CN1267381A - Method and system for selling supplemental products at point of sale - Google Patents

Abstract

A point-of-sale system automatically processes a credit towards a pre-registered upsell along with a conventional transaction. The system receives an identifier pursuant to the transaction which is used to determine the pre-registered upsell and instructions for adjusting a purchase price from the transaction to provide the upsell credit. The instructions may direct, for example, that the purchase price be rounded up, that a predetermined amount be added thereon, or that the purchase price be adjusted to equal an actual value tendered. The upsell credit, determined as the difference between the purchase price and the adjusted purchase price, may be accumulated over multiple transactions, or immediately applied to purchase the upsell.

Description

Method and system for selling upsell products at point of sale

This application is a continuation-in-part of pending patent application Ser. No. 08/920,116, filed August 26, 1997, entitled "Method and System for Upselling at a Point-of-Sale Terminal," which is Continuation-in-Part of pending patent application Ser. No. 08/822,709, filed March 21, 1997, entitled "System and Method for Lottery Transactions Utilizing Point-of-Sale Terminals," each of which is hereby Introduced for reference. Cross-references to related pending patent applications

This invention is related to the following co-pending U.S. patent applications:

U.S. Patent Application No. 09/045,036 by Jay S. Walker et al., entitled "Method and Apparatus for Facilitating Certain Lottery Activities Using Point-of-Sale Terminals"; Andrew S. Andrew S. Van Luchene, U.S. Patent Application No. 09/045,518, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Selling Upsell Products at a Point-of-Sale Terminal"; Joe S. Walker et al. Patent Application No. 09/045,386, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Controlling the Upsurge Process at a Point-of-Sale Terminal"; U.S. Patent Application No. 09/045,347 to Dean Alderucci et al. for "Method and Apparatus for Upselling at a Point-of-Sale Terminal"; and Andrew S. Product method and device" patent application. Each application was filed on March 20, 1998 and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Each application is hereby incorporated by reference.

field of invention

The present invention relates generally to point-of-sale terminals, and more particularly to systems and methods for processing change at point-of-sale terminals.

Background of the invention

Point-of-sale (POS) terminals, such as cash registers, are used in a variety of commercial activities to calculate the total price of a customer's purchases (goods or services) and the total amount of change due. Depending on its level of sophistication, such POS terminals can be further used to perform functions such as inventory management and credit card transaction aspects. In addition, the POS terminal may also have other functions, such as a quotation system, providing sales quotations and/or prompting operators to conduct transactions there and provide sales quotations to customers. For example, such a quoting system can be used to provide upsell products or services to customers and increase sales for operators. Such sales offers help to increase the average profit per transaction recognized by the operator.

One quotation system is described in the aforementioned parent application, Patent Application No. 08/920,116, filed August 26, 1997 by Walker, entitled "Method and System for Upselling Products at Point-of-Sale Terminals" application. As described therein, a customer is offered a "upsell" at a POS terminal in exchange for due change. In the cited application, the POS terminal is capable of determining the amount of change due to the customer and offering the customer an "upsell" in lieu of the amount of change due to the customer. For example, a customer who buys a $1.74 product and pays $2.00 should get back $0.26. In operation, the offer system determines one or more "upsells" to reimburse the customer in lieu of the $0.26 in change. The upsell price, which is $0.26, therefore depends on the purchase price of $1.74 and the total amount paid by the customer of $2.00. The upsell itself is selected based on different parameters including, for example, the relationship to the product or service being purchased and the seller's margin.

Another quotation system is the "prompt sale" determined by the computer. US Patent No. 5,353,219 describes a system for recommending an item to a customer for shopping at an existing item price.

As mentioned above, there are many different criteria for selecting an upsell offer to a customer. For example, in a fast food restaurant, the offering to the customer may include food, which increases the cost of these food items less to the owner. And in a pharmacy, offerings to customers might include samples, coupons, or other items appropriate for a particular store. Specifically, the option to offer upsell is based on a pre-determined plan or at the hands of a manager or other operator.

The Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. EVEM IT UP program, operated in conjunction with the Salvation Army, provides a system whereby the Nicki Dix customers have the option to turn any change they earn from their purchases into a donation to the Salvation Army. Funds were channeled directly into the "mean" scheme and distributed by the Salvation Army as food vouchers to the poor. Pay off food vouchers with nutritious perishables at Winnie the Dix stores. However, the "average" plan, which is noble in nature, is strictly limited in function, offering only one opportunity to use the customer's change. This use is a charitable contribution to The Salvation Army and the customer is not given the opportunity to use the change in their favor other than to receive cash in the normal manner.

U.S. Patent No. 5,621,640 to Burke describes a point-of-sale system, including a cash register, where pre-established accounts are used to collect change due from customers and distribute change proportionally to selected charities. These charities are first selected by customers, and accounts are established for each of the customer-selected charities. These accounts are identified by cards issued to customers.

When a purchase is made at an eligible point-of-sale terminal, the customer's change entitlement is calculated and the customer indicates whether he would like to receive the change or donate the entitlement to a pre-established charity. When the customer wants to give change directly to the charity, he inserts the card into the card reader and enters data such as the customer identification number indicating that the change should be given directly to the charity. The point-of-sale system then kicks in automatically, distributing the change to the charity through pre-established accounts. Change can be distributed instantly to the charity or collected in the account with change from other donors until the minimum donation amount is reached. This minimum donation is then transferred to a third-party bank or charity.

US Patent No. 5,302,811 to Fukasu shows a point-of-sale system incorporating many automated features in processing credit card, banknote, and coin transactions. As one of the features, customers have the option to have change earned from transactions deposited onto the prepaid card. Funds collected on any prepaid card can be used to pay for transactions at the point of sale system. The system may further provide for depositing change into a pre-established account authenticated by a credit or cash card read by the point-of-sale system. When offering customers alternative methods of accepting change, only provide a single method, such as accepting currency advances only.

Often, distributing and disposing of change is not always welcome for all parties involved. This is an expensive burden for the seller, costing more than the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for some large sales. For these customers, it is not what they want. Mintage is often considered to harbor unhealthy germs, while at the same time being considered to be of extremely low value compared to handling manufacturing costs. Also, many banks typically charge a fee for counting and converting coins to credit cards or banknotes.

Winnie-Dix, Burke and Fukasu systems are limited to providing change payable in the form of a credit card or credit account. Walker system, as the most flexible and useful system in the system, makes further progress on how to effectively and usefully provide both customers and POS operators to process transactions, especially systems and methods for receiving and processing payments at POS terminals developmental thinking.

In conclusion, a system and method for flexible processing of payment for transactions at a POS terminal is highly desirable.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method by which a customer can pre-register instructions to perform a transaction at a POS terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method that enables a seller to provide a buyer with upscaling goods and services during a transaction in accordance with the buyer's pre-registered instructions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method and apparatus for conducting a transaction are provided. The method includes the steps of: receiving an identifier for a customer account; determining an upsell associated with the identifier, the latter having a purchase price; and determining an upsell prepayment to which the upsell price applies.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method and system for conducting transactions is provided. The method consists of the steps of: receiving an identifier for a customer account; determining an upsell associated with the identifier; determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with the identifier; determining an indication associated with the identifier , to adjust the purchase price to provide an adjusted purchase price that includes an upsell upfront.

Brief description of the drawings

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to the reader upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, read in conjunction with the illustrations.

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the point-of-sale system of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing details of the store controller in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary implementation of the POS recorder of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an alternative embodiment of the POS recorder of Figure 1;

Fig. 5 is a table representing the sampling content of the old customer account database in Fig. 2;

FIG. 6 is a table showing the sampled contents of the selected upsell product sales database in FIG. 2;

Fig. 7 is a table representing sampled content in the transaction database in Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a table showing sample contents in the upsell product sales database purchased in Fig. 2;

Figure 9 is an overview representing the upsell registration, transaction and delivery process of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 10A-10B together constitute a flow chart of the process of renewing product sales for regular customer registration;

Figures 11A-11C together form a flowchart showing the process of conducting a transaction for a repeat customer with registered upsells;

Figure 12 shows a flow diagram of the process of reimbursement for upsells;

Figure 13 shows a flow diagram of the process of converting the upsell monetary value into a service prepayment;

Figure 14 shows a plan view of a printed record receipt containing customer data of the present invention; and

Figures 15 to 17 show plan views of other embodiments of the invention for printed record receipts containing customer data.

Detailed description of the invention

The above-mentioned Walker's previous patent cases provide various systems and methods for upselling products, and the present invention complements these systems and methods with the invention of processing currency accompanying transactions according to pre-registered instructions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system and method for enabling customers to buy and sellers to sell upsell products through pre-registered auto-execution instructions and transactions at a POS system. For example, such POS systems include the types used in retail stores such as supermarkets and drug stores. Such instructions are typically used to identify products or services that are sold as upsells, and instructions for adding advances applicable on upsells to adjust the purchase price.

We can see many different applications of the invention. For ease of illustration, the present invention is described herein as a POS system for use in a grocery store or supermarket. In this kind of supermarket, joining the regular customer program is encouraged as a reward for customers, and the membership of this program is confirmed by the identifier of the regular customer account, such as the ID number. This loyalty program is well known in the industry and encourages customers to make multiple transactions in exchange for rewards offered by the store. Herein, the words "customer" and "shopper" are used interchangeably when referring to a "buyer."

The term "upsell" is used here to mean that upsells are usually identified during a pre-registration process, for which customers can pay with their existing shopping methods at the time of the transaction. Upsells can be "instant," which means purchased during a transaction, or "accumulated," which means purchased through funds accumulated over multiple individual transactions. As used herein, the terms "goods" and "products" include both goods and services.

The term "rounded up amount" is used here to indicate that a certain amount of cash is added to the purchase price so that the purchase price is raised to a larger denomination, for example, a rounded up coin or note denomination multiple. The term "rounded price" consists of the sum of the purchase price and the rounded-up amount. The term "rounding multiple" consists of a multiple of a particular cash note amount and is selected as the rounding price.

The term "rolling prepaid purchase total" means the customer-identified value added to any purchase price, the total of which may be optionally rounded up to a larger ticket value. The term "change due" refers to the difference between the purchase price and the price paid by the purchaser, which is returned to the purchaser as "change" in an existing transaction.

The term "adjusted price" is used to describe a purchase price determined by a rounded-up amount (which in this case is equivalent to the rounded price), the total of multiple prepaid purchases, or the total amount of change due. The term "upsell prepaid" is used to describe the adjusted price total applicable to the upsell price; additionally, may refer to an amount rounded up, cumulative prepaid purchase totals, or change due. The use of the above terms will be further explained by the description of the various diagrams below.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a POS system 10 includes a centrally located store controller 12 interconnected in conventional fashion with POS registers 14, 16, 18, which are also referred to in the industry as "cash registers." and "POS terminal". Many such systems 10 are commercially available and known to those in the art, including, for example, the system sold by IBM, the Panasonic National Cash Register, and the like. The interconnection between the controller 12 and the POS recorders 14, 16, 18 consists of a suitable communication channel, such as a local area network (LAN) (wired or wireless), radio frequency system, mobile radio system, or the like. Although only three POS registers are shown associated with a single store controller, many such registers could be used and the functions of the controller distributed among multiple store controllers in a straightforward manner.

Referring next to FIG. 2, the store controller 12 consists of an existing computer system provided by a POS system, for example, an IBM ^RS2000® web server, or an ^ALPHA® web server provided by Digital Equipment Corporation, which can be A programming operation is performed according to the present invention. The store controller 12 is seen to include a central processing unit (CPU) 20 coupled to a storage device 22 and a communication interface 24 . CPU 20 consists of an existing microprocessor, such as Intel's ^PENTIUM® , Data Equipment Corporation's ^ALPHA® or IBM's ^POWERPC® compatible microprocessor, depending on the computer system chosen.

Memory 22 is comprised of suitable arrangements of magnetic, semiconductor, and/or optical storage elements, many of which are well known in the art. The selected communication interface 24 is compatible with the above-mentioned communication media, for example, consists of a LAN card connected to an existing LAN network or an existing cellular interface supporting mobile communications.

According to the present invention, the storage device 22 of the store controller 12 can store four databases including: a frequent customer account database 50, an upsell database 60, a transaction database 70 and a purchased upsell database 80. Also included in the memory device 22 is an upsell control program 90 which functionally operates the store controller 12 in the form of computer software executed according to the processes shown and described hereinafter.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of the POS recorder 14 includes connecting a processor 31 to: an input device 32, such as a numeric keypad; and a display device 33, such as a light emitting diode display (LED), liquid crystal display (LCD) or video display; a printer 34; a storage device 35, including the POS control program 36; and a communication device 37, such as a card for connecting the POS recorder to the store controller 12 LAN card. It will be appreciated that while an exemplary embodiment has been shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, there are many different, detailed POS recorder embodiments that will be familiar to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 4, according to the present invention, an alternative scheme of POS recorder 40 includes all the components of POS recorder 14 described above, and is connected to a coupon controller 42 to print and distribute coupons. coupon. The controller 42 includes a processor 44 consisting of conventional processors of the type described above and is connected to a printer 45 and storage device 46 consisting of an upsell coupon control program 47 .

POS registers 14 (FIG. 3) and 40 (FIG. 4) provide substantially the same functionality for implementing the present invention, with the latter being more flexible in operation. That is, the printer 45 in the coupon controller 42 is dedicated to printing coupons or receipts associated with the present invention. Furthermore, data related to issuing and/or printing coupons is stored in storage device 46, providing quick and easy access for using and updating such data. The present invention contemplates maintaining data in storage device 46 by various systems, including coupon controller 42 . Not to mention, the use of coupon printers is well known in the industry. For example, a system for processing grocery coupons as provided by Catalina Inc.

For ease of illustration and explanation, the present invention takes three software programs as examples, that is, the upsell program 90 (FIG. 2), the POS control program 36 (FIG. 3), and the upsell coupon control program 47 (FIG. 4). In practice, the various functions of the programs described below can be assigned to various systems and programs in various ways that will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention is not limited to specific software or data executing on a specific system. In an alternative implementation of the present invention, the functions and features of central controller 12 may be incorporated in one or more POS recorders.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the tabular display of the frequent customer account database 50 includes a specific date column 52, six records 5A to 54F, and each record includes seven columns 56A-56G. Columns 56A-G include data identifying repeat customers, their selected upsells, account prepayment, these in turn include: the repeat customer number column 56A consists of a unique identifier assigned to each repeat customer account, a name column 56B includes The customer's name; an address field 56C containing the customer's address; a registered upsell code field 56D containing a code identifying the customer's selected upsell; an upsell purchase price field 56E containing the customer's selected upsell an account balance column 56F representing the balance increase of the selected upsell purchase price 56E on form date 52; and an upsell instruction column 56G for storing customer-specified instructions to determine the value of the selected upsell purchase price 56E on form date 52; Increased upsell amount.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the upsell instruction 56G of record 54A determines the rounding multiple (RM) of $1.00 and indicates that in each customer transaction, the purchase price is rounded up to the nearest whole dollar amount. Record 54B includes a similar upsell indication. Record 54C includes an upsell instruction for determining the $2.00 reorder amount and indicates that the $2.00 reorder amount is to be added to the purchase price. Record 54D represents the total collected and prepaid for the upsell, which is the same as the customer's due change (CD) total. Record 54E indicates that a cumulative prepaid purchase amount of $2.00 is to be added to the purchase price. Record 54F includes rounding multiples of $5.00, indicating that the purchase price is rounded to the nearest dollar multiple of $5.00 (such as $5.00, $10.00, $15.00, etc.).

We can notice that the amount of multiple prepaid purchases involves repeated upsells. As each record of 54C, the price of upsells here is $5.00, and it is also an immediate upsell. In record 54E, here is according to Upsells constitute frequent flyer miles. The difference between the cumulative prepaid purchase amount and the rounding multiple is: when the rounding multiple is used, the purchase price is rounded up to the nearest multiple of the selected rounding multiple. However, when the amount of repeated purchases is used, the amount of repeated purchases is added to the purchase price, and then optionally rounded up to an integer.

Rounding multiples of $X.00 (for example, the price of the selected "X dollar", which can be an integer or a zero dollar value), means that the purchase price is rounded up to $X.00 greater than the purchase price to the nearest multiple of . For example, if the rounding multiple RM=$2.00, the price will be rounded up to $2.00 if the price is between 0-$1.99; the price will be rounded up to $4.00 if the price is between $2.01-3.99; the price will be rounded up to $6.00 if the price is between $4.01-5.99 wait. It will be appreciated that this need not be limited to rounded dollar amounts, but in terms of coin values (e.g., rounded up to the nearest $0.25 or $0.50), or larger bill denominations (such as $10.00, $20.00, etc.), for those in the industry many other The rounding scheme and formula for is obvious.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the upsell database 60 includes data corresponding to available upsells and includes six records 60A-60F, each of which includes three columns: an upsell code column 62A includes the Each available upsell has a unique identifier associated with it and data corresponding to the upsell code 56D registered in the repeat customer account database 50, a description 62B of each upsell, and a description of each upsell 62B. The upsell purchase price 62C corresponds to the data in the upsell purchase price column 56E in the regular customer account database 50 .

As can be seen from FIG. 7, the transaction database 70 includes data relating to transactions performed at each of the different POS recorders 14,16,18. More specifically, each entry form in the transaction database 70 includes specific data for a particular patron identifier in a particular transaction. In the detection header 72 in the database, we can see that the illustrated table includes the transaction data of the regular customer's identifier 72A, in a specific store 72B, there is a transaction number 72C assigned by the POS system 10, and a specific POS recorder 72D and a specific date 72E. From the returning customer's identifier #123461, we can see that the transaction shown here corresponds to "Phil Johnson," as can be confirmed from record 54F in the returning customer account database 50 (FIG. 5). Other similar tables (not shown) in transaction database 70 contain other transaction-specific data.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 7, in the transaction identified above, it can be seen that the database 70 includes two records 74A-74B, each of which in turn includes four columns 76A-- 70D. Specifically, in each of the records 74A, B, there is an item code column 76A, which contains a unique identifier for each shopping item; a description column 76B, which contains a description of each shopping item; Price 76C, which includes the price of each shopping item; and Subtotal column 76D, which contains a subtotal of shopping expenses. Tax entry 78 includes a calculation of taxes reflected in price and subtotal columns 76C and 76D, respectively. The adjusted price entry 79 includes an adjusted price, where there is a rounded price 79A collected from the customer (in this example $5.00), and a rounded price 79A and the tax-included purchase price (in this example The difference between the middle is $3.74) equal to the amount 79B rounded up to an integer. Upsell product sales prepayment, here is the total amount 79B adjusted to an integer, consisting of 5.00-3.74=$1.26.

Adjusted price 79A is the price adjusted to an integer in this case, it can be seen that it is a function of the real purchase price of the commodity and/or service selected by the customer, and is based on the make-up in the old customer account database 50 (Figure 5). Modified by product sales instructions.

In the illustrated embodiment, rounded prices are calculated from upsell indication column 56G in 54F (FIG. 5) and indicated as rounded multiples of $5.00. Taking $5.00 in this case as an example, the transaction subtotal of $3.74 is therefore rounded up to the nearest multiple of $5.00 based on the rounding multiple of $5.00, which is higher than the purchase price. For example, if a cumulative prepaid purchase amount of $2.00 is pre-registered, then $2.00 is added to the transaction subtotal of $3.74 to bill the customer as an adjusted price of $5.74. For example, if a "change due" instruction has been registered on the upsell instruction, the adjusted price will be the money paid, and the upsell advance is the sum of the purchase price and the money paid by the shopper. The difference between the prices is equal.

In FIG. 8, the purchase price database 80 includes data for determining that the upsell has been fully paid off by the customer and is available for delivery to the customer for use. Purchased upsells include items that the customer actually owns (such as merchandise delivered), items that the customer can use immediately (such as earned phone time prepaid on an account), and items that the customer has the right to dispose of.

It can also be seen from FIG. 8 that the sales database 80 for supplementary purchases includes four records 84A-84D, and each record includes four columns 86A-86D. The code number field 86A includes a code that uniquely identifies that each upsell has been fully paid for and that needs to be generated by the POS system as a specific transaction. The immediate date column 86B includes the transaction date when the upsell purchase price was reached or exceeded, and the transaction number column 86C includes the associated transaction number 72C from the transaction database 70 . The upsell number 86D identifies the upsell, as in column 62A in the upsell database 60 .

Referring now to FIG. 9, an overview 900 of an upsell process in accordance with the present invention includes a registration subroutine 900A, a transaction subroutine 900B, and a delivery or reimbursement subroutine 900C. In step 92 of the registration subroutine, the customer is described herein as a regular customer registrant for upsells. The details of this registration sub-journey are shown in Fig. 10A-B.

According to the transaction subroutine 900B, when shopping in a supermarket, the customer starts a transaction (step 94) at the POS recorder; as purchasing commodities and the like. The function of the POS system is to determine whether the shopper is a registered frequent customer and has registered an upsell to his frequent customer account (step 96). If the upsell is not registered, the transaction proceeds in the existing manner (step 98). If the upsell is registered, the transaction is performed in connection with the shopper's transaction (step 100).

Continuing with reference to FIG. 9 , to determine whether the transaction associated with the upsell process resulted in a purchase of the upsell (step 102 ), that is: has the upsell been paid in full? If not, then any suitable prepayment may be applied to the upsell account (step 104). We note that upsells can be paid off in several ways, including: accumulating enough upfront payments to cover the price of the upsell; and, where "instant" upsells, such as purchased phone time, will Upsell upsells go directly from transaction to instant merchandise. Here, the transaction process emphasized here is also described with reference to FIGS. 11A-C.

Step 106 of the payoff subroutine 900C determines whether the purchased upsell is an immediate upsell. If so, the offered merchandise and/or upsell credits are converted to service credits as detailed in Figure 13 below. If the purchased upsell is not an immediate upsell, then an appropriate redemption or delivery process begins (step 110) as described in further detail below in FIG. 12 .

Referring now to FIGS. 10A-B , there is shown an upsell registration subroutine 900A of the upsell process 90 ( FIG. 9 ), where repeat customers register to purchase preselected upsells. Preferably, the supplementary product sales registration sub-process 900A is performed through the customer input terminal at the reception desk of the supermarket. Reception desks are typically used by supermarket staff to provide customer services such as regular customer check-in.

In initiating the upsell registration process (step 902), an operator, such as a customer service representative, receives and inputs a customer's request to register for an automatic upsell into the store controller 12 (step 904). For example, such a requirement could be based on an upsell catalog or other advertising material containing information on various upsells available to customers who decide to enroll in the supermarket program.

Determine whether they are registered regular customers (step 906) by asking the customer. If they are not, the necessary regular customer information is received and entered into the central controller 12 (step 908). The returning customer number/identifier generated by the controller 12 is provided to the customer (step 910). Subsequent patron registrations are also simultaneously generated in the patron account database 50, including the patron identifier stored in column 56A (step 912). The newly registered regular customer, like any pre-registered frequent customer determined in step 906, is then offered some selected upsells.

As shown in FIG. 6 upsell database 60, upsells may include fixed price items such as $1.00 lottery tickets (record 60B), toaster ovens (record 60D), prepaid phone cards (record 60C), and others. commodity. Higher-fee, fixed-price items are referred to here as "recurring" upsells, since money must be accumulated through a certain number of transactions in order to purchase these items.

Upsells consist of immediate or "money payable" items such as portions of lottery tickets (record 60A), phone minutes (record 60E), and frequent flier miles (record 60F), A certain amount of return is obtained in each transaction, which depends on the corresponding upfront product sales prepayment, such as the amount adjusted to an integer, the cumulative prepaid purchase amount or the amount of change due (record 60A). Instant upsells such as airtime and/or miles for frequent fliers are credited to pre-registered accounts or provided with instructions for their personal use. Instant upsells also include any other suitable commodity, where any rounded-up amount can be converted into a service.

Another typical type of upsell includes: fast food; related products (such as batteries in an electronic device sale); service contracts for specific products; discounts or prepaid coupons for future purchases; and "impulse buying" commodity. For those in the industry, a virtually myriad of upsell products can be identified and sold based on the transaction specifics at the POS.

With continued reference to FIG. 10B , based on an upsell selected by the customer, eg, upsell code 62A in upsell database 60 , appropriate data is entered into controller 12 (step 916 ). These input data are used to identify upsells in the upsell database 60 and to retrieve information about related upsells. An upsell instruction is then received from the customer, where the customer's choice of the cumulative prepaid purchase amount, rounded up amount, or total change due is added to the purchase fee per transaction to cover the upsell Sale. In the upsell database, the upsell data codes and upsell prices in columns 62A and 62C, as well as received upsell instructions, are entered into corresponding columns 56D, 56E, and 56G of the regular customer account database 50C, respectively (step 920), thereby associating selected upsells with repeat customer information. So far the process ends (step 922). Rejection by the customer of the alternative product sale in step 916 will likewise end the registration process.

Examining Figures 11A-C now, there is shown an upsell transaction subroutine 900B where, in accordance with the present invention, a supermarket transaction includes an upsell transaction. The process typically begins at a POS recorder, such as 14, 16 or 18, and includes data input into the POS recorder, followed by communication with the controller 12, depending on the products purchased during the transaction and the data provided by the customer.

At the beginning of the process (step 924), the operator receives the patron number from the customer and enters it into the POS terminal (step 926). The item code or price is then entered into the POS terminal (step 928), for example by scanning a barcode on the food item. The POS terminal then, in cooperation with the controller 12, calculates a subtotal of the price of the purchased item and creates a transaction record in the transaction database in a well-known manner (step 930). Using the entered frequent customer number to validate the record, the system checks the data in column 56D of the frequent customer database 50 to determine whether the shopper has registered for an upsell (step 934). If there is no registered upsell (step 934) or if the regular customer's code is not entered in step 926 to indicate the regular customer, then the transaction proceeds in its existing form (step 936).

If the shopper is a regular customer who has registered for an upsell, any indication of an upsell associated with the frequent customer number can be retrieved from column 56G of the regular customer database 50 (step 937). For example, the frequent customer Phil Johnson referred to by record 54F in the regular customer database 50 is listed on an upsell "D" and the upsell database shows a bread oven indicating that the round up of $5.00 is registered Multiple (column 56G).

In the preferred embodiment, the merchandise cost subtotal calculated in step 930 above and shown in transaction database 70 record 78 column 76D is then adjusted according to the upsell indication in column 56G of FIG. 5 . For example, examining the records shown in the transaction database 70, regular customer number 123461 is Phil Johnson, and in his transaction, the purchase price of $3.74 was raised to an adjusted rounded price of $5.00. The closest multiple to the specified rounding multiple of $5.00 is higher than the purchase price.

Other rounding multiples are performed according to the above-mentioned rounding up process shown in FIG. 5 . If the upsell product instruction refers to the total amount of multiple prepaid purchases, then the rounding up will replace the rounding multiple, and the multiple prepaid purchases will be added to the purchase price to determine the adjusted price. For example, if the cumulative prepaid purchase total referred to in the upsell instruction is $3.00, then the $3.00 will be added to the purchase price of $3.74 to arrive at the adjusted price of $6.74. If the total amount of change payable for an upsell instruction is prepaid as an upsell, then, based on the purchase price (eg $3.74), money will be collected from the customer and the adjusted price will constitute the money paid/payment, and The registered upsell is prepaid from the change payable in the customer's payout. For example, if the customer pays $10.00 and the purchase price is $3.74, then the difference of $6.26 (10.00-3.74) will be prepaid for the upsell.

Continuing now to FIG. 11B , the purchase price is adjusted based on the indication of an upsell, and the rounded price described as an example in column 76D in record 79 of transaction database 70 is output from the POS recorder (step 940) and provided for customers. Payment is received from the customer and an indication of payment is entered into the POS terminal (step 942). The upsell advance payment is thus available at the time of application for the registered upsell, and the upsell advance payment depends on the instruction of the upsell. In the transaction example illustrated in Figure 7, this upsell advance is $1.26, which is the rounded up amount resulting from rounding up multiples of $5.00. The present invention of course contemplates payment of the total transaction price using credit cards, checks, travelers checks or any form of payment provided by the customer.

The upsell database 60 (FIG. 6) is searched for upsell data through the upsell data registered in column 56D of the frequent customer account database 50 (step 944). Decide if upsells are instant and recurring. As described above, immediate upsells are granted almost immediately based on rounded-up amounts based on round-up amounts, cumulative prepaid purchase amounts, or change credits. And recurring upsells are those for which the registered upsell price must be paid by accumulating money.

Considering first the delivery of an instant upsell, a purchased upsell code is generated by the controller 12 (step 948), both stored in column 86A of the purchased upsell database 80, and printed on the customer's Receipt (step 950) for delivery to customer. The upsell sales database 80 is updated by creating a record storing the upsell code and corresponding data (step 952). This completes the upsell transaction process (FIG. 11C, step 954), and the actual transition from instant upsell to service prepaid begins and proceeds according to FIG. 13 described below.

Now consider the delivery of repeated upsells. The upsell credit calculated above (eg, the rounded total) is added to the account balance in column 56F of the regular customer account database 50 (step 958). As shown in Figure 11C, the system then compares the account balance in column 56F to the purchase price in column 56E (step 960) to determine whether the upsell purchase is complete, or whether further upsells must be accumulated on subsequent purchases Sales Amount. If the account balance is less than the upsell purchase price, then the increased account balance is printed to the customer (step 962) and the upsell transaction process is concluded.

Considering now the case where the account balance equals or exceeds the upsell purchase price, the upsell price is deducted from the upsell account balance in the repeat customer account database (step 964), we note that this may leave a gap in the upsell account Leave a prepaid balance that can, for example, be used on future purchases or credited back to the customer.

The function of the controller 12 is to generate a buy upsell code (step 966) and create an appropriate record in the buy upsell database 80 (step 968). The purchase of the upsell code is printed to the customer (step 970), the upsell transaction is concluded (step 954), and the reimbursement or delivery process begins as described in FIG. 12 .

It will be understood that if the upsell instruction has indicated the cumulative prepaid total or the total change due in place of the stated rounding multiple, the upsell prepayment will be calculated as the cumulative prepaid total (rounded or unpaid) rounded) or the total amount due in change instead of the stated rounded total.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown an embodiment of a recurring upsell reimbursement subroutine 900C. The upsell reimbursement process includes data exchanged with the controller 12 and is performed somewhere in accordance with the manner in which a particular upsell is made. Small inventory such as grocery items or lottery tickets can be delivered in the supermarket, such as at the reception desk. Larger shipments may need to be delivered at a remote location, or may be shipped later via transactions such as telephone, Internet, or mail order. Additionally, delivery of purchase upsells may be initiated automatically through the POS system 10 based on instructions stored in the repeat customer database 50 .

At the beginning of the redemption process (step 972), purchased upsell information, particularly the purchased upsell code, may be received from the customer and entered into the controller 12, such as via a POS terminal (step 974) . The upsell code is used to retrieve the corresponding buy upsell record in the buy upsell database 80 (step 976), compare the upsell data in the database with that on the customer receipt (step 978), thereby making the code take effect. If the information in the purchase upsell database does not match the customer information (step 980), then the upsell reimbursement is denied (step 982) and the transaction is terminated (step 984). If the customer data matches the database data (step 980), the upsell is offered or delivered (step 986). The purchased upsell database 80 is then updated to reflect the delivery of the item (step 988), such as by deleting the delivered upsell record. In addition, a column "Items Delivered" may be added to the database in an existing manner.

Turning now to Figure 13, shown is an alternative reimbursement subroutine 900C where the rounded up product sales total is converted into a service advance.

At the beginning of the conversion process (step 990), the upsell advance (eg, rounded up value) is automatically calculated according to the process described in FIGS. 11A-C (step 992). The conversion factor is retrieved from the upsell database 60, and the upsell credit is converted to a service credit value (step 994). For example, in entry 60E for upsells, it can be seen that calls cost 20 cents per minute. Logging on 60F shows frequent flyer miles at 6 cents per mile. A round value of 60 cents can thus be converted to five phone minute segments or 10 frequent flier miles.

With continued reference to FIG. 13, a test may be performed to determine whether a pre-established service account exists (step 996). For example, an appropriate account identifier is stored in an add column of the frequent customer account database 50 (FIG. 5), or is provided by the shopper during the transaction. If the pre-registered account has not been confirmed, then the value of the service prepaid and reimbursement instructions are printed on the customer receipt (steps 1004 and 1006). If the pre-registered service account is confirmed, then the service prepayment generated by the transaction is added to that account (step 998). Preferably, confirmation of the newly added prepayment is provided to the customer via the customer's receipt (step 1000). Once the service prepayment is properly established and communicated to the customer, the transaction process is concluded (step 1002).

Referring to Fig. 14 now, in the example of the customer receipt in the transaction shown in the transaction database of Fig. 7, included at the top of the receipt are (as shown on the receipt in the transaction log such data as a reference number): transaction number 72C, store identifier number 72B, POS recorder identifier number 72D, regular customer identifier 72A and transaction date 72E. Underneath the above data are the purchase items identified in databases 72A, 72B, the tax described in record 78, while the rounded amount of $.126 and the rounded price of $5.00 are mentioned in 79.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 14 , the receipt also includes an upsell product sales database 60 , record 60D, column 62B for “bread oven,” and the upsell product sales database 80 purchased, record 84B, column 86A, upsells coded as “2422879” Product sales description. As shown when considering the frequent customer account database 50 record 54F, the transaction described results in the complete purchase process of the toaster oven. Correspondingly, there is a note 142 on the receipt indicating that the bread oven can be picked up at the service desk with the receipt.

Figures 15-16 and 17 are examples of other customer receipts for different upsells or in different upsell situations. To simplify the description, all identifying data on the top of the receipt has been omitted.

Referring first to FIG. 15, a receipt 150 is generated from an upsell for the purchase of a 20-minute calling card and includes a purchase code 152 and a description 154 thereof. Instructions 156 are provided for using the calling card.

Figure 16 shows a receipt 160 where the upsell was a bread oven, but the receipt resulting from the transaction did not result in the purchase of the item. Information 162 indicates the status of the customer's account.

Figure 17 shows a receipt 170 where the upsell prepayment converts from a $.126 prepayment to 21 frequent flier miles, with a description 172 indicating how these flight numbers were obtained.

Thus, a new and improved method and system for upselling products requested by buyers and offered by sellers based on pre-registered automated processing instructions is realized. The invention is especially suitable for retail business, such as supermarkets, fast food restaurants, drug stores and the like. The present invention provides customers with a convenient and simple method of purchasing goods and/or services. The present invention provides merchants with a valuable service that not only helps increase sales, but also helps attract and keep customers.

While the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereby. For example, in showing and describing specific database formats and tables, numerous other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in terms of a supermarket loyalty program, it is applicable to any transaction environment that allows registration of upsell instructions. The scope of the invention therefore extends to the full scope encompassed by the appended claims.

Claims (52)

1. A method for processing transactions, comprising the steps of: receive an identifier for a customer account; determining an upsell associated with said identifier, said upsell having an upsell price; determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; and Determine an upsell prepayment applicable to the upsell price above. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of outputting said upsell prepaid. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of applying said upsell credit to said upsell price. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining an upsell comprises the steps of: registering said upsell prior to said purchase, and The upsell is retrieved based on the purchase. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being associated with a customer account separately. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that said step of determining the upsell prepayment comprises the following steps: determining a price adjustment associated with said identifier, and The price adjustment is applied to the purchase price. 7. A system for processing transactions comprising: means for receiving an identifier for a customer account; means for determining an upsell associated with said identifier, said upsell having an upsell price; means for determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; means for determining a said upsell prepayment applicable to said upsell price. 8. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) system, comprising the steps of: receive an identifier for a customer account; retrieving an upsell associated with said identifier, said upsell having an upsell price; receiving a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; calculating an upsell prepayment applicable to said upsell price; and A customer receipt is generated including the upsell prepayment. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of selling said upsell for a prepaid upsell price, 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of searching for upsells comprises the steps of: storing said upsell prior to said shopping; and The upsell is retrieved based on the shopping. 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of storing a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being individually associated with a customer account. 12. The method according to claim 8, wherein said step of determining an upsell prepayment comprises the following steps: determining a price adjustment associated with said identifier; and The price adjustment is applied to the purchase price. 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the purchase comprises a sale of goods transacted through a POS system. 14. A point of sale (POS) system comprising: a processor; A memory connected to the processor stores a program; said processor operative with said program in said memory to receive an identifier of a customer account; retrieving an upsell associated with said identifier, said upsell having an upsell price; receiving a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; calculating an upsell prepayment applicable to said upsell price; and A customer receipt is generated including the upsell prepayment. 15. A method of processing transactions, comprising the following steps: receive an identifier for a customer account; identifying an upsell associated with said identifier; determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; and An indication associated with the identifier is determined to adjust the purchase price to provide an adjusted purchase price including an upsell credit. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said indication includes said purchase price rounded up. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said instruction includes rounding up said purchase price to a specific rounding multiple. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein said indication includes adding a predetermined cumulative prepaid purchase amount to the purchase price. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said indication includes said purchase price rounded up to an integer and a predetermined cumulative prepaid purchase amount. 20. The method of claim 15, wherein said instructing includes adjusting said purchase price to be equal to said purchase sum paid. 21. The method of claim 15, further comprising adding said prepayment to the balance of said customer account. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of comparing said balance to said upsell fee. 23. The method of claim 15, further comprising applying said prepayment to purchase of said upsell almost immediately. 24. A system for processing transactions comprising: means for receiving an identifier for a customer account; determining an upsell means associated with said identifier; means for determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; and Determining an indication associated with said identifier to adjust said purchase price to provide a means for adjusting the purchase price including an upsell credit. 25. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) system, comprising the steps of: receive an identifier for a customer account; identifying an upsell associated with said identifier; determining an indication associated with said identifier to adjust the price; determining a purchase price associated with said identifier for a purchase transaction occurring at the POS system; adjusting said purchase price using said instructions to provide an adjusted price including an upsell advance; A customer receipt is generated including the adjusted purchase price. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said indication includes said rounded up purchase price. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein said instructions include rounding up the purchase price to a specific rounding multiple. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein said instructing includes adding a predetermined cumulative prepaid purchase amount to said purchase price. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein said indicating includes rounding up said purchase price to said predetermined cumulative prepaid purchase total. 30. The method of claim 25, wherein said instructing includes adjusting said purchase price to be the same as the purchase total paid. 31. The method of claim 25, further comprising adding said prepayment to said customer account balance. 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of comparing said balance to said upsell fee. 33. The method of claim 25, further comprising applying said prepayment to purchase of said upsell almost immediately. 34. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) system comprising the steps of: a processor; a memory connected to the processor and storing a program; said processor operative with said program in said memory to receive an identifier of a customer account; identifying an upsell associated with said identifier; determining an indication associated with said identifier to adjust the price; determining a purchase price associated with said identifier for a purchase transaction occurring on the POS system; Using said instructions to adjust said purchase price to provide an adjusted price including an upsell credit, a customer receipt is generated including said adjusted purchase price. 35. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) terminal comprising the steps of: entering transaction data comprising an identifier of a customer account into said POS terminal; and A pre-registered upsell identifier associated with the customer account identifier is received from the POS terminal. 36. The method of claim 35, further comprising generating a customer receipt including an identifier for said pre-registered upsell. 37. The method of claim 35, wherein said transaction data relates to a transaction generated at said POS terminal. 38. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) terminal comprising the steps of: entering transaction data including a customer account identifier and a purchase price into said POS terminal; and An adjusted price determined by applying to the purchase price a pre-registered upsell indication associated with the customer account identifier is received from the POS terminal. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein said adjusted price is rounded up. 40. The method of claim 38, wherein said adjusted price includes an added cumulative prepaid value. 41. The method of claim 38, wherein said adjusted price is adjusted to be equal to the total amount paid for said purchase price. 42. A method of processing a transaction comprising the steps of: receive an identifier for a customer account; determining an upsell for a service associated with the identifier, the upsell including a conversion factor; determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; determine an upsell upfront payment for the purchase of said service; and The upsell advance is converted to the service using a conversion factor. 43. The method of claim 42, further comprising generating a signal to initiate said service initiation based on said service amount derived from said step of converting said upsell credit. 44. The method of claim 42, wherein said service comprises telecommunications service and said conversion factor comprises a factor for converting currency into telecommunications service. 45. The method of claim 42 wherein said service includes frequent flyer miles and said conversion factor includes a factor for converting currency into said frequent flyer miles . 46. The method of claim 42, wherein said step of determining an upsell credit includes the step of adjusting said purchase price based on pre-registered upsell instructions providing said upsell credit. 47. A system for processing transactions comprising: means for receiving an identifier for a customer account; means for determining an upsell associated with said identifier, said upsell comprising a conversion factor; means for determining a purchase price for a purchase associated with said identifier; identifying an upsell prepaid means for purchasing said service, and The upsell advance is converted to the service using a conversion factor. 48. A method of operating a point of sale (POS) system comprising the steps of: receive an identifier in a customer account; determining an upsell of a service associated with said identifier, said upsell comprising a conversion factor; receive the purchase price of a purchase; determining an upsell upfront payment for the purchase of said service; converting said upsell advance into said service using a conversion factor; and A customer receipt is generated including said upsell advance and said service instructions. 49. The method of claim 48, wherein said service comprises a telecommunications service and said conversion factor comprises a factor for converting currency into said telecommunications service. 50. The method of claim 48, wherein said service includes frequent flyer miles and said conversion factor includes a factor for converting currency into said frequent flyer miles. 51. The method of claim 48, wherein said step of determining an upsell credit includes the step of adjusting said purchase price based on a pre-registered upsell instruction providing said upsell credit. 52. A point of sale (POS) system comprising: a processor; A memory connected to the processor stores a program; said processor operative with said program in said memory to receive an identifier of a customer account; determining an upsell associated with the identifier, the upsell including a conversion factor; receiving a purchase price for a purchase; Determining an upsell prepayment for a purchased service; converting said upsell advance to said service using a conversion factor; and A customer receipt is generated including said upsell advance and said service instructions.

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