Email-based e-commerce
An email payment gateway having electronic commerce (e-commerce) system may send advertisement emails to customers that are registered with the e-commerce system. The advertisement emails may include mailto hyperlinks. Each mailto hyperlink may be associated with a product that is being offered for sale, and each mailto hyperlink describes an email message that may be generated when that hyperlink is selected. When a mailto hyperlink is selected, the generated email message may include one or more parameters related to the product associated with the hyperlink, such as an identifier of the product. The generated email message may then be transmitted to the e-commerce system. The e-commerce system may receive the message and, based on the parameters in the received message, execute a transaction to purchase the identified product on behalf of the customer.
1. An electronic commerce (e-commerce) system for communicating with a customer client device and a vendor client device, comprising:
an electronic payment gateway comprising:
a memory for hosting a database configured to store information that includes at least:
an identifier of a customer;
an email address of the customer; and
an identifier of a product offered by a vendor;
at least one processor configured to generate a first Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) email message, the first SMTP email message for advertising at least one product,
wherein the first SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the customer, and
wherein the first SMTP email message includes a visible SMTP mailto link associated with the at least one product, wherein the visible mailto link includes:
non visible information including a destination address field that includes an email address of the e-commerce system and a unique identifier associated with the product; and an email body field that includes the identifier of the customer and the identifier of the product; wherein the visible mailto link is configured to, upon selection by a customer on a customer client device, generate a second SMTP email message, that is addressed to the email address of the e-commerce system and includes the identifier of the customer and the unique identifier associated with the product; and
a network interface configured:
to transmit the first advertising SMTP email message from the e-commerce system to a customer client device; and
to receive the second SMTP email message from the customer client device;
wherein the second SMTP email message indicates an order by the customer for the product,
wherein the second SMTP email message is responsive to the customer selecting the visible mailto link using the customer client device,
wherein the second SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the e-commerce system, and
wherein the body of the second SMTP email message includes the identifier of the customer and the unique identifier the product; and
wherein the at least one processor and the network interface are further configured to perform an order execution procedure based on the received order email message, wherein the order execution procedure includes purchasing the product for the customer from the vendor client device.
2. The e-commerce system of claim 1 , wherein the network interface is further configured to perform the order execution procedure by transmitting one or more messages to a payment processing system.
3. The e-commerce system of claim 2 , wherein:
the database is further configured to store credit card information of the customer;
the one or more messages include the credit card information of the customer; and
the payment processing system is a payment gateway that is operated by an acquiring financial institution.
4. The e-commerce system of claim 1 , wherein the network interface is further configured to perform the order execution procedure by transmitting one or more messages to an order fulfillment system.
5. The e-commerce system of claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one processor is further configured to determine, in response to the second SMTP email message, whether an order confirmation procedure should be performed; and
the at least one processor and the network interface are further configured to perform the second confirmation procedure in response to a determination that the order confirmation procedure should be performed.
6. The e-commerce system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine whether the second confirmation procedure should be performed based on one or more of: the identifier of the customer; the identifier of the product; or an identifier of the vendor.
7. The e-commerce system of claim 5 , wherein:
the at least one processor is further configured to generate a confirmation SMTP email message,
wherein the confirmation SMTP email message includes text that solicits the customer to confirm the second SMTP email message,
wherein the confirmation SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the customer, and
wherein the confirmation email message includes a second mailto link, wherein the second mailto link includes:
a second destination address field that indicates the email address of the e-commerce system; and
a second body field that indicates a second email body that includes an order identifier associated with the second SMTP email message;
the network interface is further configured:
to transmit the confirmation SMTP email message; and
to receive a confirmation response SMTP email message,
wherein the confirmation response SMTP email message is responsive to the confirmation email message,
wherein the confirmation response SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the e-commerce system, and
wherein a body of the confirmation response SMTP email message includes the order identifier and information that indicates whether the order is confirmed or canceled; and
the at least one processor is further configured to determine whether the order execution procedure should be performed based on the information that indicates whether the order is confirmed or canceled.