Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TECHNIOUES FOR PROVIDING RETAIL CUSTOMERS A SEAMLESS,
INDIVIDUALIZED DISCOVERY AND SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application
No. 61/922,620, of
the same tile, filed on December 31, 2013. This application is also a
continuation-in-part of U.S.
Utility Patent Application No. 13/889,067, filed on. May 7, 2013, which
asserted priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 61/733,346, filed on December 4, 2012, both
entitled "System
and Method for Customizing Sales Processes with Virtual Simulations and
Psychographic
Processing." All of these prior applications are incorporated by reference
herein in their
entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates general.ly to sale systems, and more
particul.arly, to
techniques for providing retail customers a seamless, individualized discovery
and shopping
experience.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Today, retailers with large inventories and limited resources find
it difficult to
provide custom.ers with a customized sales experience. The physical
constraints of the size of
physical (e.g., "brick and mortar") stores typically limit the amount of
products retailers can
physically shelve and store on site. These physical constraints also typically
impact the retailer's
ability to effectively display and demonstrate their products to their
customers. Other limitations,
such as limitations on the number of customers sales representatives retailers
can employ on site,
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typically impact a retailer's ability to answer customer questions, collect
information about the
customer, and make recommendations for products or services.
[0004] Retail stores with large inventories of products typically require
a large amount of
physical space to shelve, and store their goods. As a result, retail stores
with limited amounts of
physical space typically do not have the benefit of displaying most of their
inventory. These retail
stores may resort to shelving or displaying only a fraction of their entire
line of goods, which may
only appeal to a small subset of the vendor's customer base. This is
problematic for vendors
because it limits a vendor's ability to customize the sales process to the
particular needs and traits
of a customer. For example, after a vendor has determined that a particular
good would be suited
to a customer's needs or traits, the vendor could create a sales experience by
displaying or
demonstrating that particular product to the customer while in the retaii
store. flowever, this
creates a problem for vendors who do not have enough physical space to keep
that product stored
or shelved in inventory; those vendors may not have the advantage of providing
a truly
customized sales experience to the customer. That is, retail stores with
limited physical space
may not have the capability of customizing the sales experience to every
segment of their
customer base. Accordingly, there is a need for retail stores to display and
demonstrate the full
range of their inventory of goods, thereby enabling retail stores to display
and demonstrate
particular products in their inventory and to target every customer segment.
[0005] Retail stores typical.ly display their goods for customers to
visual.ly inspect for
themselves. This allows custom.ers to obtain a tangible familiarity with the
product. For
example, this allows customers to feel a product's texture, and see the
product's dimensions,
allowing the customer to visualize how the product may look in their home.
However, retail
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stores with limited physical space find it difficult to provide a tangible,
interactive experience for
the full range of their products in terms of look-and-feel within the home.
Although retail stores
sometimes provide product catalogs that describe most of their goods, these
catalogs do not
provide the same tangible experience as being able to physically interact with
a product;
customers normally will not have the benefit of estimating how the product may
look, feel, or
integrate in their home. Accordingly, there is a need for retail stores to
allow customers to
visually inspect most of a vendor's line of goods in an interactive and
instructive manner, using a
limited amount of physical space.
[0006] Some retail stores display images or videos of products from their
product catalogs
on in-store displays, such as flat-screens or television monitors. Generally,
retail stores do not
typically provide an intuitive interface that allows custom.ers to interact
with in-store displays.
Research has shown that customers respond to in-store shopping experiences
that offer an
intuitive shopping interface while simultaneously providing visually
compelling images and
videos, and similar content. For example, customers typically find touch or
gesture interfaces
commonly used for tablets, PCs, smartphones and other mobile devices offer an
intuitive interface
for browsing and shopping for products. However, touch screen interfaces for
these mobile
devices are not suitable for the in-store shopping experiences because of
their smaller size and
limited display capabilities. Thus, retailers find it difficult to adapt the
intuitive touch or gesture
interfaces used for mobile devices to large in-store displays.
[0007] Generally, retail stores that integrate sensors and other input
devices into retail
displays typically design and install retail fixtures that are unique to each
retail layout space. For
example, interactive retail fixtures built for fashion and department stores
typically require
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designing a fixture and installing sensors that are unique to the physical
layout of each store.
Interactive retail fixtures may use projected light and motion sensors for
user to interact with
display products positioned on retail tabletop counters. While these displays
can sense when and
where a product is touched and examined, these sensors are usuall.y installed
based on the
physical layout of the store, tabletop and products. Thus, retailers typically
design an interactive
fixture for every store, without reusing the designs for fixtures already
created. Accordingly,
retailers find it difficult to create retail fixtures that integrate sensors
and retaii devices in a
reusable and modular manner.
[0008] Retail stores typically employ sales representatives to provide
customers in-store
sales assistance. These representatives engage the customer in the sales
process, ask customers
questions about their needs or preferences, and answer any questions the
customer may have.
This benefits the customer by providing individualized, targeted information,
and also benefits the
vendor by allowing the vendor to qualify the customer according to the
customer's personal,
demographic, or psychographic information. For example, by interacting with
the customer, the
store sales representative may determ.ine the customer's age, maritai status,
personal preferences,
and opinions on certain products. This information may al low the sales
representative to make a
recommendation for a particular product to the customer, based on these
customer features.
However, retail stores are typically limited in the number of skilled, career-
oriented sales
representatives they can em.ploy to assist and engage with customers.
Sometimes, high turnover
or transient career opportunities at retail stores causes sales
representatives to have little training
and limited experience. Thus, retail stores usually only provide truly
individualized assistance to
a fraction of potential buyers who enter the store. Similarly, retail stores
usually obtain specific
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information from and make customized recommendations to only a fraction of the
vendor's
customers. Accordingly, there is a need to provide individualized assistance
and make
customized recommendations for products to any number of customers that enter
a store without
relying entirely on the use of in-store sal.es representatives.
[0009] Retail stores that have enough physical space to demonstrate some
of their
inventory typically demonstrate their products in a generic way. That is, the
retail stores typically
demonstrate their products, such as televisions or speakers, in a standard
showroom, playing non-
specific music or video content. However, these demonstration spaces
typical.ly do not reflect the
environment the customer intends on using the products accurately. For
example, the dimensions
or layout of the room where a customer actually intends on using a television
or set of speakers
may be drastically different from the retail store's showroom, significantly
changing the way the
television or speakers may look or sound. Thus, the customers do not typically
appreciate how a
particular product, such as a television or speaker, may look or feel in their
particular intended
environment while at the retail store. Accordingly, there is a need to provide
customers with a
way of accurately simulating how a vendor's products would perform and
integrate into the
customer's intended environment.
[0010] As noted above, in-stores sales representatives often perform the
role of providing
reconunendations or suggestions to customers for products that are tailored to
the customer's
particular demographic or psychographic traits. That is, sales representatives
typi.call.y base their
recommendations and suggestions on information about the customer that the
sales representative
can directly observe. Normally, sales representatives do not have access to
any other information
about the customer other than what they can directly observe, limiting their
ability to provide
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customized recommendations for products. For example, a vendor may have
information about
the make and model of a customer's automobile; with this information, a sales
representative
would be enabled to recommend audio equipm.ent that is compatible with the
customer's
particul.ar automobile. While this information would improve the sales
process, vendors generally
find it difficult to provide this non-observable, previously stored customer
information to the
sales representatives during the in-store sales process. Accordingly, there is
a need to better
integrate stored information about a customer into the in-store sales process
in a manner that
allows such targeted marketing in smaller stores with fewer in-store sales
representatives.
[0011] Often, sales representatives detect physical and social cues from
a customer's body
language to make a recommendation for a product. Analogous information can be
collected using
optical or motion sensor technology. But as of yet, such customer inform.ation
has not been truly
integrated into the sales process so as to improve the relevance and appeal of
the vendor's
recommendations to its customers in a manner that accommodates reductions in
floor space and
the number of in-store representatives. Accordingly, there is a need to better
integrate in-store
monitored information about a customer into the sal.es process.
[0012] Moreover, to the extent retail stores use information about a
customer, retail stores
typically do not incorporate this information into the sales process in real-
time. For example,
while some retail stores may monitor foot traffic in a store, stores
frequently only use this
information in time-late off-line analysis to change the physical placement of
products in a store.
Retail stores typically do not use current or real-time foot traffic
information to make
recommendations for a particular product or solution while the customer is
still shopping in the
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store. Accordingly, there is a need to better integrate monitored information
about a customer
into the sales process in real-time.
[0013] To mitigate the problems posed by the physical limitations of
physical stores
described above, retail stores often sell their inventory through an intemet
website. While online
retail stores may avoid some of these problems, online retail stores typically
do not allow vendors
to monitor the customers or provide in-person assistance the same way they
could as with a
physical store. For example, the information presented to a customer on an
online retail website
may be overwhelming or difficult for the customer to digest without a personal
sales
representative. Moreover, vendors typically cannot monitor a customer's body
language or social
cues while the customer is shopping online, limiting the amount of information
the vendor has to
make a recommendation for a particular product to the customer. Accordingly,
there is a need for
a customized retail experience that bridges the gap between online retail
stores and physical
stores.
[0014] For example, if a customer likes a product they viewed in a store,
retail stores
typically do not provide a way to track this information so that the consumer
can later decide to
learn more about the product or purchase the product after leaving the store.
Likewise, retail
stores typically do not integrate customer information collected from their
online website, such as
the customer's online shopping history, into the in-store sales process. For
example, retail stores
do not typically access a customer's online shopping history to recommend a
product when the
customer makes a visit to the physical store. Accordingly, there is a
deficiency in terms of the
lack of integration or synthesis of information from online retail stores and
physical stores to
improve the sales process.
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[0015] Typically, online retail websites require a customer to register
an account with the
vendor, or to allow the vendor to store information about the customer locally
in the customer's
browser cache. Because vendors usually require a customer to create an
account, vendors
typically cannot make recommendations to new customers visiting their online
website for their
first time, or who have not yet registered an account with the vendor.
Similarly, because vendors
usually require a customer to allow the website to store information locally
to a browser's cache,
vendors typically cannot m.ake recommendations to new customers with strict
privacy control
settings that forbid websites to store information to their cache. Usuall.y,
online retail websites
will gather information about new customers by directly prompting the
customers on their
website. However, online retail websites generally do not have a way to gather
information that
may be used for determining a customer's demographic or psychographic
information without
directly asking the customer for this information.
[0016] Similarly, vendors have difficulty in deriving helpful
psychographic and
demographic characteristics in other alternative channels of commerce. For
example, vendors
may allow custom.ers to shop for their products via kiosks, telephone call
centers, interactive
television services, mobile software applications, social networks, and the
like, in addition to their
physical stores. However, vendors are typically limited in the manner they may
determine a
customer's psychographic or demographic characteristics shopping via these
alternative channels
of commerce. Unlike the physical store context, these channels of commerce
typically do not
allow vendors to vi.sual.ly determine these characteristics with sales
representatives, or detect these
characteristics through the use of sensors.
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[0017] In physical retail stores, i.e., physical stores, vendors often do
not guide customers
through the sale process from a single location. For example, the location
where a customer
demonstrates a product is typically different from the location where a
customer may ask
questions to a store sales representative, which is also typicall.y different
from the location where
a customer provides their payment information to finalize a sale, or request
post-sale services
such as product installation or delivery. Performing the different steps of
the sales process at
different locations and by different store personnel can create various costs
and inefficiencies as
the person of ordinary skill wili readily appreciate. For the customer, it can
provide a fragm.ented
sales experience that undermines customer satisfaction and repeat sales.
[0018] The inability to guide a customer through the stages of the sales
process from a
single location is further problematic because it places a limit on the
vendor's ability to operate in
a confined space. That is, physical retail stores usually require at least
enough space to allow
vendors to engage a customer, store and demonstrate various inventory,
consummate a sale, and
setup installation and delivery. Thus, vendors often cannot provide this
entire range of services in
retail locations that require a smal.lam.ount of space, such as an information
kiosk at an air airport.
This, in turn, typi.call.y limits the range of locations vendors can create a
physical retail presence.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system that would allow a retailer to
perform a full range of
services from a reduced amount of physical space and/or at various locations
within the store.
[0019] Furthermore, the purchase of complex products involves much more
intellectual
interaction between shoppers and retail.ers than is commonly appreciated. This
compl.ex
interaction has been greatly magnified by the Internet revolution. Today's
shoppers often begin
their discovery process by researching products on the Internet. They may
continue this
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discovery process by visiting retail stores. And, they may conclude it with
additional discovery
over the Internet. This discovery may include researching the benefits of the
type of products,
learning about individual products, studying the reputation of individuai
manufacturers and
retailers (e.g., Consum.er Reports, Biz-Rate, etc.), reviewing shopper
comments, making the
technical and aesthetic judgments regarding their individual product
application (e.g., installation,
room décor issues, etc.), comparing prices, and so on.
[0020] As the discovery process becomes more refined, it I.eads to
purchase decisions that
are highly individualized. This is very different than when products were
bought more on generic
factors like price and availability. Instead of doing a simple Internet search
for a product, today's
sophisticated shoppers may conduct their initial discovery on the Internet, go
to store for more
discovery, return to the Internet for their final phase of discovery, and then
make their actual
purchase either online or in a store. Invariably, this complicated process
wi.II lead to purchases
that are much better suited for their individual taste, application, and
budget.
[0021] Unfortunately, despite the great advances in computing and
Internet technologies,
today's retail shopping process still resembles what it was like in the 20th
century and does not
provide for a seamless, individualized discovery and shopping experience.
[0022] For example, today's retail stores have a number of structural
problems that
frustrate shoppers. Such problems include but are not limited to: inability to
seamlessly integrate
discovery from home with additional in-store discovery and shopping; inability
to seamlessly
integrate in-store discovery with additional in-home discovery and shopping;
poorly trained
salespeople; a vast selection of merchandise spread over a large area; the
need to travel to store to
check-out and to determine the availability of post-sale services (in addition
to the need to travel
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to store to shop); products grouped by type (e.g., TV receivers, men's sports
coats, etc.) and not
grouped by solution (e.g., home theaters, men's outfits, etc.); inability to
perform cross-
departm.entai product demonstrations (e.g., take a picture with a particular
camera and display it
on a particular TV in the store); merchandise being displayed for a generic
shopper and not for the
individual shopper; merchandise being displayed and demonstrated in the store
environment as
opposed to the users' actual environments; inability to see products in detail
(e.g., rear panel of a
TV set or AV receiver, cut-away of competitive oil filters, etc.); inability
to obtain customized.
product content, including displayed comparisons of selected products; and
inability to by-pass a
sales advisor when greater technical expertise is immediately required (e.g.,
Apple Store's Genius
Bar requires an appointment).
[0023] Today's retail stores also have several structural problems that
are very
problematic for the retailers themselves. Such problems include but are not
limited to: difficulty
retaining experienced and knowledgeable salespeople, resulting in a poorly
trained sales force; the
need to carry more merchandise as product manufacturers, categories and
assortments grow; the
need to reduce the size of stores; difficulty providing adequate store
staffing during peak seasonal
periods; inability to offer a customized sales experience that targets the
shoppers' individual
demographic and psychographic profile; inability to understand shoppers' in-
home discovery,
often with little to no knowledge of shoppers' past shopping and buying
history; inability to
provide shoppers with individualized information which they can reference in
making additional
in-home discovery and/or deferred shopping decisions, including detailed
technical comparisons
of products that are of particular interest to an individual shopper;
difficulty of sales advisors to
access a company's vast database of product and educational information
without leaving the
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customer; inability to demonstrate products in the shoppers' exact user
environment (e.g., how a
particular speaker will sound in their living room or car); inability to offer
shoppers with a virtual
shopping cart that fully integrates their in-home and in-store discovery
shopping processes;
inability to schedule post-sales services at the point of sale; inability for
sales advisors to control
the discovery and shopping environments from their portable smart devices;
inability to post real-
time price changes and customer reviews; and inability to obtain real-time
analytics regarding
their shoppers' discovery and shopping behavior.
[0024] Other problems and drawbacks also exist.
SUMMARY OF TI E INVENTION
[0025] Some embodim.ents of the present invention are directed to systems
and methods
for adapting intuitive user interfaces to in-store displays for providing
intuitive and visually
compelling in-store shopping experience. The system having features of the
present invention
comprises intelligent displays for interacting with customers. The system may
include touch
screen devices, and gesture and voice recognition sensors for receiving input
from customers. An
intelligent display processor may be coupled to the intelligent displays,
touch screen devices, and
gesture and voice recognition sensors. The intelligent display processor may
be programmed to
control the monitor displ.ay based on input received from the touch screen
devices and gesture and
voice recognition sensors.
[0026] Other embodiments of the present invention are directed to
apparatus for providing
retail fixtures that integrate sensors and retail devices in a reusable and
modular manner. An
apparatus having features of the present invention may com.prises an
intelligent display, a touch
panel, an intelligent display stand for supporting an intelligent display, a
touch panel stand, a
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product stand, an intelligent display base for supporting the intelligent
display stand, a touch
panel base for supporting the touch panel stand, and a product base for
supporting the product
stand. The intelligent display has a rectangular-shaped stand vertically
disposed and extending
upwardly from a floor, opposing broadsides for mounting intelligent displays,
and opposing
narrow lateral sides. The touch panel stand for supporting a touch panel has a
first beam
horizontally disposed, extending laterally from the intelligent display stand,
a second beam for
supporting the first beam vertically disposed, extending upwardly from a
floor, and secured to a
base for stabilizing and securing the second beam to the floor, and a mount
attached to the end of
the first beam. The touch panel stand may be affixed to one or more touch
panel stands one or
more product stands. The product stand has a first beam horizontally disposed,
extending
laterally from the intelligent display stand, a second beam for supporting the
first beam, vertically
disposed, extending upwardly from a floor, and secured to a base for
stabilizing and securing the
second beam to the floor, a third beam transversely affixed across the end of
the first beam, a
fourth and fifth beam for supporting the third beam, vertically disposed,
extending upwardly from
a floor, secured to a base for stabilizing and securing the second beam to the
floor, a first mount
attached to the end of the first beam, and second and third mounts attached to
the opposing ends
of the third beam.
[0027] Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a system for
customizing
a sales experience provided to a customer. According to some embodiments of
the invention, this
may also be referred to as technology-enabled personalized shopping (TEPS).
According to one
embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises a mobile application
running on a mobile
device and a simulation apparatus that simulates the physical characteristics
of a real-world
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environment. The customer interfaces with the mobile device to provide
information about
himself or herself, control the simulation apparatus, and simulate products
according to the
characteristics of a real-world environment. The mobile device tailors the
sales process to the
customer, making recommendations based on customer information.
[0028] Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a method for
customizing
a vendor's sales experience for a customer, comprising the steps of
identifying a customer,
collecting information about the customer, recomm.ending a product to the
customer based on this
information., engaging a simulation apparatus, and simul.ating a product with
the simulation
apparatus.
[0029] According to one aspect of the invention, the customer may use
their mobile
device to identify himself or herself to the simulation apparatus.
[0030] In another aspect of the invention, the customer may use a radio
frequency enabled
device, for communicating in formats such as MD, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, to
identify himself or
herself to the simulation apparatus.
[0031] In another aspect of the invention, the sales process includes the
introduction,
qualification, demonstration., requalification, validation, recommendation,
purchase, del.ivery,
and/or installation phase of a sale. In yet another aspect of the invention,
the recommendation
phase recommends at least one product based on how the customer responds
during a
demonstration phase using simulation. In another aspect of the invention, the
recomm.end.ation
may be based on previously stored customer information. In one embodiment of
the invention,
the previously stored information may be personal information the customer
provided while
registering for an account with the vendor. In yet another embodiment of the
invention, this
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information may be collected from a customer's browser or similar application
for accessing web
sites or other information over networks.
[0032] In another aspect of the invention, the simulation apparatus
simulates a real-world
environm.ent that is defined by the customer. For example, the simulated
environment may
simulate the physical characteristics and dimensions of a customer's living
room, garage or
bedroom.
[0033] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may monitor the
customer's
location throughout the store by monitoring the location of the custom.er's
mobile device, or by
monitoring the location of a sales representative's mobile device. This
information may be used
by the vendor to analyze the customer's foot traffic patterns and tailor
recommendations for
products or solutions to the customer. In another aspect of the invention, the
system may monitor
a customer with opticai and motion sensors. This information may also be used
to customize a
recommendation for a product to a customer.
[0034] In one aspect of the invention, the mobile device interactively
displays images of a
product. Customers may zoom, pan, or rotate a virtual representation of a
product using the
mobil.e devi.ce. In yet another aspect of the invention, the mobil.e devi.ce
displays information
about the product. Customers may view technical details, product descriptions,
and product
reviews of the product by interfacing with the mobile device.
[0035] In another aspect of the invention, the mobile device may be used
to store
products viewed by the custom.er. The customer may then retrieve these
products at a later time,
to review or purchase.
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[0036] It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method
for retail stores to
display and demonstrate their inventory of goods using a minimal amount of
physical space.
[0037] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to visually inspect a vendor's fuli line of inventory in an interactive and
instructive manner, using
a limited amount of physical space.
[0038] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to provide individualized assistance and make customized recommendations for
products to
customers.
[0039] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to provide customers with a way of simulating how a vendor's products would
perform and
integrate into their intended environment.
[0040] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to integrate stored information about a customer into the in-store sales
process.
[0041] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to integrate in-store monitored information about a customer into the sales
process.
[0042] it is another object of the invention to provi.de a system and
method for retail stores
to integrate stored information and in-store monitored information about a
customer into the
sales process in real-time.
[0043] It is another object of the invention to enable online retail
stores and physical
stores to integrate and exchange customer information.
[0044] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to guide customers through the various stages of the sale process from a
single location.
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[0045] It is another object of the invention to provide a system and
method for retail stores
to perform a full range of services from a limited amount of physical space.
[0046] Further embodiments of the presen.t invention provides for a 2Ist
cen.tury, seamless
and individualized discovery and shopping experien.ce. More particularly,
these embodiments of
the present invention will greatly improve retail shopping experience for
shoppers and greatly
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of selling process for a retailer by
providing techniques
that provide one or more of the followin.g technical effects, benefits, and/or
advantages: (a) allow
sales advisors to access a company's vast database of product and educational
information
without leaving the customer and to perform all the store's sales and service
fimction at one
location; (b) greatly reduce the training requirements of sales advisors since
an Advisor Tablet
apparatus becomes the complete information resource for both the sales advisor
and shopper, such
that, with little training, a sales advisor can perform with the same level of
professionalism and
expertise that a highly experienced sales advisor performs in a conventional
retail environment;
(c) allow retailers to provide better sales coverage during peak times by
allowing video
conferencing with addition.al sales people at a central location; (d) allow
retail.ers to provide
immediate technical support which may be beyond the skills of the store sal.es
advisors by
allowing video conferencing with specialists at a central location; (e) allow
retailers to sell vastly
more products in significantly less space; (f) allow shoppers and retailers to
seamlessly integrate
individualized online discovery and purchasing processes with in.-store ones;
(g) serve as a hub
for disseminating individualized shopping information and si.m.ulations, for
launching distributive
virtual shopping (virtual shopping cart), and for the collection of important
demographic and
psychographic information; (h) allow sales advisors to control the discovery
and shopping
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environments from their portable smart devices; (i) post real-time price
changes and customer
reviews; (j) provide real-time analytics regarding their shoppers' discovery
and shopping
behavior.
[0047] Properly implemented, the present invention may provide both
retailers and
consumers with technology that brings retail into the 20 century.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0048] The objectives and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent to those of
skill in the art from the following detailed description in conjunction with
the appended drawings
in which like reference characters are used to indicate like elements, and in
which:
[0049] Figure 1 is a flow diagram of a method for customizing a vendor's
sales
experience delivered to a customer according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0050] Figure 2 is an exemplary system for customizing a vendor's sales
experience for a
customer with a mobile device and si.m.ulati.on apparatus according to another
embodiment of the
invention.
[0051] Figure 3 is an exemplary system for customizing a vendor's sales
experience for a
customer without a mobil.e device and simulation apparatus according to yet
another embodiment
of the invention.
[0052] Figure 4 is an exemplary system for customizing a sales experience
for a customer
using an intelligent display according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0053] Figure 5 is an ill.ustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to one embodim.ent of the invention.
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[0054] Figure 6 is an illustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to another embodiment of the invention.
[0055] Figure 7 is an illustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to another embodiment of the invention.
[0056] Figure 8 is an illustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to another embodiment of the invention.
[0057] Figure 9 is an ill.ustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to another embodiment of the invention.
[0058] Figure 10 is an illustration of a user interface for interacting
with an intelligent
display according to another embodiment of the invention.
[0059] Figure 11 is an illustration of a modular intelligent displ.ay
system. for affixing
intel.ligent display system components according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0060] Figure 12 is an illustration of a modular intelligent display
system for affixing
intelligent display system components according to another embodiment of the
invention.
[0061] Figure 13 is an ill.ustration of a modular intelligent display
system for affixing
intelligent display system components according to another embodiment of the
invention.
[0062] Figure 14 is an illustration of a modular intelligent display
system for affixing
intelligent display system components according to another embodiment of the
invention.
[0063] Figure 15 is a block diagram. illustrating the use of a Passport
tool in providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0064] Figure 16 is a system diagram illustrating a retail merchant's
operations according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
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[0065] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary Passport
server according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0066] Figure 18 shows an exemplary Passport card according to an
embodiment of the
present invention.
[0067] Figure 19 shows an exemplary Passport App and its functional
modules according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0068] Figure 20 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for
providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0069] Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary retail
shopping process
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0070] Figure 22 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary retail
shopping process
according to another embodiment of the presen.t invention..
[0071] Figure 23 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary use of real-
time product
tagging according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0072] Figure 24 shows an exemplary real-time pricing tag according to an
embodiment
of the present invention.
[0073] Figure 25 shows an exemplary use of wireless technology in a
retail store
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0074] Figure 26 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary method
for providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0075] As a general overview, the system and method customizes and
preferably,
substantially facilitates, each step in the sales process. According to some
embodiments of the
invention, this may also be referred to as technology-enabled personalized
shopping (TES). The
method starts at step 101 where a customer enters a vending location.. As
described in more detail
below, the vendor begins the sale process by identifying the customer. If the
customer has
registered an account with the vendor, the vendor may then retrieve
information about the
customer stored in the account. This information may include, for example,
personal information
such as the customer's address, or phone nutnber, psychographic information,
such as the
customer's interests, activities, subject matter expertise, and opinions, or
demographic
information such as the customer's age, financial status (e.g., affluence), or
gender. If the
customer does not have an account with the vendor, or there is no such
inform.ation stored in the
customer's account, the vendor may coll.ect this information in real-time at
the vendor's store.
For example, a store sales representative may collect this information by
engaging and interacting
with the customer. .As described in more detail below, the vendor may
facilitate this interaction
with the customer by providing a software application that can be executed on
the customer's
mobile device. As described in more detail below, after a customer downloads
the vendor's
software application to their mobile device, the software application engages
the customer in a
similar manner as the store sales representative, and coll.ects personal.,
demographic, or
psychographic information about the customer through an interactive mobil.e
interface.
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[0076] It should be understood that identifying the customer 102 may
simply be detecting
or acknowledging the customer without having information that identifies the
customer as a
particular individual (e.g., name, etc.).
[0077] The vendor may further col.lect this information through the use
of sensors located
throughout the store that collect in-store data reflecting the customer's
activity. For example,
these sensors may monitor a customer's body language, or foot traffic patterns
throughout the
store. As described in more detaii below, the vendor may use this information
to engage the
customer in a customized sales process. The vendor recommends products or
solutions to the
customer based on personal, demographic, and/or psychographic information the
vendor has
collected. For example, if the vendor has collected information about the
customer's age, gender,
residence, or personal preferences, the vendor may recommend a package of
audio equipm.ent that
is tailored to these customer traits. The vendor may use previously-stored
customer data (e.g.,
from an existing account with the vendor or prior visits to the vendor's web
site) in conjunction
with in-store customer data collected while the customer is shopping.
[0078] As steps 104-106 of Figure 1 show, the vendor may then demonstrate
the
recomm.ended products or solutions to the custom.er using the software
appl.ication running on the
customer's mobile device and/or a store simulation apparatus. As described in
more detail below,
the software application provides an interface for the customer to view and
interact with images
of the vendor's products. The software application also provides an interface
for the custom.er to
view detailed information about of the vendor's products. After vi.ewi.ng
information about the
products, the customer may interact with the store simulation apparatus to
simulate how the
recommended products or solutions would look, feel, and/or sound in a
particular environment.
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For example, the simulation apparatus may simulate how the recommended audio
equipment
would sound in a vehicle. In one aspect of the invention, the simulation
apparatus may be
configured to simul.ate an environm.ent defined or selected by the customer.
For exampl.e, the
si.m.ulation apparatus may be configured to simulate the acoustic
characteristics of the specific
make and model of the customer's car. The vendor may then simulate how
recommended audio
equipment would sound in the customer's car.
[0079] For example, the vendor may simulate the perfomiance of audio
speakers using an
audio simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos., 7,069,169 and
7,899,656, each
entitled "Virtual Speaker Demonstration System and Virtual Noise Simulation"
and assigned to
Crutchfield Corp. The vendor might simulate the performance of display units
using a display
simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,118, entitled
"System and Method
of Image Display Simul.ation", assigned to Crutchfield Corp. The vendor might
simulate the
performance of image capture devices (cameras, camcorders, etc.) using an
image capture
simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,676,403, also
assigned to Crutchfield
Corp. Each of the aforementioned patents is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0080] After demonstrating the recommended products and solutions, the
vendor may
then close the sale directly from the mobile device or simulation apparatus.
As described in more
detail below, the mobile device can function as a virtual shopping bag,
storing products and
solutions that the customer decides to purchase. After deciding on a product
or solution, the
customer may then provide purchase information, such as the customer's credit
card information,
to the mobile device or simulation apparatus and complete the sale. The mobile
device and
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simulation apparatus may further allow the customer to configure post-sale
services, such as
product delivery and installation.
[0081] The mobile device can take various forms. In one approach, the
mobile device
may be a personai device that the customer owns, such as a personal
smartphon.e or tablet, and
brings into the physical store. In another approach, the physical store may
provide customers
with a mobile device. In this way, vendors may customize the sales process to
more customers,
including those who do not own mobile devices may. In another approach, the
system can
support the delivery of customized sales experiences using both customer-owned
mobile devices
and store-provided mobile devices. As described in more detail below, mobile
devices may
include mobile personal computers, such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks,
tablets, PDAs (personal
digital assistants), smart phones (e.g., the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Amazon
Kindle and Kindle
Fire, etc.), and other forms of portable computer devices.
[0082] The method and system for providing a customized sales process, as
shown in
Figures 1-16 will now be explained in more detail.
[0083] Figure 1 is a flow diagram of a method for providing a customized
sales
experience according to an embodiment of the invention. The m.ethod starts at
step 101 where a
customer enters a vending location. When a customer enters the vending
location, the vendor
may identify the customer, as depicted in step 102. The vendor may then begin
the qualification
stages of the sales process by collecting information about the customer, as
depicted in step 103.
Using the customer information col.lected in step 103, the vendor may then
recommend a
product(s) or solution(s) to the customer based on the information the vendor
has collected, as
shown in step 104. The method then provides the customer with information
about the
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recommended product(s) or solution(s), as depicted in step 105. The method
also enables the
customer to simulate the performance of the product(s) or solution(s) by
engaging a simulation
apparatus 106, defining simul.ation settings 107, and simulating the
product(s) or sol.ution.(s)
according to the simulation settings. The method then enables the customer to
close the sale by
purchasing the recommended product(s) or solution(s) 109, and set post-sale
terms, such as the
delivery and installation of the recommended product(s) or solution(s) 110.
[0084] In one embodiment of the invention, the vending location of step
101 is a physical
retail store, havi.ng physical space for storing, stocking, demonstrating,
and/or displayi.ng products
offered by a vendor. The physical retail store may have enough physical space
to store, stock,
demonstrate, or display its catalogue of products. Alternatively, the physical
size of the retail
store may only have enough physical space to store, stock, demonstrate, or
display a fraction of
the store's I.in.e of products.
[0085] In another embodiment of the invention, the vending location is an
intelligent
display system, having no physical space to store, stock, demonstrate, or
display actual (i.e.,
tangible) products from inventory. As explained in more detail below, a vendor
m.ay simulate and
display information about the vendor's entire line of products with a software
application running
on a mobile device and a simulation apparatus. Thus, a vendor can guide a
customer through the
entire sales process without the need for any physical space for storing
actual inventory.
[0086] Referring now to step 102 in Figure 1, after a custom.er enters
the vending location,
the vendor may identify the customer. In one embodiment of the invention the
vendor identifies
the customer using previously stored customer information. For example, the
customer may have
provided their personal information, such as their name, address, phone
number, e-mail, usemame
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and the like, when registering for an account with the vendor. Customers may
identify
themselves by providing this information to a mobile device, sales
representative, simulation
apparatus, or intelligent display system. In another embodiment, the customer
may have created a
unique customer ID or user name when registering for an account with the
vendor's website. In
another embodiment, the customer may provide a code or information from a
cookie established
during a customer interaction with the vendor's website. In one embodiment,
the code may be a
Connect ID number as used by Crutchfield Corp. on the website at
www.crutchfield.com.
Similarly, customers may identify themselves by providing this information to
a mobile device,
sales representative, simulation apparatus, or intelligent display system. In
yet another
embodiment of the invention, the customer may use loyalty program identifiers,
such as loyalty
club cards, magnetic stripe cards, or smart cards and the like. Loyalty card
readers at the vendor
location identify customers by reading the customer identification information
stored on the
loyalty card. The information provided by the customer can be provided
verbally or by
appropriate device, such as a loyalty card or rewards card, credit card/debit
card/other payment
card, or mobile device such as by reading the identification information from
a customer's smart
phone or tablet.
[0087] In other embodiments, vendors may identify customers with wireless
communication devices such as RFID or near-field communication ("NFC")
compatible devices.
These devices may be active or passive devices that digitally communicate and
exchange data
between devices in close proximity or from afar. These devices may store
customer identification
information, and identify customers by digitally communicating the stored
information to NFC
enabled receivers at the store. For example, an NFC device may be a Bluetooth
or Wi-Fi
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compatible device that can communicate customer data over short distances to
the vendor using
short-wavelength radio transmissions. An RFID device may be a smartcard or fob
that can
communicate customer identification information stored on the device to the
vendor using radio
transmissions. REID or NFC compatible receivers at the vendor location receive
the customer
identification information transmitted by the customers' NFC or RFD enabled
devices. RFID
and NFC enabled devices may include smart phones and/or tablets having those
capabilities.
[0088] In one embodiment of the invention, the customer uses a mobile
device to identify
himsel.f or herself to the vendor. Mobile devices include personal computers,
laptops, notebooks,
netbooks, tablets, PDAs (personal digital assistants), smart phones (e.g., the
iPhone, Samsung
Galaxy, Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire, etc.), and other forms of portable
computer devices.
Mobile devices that can support wireless communications such as NFC or RFID
can
communicate the customer identification to the vendor using any method
described above. In
another embodiment, the mobile device can use its cellular capability to
connect to a network
such as the interne and communicate customer identification information to the
vendor over the
network. For example, the mobile device may send an 11-17P request to a vendor
server and.
identify the customer as having entered the store.
[0089] The mobile device may be programmed with a software application
that enables
the mobile device to communicate to the vendor. In one embodiment, the
software application
may be a mobile app developed by the vendor, and distributed to customers
through an app store
such as Apple iTunes, or Google Play. In other embodiments of the invention,
the software
application may be a third-party application, such as a mobile browser,
connected to a web app
hosted by the vendor. For example, the software application may be a mobile
browser such as the
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Safari Mobile Browser, connected to Crutchfield's mobile-friendly online
website. In other
embodiments, the software application may also be specialized native software
designed for use
on mobile devices, or intelligent display systems operated by sales
representatives and vendors.
in these embodiments, the software appl.ications may be installed and
maintained privately,
without being distributed through a public third party app distributor, such
as Apple iTunes, or
Google Play.
[0090] The mobile device may use a variety of different sources of
information to identify
the customer. For example, the information the mobile device communicates to
the vendor may
be personal identification information, such as their name, address, phone
number, e-mail,
usemame and the like, or a unique customer ID stored in memory on the phone.
This information
may be stored in non-volatile or volatile memory. For exam.ple, this
information may be a file
stored in non-volatile memory on the mobile devi.ce, or it may be information
stored in volatile
memory such as a mobile Web browser's cache. In one aspect of the invention, a
software
application running on the mobile device can communicate this information to
the vendor with its
cellular or Wi-Fi. capability. For exampl.e, upon entering the store, the
customer can use the
software application on their mobile device to send a message to a server or
receiver at the store,
that checks the customer into the store. The software application then
communicates the
customer's identity to the vendor using any of the methods described above,
such as Bluetooth,
Wi.-Fi or the mobile device's cellul.ar connection.
[0091] In other embodiments of the invention, the vendor may identify the
customer
without using personally-identifying information. For example, the vendor may
identify the
customer simply based on the customer's entrance into the store. The vendor
may identify a
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customer entering the store using sensors located at the store, or using
software on the customer's
mobile device. For example, motion detection sensors may be installed near the
entrance of the
store that enable a vendor to identify a customer when a customer has entered
the store. A
customer's mobile device may similarly be used to identify a customer without
communicating
personally-identifiable customer information. For example, the vendor may
provide mobile
device software that merely communicates to the vendor when the mobile device
is located at a
vendor location.
[0092] in another aspect of the invention, the software application can
communicate this
information to the vendor without any active customer involvement. That is,
upon entering the
store, the vendor or the mobile device may automatically detect the customer's
identification
information on the mobile device. For example, the customer's mobile device
may be
programmed to use its geo-location capabilities, such as Gl?S or cell tower
triangulation, to detect
when a customer has entered a store. The mobile device may then automatically
communicate
the customer's identification information to a receiver or server at the
vendor using any of the
methods described above, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or the mobile device's
cellular connection.
Thus, a sales representative may greet the customer by name as soon as the
customer enters the
store, without the customer ever introducing himself or herself.
[0093] In one embodiment of the invention, the customer may be identified
by their
personal information, such as name, address, or telephone number. Upon
entering a store, a sales
representative may ask for this information from the customer, and enter this
information into
their mobile device (e.g., Advisor Tablet) or a store computer to retrieve the
customer's account
information.
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[0094]
Referring now to step 103, after the vendor has identified the customer, the
vendor
begins the qualification stage of the sales process by collecting information
about the customer.
The qualification process is a recognition process in which the vendor
determines inform.ation
about the customer's needs, preferences, and traits.
The qualification process may be
implemented by retrieving a customer's personal, demographic, or psychographic
information
stored in a vendor's databases 205 or 206. This information may be information
that the customer
has previously provided when registering an account with the vendor. For
example, when
registering for an account with the vendor, the customer may provide
information that identifies
personal features about the customer, such as their name, address, phone
number and the like.
Personal information may also include information about the customer's car,
home, or any
intended place of use for the products. For example, Crutchfield Corp. may
collect data about the
cars a person drives when registering at www.crutchfield.com. The vendor may
store information
about the make and model of the customer's car, which may later be used to
recommend products
that are compatible with the customer's car make and model type. This
information may also
include demographic inibrmation about the customer, such as their gender,
race, age, disabilities,
mobil.ity, home ownership, financial status (e.g., affluence), em.ployment
status, and the like. This
information may further include psychographic information about the customer's
personality,
values, subject matter expertise, attitudes, interests, lifestyles, and the
like. In another aspect of
the invention, this information may al.so be information from previous
transactions with the
customer that the vendor has stored, such as the customer's purchase history,
browsing history,
and history associated with one or more Connect IDs as previously described.
As explained in
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more detail below, such information is used to make customized recommendations
for products or
solutions to the customer.
[0095] If there is no personal, demographic, or psychographic information
about the
customer stored in the vendor's database, such as when the customer does not
have an account
with the vendor, the vendor may collect information in real-time at the
vendor's store. The vendor
may collect this information from the store sales representatives or from
sensors installed
throughout the store. In one aspect of the invention, a store sales
representative may collect this
information from general observations about the customer and by engaging and
interacting with
the customer. For example, the representative can determine a customer's
demographic
infommtion such as age or gender visually, while determining a customer's
psychographic
information, such as preferences or tastes, after interacting with the
customer. That inform.ation
can be entered into the Advisor's Tablet. =In another aspect of the invention,
sensors may be
installed throughout the store to monitor the customer and electronically
determine information
about a customer using a computer. As described in more detail below, these
sensors may
comprise part of a sensing system that may include motion detection or optical
sensors.
[0096] According to some embodiments of the invention, sensors may
include facial
recognition programs enabling vendors to determine demographic information
about the
customer. As described in more detail below, these sensors may record and
analyze video and
audio information of customers to determine demographic customer information
such as age
range, gender, and race.
[0097] According to one embodiment, programs on the vendor's computers
may similarly
analyze information received from sensors located throughout a stored to
determine or derive or
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project demographic or psychographic information about the customer. Sensors
may be used to
determine demographic customer information such as age range, gender, race,
number of people
and time spent of the customers. Additionally, sensors may also determine what
products or
solutions the customer may be interested in based on the information, such as
the customer's foot
traffic patterns. This information may be stored by the vendor, or
communicated directly to the
software application running on the customer's mobile device to make a
customized
recommendation or a product or solution to the customer.
[0098] The vendor may facilitate the interaction between the sales
representative and the
customer by providing a software application that can be executed on a
customer's mobile device.
As described above, customer may download the software application from the
vendor's website
or from a centralized software provider, such as Apple iTunes or Google Play.
In accordance
with embodiments of the invention, the application comprises one or more
sequences of processor
executable instructions or program modules. These instructions may be stored
in a volatile or
non-volatile memory in the mobile device. The mobile devices include at least
one processor
with the capability to execute the software applications, computer programs,
or executable code
downloaded from the vendor's website or from the centralized software
provider. The processor
executable instructions stored in volatile or non-volatile memory are executed
by the processor on
the mobile device to perform the functions and specific operations described
herein. In other
embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination
with software
instructions to implement the methods described herein.
[0099] After a customer has downloaded the software application to the
customer's
mobile device, the software application engages the customer in a similar
manner as the store
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sales representative, and collects personal, demographic, and/or psychographic
information about
the customer through an interactive mobile interface. For example, the
software application may
ask the customer questions about the customer's musicai interests, preferences
in music, or
listening habits, such as where in the customer's house the customer prefers
to listen to music.
The customer may provide his or her musical interests by entering the name of
an artist or song
into the mobile device interface. In one aspect of the invention, the customer
may describe how
he/she prefers to listen to music by interacting with a blueprint of the
custom.er's home on the
mobil.e device. For example, the software application may al.low the customer
to describe the
architectural layout of the customer's home, such as the location and
dimensions of their
bedrooms, living rooms, and entertainment areas. Using this blueprint, the
customer may then
visually specify where and how the customer would like to listen to music. For
exampl.e, the
customer may specify that they would like to have control over the music being
played from their
living room, but would like to listen to this music in common areas such as
the pool and garage.
In other embodiments of the invention, the software application may qualify
other features about
the customer and the customer's environment, such as what types of electronic
capabilities they
have in their house, what type of internet connectivity they have, where they
listen to music,
where they get their music, what devices they listen to music on in their
house, and what type of
computer systems and devices they have. The software application may store
this information in
the vendor's databases for making recommendations for products or solutions to
the custom.er.
[001 00] A.ccording to one embodiment of the invention, the vendors may
provi.de
customers with mobile software applications that customers may use before in-
store shopping for
the vendor's products (i.e., "pre-shopping apps"). For example, the pre-
shopping app may be a
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software application that allows customers to view or simulate products, learn
information about
particular products, view current vendor sales, receive marketing discounts,
or find out
information about the vendor (such as retail store locations and hours),
before entering the store.
in some instances, customers may provide the pre-shopping app with personal,
demographic, or
psychographic customer information. This information can be collected by the
vendor's website
or otherwise at a vendor server. Thus, this pre-shopping app may allow vendors
to capture
demographic and/or psychographic information about the customer, before the
customer enters
the physical store.
[00101] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may determine
demographic or
psychographic information about the customer by collecting information from
the mobile device
itself, without directly asking the custom.er for this information. Typically,
vendors determine a
customer's demographic or psychographic characteristics by directly asking the
customer for this
information, for example, during a customer account registration process.
Vendors typically store
this demographic and psychographic information about the customer, for vendors
to later use as
the basis for a recomm.endation for a product. flowever, because vendors
typi.call.y require a
customer to create an account, vendors usually cannot make a recommendation to
new customers
who have not yet registered an account with the vendor.
[00102] In an online retail website context, vendors similarly find it
problematic to make
customized recommendations to new custom.ers visiting the vendor's online
retaii website for the
first time. Typically, vendors make customized recommendations to online
customers by storing
information about the customer, such as shopping or web browsing history,
locally in the
customer's web browser cache. However, vendors typically cannot make a
customized
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recommendation to a new customer, or to customers with strict privacy control
settings that forbid
or restrict websites from storing information to their cache.
[00103] According to one embodiment of the invention, instead of directly
asking
customers for demographic or psychographic information, vendors may determine
or derive or
estimate this information from a customer's web browsing behavior and hardware
information,
without requiring a customer to create an account or to store that information
in a web browser's
cache. A customer's web browsing behavior and hardware information may provide
useful
inforination that vendors may leverage for making recommendations for specific
products.
[00104] According to another embodiment of the invention, the vendor may
gather
infommtion about a customer's computer or mobile device, such as the computer
or mobile
device's make and model, software applications installed on the computer or
mobile device,
music or movies stored on the computer or mobile device, computer or mobile
device processing
capabilities, and the like. Using this device information, the vendor may
determine demographic
or psychographic information about the customer. For example, if the vendor
determines that the
mobile device or computer is a new model of an Apple iPhone or MacBook, the
vendor may
make demographic or psychographic approximations about the customer that
usually distinguish
Apple users from other computer users, such as PC users. Studies suggest that
self-identified
Apple users are more likely to be younger, more politically progressive, and
more artistic than PC
users. Other demographic and psychographic differences between Apple and PC
users studied by
researchers include fashion (e.g., Apple users identify themselves as
designer, chic, upscale and
unique, or retro, whereas PC users are likely to identify their styles as
casual and trending toward
jeans), aesthetics (Apple users prefer modem art and are design enthusiasts),
taste (Apple users
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prefer bistro-style fries as opposed to McDonald's fries), media consumption
(Apple users prefer
watching HBO and 60 minutes, reading MacWorld, and browsing Huffington Post),
and
technological comfort (Apple users are less likely to consider themselves tech-
savvy). Thus, by
identifying that a customer's computer or mobile devi.ce is a new Apple iPhone
or Mac, the
vendor may estimate that the customer is young, liberal, and has a more
artistic personality than,
for example, PC users. Likewise, reports suggest differences between users of
Apple mobile
devices and Android-based mobile devices, such as the latter tending to be
younger and/or more
technologically savvy. With this demographic and psychographic information,
the vendor may
make a recommendation for a particular product customized to these particular
characteristics.
[00105] In another example, if the vendor determines that the customer's
mobile device is a
luxury brand (or otherwise high-end or costly device, or on the other hand, a
low-end basic
device) mobile devi.ce, the vendor may estimate or predict demographic
information, such as a
customer's financial status or income information. In yet another example, if
the mobile device
has a large amount of classical music stored in memory, the software
application may estimate
psychographic information, such as m.usical preferences, about the customer.
In this way, the
mobil.e device may be used to gather psychographic or demographic information
about the
customer, without prompting the customer for information or using previously-
stored information
about the customer. This improves the vendor's ability to make recommendations
of products to
new customers who have no prior information stored with the vendor. By
collecting information
about the customer's devi.ce, the vendor may estimate or predict the
customer's psychographic or
demographic and make recommendations without using any prior customer
information.
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[00106] In one embodiment of the invention, the vendor may determine
demographic or
psychographic information about the customer through a retail website. As with
mobile devices
discussed above, the retaii website may collect this information by prompting
the customer from
the web for responses. However, in another aspect of the invention, the vendor
may gather this
information about the customer by collecting information about the customer's
browser, user
access device (tablet versus Pc, i0S-based v. Android-based, etc.), and/or the
intern& connection
itself, without prompting the customer for inform.ation. By gathering
inform.ation about the
customer's browser, device, and internet connection, such as the customer's
Internet Service
Provider ("ISP"), the vendor may estimate demographic or psychographic
information about the
customer. This information may, in turn, be used to improve the vendor's
ability to make
recommendations for specific products or solutions. For example, the vendor
website may detect
a customer's general IP address by analyzing a customer's HUI' request. With
this information,
the vendor may determine a customer's ISP and general location. Metadata in
HTTP requests
may also be used to identify the device type. If the vendor website determines
that the customer
has a general address located in Florida or Hawaii, the vendor may recommend
car audio
solutions that require installation, whereas if the general address were
located in Michigan or
Maine, the vendor may recommend car audio solutions that do not require
installation, because
car audio installations are typically difficult to complete in cold climates.
Other information in
the HTTP request may be used to approximate demographic or psychographic
information about
the customer. For example, vendors may determine what language a customer
speaks by
identifying the language field in a HTTP header. This may further be used to
guess a customer's
nationality or origin. Vendors may also determine which document a customer
has requested,
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which web page the customer came from to get to the destination page, and
other information that
may be stored in a cookie.
[00107] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may collect
information about the
customer's real time browsing behavior of products sold on the website, such
as the speed with
which a customer views particular web pages, which parts of a web page the
customer has
viewed, which links, audio clips and video clips the customer has played, or
any other type of
browsing behavior. The vendor may then determine a customer's interests or
preferences based
on the browsing behavior of the web pages the customer viewed. For example,
the vendor
website may detect that a customer is scrolling quickly through car audio
solutions priced below
$100 without auxiliary or built-in iPhone connections, while pausing at car
audio solutions priced
between $200-$400 with auxil.iary or buil.t-in iPhone connections. With this
information, the
vendor may recommend audio solutions with these particular features, i.e.,
priced between $200-
$400 with auxiliary or built-in iPhone connections. The vendor may detect a
customer's scrolling
speed, cursor position, and similar browsing behavior with the use of
JavaScript or scripting
software packages such as jQuery.
[00108] in this way, the mobile device may gather psychographic or
demographic
information about the customer, without prompting the customer for
information, or using any
prior information about the customer. The vendor may then use this information
to make
recommendations for products or soluti.ons on the website. In another aspect
of the invention, this
information may be saved, and used to make a recommendation to the customer,
if the customer
later decides to visit the store. As described in more detail below, the
information from the online
website may be saved by the customer and taken to a vendor's site. This
improves the vendor's
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ability to make recommendations for products to new customers, and in
particular, new customers
who would have no prior information other than the online stored with the
vendor. By collecting
information about the customer's browser behavior, access device or intemet
connection, the
vendor may determine the customer's psychographic or demographic
characteristics and make
recommendations without ever directly asking the customer for this
information.
[00109] In one aspect of the invention, vendors may extend the use of
information about a
customer's device to any altemati.ve channel of commerce, and serve as the
basis for vendors to
determine a customer's demographic or psychographic characteristics. For
example, vendors may
allow customers to shop for their products via intelligent display systems,
telephone call centers,
interactive television services, mobile software applications, social
networks, and the like, in
addition to their physical stores. As in the online retail context, vendors
are typically limited in
the manner they may determine a customer's psychographic or demographic
characteristics when
customers shop via such alternative channels of commerce. Unlike the physical
store context,
these alternative channels of commerce typically do not allow vendors to
visually determine these
characteristics with sales representatives. However, vendors may detect
information about the
device the customer is using to shop in the alternative channel of commerce.
For exampl.e, if the
customer is shopping via a software application on their mobile device, the
vendor may gather
information such as the computer or mobile device's make and model, age,
processing
capabilities, and the like. Using this device inform.ation, the vendor may
determine demographic
or psychographic information about the customer. For exampl.e, if the vendor
determines that the
customer is using a new model of an Apple iPhone or MacBook, the vendor may
make
demographic or psychographic approximations about the customer that usually
distinguish Apple
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users from other computer users, such as PC users. As discussed above, studies
suggest that self-
identified Apple users are more likely to be younger, more liberal, and more
artistic than PC
users. Thus, if a vendor determines that a customer is using an Apple product,
the vendor may
recommend products targeted to young, liberal, and artistic consum.ers. As
another example, if
the customer is shopping via telephone call center, the vendor may gather
information about the
customer's phone number to determine the customer's geographic location. Using
a customer's
device information al.lows vendors to profile a customer's demographic and
psychographic
characteristics in any channel of commerce. Thus, whether a customer is
shopping via a physical
store, intelligent display system, online website, software application,
social network, etc., the
vendor may make a recommendation to the customer tailored to the customer's
particular
demographic and psychographic characteristics.
[00110] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may collect
information from
sensors already installed on the customer's device to analyze and use in
determining a customer's
demographic or psychographic characteristics. For example, vendors may record
audio from
customers shopping via telephone call centers, and analyze different
components of a customer's
voice and speech, such as phonation, resonance, intonation, pitch,
respiration, phonology,
language, morphology, syntax, grammar, semantics, pragmatics, and the like, to
determine the
customer's demographic and psychographic characteristics. Specifically,
certain phrases or tones
that a customer may use, may be used to guess or predict the customer's age,
gender,
soci.oeconom.ic status, etc. As another example, a vendor may instal l cameras
and audio recorders
at an intelligent display system to monitor and analyze the customer in a
similar manner as the
EyeSee Mannequin, described below. The vendor may then use this information in
the same
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manner as described above to profile a customer's demographic and
psychographic characteristics
in any channel of commerce, and make a recommendation tailored to these
characteristics.
[00111] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may bridge the gap
between physical
retail stores and alternative channels of commerce, such as online retaii
websites, by allowing the
software application to access information about the customer's out-of-store
shopping history.
This shopping history may include, without limitation, the customer's online
browsing and
purchase history, and the history of any communications made to the vendor,
such as by
telephone or e-mail. In one embodiment of the invention, a vendor may store a
customer's
browsing history when the customer visits their website from a computer
located off-site from the
vending location. This information may include products or solutions the
customer viewed, or
questions the custom.er may have asked to an online customer service
representative. When the
customer has been identified by the system., the vendor may then retrieve the
customer's browsing
information from the vendor's database. This information may then be used to
engage the
customer during the sales process. For example, if the customer has been
viewing a particular
line of speakers or asked a particular question about the speakers on the
vendor's website, a sales
representative may use this information to skip over the introduction or
qualification steps of the
sales process and directly engage the customer on the speakers the customer
viewed and inquired
about on the vendor's web site. In other embodiments of the invention, the
customer's browser
history may be stored locally on the custom.er's mobil.e device, instead of on
the vendor's
database. The software application may retrieve this information and
communicate it to the
system using the NFC, RFID, or cellular capabilities described above.
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[00112] As a general matter, the software application may be operated to
navigate to any
stage of the sales process. For example, the customer may iteratively cycle
through the
qualification and recommendation stages until the customer is satisfied with a
product or sol.ution..
The software application may al.so be used to bookmark the stages of the sales
process that the
customer completed. Thus, if the customer was only able to provide the
application with
demographic information, leaving the psychographic information incomplete, the
customer could
bookmark their pl.ace in the application (or the software could automatically
bookmark the
location) such that the next time the customer launched the application, the
application would
bring the customer to the interface for entering their psychographic
information.
[00113] In another aspect of the invention, a sales representative may
also supplement the
customer information collected by the software application running on the
customer's mobile
device. The sales representative may have a separate mobile device (Advisor
Tablet) running a
software application that he or she may use while engaging a customer in the
sales process. As
with the customer's mobile device, the software application running on the
sales representative's
mobile device may allow the sales representative to provide personal,
demographic, or
psychographic information about the customer to the vendor. For exampl.e, if
the sales
representative learns about the customer's specific taste in a particular kind
of music, the sales
representative may enter this information onto his or her mobile device, which
may then be
communicated directly to the vendor's database or customer's mobile device for
making a
customized recommendation of products or solutions.
[00114] The sales representative's mobile device may be referred to herein
as an "Advisor
Tablet", although the person of ordinary skill will appreciate that the device
can be a tablet, min-
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tablet, smart phone, netbook, lap top, personal computer, and so forth, as
appropriate for the
particular environment and application. The mobile device used by the
customer, whether the
customer's own device or a store-provided device, may be referred to herein as
the "Customer
Tablet", and take various forms as with the Advisor Tablet.
[00115] Referring now to step 104 of Figure 1, after the software
application receives the
customer information, the software application recommends products or
solutions to the customer
based on the personal, demographic, and/or psychographic information the
vendor has collected.
For example, if the vendor has col.lected information about the customer's
age, gender, residence,
financial status, expertise, or personal tastes, the vendor may recommend a
package of audio
equipment that is tailored to the customer's specific age, gender, financial
status, expertise or
personal taste. In one aspect of the invention, the vendor may use information
stored in its sales
records to tailor a recommendation to the customer. That is, the vendor may
use information
about what types of products and solutions customers with similar demographic
and
psychographic profiles have purchased in the past to recommend a product
tailored to the
customer's specific age, gender, financial status, expertise and taste. For
example, if the vendor
has determined that the customer is a 25 year old, single, upper middle class
male, who enjoys
listening to pop music in his living room, with significant experience and
expertise with home
audio electronics, the vendor may search its sales history for purchases made
by customers with
similar profiles and determine what audio equipment this particular segment of
customers enjoys.
This is sometimes referred to as "collaborative analysis" or "like-minded
filtering." One of
ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the software application may
base its
recommendation off previous sales history using statistical or probabilistic
algorithms. For
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example, the software application may use Bayesian probability to determine
the likelihood the
customer would purchase particular audio equipment, given the fact that the
customer is 25, male,
and single.
[00116] The demonstration of a product may include either or both of steps
105 and 106.
[00117] Referring now to step 105, the software application visually
displays the
recommended product or solution to the customer on the mobile device. The
software application
interface may allow the custom.er to Mom and pan to different parts of the
product or solution.
'fhe software application interface may also al.low the customer to rotate the
image of the product
or solution enabling the customer to view the product from different angles.
Using the software
application running on the mobile device, a customer can virtually inspect a
vendor's entire line
of products or solutions without using any physical space in the store.
[00118] In another aspect of the invention, the application may display
the product or
solution as a holographic or 3-D display. Devices and techniques exist for
displaying content on
mobile devices in three dimensions. Such devices and techniques output video
and sometimes
involve the use of special glasses for resol.ves 3-D images displayed on a
screen. Displaying
products or solutions in 3-D or as holograms provides a more tangible and
meaningful simulation
experience for the customer.
[00119] In another aspect of the invention, the software application may
visually display
detailed information about the recommended product or solution to the customer
on the mobile
device. This information may include a product description, features,
specifications, dimensions,
reviews, and category information. The software application interface may
allow the customer
view details about the product or solution that a customer would not otherwise
be able to view on
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a physical embodiment of the product. For example, a customer viewing
information about a set
of speakers can view the speaker's frequency response, power range,
sensitivity, and customer or
expert reviews of the product. By providing information about a recommended a
product or
solution tailored to the custom.er's personal., demographic, and
psychographi.c features, the
customer may discover new products or solutions, or new capabilities of
previously known
products and solutions.
[00120] Referring now to steps 106-108 of Figure 1, after the customer has
viewed the
product or solution, and the detail.ed information about the product or
solution, the vendor may
then demonstrate the recommended products or solutions to the customer using
the software
application running on the customer's mobile device or a store simulation
apparatus. The store
may have a simulation apparatus that is configured to simul.ate an environment
defined by the
customer. For example, the simulation apparatus may simulate how the
recommended audio
equipment would sound in a bedroom, living room, or vehicle. In one embodiment
of the
invention, the apparatus is a physical console that resembles the environment
the customer is
attempting to simulate. For example, a simulation apparatus simulating the
audio characteristics
of a car may include an automotive interior, car seats, and dashboard. As
another example, a
simulation apparatus simulating the user's home theatre may include a room
with a projection
screen and theatre seating, mimicking the layout of the customer's home
theatre room. Providing
a physicai setting to simulate a particular environment assists the customer
visualize how a
product or solution may look and feei in their intended environment.
[00121] As described above, the vendor may simulate the performance of
audio speakers
using an audio simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos.,
7,069,169 and 7,899,656,
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each entitled "Virtual Speaker Demonstration System and Virtual Noise
Simulation" and assigned
to Crutchfield Corp. The vendor might simulate the performance of display
units using a display
simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,118, entitled
"System and Method
of Image Display Sim.ulation", assigned to Crutchfield Corp.. The vendor might
simulate the
performance of image capture devices (cameras, camcorders, etc.) using an
image capture
simulation as described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,676,403, also
assigned to Crutchfield
Corp. Each of the aforementioned patents is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[00122] ln step 106, the customer engages a simulation apparatus.
According to some
embodiments of the invention, the simulation apparatus may include reference
equipment for
simulating the characteristics of various different brands and models of
product. For example, a
simulation apparatus for simulating a set of speakers may include reference
speakers that may be
programmed to sim.ulate the audio characteristics of different brands and
models of speakers. The
simulation apparatus may further include a user display for showing the
customer information
about the product being simulated. For example, the simulation apparatus user
display may show
the customer the audio characteristics and product information about the
speakers being
simulated. In some embodi.m.ents of the invention, the simulation apparatus
user displ.ay may be
controlled by a software application running on the user's mobile device. The
software
application running on the mobile device may further enable the customer to
control the
simulation apparatus. For example, the customer may select which speakers to
simulate using the
software application running on the mobile devi.ce.
[00123] Whereas the embodiment described above allows customers to control
the
simulation apparatus using a software application running on a mobile device,
other embodiments
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allow the simulation apparatus to be controlled with a user interface directly
affixed to the
reference equipment. For example, a set of reference speakers may have a touch
screen user
interface affixed onto the front side of the speakers. A custom.er may select
which speakers to
si.m.ulate by interacting wi.th the user interface directl.y affixed to the
speakers.
[00124] According to one embodiment of the invention, the simulation
apparatus may
include reference equipment to simulate the sound system inside an automobile.
According to
this and similar embodiments, the sim.ulation apparatus may include a steering
wheel, car seats,
reference speakers, and a dashboard with a user interface, emulating a car-
like environm.ent. In
this and similar embodiments, the simulation apparatus may be engaged by
interacting with the
user interface on the car dashboard.
[00125] Referring now to step 107, the characteristics of the sim.u.lation
apparatus can be
programmed to reflect the physical characteristics of the customer's
particular envi.ronment. For
example, a simulation apparatus simulating a customer's bedroom can be
programmed to simulate
how audio equipment would actually sound in the customer's bedroom. By
analyzing the
physical dimensions of the customer's particular environment, the vendor may
determine the
acoustic characteristics of the custom.er's environment.
[00126] Referring to step 108, the simulation apparatus may then apply
these acoustic
characteristics to an audio input, such as a music track, reproducing how the
audio input would
sound in the customer's particular environment.
[00127] In one aspect of the invention, the customer may control how the
products or
solutions are being simulated with the software application mining on the
mobile device. The
customer may use the software application interface to select which products
or solutions to
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simulate, and which physical environment the products or solutions are to be
simulated in. For
example, the customer may use the software application interface to select a
set of speakers to
simulate in a bedroom. In one aspect of the invention, the customer may load a
blueprint layout
of the customer's bedroom. onto the mobile device. Using the layout of the
customer's bedroom,
the customer can simulate how the set of speakers would sound depending on
where the speakers
are placed.
[00128] In one embodiment of the invention, the customer interfaces with
the simulation
apparatus by interfacing with the mobile device's touch screen. In other
embodiments of the
invention, the customer may interact with the simulation apparatus through an
interface directly
connected to the simulation apparatus.
[00129] In yet another aspect of the invention, the simulation apparatus
may engage the
customer automatically when the customer approaches the apparatus with their
mobile device.
For example, when a customer walks into a bedroom simulator, the simulation
apparatus will
automatically display information tailored to the customer, without the
customer initiating any
interaction. The simulation apparatus may display the customer's name, home
layout, and.
recently viewed products and sol.utions. The simulation apparatus may receive
this information
from the software application running on the customer's mobile device. The
mobile device may
communicate to the simulation apparatus using its NFC, RFID, or cellular
capabilities described
above. Si.m.ilarl.y, the simulation apparatus may be automatically triggered
when the customer
approaches by the mobile device's NFC or RFID proximity capabilities, or the
store's optical and
motion sensors.
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[00130] Using a simulation apparatus provides the ability to demonstrate a
line of products
in a wide variety of environments using a minimal amount of physical space. As
noted above,
this al.lows vendors to demonstrate a large amount of inventory while avoiding
the cost of
consuming a large amount of physical space. For exam.ple, vendors can
demonstrate products to
consumers in vending locations as small as a kiosk at an airport.
[00131] Referring now to step 109, after demonstrating the recommended
products and
solutions, the vendor may then close the sale and purchase the product or
solution directly from.
the mobile device or simulation apparatus. The mobile device allows the
customer to store
products and solutions that the customer decides to purchase in a virtual
shopping bag. In one
embod iment of the invention, the selected products or solutions may be stored
in a volatile or
non-volatile memory on the mobile device or simulation apparatus. In another
embodiment of the
invention, the selected products may be stored in the vendor's database.
[00132] After adding a product or solution to the customer's virtual
shopping bag, the
customer may decide to complete the sale from the mobile device. Using the
software
application's interface, the customer may provide payment inform.ation, such
as their debit or
credit card information, and place an order for the selected product or
solution directly from. the
mobile device.
[00133] In another embodiment of the invention, the customer may decide to
save the
product or solution in their virtual shopping bag, and complete the purchase
transaction at a I.ater
time. For exampl.e, the custom.er may decide to view more information about
the products or
solutions in the virtual shopping bag when they return home. From their home,
the customer may
then provide their payment information and place an order for the selected
product or solution.
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[00134] Referring to step 110, the mobile device and simulation apparatus
may further
allow the customer to configure post-sale services. From the same mobile
device user interface,
the customer may request post-sale services such as product delivery and
product installation.
=Using the mobile device to complete the sale and satisfy requests for post-
sale services allows
vendors to yield higher conversion rates. Allowing the customer to place an
order in the very
same location the customer demonstrated the product or solution improves
convenience for the
customer and avoids forcing the customer to wait in a check-out line.
[00135] Figure 2 is an exemplary system for customizing a vendor's sales
experience for a
customer according to one embodiment of the invention. The system comprises a
brick and
mortar store that may include sensors 201, a simulation apparatus 202, a first
mobile device 203, a
second mobile device 204, a database for storing inventory and customer
information at the store
205, a store server 208, a store receiver 208; and an off-site location that
may include a database
for storing customer information remotely from the store 206, and a computer
207. The sensors
201 may monitor and record information about a customer located at the brick
and mortar store.
The sensors 201 may communicate the information to the store receiver 209 to
be stored at the
store server 208 or customer and inventory information database 205.
Simulation apparatus 202
enables vendors to simulate different products as discussed above. The
simulation apparatus 202
may be controlled by the first and second mobile devices 203 and 204. The
first mobile device
203 may be a customer-operated mobile device. The second mobile device 204 may
be a
representative-operated mobile device. As described above, the representative
can use his or her
mobile device 204 to control what is displayed on the customer's mobile
device. The
representative may also use the second mobile device 204 to control the
simulation apparatus 202.
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The first and second mobile devices 203 and 204 may communicate information to
the store
receiver 209, the store server 208, and the inventory and customer information
database 205. The
first and second mobile devices m.ay communicate to the store receiver 209,
the store server 208,
and the inventory and customer information database 205 using one of the
methods described
above, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or the mobile device's cellular connection.
The computer 207
may be connected to the customer information database 206 and the brick and
mortar store using
a network connection such as an intemet connection.
[00136] According to one embodiment of the invention, the brick and mortar
store depicted
in Figure 2 may include in-store sales representatives to provide in store
customer assistance, and
to help customize the sales process to the customer's needs, preferences, and
traits. However, as
noted above, vendors m.ay not employ enough sales representatives to assist
each customer in a
store, forcing some custom.ers to wait until a sales representative becomes
available. In
accordance with one embodiment of the invention, different stages of the sales
may be facilitated
with a software application on a mobile device and/or on an intelligent
display system. In one
aspect of the invention, the software application performs many of the same
functions as the sales
representative; it answers questions, engages the customer, and asks the
customer questions to
determine the customer's needs, preferences, and traits. As described in more
detail above, it may
also collect personal, demographic and psychographic information about the
customer. This
allows vendors to engage each customer individually, without having customers
wait in long lines
for sales representatives to become available.
[00137] In one aspect of the invention, the sales representatives may
complement the
software-based sales processes on the mobile device. For example, the sales
representatives may
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use their personal experience or expertise with certain products to provide
more useful answers to
questions that the application may provide. Thus, the vendor can benefit from
the advantages of
the personal, face-to-face assistance of human sales representatives, and the
streamlined
computerized processes of the mobile device.
[00138] In another embodiment of the invention, both the customer and the
sales
representative may have mobile devices, shown as 203 and 204 in Figure 2
running software
applications that communicate to the vendor. This allows the sales
representative to change,
modify, or supplement the information collected by the software appl.ication
on the customer's
mobile device. For example, using the sales representative's own mobile
device, the sales
representative can make specific recommendations of products or solutions to
be displayed on the
customer's mobile device. As another example, the sales representative can
provide personal,
demographic, or psychographic customer information to the software
application, in addition to
the customer information the vendor has stored in its databases. Thus, if the
sales representative
is able to discern a customer's preferences or characteristics based on
general observations that
the software application may not detect, such as the customer's body language,
or conversation
with the custom.er, the sales representative may enter this information into
his or her own mobile
device, which then relays this information to the software application on the
customer's mobile
device. The software application on the customer's mobile device may then make
recommendations for certain products or solutions taking this additional
information into account.
[00139] The vendor may collect this information from the store sales
representatives or
from sensors, depicted as 201 in Figure 2, installed throughout the store. In
one aspect of the
invention, a store sales representative may collect this information from
general observations
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about the customer and by engaging and interacting with the customer. For
example, the
representative can determine a customer's demographic information such as age
or gender
visually, while determining a customer's psychographic information, such as
preferences or
tastes, after interacting with the customer. This information can be entered
into the Advisor's
Tablet as described above. In another aspect of the invention, sensors 20.1
may be installed
throughout the store to monitor the customer and electronically determine
information about a
customer using a computer. By way of example, and without limitation, these
sensors m.ay
comprise part of a sensing system. that may include optical and infrared
sensors, video image
processors, acoustic sensors, magnetic sensors, vibration sensors, and the
like. Examples include
Microsoft's Kinect rm product, Morpho Trust USATm product, Wii Remote PLU5TM
product,
PlayStation MoveTm/PlayStation EYeTM product, and similar sensor systems.
These sensing
systems may integrate associated software, such as the Kinect for Windows
product, the Kinect
Software Development Kit (SDK), and/or various open source drivers that are
available to
process data read by the sensors. These sensing systems may be used to monitor
a customer's
motion, such as their foot traffic patterns, or body language, throughout the
store. These sensing
systems may perform full-body 3D motion capture and voice recognition. These
sensing systems
may be programmed to recognize hand gestures and voice commands. One having
ordinary skill
in the art will appreciate that these sensors and programs may be used to
analyze other features of
the customer to determine demographic or psychographic information.
[00140] As described above, according to som.e embodiments of the
invention, sensors may
include facial recognition programs enabling vendors to determine demographic
information
about the customer. For example, systems such as the EyeSee Mannequin exist
that build
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cameras, sensors, and computers into retail store mannequins. Cameras and
sensors are discretely
embedded into retail store mannequins to record and monitor video and audio of
customers who
view the mannequin. This information is then analyzed by a computer to
determine demographic
customer information such as age range, gender, race, number of people and
time spent of the
customers who have viewed the mannequin. According to some emboditnents,
Microsoft's
KinectTM product can be used to collect facial data, and analyzed in the
manner described above
with facial recognition processing.
[00141] According to one embodiment of the invention, programs on the
vendor's
computers may similarly analyze information received from sensors located
throughout a store to
determine demographic or psychographic information about the customer. As with
the EyeSee
mannequin, sensors may be used to determine demographic customer information
such as age
range, gender, race, number of peopl.e and time spent of the customers.
A.dditionally, sensors may
also determine what products or solutions the customer may be interested in
based on the
customer's psychographic information, such as the customer's foot traffic
patterns. This
inform.ation may be stored in the vendor's database 205 or 206, or
communicated directly to the
software application running on the customer's mobile device 203 to make a
customized
recommendation or a product or solution to the customer.
[00142] After a customer has downloaded the software application to the
customer's
mobil.e device, the software application engages the customer in a simil.ar
manner as the store
sales representative, and collects personal, demographic, and/or psychographic
information about
the customer through an interactive mobile interface. For example, the
software application may
ask the customer questions about the customer's musical interests, preferences
in music, or
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listening habits, such as where in the customer's house the customer prefers
to listen to music.
The customer may provide his or her musical interests by entering the name of
an artist or song
into the mobile device interface. In one aspect of the invention, the customer
may describe how
he/she prefers to listen to music by interacting with a blueprint of the
custom.er's home on the
mobile device. For example, the software application may allow the customer to
describe the
architectural layout of the customer's home, such as the location and
dimensions of their
bedrooms, living rooms, and entertainment areas. Using this blueprint, the
custom.er m.ay then
visually specify where and how the customer would like to listen to music. For
exampl.e, the
customer may specify that they would like to have control over the music being
played from their
living room, but would like to listen to this music in common areas such as
the pool and garage.
In other embodiments of the invention, the software application may qualify
other features about
the customer and the customer's environm.ent, such as what types of electronic
capabilities they
have in their house, what type of intemet connectivity they have, where they
listen to music,
where they get their music, what devices they listen to music on in their
house, and what type of
computer systems and devices they have. The software application may store
this information in
the vendor's databases 205 or 206 for making recommendations for products or
solutions to the
customer.
[00143] In another aspect of the invention, the vendor may bridge the gap
between physical
retail stores and alternative channels of commerce, such as online retail
websites, by allowing the
software application to access information about the customer's out-of-store
shopping history.
This shopping history may include information such as the customer's online
browsing and
purchase history, and the history of any communications made to the vendor,
such as by
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telephone or e-mail. For example, the information may include information
about which products
or solutions the customer viewed. As another example, the information may
include information
about what questions the customer may have asked to an online custom.er
service representative.
[00144] A.ccording to one embodiment of the invention, a vendor may store
this out-of-
store information in a database 206 for later use when the customer visits the
store. When the
customer has been identified by the system, the vendor may retrieve this
information from the
database 206. This information may then be used to engage the custom.er during
the sales
process. For example, if the custom.er has been viewing a particul.ar line of
speakers or asked a
particular question about the speakers on the vendor's online website from
their home computer,
the vendor may retrieve this information and use it to skip over the
introduction or qualification
steps of the sales process and directly engage the custom.er on the speakers
the customer viewed
and inquired about on the vendor's web site. In other embodiments of the
invention, the
customer's browser history may be stored locally on the customer's mobile
device, instead of on
the vendor's database. The software application may retrieve this information
and communicate
it to the system. using the NFC, REID, or cellul.ar capabilities described
above.
[00145] Referring to Figure 3, in yet another embodiment of the invention,
a customer,
301, may interact with a single interface, 302, such as an intelligent display
system, without the
use of a mobile device, or simulation apparatus. That is, a customer may
perform steps 101
through 110 shown in Figure 1 by interacting with a single interface, 302,
such as an intelligent
display system, described in more detail below, without the use of a mobile
devi.ce or simulation
apparatus.
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[00146] In accordance with a single interface embodiment, customers may
identify
themselves by interacting with a user interface at the intelligent display
system, in a similar
manner as described in step 102 above in Figure 1. Customers may, for example,
identify
themselves by entering identification information such as a name, address,
phone number, e-mail,
username and the like, or a customer ID, using an input such as a keyboard,
mouse, or
touchscreen or the like, at the intelligent display system. As discussed
above, customers may also
identify themselves with loyalty program device identifiers, such as loyalty
club cards, m.agn.etic
stripe cards, or smart cards and the like, by providing these loyalty program
identifiers to loyalty
program device readers at the intelligent display system. In some embodiments,
the customer
identifiers may be associated with an awards program or marketing/advertising
program that
enables customers to view sales or loyalty points or discounts at an
intelligent display 401 or
touch panel 404. For exam.ple, the intelligent display can show how many
loyalty points a
customer has, the reduced price associated with the customer's loyalty points,
or how many
loyalty points may be earned with a particular purchase. Customers may also
identify themselves
using wireless communication devices such as RFID or near-field communication
("NFC")
compatible devices, as discussed above.
[00147] After the vendor has identified the customer, the vendor may
qualify the customer
by collecting information about the customer at the intelligent display
system, in a similar manner
as described in step 103 above in Figure 1. The intelligent display system
interface may prompt
the custom.er with a series of questions and elicit responses from the
customers that allows the
vendor to determine information about the customer's needs, preferences, and
traits, as discussed
above. The intelligent display system may also retrieve a customer's personal,
demographic, or
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psychographic information stored in a database, 303, as noted above. For
example, the intelligent
display system may prompt the customer about the customer's musical interests,
preferences in
music, or listening habits, such as where in the customer's house the customer
prefers to listen to
music. The customer may provide his or her musical interests by enterin.g the
name of an artist or
song into the intelligent display system interface. In one aspect of the
invention, the customer
may describe how they prefer to listen to music by interacting with a
blueprint of the customer's
home on the kiosk. For example, the kiosk may allow the custom.er to describe
the architectural
layout of the customer's home, such as the location and dimensions of their
bedrooms, living
rooms, and entertainment areas. Using this blueprint, the customer may then
visually specify
where and how the customer would like to listen to music. For example, the
customer may
specify that they woul.d like to have control over the music being played from
their living room.,
but would like to listen to this music in common areas such as the pool and
garage. In other
embodiments of the invention, the kiosk may qualify other features about the
customer and the
customer's environment, such as what types of electronic capabilities they
have in their house,
what type of intemet connectivity they have, where they listen to music, where
they get their
music, what devices they listen to music on in their house, and what type of
computer systems
they have. The intelligent display system may store this information in the
vendor's databases for
making recommendations for products or solutions to the customer.
[00148] After the intelligent display system. receives the customer
information, the
intel.ligent display system recommends products or solutions to the customer
based on the
personal, demographic, or psychographic information the vendor has collected,
in a similar
manner as described in step 104 above in Figure 1. As discussed above, if, for
example, the
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vendor has collected information about the customer's age, gender, residence,
or personal tastes,
the vendor may recommend a package of audio equipment that is tailored to the
customer's
specific age, gender or personal taste. As discussed above, the vendor may use
information stored
in its sal.es records to tailor a recommendation to the customer. Simil.arly,
one of ordinary skill in
the art would appreciate that the intelligent display system may base its
recommendation off
previous sales history using statistical or probabilistic algorithms.
[00149] The intelligent display system. visuall.y displays the
recommend.ed product or
solution to the customer, in a si.m.ilar manner as described in step 105 above
in Figure 1. The
intelligent display system interface may allow the customer to zoom and pan to
different parts of
the product or solution, using, for example, a touch screen or input devices
such as a mouse and
keyboard, or the like. The intelligent display system interface may also allow
the customer to
rotate the image of the product or solution enabling the customer to view the
product from.
different angles.
[00150] As discussed above, in another aspect of the invention, the
intelligent display
system may visual.ly displ.ay detailed inform.ation about the recommended
product or solution to
the customer. This information may include a product description, features,
specifications,
dimensions, reviews, and category information.
[00151] After the customer has viewed the product or solution, and the
detailed information
about the product or solution, the vendor m.ay then demonstrate the
recomm.end.ed products or
solutions to the customer at the intelligent display system., in a similar
manner as described in
steps 106-108 above in Figure 1. The intelligent display system may have
simulation equipment
that is configured to simulate an environment defined by the customer. For
example, the
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simulation equipment may be a set of reference speakers that may be configured
to simulate how
the recommended audio equipment would sound in a bedroom, living room, or
vehicle.
[00152] The characteristics of the simulation equipment can be programmed
to reflect the
physical characteristics of the customer's particular environment in a similar
manner as described
in step 107 above. As discussed above, the simulation equipment simulating a
customer's
bedroom can be programmed to simulate how audio equipment would actually sound
in the
customer's bedroom. By analyzing the physicai dimensions of the customer's
particul.ar
environment, the vendor may determine the acoustic characteristics of the
customer's
environment. The simulation equipment may then apply these acoustic
characteristics to an audio
input, such as a music track, reproducing how the audio input would sound in
the customer's
particular environment.
[00153] A.fter demonstrating the recommended products and solutions, the
vendor may
then close the sale and the customer may purchase the product or solution
directly from the
intelligent display system in a similar manner as described in steps 109-110
above. Using the
intelligent display system's interface, the custom.er may provide payment
information, such as
their debit or credit card information, and place an order for the selected
product or solution
directly from the intelligent display system. In another embodiment, the
intelligent display
system may allow the customer to save products and solutions in a virtual
shopping bag that the
customer may later retrieve from a mobile device or home desktop and decide to
purchase. For
example, the customer may decide to vi.ew more information about the products
or solutions in
the virtual shopping bag from a mobile device or desktop computer when they
return home. From
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their home, the customer may then provide their payment information and place
an order for the
selected product or solution.
[00154] In another aspect of the invention, the customer m.ay add the
product to a virtual
shopping bag, which the custom.er may later vi.ew or purchase from an off-site
or computer, 307.
The customer may save the product to a shopping bag, which the vendor may
store in a database
303. Subsequently, the customer may later retrieve the product for viewing or
purchasing from an
off-site computer, 307 by identifying themselves with the vendor, and
retrieving the product from.
database 303.
[00155] The intelligent display system may further allow the customer to
configure post-
sale services. From the intelligent display system interface, the customer may
request post sale
services such as product delivery and product installation.
[00156] In embodiments of the invention, the vendor can display products
and solutions to
the customer on displays or touch panels as depicted in Figure 4 for providing
an intuitive and
visually compelling in-store shopping interface. Research has shown that
customers respond to
in-store shopping experiences that offer an intuitive shopping interface while
simultaneously
providing visually compelling images, vi.deos, descriptions and other
informational content about
the products they are interested in. While touch screen interfaces for
tablets, PCs, smartphoncs
and other mobile devices can offer an intuitive interface for browsing and
shopping for products,
touch screen interfaces are not typically integrated into in-store shopping
experiences because of
their smaller size and limited display capabilities. This in turn, I.imits the
type and quality of
pictures, videos, and other product-related media content that vendors can
display to customers.
Likewise, while large screen devices, such as flat screen TVs, provide a way
to display visually
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compelling images of a vendor's products, these devices do not typically offer
customers an
intuitive way to interact with and control what is displayed on the screen.
[00157] Embodiments of the present invention allovv retail.ers to offer
customers an
intuitive interface for browsing and shopping for products while
simultaneously creating a
visually compelling shopping experience. The in-store embodiment may be
referred to as an
Intelligent Display System or Intelligent Fixture. As depicted in Figure 4, an
Intelligent Display
System may include intelligent displays 401, an intelligent display processor
403, gesture and
voice recognition sensors 402, touch panels 404, wireless remotes 406, video
sensors 41.1, ID and
Barcode Scanners 412, and product displays 405. Intelligent displays 401 are
coupled to an
intelligent display processor 403, gesture and voice recognition sensors 402,
touch panels 404,
wireless remotes 406, video sensors 411, and ID and Barcode Scanners 41.2 as
depicted in Figure
4. Intelligent displays 401 may be coupl.ed to a light fixture 41.3 that
illuminates when customers
request assistance. Intelligent displays 401 may also be coupled to a store
server 407 for
receiving alerts, and a store receiver 408 for receiving information from an
intelligent display 401
or intelligent displ.ay processor 403. The intelligent displays may al.so be
coupled to off-site
representatives 410 for providing customer assistance. Customers may interact
with the
intelligent displays 401 to view and shop for vendor products. The customer
may control how the
intelligent displays 401 are used to view and shop for information by
providing input to gesture
and voice recognition sensors 402, video sensors 411, ID and bar code scanners
412, or wireless
remotes 406. The input is processed by the intelligent display processor 403.
Customers may
interact with the intelligent displays 401 to view and shop for vendor
products. The customer
may also view and shop for information using the touch panels 404. The touch
panels be used
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independently from the intelligent displays 401. Similarly to the intelligent
displays 401,
customer may provide input to the touch panels 404 using gesture and voice
recognition sensors
402, or a touch screen interface.
[00158] Generally, the intelligent display system depicted in Figure 4
provides customers
an intuitive interface for browsing and shopping for products by accepting
input from the
customer through the gesture or voice sensors, the touch panels, or wireless
remotes. The
intelligent display processor processes the input received through the gesture
or voice sensors,
touch panels, or wireless remotes, and controls what is displayed on the
display based on the
customer input.
[00159] In embodiments of the invention, the intelligent display 401 may
be a large screen
display (also known as "large format displays") for displaying visually
compelling images, such
as a monitor, a flat-screen TV, or a Smart TV. As described in more detail
below, the intelligent
display is used to interactively display menus and product information to a
customer in response
to customer input provided through a gesture and voice sensor, touch panel, or
wireless remote.
In a preferred embodiment, the intelligent display 401 is a 55" Samsung ME-B
Series LED LCD
Integrated TV Display, protected by a Samsung CY-TM55LBC 55" Touch Overlay.
The m.enus
and product information shown on the intelligent display are controlled by an
intelligent display
processor 403. According to some embodiments of the invention, the intelligent
display
processor is a desktop computer. In preferred embodiments of the invention,
the computer
processor is a Lenovog ThinkCentre M82, connected to the intelligent display
via VGA. cable,
DVI connection, HDMI connection or similar audiolvideo connection. The
intelligent display
processor 403 may be connected to a network, such as a wired or wireless local
area network
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(LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless personal area network (PAN) and other
types of
networks via a network adapter or switch or interface. In preferred
embodiments of the invention,
the network switch may be a Netgear Prosafe 16-port Gigabit Desktop Switch
GS116. In
preferred embodiments, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M82 may be connected to the
Netgeare
switch via a cat 5e network cable.
[00160]
In one embodiment of the invention, the intelligent display processor 403
controls
what information is viewed on the intelligent display 401 based on input
received from a
customer through the gesture and voice sensor 402. Thus, as described in more
detail below, the
customer may control what is viewed on the large screen display, navigate
through menus, and/or
select product information using gesture or voice commands. The gesture and
voice commands
issued by the customer are detected and processed by a gesture and voice
recognition sensor 402
coupled to the intelligent display 401. (Alternatively, the sensor input from
sensor 402 could be
directed to intelligent display processor 403 where the sensor data could be
processed by software
interpreting and applying gestures and/or voice commands.) The gesture and
voice recognition
sensor 402 is a computer device that detects customer movement and/or speech.
Examples of
gesture and voice recognition sensors include the Microsoft's KinectTM
product, Morph Trust
USA
product, product, Wii Remote PIUSTM product, PlayStation MoveTm/PlayStation
EYeTM product,
and similar sensor systems. These sensing systems may integrate associated
software, such as the
Kinect for Windows product, the Kinect Software Development Kit (SDK), and/or
various open
source drivers that are available to process data read by the sensors
Microsoft Kinecirm System,
Playstation Move, and the Nintendo WiiTM System. In one aspect of the
invention, the gesture
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and voice recognition sensor 402 may also detect customer attributes, such as
height, for making
recommendations or suggestions of products based on this information.
[00161] In addition to the gesture and voice recognition sensors,
customers may interact
with the intel ligent display through one of the pl.urality of touch panels
404 or wireless remotes
406 peripherally positioned around the intelligent display. A touch panel 404
is a mobile device
that comprises a computer and an interactive touch screen for displaying a
graphical user interface
or keyboard. The interactive touch screen may be integrated with the computer
in a single casing,
such as the HP Touch SmartTm, or the touch screen may be in a separate casing
from the
computer, and coupled to a computer located externally to the touch screen. In
embodiments
where the touch screen is external to the computer, the touch screen is
preferably a Planar 22"
Multi-Touch Widescreen LCD Monitor with Speakers or an .Acere 27" Full. HD
Touch Monitor
with Speakers. The Planar Multi-Touch Monitors and Acer Touch Monitors are
preferably
connected to a Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e desktop computer via USB and VGA
cables. The
integrated touch screens or external computers may be connected to a network,
such as a wired or
wireless local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless personal
area network
(PAN) and other types of networks vi.a a network adapter or switch or
interface. In preferred
embodiments of the invention, the network switch may be a Netgeare Prosafe 16-
port Gigabit
Desktop Switch GS116 or CISCO Campus LAN Switch. In preferred embodiments, the
Lenovo ThinkCentre M72e or HP Touch Smart.rm m.ay be connected to the Netgear
switch via
a cat Se network cable.
[00162] According to other embodiments, the touch panels may be mobile
personal
computers, such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, PDAs (personal
digital assistants), smart
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phones (e.g., the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire,
etc.), and other
forms of portable computer devices.
[00163] Customers may use the touch panels 404 as remote controls or
keyboards to
control what is viewed on the large screen display. In other embodiments of
the invention,
customers may control the interface on an intelligent display 401 with a
wireless remote 406. The
wireless remotes 406 may contain motion sensing technology that enables
customers to input
gesture commands to control what is viewed on the intelligent display. The
input a customer
provides to the touch panels 404 or wireless remotes 406 are then communicated
to the intelligent
display processor to control what is viewed on the intelligent display. One
advantage to using a
wireless remote 406, is that wireless remotes allow customers control the
intelligent display when
customers cannot or prefer not to use the gesture and voice sensors 402. For
example, the area
surrounding the intelligent display may be overly crowded with customers,
making it difficult to
input gesture or voice commands to the intelligent display. As another
example, some customer
may not feel comfortable using a gesture or voice recognition sensor 402.
Wireless remotes 406
provide customers with an intuitive and convenient alternative to gesture and
voice recognition
sensors 402 when customers cannot or prefer not to use the gesture and voice
recognition sensors
402. Moreover. wireless remotes provide customers with a familiar way to
interact with large
monitor displays; the wireless remotes may be used in the same manner as
television remotes may
be used to control flat screen television displays. flowever, the wireless
remotes 406 may provide
customers with additional functionality that traditional television remotes
cannot provide, such as
controlling cursors and interacting graphical user interfaces.
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[00164] In other embodiments of the invention, the touch panels 404 have
menus and
graphical user interfaces for shopping for products and displaying product
information such as
product images, videos, tutorials, descriptions, and reviews on the touch
screen. Thus, while in
some embodiments of the invention, customers may use the touch panel to
control what is
displayed on the intelligent display 401, in other embodiments, customers may
use the touch
panels to browse and shop for products independently from the intelligent
display 401. This
allows customers to browse and shop for products with a touch panel while the
intelligent
displays are in use by or for other customers.
[00165] In one aspect of the invention, the content displayed on the
intelligent display 401
or touch panel 404 may be provided from a central repository stored on a store
server 407. The
central repository may store detailed information about products, such as
product images, videos,
tutorials, descriptions, and reviews. According to some embodiments of the
invention, the
intelligent displays 401 and touch panels 404 communicate to the store server
407 via a network
connection. The intelligent displays 401 and touch panels 404 may retrieve
this information from
the store server 407 or may communicate via client/server protocols, such as
for example,
submitting a HTIP request from the server over the network. In preferred
embodiments, the
intelligent display 401 and touch panel 404 regularly send a request to the
store server 407 (e.g.,
every day or on startup) to refresh the content to display. In this way,
vendors may automate the
management of the content displayed on the intelligent displays 401 and touch
panels 404. One
advantage to managing content this way is that vendors may display up-to-date
information about
products, such as the latest reviews and comments about a particular product,
or in real-time.
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[00166] In one aspect of the invention, customers shopping or browsing
through products
on a touch panel 404 or intelligent display 401 may also request the
assistance of a store
representative 409. In one embodiment of the invention, the graphical user
interfaces on the
touch panels 404 or intelligent displays 401 have a button for sending alerts
to representatives
throughout the store. The alerts may be communicated to the representative
using an NFC,
internet, or cellular communication connection as discussed above. The alerts
may be sent to a
store server 408, which then communicates the alert to a store representative
409, informing the
representative which touch panel has requested assistance, and where the touch
panel is located.
In embodiments of the invention, the touch panels 404 or intelligent displays
401 have light
fixtures 413 that illuminate when the button is pressed, indicating that the
customer using that
particular touch panel or intelligent display needs assistance. After the
representative has located
the customer seeking assistance, the representative may provide the customer
with assistance in
the same manner as described above. For example, the representative may use
their mobile
device to communicate information to the customer's touch panel or intelligent
display. As
described in more detail below, a representative may show the customer a
particular product or
product information on the customer's touch panel or intelligent display.
[00167] In one aspect of the invention, the representative may transfer
the customer's
shopping session information, such as which products the customer viewed or
added to their
shopping cart, between the smaller touch panel screens 404 and I.arger
intelligent display screens
401. As expl.ained in more detail below, some embodiments al.low the
representative to use their
mobile device to control the transfer of shopping information between the
touch panels and
intelligent display. For example, a representative may transfer a customer's
shopping session
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information from a touch panel to an intelligent display having a larger
screen. This allows the
representative to show the customer larger and higher quality images, videos,
descriptions, and
reviews of the products. In other embodiments described in more detail below,
representatives
can save the customer's shopping session information from either a touch panel
or intelligent
display in one area of the store, and transfer the shopping session
information to another touch
panel or intelligent display in another area of the store.
[00168] In one aspect of the invention, if there are no available
representatives available in
the store, the intelligent display 401 may be used to communicate to an off-
site representative
410, using a video sensor 411. For example, the intelligent display may be
used as a video screen
to establish a video call (or alternatively, a chat without video) between the
customer and an off-
site representative 410 located at a call center. The intelligent display may
capture video or audio
of the customer with the gesture and voice sensor 402 and video sensor 411.
The video sensor
411 may be an analog or digital video sensor that may be integrated into a
computer network,
such as the Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam for recording video of customers
interacting with the
intelligent display 401. The intelligent display system may then transmit the
video or audio of the
customer recorded from video sensor 411 to the off-site representative 410
through a network
connection, such as an internet connection, LAN, intranet, or telephone or
cellular connection.
Using the intelligent display as a video call screen, the off-site
representative may provide
assistance to the customer in the same manner as an in-store customer
described above. The off-
site representative may answer customer questions, control the products and
information viewed
on the intelligent display, and collect information about the customer. For
example, the off-site
representative may recommend a product by displaying information about the
product on the
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intelligent display 401 for the customer to view. In another aspect of the
invention, the off-site
representative can view what is currently displayed on the customer's screen,
and past items the
customer has viewed. This improves the off-site representative's ability to
assist and
communicate with the customer.
[00169] Another advantage to connecting customers to off-site
representatives is that
vendors may enhance the assistance provided to customers by connecting with
representatives
that have particular expertise in the fiel.d of products the custom.er is
interested in. For example, if
a customer has a detailed or technical question about a camera or camera
technology, the
customer may connect to an off-site representative with particular expertise
in camera technology.
[00170] In one aspect of the invention, the intelligent displays 401 and
touch panels 404
operate in different modes that depend on the proximity of customers to the
intelligent displays
401 or touch panels 404. For example, using the gesture and voice recognition
sensor 402, the
intelligent displays 401 may detect when there are no customers in close
proximity or interacting
with the displays 401, and operate in an attract mode. In the attract mode,
the intelligent displays
401 show a series of images or videos relevant to a particular product being
sold in that region of
the store. For example, an intelligent display located in the camera and video
equipment section
of the store may display images or videos of the cameras and video recorders
the store offers for
sale, enticing customers to approach the display. Similarly, when there are no
customers
interacting with the touch panels 403, the touch panel 404 may operate in an
attract m.ode. For
example, there may be sensor circuitry 402/411 associated with each touch
panel 404 to allow
each to operate in an attract mode when not being used or attended to by
somebody.
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[00171] In another aspect of the invention, the gesture and voice
recognition sensor 402
can likewise detect when customers approach an intelligent display 401 or
touch panel 404, or are
in close proximity, triggering the intelligent display or touch panel to
switch to an interactive
mode. In the interactive mode, the customer may interact with and control the
intel ligent display
401 or touch panel 404. In one aspect of the invention, the customer may use
the intelligent
display 401 or touch panel 404 to learn about products by navigating through
menus featuring
product descriptions, reviews, images and videos of products. For example, the
customer may
input gesture commands to pan through images or videos of a product, such as a
camera, on the
intelligent display. As another example, a customer may pantomime swipe
movements with their
hands and arms to "scroll" through images or videos being displayed on the
screen of the
intelligent display 401. Further, a customer may input a gesture command to
Mom into pictures,
or gesture to play and pause video clips. Similarly, a customer may provide
voice commands to
interact with the large screen, and browse through products or navigate
through a menu.
[00172] In one aspect of the invention, images of the products displayed
on the large screen
of the intelligent display 401 may have hotspots that enlarge the image when a
customer hovers
over the hotspot with their arms and hands. For example, an image of a camera
may have a
hotspot on the camera lens, such that the image of the lens is enlarged when
the customer hovers
over the lens portion of the image. In another aspect of the invention, the
hotspot may display a
pop-up containing detailed information about a specific feature encompassed in
the hotspot. For
example, a hotspot on a camera lens may display a pop-up containing detailed
information about
the camera lens such as its zoom, focus and metering capabilities.
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[00173] In the interactive mode, customers may also use the intelligent
displays or touch
panels to shop for the products. For example, customers may add products to a
shopping cart, or
save products to a wish-list with the intelligent display. Figures 6-11
illustrate graphical user
interfaces for customers to shop for products on touch panels.
[00174] In one aspect of the invention, the customer's interaction with
the intelligent
display may be captured in a shopping session stored in memory at the
intelligent display 401,
touch panel 404, or intelligent display processor 403. Alternatively, or in
addition, the customer's
interaction information may be stored at store server 407. As described in
more detail below, the
information stored in the shopping session may include any information about
the customer's
interaction with the intelligent display 401, touch panel 404, product display
405, or wireless
remote 406, such as which products the customer has viewed, and which products
have been
saved to a shopping cart.
[00175] In one aspect of the invention, the intelligent display processor
403 can detect
when a customer (or representative) has stopped interacting with one of the
elements in the
intelligent display system, such as the intelligent display 401, or touch
panel 404, and can
transition into another mode, such as the attract mode. in one embodiment, the
intelligent display
processor 403 may determine whether there are customers interacting with the
intelligent display
system 401 based on the gesture and voice sensor 402, the touch panel 404, or
information
received from a representative 409. In another embodiment, the intelligent
display processor may
initiate a countdown timer that automatically switches to another mode after a
specified amount
of time has elapsed without user interaction. One advantage to detecting when
a customer has
stopped interacting with the intelligent display 401 or touch panel 404, is
that the vendor may
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reset and clear stored shopping information left in memory from the previous
customer using the
intelligent display system. That is, after a customer stops using the
intelligent display 401 or
touch panel 404, the intelligent display system m.ay reset and clear items the
customer had added
to the shopping cart, or items the customer wish-listed or viewed. This
al.lows the intelligent
display system to start a new shopping cart for the next customer to use the
intelligent display
system.
[00176] In one aspect of the invention, the touch panels 404 and
intelligent display 401
may be used to detect when customers are interacting with physical products
405 placed near and
around the intelligent display, and may display information about those
physical products 405.
For example, physical cameras or video recorders sold by the vendor may be put
on a display
table or fixture 405 near the intelligent display. The intelligent display may
detect when
customers pick up and examine the cameras, and may display information related
to that
particular camera. The information may be product descriptions, reviews,
visually compelling
images, videos or tutorials about the camera. In embodiments of the invention,
the intelligent
displ.ay may detect when a customer has picked up a product or is examining a
product using
proximity sensors, such as for example, magnetic clips sensors coupled to the
camera (or other
product). When a customer picks up a camera, the magnetic clip transmits a
signal to the
intelligent display processor indicating which camera the customer has picked
up, allowing the
intelligent display to then show information about that product. In a
preferred embodiment of the
invention, the magnetic switch is implemented with a Phidget Magnetic Contact
Switch and
connected to the intelligent display processor with a Phidget Interface Kit
or Phidget Network
Interface Kit. The Phidget Interface and Network Interface Kit may be
installed in the external
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touch screen computers or intelligent display processors and may be connected
to the proximity
sensors via an interface connection such as a USB connection. The intelligent
display system may
detect which products the customer is examining using other proximity sensors,
such as touch
sensors, force and pressure sensors, weight bearing sensors, IR sensors, RFID
sensors, or
capacitive sensors. In preferred embodiments of the invention the IR sensors
may be
implemented with a Phidgett IR Distance Sensor and Distance Adapter, the
capacitive sensor
may be implemented with a [Midget Capacitive Touch Sensor, and the RFID
sensor may be
implemented with a Phidget RFID Sensor. In other embodiments, customer
examination of a
product may be detected using gesture sensor 402 or video sensor 411. In yet
other embodiments,
the retail product display may have a button the customer may press that will
display information
about the product. In one aspect of the invention, the information about which
products are
picked up or examined by customers may be captured by the vendor. For example,
information
about which products were picked up and examined may be detected by the
intelligent display
processor and communicated to the store server. This allows vendors to
determine which
products customers have interacted with the most. In another aspect of the
invention, the sensors
may all.ow customers to save images, recordings and other media captured with
the products. For
example, a customer may take a picture using an SLR camera on display. The
image captured by
that SLR camera may then be displayed on the intelligent display 401 or touch
panel 404 via the
sensor connection to the external computer or intelligent display processor.
The customer may
then e-mail this picture to himself or herself as described below.
[00177] In another aspect of the invention, the display table or fixture
405 for displaying
products may include an LED system that illuminates products on display in
coordination with
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information that is displayed on the touch panels 404 or intelligent displays
401. For example,
the touchscreens or intelligent displays may display multimedia about
different products, such as
product images, videos, sounds, or descriptions. As the touch panels 404 or
intelligent displays
401 rotate through the rnultirnedia of these products, the in tel.ligent
displ.ay 401, intelligent displ.ay
processor 402, or touch panels 404 may send a signal to illuminate an LED
beneath the product
that is being displayed. For example, when the intelligent display or touch
panel displays an
image of an SLR. camera being displayed on the product display table, an LED
beneath that
particular SLR. camera may light up. In preferred embodiments of the
invention, the LEDs may
be a Phidget Blue LED, connected to the intelligent display 401, intelligent
display processor
402, or touch panels 404 via a Phidget Interface or Network Interface Kit.
[00178] In one aspect of the invention, the intelligent displays 401,
intelligent display
processor 402, touch panel.s 404, wireless remotes 406, gesture and voice
recognition sensors 402,
video sensors 411, and ID and Bar code scanner 412 may be affixed to a modular
Intelligent
Display System (a.k.a. Intelligent Fixture). Heretofore, retail stores have
typically designed and
installed interactive retail fixtures that are unique to each retail layout
space. For example,
interactive retail fixtures built for fashion and department stores typically
require designing a
fixture and installing sensors that are unique to the physical layout of each
store. For example,
"Perch Displays" developed by Perch Interactive use projected light and motion
sensors to display
products positioned on retaii tabletop counters. While these displays can
sense when and where a
product is touched and exam.ined, the sensors must be installed based on the
physical layout of the
store, tabletop and products. Thus, vendors typically design an interactive
fixture for every store,
without reusing the designs for fixtures already created. According to one
embodiment of the
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invention, components that comprise the interactive retail display 405 may be
affixed to a
modular intelligent fixture that can be reused in multiple stores with minimal
redesign and
installation. In embodiments of the invention, the components that customers
interact with, such
as the intell.igent display 401, intelligent display processor 402, touch
panels 404, wireless remote
406, gesture and voice recognition sensor 402, video sensor 411, and ID and
Bar code scanner
412, may be affixed to a modular intelligent fixture as depicted in Figures 11-
14. As Figures 12-
16 illustrate, the fixtures are modular, all.owing vendors to reuse the
fixtures in multiple stores,
with m.inimal redesign.
[00179] As discussed above, store representatives may have mobile devices,
such as
Advisor Tablets, to assist customers throughout the sales process. In
embodiments of the present
invention, the representative m.ay use their mobile device to communicate with
the touch panel
404 in the same manner as discussed above, with respect to representatives
communicating to
mobile devices owned by the customer. For example, representatives may
communicate to the
touch panels 404 or intelligent displays 401 using NFC enabled devices. In one
embodiment, a
representative may have an RFID enabled device, such as an RFD tag, that the
representative
may scan at a touch panel or intelligent display to identify himself or
herself. The representative
may be identified, for example, using by his or her employee ID, or name.
After the
representative is identified by the intelligent display or touch panel, the
representative's
identification inform.ation may be associated with the customer's current
shopping session. For
example, shopping session information, such as which items were added to a
shopping cart, which
items wish-listed, and which items were viewed by the customer may be saved by
the intelligent
display processor by communicating the information to the store server 407 and
store receiver
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408, or wirelessly communicating the information directly to the
representative's mobile device.
With the representative's information associated with the customer's shopping
session
information., the representative may bring the customer to other parts of the
store and load the
shopping information at touch panels or intelligent displays 401 throughout
the store. In one
embodiment of the invention, the representative may save this information, and
then bring the
customer to a different location in the store, such as a demonstration room
with simulation
apparatuses for simulating various different products. As described in more
detail below the
representative may then load the customer's shopping session information and
simulate the
performance of each product that was saved in the customer's shopping session.
[00180] In one aspect of the invention, the representatives may use their
mobile devices to
interact with the intelligent displays 401 or touch panels 404 and control
what the customer
views. For example, a representative assisting a customer may determine that a
particular camera
is best suited to a customer based on the customer's needs. The representative
may then show
information about the particular camera, such as pictures, videos,
specifications, and reviews, on
the intelligent display 401 or touch panel 404.
[00181] in one aspect of the invention, the representative's interaction
with the customer,
such as which products were recommended and what information was displayed, is
captured by
the intelligent display processor 403 and associated with the customer's
shopping session.
Associating this information with the shopping session allows the vendor to
keep track of what
was previously recommended and suggested to a customer, and which
representative
recommended or suggested these products. As discussed in more detail below,
the customer may
decide to save the shopping information and continue the shopping off-site
through the vendor's
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online website, by scanning or sending the information to themselves via e-
mail, or text message.
This information may include information about the representative that
assisted the customer in
the store. In this way, if the customer later decides to purchase items
suggested by the
representative, the representative may be attributed with the sale of those
items. Thus, vendors
may use this information to track and analyze employee performance. For
example, the vendor
may determine from the sales records, that a particular representative
exhibits higher closing
ratios for particular products, such as cameras. The vendor may then use this
information to
optimize the assignment of representatives to customers. For exampl.e, the
vendor may decide to
assign that particular representative to customers seeking assistance with
cameras. As another
example, the vendor could determine that a representative does better with
women and older
people. Again, the vendor may use this inform.ation to assign the
representative to assist with this
particul.ar audience of customers. Thus, the vendor may use this information
to opti.m.ize the use
of its sales force by aligning the representative with the customer audiences
they are most
effective with.
[00182] In another aspect of the invention, the representative may
retrieve the customer's
shopping session information from the intelligent display or touch panel in
real-time while
assisting the customer. In some embodiments of the invention, the shopping
session information
may include which products the customer viewed, which products are in the
customer's shopping
cart, or which products the customer added to a wish-list. The representative
may then use this
information to shape the conversation with the customer, and improve the
assistance to the
customer in the same manner as described above.
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[00183] According to some embodiments of the invention, the representative
may interact
with the intelligent displays 401 or touch panels 404 from their Advisor
Tablet or mobile device
using point-to-point communications. For example, the intelligent displays
401, touch panel.s
404, Advisor Tablet, or representative mobile device may communicate via
network sockets. An
Advisor Tablet may, for example, send a network message to the particular
socket address of a
touch panel to display information about a particular product. The intelligent
displays 401, touch
panels 404, Advisor Tablet, or representative mobile device may be configured
to listen on certain
ports or addresses to receive commands from other devices such as the Advisor
Tablets.
[00184] As described above, in one aspect of the invention, the vendor may
bridge the gap
between physical retail stores and alternative channels of commerce, such as
online retail
websi.tes, and access inform.ation about the customer's out-of-store shopping
history. In one
embodiment of the invention, the customer's out-of-store shopping history,
such as their online
browsing history, may be saved by the vendor and associated with an
identification code, such as
an alphanumerical ID or barcode. For example, a customer browsing the vendor's
online website
at home may add several items to a shopping cart. The vendor may then save the
items in the
customer's shopping cart and associate the list of items with an ID, such as
an alphanumeric code,
or a barcode, such as a QR Code. The shopping information and ID may be saved
in a remote
database or server (not pictured). The customer may then bring this ID or
barcode to the store and
input the l D or barcode into the intelligent display or touch panel. The
intelligent display or touch
panel may then load the saved shopping cart items onto the screen, and al.low
the customer to
continue the shopping experience with the intelligent display or touch panel.
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[00185] In embodiments of the invention, the customer's out-of-store
shopping history may
be saved by associating the information with a barcode. Barcodes may be linear
barcodes, or
two-dimensional barcodes, such as DataMatrix codes, QR codes, Aztec codes, or
Microsoft Tags.
After the vendor has associated the customer's out-of-store shopping history
with a barcode or ID,
the vendor may then display the barcode or ID on the customer's browser for
the customer to scan
and save. For example, the vendor may associate the customer's shopping list
with a QR code
and display the QR code on the customer's browser. The customer may then scan
and save the
barcode with a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.
[00186] In one aspect of the invention, after the customer saves the ID or
barcode, the
customer may then use this ID or barcode to reload the information that was
associated with the
ID or barcode, such as the contents of the customer's shopping cart. In one
embodiment of the
invention, the customer may input the ID on the vendor's online retail website
to reload the
information, such as the shopping cart contents. After inputting the ID or
barcode into the online
website, the vendor may retrieve the information associated with the ID or
barcode from the
database or server. In another embodiment, the customer may bring the ID or
barcode into the
vendor's store and scan the ID or barcode into the ID and barcode scanner 412,
which is coupled
to the intelligent display processor and intelligent display. After scanning
the ID or barcode, the
intelligent display processor 403 communicates with a store receiver to
retrieve the information
associated with the ID or barcode from a database or server.
[00187] In one embodiment, the out-of-store shopping information includes
information
such as which items the customer has viewed, which items they added to their
shopping cart,
items they have added to wish-lists, or which advertisements or promotions the
customer may
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have clicked on. In other embodiments, this information may further include
whether the
customer received assistance from a representative, such as an online chat
agent, while shopping.
For exampl.e, a customer shopping online may ask questions to a representative
via a chat or
instant m.essaging interface. In other embodiments, the representative may
also assist the
customer by telephone or video chat while the customer is shopping.
Information about what
questions the customer asked, and what assistance the representative provided
may also be
captured and associated with the ID or barcode. This information may be used
to later attribute
any subsequent purchases by the customer to the representative, as described
above.
[00188] In one aspect of the invention, customers may save shopping
information from the
customer's in-store shopping experience, and load the information elsewhere.
For example, the
customer's in-store shopping session, such as shopping cart contents, browsing
history, and wish-
list items may be saved by the vendor and associated with an ID or barcode. As
described above,
the information may further include which representatives assisted them, and
which products they
recommended or suggested. In this way, if the customer later decides to
purchase items suggested
by the representative, the representative may be attributed with the sale of
those items. Customers
may also use the information about the in-store representative in the event
they return to the store
and would like to return to the particular representative that assisted them.
[00189] In other embodiments, the customer may save their in-store
shopping session
infomiation by inputting their personai information, such as e-mail address or
phone number, into
the intelligent display or touch panel. The intelligent display or touch panel
may then send the
saved shopping information to the customer by email or text message. In
embodiments of the
invention, the customer may input their personal information with a barcode,
such as a QR code,
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that encodes their e-mail or phone information. In other embodiments of the
invention, the
shopping session may be wirelessly communicated to the customer using NFC
enabled devices as
described above. For example, a touch panei m.ay wirelessly transmit the
shopping session to a
customer's smartphon.e via Bluetooth. The customer's mobile device may receive
and save the
information with a mobile app or by launching a mobile browser to download the
vendor's mobile
website.
[00190] A.ccording to some embodiments of the invention, the customer may
save their
shopping session from one part of a store and then reload this information in
another part of the
store. For example, a customer may browse through various speakers at an
intelligent display 401
or touch panel 404, and save a list of speakers the customer viewed.
(Alternatively, an Advisor
may assist a customer browsing through speakers with their A.dvi.sor Tablet
and save the
customer's shopping session with their Advisor Tablet). The customer may then
proceed to a
different location in the store, such as a demonstration room that simulates
the performance of the
speakers offered by the vendor. At the demonstration room, the customer may
then load the list
of speakers the customer viewed, and compare the difference in the performance
of each speaker.
The vendor may simulate the performance of audio speakers using an audio
simulation as
described and/or claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos., 7,069,169 and 7,899,656, each
entitled "Virtual
Speaker Demonstration System and Virtual Noise Simulation" and assigned to
Crutchfield Corp.,
and herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
[00191. ] In one aspect of the invention, the customer's interaction with
the intelligent
display 401, touch panels 404, product displays 405, and wireless remotes 406
is captured and
recorded by the vendor. For example, which products were viewed, added to a
shopping cart,
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and/or wish-listed, throughout an entire day may be captured by the
intelligent display processor
and saved for later analysis. Other interaction information, such as how many
times and how
frequently customers approach a display may also be captured and recorded.
Importantly, this
information allows vendors to create analytics related to the use of the
intel.ligent displays, touch
panels, and the products being sold. For example, this information may be used
to determine
which products are viewed the most, or added to their shopping cart the most
at an intelligent
displ.ay or touch panel. This information may further indicate which
representatives assist
customers the most, and cause the most customers to purchase products or save
their shopping
session for later use. While analytics packages exist, these analytics
packages are typically
designed for analyzing a user's intemet activity on a web browser, and
generally do not apply to
analyzing a customer's browsing activity on an intelligent displ.ay or touch
panel in the store.
[00192] As described in more detail bel.ow, after browsing and reviewing
products, the
customer may also purchase the products from an intelligent display, touch
panel, or with a
representative's mobile device. In one embodiment, a representative's mobile
device includes a
magnetic stripe reader for reading a customer's payment card information. In
other embodiments
customers may input their payment information into the intelligent displ.ay or
touch panels. After
the payment has completed, the intelligent display processor may generate a
pick list of the
purchased items and communicate the pick list to the vendor's warehouse.
Purchased items that
are stocked in the warehouse may then be retrieved and delivered to the
customer in the store. In
other embodiments of the invention described in more detail below, the
customer may also
coordinate and schedule the delivery of purchased items.
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[00193] Figure 5 is an illustration of a user interface for interacting
with elements of an
intelligent display system according to one embodiment of the invention. The
user interface may
include a home icon 501, a back icon 502, a compare icon 503, an e-mail icon
504, a restart icon
505, a filter icon 506, an icon border 507, an intelligent screen interior 508
and intelligent screen
tiles 509. The user interface may be the interface displayed on the touch
panel or intelligent
display components of the intelligent display system described in Figure 4
above. Icons 501
through 506 are placed in an icon border 507 that is continuously visible, and
may be accessed by
customers at any time. Icons 501 through 507 enable the custom.er to input
navigational
commands for controlling what is displayed in the intelligent screen interior
508. For example,
the home icon 501 enables a customer to return to the home screen of the
intelligent display or
touch panel; the back icon 502 enables a custom.er to return to the previous
screen; the compare
icon 503 enables a customer to compare different products; the email icon 504
enables a customer
to e-mail himself or herself shopping session information stored at the touch
panel or intelligent
display as described above; the restart icon 505 enables a customer to reset
and clear shopping
session information stored at the touch panel or intelligent display as
described above; and the
fil.ter icon 506 for filtering products according to customer defined
criteria. In embodiments
where the user interface is displayed on a touch panel, customers may interact
with icons 501
through 506 by pressing the icons on the touch panel's touch screen. In
embodiments where the
user interface is displayed on an intelligent display, customers may interact
with icons 501
through 506 using a wireless remote, keyboard, or by providing gesture and
voice input through
the gesture and voice sensor described above. The intelligent screen tiles 509
enable the customer
to browse a category of products offered by the vendor. After selecting an
intelligent screen tile
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509, the user interface displays a screen of products associated with the
selected product category
in the interior 508.
[00194] According to one embodiment of the invention, the icons 501-506
and tiles 509
may be Apps or Tiles implemented in a touch design development platform, such
as the Windows
8 development platform, using C++, C#, Visual Basic, Java, HTML, CSS,
Javascript, XML,
XAML, or similar programming languages. One advantage to implementing the
icons and tiles
with a touch design development platform, such as the Windows 8 development
platform, is the
ability to enable customers to provide input using touch or gestures. Another
advantage to
implementing the icons and tiles with a touch design development platform is
the ability to
implement a single user interface for different device types. For example, the
same basic user
interface may be implemented for both a touch panel and intelligent display.
[00195] Figure 6 is an illustration of a user interface for displaying
vendor products in an
intelligent display system according to one embodiment of the invention.
Similar to the user
interface described above, the user interface depicted in Figure 6 may include
a home icon 601, a
back icon 602, a compare icon 603, an e-mail icon 604, a restart icon 605, a
filter icon 606, an
icon border 607, an intelligent screen interior 608 and intelligent screen
tiles 609. According to
the embodiment depicted in Figure 6, the intelligent screen tiles 609 are
tiles that represent the
different brands and models of a particular category of a product. Selecting
an intelligent screen
tile 609 changes the screen interior 608 to display information about the
particular brand and
model of product selected. As described above, icons 601 through 606 may be
placed in an icon
border 607 and enable the customer to input navigational commands for
controlling what is
displayed in the intelligent screen interior 608.
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[00196] In one embodiment, the intelligent screen tiles 609 may be tiles
of the particular
product category the customer has selected in the screen depicted in Figure 5.
For example, a
customer selecting the Digital SLR. Camera tile 509 may change the screen to
displ.ay a variety of
different Digital SLR Cameras, as depicted in Figure 6.
[00197] Figure 7 is an illustration of a user interface for filtering
vendor products in an
intelligent display system according to one embodiment of the invention.
Similar to the user
interface described above, the user interface depicted in Figure 7 m.ay
incl.ude a home icon 701, a
back icon 702, a compare icon 703, an e-mail icon 704, a restart icon 705, a
filter icon 706, an
icon border 707, an intelligent screen interior 708 and product filters 709.
The user interface
depicted in Figure 7 allows customers to filter the products displayed in the
intelligent screen
interior. The user interface depicted in Figure 7 may be displayed by
selecting the filter icon 706.
[00198] A.ccording to embodiments of the invention, the customer may
fil.ter the products
according to retail information such as brand, price, and stock status;
technical specifications,
such as optical zoom, megapixels, and screen size; and vendor-provided
information, such as
customer ratings, customer reviews, vendor ratings, and vendor reviews.
[00199] Figure 8 is an illustration of a user interface for comparing
vendor products in an
intelligent display system according to one embodiment of the invention.
Similar to the user
interface described above, the user interface depicted in Figure 8 may include
a home icon 801, a
back icon 802, a compare icon 803, an e-mail icon 804, a restart icon 805, a
filter icon 806, an
icon border 807, an intelligent screen interior 808 and product information
tables 809. The user
interface depicted in Figure 8 displays information tables 809 that allow
customers to compare
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different products displayed in the intelligent screen interior 808. The user
interface depicted in
Figure 8 may be displayed by selecting the filter icon 803.
[00200] According to embodiments of the invention, the information tables
809 enable a
customer to compare the information between different products, such as retail
information,
technical specifications, and vendor-provided information, such as ratings and
reviews.
[00201] Figure 9 is an illustration of a user interface for viewing detail
product information
and making product purchases in an intelligent display system according to
another embodiment
of the invention. Similar to the user interface described above, the user
interface depicted in
Figure 9 may include a home icon 901, a back icon 902, a compare icon 903, an
e-mail icon 904,
a restart icon 905, a filter icon 906, an icon border 907, and an intelligent
screen interior 908. The
user interface for viewing detailed product information may further include
detailed product
information 909, an "add to compare" icon 910, a purchase icon 911, a product
overview menu
912, a reviews menu 913, a photos menu 914, and an accessories menu 915. The
user interface
depicted in Figure 9 displays detail information 909 about a particular
product in the intelligent
screen interior 908. As Figure 9 illustrates, the detailed product information
may include product
high-level descriptions of the product features, technical specifications,
price, and stock status.
More detailed information about the product may be accessed by selecting one
of the product
menus 912-915 displayed on the top of the screen. The user interface enables
the customer to
purchase the product by providing a purchase icon 911. Selecting the purchase
icon adds the
product to the customer's shopping cart, which is stored in the customer's
shopping session, as
discussed in more detail above. The user interface further enables the
customer to compare the
currently displayed product to other products, by selecting the "add to
compare" icon 910.
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Selecting this icon adds the product to a product comparison table, as
explained above with
respect to Figure 8.
[00202] Figure 10 is an illustration of a user interface for viewing
detailed product
information and purchasing products in an intelligent display system according
to another
embodiment of the invention. Similar to the user interface described above,
the user interface
depicted in Figure 10 may include a home icon 1001, a back icon 1002, a
compare icon 1003, an
e-mail icon 1004, a restart icon 1005, a filter icon 1006, an icon border
1007, and an intelligent
screen interior 1008. The user interface for viewing detailed product
information may further
include expandable menus 1010. The expandable menus allow customers to
accessed detailed
information about a specific topic. As Figure 10 illustrates, the expandable
menus may enable
customers to access detailed information such as the research conducted on the
product, a
complete list of features and specifications of the product, or what materials
are typically shipped
with the product (shown as "what's in the box").
[00203] Figure 11 is an illustration of a modular intelligent display
assembly for affixing
intelligent displ.ay system. components according to one embodiment of the
invention. A modular
intelligent display assembly for affixing intelligent displ.ay system
components may include an
intelligent display 1101, touch panel 1102, intelligent display stand 1103 for
supporting an
intelligent display, touch panel stand 1104 for supporting touch panels,
product stand 1105 for
supporting products, intelligent display base 1106 for supporting the
intelligent display stand,
touch panel. base 1.107 for supporting the touch panel stand, and product base
1108 for supporting
the product stand. The intelligent display stand 1103, touch panel stand 1104,
and product stand
1105 may be supported by their respective bases, intelligent display base
1106, touch panel base
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1107, and product base 1108. For reasons that will become apparent from the
description below,
the intelligent display stand 1103, touch panel stand 1104, and product stand
1105 allow vendors
to support and assemble the elem.ents of the intelligent display system, such
as the products, the
intel.ligent displays, and touch panel.s, in a modular fashion, and into an
integrated retail unit.
[00204] An intelligent display stand 1103 is generally a rectangular-
shaped stand vertically
disposed and extending upwardly from an intelligent display base 1106 for
stabilizing and
securing the stand to the floor. Generally, the intelligent display stand 1103
may have two
opposing broadsides for mounting wide-screen displays such as the flat-screen
televisions
described above, and two opposing narrow lateral sides. The intelligent
display 1101 may be
affixed to the intelligent display stand 1103 with a television wall mount
connecting the backside
of the wide-screen display to the broadside of the intelligent display stand
1103 as shown in
Figure 11. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the intelligent displays
may be mounted to
the intelligent display stands with Sanus LL11-B1 Wall Mounts. The
intelligent display stand is
secured to a base 1106 that stabilizes and secures the intelligent display
stand 1103 to the floor.
In embodiments of the invention, the intelligent display stand 1.103 m.ay be
hallowed to provide
for an encasing for el.ectrical connections to the intelligent display 1101.,
and sensors (not shown),
such as the gesture, voice, and video sensors described above. A touch panel
stand 1104 may
include a first beam 1108 horizontally disposed, extending laterally from the
intelligent display
stand 1103. .According to some embodiments of the invention, the first beam.
1108 may be
affixed to the intell.igent displ.ay stand 1103 by suitable mechanical
fastening means, such as a
plate or bracket with bolts and nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable
process. The first
beam 1108 may be supported by a second beam 1109 vertically disposed,
extending upwardly
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from the floor. The second beam 1109 may be secured to a base 1107 that
stabilizes and secures
the second beam 1109 to the floor. According to some embodiments of the
invention, the second
beam. 1109 m.ay be fastened to the first beam 1108 su.itabl.e mechanicai
fastening means, such as
a plate or bracket with bolts and nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other
suitable process. Generally,
the first and second beams 1108 and 1109 are rectangular-shaped. The end of
the first beam 1108
opposite the intelligent display 1103 may be attached to a mount 1112 for
supporting a touch
panel 1102. in preferred embodiments of the invention, the mounts for
supporting a touch panel
may be Sanus Visi.onMount VST15-B1 Tilting Wall Mounts. The mount may be
attached to the
first beam 1108 by suitable mechanical fastening means, such as a plate or
bracket with bolts and
nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable process. According to some
embodiments, the
mount 1112 may be shaped to have a fin-like or half-trapezoidal shape, as
depicted in the Figure.
The mount 1112 may be flexibly affixed to the backside of a touch panel. 1102
with a suitable
mechanical fastening means, such as a plate or bracket with bolts and nuts,
adhesive bonding, or
any other suitable process, to allow customers to adjust the angle of the
touch panel 1102.
[00205] Product stand 11.05 enables customers to interact with physical
demonstrative
products in conjunction with other elem.ents of the intelligent display system
as described above.
A product stand 1104 may include a first beam 1113 horizontally disposed,
extending laterally
from the intelligent display stand 1103. The first beam 1113 may be affixed to
the intelligent
display stand 1.103 by suitable mechanicai fastening means, such as a plate or
bracket with bolts
and nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable process. The first beam 1113
may be supported
by a second beam 1115 vertically disposed, extending upwardly from the floor.
The second beam
1115 may be fastened to the first beam 1113 by suitable mechanical fastening
means, such as a
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plate or bracket with bolts and nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable
process. The second
beam 1115 may be secured to a base 1108 that stabilizes and secures the second
beam 1115 to the
floor. A. third beam 1114 may be traversel.y affi.xed across the end of the
first beam. 1113, and
si.m.ilarl.y supported by vertically disposed beams 1115 extending upwardl.y
from the floor. The
end of the first beam 1113 opposite the intelligent display 1103, and the ends
of the third
rectangular beam 1114 may be attached to mounts 1116 for supporting a platform
1117 that
enables vendors to display and demonstrate physical products. The mount m.ay
be attached to the
first and third beams 1113 and 1114, by suitable mechanical fastening m.eans,
such as a plate or
bracket with bolts and nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable process..
Generally, the first,
second, and third beams 1113, 1114, and 1115 are rectangular-shaped. According
to some
embodiments, the mount 1116 may be shaped to have a fin-like or half-
trapez,oidal shape, as
depicted in the Figure.
[00206] The intelligent display stand 1103, touch panel stand 1104, and
product stand 1105
may be constructed of any suitable material in any suitable manner. Some
variations may be
comprised of a polymeric material that is filled or unfilled. Other variations
m.ay be comprised of
a composite wood product. Yet other variations may be comprised of a composite
materiai such
as a polymeric base including a high loading of fiberglass. Variations may
also be comprised of
metallic materials. In certain variations the stands are integrally formed
using a molding process
such as injection molding or rotomolding. In other variations the stands may
comprise separate
pieces or sections that are joined together by mechanical fastening adhesive
bonding welding or
any other suitable process.
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[00207] One advantage to affixing the intelligent display system
components to a modular
intelligent display assembly is that the intelligent display stand 1103, touch
panel stand 1104, and
product stand 1105 may be reused in a modular manner to adapt to retail spaces
of vary-ing
different shapes and sizes with relatively little effort. In one aspect of the
invention, the stands
are modular by allowing the vendor to link each stand to multiple other
stands. For example, a
touch panel stand 1104 may be linked to two additional touch panel stands, by
adjoining a new
touch panel. stand 1104 at the end of each lateral. beam 1108. In another
aspect of the invention,
the product stand 1105 and touch panel stand 1104 may be assembled in
different spatial
configurations. For example, in one embodiment, a series of product stands may
be linked
together to form an L-shape; a first series of product stands may be linked
together in one
direction, for example from left-to-right, and connected to a second series of
product stands
linked together in another direction, for example from forward to backward.
According to other
embodiments, the product stand 1105 and touch panel stand 1102 may be adjoined
to the narrow
sides of the intelligent display stand 1103. In other embodiments, the product
stand 1105 and
touch panel stand 1104 m.ay be adjoined to the broad sides of the intelligent
display stand 1103.
In another aspect of the invention, the dimensions of the intel.ligent display
stand 1103, touch
panel stand 1104, and product stand 1105 are easily scalable, allowing vendors
to adjust the
dimensions these elements to fit retail spaces of varying different sizes.
[00208] Another advantage to affixing the intelligent display system
components to a
modular intelligent display assembly is that multiple customers may interact
with different
elements of the intelligent display system simultaneously. For example,
according to some
embodiments of the invention, the product stand 1105 and touch panel stand
1104 may be
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adjoined laterally to the intelligent display stand 1103, enabling one
customer to interact with a
touch panel 1102 while another customer may interact with the intelligent
display 1101.
[00209] Figure 12 illustrates how the modul.ar intelligent display system
assembly may be
configured with any number or combination of stands. For example, Figure 12
includes an
intelligent display 1201, intelligent stand 1202, and base 1203, similar to
the intelligent display,
stand and base described above with respect to Figure 11. The system in Figure
12 further
includes a touch panel. stand 1.204 similar to the touch panel stand described
above with respect
to Figure 11. The touch panel stand 1204 may include a first beam 1209
horizontally disposed,
extending laterally from the intelligent display stand 1202. According to some
embodiments of
the invention, the first beam 1209 may be affixed to the intelligent display
stand 1202 by suitable
mechanical fastening means, such as a plate or bracket with bolts and nuts,
adhesive bonding, or
any other suitable process. The first beam 1209 may be supported by a second
beam 1207
vertically disposed, extending upwardly from the floor. The second beam 1207
may be secured
to a base 1208 that stabilizes and secures the second beam 1207 to the floor.
According to some
embodiments of the invention, the second beam 1207 m.ay be fastened to the
first beam 1209 by
suitabl.e mechanical fastening means, such as a plate or bracket with bolts
and nuts, adhesive
bonding, or any other suitable process. Generally, the first and second beams
1207 and 1209 are
rectangular-shaped. The end of the first beam 1209 opposite the intelligent
display 1202 may be
attached to a mount 1206 for supporting a touch panel. 1205. The mount may be
attached to the
first beam 1209 by suitable mechanical fastening means, such as a pl.ate or
bracket with bolts and
nuts, adhesive bonding, or any other suitable process.
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[00210] In embodiments of the invention, the combination of the first beam
1209, second
beam 1207, base 1208, mount 1206, and touch panel 1205 may be adjoined
laterally to the narrow
side of the intelligent display stand 1202, as well as adjoined to the front
and back facing broad
sides of the intel.ligent displ.ay stand 1202.
[00211] In contrast to the system depicted in Figure 11, the intelligent
display stand 1202
may be laterally adjoined by a touch panel stand 1204 on each side. The touch
panel stand may
be adjoined to the intelligent displ.ay stand in the same m.ann.er as
described above with respect to
Figure 11. According to other embodim.ents of the invention, the intelligent
display stand 1202
may adjoined by product stands on each side. In other variations, different
combinations of touch
panel stands and product stands may be used.
[00212] Figure 1.3 is an illustration of a modular intelligent display
system. assembly
according to another embodiment of the invention. The system in Figure 13 may
include a first
horizontal beam 1301, supports 1302 for supporting the opposing ends of the
first horizontal
beam 1301, support bases 1303 for stabilizing and securing supports 1302 to
the floor, a second
horizontal beam 1304 traverse to the first horizontal beam 1301, supports 1304
for supporting the
opposing ends of the second horizontal beam 1304, support bases 1306 for
stabilizing and
securing supports 1305 to the floor, mounts 1307 attached to the outward
facing ends of the first
and second beams 1301 and 1304, and platforms 1308 for displaying physical
products to
customers. The first beam 1301 may be horizontally disposed, supported on each
opposing end
by a vertically disposed support beam 1302 extending upwardly from bases 1303
grounded to the
floor. According to some embodiments of the invention, the support beams 1302
may be fastened
to the first beam 1301 by suitable fastening means, such as a metal plate or
bracket, and screws,
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bolts and nuts, or bonding adhesive. A second beam 1304 may horizontally
traverse the center of
the first beam 1301, and may similarly be supported by support beams 1305 at
opposing ends of
the second beams 1304, which extend upwardly from bases 1306 grounded to the
floor. The ends
of the first beam 1301, and the ends of the second beam 1304 may be attached
to mounts 1307 for
supporting a platform 1308 that displays physical demonstrative products. The
mount may be
attached to the first and second beams 1301 and 1304, by suitable fastening
means, such as plates
or brackets, and screws, nails, or bonding adhesive. According to some
embodiments, the mounts
1307 may be shaped to have a fin-like or half-trapezoidal shape, as depicted
in the Figure.
[00213] The stand depicted in Figure 13 provides a fixture for vendors to
display physical
products in a manner that is integrated into the intelligent display system.
Vendors may place
physical products on platforms 1308 for customers to examine and interact
with. As described
above, an intelligent display (not pictured) may use various sensors, such as
magnetic or weight
sensors, to detect which product a customer is interacting with, and display
information related to
that product. . According to some embodiments of the invention, the product
stand depicted in
Figure 13 may be adjoined to an intelligent display, as illustrated in Figure
11. In other
embodiments, the product stand may be free-standing, as depicted in Figure 13.
Vendors may
preferably place the free-standing stand in close proximity to an intelligent
display, to enable the
intelligent display to engage with customers interacting with the physical
products being
displayed, as described above. The stand depicted in Figure 13 may communicate
information
about which products a customer is interacting, using a wireless or wired
connection, as described
above.
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[00214] In one embodiment of the invention, the platforms 1308 may be
rectangular-
shaped. Other variations may include oval, circular, trapezoidal or similar
shapes. In some
embodiments of the invention, the platform 1308 m.ay extend along the entire
length of the first or
second horizontal beams 1301 or 1304, as described in more detail below.
[00215] Similar to elements depicted in Figure 11, the beams 1301. 1302.
1304, 1305,
mounts 1307, and platforms 1308 may be constructed of any suitable material in
any suitable
manner. Some variations m.ay be comprised of a polymeric material that is
fil.led or unfilled.
Other variations may be comprised of a composite wood product. Yet other
variations may be
comprised of a composite material such as a polymeric base including a high
loading of
fiberglass. Variations may also be comprised of metallic materials. Certain
variations are
integrally formed using a m.olding process such as injection mol.din.g or
rotom.olding. Other
variations may comprise separate pieces or sections that are joined together
by mechanical
fastening adhesive bonding welding or any other suitable process.
[00216] Figure 14 is an illustration of a modular intelligent display
system for affixing
intelligent displ.ay system. components according to another embodiment of the
invention. Similar
to the system illustrated in Figure 13, the system depicted in Figure 14 may
include a first
horizontal beam 1401, supports 1402 for supporting the opposing ends of the
first horizontal
beam 1401, support bases 1403 for stabilizing and securing supports 1402 to
the floor, a second
horizontal beam. 1404 traverse to the first horizontal beam 1401, supports
1404 for supporting the
opposing ends of the second horizontal beam 1404, support bases 1406 for
stabilizing and
securing supports 1405 to the floor, a first platform 1407 attached to the
outward facing ends of
the first beam 1401, and a second platform 1408 attached to the second beam
1404 for displaying
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physical products to customers. The first beam 1401 may be horizontally
disposed, supported on
each opposing end by a vertically disposed support beam 1402 extending
upwardly from bases
1403 grounded to the floor. According to some embodiments of the invention,
the support beams
1402 may be fastened to the first beam. 1401 by suitable fastening means, such
as a metal plate or
bracket, and screws, bolts and nuts, or bonding adhesive. A second beam 1404
may horizontally
traverse the center of the first beam 1401, and may similarly be supported by
support beams 1405
at opposing ends of the second beams 1404, which extend upwardly from bases
1406 grounded to
the floor. The ends of the first beam 1401, and the ends of the second beam
1404 may be
attached to mounts 1407 for supporting a platfonn 1408 that displays physical
demonstrative
products. The mount may be attached to the first and second beams 1401 and
1404, by suitable
fastening m.eans, such as plates or brackets, and screws, nails, or bonding
adhesive. A.ccording to
some embodiments, the mounts 1407 may be shaped to have a fin-like or half-
trapezoidal shape,
as depicted in the Figure.
[00217] According to one aspect of the invention, the platforms 1407 and
1408 may be of
varying different sizes and shapes. For example, as Figure 14 illustrates, the
second beam 1404
may support a platform 1408 that extends along the entire I.en.gth of the
beam. This enables
vendors to display products of varying different sizes and types.
[00218] Generally, it should be noted that the components depicted and
described herein
above may be, or include, a computer or multiple computers. Although the
components are
shown as discrete units, all components may be interconnected or combined. The
components
may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions,
such as program
modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include
routines, programs,
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objects, applications, components, data structures, etc., that perform
particular tasks or implement
particular abstract data types.
[00219] Those skilled in the art wi.II appreciate that the invention may
be practiced with
various computer system configurations, including hand-hel.d wi.reless devices
such as mobile
phones, tablets or PDAs, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or
programmable
consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The
invention may
also be practiced in distributed computing en.vironm.ents where tasks are
performed by remote
processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a
distributed computing
environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer
storage media
including memory storage devices.
[00220] Mobile computers typically include a variety of computer readable
media that can
form part of the system. memory and be read by the processing unit. By way of
exampl.e, and not
limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and
communication
media. The system memory may include computer storage media in the form of
volatile and/or
nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and random access m.emory
(RAM). A.
basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to
transfer information
between elements, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM. RAM
typically contains
data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or
presently being operated
on by a processing unit. The data or program. modules may include an operating
system.,
application programs, other program modules, and program data. The operating
system may be
or include a variety of operating systems such as the Macintosh OS or iOS
operating systems,
Microsoft Windows operating system, the Unix operating system, the Linux
operating system,
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the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIXTM operating system, the Hewlett
Packard UXTM
operating system, the Novell NetwareTM operating system, the Sun Microsystems
SolarisTM
operating system, the OS/2TM operating system, the BeOSTM operating system,
the ApacheTM
operating system, an OpenStepTM operating system. or another operating system
of platform..
[00221] At a minimum, the memory includes at least one set of instructions
that is either
permanently or temporarily stored. The processor executes the instructions
that are stored in
order to process data. The set of instructions may include various
instructions that perform a
particular task or tasks, such as those shown in the appended flowchart. Such
a set of instructions
for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software
program, software,
engine, module, component, mechanism, or tool. The computer may include a
plurality of
software processing modules stored in a memory as described above and executed
on a processor
in the manner described herein. The program modules may be in the form of any
suitable
programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to
allow the
processor or processors to read the instructions. That is, written lines of
programming code or
source code, in a particular programming language, may be converted to
m.achine language using
a compiler, assembler, or interpreter. The machine language may be binary
coded machine
instructions specific to a particular computer.
[00222] Any suitable programing language may be used in accordance with
the various
embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used
may include
assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN,
Java, Modula-
2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is not
necessary that a single
type of instruction or programming language be utilized in conjunction with
the operation of the
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system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different
programming languages
may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.
[00223] In addition, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of
the invention may
utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be
desired. An encryption
module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be
decrypted using a
suitable decryption module.
[00224] The com.puting environment may also include other removable/non.-
removable,
volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard disk drive
may read or write to
non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media. A magnetic disk drive may read from
or write to a
removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from
or write to a
removabl.e, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD ROM or other optical media.
Other
removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can
be used in the
exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape
cassettes, flash
memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,
solid state ROM, and
the like. The storage media is typically connected to the system bus through a
removabl.e or non-
removable memory interface.
[00225] The processing unit that executes commands and instructions may be
a general
purpose computer, but may utilize any of a wide variety of other technologies
including a special
purpose computer, a microcomputer, mini-computer, mainframe computer,
programmed micro-
processor, micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC
(Visitor Specific
Integrated Circuit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a logic
circuit, a digital signal
processor, a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable
Gate Array), PLD
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(Programmable Logic Device), PLA (Programmable Logic Array), RFID processor,
smart chip,
or any other device or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing
the steps of the
processes of the invention.
[00226] It should be appreciated that the processors andior memories of
the computer
system need not be physically in the same location. Each of the processors and
each of the
memories used by the computer system may be in geographically distinct
locations and be
connected so as to communicate with each other in any suitable manner.
Additionally, it is
appreciated that each of the processors and/or memory may be composed of
different physical
pieces of equipment.
[00227] A user may enter commands and information into the computer
through a user
interface that includes input devices such as a keyboard and pointing device,
commonly referred
to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices may include a
microphone, joystick,
game pad, satellite dish, scanner, voice recognition device, keyboard, touch
screen, toggle switch,
pushbutton, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to
the processing unit
through a user input interface that is coupled to the system bus, but may be
connected by other
interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a
universal serial bus (USB).
[00228] One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to
the system bus
via an interface. In addition to display devices, computers may also include
other peripheral
output devices, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface.
The computers
implementing the invention may operate in a networked environment using
logical connections to
one or more remote computers, the remote computers typically including many or
all of the
elements described above.
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[00229] Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments
of the
invention, including a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) and a wide
area network
(WAN), wireless personal area network (PAN) and other types of networks. When
used in a
LAN networking environment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a
network
interface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment, computers
typically include
a modem or other communication mechanism. Modems may be internal or external,
and may be
connected to the system bus via the user-input interface, or other appropriate
mechanism..
Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet, Ethernet,
or any other
system that provides communications. Some suitable communications protocols
may include
TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example. For wireless communications, communications
protocols
may include Bluetooth, Zi.gbee, IrDa, Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, Ultra-Wideband and Long
Term. Evolution
(LTE) or other suitable protocols. The wireless communications protocol may
al.so include short-
range communications devices and protocols, such as MD, or Near-Field
Communication radio
transmissions. Furthermore, components of the system may communicate through a
combination
of wired or wireless paths.
[00230] Although many other internal components of the computer are not
shown, those of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the
interconnections are well
known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of
the computer need
not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.
[00231] Furth.er embodiments of the present invention are directed to a
two-way, server-
side management tool, referred to as "Passport," that provides the shopper
with a personalized
shopping experience and seamless transitions between all customer experiences
on any device the
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customer chooses to use (current and future), whether it is a desktop, mobile
device, or store
device, and regardless of whether it is a website, App, etc. The Passport tool
may also provide
the retailer's sales advisors with data relevant to understanding the
customer's needs and buying
behavior, including purchase history, recent activity, tutorials related to
topics of interest to the
customer, etc. And, the Passport tool may further facilitate collecting and
organizing data
obtained from shopper behavior to be used in marketing analytics.
[00232] A.ccording to embodiments of the present invention, Passport
achieves the above
functions by controlling what information the retail merchant collects,
retrieves, collates and
disseminates in order to provide the finest personalized shopping experience.
The controlled
dissemination is made at one level to the shopper and at another level to the
sales advisor. For the
shopper, Passport organizes the digital tools that allow for personalized
product solutions while
seamlessly traveling between Apps, websites, interactions with the retaii
merchant via various
communication channels (for example, phone, chat or email) and technology-
enabled store
devices (e.g., intelligent futures, virtual listening rooms, smart kiosks,
etc.). The Passport tool
may also enable operational. functions (e.g., checkout, post-sale service
scheduling, etc.).
Passport may all.ow any advisor assisting a customer to retrieve and/or be
pushed relevant
information pertaining to that particular customer in order to facilitate more
personalized
assistance based on data known about the customer and through the use of
predictive logic. For
the company's marketing function, Passport may col.lect and organize key
analytics.
[00233] Currently, retailers employ a number of schemes for shopper and
customer
accounting. For example, for a retailer's website, one or more of the
following shopper
accounting schemes may be used. An encoded cookie, referred to as "System ID,"
may be placed
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on an online shopper's computer. The System ID relates to the computer (on
which the System
ID may remain for 365 days) and not to any browsing history. If multiple
people use the same
machine, and in the absence of other information (e.g., email address), the
System ID does not
identify the shopper. A derivative of System ID is referred to by one retailer
as "Connect 'ID."
Session ID, which is another encoded cookie that could be placed on a
shopper's machine, relates
to the browsing history of the individual shopper within the past two hours or
as long as the
shopper remains actively connected to the retail.er's website. In the absence
of other information
(e.g., email address), the Session ID does not identify the shopper.
[00234] For intelligent fixtures in a retailer's physical store(s) (or
kiosks or showrooms),
similar schemes of System ID and Session ID could also be employed. For the
intelligent
fixtures, a System ID may be encoded data received from a fixture's computer,
which only relates
to the machine and not to browsing history. :If multiple people use the same
intell.igent fixture,
there is no way to distinguish between them. In the absence of other
information (e.g., email
address), the System ID of the intelligent fixture does not identify the
shopper. The System ID is
defined by the period between when the intelligent fixture PC starts up to
when it shuts down.
For the intelligent fixtures, a Session ID is encoded data received from a
fixture's computer,
which relates to the browsing history of an individual shopper between the
time that shopper
selects "touch" and "restart." If "restart" is not selected within a certain
time frame, the session
wili time out. In the absence of other information (e.g., email address), the
Session ID does not
identify the shopper. The shopper can be identified when an email address is
entered, or by
scanning a QR code, or with other identification schemes.
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[00235] As compared to the general "shopper" population, which include
many prospects
who may have never made any purchases, a retailer's "customers" may be those
who have
already made purchases or are in the process of com.pleti.ng purchase
transactions. The retailer
may be currently employing any one or more of the following schemes of
customer accounting.
For example, a rewards card number may be tied to a generated number that
requires an email
address. A customer with multiple Rewards Cards will need multiple
corresponding email
addresses. A CID number may be a generated number that is tied to a
custom.er's physical
address information. The CID may be the main depository of customer
information. However,
the CID does not contain any session tracking data. My Account is another
customer accounting
scheme which requires an email address and a password. A control number
associated with My
A.ccoun.t is internal and not transparent to the customer. My .Account m.ay
contain the customer's
physical address and payment information as well as order history and other
information relative
to their experience with the retailer (e.g., Master Sheets, Manuals, Advisor,
etc.).
[00236] According to various embodiments of the present invention,
operation of the
Passport tool with respect to each individual customer/shopper may be
controlled by a unique
identifier th.at links to the customer/shopper information in the retailer's
other accounts (e.g.,
System ID, Session ID, Connect ID, Rewards Card, CID, and My Account).
Passport may verify
and optimize the complete virtual shopping cart process including, for
example, the pre-selection
of speakers to be demonstrated in the virtual listening rooms and/or at
headphone kiosks.
Passport may manage cart maintenance, emaii optimization and homepage
optimization across
customer devices. Furthermore, Passport may facilitate customer operational
functions (e.g.,
checkout, post-sale service scheduling, etc.). Additionally, the Passport tool
may provide sales
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advisors with relevant information about the shopper and, through the use of
predictive logic, help
guide the sales advisor through the sales process. And, the Passport tool may
enable a more
effective system of managing marketing analytics.
[00237] With the Passport tool, a retailer may be able to (a) track or log
consumer activities
on its website before they ever step into a store and (b) link the logged
online activities to the
person once he/she enters the store. This allows the online activity to be
linked with consumer
activity in the store. When a shopper enters the store, some data is used to
detect the shopper and
link him/her to the online log. For example, an intelligent fixture, beacon
detector, or other store
devices could detect the shopper's presence by sensing his/her mobile device,
or causing him/her
to read a QR code, perform a biometric scan, or enter an email address, for
example, at the
fixture, etc. As a result, regardless of the customer touch point or
comm.unication channel, the
retailer can effectively unify and enhance the shopping experience and create
more opportunity
for sales.
[00238] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating the use of a Passport
tool in providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[00239] As shown in Figure 15, front the moment a retail shopper starts
his/her product
discovery ("Out-of-Store (Online) Discovery" 1), for example, by researching a
product or
product category online, the Passport tool is to be involved in identifying
the shopper and his/her
interest, keeping track of the interactions with a retailer's website and
sales personnel, and/or
making recommendation of relevant information and products.
[00240] As the shopper moves on to research the product(s) in the
retailer's physical store,
the Passport tool facilitates a smooth transition to In-Store Discovery (2) by
linking the shopper's
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Out-of-Store Discovery (1) session and using that and other shopper-specific
information to
provide customized data, guidance, and recommendations concerning the
contemplated purchase.
Sometimes, the Out-of-Store Discovery (i) and In-Store Discovery (2) sessions
may be repeated a
few times before any final purchase decision is made and carried out. The
shopper's Passport
account may be used to track and transition among these sessions and to
organize the information
collected therefrom for personalized shopping assistance.
[00241. ] When the shopper reaches the Purchase Transaction (3) stage, the
Passport account
may again be employed for arranging check-out, payment, delivery,
installation, and/or any other
related transactional functions. The Passport account may provide a digital
wallet function to fill
in all the necessary payment and personal data. In connection with a newly
purchased product,
Passport may automati.call.y submit product or warranty registration on behalf
of the shopper and
collect all warranty information in his/her Passport account.
[00242] For Post-Sale Support (4), all relevant or helpful product
literature, such as
manuals, guides, or other documentation, may be automatically collected into
the shopper's
Passport account, and all post-sal.e interactions with the retailer's store,
website, or support staff
may be recorded in connection with the Passport account. Product recall,
software update, routine
maintenance notifications may be automatically directed to the shopper based
on product
purchases recorded in the Passport account.
[00243] Furthermore, the retailer may leverage the Passport account
inform.ation for
Marketing / Promotion (5). The shopper's purchase history and product
discovery history, as well
as many other personal data, may reveal a lot about which products the shopper
needs or wants.
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Therefore, a number of targeted marketing or promotion leads may be generated
and presented to
the shopper based on his/her Passport account data.
[00244] Thus, throughout an entire shopping cycle and at every point of
contact with the
retailer, the shopper/customer may be engaged by the Passport system.. The
Passport account
ensures that the shopper's initial interest in any product gets the retailer's
attention, that the
shopper's product discovery process is seamlessly integrated whether it takes
place online or in
store, and that the shopper's interactions with the retailer's servers,
intelligent displays/fixtures, or
personnel are monitored and fruitful.. The potency of the Passport account
extends weli beyond
the moment when a purchase is completed and further into various post-sale
functions and
activities, may facilitate targeted marketing and promotion which can lead to
more future sales.
[00245] Figure 16 is a system. diagram illustrating a retail merchant's
operations according
to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 16 shows from a system point
of view how the
Passport tool is implemented in a retailer's operations to improve shopping
experience. In the
center of the system 1600 may be a Passport server 1602 that is networked and
communicates
with various computing equipment operated by or for the retailer.
[00246] As applied to a retaii merchant, the Passport server 1602 may be
embodied in a
"big data" system that accounts for every pertinent piece of customer
information. It is preferable
to link as much data as practical with Passport where the pertinent data may
include but are not
limited to: data in existing customer relationship m.anagement (CRM) schem.es
(e.g., System ID,
Session ID, Connect ID, OD, Rewards Card and My Account); the retailer's
historic
demographic and psychographic information on shoppers and customers; vehicle
ownership data
used in product fit determination and for modeling in the virtual listening
rooms/kiosks; listening
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area characteristics of their homes used in modeling in our virtual listening
rooms/kiosks;
shopping patterns in retail stores as determined by various in-store sensors;
sales advisors,
customer service agents and technical experts with which they have had past
contact; phone
numbers and smart phone identifier such as iPhone UDID (Unique Device ID);
credit card data;
rewards points earned and the nature of redemptions in the retailer's rewards
program; returns
behavior; products contained in a shopper's virtual shopping cart; newly
available or meaningful
demographic, psychographic, and technology ID information on shoppers and
their devices;
engagement and email click/open rates; social media information (including
emails from. the
retailer that a customer forwards to a friend). As shown in Figure 16, the
Passport server 1602 is
in communication with a data repository 1608 which may contain a variety of
data such as
shopper/customer data (including shopping history, purchase history, and other
individual-
specific information organized by Passport accounts), product data (including
product description,
pricing, support documentation, etc.), shopper/customer communications or
interactions data, and
so on.
[00247] The retailer may operate an e-commerce web server 1604 to support
its online
store. The Passport server 1602 may communicate and coordinate with e-commerce
web server
1604 to identify an online shopper/customer who visits the online store from a
personal
computing device 1606 (e.g., desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, or
smart phone).
Whether the shopper accesses the online store websi.te via a web browser or
mobile app, the
Passport server 1602 may become alerted to the shopper's presence and
activities, identify and
link the shopper's Passport account, and provide the most relevant, customized
information to the
shopper directly and/or via the e-commerce web server 1604.
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[00248] The retailer may also operate an in-store server 1611 in each of
the retailer's
physical store or shopping kiosk 1610. In coordination with the Passport
server 1602, the in-store
server 1.611 may controi or communicate with a number of equipment such as
intelligent fixtures
(or displays) 1612, real-time product tags 1614, advisory tablets 1616, and
point-of-sale (PUS)
equipment 1618. In connection with the intelligent fixtures (or displays) 1612
or standing alone,
one or more sensors (not shown) may be deployed in the store/kiosk 1610 to
detect or interact
with shoppers' devices 1620 such as smart phones (or mobile apps thereon) and
Passport
identifier card. For example, when a shopper starts interacting with an
intelligent fixture 1612,
the shopper's identification and/or other information may be forwarded from
the intelligent
fixture 1612 to the Passport server 1602 via the in-store server 1611. The
Passport server 1602
may select and forward to the in-store server 1611. the most relevant
information and sales
strategy personalized for the shopper. The in-store server 1611 could then
control the intelligent
fixture 1612, real-time product tags 1614, and/or advisor tablet 1616 to
provide personalized
assistance and recommendation to the shopper. For instance, the intelligent
fixture 1612 may be
instructed to pull up product information of most interest or use to the
shopper based on the
shopper's prior product discovery session information. The real-time pricing
tag 1614 of a
recommended product could display a special sale price or personalized message
or highlight an
important selling point related to the product. The shopper's information and
recommended sales
approaches may be forwarded to the advisor tablet 1616 such that a sales
advisor may provide
targeted, in-person assistance to the shopper.
[00249] .1t should be noted that, although many components in system 1600
are shown as
being separated from one another, those skilled in the art would appreciate
that some of the
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components may be combined, merged, or co-located without sacrificing their
functions or
effectiveness. For example, the Passport server 1602 might be co-located with
the e-commerce
web server 1604 and/or the data repository 1610.
[00250] Figure 17 is a block diagram illustrating an exempl.ary Passport
server 1700
according to an embodiment of the present invention. In terms of hardware, the
Passport server
1700 may comprise a processor 1702, a storage medium 1704, and a communication
interface
1706. In terms of software, the Passport server 1700 may include or run a
number of functional
modules such as Account Managem.ent / Security (1711), Database Interface
(1712), Interaction
Detect/Predict (1713), Recommendation / Cross-Sell (1714), Discovery Session
Management
(1715), and Alerts / Notifications (1716). Although these functions are shown
here as discrete
modules, those skilled in the art may appreciate that at least some of these
functions may be
merged together or further divided into finer modules without substantively
changing the intended
effects.
[00251] In general, the Passport account may be provided to a retail
shopper in any of
several physicai and digital. ways. For example, a physical card and/or a
digital. App may be
issued to each retail customer. Unlike previous rewards card programs, one
does not have to be
an actual customer to qualify for Passport. The Passport account could make it
available to
shoppers (i.e., prospects) which may include people who have requested
catalogs, spoken to
telephone sales advisors, used chat, taken part in em.ail dialogs, and visited
the retailer's stores.
[00252] A.ccording to another embodiment, a person does not have to
register with the
retailer before he or she starts using Passport. A shopper may start benefit
from Passport without
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providing personal information (e.g., name, email address, etc.). However, as
more personal
information is provided, more features of the Passport tool may become
possible.
[00253] Figure 18 shows an exemplary Passport card according to an
embodiment of the
present invention. The physical. Passport card 1800 may be as prestigious-
looking as most
"platinum" credit cards although it may be of a different size than a typical
credit card. The card
1800 may have visual identifiers (e.g., alphanumerical account number 1802, QR
code or barcode
1804, etc.) printed on it. The card 1800 may alternatively or additionally
have recognition
technology embedded therein such as a smart chip 1806 or other electronic or
magnetic
sensing/detection mechanism such as near-field communications (NFC), radio-
frequency (RF)
scanning, or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). These features may make it extremely
simple for
cardholders to start the Passport process. For example, rather than entering
information, a
cardholder may photograph the QR code with a portable device. Also, I.ogging
on with a desktop
computer or store device (e.g., Intelligent Display) could be made simple with
technologies such
as NFC or the like. The Passport card numbers may be linked to legacy rewards
card numbers by
the addition of a simple prefix or suffix which distinguishes the different
databases. According to
additional embodiments of the present invention, the smart card 1800 may
further include a
simple user interface such as an LCD screen 1808 and buttons 1810. For
instance, the cardholder
may need to enter a correct code via the user interface in order to generate a
secure RSA string for
use with Passport account related transactions.
[00254] Figure 19 shows an exemplary Passport App 1900 and its functional
modules
according to an embodiment of the present invention. The Passport App 1900 may
be
downloaded to and installed on a personal computing device 1901 such as a
desktop or laptop
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computer, handheld or tablet computer, smart phone, or a wearable device.
Passport could
recognize multiple devices that the shopper may use. The shopper's personal
computing device
1901 may empl.oy a combination of technologies such as QR codes, iBeacon, BLE
(Bluetooth
Low Energy), and NFC (near field communications) to provide secure
communications with a
retailer's computing equipment such as Passport server or intelligent
fixtures. A Secure
Communications module 1906 of the Passport App 1900 may facilitate and/or take
advantage of
these communications. The Passport App 1900 may use conventional Bluetooth and
Wi-Fi for
less-secure, more robust communications. SMS/text could be accommodated as
well.
[00255] The most important function of the Passport App 1900 may be
Shopper
Identification / Authentication (1902) which identifies the associated
Passport account when
comm.unicating with a retailer's computing equipment such as Passport server
or intelligent
fixtures. A user of the device 1901 may supply a Passport account identifier
to the Passport App
1900 or have the user's Passport account recognized through an authentication
procedure.
[00256] The Passport App 1900 may also provide an Electronic Wallet (or e-
Wallet)
function (1904) in connection with the Shopper Identification /
.Authentication function (1902).
For example, with the e-Wallet (1904), the shopper may pre-store or pre-
designate payment
information or set up payment options for online and store purchases in the
App 1900 and/or in
connection with the shopper's Passport account. When the shopper is ready for
a purchase
transaction, the e-Wallet (1904) may accelerate store checkout and/or post-
sal.e scheduling
process. Passport could also provide a server-side, digital wallet. To
accelerate checkout, a
customer may allow Passport to retain their credit card information. Then,
only the Passport
number would be used for checkout.
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[00257] The Passport App 1900 may further comprise or use a Location
Services (1908)
function or module which uses the device 1901's current physical location
(e.g., determined via
GPS, cellular triangulation, Wi-Fi positioning, or other methods) to serve a
number of purposes
such as shopper detection or authentication, in-store tracking/navigation, and
message
dissemination etc.
[00258] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the physical
Passport card
1800 may be phased out after a period of time when only the App 1900 will be
supported.
[00259] Figure 20 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for
providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[00260] In Step 2002, a retail merchant may distribute Passport
identifiers, cards, or apps to
shoppers. For existing or known shoppers/customers of the retailer, the
distribution or
establishment of Passport accounts may take place in batch based on the
shopper/customer data
and via established communication channels (e.g., emails, text messages, and
mails). The
preexisting schemes of shopper accounting or customer accounting (e.g., based
on rewards cards,
CID or My Account) may be used for issuing new Passport account credentials.
New shoppers
and customers may be enrolled on an ongoing basis.
[00261] In Step 2004, preexisting shopper-specific information, such as
related to previous
schemes of shopper/customer accounting, may be organized and stored in
association with the
Passport accounts. With one unified database or through a number of related
databases, shopper-
specific data of each Passport account holder may be maintained, including,
for example, personal
information (e.g., name, address, contact), family information,
employment/income data,
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home/automobile data, prior purchases, shopping/discovery behavioral data,
product preferences,
and prior interactions with retailer's sales/support personnel.
[00262] In Step 2006, for each interaction a shopper (passport account
holder) has with the
retailer, whether it is online or in store and whether it is with the
retailer's computing equipment
or personnel, the shopper may be identified and linked to his/her Passport
account. This way,
additional shopper-specific data may be collected and associated with the
corresponding Passport
account. Passport may store documents that resulted from. the in-store
consultation process (e.g.,
sketches of the customer's living room and optimai speaker placement.). For
example, the in-
store devices or App may have a "draw" capability that allows one to basically
"finger paint"
notes and diagrams on one of the existing product images. Passport may also be
a depository for
information regarding purchases made through other retailers, which
information could help the
retailer's sales advisors recommend products compatible with equipment
purchased elsewhere.
[00263] In Step 2008, all the shopper-retailer interactions may be tracked
and customized
recommendations or responses may be provided to the shopper. With the Passport
account, the
shopper's product discovery sessions may be monitored and coordinated so that
the shopping
experien.ce could seamlessl.y transition between the various communication
media and platforms.
Furthermore, the most contextually relevant assistance and information may be
provided to the
shopper. For example, as the shopper just started research on a product
category, the shopper's
needs and wants m.ay be predicted based on information in the shopper's
Passport account and
specific products may be recommended accordingly. As the shopper continues the
product
research, information from the shopper's previous research session(s) may be
leveraged to further
help compare products and make selection for final purchase.
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[00264] In Step 2010, the purchase transaction(s) may be conducted and
recorded in
connection with the shopper's Passport account. Once the shopper is
authenticated, the shopper's
Passport account may be used to provide payment information (e.g., credit card
data) and any
other information needed for online or store checkout. All information related
to the purchase
may also be recorded in the Passport account for future uses by both the
shopper and the retailer.
[00265] In Step 2012, post-sale support and other information (e.g.,
marketing and
promotional information) may be provided to the shopper based on Passport
records. For
example, the Passport tool may provide a data fl ling and recordkeeping system
for the retailer's
customers. Passport may file warranty registrations, provide a depository of
all warranty
information including expiration dates, notify owners of any product recalls
and suggested
software upgrades, and retain invoices in a format acceptable to insurance
companies (such that
the information would be available when a customer needs to file a claim).
Electronic files of
product manuals for the customers' products and Master Sheets for their cars
could be retained in
the customer's Passport account. It could further retain transcripts of emails
and chats with the
retailer's technical support personnel.
[00266] According to some embodiments, to encourage the use of Passport
for online
shopping, cardholders may be granted special information on the retailer's
website (e.g., store
inventory, store specials, upcoming promotions, etc.) which is not otherwise
available to non-
Passport-cardholders. Also, the cardholders may be offered special promotions
and, possibly, a
special emai led newsletter. The digital wallet capability could accelerate
store checkout and post-
sale scheduling (e.g., home and car stereo installations). However, it should
be noted the most
important benefit for the Passport holder is ensuring that he or she receives
the most relevant
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shopping experience possible while seamlessly traveling through every
conceivable current and
future shopping medium.
[00267] Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary retail
shopping process
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[00268] As a specific example, in Step 2102, a shopper may initiate
research for a speaker
system on a retailer's website. For example, the shopper may be generally
interested in a home
theater speaker system or a set of in-car speakers.
[00269] in Step 2104, the Passport system may identify and link the
shopper to his/her
existing account or assign/create a new Passport account if this is a new
shopper. If the shopper
has logged in on the retailer's website, then the login credentials may be
used to identify the
shopper and the corresponding Passport account. If not already logged in and
identified, the
shopper may be prompted to log in with a Passport smart card or Passport App
or self-identify to
the system. Alternatively, the shopper may be automatically identified and
matched to a Passport
account based on information about the shopper's computing device, network
connection,
physical location, etc.
[00270] in Step 2106, information of the shopper's online discovery
session may be
recorded in connection with the shopper's Passport account. In addition to the
shopper's identity,
the identity of the product(s) or product category in which the shopper has
expressed interest may
be determined based on the webpages visited and the product literature read.
For example, it may
be decided quickly that the shopper is looking to purchase automotive speakers
instead of home
theater speakers based on the shopper's keyword searches and product browsing
history. In that
case, the vehicle data provided by the shopper or already on file in the
Passport account may be
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associated with the online session and could be used to assist the shopper and
make
recommendations. To the extent the shopper engages in any online chat or
telephone call with the
retailer's sales personnel, such communications may also be stored in. the
shopper's Passport
account.
[00271] In Step 2108, the shopper may choose to continue the research on
automotive
speakers in one of the retailer's stores. As is the case for more expensive or
more complex
merchandise such as audio equipment, the product discovery may take more than
one online or
in-store visit to complete.
[00272] In Step 2110, the shopper's presence in store or interaction with
in-store
devices/personnel may alert the Passport system to retrieve the online session
information (as
saved in Step 2106) along with any other shopper or product information. A
number of
techniques may be empl.oyed to detect the shopper's presence at a retail
location. For example,
beacons, Bluetooth on the consumer's mobile device, and other types of
wireless communication
technology (including "near field communication" or "NFC") can be used to
sense the shopper's
mobile device, Passport card or device, wearable wireless device (e.g., a
smart watch from.
Samsung, Pebble, or Sony; a fitness or wellness tracker band I.ike Fitbit,
Polar, or Misfit, an eye-
wear such as Google Glass), or other device. In particular, an indoor
proximity system, such as
Apple's iBeacon system with Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing, may be one
option of
detecting and identifying the shopper in store, so as to link the online with
the in-store aspects of
shopping experience, and for communicating with the shopper as he or she
wanders on or around
the retail premises.
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[00273] According to some embodiments, the beacon or other shopper-sensing
or -
detection system can trigger certain types of informational or promotional
messages to be pushed
to the shopper's mobil.e device. For example, as soon as a shopper with his or
her beacon-
compatible device comes within transmission or detection range of a retail
store, the shopper's
presence may be sensed and related activity data identified based on which a
personalized
greeting message may be sent to the shopper's device. For instance, the
greeting message may
address the shopper by name, welcome him or her to the store, and/or remind
the shopper of prior
researches or provide alerts of products or deals of interest to the
particular shopper. A. special
discount, rebate, or reward may be offered to the shopper to entice him or her
to enter the store
and make a purchase.
[00274] In Step 2112, it may be determined whether the shopper is already
interacting with
an intel.ligent fixture (e.g., a speaker displ.ay stand or a car audio
simulation booth/chamber). If
so, then in Step 2214, the intelligent fixture may be caused to offer to load
the saved online
session and/or other customized information to assist the shopper with the
speaker
research/comparison. For exampl.e, based on the progress of the shopper's
online research and.
vehicle information, the displayed information or product simulation may be
narrowed down to a
handful of speaker models. According to one embodiment of the present
invention, the
personalized recommendations may have already been formulated after the
shopper's online
discovery session and prior to the shopper's visit to the retail store.
[00275] Next, or if the shopper is not interacting with any intelligent
fixture, an in-store
sales advisor may be discreetly alerted in Step 2116 and the relevant Passport
information
concerning the shopper and his/her shopping endeavor may be pushed to an
advisor tablet. With
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the custom tailored information, the sales advisor may then approach the
shopper to provide
personalized assistance. According to embodiments of the present invention,
the advisor tablet
and its data connection to the in-store server and ultimately the Passport
server may allow the
sales advisor to access the retailer's vast database of product and
educational information without
leaving the shopper. Since all the information needed to assist the shopper
and make a sale is
available and accessible via the advisor tablet at the advisor's fingertips,
the advisor tablet can
serve as a com.plete information resource for both the sales advisor and
shopper, thereby reducing
the training requirements of sales advisors. With little training, a sales
advisor can perform with
the same level of professionalism and expertise that a highly experienced
sales advisor performs
in a conventional retail environment. During peak times or when more expertise
is required, the
in-store advisor tabl.ets and/or intelligent fixtures may facilitate the
shopper's video conferencing
with additional sales or technical support people at a central location. Also,
the advisor tablet
may allow the sales advisors to perform all the store's sales and service
function at one location.
[00276] In Step 2118, a speaker simulation session may be offered to the
shopper (via the
intelligent fixture or by the sales advisor), and speaker simulation data for
the speaker models of
particular interest to the shopper may be pre-loaded to the simulation system
and configured for
demonstration in an interior space customized according to the shopper's
vehicle.
[00277] In Step 2120, after completing in-store discovery, the shopper may
decide to either
make a purchase or do more research.
[00278] If the shopper decides to purchase a particular set of speakers,
then in Step 2122
the shopper's Passport account information may be used to complete the
checkout. The
previously collected person information and vehicle information may also be
used in scheduling
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an installation of the new speakers. All information related to this purchase
may be stored in the
shopper's Passport account. In Step 2124, data filing and recordkeeping may be
performed on
behalf of the shopper and product documentation may be collected and
recommended, all based
on and in connection with the Passport account.
[00279] If the shopper decided to do more research (Step 2120), then in
Step 2126 the in-
store discovery session may be saved in the shopper's Passport account much
like saving the
online session in Step 2106. After shopper leaves the store, the Intelligent
Fixture/Passport
system preferably makes a follow-up contact with the shopper based on what
transpired in the
store. This follow-up contact may be via email, web (e.g., next time the
consumer accesses the
retailer's website), telephone, text message(s), etc. According to some
embodiments, the Passport
tool may integrate a shopper's online and in-store activities over a number of
online and offline
(in-store) cycles.
[00280] In Step 2128, when another interaction is detected between the
shopper and the
retailer (online or in-store), continued discovery concerning automotive
speakers may be
facilitated. The system may leverage data collected from previous sessions to
provide the shopper
with more personalized information and recommendations.
[00281] Figure 22 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary retail
shopping process
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[00282] In this particular example, a shopper may be interested in
purchasing an LED
HDTV. In Step 2202, the shopper may start by interacting with a retailer's in-
store device or
sales advisor regarding LED TV sets.
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[00283] In Step 2204, the Passport system may identify and link the
shopper to his/her
existing Passport account or assign a new Passport account if this is a new
shopper.
[00284] In Step 2206, after the shopper completes the visit to the retail
store, the in-store
discovery session may be recorded in connection with the shopper's Passport
account. The saved
session may include such information as to which LED TV models the shopper
searched for,
viewed, or inquired about and what technological features the shopper cares
about.
[00285] In Step 2208, if the shopper does not resume the research of LED
TV for a while,
then, after a period of inactivity, the Passport system may send reminders or
promotional
messages to the shopper regarding LED TV offerings.
[00286] In Step 2210, when the shopper visits the retailer's online store
for further
research, information from. the saved in-store discovery session and other
customized inform.ation
may be loaded to the shopper's web interface. For example, the shopper may be
reminded of the
TV models previously viewed or compared in store and may be presented with
information of
new products that might match the shopper's preferences. In response to the
shopper's concerns
or confusions, educational information may be sel.ectively presented to the
shopper concerning
TV products, such as a comparison between 4K. Ultra HD vs. 1080P Full HD, 3D
vs. non-3D,
LCD vs. OLED vs. plasma display technologies, and smart/networked vs. non-
networked.
[00287] If the shopper decides to purchase one of the LED TV products,
then in Step 2212
the Passport e-Wal let m.ay be used to complete the online checkout and
arrange for delivery
and/or instal I ati on.
[00288] After the sale, a number of Passport functions may be performed.
For example, in
Step 2214, the product registration or warranty registration may be
automatically completed for
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the purchased TV set based on information of the product as well as the
shopper's information
maintained in the Passport account. In Step 2216, the product manual, setup
guide, and other
rel.ated documentation may be compiled and stored in the shopper's Passport
account. In Step
2218, the Passport system may forward any manufacturer communications such as
recal l alert and
software update reminders to the shopper. In Step 2220, the Passport system
may further identify
and recommend accessories and related products for the purchase TV model such
as cables,
remote control, and sound bar.
[00289] An important component of the Passport system is real-time product
tagging
(RTPT) which is used to disseminate personalized shopping information at the
store's product
level. Like with every other aspect of Passport, RTPT is designed to provide
the shopper with the
most individualized shopping experience.
[00290] Figure 23 is a block diagram. illustrating an exemplary use of
real-time product
tagging according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a retail store
2300, a number of
electronic price tags 2302 may be deployed to show information next to
corresponding products.
According to one particul.ar embodiment, eSignage tags manufactured by ZBD
Solutions may be
used for the electronic price tags 2302. Unlike conventional price tags which
m.erely show static
pricing data, each electronic price tag 2302 may be caused to display a
variety of static and
dynamic data such as product name & brief description, customer (online)
ratings, current price,
and sales or promotion information. An in-store server 2301 with wireless
capabilities may
communicate with the el.ectronic price tags 2302. Since it is also in
communication with a data
repository 2303 andlor an e-commerce web server 2305, the in-store server 2301
may ensure the
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dynamic data shown on the electronic price tag 2302 are synchronized with and
therefore remain
the same as those data shown in the retailer's online store.
[00291] According to one embodiment, the data shown on the electronic
price tags 2302
may be continuously updated whenever any change is made to the dynamic data in
the data
repository 2303 and/or e-commerce web server 2305. According to another
embodiment, for a
period of time (e.g., 1-2 hours) before a retail store opens for business, a
batch update of the
electronic price tags 2302 may be performed, where the tags may be first
switched to an Update
mode and then any data that have changed since the last time the tags were put
in Update mode
may be pushed to the tags. After the update is complete, the electronic price
tags 2302 may be
may switched to Store (or Display) mode. According to a further embodiment,
both the in-store
electronic price tags 2302 and the e-commerce web server 2305 may be scheduled
for periodic,
simultaneous updates, for example, every one hour, every two hours, or every
four hours, when
both the online and in-store data are synchronously updated and refreshed.
[00292] Figure 24 shows an exemplary real-time pricing tag according to an
embodiment
of the present invention. In this example, the electronic price tag has a
black-and-white, fully
graphic display with e-paper technology, which shows the product name ("Nikon
D5200 Kit"),
item number, customer ratings of the product (i.e., five stars), the number of
reviews, current
price ("$799.95"), and current sales information ("Was $899.95, Save
$100.00").
[00293] According to other embodiments of the present invention, the
electronic price tags
may also be used to provide shoppers with real-time, personalized information
displayed
alongside a featured physical product. For example, the shopper's name may be
displayed on the
tag welcoming him or her to the product display. For another example, an
electronic price tag
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may display to a shopper the actual cost of the product after the shopper's
rewards points are
subtracted and, for car audio products, whether they will fit in the shopper's
particular vehicle.
[00294] According to some embodiments, in addition to displaying
personalized shopping
information in real time on the electronic price tags, sim.ilar information
can be displayed on the
shopper's personal device or on the intelligent fixture's display which is in
closest proximity to
the shopper. To protect confidentiality, proximity sensors may detect the
shopper and an
electronic price tag may only show personalized message(s) when the shopper is
sufficiently close
to a particular product displ.ay. The displ.ayed information could be secured
through the use of
technology like NFC. For instance, personalized information may only be
displayed when the
shopper's portable device is on an intelligent fixture.
[00295] It should be noted that, although many of the exampl.es are
described herein in
reference to consumer electronics (CE) products, the Passport tool and
intelligent fixtures in
accordance with embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the
retail sale of CE
merchandise but may be extended to numerous other product types.
[00296] A.ccording to further embodiments of the present invention, the
intelligent fixture
user interface (e.g., a large-screen display or touch-screen panel) could be
tailored to each
shopper's mobile device. For example, the intelligent fixture can detect (or
recall from data of
prior online or in-store interaction) the type and version of operating system
(e.g., iOS vs.
Android vs. Windows, etc.) on the shopper's mobile device. Then, the
intelligent fixture Ul may
be configured to have a "look and feel" and functionality consistent with the
OS that the shopper
is already familiar with. For another example, the intelligent fixture can
detect (or recall from
data of prior online or in-store interaction) the language setting or
preference of the shopper's
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mobile device (or sense from voice recognition of the shopper's speech) and
present in a proper
language on the large screen accordingly. Other characteristics of the shopper
or the shopper's
device may also be detected and used to tail.or the presentation on the large
screen.
[00297] A.ccording to yet further embodiments of the present invention,
shopper
authentication may be achieved using fingerprint scans, retina scans, or other
biometrics through
an interface with the intelligent fixture and/or Passport app. They can also
be used as
authentication factors for check-out operations.
[00298] According to yet further embodiments of the present invention, the
intelligent
fixture(s) and/or related beacon or sensor devices may gather data to provide
at least gross
statistics on store performance, such as foot traffic patterns in the store,
activity levels in the store
for different days of the week and/or times of day, advisory conversion rate,
website return
conversion rate (i.e., how often a consumer viewing a product in the store
returns home and
purchases it online), and so on.
[00299] According to other embodiments of the present invention, shoppers'
in-store
navigation may be significantly improved in a number of ways. For example, the
Passport app
may work with in-store wireless beacons or other indoor positioning or geo-
location solutions to
provide better navigational assistance to shoppers, such as an interactive (2-
D or 3-D) store map
that provides walking directions to guide the shopper to where the items on
his/her shopping list
are located. The navigation instructions could accommodate multiple waypoints
and might subtly
direct foot traffic to where the retailer wants shoppers to be. According to
one embodiment, the
interactive store map could preferably provide a function similar to Google
Map Street View such
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that a shopper planning an in-store visit could even preview where he or she
is going to be and
potentially start browsing the shelves or displays even before physically
coming into the store.
[00300] For another example, since m.any shoppers often use their smart
phones in store to
get product information or compare prices, the retailer may find it desirable
to design its own web
portal to make its product data more accessible with data highlights that
promote its own sales.
As a shopper browses one product, one or more related products may be
suggested on the smart
phone along with navigational aids which could be invoked to guide the shopper
to the physical
location of the related product(s).
[00301] Figure 25 shows an exemplary use of wireless technology in a
retail store
according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the retail store 2500,
a number of
wireless transceiver devices 2501 m.ay be deployed to form an indoor proximity
and/or navigation
system. While a shopper carrying a smart phone or other wireless device 250 is
moving around in
the store, the location of the shopper (or the device 250) may be determined,
for example, through
signal triangulation, proximity sensing, or other techniques.
[00302] As the shopper's presence, identity, and in-store I.ocation is
confirmed., the
retailer's in-store server could have one-way or two-way communications with
the shopper's
device 250 in a variety of manners.
[00303] For example, by pulling up the shopper's account history and prior
shopping/browsing activities, it may be determined what the shopper is
currently interested in
buyi.ng and proactively provide descriptive and promotionai information as
well as in-store
location of the product(s) of interest. As shown in Figure 25, the shopper is
currently walking in
an isle between the Lingerie section and the Accessories section, at Location
X. If it is
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determined that the shopper came into the store specifically to browse or
purchase a digital
camera (e.g., based on the fact that the shopper spent a significant amount of
time in the past 24
hours researching digitai photography webpages on the retailer's website), an
al.ert message may
be pushed to the shopper's device 250 or an app (e.g., Passport app) on the
device 250 could
generate a message telling the shopper how to get to the Electronics section
(Location Y) from the
shopper's current location (Location X). For instance, an in-store map with
tum-by-turn
directions might be automatically presented on the device 250 showing Route A.
It may also be
determined what the shopper is likel.y to be interested in and attempt to
guide the shopper to or
past certain merchandise location(s). In the example shown in Figure 25, if it
is determined that
the shopper might be interested in some sporting goods located close to the
main isle near
Location Z, the shopper may be guided from Location X to Location Y via Route
B (which passes
by or through Location 'Z) instead of Route A.
[00304] For another example, the Passport app on the shopper's device 250
may have
access to a shopping list and, with geo-location and navigation capabilities,
could generate a most
efficient route which, for example, starts from the store entrance or the
shopper's current in-store
location and ends at the checkout registers, with mul.tiple waypoints each
corresponding to one or
more items on the shopping list. Such a shopping-list-based navigation route
could also be
somewhat modified so that the shopper gets more exposure to certain
merchandise chosen by the
retailer.
[00305] In addition, various incentives such as discount coupons, reward
points, and rebate
offers could be generated and pushed to the shopper's device 250 in
substantial real-time, for
example, to boost the shopper's interest in certain products and/or to extend
the shopper's stay in
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the store. The generation and communication of incentives may be based on the
detection and
measurement of the shopper's in-store activities such as navigation and dwell
time with products
and departments.
[00306] Another type of in-store wireless technology may embed small
chips, such as
RFID tags or a more active type of wireless chips, into displayed merchandise
(e.g., clothing and
electronics) or as part of security or anti-theft devices routinely attached
to the merchandise.
Such small chips may emit signal.s to or al.low detection by the shopper's
device 250 so that the
shopper could more easily locate the individual pieces of merchandise in the
store without asking
for assistance.
[00307] Figure 26 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary method
for providing an
improved retail shopping experience according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[00308] In Step 2602, a retailer, such as a department store,
clothing/fashion shop,
electronics boutique, or home improvement store, may maintain multiple retail
sales channels.
For example, a retailer specializing in consumer electronics may set up a
first (online) channel by
establishing an Internet web portal and/or distributing a mobile application
both of which could.
provide an interactive user interface for shoppers to browse, research, and/or
purchase products
from the electronics retailer. The same electronics retailer may also have a
second (offline)
channel by running one or more physical stores, stands, or kiosks which
shoppers could visit in
person.
[00309] In Step 2604, the retail.er may maintain one or more shopper
databases to record
data related to the interactions between the shoppers and the retailer. The
interactions could take
place over any of the retail sales channels and may include the shoppers'
browsing, product
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research, purchase, return/exchange, post-sales service/support, and other
activities. The
database(s) may organize the activities data and personal information for each
shopper (whether
or not the shopper has previously made any purchase from the retailer).
[00310] In Step 2606, a shopper's visit to a first retail sales channel
may be detected. For
example, the shopper may visit the first (online) channel by shopping on the
Internet web portal
via a standard web browser or with the mobile app distributed by the retailer
or a third party. The
shopper could be detected based on an identifier of the shopper's computing
device, its network
address (e.g., 11? address, mobile phone number), or login credentials or
other personal
information supplied by the shopper. Alternatively, the shopper may be
detected based on a
cookie or token stored on the shopper's computing device during a previous
visit to one of the
retail sales channels.
[00311.] In Step 2608, the shopper may be identified with a unique
identifier that serves to
distinguish each shopper from other visitors or customers of the retailer. If
prior interactions
between the shopper and the retailer can be confirmed, the shopper may already
have been
associated with a unique identifier and that identifier may continue to be
used. If no prior
interaction with the retailer can be confirmed or no identifier exists for
this shopper, then a new
unique identifier may be assigned to the newly detected shopper.
[00312] Next, in Step 2610, data associated with the shopper's activities
while visiting the
first retail sales channel may be recorded and stored in the shopper database.
For example, one or
more of the following pieces of inform.ation may be recorded: the product
information. browsed;
URL links followed; dwell time for each webpage or product; product(s) added
to wish list;
shopping list, or shopping cart; product(s) or information saved for later;
product(s) purchased;
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the amount spent; interactions with sales representative(s) (e.g., via online
chat or email); and so
on. The recorded data may provide indications and clues as to what products
and/or information
the shopper is interested in, has already possessed, or is likely to need in
the future.
[00313] Som.etim.e later, in Step 2612, the shopper's visit to a second
retail sal.es channel
may be detected. For example, the shopper may visit the second (offline)
channel by coming into
or near one of the retailer's stores, stands, or kiosks. The shopper's
presence in or near a physical
retail location may be detected in a number of ways. For instance, with a
Passport app or other
mobil.e app on the shopper's mobile device, either the app or an in-store
device, fixture, or server
could sense and identify the shopper. The mobile app may be configured (e.g.,
through shopper
opt-in) to announce the presence and identity of the shopper or the mobile
device. Alternatively,
the shopper may enter his or her nam.e, email address, login name, or other
identifier (e.g., loyalty
or rewards card number) or perform a biometric scan at an intelligent fixture,
or initiate a contact
or contactless communication between the shopper's mobile device and an in-
store device (e.g.,
via NFC or Bluetooth communications).
[00314] Once the shopper has been identified, at least some of the
recorded data of the
shopper's visit to the first retail sal.es channel may be retrieved from the
database(s) in Step 2614.
With the shopper's unique identifier, the shopper database(s) may be quickly
queried for any
information that might be useful to improve the shopper's current experience
in the second retail
sales channel.. The recorded data may include ad.ditionai inform.ation derived
from the raw
activity data previously recorded. Although not shown in Figure 26, data
associated with the
shopper's activities while visiting the second retail sales channel may also
be recorded and stored
into the shopper database(s) in connection with the shopper's unique
identifier.
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[00315] Then, in Step 2616, a customized communication may be generated
and conveyed
to the shopper during the visit to the second retail sales channel. The
customized communication
may be formulated for a number of purposes and delivered in a number of ways.
For exampl.e,
based on the shopper's recently visit to the online store, it may be
determined what the shopper
plans to see or buy on the current shopping trip, and informational and/or
promotional messages
may be generated accordingly to help the shopper with product research and/or
to entice the
shopper to make a purchase. The informational message could remind the shopper
of the
product(s) previously researched, provide the physical in-store I.ocation of
the product(s) and
navigation instructions, and/or alert the shopper to newer or comparable
products. The
promotional message may include general or personalized incentives such as
coupons, rewards, or
rebates. The customized communication may be transmitted to the shopper's
mobile device, for
example, pushed by in-store beacon devi.ces, emailed/texted; or the customized
message(s) may
be displayed on a screen of an intelligent fixture or announced by the audio
output of the
intelligent fixture; or in some case the personalized notes could be printed
out and handed to the
shopper. A.ccording to some embodiments, the customized communication may be
generated
based on recorded data about a prior visit in combination with data collected
during the current
visit.
[00316] Although in this example just described the shopper visits the
online store first and
then the physical store, those skilled in the art would appreciate that a
shopper may choose to visit
any of the retail sales channels and in any chosen order regardless of which
the m.ethod of
improving shopping experience described herein could still be applied.
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[00317] Optionally, in Step 2618, one or more second customized
communications may
also be generated for a retail employee to assist the shopper. For example,
based on the recorded
data about the shopper's prior and/or current visits, the retailer's in-store
or online server may
determine that the shopper would benefit from personal assistance of a sales
representative.
Accordingly, the server may put together, and push to one or more chosen
employee (e.g., to
his/her advisor tablet or computer terminal), a set of information about the
shopper, the shopper's
needs, and recomm.en.ded strategy on how to help the shopper. The retaii
employee may then
approach and assist the shopper most effectively in person (if the shopper is
in store) or via online
chat (if the shopper is online) based on the second customized
cornmunication(s).
[00318] The various embodiments and features of the presently disclosed
invention may be
used in any combination, as the combination of these embodiments and features
are well within
the scope of the invention. While the foregoing description includes many
details and
specificities, it is to be understood that these have been included for
purposes of explanation only,
and are not to be interpreted as limitations of the present invention. It will
be apparent to those
skilled in the art that other modifications to the embodiments described above
can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly,
such modifications are
considered within the scope of the invention as intended to be encompassed by
the following
claims and their legal equivalents.
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