System and method of initiating in-trip audits in a self-checkout system
View Patent ↗The system and method described herein may be used to make a binary determination of whether to initiate an in-trip audit of self-scans in a self-checkout system. For example, the system may receive one or more audit parameters that are used to calculate an audit score. The audit score may be compared to a predefined audit threshold to determine, during a shopping trip, whether to initiate the in-trip audit. After or in combination with making the binary determination, the system may make a probabilistic determination of whether to initiate an audit based on historical audit points associated with the shopper. The audit points are incremented or decremented based on prior audits and other characteristics of the shopper.
1. A computer implemented method of providing an in-trip audit in a self-checkout system, comprising:
receiving, by a computer, an indication that a customer has initiated a shopping trip;
receiving, by the computer, an indication during the shopping trip that a self-scanning device associated with the customer has received at least two scans;
identifying, by the computer, audit parameters based on the received at least two scans from the self-scanning device, the audit parameters comprising a determined length of time between the at least two scans during the shopping trip, and a basket size comprising a number of items associated with the at least two scans and a value of the items associated with the at least two scans;
calculating, by the computer and based on the audit parameters, an audit score for the shopping trip of the customer indicative of whether an in-trip audit should occur;
comparing, by the computer, the audit score to a predefined audit threshold;
determining, by the computer, after receiving the audit parameters and during or prior to checkout by the customer, whether the in-trip audit should occur based on the comparison, prior audit history of previous shopping trips of the customer stored in an audit database, and a probability value for the in-trip audit occurring that is based on a number of audit points associated with the customer, wherein the number of audit points is based on the audit parameters and adjusted to increase or decrease the probability value based on the audit parameters;
instructing, by the computer, the self-scanning device to provide, when a checkout is initiated for the customer indicating a completion of the shopping trip, an encoded identifier in a barcode comprising both an indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur based on the probability, and an identification of the items associated with the at least two scans; and
storing, in the audit database, by the computer, the indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur as a reference in determining whether a subsequent in-trip audit should occur.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audit parameters comprise a duration of the shopping trip.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein calculating the audit score further comprises determining the duration of the shopping trip based on the identified information.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum allowed duration of the shopping trip, and wherein determining whether the in-trip audit should occur comprises:
determining whether the duration of the shopping trip meets or exceeds the allowed duration.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein identifying the audit parameters further comprises:
receiving a plurality of scans comprising the at least two scans during the shopping trip, wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a minimum number or value of purchases per unit of time and wherein determining whether the in-trip audit should occur comprises:
determining that a number or value of the plurality of scans relative to the duration of the shopping trip is below the minimum number or value of purchases per unit of time.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the audit parameters comprises receiving a plurality of scans comprising the at least two scans during the shopping trip.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum allowed time between the at least two scans, and wherein determining whether the in-trip audit should occur comprises:
determining whether the length of time meets or exceeds the maximum allowed time.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the audit parameters comprises a plurality of voids received during the shopping trip.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein calculating the audit score comprises counting the plurality of voids.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum number of allowed voids, and wherein determining whether the in-trip audit should occur comprises:
determining whether the counted plurality of voids meets or exceeds the maximum number of allowed voids.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication that the customer has initiated the shopping trip is received in response to use of the self-scanning device to self-scan an item.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the self-scanning device comprises a mobile device of the customer.
13. A system of providing an in-trip audit in a self-checkout system, comprising a computing device having one or more processors configured to:
receive, by the computing device, an indication that a customer has initiated a shopping trip;
receive, by the computing device, an indication during the shopping trip that a self-scanning device associated with the customer has received at least two scans;
identify, by the computing device, audit parameters based on the received at least two scans from the self-scanning device, the audit parameters comprising a determined length of time between the at least two scans during the shopping trip, and a basket size comprising a number of items associated with the at least two scans and a value of the items associated with the at least two scans;
calculate, by the computing device and based on the audit parameters, an audit score indicative of whether an in-trip audit should occur;
compare, by the computing device, the audit score to a predefined audit threshold;
determine, by the computing device, after receiving the audit parameters and during or prior to checkout by the customer, whether the in-trip audit should occur based on the comparison, prior audit history of previous shopping trips of the customer stored in an audit database, and a probability value for the in-trip audit occurring that is based on a number of audit points associated with the customer, wherein the number of audit points is based on the audit parameters and adjusted to increase or decrease the probability value based on the audit parameters;
instruct, by the computing device, the self-scanning device to provide, when a checkout is initiated for the customer, an encoded identifier in a barcode comprising both an indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur, and an identification of the items associated with the at least two scans; and
store, in the audit database, by the computing device, the indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur as a reference in determining whether a subsequent in-trip audit would occur.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the audit parameters comprise a duration of the shopping trip.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
determine the duration of the shopping trip based on the identified information.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum allowed duration of the shopping trip, and wherein the computing device is further configured to:
determine whether the duration of the shopping trip meets or exceeds the allowed duration.
17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a minimum number or value of purchases per unit of time and wherein the computing device is further configured to:
receive a plurality of scans comprising the at least two scans during the shopping trip; and determine that a number or value of the plurality of scans relative to the duration of the shopping trip is below the minimum number or value of purchases per unit of time.
18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
receive a plurality of scans comprising the at least two scans during the shopping trip.
19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum allowed time between the at least two scans, and wherein the computing device is further configured to:
determine whether the length of time meets or exceeds the maximum allowed time.
20. The system of claim 13 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
receive a plurality of voids during the shopping trip.
21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
count the plurality of voids.
22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the predefined audit threshold comprises a maximum number of allowed voids, and wherein the computing device is further configured to:
determine whether the counted plurality of voids meets or exceeds the maximum number of allowed voids.
23. A computer implemented method of providing an in-trip audit in a self-checkout system, comprising:
receiving, by a computer, an indication that a customer has initiated a shopping trip in response to use of a mobile device of the customer to receive a first scan for a first item;
receiving, by the computer, an indication during the shopping trip that the mobile device has received a second scan for a second item;
calculating, by the computer and based on audit parameters comprising a first time of the first scan a second time of the second scan, and a basket size comprising a number of items associated with the first scan and the second scan and a value of the items associated with the first scan and the second scan, an audit score for the shopping trip of the customer indicative of whether an in-trip audit should occur;
comparing, by the computer, the audit score to a predefined audit threshold;
determining, by the computer, whether the in-trip audit should occur based on the comparison, prior audit history of previous shopping trips of the customer stored in an audit database, and a probability value for the in-trip audit occurring, wherein the probability value is based on a number of audit points associated with the customer that is adjusted to increase or decrease the probability value based on the audit parameters;
instructing, by the computer, the mobile device to provide, when a checkout is initiated for the customer indicating a completion of the shopping trip, an encoded identifier in a barcode comprising both an indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur based on the probability, and an identification of the first item and the second item; and
storing, in the audit database, by the computer, the indication of whether the in-trip audit should occur as a reference in determining whether a subsequent in-trip audit would occur.