METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATICALLY MAPPING A RETAIL LOCATION

1 . A product location system comprising:

a computing device; and

a computer-readable storage medium comprising one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

identify a retail location associated with a retailer,

receive an indication of a target product that is to be located in the retail location, wherein the product location system receives the indication from a product location program of a client electronic device that is in communication with the computing device via a communication network,

query a product data store using the indication to identify the target product and a location of the target product in the retail location,

retrieve a map of the retail location, wherein the map comprises one or more electronic files and embedded metadata,

modify the map to include a visual indication associated with location of the target product, and

cause the modified map to be displayed via the client electronic device such that the visual indication showing the location of the target product in the retail location is visible to a user via the client electronic device.

2 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium further comprises one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to generate the map of the retail location.

3 . The product location system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to generate the map of the retail location comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

obtain physical data associated with the retail location;

obtain product placement information associated with the retail location, wherein the product placement information comprises one or more planograms;

group the one or more planograms into one or more groupings;

apply one or more rotations to one or more planograms of the one or more groupings;

create one or more aisle objects, wherein each aisle object comprises an indication of one or more groupings that comprise a side of an aisle of the retail location;

embed a unique identifier as metadata in the aisle object, wherein the unique identifier corresponds to an aisle number in the retail location; and

create the map, wherein the map comprises a scalable vector graphic and extensible markup language document that includes one or more of the planograms and the aisle objects.

4 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to identify a retail location comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

receive a current location from a location sensor of the client electronic device; and

identify one or more retail locations by searching a retail location data store for one or more retail locations within a certain distance from the current location.

5 . The product location system of claim 4 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium further comprises one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to select the retail location in closest proximity to the current location.

6 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to identify a retail location comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

identify a user associated with the client electronic device; and

identify a home retail location from a customer profile associated with the user.

7 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive an indication of a target product to be located comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive, from the client electronic device, a universal product code associated with the target product.

8 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive the indication of a target product to be located comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive, from the client electronic device, one or more search terms for the target product that were provided to the client electronic device as typed text, and

the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to query the product data store using the indication to identify the target product comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to query the product data store using one or more of the one or more search terms.

9 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive the indication of a target product to be located comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive, from the client electronic device, one or more search terms for the target product that were provided to the client electronic device as spoken input; and

the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to query the product data store using the indication to identify the target product comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to query the product data store using one or more of the typed search terms.

10 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to receive the indication of a target product to be located comprise one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

identify a user associated with the client electronic device; and

search a historical purchase data store for one or more products previously purchased by the user from the retailer.

11 . The product location system of claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium further comprises one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to:

identify a start location;

generate a set of directions from the start location to the location of the target product; and

cause the set of directions to be displayed via the client electronic device.

12 . A method, comprising:

by a computing device of a product location system:

identifying a retail location associated with a retailer,

receiving an indication of a target product that is to be located in the retail location from a product location program of a client electronic device that is in communication with the computing device via a communication network,

querying a product data store using the indication to identify the target product and a location of the target product in the retail location,

retrieving a map of the retail location, wherein the map comprises one or more electronic files and embedded metadata,

modifying the map to include a visual indication associated with location of the target product, and

causing the modified map to be displayed via the client electronic device such that the visual indication showing the location of the target product in the retail location is visible to a user via the client electronic device.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising generating the map of the retail location.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein generating the map of the retail location comprises:

obtaining physical data associated with the retail location;

obtaining product placement information associated with the retail location, wherein the product placement information comprises one or more planograms;

grouping the one or more planograms into one or more groupings;

applying one or more rotations to one or more planograms of the one or more groupings;

creating one or more aisle objects, wherein each aisle object comprises an indication of one or more groupings that comprise a side of an aisle of the retail location;

embedding a unique identifier as metadata in the aisle object, wherein the unique identifier corresponds to an aisle number in the retail location; and

creating the map, wherein the map comprises a scalable vector graphic and extensible markup language document that includes one or more of the planograms and the aisle objects.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein causing the computing device to identify a retail location comprises:

receiving a current location from a location sensor of the client electronic device; and

identifying one or more retail locations by searching a retail location data store for one or more retail locations within a certain distance from the current location.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising causing the computing device to select the retail location in closest proximity to the current location.

17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein identifying a retail location comprises:

identifying a user associated with the client electronic device; and

identifying a home retail location from a customer profile associated with the user.

18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving an indication of a target product to be located comprises receiving, from the client electronic device, a universal product code associated with the target product.

19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein:

receiving the indication of a target product to be located comprises receiving, from the client electronic device, one or more search terms for the target product that were provided to the client electronic device as typed text, and

querying the product data store using the indication to identify the target product comprises querying the product data store using one or more of the one or more search terms.

20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein:

receiving the indication of a target product to be located comprises receiving, from the client electronic device, one or more search terms for the target product that were provided to the client electronic device as spoken input; and

querying the product data store using the indication to identify the target product comprises querying the product data store using one or more of the typed search terms.

21 . The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving the indication of a target product to be located comprises:

identifying a user associated with the client electronic device; and

searching a historical purchase data store for one or more products previously purchased by the user from the retailer.

22 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

identifying a start location;

generating a set of directions from the start location to the location of the target product; and

causing the set of directions to be displayed via the client electronic device.