Electronic article surveillance tagged item validation prior to deactivation

1. A method for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer, item data including a physical attribute of an item, the item being associated with a manufacturer code and a tag including tag data;

determining whether the item data corresponds to a purchased item in a purchase receipt; when it is determined that the item data corresponds to the purchased item:

activating the EAS element deactivator for use;

when it is determined that the purchased item does not correspond to the item data then:

receiving the manufacturer code and the tag data;

comparing the manufacturer code and the tag data;

determining, based at least in part on the comparison of the manufacturer code with the tag data, whether the tag corresponds to the item; and

if it is determined that the tag corresponds to the item, then:

transmitting a message indicating that the purchase receipt does not include the item;

else,

transmitting a message indicating that the tag does not correspond to the item.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the item data includes an image of the item, and wherein determining whether the item data corresponds to the purchased item further comprises:

identifying the item in the image;

determining whether the purchased item matches the item; and

if it is determined that the purchased item matches the item, then:

establishing that the item data corresponds to the purchased item.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the item is associated with a tag including tag data, the method further comprising:

if it is determined that the purchased item does not match the item, then:

receiving the tag data;

determining whether the tag data corresponds to the image of the item; and

if it is determined that the tag data corresponds to the image of the item, then:

transmitting a message indicating that the purchase receipt does not include the item in the image;

else,

transmitting a message indicating that the tag data does not correspond to the item in the image.

4. A method for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the method comprising:

receiving a manufacturer code of an item, the item being associated with a tag;

receiving tag data from the tag;

comparing the manufacturer code with the tag data using a computer;

determining, based at least in part on the comparison of the manufacturer code with the tag data, whether the tag corresponds to the item; and

if it is determined that the tag corresponds to the item, then:

activating the EAS element deactivator for use; and

transmitting a message indicating that the tag corresponds to the item; and

if it is determined that the tag does not correspond to the item;

transmitting a message indicating that the tag does not correspond to the item.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

if it is determined that the tag does not correspond to the item, then:

transmit a message indicating that the manufacturer code does not match the tag data.

6. A method for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the method comprising:

determining, by a computer, that an item was removed by a customer from a location in a retail store, the item being associated with a tag including tag data;

identifying the item based at least in part on the location where the item was removed from;

associating the item with the customer;

determining whether the tag data corresponds to the item; and

if the tag data corresponds to the item, then:

activating the EAS element deactivator for use.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein determining whether the tag data corresponds to the item further comprises:

tracking the item through the retail store; and

receiving the tag data.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining whether the tag data corresponds to the item further comprises:

analyzing an image of the tracked item; and

determining whether the tag data corresponds to the image of the item;

if the tag data corresponds to the image of the item, then:

establishing that the tag data corresponds to the item.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the location is determined by using a planogram showing on which aisle and on what shelf an item was located.

10. A computer for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the computer comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver in communication with the transmitter, the receiver configured to receive item data including a physical attribute of an item, the item being associated with a manufacturer code and a tag including tag data;

a processor in communication with the receiver and the transmitter, the processor configured to determine whether the item data corresponds to a purchased item in a purchase receipt; and

when the processor determines that the item data corresponds to the purchased item, the transmitter is configured to:

transmit an activation signal to activate the EAS element deactivator;

and when the processor determines whether the purchased item does not match the item data, then the receiver is further configured to:

receive the manufacturer code and the tag data; and

the processor is further configured to:

compare the manufacturer code and the tag data;

determine, based at least in part on the comparison of the manufacturer code with the tag data, whether the tag corresponds to the item; and

if the processor determines that the tag corresponds to the item, then the transmitter is further configured to:

transmit a message indicating that the purchase receipt does not include the item;

else,

transmit a message indicating that the tag does not correspond to the item.

11. The computer of claim 10 , wherein the item data includes an image of the item, and wherein determining whether the item data corresponds to the purchased item further includes:

identifying the item in the image;

determining whether the purchased item matches the item; and

if the processor determines that the purchased item matches the item, then:

establishing that the item data corresponds to the purchased item.

12. The computer of claim 11 , wherein the item is associated with a tag including tag data, and wherein if the processor determines that the purchased item does not match the item, then:

the receiver is further configured to receive the tag data;

the processor is further configured to determine whether the tag data corresponds to the image of the item; and

if the processor determines that the tag data corresponds to the image of the item, then the transmitter is further configured to:

transmit a message indicating that the purchase receipt does not include the item in the image;

else,

transmit a message indicating that the tag data does not correspond to the item in the image.

13. A computer for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the computer comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver in communication with the transmitter, the receiver configured to:

receive a manufacturer code of an item, the item being associated with a tag;

receive tag data from the tag; and

a processor in communication with the transmitter and the receiver, the processor configured to:

analyze the manufacturer code and the tag data;

determine, based at least in part on the analysis of the manufacturer code and the tag data, whether the tag corresponds to the item; and

if the processor determines that the tag corresponds to the item, then:

the transmitter is configured to:

transmit an activation signal to activate the EAS element deactivator for use; and

transmit a message indicating that the tag corresponds to the item;

else;

the transmitter is configured to transmit a message indicating that the tag does not correspond to the item.

14. The computer of claim 13 , wherein if the processor determines that the tag does not correspond to the item, then the transmitter is further configured to:

transmit a message indicating that the manufacturer code does not correspond to the tag data.

15. A system for activating an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) element deactivator, the system comprising:

a computer, the computer including:

a transmitter; and

a processor in communication with the transmitter, the processor configured to:

determine that an item was removed by a customer from a location in a retail store, the item being associated with a tag including tag data;

identify the item based at least in part on the location where the item was removed from;

associate the item with the customer;

determine whether the tag data corresponds to the item; and

if the processor determines that the tag data corresponds to the item, then the transmitter is configured to:

transmit an activation signal to activate the EAS element deactivator for use.

16. The system of claim 15 , the system further comprising:

a camera in communication with the computer, the camera including:

a camera imager, the camera imager configured to:

track the item through the retail store; and

capture an image of the tracked item; and

a camera transmitter in communication with the camera imager, the camera transmitter transmitting the image of the tracked item to the computer;

the computer further comprising:

a receiver in communication with the processor and the transmitter, the receiver configured to receive the tag data and the image.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein determining whether the tag data corresponds to the item further comprises:

analyzing the image of the tracked item; and

determining whether the tag data corresponds to the image;

if the processor determines that the tag data corresponds to the image, then the processor is further configured to:

establish that the tag data corresponds to the item.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the location is determined by using a planogram showing on which aisle and on what shelf an item was located.