SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING CUSTOMER AVAILABILITY FOR CUSTOMER PICK UP OF ORDERS
In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to facilitating the vehicle pick up of orders at shopping facilities. In some embodiments, there is provided a system including: an electronic interface for receiving an order corresponding to a customer and for receiving permission for access to a customer's electronic calendar; a control circuit configured to: access the customer's electronic calendar; determine a time period from the electronic calendar during which the customer is available to pick up the order; transmit an invitation to the customer to pick up the order; receive a response to the invitation in which the customer accepts a time period for pick up of the order, rejects the time periods for pick up, or proposes a new time period for pick up; and a shopping facility where the order is made available for pick up by the customer during a selected time period.
1 . A system for arranging pick up of requested products at shopping facilities, the system comprising:
an electronic interface configured to receive an order of at least one product corresponding to a customer and to receive permission for access to a customer's electronic calendar on a computing device of the customer;
a control circuit configured to:
access the customer's electronic calendar;
determine at least one time period from the electronic calendar during which the customer is available to pick up the order at a shopping facility;
transmit an invitation to the customer to pick up the order during the at least one time period;
receive a response to the invitation in which the customer accepts one of the at least one time periods for pick up of the order, rejects the at least one time periods for pick up of the order, or proposes a new time period for pick up of the order; and
a shopping facility where the order is made available for pick up by the customer during a selected time period.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic interface comprises a shopping server configured to serve as a platform for the input of the order information.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to request that the customer select and transmit to the electronic interface a shopping facility where the customer intends to pick up the order.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit instructions to the selected shopping facility to make the order available during the requested time period.
5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the control circuit is configured to access an inventory database for the selected shopping facility to determine if the selected shopping facility has the at least one product requested in the order.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
determine the location of the customer;
determine a plurality of shopping facilities near the customer's location; and
transmit the plurality of shopping facilities to the customer.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the customer inputs and transmits the customer's location to the control circuit.
8 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the customer's location is determined by software tracking a computing device of the customer, the tracking software comprising global positioning system tracking software.
9 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the control circuit is configured to request that the customer select and transmit to the electronic interface the shopping facility where the customer intends to pick up the order.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine and transmit to the customer a route from the customer's location to the selected shopping facility.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the route using vehicle traffic and mapping software that selects the route based on real time traffic conditions and route information.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit the invitation to the customer at least a predetermined time interval prior to the proposed at least one time period for customer pick up, the predetermined time interval representing a minimum amount of time for a shopping facility to prepare the order for pick up by the customer.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
access the electronic calendar after acceptance of the invitation by the customer;
determine if a subsequently entered calendar event interferes with the accepted pick up time;
re-determine at least one new time period from the electronic calendar during which the customer is available to pick up the order at a shopping facility; and
re-transmit a new invitation to the customer to pick up the order during the at least one time period.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:
determine the order of at least one product corresponding to the customer;
transmit the order as a proposal to the customer; and
receive a confirmation for the order for the at least one product corresponding to the customer.
15 . A method for arranging pick up of requested products at shopping facilities, the method comprising:
by an electronic interface, receiving an order of at least one product corresponding to a customer and receiving permission for access to a customer's electronic calendar on a computing device of the customer;
by a control circuit:
accessing the customer's electronic calendar;
determining at least one time period from the electronic calendar during which the customer is available to pick up the order at a shopping facility;
transmitting an invitation to the customer to pick up the order during the at least one time period; and
receiving a response to the invitation in which the customer accepts one of the at least one time periods for pick up of the order, rejects the at least one time periods for pick up of the order, or proposes a new time period for pick up of the order.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising, by the control circuit, requesting that the customer select and transmit to the electronic interface a shopping facility where the customer intends to pick up the order.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising, by the control circuit, transmitting instructions to the selected shopping facility to make the order available during the requested time period.
18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising, by the control circuit, accessing an inventory database for the selected shopping facility to determine if the selected shopping facility has the products requested in the order.
19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising, by the control circuit:
determining the location of the customer;
determining a plurality of shopping facilities near the customer's location; and
transmitting the plurality of shopping facilities to the customer.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising, by the control circuit, requesting that the customer select and transmit to the electronic interface the shopping facility where the customer intends to pick up the order.
21 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
receiving permission for access to the customer's electronic calendar prior to receipt of the order;
storing the customer's permission for access to the customer's electronic calendar in a customer database; and
accessing the customer database to determine if permission has been granted for subsequent orders.