WO2002023412A1

WO2002023412A1 - Points transaction process

Info

Publication number: WO2002023412A1
Application number: PCT/AU2001/001159
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Joseph Watson
Original assignee: Paul Joseph Watson
Priority date: 2000-09-14
Filing date: 2001-09-14
Publication date: 2002-03-21
Also published as: AUPR007800A0

Abstract

A dynamic purchase interface generated in response to access of a resource of a points program site of a communications network, the interface including an alert advising a points program member of an opportunity to attain points, and a link to a purchase resource for use in purchasing a product to attain the points, and so causing and allowing the member to reach a points threshold and to thus claim a reward.

Description

POINTS TRANSACTION PROCESS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a points transaction process, and a system for executing the process. The invention also relates to a dynamic purchase interface.

Background of the Invention

Customer loyalty programs that rely on the accumulation of loyalty points, such as frequent flyer programs maintained by most of the airlines, have become extremely popular. In the United States, the loyalty currency for such programs is generally termed "miles". Herein, the generic term "points" is used to cover any loyalty program unit of currency, or measurement.

Management of the programs, as they have matured, has become complex and most now rely on sophisticated computer systems to maintain a record of customer loyalty points, and to adjust them on the basis of transactions that customers have with a variety of merchants, including the party that may maintain the points program. To facilitate redemption of awards when sufficient points have been accumulated and to provide accurate point balances to customers, parties promoting and maintaining the points programs have now also begun to rely on sophisticated web sites to provide access to the backend systems maintaining the points programs. Examples include the frequent flyer points program maintained at http : //www, q an las .com and http://wvvw.brilishairways.com.

The points programs have been developed to encourage customers that are members of the programs to purchase goods or services (collectively referred to hereinafter as "products") from designated merchants, such as the program provider. Accordingly, a number of points thresholds are set for the program to encourage members to exceed those thresholds and attain greater rewards under the program. The rewards may comprise free products, reduced prices for products or status recognition by one or more of the merchants or program providers. Members who seek to exceed the thresholds may embark on an extraordinary purchasing program to acquire sufficient points to exceed the threshold. For example, a member may select a particular travel itinerary so as to acquire sufficient points to exceed a threshold. Otherwise, a member's purchasing behaviour rarely alters despite the existence of the points program.

Another method for changing purchasing behaviour of members, involves the program provider offering bonus or increased points for specific purchases or for products from specific merchants. For example, double points may be offered for purchases from a selected restaurant chain, or one thousand bonus points may be offered for making an award flight booking using the program's Internet site. These offers are also generally extraordinary and will only result in an extraordinary change in the customer's purchasing behaviour.

Accordingly, it is desired to provide a transaction process which is able to continually encourage impulse purchasing from members, or at which at least provides a useful alternative to the existing processes.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a points transaction process, including generating an alert interface advising a points program member that purchase of a product will cause a points balance for said member to reach a points threshold.

The present invention also provides a dynamic purchase interface generated in response to access of a resource of a points program site of a communications network, said interface including an alert advising a points program member of an opportunity to attain points; and a link to a purchase resource for use in purchasing a product to attain said points, said points causing a points balance for said member to reach a points threshold. The present invention also provides a points transaction process, including connecting to an alert resource advising a points program member that purchase of a product will cause points balance for said member to reach a points threshold.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a points system connected to a communications network;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of components of the points system;

Figure 3 is a flow diagram of a transaction process executed by the points system;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of an alert icon generation process of the transaction process; and Figure 5 is a flow diagram of a trawling engine process of the transaction process.

A points system 2, as shown in Figure 1, includes a server system with a data store 4 that is able to communicate with a number of client devices 10 over a communications network 6, such as the Internet. The client devices 10 each include a standard browser application 8 for connecting to resources on the network 6, such as those provided by the server 2, and may comprise a desktop PC, telephone or PDA etc, with a browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer™.

The server 2 comprises standard computer system hardware for a server, and includes a web server component 20 and a points site 22, such as at http://www.qantas.com/fflyer. The web server 20 may be standard web server software, such as Microsoft IIS™, and the site 22 may comprise the pages, scripts and code of the site that are used to serve requested pages to a client 10 using the web server 20. The server 2 also includes a transaction module 24 having code for executing the transaction process, described below, and which is invoked by links in the site 22. The server 20 further includes a product trawling engine 26 having code for executing a product trawling process, described below. The components 20 to 26 are preferably implemented in software, but the steps executed by the components may at least be partially executed by dedicated hardware circuits, such as FPGAs or ASICs.

The transaction process, as shown in Figure 3, is invoked when a member of a points program is using a client device 10 to access the site 22, that provides pages with information on the points program, such as the member's point balance. When a member connects to a page that provides the points balance on-line, the page calls a script of the transaction module 24 to generate an alert icon in the page displayed by the member's browser, at step 30. The alert icon will be generated for, and visible to, any eligible program member. This eligibility is set in real time, through an automated generation process 30, as shown in Figure 4, involving accessing the browsing member's current points balance (step 50), identifying the next reward threshold above this points balance (step 52), and so determining a points shortfall amount (step 54), ("points shortfall sum") which is the difference between the balance and threshold. If customised processing is not required for the member, as determined at step 56, the points shortfall sum is assessed against system parameters at step 58, including the percentage of the shortfall sum as against the reward threshold. Depending on the application of these parameters to the points shortfall sum of any individual member, a member will be assessed as eligible at step 60, and so the alert icon will be generated. Typically, the system will require the member's current points balance to be at or above minimum fixed percentage (eg 75%) of the next reward threshold ("points shortfall ratio"), for the member to be assessed as eligible. However, the system parameters need not entirely be fixed, and can be customised to favour members perceived as valuable to the loyalty scheme and identified by a system flag at step 56. Such customisation can be done by altering the standard system parameters, in ways including setting a lower points shortfall ratio, and or by jumping past the immediate next-higher reward threshold to a still-higher reward threshold. For valuable members identified at step 56, a customer relationship management (CRM) database of the system is accessed at step 64 to obtain customised parameters for the member. For example, the higher threshold figures are accessed from data for the points site, at step 62, and then the data collected from the CRM database and the access higher threshold figures are used at step 66 to either determine a customised points shortfall sum and points shortfall ratio for the member. Once a member has been determined as being eligible at step 60, the points shortfall sum is used to generate the alert icon, at step 68.

The alert icon, provides an interface that informs the member that there are products available for purchase, that if purchased will result in the member's points balance exceeding a threshold of the points program. The icon may include text such as "Did you know that if you purchase a 'points top-up' product then you will have enough points for a return flight from Seattle to anywhere in the 48 states?". If the alert icon is selected, at step 32, then a link of the icon calls and invokes execution of the trawling engine 26 at step 34.

The trawling engine 26, as shown in Figure 5, receives an indication, with the HTTP request associated with selecting the icon, information on the number of points required to exceed the threshold, ie the points shortfall sum. Based on this information accessed at step 70, the trawling engine 26, which is an agent that accesses the merchant sites over the Internet 6, connects and trawls for products that can be purchased and that are within a gross price band determined at step 74 that is proportionate to the amount of points being purchased ("points price cost"), as determined at step 72. The gross price of a product here includes any merchant commissions, and so will be termed the "merchant price". The points price cost is given a dollar value by multiplying the points shortfall sum by the "points price benchmark", as determined at step 86 on the basis of the cost of redeeming points (accessed at step 84) and data on the points system commission structure (accessed at step 88). Typically, the product price band, by merchant price, that is being trawled for will be three to nine times the points price cost. Information on the products that meet the criteria and links to the purchase pages for the products are searched for at step 78 and retrieved by the trawling engine and compiled into a dynamic page that is returned as a HTTP response to the member's browser at step 36. The range of products searched for can be restricted or selected on the basis of particular types, depending on profile information stored for the member and accessed from the CRM database at step 76. The shortlist of products returned with the merchant price is processed and produced at step 80, and information concerning the product is provided in the dynamic page, together with an adjusted retail price for the product, as determined at step 82. The price for each product is netted upwards from the merchant price. The retail price paid by the purchasing member is the sum of the points price cost plus the merchant price. If, as previously stated, the merchant price will typically be three to nine times the points price cost, then as a corollary, the merchant price for a product purchased using this process will typically be between 75% and 90% of the retail price.

A product referred to in the page returned to the member's browser, at step 36, can be selected by simply clicking on a 'buy now' icon next to a displayed product, or information for that product. If a product is selected, at step 38, then the member's browser is connected via a link associated with the product to the merchant's site, at step 40. The page to which the member's browser is connected is one which allows the purchase of the selected product, and this page is framed by a frame set of the points site 22. The links in the page of the merchant site returned are also adjusted so that any activity on the merchant's site is recorded and logged by the server 2. In this manner, the server 2 is able to determine when a purchase is made, at step 42. If a purchase of a product is made by a member, then the corresponding points are allocated to that member and the member's point balance adjusted at step 44. A page of the points site 22 is then sent to the member's browser to advise that the points have been added and the points balance adjusted accordingly. Two types of commission flow from each sale under this process. Commissions can be built into the merchant price of products, as a percentage of each sale, which can then be automatically tabulated and periodically collected from each merchant by the program provider. An additional commission stream is incorporated into points price benchmark, and so the points price cost for each transaction. The points price benchmark is predetermined, at step 86, by adding together the average cost of acquitting a single point as a reward to a commission royalty base per top-up point purchased through the process. Again this commission can be tabulated automatically and obtained periodically, from the program provider, or the owner or licensee of the process. The commission determined may be automatically collected by communication between the systems maintaining the points site 22 and the merchant site. The points system 2 described above, and the transaction process that it executes are particularly advantageous as it enables members of loyalty programs to be alerted of an ability to meet a points threshold in real-time, by the generation of the alert icon. The process provides a mechanism which allows the points threshold to be exceeded by simply selecting the appropriate icons and links to complete an impulse purchase. The process also takes advantage of the product procurement capabilities of a variety of other merchant sites, without needing to establish a product procurement functionality at the points site itself. Of course the process can be adjusted so that the member is directed to products that are sold on the points site itself. The advantage of relying on the other merchant's sites is that the setting of the price of a product, and all issues associated with fulfilment and consumer liability, will rest with the participating merchant.

Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A points transaction process, including generating an alert interface advising a points program member that purchase of a product will cause a points balance for said member to reach a points threshold.

2. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 1, including determining, from said points balance, said threshold and said product, and offering said product for purchase.

3. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 1, including providing a link to a resource for purchase of said product, and adjusting said points balance in response to said purchase.

4. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 2, including setting a price for said product, said price including a component corresponding to points to be awarded for said purchase.

5. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 2, including setting a price for said product, said price including a component for a provider of the points program and a component for a provider of said product.

6. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 1, including trawling merchant sites of a communications network for said product by comparing values of products for purchase on said merchant sites with data representative of the difference between said threshold and said balance.

7. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 1, including providing, in response to selecting of said alert interface, a page with information on said product with a link to a purchase resource for purchasing said product.

8. A points transaction process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said alert interface is generated when said member is connected to a network site for said points program.

9. A points transaction system having components for executing the steps of a points transaction process as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims.

10. Points transaction software having code for executing the steps of a points transaction process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A dynamic purchase interface generated in response to access of a resource of a points program site of a communications network, said interface including an alert advising a points program member of an opportunity to attain points; and a link to a purchase resource for use in purchasing a product to attain said points, said points causing a points balance for said member to reach a points threshold.

12. A points transaction process, including connecting to an alert resource advising a points program member that purchase of a product will cause points balance for said member to reach a points threshold.