BE1013900A3 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING A PORTABLE DEVICE FOR MANAGING PROMOTIONS. - Google Patents

Abstract

Method, system and computer program product for managing promotions using a portable device. The method includes receiving promotions by a portable device, storing promotions in the portable device at a point of sale (POS) at the time of a customer transaction. Promotions can be stored in the portable device by electronic transmission from a computer associated with the retail store at the time of purchase, or by downloading promotions from the Internet. In addition, promotions can be transmitted electronically from the computer associated with the retail store to the portable device based on a plurality of customer identifiers (CIDs) stored in the portable device.

Description

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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING A PORTABLE DEVICE FOR

PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

HISTORY OF THE INVENTION

Field of the invention

The present invention generally relates to a method and system for using portable electronic devices, and more particularly to a method and system for using portable electronic device for managing promotions. As used here, the term "promotion" refers to any offer, advertisement, coupon, advertising film, or communication to promote one or more goods and / or services. A promotion can take the form of a coupon or a certificate, for example.

History description

As all grocery customers know, many producers typically distribute promotions for their products either by mail, printing them in newspapers or magazines, inserting them into packages of similar or related products, or by printing at a point of sale terminal at a checkout, for example, at a grocery store. In addition, with the proliferation of the Internet, more and more people are getting such promotions online. In most of these situations, the promotion must be on printed paper that the customer must present to a retailer at the time of purchase so that the discount is taken from the customer's invoice. This procedure often has the disadvantage that the customer loses the promotion and that he is therefore unable to use or be reimbursed for the promotion, making the producer's efforts to reward or present new products to the customer in vain. . This is particularly true in the case of promotions provided at the point of sale, which are often stuffed in a shopping bag and are never consulted again.

The ubiquitous nature of the cell phone is proof of the attractiveness of customers for the convenience of wireless communications. Additionally, as technological improvements increase the bandwidth of wireless data links, wireless networks promise to provide the final link to the Internet by letting users communicate anywhere, anytime. With such convenience, portable data devices are likely to become as common as the cell phone and much of the Internet will be connected to such portable devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a method and a system for managing promotions using a portable device.

Another objective of the present invention is to propose a method and a system for managing several customer loyalty accounts, each being associated with a different retail store, using a portable device.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for obtaining and being reimbursed for promotions offered on the Internet, using a portable device.

These and other objectives are achieved by providing a new method, system, and computer program product for managing promotions on a portable device.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method, a portable device, and a computer program product for managing promotions on the portable device are provided. The method on which the portable device and the computer program product are based includes receiving promotions by the electronic portable device, storing promotions in the electronic portable device, and electronically transmitting promotions from the electronic portable device to the point of sale. (POS) at the time of a customer transaction in a retail store. Promotions, as well as additional retail product information, may be received via wired or wireless media from the same or another POS during a previous customer transaction, or from the Internet, and may take the form of an advertisement or customer coupon. The portable device can also be used to manage multiple customer loyalty accounts by storing a plurality of corresponding retail store identifiers and customer identifiers in the portable device, and electronically transmitting the plurality of store identifiers retail and customer identifiers associated from the portable device to a POS having a store identifier associated at the time of the customer's transaction.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method, a system, and a computer program product for determining promotions to be delivered to a portable device are provided. The method on which the system and the computer program product are based includes initializing a computer associated with a retail store, determining promotions to offer to a customer, electronically transmitting determined promotions from computer to a portable device at the time of a customer transaction. Initialization can be done manually or automatically in response to interfacing the portable device with the system, and promotions, as well as additional retail product information, can be transmitted via wired media or wireless and can take the form of an advertisement or customer coupon. Promotions can be determined on the basis of a purchase history associated with the customer identifier or can be determined on the basis of a product identifier. The system can also receive from the handheld device a plurality of retail store identifiers including a retail store identifier associated with the retail store and a particular customer identifier associated with the retail store in which the system is located.

¥ BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the invention and many of its associated advantages will be easily obtained, while it will be better understood on reading the following detailed description with reference to the related drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a system for delivering promotions to a portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portable device used according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3A is a retail store table for associating customer identifiers (CIDs) of a particular customer with a retail store in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3B is a table of predetermined promotions for associating a predetermined promotion with a CID according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3C is a table of purchase triggers for associating purchase triggers with targeted promotions according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 4A to 4C are examples of promotions which can be displayed on the portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a flowchart describing the process for managing promotions using the handheld device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a flowchart describing the process for providing promotions from a POS to the portable device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7A is a block diagram of a system for downloading promotions from the Internet, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Figures 7B and 7C are flowcharts depicting alternative processes for delivering promotions from the Internet to the portable device according to alternative embodiments of the present invention; Figure 8 is a block diagram of a computer system programmed to perform one or more of the special purpose functions of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts in all of the figures, and more particularly in FIG. 1, a computerized system for delivering promotions to a portable device according to a embodiment of the present invention is shown. The system of Figure 1 includes a central computer 101, a common shopping database 103, one or more retail stores 105, a shopping data computer 107, a local shopping database 109, a store controller 111, a local purchasing database 13, and one or more points of sale 115, each comprising a printer 117, a terminal 119, a scanner 121, and a data transfer unit 123.

The mainframe 101 is any workstation, server, or other device for communicating with the purchasing data computer 107 and for storing information and retrieving information from the common purchasing database 103 The central computer 101 also determines promotions to be transmitted to customers in the retail store 105 according to an embodiment of the invention. The central computer 101 communicates with the purchasing data computer 107 using any suitable protocol and can be implemented using the computer system 801 of FIG. 8, for example.

The common purchasing database 103 is a file which includes records containing information for providing promotions according to the present invention. This information includes information about each purchase made by a customer in retail store 105. Such information can include, but is not limited to, the stock item (SKU), brand, size, weight, price, date and time of purchase, and a customer identifier (CID) of the customer making the purchase, for example. In one embodiment, portions of this information are obtained from bar codes on purchased items which are read by. the scanner 121 during a transaction. These bar codes can contain UPC, JAN, or EAN information. Records in the common purchasing database 103 contain fields in conjunction with a set of operations for searching, sorting, recombining, and other database functions. The common purchasing database 103 can be implemented as two or more databases, if desired. One or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,832,457, 5,649,114, 5,430,644, and 5,592,560 describe techniques for collecting customer purchase history information and for storing such information in databases such as the common purchasing database 103 and the local purchasing database 13, for example. U.S. Patents 5,832,457, 5,649,114, 5,430,644, and 5,592,560 are incorporated herein by reference. In addition, techniques for collecting purchasing information from customers and for storing such information in databases, such as the common purchasing database 103 and the local purchasing database 13, are described. in other patents which are the property of Catalina Marketing and / or Catalina Marketing International. Each patent being the property of Catalina Marketing and / or Catalina Marketing International is incorporated here for reference.

Retail store 105 is generically called a retail storage point and is a location where goods are kept for retail sale to customers. As noted above, many retail stores 105 can be connected to the central computer 101.

The purchasing data computer 107 can be implemented using the computer system 801 of Figure 8, for example, or any other PC, workstation, server, or suitable device for communicating with the central computer 101, for storing and retrieving information in the local purchasing database 109, for controlling the data transmitted between the terminal 119 and the store controller 111 (i.e. the data of transaction) and to control the printer 117 and the data transfer unit 123. According to one embodiment, the purchasing data computer 107 determines and delivers promotions.

The local purchasing database 109 is a file which includes records containing information for delivering promotions according to the present invention. The records in the local purchasing database 109 contain areas for associating bar codes with products in the retail store 105 (for example, using UPC, JAN, and / or EAN codes). The local purchasing database 109 also includes operations for searching, sorting, recombining, and other database functions. The local purchasing database 109 can be implemented as two or more databases, if desired. Periodically (for example, daily), the sales transaction information stored in the local purchasing database 109 is retrieved by the purchasing data computer 107 and transmitted to the central computer 101, which uses the information to update the purchase history information stored in the common purchase database 103.

The store controller 111 is any computer or device for communicating with the terminal 119 and for using information stored in the store database 113 to execute point of sale (POS) transactions 115. A description of a controller Store 111 is given in U.S. Patent No. 5,173,851, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The store database 113 is a file that includes records containing information for performing point-of-sale transactions 115 by reading bar codes printed on purchased items. The records in the store database 113 contain areas for associating bar codes with products and their corresponding prices. The store database 113 also includes operations for searching, sorting, recombining, and other database functions, and can be implemented as two or more databases, if desired.

The retail store 105 comprises one or more points of sale 115. Each point of sale 115 preferably comprises a corresponding printer 117, a terminal 119, a scanner 121, and a data transfer unit 123. The transfer unit data 123 is coupled to the purchasing data computer 107 and provides a bidirectional data transmission link 125 with the portable device 201. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the data transfer unit 123 is used to exchange . data relating to promotions with the portable device 201. The promotions are downloaded upstream or downloaded downstream by the data transfer unit 123 in response to the reception of commands from the data computer. 107 and / or portable device 201, for example. The data transfer unit 123 can be implemented as a data port for transmitting and receiving data via a wired supp.prt. As another example, the data transfer unit 123 may be a wireless transceiver such as an infrared transmitter and detector, or a device for exploiting Bluetooth radio link technology. Bluetooth is a technological specification for short distance, low form factor and low cost radio links between mobile PCs, mobile phones, and other portable devices. Alternatively, the data transfer unit 123 can be implemented as any combination of devices suitable for providing a two-way data transmission link 125 to ensure compatibility with a variety of portable devices. According to one embodiment, the data transfer unit 123 transmits and receives electrical, electromagnetic and optical signals which transport streams of digital data representing various. types of information associated with promotions. In addition, a paper copy of promotions transferred to the data transfer unit 123 can be printed on the printer 117 in response to receipt of commands from the purchasing data computer 107, if desired.

Terminal 119 can be implemented as a standard cash register and can include a screen, a credit card reader, and a block of number keys, for example. The terminal 119 communicates with the store controller 111 and the scanner 112. The scanner 121 can be implemented like any scanning device to read product information such as an article code (for example, UDC, EAN , or JAN) from bar codes or other references on the product. This information read by the scanner 121 is transmitted to the store controller 111 by the terminal 119. The store controller 111 uses the information read and the information stored in the store database 113 to determine transaction information including the price. of the product, quantity, and description of the product, for example.

If there are multiple outlets 115 inside the retail store 105, each terminal 119 is then preferably arranged in a loop with the store controller 111. The purchasing data computer 107 is placed upstream of the store controller 111 in the loop so that the information transmitted from the terminals to the store controller is controlled by the purchasing data computer 107.

It will be understood that the system of Figure 1 is given only by way of example, since many variations of the specific hardware and software used to implement the present invention will readily appear to those having ordinary experience in the art. For example, the functionality of the purchasing data computer 107 and that of the store controller 111 can be combined in a single device. This and other retail computer system applications are described in more detail in one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,723,212, 4,910,672, 5,173,851, 5,612,868, and 6,026,370, each 'them being incorporated here for reference. To implement these variants as well as other variants, a single computer (for example, the computer system 801 of FIG. 7) can be programmed to execute the specialized functions of two of the arbitrary devices or more numbered from 101 to 123 represented. in Figure 1. In addition, two or more programmed computers can be replaced by any of the devices numbered 101 through 123 shown in Figure 1. The principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancy and repetition, can be also implemented as desired to increase the robustness and performance of the system, for example.

Figure 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary portable device used in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 2 is intended to represent any of various small screen computers such as the laptop sold under the trademark PalmPilot by Corporation of Santa Clara, California, the trademark Palm by Palm, Inc. of Santa Clara, California, or the laptop described in any of the US patents 4,545,023, 5,133,076, and 5,900,875, for example. US Patents 4,545,023, 5,133,076, and 5,900,875 are incorporated herein for reference. In addition, the portable device 201 can be an organizer (PDA), a cell phone, or any other portable device capable of uploading, uploading, storing, and manipulating digital information.

Preferably, the portable device 201 comprises a bus 203 or another communication mechanism for transmitting information, and a processor 205 coupled to the bus 203 for processing the information. The portable device 201 also includes a memory unit 207, such as a random access memory (RAM) or another dynamic random access memory (for example, a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a flash RAM)), coupled to the bus 203 to store information and instructions to be executed by the processor 205. In addition, the memory unit 207 can be used to store temporary variables or other information intermediaries during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processor 205. The memory unit 207 may further comprise a read-only memory (ROM) or another static random access memory (for example, a programmable ROM (PROM), a PROM erasable (EPROM), and an electrically erasable and programmable PROM (EEPROM)) for storing static information and instructions for processor 205. The ROM can be represented as a separate memory unit. An information medium 211, such as a magnetic disk coupled to the bus 203 can be provided for storing information and instructions.

The portable device 201 also includes a display unit 213, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), coupled to the bus 203 to display information for the user of the portable device 201. The portable device 201 includes an input device 215, such as an alphanumeric keyboard and / or a cursor command, for communicating selections of information and commands to processor 205.

The portable device 201 also includes an interface 217 coupled to the bus 203. The interface 217 provides a bidirectional data transmission link 125 with the data transfer unit 123 of the POS 115 or a computer system such as 801 shown in FIG. 8 The interface 217 can be a data port for transmitting and receiving data via a wired medium. As another example, the interface 217 can be a wireless transceiver such as an infrared transmitter and detector, or a device for exploiting short-range radio link technology.

Bluetooth.-As an alternative, the interface can be implemented like any combination of devices to provide a bidirectional data transmission link 125 in order to achieve compatibility with various POS devices. In any such implementation, the interface 127 transmits and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals which carry streams of digital data representing various types of information.

The present invention stores information regarding customer identifications, retail stores 105, customer purchase histories, and purchase triggers, for example. This information is stored in one or more memories such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and / or RAM, for example. One or more databases, such as the common database 103 and the store database 113, can store the information used to implement the present invention. Databases are organized using data structures (for example, records, tables, matrices, zones, graphs, trees, and / or lists) contained in one or more memories, such as as the memories designated above or any storage devices designated below in the description of Figure 8, for example.

Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C describe data structures used to implement a system for managing promotions according to an embodiment of the present invention. Data structures are described in a relational format, using tables, by means of which the information stored in a column (i.e., an area) of a table is mapped or linked to the information stored in the same row (i.e., record) across the other column (s) of the table. These data structures are used by the central computer 101 and / or the purchasing data computer 107 and / or the portable device 201 to manage promotions according to the present invention. According to one embodiment, the data structure represented in FIG. 3A is stored in the portable device 201 so that a customer can manage a large number of customer loyalty accounts, while the data structures represented in FIGS. 3B and 3C are stored in the common database 103, the local purchasing database 109, and / or any other storage device (s) or medium (s).

Figure 3A is a retail store table 301 which includes an area 303 for storing customer identifiers (CID) and an area 305 for storing a particular retail store associated with the CID in area 303. A CID is any which identifier is scanned, read, or entered into a computer system at a checkout to identify a customer. Each customer can have multiple CIDs and each retail store can use one of the CIDs to track customer purchases and provide incentives. Thus, different retail stores may have a different CID for a particular customer. Examples of possible CIDs include credit card numbers, debit card numbers, social security card numbers, driver's license numbers, checking account numbers, street addresses, names, email addresses, phone numbers, frequent customer card numbers, customer card identifications (SCID), or customer loyalty card numbers issued by retail store 105, although any what other appropriate form of identification can be used.

To illustrate the use of the retail store table 301, Figure 3A includes three examples of entries for a hypothetical customer having 3 customer loyalty accounts stored in the portable device 201. The first entry in Figure 3A shows that the field 303 may contain the number "12345" as the CID associated with the hypothetical customer, and in the same record, field 305 may contain the entry "Grocery ABC" as the corresponding retail store. The retail store table 301 also contains the customer's CID "8765" in field 303 and the corresponding entry (that is, entry in the same record) "Market XYZ" in field 305 as shown by the second entry in Figure 3A. Alternatively, instead of the store name, area 305 stores codes or retail store identification data as shown in the third entry in Figure 3A. Thus, the table of retail stores 301 associates each of several CIDs assigned to the hypothetical customer with a corresponding retail store 105 thus allowing the customer to easily reinforce and manage a large number of different loyalty cards when they are stored in the portable device 201.

FIG. 3B is a table of predetermined promotions 307 which includes an area 309 for storing CIDs and an area 311 for storing predetermined promotions associated with the CID. Unlike the retail store table 301, the predetermined promotions table 307 stores CIDs from many different customers and promotions associated with each CID. Thus, as shown in the example entries in FIG. 3B, the first entry in table 307 associates predetermined promotions with the prospective customer referred to in FIG. 3A, while the second entry in table 307 associates predetermined promotions with a customer different having CID MMM765. The predetermined promotions in area 311 can be determined on the basis of the customer's purchase history obtained by analysis, for example, of purchase data such as the place of purchase, a description of the articles purchased, the price of each item purchased, date and time of transaction, and any other desired information from customer transactions.

FIG. 3C is a table of purchase triggers 313 comprising an area 315 for storing purchase triggers and an area 317 for storing promotions. The purchasing triggers in the zone 315 can be bar codes gu other information which, when transmitted from the terminal 119 to the store controller 111, are controlled by the computer with purchasing data 107 and have delivered by the purchasing data computer 107 the corresponding promotion (s) in the zone 317 to the portable device 201 via the data transfer unit 123. Thus, the purchasing trigger table 313 combines triggers of purchases to promotions to be delivered to a customer whose transaction satisfies one or more purchase triggers in zone 315.

In a preferred embodiment, the retail products relating to promotions stored in area 317 are complements, in competition with, or in some way related to the purchase trigger items stored in area 315. The first entry in the figure 3C shows an example of a promotion for a product competing with a trigger product. In this example, "brand A soft drink" in field 315 is a purchased item that provides a trigger for a promotion of "50 cents off brand B soft drink" in field 317, branded soft drink B competes with brand A soft drink. Similarly, the trigger item "brand T tea" in area 315 triggers a promotion for "50 cents off a bag of 5 Ib sugar" in the area 317, sugar is commonly used with tea and therefore is a complementary item to tea. Thus, if a customer's purchases include both brand A soft drink and brand T tea, these items will be read at POS 115 and promotions for 50 cents off brand B soft drink and 50 cents rebate on a 5 Ib bag of sugar will be offered to POS 115 to the customer. How promotions in area 317 are provided in response to a triggering item in area 315 will be described later below.

As shown by the phantom areas in Figures 3B and 3C, the predetermined promotions area 311 and / or the promotions area 317 may contain a respective sub-area 323 and 325, to provide a customer with a condition associated with promotions. While all promotions require a basic condition such as making any purchase, or purchasing a particular brand of a product, subfields 323 and / or 325 are intended to store additional conditions and / or actions that are required in order to receive the promotion reward. In a preferred embodiment, the conditions stored in zones 323 and / or 325 are loyalty conditions which require the customer to demonstrate increased loyalty to the store 105, to a chain of stores including the store 105, and / or to a particular brand or product. The loyalty conditions may include duration conditions identifying a period, time (for example, a week) during which other conditions must be satisfied, purchase conditions such as purchase amount conditions identifying an amount in money that should be

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spent during the period of time indicated by the time condition, place conditions identifying one or more places where the purchase conditions can be satisfied, and brand conditions identifying a brand or product that must be purchased in order to receive the reward. For example, the first entry in Figure 3B shows that the customer receives a gallon of milk for only 5 cents if the customer spends $ 25 in the store associated with CID 8765 during the week. Thus, in addition to the basic requirement of buy a gallon of milk, the customer must spend, in one week, $ 25 in the store associated with CID 8765 in order to receive the reward. As shown in Figure 3A, CID 8765 is associated with the "XYZ market" and, therefore, the first entry in Table 307 is intended to promote loyalty to the XYZ market.

Figures 4A, 4B and 4C are examples of promotions that may be offered to customers. As shown in these figures, each promotion includes a reward to be received by the customer, and may or may not include a loyalty condition to be met by the customer in order to receive the reward. As described above, the loyalty condition indicates what a person must do to receive the reward. The reward may be a check, coupon, discount, certificate, refundable medium, and / or other positive benefit to a person who meets the condition. For example, promotion 401 in Figure 4A includes the reward 403 (50 cents off brand B sparkling water) with which no loyalty is associated. A customer who purchases brand B sparkling water at a 105 retail store that accepts the promotion will receive one. 50 cents rebate without any other action. Likewise, Figure 4B shows the 407 reward of 50 cents off brand X grain. However, as shown in Figure 4C, promotion 413 includes condition 417 which requires the customer to spend $ 25 in the retail store. 105 within 7 days to receive the 415 reward for a gallon of milk for 5 cents.

Promotions 401 and 405 are preferably remarkable offers intended to encourage a customer to take a particular brand of product or to promote loyalty to a brand of product. In the case of an incentive for a customer to change brands, the promotion is preferably triggered by the purchase of a competing brand as described with reference to Figure 3C above. Promotion 413 is a remarkable offer intended to retain customers at store 105. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rewards relating to store loyalty are for basic items such as milk, eggs, bread, etc. , to encourage customers to do all their grocery shopping at store 105 instead of shopping only for specific items. It will be understood, however, that each promotion can be adapted to different objectives, as desired. Rewards and conditions may include items other than grocery stores and retail stores. In addition, promotions may include other information not shown in Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C and the other information may include information related or not to customer purchases or promotions offered to the customer. Finally, it will be understood that, although the promotion described in FIGS. 3A to 3C and 4A to 4C indicates reimbursable coupons, the portable device 201 can be used to manage other promotions such as any offer, advertisement, incentive measure, advertising film, or communication to promote one or more goods and / or services. For example, the promotion may be an advertisement which may be displayed on the screen 213 of the portable device 201. The advertisement may be text and / or a video.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing the process for managing promotions with a portable device according to the present invention. The description of this figure is made with reference only to the purchasing data computer 107, it being understood that the central computer 101 can be used in combination with or in replacement of the purchasing data computer 107. In step 501, the client stores promotions received by the portable device 201. The promotions are stored in the memory unit 207 and / or the storage device 211 via the interface 217 and the bus of the portable device 201. The storage step 501 can be performed in response to promotions received from PO $ 115 or the Internet 706, for example, as described below.

After the promotions are stored in the portable device, in step 503, the client can view the promotions on the screen 213 of the portable device 201. The promotions can be individually viewed on the screen 213 as shown in FIGS. 4A , 4B, and 4C, for example, or be viewed in a tabular format allowing the user of the portable device 201 to view several promotions at the same time. The input device 215 allows a user of the portable device to communicate command selections to the processors 205 via the bus 203, to select, delete, group or even organize the promotions stored in the memory of the portable device 201. For example, a client using a portable device 201 can view all of the promotions, group the promotions to be retained, and delete the other promotions. With the selected promotions stored in the portable device 201, the customer does his shopping in a retail store for the retail items associated with the promotions selected in step 503. This allows the customer to easily group promotions which can be reimbursed to the retail store.

During the customer purchase transaction, the POS 211 scanner 211 reads articles purchased from the customer including items associated with promotions as shown in step 505. Preferably, the customer downloads a unique CID associated with the customer from the device portable 201 to POS 115 as in step 507 during the purchase transaction. In one embodiment, when the client interfaces the portable device 201 with the POS 115, the table of retail stores 301 is transferred from the memory unit 207 via the bus 203 and the interface 217 of the portable device 201 The data transfer unit 123 of the POS 115 receives and transfers the table of retail stores 301 to the purchasing data computer 107 which obtains a unique store identifier at the retail store 105 or the store chain to which the retail store 105 is associated, from the local shopping database 109 or the store database 113. The shopping data computer 107 searches in area 305 of the store table Retail 301, a store identifier that matches the identifier obtained from database 109 or 113, and the corresponding CID in field 303 of Table 301 is determined to be the customer's CID for the retail store gone culier 105. For example, a customer shopping at the ABC grocery store and having the table 301 in FIG. 3A stored in the portable device 201 would interface the portable device 201 with a POS 115 located in the ABC grocery store in order to transmit the table 301 to the purchasing data computer 107 located in the grocery store ABC. The purchasing data computer 107 then obtains the identifier "Grocery ABC" from the local purchasing database 109, for example, and compares this identifier with field 305 to determine the customer's CID for the grocery ABC. With the CID determined, the purchasing data computer 107 and the central computer 101 can monitor purchases and provide incentives to the customer as shown above with reference to Figure 1.

The promotions are transmitted identically from the portable device 201 to the POS 115 in step 507. The promotions are transmitted from the data transfer unit 123 to the purchasing data computer 107. The data computer d purchasing 107 checks the articles read by the scanner 121 and transferred to the store controller 111 via the terminal 119. In step 508, the purchasing data computer 107 compares the articles read with the promotions downloaded from the device portable 201 to POS 115 in step 507. In this way, the purchasing data computer applies the promotions to the corresponding items purchased by the customer and automatically credits the customer's invoice in step 509.

Figure 6 shows the process for entering promotions into handheld device 201 from one. POS 115 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The description of this figure is made with reference only to the purchasing data computer 107, it being understood that the central computer 101 can be used in combination with or in replacement of the purchasing data computer 107. In this embodiment, the customer makes purchases at the retail store 105 and at the time of the customer's purchase transaction, the purchase data computer 107 is initialized as shown in step 601. Initialization of the computer purchasing data 107 may occur automatically in response to the client activating a signal connection between the portable device 201 and the data transfer unit 123 by physical connection by means of a wired medium or by connection by means of a wireless support. As an alternative, the initialization of the purchasing data computer may occur in response to a manual entry by the operator of the POS 115. In each occurrence, the initialization step 601 signals the data computer d purchasing 107 that a portable device 201 is interfaced to the purchasing data computer 107 by means of the data transfer unit 123 of POS 115.

After initialization, in step 603, the purchasing data computer 107 determines the promotions to be delivered to the portable device 201 interfaced with the POS 115. Promotions can be determined, for example on the basis of the data history of customer purchases, or determined on the basis of triggering items as described below.

After determining promotions in step 603, the purchasing data computer 107 electronically transmits the promotions to the portable device 201 via the data transfer unit 123. This electronic transmission can be done by means either a wired medium or a wireless medium. The promotions transmitted are then received by the portable device 201 which stores the promotions to begin the promotion management process shown in FIG. 5. Preferably, the promotions transmitted from the POS 115 are downloaded downstream simultaneously with the download upstream promotions in step 507 of FIG. 5. Consequently, in a preferred embodiment, a client uses a portable device 201 at the time of purchase to be reimbursed for promotions previously stored and to store new promotions which may be reimbursed in future transactions. Alternatively, the customer can be reimbursed for promotions according to the process shown in Figure 5 without receiving new promotions from POS 115. In addition, it will be understood that promotions can be received from the same POS or from a different POS as the customer uses to be reimbursed for promotions.

According to one embodiment, the et, ape 603 of FIG. 6 for determining promotions to be delivered to the portable device 201 of the customer is accomplished according to predetermined promotions obtained on the basis of the purchase history of the customer. In this embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 1, the central computer 101 interrogates the computer with purchasing data 107 in each of the retail stores 105 for purchasing history information in order to update the information. purchase history stored in the common purchase database 103. The central computer 101 generates behavior information from the purchase history information stored in the common purchase database 103. This behavioral information can be any information that a market researcher (i.e. an expert) wishes to use to determine whether a targeted promotion should be delivered to a customer. Examples of behavioral information are the purchase by a customer of at least five pounds of dog food per month in the past year, the purchase by the customer of a weekly cold remedy last, and the customer's continued purchase of lactose-free milk.

The central computer 101 compares the behavior information generated with the purchasing criteria stored in the common purchasing database 103 and associated with a particular promotion. If the behavior information of any customer satisfies the purchasing criteria, the customer's CID is stored in area 309 and the corresponding promotion is stored in area 311 of the predetermined promotions table 307. In this way, the predetermined promotions table 307 is stocked with CIDs and associated promotions to be delivered to corresponding customers.

The central computer 101 delivers the predetermined promotions table 307 to the retail stores 105. If desired, the predetermined promotions table 307 is broken down into separate predetermined promotions tables for each retail store 105. If desired, only customer CIDs that frequent the corresponding retail store 105 are supplied to each retail store 105 to reduce the effect of storage and transmission constraints. The predetermined promotions table 307 is received by the shopping data computer 107 and the retail store 105 and is stored in the local shopping database 109.

When a customer makes a purchase in the retail store 105 and interfaces the portable device 201 with the purchase data computer via the POS 115, the customer CID table is transmitted by the transfer unit 123 to the purchasing data computer 107 which determines the CID as described above. Alternatively, the customer's CID can be entered at POS 115 by other known means such as manual entry, optical code recognition (OPC), or scanning a magnetic card containing the CID. Once the CID is determined, the purchasing data computer 107 uses the CID to determine if the same CID exists in area 309 of the predetermined promotions table 307. If the CID is found in area 309, the or the corresponding predetermined promotions in the area 311 are delivered to the data transfer unit 123 at the point of sale 115. The predetermined promotions are then transmitted by transmission link 125 to the interface 217 of the portable device 201. The predetermined promotions are transferred by the bus 203 in the memory unit 207 of the portable device 201 where the promotions can be revised and organized as in step 403 in FIG. 4. In this way, the promotions targeted towards the client whose CID has been entered at POS 115 are delivered to the customer at point of sale 115.

In another embodiment, step 603 of FIG. 6 for determining promotions to be delivered to the client's portable device 201 is accomplished according to triggering purchases in a transaction in progress at the point of sale 115. In this embodiment, the computer purchase data 107 receives purchase triggers and promotions, which are stored in the local purchase database 109. Purchase triggers and promotions can be downloaded from the central computer 101, entered manually , or transferred by any other appropriate means to the purchasing data computer 107 (for example, by diskette or through a connection to another computer). The purchase triggers and promotions are stored in the table. purchase triggers 313 in the respective zones 315 and 317. The purchase triggers correspond to the information of a purchase in progress at the point of sale 115. For example, the purchase triggers can be information of a barcode or UPC information associated with corresponding promotions 317. Thus, each purchase trigger can identify one or more products.

As described above, the purchasing data computer 107 controls the information of a purchase in progress transmitted from the terminal 119 to the store controller 111. The information of the purchase in progress can be generated by reading d '' a barcode on a product or by any other appropriate method to transmit information from a point of sale terminal to a store controller. The purchase data computer 107 compares the information of the purchase in progress with the purchase trigger stored in the zone 315. If there is a match between any of the purchase triggers in the zone 315 and the current purchase information controlled by the purchase data computer 107 (for example, if a product identified by the purchase trigger is purchased), the purchase data computer 107 transmits then electronically the corresponding promotion in the area 317 to the portable device 201 via the data transfer unit 123, by the transmission link 125 to the interface 217 of the portable device 201. The promotions are transferred by the via the bus 203 in the memory unit 207 of the portable device 201 where the promotions can be reviewed and organized as in step 503 of FIG. 5. In this way, the promotions corresponding to articles triggering a trans purchase action in progress are delivered to the customer at point of sale 115,

According to another embodiment of the present invention, promotions are transmitted to the portable device 201 from a manufacturer or an advertiser via a long distance network. Figure 7A is a system for downloading promotions to a portable device 201 over the Internet. Different computers (for example, computers 701 and 703) are connected via the Internet 706 to different servers that provide product information and promotions, in this case, the manufacturer's server 708, the advertiser's server 709, and the shopping data computer 107. Each server 708 and 709, and the shopping data computer 107 is a computer, server, device, and / or software for delivering promotions over the Internet 706. From such promotions include discount coupons, loyalty card accounts, frequent customer cards and / or store credits. Computers 701 and 703, and servers 708 and 709 can be implemented as a computer system such as the computer system shown in Figure 8. In addition, it will be understood that the purchasing data computer 107 in Figure 7A can provide promotions over the Internet 706 by working in association with one or more of the devices shown in Figure 1. In particular, the central computer 101 can be used in combination with or in replacement of the purchasing data computer 107 shown in Figure 7A.

Figure 7B shows the process of entering promotions into the handheld device 201 from the Internet 707. In step 721, the client accesses the website or web page containing promotions using the desktop computer 701. Step 721 typically requires that the client connects to an Internet service provider (ISP) using a telephone modem, cable modem, or identical cable device to obtain a connection to the Internet 706. When connected to the Internet 706 , the client uses a web browser running on the computer 701 to view a web page identified by a URL associated with the manufacturer or another entity offering promotions. The term "URL" is intended to include standard resource names, standard resource identifiers, and their equivalents. The customer may be asked to enter a customer identification code that allows manufacturers to track customers, accessing the URL, and using such tracking information for future promotions and targeted advertisements.

The client consults the web page associated, for example, with the server of the manufacturer's group 708 for promotions and selects the promotions to download downstream in step 723. The client then enters an order in the desktop computer 701 to make downloading the promotions selected in step 723 from the server 708 to the client's desktop computer 701 as in step 725 from the Internet 707. The promotions are then transmitted electronically to the portable device 201 where they are received and stored to start the process shown in FIG. 5. According to one embodiment, the promotions selected from different servers such as the servers 708 and 709, and from the purchasing data computer 107 can be stored in the office computer 701, and then be downloaded to the portable device 201. In addition, the customer can download the promotions in bulk downstream, then review and organize them on the d portable device 201 as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In another embodiment, the client downloads the promotions directly to the portable device 201 without using a desktop computer as shown in FIG. 7C. The portable device 201 used in this embodiment is equipped with a device for accessing the Internet 706 by wireless means. In this embodiment, the interface 217 of the portable device 201 also provides a bidirectional wireless data transmission link 711 with the Internet 706. The transmission link 711 is typically produced by a wireless connection to an ISP. The portable device 701 preferably includes a web browser or other software for communicating over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. By running this software on the handheld device 201, the client accesses the website and views the web page associated with the manufacturer's group server 708 in step 731. For example, the manufacturer's web page is viewed as with the computer 701 described above and promotions are selected to be transmitted electronically to the portable device 201 in step 733. However, in step 735, promotions are then transmitted electronically from the manufacturer's server 708 by means of the link. transmission, wireless 711 directly to the portable device 201 where they are received and stored to begin the process shown in Figure 5. As with the desktop computer 701 described with reference to Figure 7B, promotions can be electronically transmitted directly to the portable device 201 from any one of several servers and / or computers in common or selectively.

The promotions according to the present invention may be accompanied by additional information concerning the manufacturer of the retail item associated with the promotion. For example, promotions transmitted electronically from POS 115 or over the Internet 706 as described above may be accompanied by contact information such as a website, web page, web address (URL) and / or email, for example, that a customer can use to reach the manufacturer of the product associated with the promotion or another entity such as a consumer association, to receive information and / or other promotions. This embodiment can be implemented by storing the additional information in an additional associated sub-area of the areas 311 and 317, for example. As an alternative, the additional information can be delivered to the portable device 201 from the POS 115 on the basis of the customer's purchase history or of a triggering purchase in a manner identical to that of the promotions described above. . In addition, with regard to the transmission of promotions from POS 115 to portable device 201, the additional information received by the customer can also be an electronic receipt for the customer's current purchase transaction. Preferably, the electronic receipt can be downloaded to the client's financial management software, for example Quicken, on a desktop computer such as 801 shown in Figure 8.

Parts of the invention may be practically practiced using conventional universal computers or microprocessors programmed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, as will be appreciated by those familiar with computer technology. Appropriate software can be readily prepared by programmers with normal qualifications based on the teachings of this discovery, as those familiar with software technique will appreciate.

FIG. 8 represents a computer system 801 on which an embodiment according to the present invention can be implemented. The computer system 801 includes a bus 803 or other communication mechanism for transmitting information, and a processor 805 coupled to the bus 803 for processing information. The computer system 801 also comprises a main memory 807, such as a random access memory (RAM) or another dynamic random access memory (for example, a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous DRAM ( SDRAM), a Flash RAM)), coupled to the bus 803 to store information and instructions to be executed by the processor 805. In addition, the main memory 807 can be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processor 805. The computer system 801 also comprises a read-only memory (ROM) 809 or another static random access memory (for example, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), and an electrically erasable and programmable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus 803 to store static information and instructions for the processor 805. An information medium 811, such as a magnetic disk or a optical disc, is provided and coupled to bus 803 to store information and instructions.

The computer system 801 can also include special purpose logic devices (for example, specific application integrated circuits (ASIC)) or configurable logic devices (for example, a generic logic network (GAL) or reprogrammable gate networks on site (FPGA)). Other removable media devices (for example, compact disc, tape, and removable magneto-optical media) or fixed media, high density media players, can be added to the 801 computer system using a bus appropriate peripheral devices (for example, an interface bus for small computer systems (SCSI), an integrated device electronics bus (IDE), or a direct memory access bus (DMA)). The computer system 801 may further comprise a compact disc player, a compact disc reader / writer, or a compact disc jukebox, each of which can be connected to the same peripheral bus or to another peripheral bus -.

The computer system 801 can be coupled via the bus 803 to a screen 813, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), to display information for the user of a computer. The screen 813 can be controlled by a display or graphic card. The computer system includes input devices, such as a keyboard 815 and a cursor command 817, for transmitting information and command selections to processor 805. The cursor command 817, for example, is a mouse, a trackball, or cursor movement keys for transmitting direction information and command selections to processor 805 and for controlling movement of the cursor on screen 813. In addition, a printer can provide printed lists of structures data shown in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C or any other data stored and / or generated by the computer system 801.

The computer system 801 executes part or all of the processing steps of the invention in response to the processor 805 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, such as the main memory 807. Such instructions can be read in main memory 807 from another computer-readable medium, such as information medium 811. One or more processors in a multiprocessing configuration can also be used to execute the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 807 In alternative embodiments, a wired circuit may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Thus, the embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of the hardware circuit and the software.

As indicated above, the system 801 comprises at least one computer-readable medium or a memory programmed according to the teachings of the invention and to contain data structures, tables, records, or other data described here. The present invention, stored on a computer-readable medium or on a combination of such media, comprises software for controlling the computer system 801, for controlling one or more peripherals in order to implement the invention, and for enabling the computer system 801 to interact with a user, for example, a client. Such software can include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and application software. Such machine-readable media further includes the computer program product of the present invention for performing all or part (if the processing is distributed) of the processing performed by implementing the invention.

The machine code peripherals of the present invention can be any interpreted or executable code mechanism, including, but not limited to, scenarios, interpreters, dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and full programs executables. In addition, parts of the processing of the present invention can be dispensed to improve performance, reliability and / or cost.

The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein applies to any medium involved in issuing instructions to the processor 805 for their execution. Computer readable media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the 811 data medium. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the main 807 memory. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wires, and optical fibers, including wires belonging to bus 803. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light signals, such as those generated during radio and data transmission infrared.

Common forms of machine-readable media include, for example, hard disks, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, EPROM Flash) DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or n any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g. CD-ROM), or any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, or other physical medium with hole patterns, a wave carrier (described below), or any other medium from which the computer can read.

Various forms of machine-readable media can be involved in transmitting one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 805 for execution. For example, instructions may be initially saved to a magnetic disk on a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions to remotely implement all or part of the present invention in dynamic memory and transmit the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem connected to a computer system 801 can receive data over the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data into an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to the bus 803 can receive the data transported in the infrared signal and place the data on the bus 803. The bus 803 transports the data to the main memory 807, from which the processor 805 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by the main memory 807 can optionally be stored on the information medium 811 either before or after their execution by the processor 805.

The computer system 801 also includes a communication interface 819 coupled to the bus 803. The communication interface 819 performs bidirectional data transmission coupling with a network link 821 which is connected to a local network (for example, LAN 823) . For example, the communication interface 819 can be a network interface card to be connected to any packet switched local area network (LAN). As another example, the communication interface 819 can be an asymmetric digital subscriber line card (ADSL), an integrated services digital network card (RNSI) or a modem to make a data transmission connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. Wireless links can also be implemented. In such an implementation, the communication interface 819 transmits and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals which transport streams of digital data representing different types of information.

Network link 821 typically performs data transmission over one or more networks with other data devices. For example, network link 821 may establish a connection via LAN 823 with a central computer 825 or with data equipment operated by a service provider, which provides data transmission services through '' an 827 IP (Internet Protocol) network (e.g. Internet 607). LAN 823 and IP 827 both use electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry streams of digital data. The signals flowing in the various networks and the signals on the network link 821 and in the communication interface 819, which carry digital data to and from the computer system 801, are examples of carrier waveforms transporting information. . The computer system 801 can transmit notifications and receive data, including a program code, by the network or networks; the network link 821 and the communication interface 819.

It is obvious that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It will therefore be understood that the invention, in the field of the appended claims, can be put into practice other than what is specifically described here.

Claims (73)

1. Method comprising the steps of: receiving promotions to a portable electronic device; storing said promotions in said portable electronic device; and electronically transmitting said promotions from said portable device to a first point of sale (POS) at the time of a customer transaction in a retail store. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of receiving promotions comprises electronically receiving said promotions from a second POS at said portable device during a previous transaction from the client. 3. Method according to claim 2, wherein said first and second POS are the same POS. The method of claim 2, further comprising: providing a client identifier to said second POS at the time of said previous transaction from the client, wherein said promotions received from said second POS are based on said client identifier. 5. The method of claim 2, wherein said promotions received from said second POS are based on trigger items purchased during said previous transaction from the customer. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving promotions includes receiving said promotions from a long distance network to said portable device. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of receiving said promotions from a long distance network to said portable device comprises receiving said promotions from the Internet to said portable device. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of receiving said promotions from the Internet to said portable device comprises: downloading said promotions from the Internet to a desktop computer wired to the Internet; and electronically receiving said promotions from said desktop computer to said portable device. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of receiving said promotions from the Internet to said portable device comprises electronically receiving said promotions directly to said portable device via a wireless Internet telecommunications link to said portable device . The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving in said portable device additional information regarding the customer products. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said additional information comprises one of a URL and an e-mail address associated with an entity for providing other information relating to said customer products. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said promotion comprises an advertisement relating to said customer products. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said advertisement comprises audio and video data, said video data being displayed on a screen of said portable device. "I 14. The method of claim 10, wherein said additional information comprises a purchase receipt associated with a purchase transaction, wherein said purchase receipt can be downloaded from said portable device to said computer system comprising software for managing money used by said client. 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving in said portable electronic device a customer identifier associated with said retail store; storing said client identifier in said portable electronic device; and electronically transmitting said customer identifier from said portable device to a point of sale (POS) at the time of said customer transaction. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving in said portable device a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each retail store identifier having a corresponding client identifier associated with a client; storing said plurality of retail store identifiers and corresponding customer identifiers in said portable device; and electronically transmitting said plurality of retail store identifiers and associated customer identifiers from said portable device to said POS at the time of said customer transaction; wherein said promotions received at said portable device are based on said customer identifier associated with said customer. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of electronically transmitting said promotions from said portable device to said POS at the time of a customer transaction comprises electronically transmitting promotions from said portable device to said POS via one of wired media and wireless media. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving promotions includes electronically receiving promotions via one of a wired medium and a wireless medium. 19. Machine readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a portable device, which, when executed by the portable device, cause the portable device to perform the steps in the method described in any one of claims 1 to 18. 20. Portable device comprising: a memory containing data relating to the management of promotions; and a processor communicating with said memory, said processor being configured to: receive promotions; storing said promotions in said memory; and electronically transmitting said promotions from said portable device to a first point of sale (POS) at the time of a customer transaction in a retail store. 21. A portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to receive promotions by electronically receiving said promotions from a second POS at said portable device during a previous transaction of the client. 22. Portable device according to claim 21, wherein said first and second POS are the same POS. 23. The portable device according to claim 21, wherein said processor is further configured to deliver a client identifier to said second POS at the time of said previous client transaction, wherein said promotions received from said second POS are based on said client identifier . 24. The portable device according to claim 21, wherein said promotions received from said second POS are based on trigger items purchased during said previous transaction from the customer. 25. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to receive said promotions from a long distance network. 26. The portable device of claim 25, wherein said processor is configured to receive said promotions from the Internet. 27. The portable device of claim 26, wherein said promotions are downloaded from the Internet to a desktop computer wired to the Internet; and said processor is configured to receive said promotions electronically from said desktop computer. <0 28. The portable device of claim 26, wherein said processor is configured to receive said promotions electronically directly from said portable device via a wireless telecommunications link from the Internet. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is further configured to receive additional information regarding products from the customer. * 30. The portable device of claim 29, wherein said additional information includes one of a URL and an email address associated with an entity for providing other information regarding said customer's products. 31. A portable device according to claim 20, in which said promotion comprises an advertisement which comprises audio and video data relating to said customer's products, and in which said processor is configured to: display said video data on a screen of said portable device, and play said audio on said portable device. The portable device according to claim 29, wherein said additional information includes a purchase receipt associated with a purchase transaction, wherein said processor is configured to download said purchase receipt from said portable device to a computer system comprising a money management software used by said client. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is further configured to: receive a customer identifier associated with said retail store; storing said client identifier in said memory; and 0 electronically transmitting said customer identifier from said portable device to a point of sale (POS) at the time of said customer transaction. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is further configured to: receive a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each retail store identifier having a corresponding client identifier associated with a client; storing said plurality of retail store identifiers and corresponding customer identifiers in said memory; and electronically transmitting said plurality of retail store identifiers and associated customer identifiers from said portable device to said POS at the time of said customer transaction; wherein said promotions received at said portable device are based on said customer identifier associated with said customer. 35. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to electronically transmit promotions from said portable device to said POS via one of a wired medium and a wireless medium. 36. The portable device according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to receive said promotions electronically via one of a wired medium and a wireless medium. 37. A portable electronic device comprising: means for receiving promotions to said portable device; means for storing said promotions in said portable electronic device; and means for electronically transmitting said promotions from said portable device to a first point of sale (POS) at the time of a customer transaction in a retail store. 38. Portable device according to claim 37, in which said promotions are received from a second POS during a previous transaction from the client, said portable device further comprises means for delivering a client identifier to said second POS at the time of said previous transaction. from the customer, and said promotions received from said second POS are based on said customer identifier. 39. A portable device according to claim 37, wherein said means for receiving said promotions from said portable device comprises: downloading said promotions from the Internet to a desktop computer wired to the Internet; and electronically receiving said promotions from said desktop computer to said portable device. 40. A portable device according to claim 37, further comprising means for receiving in said portable device additional information concerning products of the client. 41. The portable device according to claim 37, further comprising: means for receiving in said portable electronic device a customer identifier associated with said retail store; means for storing said customer identifier in said portable electronic device; and means for electronically transmitting said customer identifier from said portable device to a point of sale (POS) at the time of said customer transaction. 42. A portable device according to claim 37, further comprising: means for receiving in said portable device a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each retail store identifier having a corresponding client identifier associated with a client; means for storing said plurality of retail store identifiers and corresponding customer identifiers in said portable device; and means for electronically transmitting said plurality of retail store identifiers and associated customer identifiers from said portable device to said POS at the time of said customer transaction; wherein said promotions received at said portable device are based on said customer identifier associated with said customer. 43. A method comprising: initializing a computer associated with a retail store; determining promotions to offer to a client; the electronic transmission of said specific promotions from said computer to a portable device at the time of a customer transaction. 44. The method according to claim 43, wherein said initialization step comprises notification to said computer when said portable device is interfaced to said computer. 45. The method of claim 44, wherein the step of notifying comprises one of: automatic notification to said computer when a signal connection is established between said portable device and a device associated with said computer, and manual notification to said computer when said signal connection is established. 46. The method of claim 43, wherein said step of determining promotions comprises; receiving a client identifier associated with said client at said computer; and electronically transmitting predetermined promotions associated with said client identifier from said computer to said portable device. The method of claim 43, further comprising: electronically receiving from said portable device at said computer a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each retail store identifier having a corresponding customer identifier associated with a customer; and determining in said computer a particular customer identifier associated with said retail store in which the computer is located, wherein said promotions transmitted electronically from said computer to said portable device are based on the determined particular customer identifier. 48. The method of claim 43, wherein said step of determining promotions includes: monitoring items purchased by said customer during said customer transaction; detection of triggering articles among said controlled purchased articles; and electronically transmitting promotions from said computer to said portable device based on said detected trigger articles. 49. The method of claim 43, wherein said step of electronically transmitting said detected promotions from said computer to said portable device comprises electronically transmitting promotions from said computer to said portable device via one of a wired medium and a wireless medium thread. 50. The method of claim 43, further comprising the step of electronically transmitting additional information relating to a product for which said promotion is intended. 51. The method of claim 50, wherein said step of electronically transmitting additional information comprises electronically transmitting one of a URL and an email address associated with an entity to provide other information regarding said product. 52. The method of claim 43, wherein said step of electronically transmitting a particular promotion comprises electronically transmitting an advertisement to said portable device, said advertisement comprising at least one of moving audio, text and video data. . 53. The method of claim 43, further comprising the step of: transmitting electronically from said computer to said portable device, a purchase receipt, wherein said purchase receipt can be downloaded from said portable device to a computer system comprising a money management software used by said client. 54. Computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a portable device, which when executed by the portable device, cause the portable device to perform the steps in the method described in any one of claims 43 to 53. 55. A system associated with a retail store, comprising: a memory containing data relating to promotions; and a processor in communication with said memory, said processor being configured to: initialize said system; determine promotions to offer to a client; electronically transmit said promotions determined from said system to a portable device at the time of a customer transaction. 56. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor is configured to initialize said system by notifying said system when said portable device is interfaced with said system. The system of claim 56, wherein said processor is configured to notify said system: by automatically notifying said system when a signal connection is established between said portable device and a device associated with said system, or by manually notifying said system when the signal connection is established. 58. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor determines promotions: by receiving a client identifier associated with said client; and electronically transmitting predetermined promotions associated with said customer identifier to said portable device. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor is further configured to: electronically receive a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each retail store identifier having a corresponding client identifier associated with said client; and determining a particular customer identifier associated with said retail store with which the system is associated, wherein said promotions, transmitted electronically from said system to said portable device are based on the determined particular customer identifier. 60. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor is configured to determine promotions in; controlling items purchased by said customer during said customer transaction; detecting the triggering articles among said controlled purchased articles; and electronically transmitting promotions from said system to said portable device based on said detected trigger articles. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor electronically transmits said detected promotions from said system to said portable device by electronically transmitting promotions from said system to said portable device via one of a wired medium and a wireless medium. 62. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor is further configured to electronically transmit additional information regarding a product for which said promotion is intended. 63. The system of claim 62, wherein said processor is configured to electronically transmit additional information by electronically transmitting one of a URL and an email address associated with an entity to provide other information regarding said product. 64. The system of claim 55, wherein said processor is configured to electronically transmit a specific promotion by electronically transmitting an advertisement to said portable device. 65. The system of claim 64, wherein said processor is configured to electronically transmit an advertisement to said portable device by transmitting data comprising at least one of moving audio, text, and video data. 66. The system of claim 62, wherein said processor is further configured to: electronically transmit to said portable device a purchase receipt, wherein said purchase receipt can be downloaded from said portable device to a computer system comprising software money management used by said client 67. A system associated with a retail store comprising: means for initializing said system; means for determining promotions to offer to a client; means for electronically transmitting said determined promotions from said system to a portable device at the time of a customer transaction. 68. The system of claim 67, wherein said initialization means comprises one of: means for automatically notifying said computer when a signal connection is established between said portable device and a device associated with said computer, and means for manually notifying to said computer when the signal connection is established. 69. The system of claim 67, wherein said means for determining promotions includes: means for receiving a client identifier associated with said client at said computer; and means for electronically transmitting predetermined promotions associated with said client identifier from said computer to said portable device. 70. The system of claim 67, further comprising: means for electronically receiving from said portable device at said computer a plurality of retail store identifiers comprising a retail store identifier associated with said retail store, each store identifier, pr retail having a corresponding customer identifier associated with said customer; and means for determining in said computer a particular customer identifier associated with said retail store with which the system is associated, wherein said promotions transmitted electronically from said system to said portable device are based on the determined particular customer identifier. The system of claim 67, wherein said means for determining promotions includes: means for monitoring items purchased by said customer during said customer transaction; means for detecting trigger items among said controlled purchased items; and means for electronically transmitting promotions from said computer to said portable device based on said detected trigger articles. 72. The system of claim 71, further comprising means for electronically transmitting additional information including one of a URL and an email address associated with an entity to provide other information regarding said product. 73. The system of claim 67, further comprising: electronically transmitting from said computer to said portable device a purchase receipt, wherein said purchase receipt can be downloaded from said portable device to a computer system comprising management software of money used by said client.