital camera to
capture an image of
the barcode 11. Once the barcode image 11 has been acquired by the cellular
telephone 10,
the barcode imaging application will function to decode the barcode to thereby
extract
information from the barcode. The information extracted from the decoded
barcode may
then be sent via a network 12 where it is routed to an appropriate server 14,
having one or
more associated data repositories 16, where it is further processed as
discussed further below.
To provide for the downloading of a required imaging application into the
cellular
telephone 10 it is contemplated that a user may be presented with a display,
for example
within a retail establishment, on a Web/WAP (Wireless Access Point) page, in
an SMS
message, etc., which advertises the services provided by the subject
invention. Within this
advertising, the user could be further instructed to send a specified SMS
message, for
example "scan," to a specified SMS address. In response to the sending of such
a message,
the system may provide to the cellular telephone 10 a reply message which
includes a WAP
link which the user may activate, i.e., click on, to "opt-in" to the system
and thereby install
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the imaging application upon their cellular phone 10. In connection with the
installation of
the imaging application upon the cellular phone 10 of the user, the system may
additionally
provide to the user instructions on use of the system, e.g., how to "scan"
indicia that may be
found on items such as price sheets, circulars, catalogs, display signs,
monitors, price tags,
etc. It will also be appreciated that, in certain circumstances, a required
imaging application
may be pre-installed on the cellular phone 10 of a user and pre-installed
mobile devices may
be on hand in retail outlets for the convenience of the users.
Once the cellular phone 10 of a user is setup as required to capture
information from
an information carrying indicia 11, the user may utilize the cellular phone to
achieve various
results upon encountering an information carrying indicia 11. For example, as
illustrated in
Figs. 2-3, upon encountering an information carrying indicia 11 that is of
interest to a user,
for example a barcode that has been associated with an item at a retail
establishment, the user
may launch the imaging application on their cellular phone 10 and proceed to
scan or capture
the information carried by the information carrying indicia 11. Once the
cellular phone 10
has captured the information from the information carrying indicia 11 that is
of interest to the
user, e.g., display 30, the system will function to use the information, for
example as
described in U.S. Patent No. 7,156,311, to redirect a browser application of
the cellular
phone 10 to a desired Web/WAP page. In the illustrated example, the user may
be first
presented with a Web/WAP page 32 having information for the item that was
associated with
the information carrying indicia 11 that was scanned, e.g., an image of the
item, availability
of the item, price of the item, textual description of the item, etc.
Furthermore, within the
illustrated example, the Web/WAP page 32 presented to the user may be provided
with
further links to allow the user to send the Web/WAP page (or information
related to the item)
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to another user, for example via email or SMS, to access price comparison
information for
the item and/or to request a price following for the item 402, to view further
information for
the item or other items such as upsell items related to the item, to add to a
shopping list, to
purchase the item, e.g., to "add to cart," etc.
In the event that user elects to purchase an item that is being viewed by the
user on
their cellular phone 10, for example, by the user activating the "add to cart"
link 34, the
system will respond by redirecting the browser application of the cellular
device 10 to a
further Web/WAP page which, in this example, presents to the user the contents
of their
shopping cart, i.e., a Web/WAP that informs the user as to the items that the
user has
indicated a desire to purchase. In connection with the item purchase process,
the system may
additionally present to the user a Web/WAP page 36 which allows the user to
select a desired
delivery option for the item, e.g., in store pick-up 60/70/80, home delivery
50, etc., as well as
a Web/WAP page 38 which allows the user to select a desired payment option,
e.g., to pay
via a payment option already registered with the system (e.g., using a "M-
Wallet" option), to
pay via interactions with a customer service representative, etc. It will be
appreciated that
the Web/WAP pages 36 and 38 may be embodied on the same Web/WAP page without
limitation. Once the item purchase process has been completed by the user,
e.g., payment
and the ability to deliver has been verified by the system using conventional
methods, the
system may then provide to the cellular phone 10 of the user an order
confirmation (which
may also indicate a time of availability for item pick-up if specified by the
user as a delivery
option) as well as an SMS receipt 40.
To then pick-up a purchased item if so specified by the user, the user may
simply use
the confirmation/receipt and/or their cell phone number in connection with a
kiosk driven
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item pickup procedure 70 as described in, for example, U.S. Patent No.
6,439,345. It will
also be appreciated that, by providing a confirmation/receipt to the cellular
phone 10 of the
user, the user may be provided with an option to obtain item off the shelf 80
whereupon the
user may then simply show the confirmation/receipt with the item(s) purchased
to a sales
associate to thereby exit the retail establishment.
In the event a user elected to pickup a purchased item using an in-car pickup
process
60, the user may further use their cellular phone 10 to inform the system when
they are ready
for delivery of the item(s) purchased. For example, when the user arrives at
the pick-up
facility, the user may scan a barcode that has been affixed to a parking spot,
SMS a message
as directed by a sign associated with a parking spot, etc. to thereby notify
the system that
they are ready for item pick-up. Generally, the information provided to the
system will
include the parking spot in which the user is located as well as information
by which the
prior purchase history of the user may be accessed, e.g., the cell-phone
number of the user.
The system will then use the information that is provided from the cellular
telephone 10 to
thereby deliver to the vehicle of the user the appropriate purchased items.
As will be appreciated, via use of the described scanning application in any
location,
such as a home, a store of a third party retailer, etc, a user may be
presented with a web page
that provides to the user the host retailer's information for that item or an
item determined by
the host retailer to be similar thereto (both individually and collectively
referred to herein as
the item) such that, from any location, the user may purchase the item from
the host retailer,
schedule the purchased item for delivery from or pickup at a location of the
host retailer, etc.
In the event that user elects to following a price for the item, for example
by the user
clicking on a displayed "follow this item" icon 402, the system will respond
by redirecting
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the browser application of the cellular device 10 to a further Web/WAP page
404, such as
illustrated in Fig. 4, by which, in this example, the user is provided a means
to setup one or
more parameters for following the price of the item corresponding to the
indicia read or
photograph taken through use of the cellular device 10. By way of example
only, the user
can specify 406 a price that the user would like to pay for the item and can
request that price
alerts related to the price of the item be sent according to one or more of:
every time the price
drops, weekly; only if the price falls below the price specified by the user
(as set above);
when there are special sales for the item (whether online or at a store); and
the like. etc. In
connection with the establishment of these price alert notification
parameters, the user may
also inform the system of one or more addresses to which such price alert
notifications are to
be sent to the customer, for example, via an email message (with the user
providing an email
address if necessary), via a text message (with the user providing a mobile
number if
necessary), via a social networking message (with the user providing a social
networking
username if necessary), etc. Once established, the price notification service
can be set to
execute for a predetermined period of time (such as six months), for a user
specified period
of time, until such time as the system detects that the user purchases the
item, and/or for as
long as the user does not request a cancellation of the notification service.
In addition, once
the price notification service has been established through use of the mobile
device 10, the
information pertaining thereto may be provided to a centralized system whereby
the user can
modify the established notification parameters, follow the price of the item
in real time,
purchase the item, etc. by means of a .com website that is associated with the
host retailer.
After the user completes and submits the price notification parameter setup
page 404
to the system of the host retailer 421, the user may receive a confirmation
430 that the price
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notification has been setup with the host retailer system and the host
retailer system will
proceed to issue notifications according to the established notification
parameters 432.
During the period of time that the item notification event is active the host
retailer system
may also function to provide to the user, via one or more of the established
notification
channels, additional information concerning the item, such as posted reviews
(by "social
network" friends of the user and/or others), news related to the item, etc. By
way of example
only, Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a mobile application having a "news center" by
which a
customer can access price alerts for one or more items as establish by the
customer as well as
any other news type alerts that may be provided by the system. As desired, the
host retailer
system may also be setup to respond 434 to the price established by the
customer during the
notification setup process as further illustrated in Fig. 5.
Turning to Fig. 5 and as noted above, the host retailer system will receive
from the
customer 502 input pertaining to an item to be followed which may further
include a price
that the customer would like to pay for the item. Input to the host retailer
system may
additionally include competitor input 504 for the item, such as current
competitor pricing for
the same or similar items, which competitor input may be provided to the
system by the
merchant, may be scraped from a competitor website, etc., as well as merchant
input 506 for
that item, such as item inventory level and an acceptable price range for the
item. With this
input, an offer intelligence tool 508 implemented by the host retailer system
may proceed to
make various determinations related to the customer's price tracking of and
general interest
in the item. By way of example only and without limitation, the offer
intelligence tool 508
may perform various comparisons using the received inputs to perform one or
more of the
following:
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1) determine 510 if the desired price for the item included in the customer
input 502
is within or above the acceptable price range as included in the merchant
input 506 and, if so,
cause the system to take the steps necessary to proceed with a sale of the
item to the customer
at the desired price indicated in the customer input 502;
2) determine 512 if the desired price for the item included in the customer
input 502
is lower than the acceptable price range as included in the merchant input 506
and, if so,
cause the system to recommend to the customer (using an email communication of
the like)
other, similar items that are being offered for sale by the merchant at or
near the customer's
desired price;
3) determine 514 if the competitor's price for item as included in the
competitor input
504 is lower than the acceptable price range as included in the merchant input
506 and, if so,
cause the merchant's acceptable price range for the item to be downwardly
adjusted
whereupon the comparisons herein described may be repeated as necessary; and
4) determine 516 if the competitor's price for the item included as included
in the
competitor input 504 is higher than the acceptable price range as included in
the merchant
input 506 and, if so, cause the merchant's acceptable price range for the item
to be upwardly
adjusted whereupon the comparisons herein described may be repeated as
necessary.
In the case of 2) above, in the event that the customer does not proceed to
purchase a similar
item that was recommended to the customer, the price notifications will
continue to be sent to
the customer in the manner that was specified.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it
will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and
alternatives to those
details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the
disclosure. For example, it
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-
,.
will be appreciated that the subject system may be used in connection with a
registry
application, such as bridal or baby registry, where a user would populate the
registry using
the mobile phone scanning device and the registry would be available on-line
or in-store to
facilitate purchasing of items. Accordingly, the particular arrangement
disclosed is meant to
be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which
is to be given the
full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.
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