Automatic wireless consumer checkins

Abstract

Computing systems and methods for facilitating consumer transactions in retail and other establishments include communication interfaces adapted to couple a computing system to a plurality of third party phones or other mobile electronic devices, storage components adapted to store user information, participating merchant information, or any combination thereof, and processors in communication with the communication interfaces and storage components. The processors are adapted to facilitate the automatic wireless checkins of third party users of the third party phones or other mobile electronic devices at participating merchants. Such automatic wireless checkins take place when the third party phones or mobile electronic devices are simply present at the participating merchants, without any affirmative activity by the users at the participating merchants.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e), this application claims priority to the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 747,918, entitled “AUTOMATIC WIRELESS CONSUMER CHECKINS,” filed Dec. 31, 2012, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to systems and devices that facilitate consumer transactions, and more particularly to systems and devices for consumer transactions that utilize personal mobile devices of consumers.BACKGROUND[0003]Computer systems and networks have facilitated the tasks of buying, selling and transferring goods. For example, global computer networks, such as the Internet, have allowed purchasers to relatively quickly and efficiently seek and purchase goods online. Similarly, global computer networks provide an efficient and cost-effective medium for sellers to advertise, offer, provide, and sell their goods. Electronic commerce companies ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a system and method for making consumer transactions using mobile devices, such as cell phones, for the purpose of checking in or acknowledging the user through a process of reading the user's device. The current checkin process can be time-consuming and inconvenient for consumers, as they often have to take out their device and search for the appropriate wireless connection. The patent aims to provide faster and more automatic checkins by incorporating the use of personal mobile devices for the purchase of goods or services.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, such setups are not without their own drawbacks and inconvenient features.

In many instances, the current checkin process can be time consuming.

This often involves the device searching for the appropriate wireless connection at the store, searching for the store among many possible choices on the device, and / or manual user input or selection on his or her personal mobile device, all of which can take some inconvenient amount of time.

Even small amounts of time that are less than a minute can be frustrating where other consumers are waiting in line behind the user at a register or other point of sale.

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