System and method for providing shopping aids and incentives to customers through a computer network
View Patent ↗A system and method for delivering purchasing incentives and a variety of other retail shopping aids through a computer network, such as by E-mail over the Internet or the World Wide Web. Customers ( 10 ) of retail stores can establish a bi-directional communication link with the system, log in ( 16 ) to the system, and then elect to browse among available purchasing incentive offers ( 18, 22 ), or elect to explore other shopping aids, such as a shopping list generator ( 26 ), a recipe center ( 30 ), or simply elect to claim a product rebate or to receive product information. If the customer elects to have product information or rebate information delivered, only minimal customer identification is required. For purchase incentives redeemable at retail stores, the customer must provide identification information and must also designate a retailer ( 12 ) at which the purchasing incentive can be exercised. For receipt of focused incentives based the customer's past shopping behavior, the customer must also supply a unique customer id., such as a check cashing card number or credit card number, used for in-store purchases. For delivery of a product sample, the customer's name and address must be supplied. The system merges this customer-supplied information ( 270 ) with other purchase incentive data ( 272 ) and creates a printable graphical image of the purchasing incentive ( 282 ) for transmission to the customer. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the purchase incentive is not transmitted directly to the customer. Instead, the terms of the incentive are transmitted electronically to the retail store ( 310 ) designated by the customer, who receives either a token ( 316 ) to present at the store or an advisory message. In yet another embodiment of the invention, incentives may be targeted to specific consumers based on a consumer purchase history ( 502 ), and transmitted to consumers' computers ( 510 ) using electronic mail addresses stored in a consumer database ( 506 ).
1. A system for distributing purchasing incentives to retail customers, said system comprising:
a central computer configured to prompt over a computer network a user for region data;
a personal computer configured to transmit the user's region data from said personal computer over said computer network to said central computer; and
wherein, if said user's region data identifies a selected region, said central computer is configured to transmit a selected region incentive offer for a product to said personal computer;
wherein said personal computer is further configured (1) to print or display said selected incentive offer having a canvas on which at least two members of a set of image elements including the system's logo, an incentive offer's size and border parameters, a user's name, a selected region incentive offer's expiration date, a product's icon, a selected region incentive offer's amount, a selected region incentive offer's terms, legal text, redemption text, a selected region incentive offer's sequence number, bar code numbers, and a selected region incentive offer's designated supermarket are overlaid, (2) to select a background image based on random or preset parameters, and (3) to apply said background image to said canvas.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said personal computer is further configured to select said background image having a complex pattern such that said background image does not interfere with scanned bar codes on said selected region incentive offer.
3. A system for distributing purchasing incentives to retail customers, said system comprising:
a central computer configured to prompt over a computer network a user for region data;
a personal computer configured to transmit the user's region data from said personal computer over said computer network to said central computer;
wherein, if said user's region data identifies a selected region, said central computer is configured to transmit a selected region incentive offer for a product to said personal computer;
wherein image elements, and their respective location coordinates for location on said selected region incentive offer are transmitted to said personal computer in order to generate said selected region incentive offer, said image elements including:
the system's logo and said incentive offer's size and border parameters;
wherein said image elements and their respective location coordinates for location on said selected region incentive offer further include:
said user's name;
said selected region incentive offer's expiration date;
said product's icon;
said selected region incentive offer's amount;
said selected region incentive offer's terms;
a legal text;
a redemption text;
said selected region incentive offer's sequence number;
bar code numbers; and,
said selected region incentive offer's designated supermarket; and
wherein said personal computer is further configured (1) to print or display said selected region incentive offer having a canvas on which said image elements are overlaid, (2) to select a background image based on random or preset parameters, and (3) to apply said background image to said canvas.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein said personal computer is further configured to select said background image such that said background image does not interfere with bar codes on said selected region incentive offer.