Systems and methods to implement point of sale (POS) terminals, process orders and manage order fulfillment
View Patent ↗Systems and methods to integrate point of sale processing, online order processing, and supply chain and store management over the Internet. In one aspect, a central server provides point of sale, online order processing, and supply chain and store management functions via browser based interfaces. The system enables users to enter orders from remote locations for order fulfillment at brick and mortar retail locations, where the POS terminals configured based on the browser based interfaces can be changed into a self service mode to allow customers to place orders for themselves at the retail locations.
1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
presenting, at a mobile device, a mobile application-based interface to a user visiting a retailer on-line;
receiving, through the mobile application-based interface at the mobile device, an indication from the user visiting the retailer on-line to connect one or more social networking accounts of the user with a user account stored at a server of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device and from the server of the retailer, information identifying friends of the user;
obtaining data indicating that: (i) a subset of the identified friends of the user was present at a physical store of the retailer within a threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, and (ii) the subset of the identified friends of the user ordered from the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, the data being generated at the server of the retailer by obtaining, from the one or more social networking accounts of the user, the information identifying the friends of the user, determining a time and location of orders placed by the friends of the user, comparing the location of the orders placed by the friends of the user with a location of the physical store of the retailer, determining whether the time of the orders placed by the friends of the user satisfies the threshold time period, and determining the subset of friends of the user that placed orders at the location of the physical store of the retailer at a time that satisfies the threshold time period;
presenting to the user, using the mobile application-based interface, information identifying the subset of the friends that have ordered from the physical store of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device through the mobile application-based interface, an order from the user visiting the retailer on-line; and
communicating, from the mobile device to the server of the retailer, the order from the user visiting the retailer on-line.
2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more social networking accounts of the user include a Facebook account.
3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the order from the user further comprises payment information.
4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the order from the user further comprises preferences for one or more products.
5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the order from the user further comprises a requested pickup time for the order from the user.
6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise storing the order from the user in association with a keyword that enables the user to resubmit the order from the user at a later time using the keyword.
7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6 , wherein the order from the user is stored in association with an identifier that corresponds to the mobile device.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6 , wherein the operations comprise:
receiving, at the mobile device, a command to resubmit the stored order from the user, the command including at least the keyword that enables the user to resubmit the order from the user;
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the server of the retailer such that the server of the retailer charges the user for the stored order and dispatches the stored order to the physical store of the retailer for fulfillment; and
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the one or more social networking accounts of the user such that the stored order is posted on the one or more social networking accounts of the user.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the data is generated at the server of the retailer further by determining an identification of one or more products, and an indication that the orders placed by the friends of the user do not include a carry out order, and
wherein the predetermined time period is less than one hour.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise:
responsive to communicating the order from the user visiting the retailer on-line, receiving:
one or more advertisements based on the order;
a request to confirm a future order, the future order being generated based on the order and an ordering pattern of the user; and
an award to be redeemed by the user at the physical store of the retailer, a value of the award being proportional to a purchase amount of the order from the user visiting the retailer on-line.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein a time component of the award is directly proportional to the purchase amount of the order from the user visiting the retailer on-line, and
wherein the operations further comprise:
upon communicating a second order from the user visiting the retailer on-line, receiving an indication of an increase in the value of the award, the increase in the value of the award being proportional to a purchase amount of the second order from the user visiting the retailer on-line.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise:
receiving, through the one or more social networking accounts of the user, information indicative of a promotion offered by the retailer; and
after communicating the order from the user, providing information to the server of the retailer to configure the promotion offered by the retailer, wherein the order is associated with the promotion.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein obtaining data indicating that: (i) a subset of the identified friends of the user was present at a physical store of the retailer within a threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, and (ii) the subset of the identified friends of the user ordered from the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, comprises:
receiving, at the mobile device from the server of the retailer, information indicating that one or more devices of the subset of the friends was: (i) determined, using WiFi data, to be located at the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, and (ii) used to make one or more purchases at the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line.
14. A computer-implemented method comprising:
presenting, at a mobile device, a mobile application-based interface to a user visiting a retailer on-line;
receiving, through the mobile application-based interface at the mobile device, an indication from the user visiting the retailer on-line to connect one or more social networking accounts of the user with a user account stored at a server of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device and from the server of the retailer, information identifying friends of the user;
obtaining data indicating that (i) a subset of the identified friends of the user was present at a physical store of the retailer within a threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, and (ii) the subset of the identified friends of the user ordered from the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, the data being generated at the server of the retailer by obtaining, from the one or more social networking accounts of the user, the information identifying the friends of the user, determining a time and location of orders placed by the friends of the user, comparing the location of the orders placed by the friends of the user with a location of the physical store of the retailer, determining whether the time of the orders placed by the friends of the user satisfies the threshold time period, and determining the subset of friends of the user that placed orders at the location of the physical store of the retailer at a time that satisfies the threshold time period;
presenting to the user, using the mobile application-based interface, information identifying the subset of the friends that have ordered from the physical store of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device through the mobile application-based interface, an order from the user visiting the retailer on-line; and
communicating, from the mobile device to the server of the retailer, the order from the user visiting the retailer on-line.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the one or more social networking accounts of the user include a Facebook account.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the order from the user further comprises payment information.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the order from the user further comprises preferences for one or more products and a requested pickup time for the order from the user.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the operations comprise storing the order from the user in association with a keyword that enables the user to resubmit the order from the user at a later time using the keyword.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the order from the user is stored in association with an identifier that corresponds to the mobile device.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the operations comprise:
receiving, at the mobile device, a command to resubmit the stored order from the user, the command including at least the keyword that enables the user to resubmit the order from the user;
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the server of the retailer such that the server of the retailer charges the user for the stored order and dispatches the stored order to the physical store of the retailer for fulfillment; and
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the one or more social networking accounts of the user such that the stored order is posted on one or more social networking accounts of the user.
21. A mobile device comprising:
one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
presenting, at a mobile device, a mobile application-based interface to a user visiting a retailer on-line;
receiving, through the mobile application-based interface at the mobile device, an indication from the user visiting the retailer on-line to connect one or more social networking accounts of the user with a user account stored at a server of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device and from the server of the retailer, information identifying friends of the user;
obtaining data indicating that: (i) a subset of the identified friends of the user was present at a physical store of the retailer within a threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, and (ii) the subset of the identified friends of the user ordered from the physical store of the retailer within the threshold time period immediately preceding the user visiting the retailer on-line, the data being generated at the server of the retailer by obtaining, from the one or more social networking accounts of the user, the information identifying the friends of the user, determining a time and location of orders placed by the friends of the user, comparing the location of the orders placed by the friends of the user with a location of the physical store of the retailer, determining whether the time of the orders placed by the friends of the user satisfies the threshold time period, and determining the subset of friends of the user that placed orders at the location of the physical store of the retailer at a time that satisfies the threshold time period;
presenting to the user, using the mobile application-based interface, information identifying the subset of the friends that have ordered from the physical store of the retailer;
obtaining, at the mobile device through the mobile application-based interface, an order from the user visiting the retailer on-line; and
communicating, from the mobile device to the server of the retailer, the order for the user visiting the retailer on-line.
22. The mobile device of claim 21 , wherein the one or more social networking accounts of the user include a Facebook account.
23. The mobile device of claim 21 , wherein the order from the user further comprises payment information and a requested pickup time for the order from the user.
24. The mobile device of claim 21 , wherein the operations comprise storing the order from the user in association with a keyword that enables the user at resubmit the order from the user at a later time using the keyword.
25. The mobile device of claim 24 , wherein the order from the user is stored in association with an identifier that corresponds to the mobile device.
26. The mobile device of claim 24 , wherein the operations comprise:
receiving, at the mobile device, a command to resubmit the stored order from the user, the command including at least the keyword that enables the user to resubmit the order from the user;
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the server of the retailer such that the server of the retailer charges the user for the stored order and dispatches the stored order to the physical store of the retailer for fulfillment; and
communicating, from the mobile device, the stored order to the one or more social networking accounts of the user such that the stored order is posted on the one or more social networking accounts of the user.