Method and apparatus for interactive shopping

1. A method of interactive shopping at a store, comprising in a wireless client of one or more wireless clients the steps of:

maintaining a shopping list of items desired by a shopper;

transmitting the shopping list to an in-store shopping system;

receiving information from the in-store shopping system, the information identifying where to find the items and further identifying where the wireless client is positioned in the store; and

displaying said information;

the method further comprising in the in-store shopping system the steps of:

receiving the shopping list;

generating said information;

communicating said in formation to the wireless client;

measuring data selected from at least one of (a) how many wireless clients of said one or more wireless clients of said one or more wireless clients are present and (b) their locations; and

predicting staffing requirements for a checkout counter from said data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in the in-store shopping system the step of identifying any of the items on the shopping list that are not carried by the store.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in the in-store shopping system the step of sending to the wireless client a notification when a requested product requiring preparation time has become available.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in the in-store shopping system the step of discovering a historical traversal path of shoppers.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in the in-store shopping system the step of collecting statistics on store traffic over time to better manage employee work schedules.

6. The method of claim 1 ,

further comprising in the in-store shopping system the step of transmitting, to the wireless client, pricing information applicable to the shopping list; and

further comprising in the wireless client the step of storing the pricing information.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in the wireless client the steps of:

storing pricing information applicable to the shopping list, the pricing information received from first and second stores; and

providing a price comparison between the first and second stores.

8. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein said information includes a diagram of the store indicating where the wireless client is positioned in the store, and

wherein the displaying step comprises the step of displaying said diagram.

9. An in-store shopping system at a store, comprising;

a transceiver configured to receive from a wireless client of one or more wireless clients a shopping list of items desired by a shopper;

a processor coupled to the transceiver configured to process the shopping list to generate information identifying where to find the items and further identifying where the wireless client is positioned in the store;

a display coupled to the processor configured to display said information; and

wherein the processor is programmed to cooperate with the transceiver to transmit the information to the wireless client, measure data selected from at least one of (a) how many wireless clients of said one or more wireless clients are present are present and (b) their locations, and predict staffing requirements for a checkout counter from said data.

10. The in-store shopping system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further programmed to identify any of the items on the shopping list that are not carried by the store.

11. The in-store shopping system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further programmed to cooperate with the transceiver to send to the wireless client a notification when a requested product requiring preparation time has become available.

12. The in-store shopping system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further programmed to discover a historical traversal path of shoppers to plan advertising and item placement.

13. The in-store shopping system of claim 9 wherein the processor is further programmed to include in said information a diagram of the store indicating where the wireless client is positioned in the store, as well as where to find the items on the shopping list.

14. The in-store shopping system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further programmed to collect statistics on store traffic over time to better manage employee work schedules.

15. A wireless client for performing interactive shopping at first and second stores, the wireless client comprising:

a user interface for maintaining a shopping list of items desired by a shopper;

a processor coupled to the user interface for processing the shopping list;

a transmitter coupled to the processor for transmitting the shopping list to first and second in-store shopping systems at the first and second stores; and

a receiver coupled to the processor for receiving information from the first and second in-store shopping systems, said information comprising pricing information applicable to the shopping list,

wherein the processor is programmed to:

store the pricing information;

provide on the user interface a price comparison between the first and second stores;

determine for each of the items on the shopping list which of the first and second stores has a lower price;

cooperate with the user interface to receive a predetermined command; and

in response to the predetermined command, split the shopping list into first and second shopping lists, the first shopping list including only the items for which the first store has the lower price, the second shopping list including only the items for which the second store has the lower price.

16. The wireless client of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further programmed to determine for each of the first and second stores a total price for all the item's on the shopping list.

17. The wireless client of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:

cooperate with the transmitter to send location information to an in-store shopping system of a currently visited store; and

cooperate with the receiver to receive from the in-store shopping system a diagram of the currently visited store indicating where the wireless client is positioned in the store.

18. The wireless client of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further programmed to cooperate with the user interface to display said diagram.