| Automated method and system for merchandize transactions -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Automated method and system for merchandize transactionsRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management, Or Cost/price Determination, Automated Electrical Financial Or Business Practice Or Management Arrangement, Electronic Shopping (e.g., Remote Ordering)The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060206395. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/598,196 filed on Jun. 21, 2000 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,832 on May 30, 2006, which in turn is based on Provisional U.S. Application No. 60/140,762 filed on Jun. 24, 1999. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to merchandise transactions and, more particularly, to an automated method and system for making such transactions. [0004] 2. Description of Prior Art [0005] Grocery shopping is typically a tedious and time-consuming chore. For example, a shopper must typically drive to the grocery store, find a parking spot and park his or her vehicle, walk to the store from the parking lot, find a shopping cart, walk through numerous isles to find and retrieve products needed, line up at a counter to pay a cashier, wait for the products to be sacked, take the purchased items to the vehicle, and return the shopping cart. This process can be particularly difficult and tiresome for shoppers with young children and for the elderly. [0006] Once in the store, the shopper may be disappointed to find that certain items are unavailable (e.g., they may be sold out or not even carried by the store). To keep items from being sold out, stores often keep greater inventories of products available than they expect to sell. This is a costly practice particularly with perishable goods (such as refrigerated products like milk) since unsold products often become spoiled and are wasted. [0007] There are substantial overhead costs associated with operating traditional grocery stores, which typically are large supermarkets. For instance, serving customers requires many employees (e.g., product stockers, cashiers, personnel to clean and maintain the store, and personnel to manage cash received from customers). A large parking lot must be provided for customer vehicles. The store is typically large and on a single floor with wide isles to accommodate shopping carts. The store must also be well lit and aesthetically maintained. [0008] The vast majority of merchandize sold at grocery stores is standardized, and product manufacturers typically exercise careful quality control on the products they make. As a result, one item on a store shelf (such as a box of cereal of a particular brand and size) will be identical for all practical purposes to an item of the same brand and size stacked behind it. Consequently, there is little need for shoppers to inspect the particular products they want before making the purchase. [0009] Recently, a number of Internet-based grocery shopping systems have been introduced. For example, companies like peapod.com allow shoppers to place orders online for groceries to be delivered to their homes. While these new online businesses offer several advantages over traditional grocery stores, they in some respects are operated in similar fashion to the traditional stores and face many of the same problems. In addition, these businesses face the problem of the high cost and difficulty of delivering ordered products to customers. [0010] A need exists for an improved method and system for selling merchandize, especially groceries. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] An improved method and system are provided for selling merchandize like groceries. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method for selling merchandize is provided that includes receiving an order from a customer for products desired to be picked up by the customer at a given location, readying the products for customer pickup after receiving the order, detecting the arrival of the customer at the given location, moving the products to a loading station, and directing the customer to the loading station to pickup the ordered products. There are preferably multiple loading stations, which are preferably dynamically selected for use based on factors such as availability. [0012] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, prices for products are dynamically calculated based on variable factors such as, e.g., available supply and the time remaining before the `sell by` product expiration date. [0013] These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description wherein embodiments of the invention are shown and described by way of illustration of the best mode of the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details may be capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not in a restrictive or limiting sense with the scope of the application being indicated in the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0014] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a representative network in which the merchandize-ordering portion of the inventive system is preferably implemented. [0015] FIG. 2 is a screen shot of a sample home page of a grocery shopping Web site in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0016] FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a sample shopper registration form in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a sample `product categories` page in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a sample `product` page in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a sample `selected product` page in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0020] FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a sample `alternative product` page in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Continue reading... Full patent description for Automated method and system for merchandize transactions Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Automated method and system for merchandize transactions patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Automated method and system for merchandize transactions or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Transportation planning with multi-level firming Next Patent Application: Computer implemented retail merchandise procurement apparatus and method Industry Class: Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or cost/price determination ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Automated method and system for merchandize transactions patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.10266 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Electronics: Semiconductor , Audio , Illumination , Connectors , Crypto , |
||
