WO2016142828A1

WO2016142828A1 - System and method for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance

Info

Publication number: WO2016142828A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/051255
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nishith SHAH
Original assignee: The Quopn Company Private Limited
Priority date: 2015-03-06
Filing date: 2016-03-05
Publication date: 2016-09-15

Abstract

Disclosed is a coupon platform for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance. A coupon selection module enables a user to select one or more coupons from the plurality of coupons. A metadata generation module generates product metadata upon scanning each product, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. An identification module receives a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user. An authentication module authenticates the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. A mapping module maps a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated. A coupon redeeming module redeems each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products purchased in a single instance using redemption rules.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING REDEMPTION OF A PLURALITY

OF COUPONS AT A SINGLE INSTANCE

PRIORITY INFORMATION

[001] The present application claims priority to Indian Provisional Patent

Application No. 3811/MUM/2014, filed on March 06^th, 2015, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present disclosure described herein, in general, relates to a system and method for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance.

BACKGROUND

[003] In marketing and campaign managements, a coupon is a ticket or a document issued to avail a financial discount or rebate on a product purchased through a retail store. Customarily, coupons are issued by a consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturer and/or by a retailer, to be used in the retail store as a part of sales promotions. The coupons may then be redeemed at retailer's location based on a redemption rule associated to the coupon. In order to get the financial discount or the rebate, the coupon issued is redeemed against a product purchased by a consumer. The coupon is redeemed at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal present at the retail store during checkout.

[004] In certain scenarios, the consumer may be carrying a plurality of coupons which he/she may be interested in redeeming by purchasing the products. It has been observed that some of CPG manufacturers or retailers do not allow redeeming the plurality of coupons during the checkout. On the other hand, other CPG manufacturers or retailers that allow redeeming the plurality of coupons may require the consumer to provide unique code corresponding to each of the plurality of coupons at multiple instances during the checkout process. This process must require the consumer to retain a plurality of unique codes with him/her every time he/she visits the retail store. Such process of redeeming the plurality of coupons proves to be cumbersome and time consuming, especially considering the fact of frequent long queues at the POS terminals of the retail stores.

[005] Further, in the existing systems, the coupons may be pre-fed into the POS terminal and hence validation of the coupons may be done at the POS terminal. Therefore, the retailers may have to deploy a separate POS terminal capable of storing the coupons, validating the coupons against the products being purchased by the consumer and thereby redeeming the coupons. The coupons being pre-fed into such dedicated POS terminal may therefore be specific to individual retailers/loyalty programs. Furthermore, the existing systems may not validate the actual sale of the products.

SUMMARY

[006] Before the present systems and methods, are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular systems, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments which are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce concepts for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance validated from a central system and the concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the disclosure nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the disclosure.

[007] In one implementation, a system for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is disclosed. In one aspect, the system may comprise a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may execute a plurality of modules stored in the memory. The plurality of modules may comprise a coupon selection module, a metadata generation module, an identification module, an authentication module, a mapping module, and a coupon redeeming module. The coupon selection module may enable a user to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user. The one or more coupons may be selected corresponding to one or more products to be purchased by the user. In one aspect, each coupon may further comprise campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners. The metadata generation module may generate product metadata upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. It is to be noted that the POS device is a standard existing POS terminal deployed at a retail location and not a specific POS terminal adapted specifically for the redemption of the coupons. The identification module may receive a unique identifier (also referred as a consumer identifier or an account identifier) along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user. The authentication module may authenticate the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. The mapping module may map a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated. The coupon redeeming module may redeem each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user based upon the mapping. In one aspect, the one or more coupons may be redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information. It is to be noted that the PIN used for redemption is dynamically updated after the redemption in order to generate a new PIN to be used for subsequent redemption.

[008] In yet another implementation, a method for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is disclosed. In order to facilitate redemption at the single instance, initially, a user may be enabled to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user. The one or more coupons may be selected corresponding to one or more products to be purchased by the user. In one aspect, each coupon may further comprise campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners. Upon selecting the one or more coupons, product metadata may be generated based upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. It is to be noted that the POS device is a standard existing POS terminal deployed at a retail location and not a specific POS terminal adapted specifically for the redemption of the coupons. After generating the product metadata, a unique identifier may be received along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user. Once the PIN is received, the user may be authenticated by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. Based on the authentication of the user, a barcode, present in the campaign information, may be mapped with a product barcode of each product. Based on the mapping of the barcode with the product barcode, each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user may be redeemed. The one or more coupons may be redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information. It is to be noted that the PIN used for redemption is dynamically updated after the redemption in order to generate a new PIN to be used for subsequent redemption. In one aspect, the aforementioned method for facilitating redemption of the plurality of coupons at the single instance is performed by a processor using programmed instructions stored in a memory.

[009] In yet another implementation, non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is disclosed. The program may comprise a program code for enabling a user to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user, wherein the one or more coupons are selected corresponding to one or more products to be purchased by the user, and wherein each coupon further comprises campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners. The program may further comprise a program code for generating product metadata upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. It is to be noted that the POS device is a standard existing POS terminal deployed at a retail location and not a specific POS terminal adapted specifically for the redemption of the coupons. The program may further comprise a program code for receiving a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user. The program may further comprise a program code for authenticating the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. The program may further comprise a program code for mapping a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated. The program may further comprise a program code for redeeming each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user based upon the mapping, wherein the one or more coupons are redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information. It is to be noted that the PIN used for redemption is dynamically updated after the redemption in order to generate a new PIN to be used for subsequent redemption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The foregoing detailed description of embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure; however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawings.

[0011] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.

[0012] Figure 1 illustrates a network implementation of a system for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2 illustrates the system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram depicting working of the system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4 illustrates a method for facilitating redemption of the plurality of coupons at the single instance, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0018] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. For example, although the present disclosure will be described in the context of a system and method for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the method and system can be utilized in any situation where there is need to facilitate the redemption of the plurality of coupons. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

[0019] The present system and method facilitates redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is disclosed. In one embodiment, the plurality of coupons may be facilitated, through a coupon platform, corresponding to a plurality of campaigns of enterprise partners. The plurality of campaigns may be related to a plurality of products manufactured and/or sold by the enterprise partners. In one aspect, the plurality of coupons may be generated based on campaign information associated with the plurality of products. The campaign information may comprise, but not limited to, name of SKU, brand name, company, offer detail, offer value, start date, end date, Issue/Redeem cap, Discount amount, barcode, overall campaign caps, geographical information, a plurality of campaign rules and product description.

[0020] In one embodiment, the plurality of coupons generated may be provided to a consumer thereby facilitating the consumer to avail an offer associated with a coupon. In one aspect, the consumer may select one or more coupons from the plurality of coupons of his/her interest for redemption. The consumer may be enabled to select the one or more coupons for issuance via a display device associated with the consumer. In one embodiment, the issuance of the one or more coupons is based upon a first set of rules, of the plurality of campaign rules, hereinafter referred as coupon issuance rules. Once the one or more coupons are issued, the one or more coupons are stored against a unique identifier of the consumer, in a coupon repository, hereinafter referred to as "mycart store". In one aspect, the consumer may avail the offer upon redeeming one or more coupons against purchase of one or more SKUs corresponding to the one or more coupons issued to the consumer.

[0021] Once the one or more coupons are stored in the mycart store, the consumer may visit a retail store and purchase the one or more SKUs. In order to avail the offer, the one or more SKUs purchased are scanned by a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. Upon scanning the one or more SKUs, product metadata may be generated. The product metadata may comprise, but not limited to, product barcode, price and product description, EAN number of the SKU and the quantity of each SKU in the cart. In one aspect, the product metadata corresponding to each of the plurality of SKUs present in the retail store is stored in the POS device. In order to redeem the coupons selected by the consumer, the coupon platform prompts the retail personal to provide the unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The unique identifier along with the PIN may then be validated against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN corresponding to the unique identifier.

[0022] If the consumer is an authentic consumer, the product barcode of each SKU is mapped with the barcode present in the campaign information. The mapping indicates that each of the one or more coupons applicable to the one or more SKUs are redeemed based on a second set of rules, of the plurality of campaign rules, hereinafter referred to as redemption rules present in the campaign information. In one aspect, each coupon redeemed is assigned a flag. Further, each coupon associated with the flag is removed from the mycart store so that the coupon redeemed once will not be used again.

[0023] Although the present disclosure is explained considering that the system 102

(also referred hereinafter as a "coupon platform 102") is implemented on a server, it may be understood that coupon platform 102 may also be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a mainframe computer, a server, a network server, a cloud-based computing environment and the like. It will be understood that the coupon platform 102 may be accessed by multiple users through one or more user devices 104-1, 104-2, collectively referred to as consumer 104 hereinafter, or applications residing on the consumer devices 104. It will be further understood that the 106-1, 106-2, collectively referred to as POS devices hereinafter, or applications residing on the POS device 106. In one implementation, the coupon platform 102 may comprise the cloud-based computing environment in which a user, interchangeably may referred to as a consumer, may operate individual computing systems configured to execute remotely located applications. Examples of the user devices 104 or the POS devices 106 may include, but are not limited to, a portable computer, a personal digital assistant, a handheld device, and a workstation. The consumer devices 104 and the POS devices 106 are communicatively coupled to the coupon platform 102 through a network 108.

[0024] In one implementation, the network 108 may be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network 108 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and the like. The network 108 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and the like, to communicate with one another. Further the network 108 may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, and the like.

[0025] Referring now to Figure 2, the coupon platform 102 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the coupon platform 102 may include at least one processor 202, an input/output (I/O) interface 204, and a memory 206. The at least one processor 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the at least one processor 202 is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 206.

[0026] The I/O interface 204 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, and the like. Further, the coupon platform 102 comprises the application layers and the APIs for communication by the coupon platform 102 with the consumer device 104 and the Point of Sale (POS) device 106. The I/O interface 204 may allow the coupon platform 102 to interact with the user directly or through the consumer devices 104. Further, the I/O interface 204 may enable the coupon platform 102 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external data servers (not shown). The I/O interface 204 can facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface 204 may include one or more ports for connecting a number of devices to one another or to another server. [0027] The memory 206 may include any computer-readable medium and computer program product known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/or nonvolatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes. The memory 206 may include modules 208 and data 210.

[0028] The modules 208 include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In one implementation, the modules 208 may include a coupon selection module 212, a metadata generation module 214, an identification module 216, an authentication module 218, a mapping module 220, a coupon redeeming module 222, and other modules 224. The other modules 224 may include programs or coded instructions that supplement applications and functions of the coupon platform 102. The modules 208 described herein may be implemented as software modules that may be executed in the cloud-based computing environment of the coupon platform 102.

[0029] The data 210, amongst other things, serves as a repository for storing data processed, received, and generated by one or more of the modules 208. The data 210 may include data generated as a result of the execution of one or more modules in the other modules 224. Further, the data 210 may include a coupon repository 226, a coupon redemption repository 228 and miscellaneous data 230. The miscellaneous data 230 may include data generated as a result of the execution of one or more modules in the other modules 224. The detailed description of the modules 210 along with other components of the coupon platform 102 is further explained by referring to figures 2, 3 and 4.

[0030] In one implementation, at first, a user may use the consumer device 104 to access the coupon platform 102 via the I/O interface 204. The user may register themselves using the I O interface 204 in order to use the coupon platform 102. In one aspect, the user may register with a registered unique identifier linked with the mobile number of the user. Further, the coupon platform 102 generates a registered Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the registered unique identifier which is verified based on the mobile number registered by the user. In one aspect, the user may accesses the I/O interface 204 of the coupon platform 102 for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance. In order to facilitate redemption of the plurality of coupons at the single instance, the coupon platform 102 may employ the plurality of modules i.e. the coupon selection module 212, the metadata generation module 214, the identification module 216, the authentication module 218, the mapping module 220, and the coupon redeeming module 222. The detailed working of the plurality of modules is described below.

[0031] The plurality of coupons facilitates the consumer to avail an offer on purchase of one or more products, hereinafter also referred to as Stock Keeping Units (SKUs). In one aspect, the offer may be availed against purchase of the one or more SKUs corresponding to the one or more coupons issued to the consumer. In one embodiment, a plurality of coupons may be provided corresponding to a plurality of campaigns of enterprise partners. The plurality of campaigns may be related to a plurality of products manufactured and/or sold by the enterprise partners. The plurality of coupons may be generated based on campaign information associated with the plurality of products. The campaign information may comprise, but not limited to, name of SKU, brand name, company, offer detail, offer value, start date, end date, Issue/Redeem cap, Discount amount, barcode, overall campaign caps, geographical information, a plurality of campaign rules and product description.

[0032] The plurality of coupons generated based on the campaign information may be provided to a consumer thereby facilitating the consumer to avail an offer associated with a coupon. In one aspect the plurality of coupons may be displayed on a consumer device 104 carried by the consumer. Upon navigating the plurality of coupons, the coupon selection module 212 enables the consumer to select one or more coupons from the plurality of coupons of his/her interest for redemption. In one aspect, the one or more coupons are selected corresponding to one or more products to be purchased by the user. It may be understood that each coupon further comprises campaign information associated with a campaign of the plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners. It may be further understood that the consumer may be enabled to select the one or more coupons for issuance via a user interface of the consumer device 104. In one embodiment, the issuance of the one or more coupons is based upon a first set of rules, of the plurality of campaign rules, hereinafter referred as coupon issuance rules.

[0033] Upon selecting, the one or more coupons are stored against a unique identifier of the consumer in the coupon repository 226, hereinafter also referred to as "mycart store 226". In one aspect, the one or more coupons present in the mycart store 226 are redeemed based upon redemption rules as explained below. [0034] In one embodiment, each coupon present in the mycart store 226 may be redeemed based on one or more redemption rules associated to each coupon. Examples of the one or more redemption rules may include, but not limited to,

[0035] BOGO - Buy one product SKU and get the second one free.

[0036] Absolute Discount - Price off on a product SKU.

[0037] Percentage (%) Discount - % discount on Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of a product SKU.

[0038] Free Sample - Free product SKU/full price off.

[0039] Partner Offers - Redemption of coupon by purchasing product SKU at full price will result in a partner e-voucher being sent to the consumer. In one embodiment, the partner e-voucher will be sent via SMS or displayed on the consumer device 104.

[0040] Child Pack Free - Buy a product and get another product free (usually smaller value of same or different product from the same brand). For example: Buy PAM (Ponds® Age Miracle) serum and get PAM facial foam free.

[0041] Bundling - Price off on purchase of >1 quantity of a product SKU. For example: Rs.30 OFF on 3 packs of Knorr® Tomato Soup

[0042] Bundling + Child Pack Free - Similar to BOGO or child pack free. For example: Buy 3 Lifebuoy® handwash and get one free OR Buy 3 Lifebuoy® handwash and get a Lifebuoy® soap free

[0043] Slab Offers - Buy any product above specific value and get a gratification which could be discount or another product free. For example: Buy any Ponds Age Miracle worth Rs. 349 or above and get Rs.50 OFF

[0044] Variable Offers - Buy any product from a defined set and get variables discounts depending on SKU. For example: Buy 600 ml shampoo and get 225 ml conditioner or Buy 225 ml shampoo and get 100 ml conditioner.

[0045] Once the one or more coupons are stored in the mycart store 226, the consumer may visit the retail store and purchase the one or more SKUs. In order to avail the offer, the one or more SKUs purchased are scanned by a Point-of-Sale (POS) device 106. Upon scanning the one or more SKUs, the metadata generation module 214 generates product metadata. The product metadata may comprise, but not limited to, product barcode, price and product description, EAN number of the SKU and the quantity of each SKU in the cart. In one aspect, the product metadata corresponding to each of the plurality of SKUs present in the retail store is stored in the POS device 106.

[0046] In order to redeem the one or more coupons selected by the consumer, the identification module 216 enables the POS device 106 to prompt the retail personal for providing unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) at the POS device 106. Upon receiving the unique identifier and the PIN, the authentication module 218 authenticates the consumer by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. In one aspect, the unique identifier along with the PIN may be validated by using a specific Application Programming Interface (API) defined for the validation. Once the unique identifier and the PIN is validated, the authentication module 218 further validates the one or more coupons stored in the mycart store 226 along with POS ID and the store ID.

[0047] Upon validation, the mapping module 220 compares the product metadata with the campaign information associated with each coupon stored in a database of the coupon platform 102 in order to determine a redemption rule associated with each coupon of the one or more coupons. In one embodiment, based upon the comparison, the mapping module 220 maps barcode/EAN code present in the campaign information with the product barcode/EAN code present in the product metadata. It may be understood that the coupons corresponding to the campaign information whose barcode/EAN code is mapped with the product barcode/EAN code may be eligible for the redemption. In one embodiment, the redemption rule associated with the coupons eligible for the redemption is based upon one or more redemption rules.

[0048] In an embodiment, the coupon redeeming module 222 may transmit a first acknowledgement message (ACK1) to the POS device 106. The first acknowledgement message (ACK1) may indicate validity of transaction associated with the purchase of the one or more SKUs and the redemption of the one or more coupons applicable to the one or more SKUs. Therefore, with the ACK1, the coupon platform 102 may transfer a unique transaction identifier (TXID) associated to the transaction. Additionally, the coupon redeeming module 222 may transfer, based upon the redemption rule, redemption data comprising total discount value, list of discounts/offers applicable, itemized discounts against valid coupons or the TXID, and the like. [0049] After the receipt of the ACK1 along with the TXID and the redemption rule, the POS device 106 may enable the consumer to process the payment with applicable discount and offers based upon the redemption data. After the completion of the payment, the POS device 106 may transmit a second acknowledgement message (ACK2) to the coupon platform 102. The second acknowledgement message indicates successful completion of the transaction associated with the TXID. Subsequent to the receipt of the ACK2, the coupon redeeming module 222 removes the coupons being redeemed from the mycart store 226 and stores the coupons being redeemed into the coupon redemption repository 228. In this manner, the consumer may utilize the coupon platform 104 for redemption of the coupons corresponding to different transactions. Thus, based on the above, the plurality of coupons selected by the consumer may be redeemed in the single instance. In an embodiment, based upon the authentication of the consumer, the one or more coupons along with the POS ID and the store ID, the coupon redeeming module 222 may transmit only a single acknowledgement message (ACK) along with the TXID in order to authorize the payment with applicable discount/offers for the current transaction. After the successful transaction, the coupons redeemed may be removed from the mycart store 226 and may be stored into the coupon redemption repository 228.

[0050] In order to understand the aforementioned description, consider an example where a Consumer CustA selects 2 coupons CI and C2 from CI, C2, C3, C4,

C5 Cn. In this example, assume CI and C2 are associated with the campaign information. Further, consider that CI may be redeemed based on a redemption rule of "BOGO". This means that upon purchase of 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml, the consumer will get 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml free. Similarly, consider that C2 may be redeemed based on a redemption rule of Absolute Discount. This means that upon purchase of 1 Cadbury® Chocolate, the consumer will get Rs 10 off on MRP of the Cadbury® Chocolate. In order to redeem CI and C2, CustA visits a retail store Rl and adds following SKUs in his/her cart:

[0051] Product (PI) - 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml,

[0052] Product (P2) - 1 Colgate® Toothpaste lOOgms,

[0053] Product (P3) - 1 Cadbury® Chocolate, and

[0054] Product (P4) - 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml,

[0055] Upon adding the products, CustA checkouts at one of a POS terminal located in Rl. Product (PI), Product (P2), Product (P3), and Product (P4) are then scanned by a POS device 106. Upon scanning, product metadata corresponding to each of the products Product (PI), Product (P2), Product (P3), and Product (P4), is generated. The product metadata is then transmitted from the POS device 106 to the coupon platform 102 along with consumer identifier and the pin.

[0056] Upon receiving the product metadata, the coupon platform 102 maps the product barcode with the barcode, corresponding to CI and C2, present in the campaign information. Based on the mapping, it is validated that CI is associated to Products (PI, P4), and C2 is associated to Product (P3). Thus, the coupon platform 102 redeems CI and C2 against Products (PI, P4), and Product (P3) respectively and thereby facilitates the offer associated with CI and C2. Since the consumer purchased '2 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml' and Ί Cadbury® Chocolate' then based on the redemption rule associated to the CI and C2, the consumer is entitled to get 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml (P4) free on purchase of 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml (PI) and Rs 10 off on MRP of the Cadbury® Chocolate. Subsequent to the redemption, CI and C2 may be removed against CustA from mycart store 226 and may be stored into the coupon redemption repository 228 so that CustA will not be able to avail CI and C2 against another purchase of Product (PI) and Product (P3) respectively. Thus, in this manner, the coupon platform 102 facilitates the consumer to redeem the plurality of coupons at a single instance.

[0057] In another embodiment, a SKU may be associated with more than one redemption rule. For example, Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml may be associated to BOGO as well as Absolute Discount.

[0058] BOGO: Buy 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml and get 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml.

[0059] Absolute Discount: Buy 1 Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml and get Rs 10 off on

MRP off on the Ponds® Face Wash 50 ml.

[0060] In such scenarios, the coupon platform 102 may follow following business rules to evaluate the redemption rule for the SKU. The business rules are:

[0061] If there are more than one Coupons selected by the consumer that are applicable on the SKU, then

1) The coupon fulfilling the redemption rule may be selected amongst other coupons.

2) The coupons will be sorted in descending order of value so that highest value offers get redeemed first. [0062] Referring to figure 3 is a flow diagram depicting working of the coupon platform 102. As shown, at step 302, the consumer registers with the coupon platform 102 and thereby receives the consumer identifier along with a personal identification number (PIN). At step 304, the consumer may access the coupon platform using the user device 104. The consumer may be prompted by the identification module 216 to provide the consumer identifier along with the PIN in order to access the coupon platform 102. Thereafter, at step 306, the consumer may select the coupons present on the coupon platform 102 using the coupon selection module 212. The coupons selected may be added to the coupon repository 226 (mycart store) as shown in figure 3. The coupons selected may be available for redemption to the consumer.

[0063] In order to redeem the coupons, at step 308, the consumer may visit the retail store. At step 310, the consumer may purchase the products in the retail store and proceed to checkout at the POS device. As shown in figure 3, the retail store is connected with the coupon platform 102. Further, as shown in figure 3, at step 312, the retail personal may scan the products for billing into the POS. The scanning of the products results in generation of product metadata by the metadata generation module 214 as shown. As step 314, the retail personal enters the consumer identifier along with the PIN into the POS device in order to validate the transaction. The consumer identifier along with the PIN (collectively referred as consumer data), the product metadata generated and the retail store data (POS ID, store ID) are transmitted to the coupon platform 102. The identification module 216 receives the consumer data. The authentication module 218 authenticates the consumer based upon the consumer data received. Further, the authentication module authenticates the retail store based upon the retail store data received.

[0064] Based upon the authentication of the consumer as-well-as the retail store, the mapping module 220 may map the product metadata with the coupon information pre-stored on the coupon platform 102. The coupon platform 102 may transmit the transaction identifier (TXID) with applicable discounts corresponding to products being purchased by the consumer. At step 316, it is checked whether the discounts are applicable for the transaction being conducted corresponding to the TXID. If the discounts are applicable at step 316, then at step 318, the discount is applied on the transaction amount by deducting the discount amount. Else, at step 320; an error, indicating no discount applicable, is displayed on the POS device. The discount amount applicable is determined by sending request to the coupon redeeming module 222 by the POS device. The coupon redeeming module sends the response to the POS device indicating the applicability of the discount amount. Finally, at step 322, a discounted bill is printed. The discounted bill is determined based upon deduction of the discount amount from the actual transaction amount. After the successful redemption of the coupons, these coupons are removed from the mycart store 226. The coupons removed from the mycart store 226 are stored in the coupon redemption repository 228 as shown in figure 3.

[0065] Referring now to Figure 4, a method 400 for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, etc., that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The method 400 may be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.

[0066] The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 400 or alternate methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the method 400 without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. However, for ease of explanation, in the embodiments described below, the method 400 may be considered to be implemented in the above described in the coupon platform 102.

[0067] At block 402, a user may be enabled to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user. The one or more coupons may be selected corresponding to one or more products to be purchased by the user. In one aspect, each coupon may further comprise campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners. In one implementation, the user may be enabled to select one or more coupons by the coupon selection module 212.

[0068] At block 404, product metadata may be generated upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device. In one implementation, the product metadata may be generated by the metadata generation module 214.

[0069] At block 406, a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number

(PIN) from the user may be received. In one implementation, the unique identifier along with the PIN may be received by the identification module 216.

[0070] At block 408, the user may be authenticated by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively. In one implementation, the user may be authenticated by the authentication module 218.

[0071] At block, 410, a barcode, present in the campaign information, may be mapped with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated. In one implementation, the barcode may be mapped with the product barcode by the mapping module 220.

[0072] At block 412, each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, may be redeemed to the user based upon the mapping. In one aspect, the one or more coupons may be redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information. In one implementation, each of the one or more coupons may be redeemed by the coupon redeeming module 222.

[0073] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages.

Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.

[0074] Some embodiments enable a system and a method facilitating to redeem one or more coupons at a single instance.

[0075] Some embodiments enable a system and a method facilitating redemption of coupons at Point of Sale (POS) device of retailers without requiring any additional hardware or software at the retailers or merchants end.

[0076] Although implementations for methods and systems for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as examples of implementations for facilitating redemption of the plurality of coupons at the single instance.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance, the method comprising:

enabling, by a processor, a user to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user, wherein the one or more coupons are selected corresponding to one or more products purchased by the user, and wherein each coupon further comprises campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners;

generating, by the processor, product metadata upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device;

receiving, by the processor, a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user;

authenticating, by the processor, the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively;

mapping, by the processor, a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated; and

redeeming, by the processor, each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user based upon the mapping, wherein the one or more coupons are redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the campaign information further comprises name of product, brand name, company, offer detail, offer value, start date, end date, Issue/Redeem cap, Discount amount, barcode, overall campaign caps, geographical information, the plurality of campaign rules and product description.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more coupons issued are stored, against the unique identifier of the user, in a coupon repository.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the product metadata comprises product barcode, price and product description, EAN number of the product and the quantity of each product in the cart.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each coupon, of the one or more coupons, redeemed, is removed from the coupon repository and stored in a coupon redemption repository.

6. A system 102 for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance, the system 102 comprising:

a processor 202; and

a memory 206 coupled to the processor 202, wherein the processor 202 is capable of executing a plurality of modules 208 stored in the memory 206, and wherein the plurality of modules 208 comprising:

a coupon selection module 212 for enabling a user to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user, wherein the one or more coupons are selected corresponding to one or more products purchased by the user, and wherein each coupon further comprises campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners;

a metadata generation module 214 for generating product metadata upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of- Sale (POS) device;

an identification module 216 for receiving a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user;

an authentication module 218 for authenticating the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively;

a mapping module 220 for mapping a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated; and

a coupon redeeming module 222 for redeeming each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user based upon the mapping, wherein the one or more coupons are redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information.

7. The coupon platform 102 of claim 6, wherein the one or more coupons issued are stored, against the unique identifier of the user, in a coupon repository 226.

8. The coupon platform 102 of claim 7, wherein each coupon, of the one or more coupons, redeemed, is removed from the coupon repository 226 and stored in a coupon redemption repository 228.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device for facilitating redemption of a plurality of coupons at a single instance, the program comprising a program code:

a program code for enabling a user to select one or more coupons from a plurality of coupons issued to the user, wherein the one or more coupons are selected corresponding to one or more products purchased by the user, and wherein each coupon further comprises campaign information associated with a campaign of a plurality of campaigns belonging to multiple enterprise partners;

a program code for generating product metadata upon scanning each of the one or more products, purchased by the user, using a Point-of-Sale (POS) device;

a program code for receiving a unique identifier along with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the user;

a program code for authenticating the user by validating the unique identifier and the PIN against a registered unique identifier and a registered PIN respectively;

a program code for mapping a barcode, present in the campaign information, with a product barcode of each product when the user is authenticated; and

a program code for redeeming each of the one or more coupons, applicable to the one or more products, to the user based upon the mapping, wherein the one or more coupons are redeemed at a single instance using redemption rules present in the campaign information.