SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING A VISUAL REPRESENTATION SHOWING ORDER AVAILABILITY AT SHOPPING FACILITIES

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;

a control circuit configured to:

determine the location of the customer;

determine a plurality of shopping facilities near the customer's location;

determine a plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities, each time interval corresponding to availability at one of the plurality of shopping facilities if the customer instructs pick-up of the order at that shopping facility;

transmit a visual representation indicating the plurality of time intervals of availability at the plurality of shopping facilities;

select the time interval for each shopping facility from a predetermined group of time intervals;

assign a specific color or symbol to each time interval of the predetermined group to be displayed in the visual representation;

transmit the visual representation to the customer with the plurality of time intervals shown by color coding or by symbols;

cause to display the visual representation on a computing device of the customer; and

a shopping facility where the order is made available for pick up by the customer during one of the plurality of time intervals.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit the visual representation to the customer with the time intervals represented as numeric values or represented as symbols selected from a predetermined group of symbols.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:

determine that one or more of the products of the order are not available at one of the plurality of shopping facilities;

update the order for that shopping facility to remove the unavailable one or more products; and

transmit the visual representation with a color or symbol indicating that the order has been updated for that shopping facility.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:

calculate the driving time to each of the plurality of shopping facilities;

determine the time for preparation of an order at each shopping facility;

determine the plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities based on the later of the driving time and time for order preparation at each shopping facility.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:

recalculate the driving time to each of the plurality of shopping facilities;

re-determine the time for preparation of an order at each shopping facility;

determine an updated visual representation indicating the plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities based on the later of the recalculated driving time and re-determined time for order preparation at each shopping facility;

transmit the updated visual representation to the customer.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the customer inputs and transmits the customer's location to the control circuit.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the customer's location is determined by tracking software on a computing device of the customer, the tracking software comprising global positioning system tracking software.

8 . 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 to the electronic interface.

9 . The system of claim 1 , 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 using vehicle traffic and mapping software that selects the route based on real time traffic conditions and route information.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit instructions to the selected shopping facility to make the order available during the time interval corresponding to the selected shopping facility.

12 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one inventory database with inventory data for each of the plurality of shopping facilities to determine if each of the shopping facilities has the at least one product in the order.

13 . 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;

by a control circuit:

determining the location of the customer;

determining a plurality of shopping facilities near the customer's location;

determining a plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities, each time interval corresponding to availability at one of the plurality of shopping facilities if the customer instructs pick-up of the order at that shopping facility;

transmitting a visual representation indicating the plurality of time intervals of availability at the plurality of shopping facilities;

selecting the time interval for each shopping facility from a predetermined group of time intervals;

assigning a specific color or symbol to each time interval of the predetermined group to be displayed in the visual representation;

transmitting the visual representation to the customer with the plurality of time intervals shown by color coding or by symbols; and

causing to display the visual representation on a computing device of the customer.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising, by the control circuit: transmitting the visual representation to the customer with the time intervals represented as numeric values or represented as symbols selected from a predetermined group of symbols.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising, by the control circuit:

determining that one or more of the products of the order are not available at one of the plurality of shopping facilities;

updating the order for that shopping facility to remove the unavailable one or more products; and

transmitting the visual representation with a color or symbol indicating that the order has been updated for that shopping facility.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising, by the control circuit:

calculating the driving time to each of the plurality of shopping facilities;

determining the time for preparation of an order at each shopping facility; and

determining the plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities based on the later of the driving time and time for order preparation at each shopping facility.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising, by the control circuit:

recalculating the driving time to each of the plurality of shopping facilities;

re-determining the time for preparation of an order at each shopping facility;

determining an updated visual representation indicating the plurality of time intervals when the order will be available for pick up at the plurality of shopping facilities based on the later of the recalculated driving time and re-determined time for order preparation at each shopping facility; and

transmitting the updated visual representation to the customer.