WO2003021383A2 - Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making - Google Patents
Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making Download PDFInfo
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- WO2003021383A2 WO2003021383A2 PCT/US2002/026752 US0226752W WO03021383A2 WO 2003021383 A2 WO2003021383 A2 WO 2003021383A2 US 0226752 W US0226752 W US 0226752W WO 03021383 A2 WO03021383 A2 WO 03021383A2
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0611—Request for offers or quotes
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0613—Third-party assisted
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0623—Item investigation
- G06Q30/0625—Directed, with specific intent or strategy
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0631—Item recommendations
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0633—Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
- G06Q30/0641—Shopping interfaces
Definitions
- the present invention relates to the technical problem of providing interactive assistance with purchase decision-making. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods that enables user to interact with an interface that provides step-by-step interactive assistance to make purchase decisions.
- Purchasing decisions can benefit from a structured approach.
- a person with a sudden influx of cash — receiving an unexpected bonus, winning- a lottery, or inheriting a fortune from a wealthy relative — may experience a difficulty in deciding how to spend the money.
- Such a person may engage in impulsive spending and squander the money.
- Careful financial planning is beneficial to ensure that the spender receives the maximum benefit from the money.
- the spender may need the outside assistance most when purchasing goods or services, because the purchase decision-making may involve processing a large amount of information. For example, the spender may have to first choose a purchase category -- e.g., shopping, travel, invest, etc. Under each category, there may be numerous subcategories, brands, options, or choices for the spender to choose from, each with a further list of countless smaller sub-subcategories, etc.
- a purchase category e.g., shopping, travel, invest, etc.
- subcategories, brands, options, or choices for the spender to choose from each with a further list of countless smaller sub-subcategories, etc.
- the purchase decision-making process may further involve comparisons between these numerous different purchase categories and subcategories, their prices and distinct features. It may also involve comparisons between different sellers and service providers .
- the purchase decision-making process As the purchase decision-making process progresses toward a final selection by the spender, information on the spender's personal preference in increasingly greater detail may need to be incorporated into the process. Ideally, the purchase decision- making process should be able to take into account the fine details of the spender's personal preference as much as possible. Simultaneously, it should also be able to look up and compare as many purchase categories/subcategories and sellers/service providers as possible. In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for providing interactive assistance to a spender on his or her purchase decision-making based on input and information from both the spender and sellers/service providers. Summary of the Invention
- assistance may be requested from an assistance provider ("interactive purchasing system” or “the system") by entering preliminary data.
- the preliminary data preferably include the amount of total spending money available to the user.
- the preliminary data may include any other information (e.g., demographic data) necessary to initiate the interactive assistance process of the system.
- the system may then present a selectable list of purchase categories and questions relating to the user's personal preference.
- the responses at each level may determine the system's subsequent selection of questions and/or purchase subcategories presented.
- the interactive question-and-answer process between the system and the user is designed to narrow down the purchase choices to a single or finite number of definite purchasable items/services.
- the system may start the interactive assistance process by presenting broad purchase categories to select (e.g., shopping, investing, traveling, etc.). Based on user's selection, the system may ask for user's personal preference. Building on user's responses that the system has obtained so far, the system may then present narrower subcategories for the user to select.
- the system may contact and receive necessary data (e.g., price, availability, selections, etc.) from a seller/service provider or a predetermined group of sellers/service providers within a selected purchase category.
- necessary data e.g., price, availability, selections, etc.
- the system may use data from the sellers/service providers to make a purchase recommendation.
- the system may be capable of comparing different items/services and different sellers/service providers based on price and/or any other suitable criteria chosen by the user and/or the system.
- the system may be capable of calculating purchase cost when a final purchase selection is made.
- the system may also be capable of comparing the purchase cost with the total spending money available.
- the system may be capable of handling and keeping track of multiple purchase selections and their cost.
- the system may permit as many purchase selections as desired so long as the total purchase cost incurred does not go beyond the total spending money available.
- the system may finalize purchase transactions between the user and sellers/service providers of the selected purchase item (s) /service (s) .
- the system may provide a summary of all purchase selections and purchase cost.
- various features of the present invention may be implemented with any type of interactive purchasing system for the purchase of any type of item or service.
- the invention may be used with a system for purchase of consumer products, real estate, investment vehicles, travel package, and hospitality service.
- the present invention may be implemented to provide interactive assistance on any other type of money-spending activity besides the purchase of goods or services.
- the present invention may be implemented to provide interactive assistance to a person to choose a charitable organization or a class of beneficiaries to whom the person would like to donate the money.
- a method for interactively assisting purchase decision- making may preferably include receiving data relating to purchasing options.
- the options including shopping and investing.
- the method may also include querying based on the data, receiving a response to the querying, and, finally guiding purchase decision-making based on the data and the response until a final purchase selection is indicated or made .
- FIG. 1 is a transaction flow diagram of one embodiment of the systems and methods of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process of providing interactive assistance on purchase decision- making in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of steps involved in providing interactive assistance to purchase a travel package in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of hardware that may be used to implement the present invention.
- FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a process of providing interactive assistance on purchase decision- making including a .counter-offer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the interactive purchasing system shown in FIG. 1 that may be used in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.
- An interactive purchase system 19 may provide an interface for a user 11 to enter data or responses.
- user 11 may request assistance with his or her purchase decision-making by submitting preliminary data at box 14 to interactive purchasing system 19.
- the preliminary data include the total amount of spending money available to the user.
- the preliminary data may further include demographic data such as age and gender, the user's present income, or credit/loan history.
- the preliminary data may comprise any suitable and relevant information that may prove useful for the purchase decision-making process.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may initiate an interactive assistance process by displaying at box 13 a selectable list of purchase categories.
- the initial purchase categories may be very broad and general (e.g., shopping, investing, traveling, or getting services) .
- the present invention does not necessarily limit in any way the specificity of initial purchase categories presented at the beginning of the interactive assistance process; the initial categories might also be specific (e.g., sports car, technology company stocks, Caribbean cruise, massages, etc.).
- the initial selectable list may include any suitable purchase category.
- the list provides a suitable starting point for interactive assistance with the user's purchase decision-making.
- interactive purchasing system 19 preferably provides step-by-step interactive assistance (boxes 13 and 14) until a final purchase selection is made or else the assistance process is aborted.
- interactive assistance system 19 may present a series of questions intended to obtain detailed information about personal preferences or tastes (box 13). Based on the responses received (box 14), the system may then present another selectable list of narrower subcategories (box 13) .
- the system may generate yet another series of questions about the user's preferences directed to the selected subcategory and may display narrower sub- subcategories from which a choice may be made (box 13) . This process may repeat itself until a final purchase selection is made.
- the assistance process may be aborted or suspended to be acted upon during a later session. At any point in the process, the process may be aborted or returned to any earlier part of the process to modify earlier selections/responses .
- this interactive question-and- answer process between interactive assistance system 19 and user 11 is designed to narrow down the purchase choices to a single or a finite number of definite purchasable items/services.
- the response/input at each level of the interactive assistance process may determine the system's subsequent selection of questions and/or purchase categories to be presented at the next level.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may contact and exchange data with sellers/service providers 12 (boxes 15 and 16) .
- the system may receive any suitable data (e.g., price, availability, product/service features, etc.) necessary for assisting the purchase decision- making from sellers/service providers.
- the system may compare different items/services and different sellers/service providers based on price and/or any other suitable criteria selected by the user and/or the system.
- Interactive purchasing system 19 may be capable of calculating and keeping track of purchase cost after a final purchase selection is made.
- the system may compare the purchase cost with the total amount of money available to the user.
- the system may be capable of handling and keeping track of multiple purchase selections and their cost.
- the system may permit as many purchase selections as the user wishes. In one embodiment of the invention, however, the total purchase cost incurred may be limited to the total amount of money available. In this embodiment, the system may warn the user and/or prevent the user from pursuing purchase transaction (s) if the user's purchase selection (s) incurs a total purchase cost greater than the total amount of spending money available to the user.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may finalize purchase transactions between user 11 and sellers/service providers 12, if necessary.
- Interactive purchasing system 19 may relay necessary data from user 11 (e.g., information about the user, user's purchase selection, user's credit card number, etc.) to a seller/service provider 12 (boxes 14 and 16) .
- the system may then permit the purchase transaction to take place directly with an exchange of money or a credit card charge or other suitable payment option (box 17) for selected goods/services (box 18).
- Interactive purchasing system 19 may provide a summary of purchase recommendations, selections, and transactions at the end of the interactive assistance process.
- An interactive purchasing system may charge a service fee from user 11 and/or a commission from a seller/service provider 12.
- Interactive purchasing system 19 may be comprised of the following: Interface means to present questions and selectable lists to, and receive responses, data, and selections from, user 11; communication means to exchange data with sellers/service providers 12; memory means to store information and data from user 11 and sellers/service providers 12; generating means to create questions and selectable lists of purchase categories based on input and data from user 11 and sellers/service providers 12; and calculating means to keep track of the subtotal of purchase costs associated with purchase selections made and to compare the subtotal with the total amount of spending money available.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may provide an interface for inputting data and/or responses.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be adapted to receive a request for assistance and preliminary data.
- the interactive purchasing system is adapted to receive a dollar figure of the total amount of available spending money.
- Other preliminary data may include any suitable information that may help guide the purchase decision-making process.
- interactive purchasing system 19 stores the preliminary data for later use.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be adapted to present a selectable list of broad purchase options such as whether to shop, travel, or invest.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may then contact, and be ready to exchange data with, sellers/service providers 12 for that particular purchase category.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be permanently connected to computer servers or databases of pre-selected sellers/service providers 12.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be adapted to provide interactive assistance based on responses to a series of questions and selectable lists of options and purchase categories presented by the system. The responses or selections at one level may determine the system's subsequent questions and selectable list of options to be presented at the next level of the assistance process.
- the interactive assistance process between the system and the user is designed to help the user narrow down his or her purchase choices to a single or a finite number of definite purchasable items/services.
- the interactive assistance process between interactive purchasing system 19 and user 11 may continue until a final purchase selection is made.
- the system receives the final purchase selection.
- the system may then store the information on the final purchase selection and calculate the purchase cost associated with the selected item/service at box 25. If multiple purchase selections have been made, interactive purchasing system 19 may calculate the subtotal of all the purchase costs at box 25.
- the system may restrict the subtotal such that it is always less than the total amount of spending money available to the user by any suitable means.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may compare the subtotal of purchase costs calculated at box 25 with the total amount of money available to the user. If the subtotal is less than the total amount of money available to the user, the system may provide a user-selectable option to return to box 22 and make another purchase selection. If this option is selected, the system may then again go through boxes 22-25 to provide interactive assistance.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may finalize purchase transactions at box 27.
- the system may also provide a summary of purchase recommendations, selections, and transactions at box 27.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may initiate an interactive assistance process by presenting a selectable list of purchase categories (e.g., shop, travel, or invest). In this example, the selected spending option is traveling.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may query whether domestic or foreign travel is preferred. Then, to further narrow down the choices for travel destinations, the system may ask whether a tropical, temperate, or arctic climate is preferred (box 33) , whether the beach, mountain, urban, or rural areas is preferred (box 34), and/or when is the most desired time to travel (box 35) .
- interactive purchasing system 19 may contact, and be ready to exchange data with, servers or databases of travel agents or other suitable vendors or databases 12.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may send the information provided at boxes 32-35 to travel agents 12 to obtain relevant necessary data, such as possible travel destinations compatible with all of the user's personal preferences, price of travel packages, etc.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may generate a selectable list of recommended travel destinations at box 37.
- interactive purchasing system 19 receives a selection of travel destination.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may then query concerning a choice of accommodation (box 39) and transportation (box 41) .
- the system may provide similar interactive assistance with respect to selection of accommodation and transportation.
- the system may a series of questions relating to personal user preferences, and then present selectable lists of recommended options based on replies to the question.
- the recommended options for accommodation e.g., hotel, inn, or cruise
- transportation e.g., air, train, or rental car
- interactive purchasing system 19 When interactive purchasing system 19 receives the final selection of accommodation and transportation, the system may contact a selected travel agent 12 and check the availability of the selected accommodation and transportation at boxes 40 and 42. At box 43, the system may calculate the cost of the selected travel package and make certain that it is within the budget (i.e., the cost is less than the total amount of money available to the user) . The system may then create a travel itinerary and finalize all transactions and reservations for the selected travel package (box 43) . In an alternative embodiment of the invention, interactive purchasing system 19 may provide an opportunity to select a desired offer price -- e.g., make a bid -- for a particular item or investment.
- a desired offer price -- e.g., make a bid -- for a particular item or investment.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may present a price to the user from a vendor of $200.00 for a round- trip airplane ticket from New York, New York, to Miami, Florida. Thereafter, interactive purchasing service 19 may provide the user with an option to counter offer the vendor or provider of service price — e.g., $160.00 for the same ticket. Interactive purchasing service 19 may then return this counter-offer to the vender where it may be accepted or met with another counter-offer — e.g., $180.00.
- FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of the embodiment described above that relates to counter offers. In one embodiment of the invention, this flow diagram may be understood to be part of box 23 shown in FIG. 2.
- Box 59 shows that interactive purchasing system 19 may receive a counter-offer -- e.g., from a user.
- Box 57 shows interactive purchasing system 19 may then transmit the counter-offer to the seller or provider of service.
- Box 58 shows that interactive purchasing system 19 may then receive a second counteroffer from the seller or provider of service.
- This second counter-offer may preferably be based on the first counter-offer.
- Box 59 shows that interactive purchasing system 19 may transmit or relay the second counter-offer to the user. At this point, the user may make a final selection as shown in box 24 in FIG. 2. Alternatively, further offers and counter-offers may be transmitted back and forth by interactive purchasing system 19.
- the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 in the context of assisting user 11 with creating a travel itinerary along with other necessary travel arrangement, the invention is equally applicable to other purchase activities, such as shopping for merchandise items; investing in stocks, bonds, or real estate; or obtaining personal services such as a massage.
- Interactive purchasing system 19 and interactive assistance provided by it may be fashioned in any suitable form, appropriate for each different purchase activity.
- FIG. 4 One embodiment of such a communication network 50 is shown in FIG. 4.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be implemented as a web site that is hosted on an Internet web page server 52, which may be any suitable server.
- a user's computer 53 and servers or databases of sellers/service providers 51 may be connected to Internet web page server 52, or any other suitable server, through any suitable Internet connections 54 and 55.
- Internet web page server 52 may be any server suitable for providing access to a web site operating as interactive purchasing system 19.
- Internet web page server 52 may, for example, provide one or more web pages to user's computer 53 using one or more suitable protocols (e.g., the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) ) .
- the server may also run a database engine suitable for maintaining a database of information obtained from user 11 and sellers/service providers 12.
- one or more functions of user's computer 53, sellers/service providers' servers 51, and the Internet web page server 52 may be integrated into a single server, or may be distributed across multiple servers .
- Internet connections 54 and 55 may be used in communication network 50 in accordance with the present invention.
- Internet connections 54 and 55 may be comprised in whole or in part of the Internet, an intranet, a public data network, a private data network, a wireless network, a cable network, any other suitable data network or combination of networks, dial-up connections, etc.
- systems and methods for handling atypical influxes of wealth are provided. It is well known that atypical influxes of wealth -- e.g., winning $1,000,000 in a lottery or other unexpected or unplanned for influx of wealth -- may cause more harm to the recipient than good because the recipient is unprepared for this occurrence.
- This embodiment of the invention preferably protects a recipient of an abnormal influx of wealth from the psychological and emotional dislocation generally associated with an atypical influx of wealth.
- One method according to the invention for dealing with an atypical influx of wealth includes planning for the influx before the influx actually occurs.
- a typical user When a typical user is in a pre-influx period, he may fill out an exemplary spending or acquisition profile with a pre-determined atypical influx according to the systems and methods described herein.
- the pre-influx profile may be set to accommodate available spending money at an atypical value — e.g., $1,000,000.
- an influx should occur an appropriate spending plan is in place for a value that may preferably approximate an atypical influx.
- interactive purchasing system 19 may be utilized to determine the appropriate post- influx spending plan.
- One particular advantage obtained by systems and methods according to the invention may be when the systems and methods are implemented by a partnership of two -- e.g., a husband and wife — or even more participants. It is probable that the participants are more able to agree on an appropriate spending plan before the wealth influx than after the wealth influx. In this way, influx-induced stress can be reduced by the pre-influx approved spending plan.
- system 600 may include one or more purchase decision making workstations 601 that may include a mouse 606, a keypad 607, and a display 608.
- Workstations 601 may be local or remote, and are connected by one or more communications links 602 to a computer network 603 that is linked via a communications link 605 to a server 604.
- Workstations 601 may include a workstation storage device (not shown) that can store data such as, for example, data representing purchase decision making information.
- the data stored on the workstation storage device may be transmitted by server 604, workstation 601, or any other suitable source.
- the workstation storage device can also store a workstation program that operates to control a workstation processor (not shown) .
- the workstation processor and the workstation program can process data representing an interactive purchase decision-making system.
- the workstation processor can be instructed to process data to display purchase decision making information to assist one or more users to make a purchase decision.
- the processor can process data that is received in response to a user making a purchase ⁇ decision.
- server 604 may be include any suitable server, processor, computer, or data processing device, or combination of the same.
- Computer network 603 may be any suitable computer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide- area network (WAN) , a local-area network (LAN) , a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a virtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same.
- Communications links 602 and 605 may be any communications links suitable for communicating data between workstations 601 and server 604, such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hardwired links, etc. Each workstation enables a user to engage in the purchase decision making process.
- Workstations 601 may be personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, dumb terminals, data displays, Internet browsers, Personal Digital
- PDAs Personal Computer Assistants
- two-way pagers wireless terminals
- wireless terminals wireless terminals
- portable telephones etc., or any combination of the same.
- Server 604 may operate as a central unit that controls the interactive purchase decision making system.
- Server 604 includes a server storage device (not shown) for storing data associated with the purchase decision making system.
- server storage device may store user profiles (e.g., information about the user, user's purchase selections, user's credit card number, etc.), question template data, selection criteria data, purchase category data (e.g., shopping, investing, traveling, etc.).
- Server 604 also includes a server program that operates in conjunction with a server processor.
- the server program may administer data contained in the server storage device, transmit data to workstations 601, receive data from workstations 601, send and receive data to a seller's server (not shown), and send and receive data to a service provider server (not shown) .
- a service provider server not shown
- the server program can implement functions associated with the purchase decision making system such as, for example, querying the user about purchase categories, generating selection list based on the query, generate additional questions based on a selected list, repeat the question/selection process until final purchase decision is made.
- the seller server and the service provider server may include data handling devices such as a processor and a storage device.
- the storage device may have a program that is operative with the processor to transmit data to, from, and/or between server 604.
- the seller server can provide server 604 with certain items or goods that conform with the user's responses.
- server 604 can provide that information to the user as purchase recommendation.
- the present invention also includes the following features as set forth below in numerical sequence.
- a method for interactively assisting purchase decision-making comprising: receiving data relating to purchasing options, the options including shopping and investing; querying based on the data; receiving a response to the querying; and guiding purchase decision-making based on the data and the response until a final purchase selection is indicated.
- receiving data further comprising receiving data relating to purchasing options, the options including shopping, investing, and traveling.
- the guiding purchase decision-making comprising: generating at least one selectable list of purchase categories based on the data and responses; and receiving at least one selection of a purchase category based at least in part on the generating. 4. The method defined in feature 1, the guiding purchase decision-making comprising: generating a plurality of selectable lists of purchase categories based on the data and response; and receiving a plurality of selections of a purchase category based at least in part on the generating.
- the method defined in feature 1 further comprising: relaying data to a seller or provider of service, in order to finalize a purchase transaction. 10. The method defined in feature 1, further comprising: providing an interface capable of receiving data from, and displaying information to, a web page .
- the method defined in feature 1 further comprising: receiving information relating to the total amount of money available for purchase purpose; calculating a total purchase cost associated with a purchase selection; and comparing the total purchase cost with the total amount of money available for purchase purpose.
- a method for interactively assisting purchase decision-making comprising: receiving data relating to purchasing options, the options including shopping and investing; querying based on the data; receiving a response to the querying; and guiding purchase decision-making based on the data and the response until a final purchase selection is selected.
- a method for interactively assisting purchase decision-making comprising: receiving data relating to purchasing options, the options including shopping and investing; querying based on the data; receiving a response to the -querying; and guiding purchase decision-making based on the data and the response until a final purchase selection is presented.
- the method of feature 16 further comprising receiving the final purchase choice from one of a seller or provider of service.
- the method of feature 17 further comprising accepting a counter-offer to the final purchase choice. 19.
- the method of feature 18 further comprising transmitting the counter-offer to the one of a seller or provider of service.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA002458763A CA2458763A1 (en) | 2001-08-28 | 2002-08-21 | Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making |
AU2002326730A AU2002326730A1 (en) | 2001-08-28 | 2002-08-21 | Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making |
GB0406759A GB2396464A (en) | 2001-08-28 | 2002-08-21 | Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US09/941,901 | 2001-08-28 | ||
US09/941,901 US20030046170A1 (en) | 2001-08-28 | 2001-08-28 | Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making |
Publications (2)
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WO2003021383A2 true WO2003021383A2 (en) | 2003-03-13 |
WO2003021383A3 WO2003021383A3 (en) | 2003-07-10 |
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PCT/US2002/026752 WO2003021383A2 (en) | 2001-08-28 | 2002-08-21 | Systems and methods for providing interactive assistance on purchase decision-making |
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US (4) | US20030046170A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1288833A1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2002326730A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2458763A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2396464A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2003021383A2 (en) |
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2002
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- 2002-08-21 AU AU2002326730A patent/AU2002326730A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2002-08-21 WO PCT/US2002/026752 patent/WO2003021383A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2002-08-21 GB GB0406759A patent/GB2396464A/en not_active Withdrawn
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2005
- 2005-10-28 US US11/261,844 patent/US8086500B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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2011
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US10891672B2 (en) * | 2016-07-22 | 2021-01-12 | Mastercard International Incorporated | Systems and methods for interactive decision-making |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2003021383A3 (en) | 2003-07-10 |
CA2458763A1 (en) | 2003-03-13 |
GB0406759D0 (en) | 2004-04-28 |
US20030046170A1 (en) | 2003-03-06 |
US8086500B2 (en) | 2011-12-27 |
US20200126005A1 (en) | 2020-04-23 |
US20120330999A1 (en) | 2012-12-27 |
EP1288833A1 (en) | 2003-03-05 |
US20060085286A1 (en) | 2006-04-20 |
GB2396464A (en) | 2004-06-23 |
AU2002326730A1 (en) | 2003-03-18 |
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