WO2017007857A1

WO2017007857A1 - System and method for detecting stock outs associated with a product at a store

Info

Publication number: WO2017007857A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/041200
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arthur Vaysman
Original assignee: Aintu Inc.
Priority date: 2015-07-06
Filing date: 2016-07-06
Publication date: 2017-01-12
Also published as: AU2016290931A1; EP3320508A1; CA2991411A1; ZA201800052B; BR112018000286A2; EP3320508A4

Abstract

A system for detecting stock outs associated with a product at a store is provided. The system comprises a server configured to: detect when a customer is proximately close to the store; generate a special coupon for redemption when purchasing the product, said special coupon having coupon parameters calculated to entice the customer to redeem said special coupon at said store without delay; transmit said coupon to a coupon application provisioned in a mobile device of the customer; alert said customer of the availability of said special coupon; and monitor coupon redemption activity in relation to said special coupon, in order to determine a stock out condition in relation to said product at said store.

Description

APPLICATION FOR PCT INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION

For

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING STOCK OUTS ASSOCIATED WITH A

PRODUCT AT A STORE

Inventor:

ARTHUR VAYSMAN

Applicant:

AINTU, INC

Prepared by:

HM LAW GROUP LLP

Customer Number 52418

Attorney Docket No. Aintu.P01 1PCT

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING STOCK OUTS ASSOCIATED WITH A

PRODUCT AT A STORE

FIELD

[001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for detecting stock outs associated with a particular product at a store.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

|003] Advertisers (product manufacturers or service providers) issue and distribute coupons to encourage customers to purchase their products or to purchase products and services from them. With proliferation of mobile devices, increasing numbers of coupons are created for and distributed by mobile devices.

|004| Because coupons are traditionally created, distributed, and most importantly redeemed in printed form— typically by a Point of Sale (POS) systems capable of scanning them, coupons in electronic form are not accepted by Brick and Mortar (BM) retailers as most existing POS systems are unable to receive coupon information from a mobile device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

|005| This invention offers a system and method for advertisers to create and distribute text or multi-media based hyper-targeted, personalized electronic offers and coupons which can be accepted and redeemed by BM businesses in electronic form regardless of the capabilities of their existing POS system.

|006| Furthermore, the system allows manufacturers to create unique, identifiable, and traceable coupons which can be used to launch and run self-tuning marketing campaigns designed to meet various business objectives.

|007] The invented system takes advantage of proliferation of mobile devices, their network connectivity, ability to install new applications, digital footprints left by consumers, and the fact that electronic coupon redemption by BM businesses is done in proximity to a customer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

|008| FIG. 1 shows a deployment drawing in accordance with one embodiment of the invention

|009] FIG. 2 shows the use cases for the DCPMS, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0010| FIG. 3 shows the use cases for coupon generation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0011| FIG. 4 shows the use cases for coupon clipping and publishing in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0012] FIG. 5 shows a coupon query Ql, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0013] FIG. 6 shows the use cases for the customer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0014| FIGS. 7a-b shows a Publisher publishing media on a Customer node, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0015] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for processing a coupon clipping notification, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0016] FIG. 9A shows the use cases for coupon redemption by the customer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0017| FIG. 9B shows the use cases for coupon redemption by the retailer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 10 shows an example of published coupon, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0019] FIG. 11 shows the published coupon of FIG. 10 in magnified view, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

|0020| FIG. 12 shows an example of a report to an Advertiser, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 13 shows a high-level block diagram of hardware for implementing the DCPMS, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block or flow diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the invention. Accommodate

|00231 Reference in this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearance of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

[0024] Moreover, although the following description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to the details are within the scope of the present invention. Similarly, although many of the features of the present invention are described in terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this description of the invention is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the invention. [0025] FIG. 1 shows a deployment scenario 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 a Digital Coupon Personalization and Management System (DCPMS) 102 includes a server component 102A which implements a Coupon Service (CS) 102B The CS 102B is under control of a Coupon Service Provider (CSP) A plurality of advertiser nodes 104 each equipped with an appropriate user agent (browser) 104 A are communicatively coupled to the DCPMS 102 by means of a network link 112. In one embodiment, each advertiser node 104 may include a computing device such as a laptop or PC, and the network link 112 may comprise the Internet. Each advertiser node 104 represent an Advertiser who uses the CS to generate coupons on its behalf, as will be explained.

|0026| The DCPMS 102 may also be communicatively coupled with plurality of publisher nodes 106 by means of a network link 112. Each publisher node 106 represent a computing device such as a PC and includes a publishing interface 106A, which represent the mechanism whereby a Publisher is able to publish media on a customer node 108 for viewing by a Customer. Examples of Publishers includes CNN, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

[0027] The customer node 108 represents a customer device such as smartphone or tablet PC. In one embodiment, the customer node 108 may include a publisher app 108A and a coupon app 108B. The publisher app 108 A may be configured to receive media content from a Publisher, as will be described more fully later. The media content may include a personalized coupon generated by the DCPMS 102.

|0028| Finally, the deployment scenario 100 also includes a retailer node 110 which represents retailer. In one embodiment, the customer node 108 communicates with the retailer node 110 via an audio link 114. [0029] FIG. 2 shows use cases 200 for the DCPMS 102, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As will be seen, the DCPMS 102 supports a create account () function 202 which allows an Advertiser and a Publisher to create user accounts on the DCPMS 102. A configure business rules (J function 208 allows an Advertiser to provision business rules and objectives in the DCPMS 102. The business rules and objectives may be used to generate highly personalized coupons for publishing to particular customers, as will be described. The use cases 200 also includes a configure coupon generation parameteraQ process 210 whereby an advertiser configures coupon generation parameters which are used to generate personalized coupons. Examples of coupon generation parameters include the following:

(a) Demographic data;

(b) Geographic data;

(c) Offer size for a coupon offer. This may be specified in the terms of a minimum offer size and a maximum offer size;

(d) The particular medium for which a coupon needs to be generated. Examples of media include video content, banner ads, and printed ads.

(e) Publisher. Examples of publishers includes Facebook, YouTube, CNN etc.;

(f) Context for the coupon. Examples of contexts includes sports, politics, science, business, lifestyle, etc.;

(g) Psycho-graphic information comprising values, opinions, attributes, interests, and

lifestyles associated with a target demographic group. [0030] Finally, the use cases 200 include a reporting function 212 whereby reports are generated for Advertisers and Publishers.

|0031] Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, there is shown use cases 300 for coupon generation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In terms of the use cases 300, a Publisher sends a query Ql to the DCPMS 102. The query Ql is a request for a coupon. Generally, at the time of sending the query Ql, the Publisher is already publishing content to a customer and is the further, typically displaying an advertisement unit (ad unit) in association with the content. This can be seen in FIG 7a, which shows media 700 being published on a customer node 108, wherein the media 700 includes content 702 and an ad unit 704. FIG. 5 shows the elements of the query Ql, in one embodiment. As will be seen, Ql includes customer information 500 and an ad unit id 502. The ad unit id 502 corresponds to the ad unit being shown to the Customer. The customer information corresponds to profile information/data 706 (see FIG. 8) about the Customer. The profile data 706 is collected from the Customer node 108 by the Publisher and includes that customer's browsing behavior and information about the customer device itself.

|0032| Responsive to receiving the coupon query Ql, the DCPMS 102 executes a process coupon query block 304. Under this block, the DCPMS 102 attempts to match the ad unit id in the coupon query Ql in an ad unit list. The ad unit list is provisioned by an Advertiser and is basically a listing of ad units for which coupons must be generated by DCPMS 102. Thus, under the process 304, if the ad unit id is matched then a generate coupon function 306 is executed. Under this process, a personalized coupon is generated based on the coupon configuration parameters and based on machine learning techniques. [0033] The use cases 300 also include a reply to query function 308 wherein the DCPMS 102 replies to the query Ql by returning a coupon to the publisher 302 or a reply indicating that no coupon is available for the particular ad unit associated with the coupon request Ql. FIG. 7B shows the media 700 that is published on a customer node 108 as updated by the Publisher to include a coupon 708.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows use cases 400 for coupon displaying and clipping on the customer node 402, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As will be seen, the customer node 108 is configured to display content by executing a display content function 402. The display content function 402 may be extended to include a display ad function 404 which in rum may be extended to include a display coupon function 406 if the ad unit associated with the ad being displayed is match by the DCPMS 102, as described earlier. A profile customer () function 408 collects profile information for a customer which is transmitted to the Publisher. The use cases 400 also includes a coupon clipping () function 410. Under the coupon clipping function 410, a Customer performs a 'clipping action' in relation to a coupon. For example, in one embodiment, the clipping action may include selection of a clipping button associated with the coupon. Responsive to said clipping action, the coupon clipping function 410 generates a coupon clipping notification and transmits it to the DCPMS 102.

[0035] Referring now to FIG. 8 of the drawings, there is shown a process 800 executed on the DCPMS 102 responsive to receiving a coupon clipping notification. At block 802, a check is made to determine if the customer is a registered customer. In one embodiment this step includes validating customer credentials included in the coupon clipping notification. If it is determined that the customer was not registered, then at block 804, a registration process is executed in order to register the customer. This process may include redirecting a customer to a registration page in order for the customer to input registration information. At block 806, the coupon identified by the coupon id in the coupon clipping notification is added to the customer's account. At this point, the DCPMS 102 may inform the Publisher that the coupon has been clipped, in which case the publisher may instruct a browser being used by the customer node 108 to view the coupon to stop displaying the coupon.

[0036] In the case where a Customer is using the coupon app 108B to view the published content, the coupon app 108B includes logic to stop showing the coupon as soon as the coupon clipping action is performed. Thus, a seamless coupon clipping experience is facilitated.

[0037] Referring now to FIG. 9A of the drawings, there is shown a use case for coupon redemption by a Customer. As will be seen, a coupon redemption() function 900 includes a process 902 for encoding a coupon for transmission, and a process 904 for transmitting said encoded coupon to a retailer node. In one embodiment, the process 902 for encoding the coupon for transmission encodes the coupon as an audio signal which is then transmitted via a speaker associated with the customer node 108. The retailer node 110 then uses a microphone to detect the audio encoding. FIG. 9B also shows a use case for the retailer coupon app 110A to redeem a coupon, in accordance with one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 9B, process 906 comprises a receive coupon id () function whereby a microphone of the retailer node 110 is used to listen for the coupon transmission from the customer node 108. A decode coupon id () process 908 decodes the audio signal in order to extract the coupon id. An authenticate coupon id () process 910 includes transmission of the coupon id to the DCPMS 102 by the retailer coupon app for authentication. The DCPMS 102 authenticates the coupon id and returns coupon parameters associated with the coupon id that was authenticated. The retailer coupon app then executes a receive coupon parametersQ function 912 to receive the coupon parameters from the DCPMS 102. A service customer () function 914 includes servicing the customer by providing the goods and/or services associated with the coupon. A apply discount () function 916 extends the service customer () function 914 to apply the discount indicated in the coupon to the transaction with the customer. A report redemption () function 918 includes operations to report any coupon redemption to the DCPMS 102.

[0038] Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawings, use cases 600 are associated with the coupon app 108B. As will be seen, the use cases 600 may include a browse coupons () function 602. This function allows a Customer to browse previously clipped coupons. A search coupon 0 function 604 allows the Customer to search for particular coupons based on search criteria. A suggest coupon for redemption () function 608 implements functionality to proactively suggest coupons for redemption to a Customer. For example, in one embodiment based on the location, the Customer may be shown coupons that are only available for redemption at that particular location. Finally, the use case 600 includes a redeem coupon function () 610, whereby the Customer may redeem a selected coupon, as has been described above.

|0039| Referring now to FIG. 10 of the drawings, there is shown a coupon 1000 which is published in association with an advertisement for women's' lipstick. The coupon 1000 is shown in magnified view FIG. 11 of the drawings. As will be seen, the coupon 1000 includes a discount of $1.25, and a coupon expiration, which is set to 15 days. Further, the coupon 1000 includes a 'clip it button'. This button may be used to clip the coupon 1000 in accordance with the techniques disclosed herein. [0040] FIG. 12 shows a report 1200 that may be generated for an Advertiser, in accordance with one embodiment. The report 1200 includes linking information 1202 to link ad unit id, coupon id, customer id, advertiser id, and retailer id. Report 1200 also includes an analytics component 1204 which may provide detailed analysis on a coupon's clip rate and its redemption rate. The coupon clip rate and redemption rate may be used to optimize a coupon campaign. As has been mentioned, machine running techniques are used to generate a coupon in a dynamic fashion. For example, coupon may be configured to have a certain clip rate and a certain redemption. If a clip rate for a coupon is too high the system may dynamically reduce the discount associated with the coupon in order to throttle or scale back the redemption rate. Alternatively, if the coupon clip rate is too low, then the DCPM 102 S may dynamically increase the discount associated with the coupon in order to achieve the desired clip rate. Likewise, a coupons redemptions rate may be used to dynamically scale the offer sized associated with the coupon in order to achieve a desirable redemption rate.

(00411 Reducing Stock Outs

[0042] In emerging markets, CPG companies use salesman to regularly visit traditional stores to identify low inventory items and take orders. This system is inefficient as only a small percentage of visited stores have low inventory / stock outs and are ready to place orders. Consequently, most salesman store visits result in no sales.

(0043] In one embodiment, there is provided a method to detect stock outs without manual inspection by CPG salesforce.

100441 Option 1 - Passive Detections

From time to time, a consumer may not be able to redeem a coupon due to the fact that the product associated with coupon may be out of stock a particular store, a condition referred to herein as a "stock out". In one embodiment, the coupon app 108B provides the customer with the capability to report a failed coupon redemption event. For example, each coupon displayed in the coupon app 108B may have a "button" to report a failed coupon redemption event associated with the coupon. Customer activation of the button may trigger prompts sent to the user to obtain more information about the failed coupon redemption. The prompts may be configured to solicit information on the store at which the attempt to redeem the coupon was made, and the time of the attempted redemption from the customer. The reporting of the failed coupon redemption event is to the DCPMS. In one embodiment, the DCPMS may be configured to store each failed coupon redemption event and to route it to a corresponding product manufacturer salesforce for use as an inference of a product stock out at a store. In one embodiment, the customer may be incentivized to report a stock out in the manner described above through the provision of a reward to the customer for said report. The reward may take the form of point, products, discounts, etc.

Option 2 - Active Detection

[0045] In one embodiment, to proactively detect stock outs of a particular SKU in a particular store, the DCPMS may be configured to proactively send out a special purpose coupon/promotional offer for that SKU to customers near or inside the store. The special purpose coupon is different from the coupon used under the passive detection method, which shall be referred to as "a standard coupon" to distinguish it from the special purpose coupon. The special purpose coupon is generated with specific coupon permit is calculated to induce a customer to redeem to coupon in the shortest possible time, or at least without delay. The determination of whether a customer is "near of inside the store" is made based on location services associated with the mobile device of the customer. The coupon may provide a larger than usual discount and/or short expiration time (for example 6 hours) to encourage immediate redemption of the coupon. Since only one redemption per store per day is necessary to improve detection of stock out SKUs, the cost of stock-out detection by distributing promotional offers to consumers is likely to be less than the time of a salesman visiting the store.

[0046] FIG. 13 shows an example of hardware 1300 that may be used to implement the DCPMS 102 in accordance with one embodiment. The hardware 1300 may include at least one processor 1302 coupled to a memory 1304. The processor 1302 may represent one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), and the memory 1304 may represent random access memory (RAM) devices comprising a main storage of the hardware, as well as any supplemental levels of memory e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or back-up memories (e.g. programmable or flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In addition, the memory 1304 may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere in the hardware, e.g. any cache memory in the processor 1302, as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory, e.g., as stored on a mass storage device.

|0047| The hardware also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. For interface with a user or operator, the hardware may include one or more user input output devices 1306 (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, etc.) and a display 1308. For additional storage, the hardware 1300 may also include one or more mass storage devices 410, e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g. a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or a USB drive, among others. Furthermore, the hardware may include an interface with one or more networks 1312 (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, and/or the Internet among others) to permit the communication of information with other computers coupled to the networks. It should be appreciated that the hardware typically includes suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between the processor 1312 and each of the components, as is well known in the art. |0048] The hardware 1300 operates under the control of an operating system 1314, and executes application software 1316 which includes various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, etc. to perform the techniques described above.

[0049] In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as "computer programs." The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, USB and other removable media, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), flash drives among others.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for detecting stock outs at a store, the method comprising:

provisioning a customer device with a coupon application; said coupon application comprising a function to enable a customer to redeem a coupon at the store;

provisioning a server application to engage in a coupon redemption transaction with the coupon application; wherein the customer initiates the coupon redemption transaction to redeem a coupon from within the coupon application;

configuring the coupon application to generate at least one message to the server application indicative of a stock out condition indicating that a particular product is out of stock at the store.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating by the server application a notification to a product manufacturer associated with said product to alert said manufacturer of the stock out condition.

3. The method of the 1, wherein the at least one message is generated in response to an attempt by the customer to redeem a standard coupon already sent to the coupon application.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one message is generated in response to user action taken from within the coupon application to specifically denote an inability redeem the coupon.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the coupon application is configured to obtain circumstantial information relating to said inability to redeem the coupon.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said circumstantial information identifying the store, and the time at which the coupon redemption was attempted.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the notification to the product manufacturer is configured to be sent directly to sales personnel associated with the sale of the product from the product manufacturers side.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising incentivizing the customer to report the stock out condition with a reward.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said reward comprises at least one of loyalty points, products, and discounts.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one message is generated in response to an attempt by the customer to redeem a special purpose coupon sent to the coupon application in order to proactively detect a stock out condition.

11. The method of 10, further comprising generating said special purpose coupon by the server application wherein said coupon is calculated to induce a coupon redemption event associated with said special purpose coupon, and transmitting same to the coupon application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating said special purpose coupon comprises identifying customers who are proximately close to the store.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the customers determined to be proximately close to the store based on a threshold distance from the store; wherein said distance is determined using the location sensing devices associated with the customer device.

14. The method to claim 13, wherein said special purpose coupon comprises at least one of a larger than normal discount associated with an underlying product associated with said coupon, and a short of the normal expiration, in order to incentivize a customer to attempt to redeem said special purpose coupon.

15. A method for detecting a stock out condition associated with a product at a store, the method comprising:

detecting when a customer is proximately close to the store;

generating a special coupon for redemption when purchasing the product, said special coupon having coupon parameters calculated to induce the customer to redeem said special coupon at said store without delay;

transmitting said coupon to a coupon application provisioned in a mobile device of the customer;

alerting said customer of the availability of said special coupon;

monitoring coupon redemption activity in relation to said special coupon, in order to determine a stock out condition in relation to said product at said store.

16. The method of claim IS, wherein detecting when a customer is proximately close to the store, is based on location data associated with the mobile device.

17. The method of claim IS, wherein said coupon parameters comprises at least one of a larger than normal discount associated with the product, and a shorter than normal expiration time associated with said special coupon.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein alerting said customer of the availability of said special coupon comprises triggering an alarm to indicate said the availability.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein monitoring said coupon redemption activity comprises monitoring for a message from the coupon application indicating that the product associated with the special coupon was not available at the store.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising generating a message to at least one sales person associated with the sale of said product to the store.

21. A system for detecting stock outs associated with a product at a store, comprising: a server configured to:

detect when a customer is proximately close to the store; generate a special coupon for redemption when purchasing the product, said special coupon having coupon parameters calculated to induce the customer to redeem said special coupon at said store without delay;

transmit said coupon to a coupon application provisioned in a mobile device of the customer;

alert said customer of the availability of said special coupon; and

monitor coupon redemption activity in relation to said special coupon, in order to determine a stock out condition in relation to said product at said store.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said server device detects when a customer is proximately close to the store, is based on location data associated with the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said coupon parameters comprises at least one of a larger than normal discount associated with the product, and a shorter than normal expiration time associated with said special coupon.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said server device alerts said customer of the availability of said special coupon comprises triggering an alarm to indicate said the availability.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said server device monitors said coupon redemption activity comprises monitoring for a message from the coupon application indicating that the product associated with the special coupon was not available at the store.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said server device is further configured to generate a message to at least one sales person associated with the sale of said product to the store.