MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC OFFERS BY AN OFFER DISTRIBUTOR

1 . A data processing system for assisting an offer distributor to manage electronic offers, the system comprising:

a first logic module adapted to receive at least two electronic offers from different offer providers, a first set of offer data relating to the first offer, and a second set of offer data relating to the second offer; and

a second logic module adapted to select one of the two offers for distribution to a consumer, the selection being based on the first set of offer data and the second set of offer data.

2 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selected offer is distributed in response to a request for a receipt.

3 . The data processing system of claim 2 , wherein the selected offer is included in a transaction receipt transmitted to a customer data processing system.

4 . The data processing system of claim 3 , wherein the customer data processing system is at least one of: a desktop computer, laptop computer, netbook, electronic notebook, ultra mobile personal computer (UMPC), electronic tablet, client computing device, client terminal, client console, mobile telephone, smartphone, wearable computer, head-mounted computer, or personal digital assistant.

5 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selection of the offer is further based on an incentive provided by one of the offer providers to the offer distributor.

6 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein one of the offer providers is an offer distributor, and the selection of the offer is further based on an incentive provided by the offer distributor.

7 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first set of offer data and the second set of offer data includes one or more of: an offer provider identity, a historical or projected impact of an offer on sales of an item, a historical or projected offer redemption rate, a historical or projected profit per offer impression, a historical or projected profit margin, a historical or projected offer volume, a historical or projected offer yield, a historical trend in offers made available by an offer provider, a historical or projected profit margin for the offer distributor, a historical or projected profit margin for an offer provider, a historical or projected impact of an offer on other offers, or a historical or projected impact of an offer on consumer behavior.

8 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selection is made in response to a set of events, or is further based on a set of events.

9 . The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein the set of events includes at least one of: an electronic transaction, a web request, an offer redemption, an offer activation, a visit by a consumer to a specific location, use of a smartphone application, use of an electronic shopping list, an ATM withdrawal, reserving, booking or embarking on an airline flight, the filling or issuance of a medical prescription, a visit to a manufacturer's website, adding an item to an online shopping cart, viewing or activating an offer on the offer distributor's website, viewing a digital receipt, an electronic message to a manufacturer, or an electronic message that references a product from a manufacturer.

10 . The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein the set of events is obtained at least in part from a web log, an electronic transaction log, or a collection of normalized events corresponding to a plurality of transactions and web requests.

11 . The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein at least two events are generated in response to messages from different endpoints, including one or more of a retailer terminal, retailer website, consumer device, social networking server, or payment server.

12 . The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein at least a subset of the events is aggregated in a data store.

13 . The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein an event is correlated to a historical transaction record associated with a consumer based on determination of a probability that the event reflects activity by that consumer.

14 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selection is further based on a set of target contexts.

15 . The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein the set of target contexts includes at least one: demographic information about a consumer on whose behalf a request was likely made, a location associated with a request, information about a retailer associated with a request, transactional or offer-related actions taken by a consumer, one or more items in an electronic shopping list or shopping cart associated with a consumer, or a time or day when a request was made.

16 . The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein at least one target context is automatically defined based on a set of historical transaction records.

17 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selection is further based on a set of historical transaction records.

18 . The data processing system of claim 16 , wherein the set of historical transaction records include at least one of: a universal product code, a quantity of product purchased, a number of items purchased, a transaction amount, at least a portion of a credit card number used, a payment identifier used, a secure payment hash key, a data processing system or facility, time, date, one or more offers activated or redeemed, a customer name, a phone number, a pin number, a password, a code, a loyalty card number, RFID data, a device identifier, one or more items that were purchased in a previous, concurrent or subsequent transaction, or a transaction number.

19 . The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the selection is further based on a set of contextual transaction data.

20 . The data processing system of claim 18 , wherein the contextual transaction data includes at least one of: information regarding a universal product code, a quantity of product purchased, a number of items purchased, a transaction amount, at least a portion of a credit card number used, a payment identifier used, a secure payment hash key, a data processing system or facility, time, date, one or more offers activated or redeemed, customer name, phone number, pin number, password, code, loyalty card number, RFID data, a device identifier, one or more items that were purchased in a previous or concurrent transaction, or a transaction number.

21 . A method for assisting an offer distributor to manage electronic offers, the method comprising:

receiving at least two electronic offers from different offer providers, a first set of offer data relating to the first offer, and a second set of offer data relating to the second offer;

select one of the two offers for distribution to a consumer, the selection being based on the first set of offer data and the second set of offer data;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising including the selected offer in a transaction receipt transmitted to a customer data processing system.

23 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is made in response to a set of events, or is further based on a set of events;

wherein the set of events includes at least one of: an electronic transaction, a web request, an offer redemption, an offer activation, a visit by a consumer to a specific location, use of a smartphone application, use of an electronic shopping list, an ATM withdrawal, reserving, booking or embarking on an airline flight, the filling or issuance of a medical prescription, a visit to a manufacturer's website, adding an item to an online shopping cart, viewing or activating an offer on the offer distributor's website, viewing a digital receipt, an electronic message to a manufacturer, or an electronic message that references a product from a manufacturer.

24 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is made in response to a set of events, or is further based on a set of events;

wherein the set of events is obtained at least in part from a web log, an electronic transaction log, or a collection of normalized events corresponding to a plurality of transactions and web requests.

25 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is made in response to a set of events, or is further based on a set of events;

wherein at least two events are generated in response to messages from different endpoints, including one or more of a retailer terminal, retailer website, consumer device, social networking server, or payment server.

26 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is made in response to a set of events, or is further based on a set of events;

further comprising correlating an event to a historical transaction record associated with a consumer based on determination of a probability that the event reflects activity by that consumer.

27 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is further based on a set of target contexts;

wherein the set of target contexts includes at least one: demographic information about a consumer on whose behalf a request was likely made, a location associated with a request, information about a retailer associated with a request, transactional or offer-related actions taken by a consumer, one or more items in an electronic shopping list or shopping cart associated with a consumer, or a time or day when a request was made.

28 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is further based on a set of historical transaction records.

wherein the set of historical transaction records include at least one of: a universal product code, a quantity of product purchased, a number of items purchased, a transaction amount, at least a portion of a credit card number used, a payment identifier used, a secure payment hash key, a data processing system or facility, time, date, one or more offers activated or redeemed, a customer name, a phone number, a pin number, a password, a code, a loyalty card number, RFID data, a device identifier, one or more items that were purchased in a previous, concurrent or subsequent transaction, or a transaction number.

29 . The method of claim 21 ,

wherein the selection is further based on a set of contextual transaction data.

wherein the contextual transaction data includes at least one of: information regarding a universal product code, a quantity of product purchased, a number of items purchased, a transaction amount, at least a portion of a credit card number used, a payment identifier used, a secure payment hash key, a data processing system or facility, time, date, one or more offers activated or redeemed, customer name, phone number, pin number, password, code, loyalty card number, RFID data, a device identifier, one or more items that were purchased in a previous or concurrent transaction, or a transaction number.

30 . One or more computer readable media storing program instructions adapted to manage electronic offers, wherein execution of the program instructions by a data processing system causes:

receiving at least two electronic offers from different offer providers, a first set of offer data relating to the first offer, and a second set of offer data relating to the second offer;

select one of the two offers for distribution to a consumer, the selection being based on the first set of offer data and the second set of offer data;