Transaction process with advertising display and tracking

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for tracking customer journeys among merchants, comprising steps consisting of: during a first transaction between a customer and a first merchant (ML1), acquiring by a payment terminal (TP1), an identifier (CI1) of the customer's payment device (CPi), and presenting to the customer on a display screen a document associated with an identifier (ID2) of a second merchant (ML2); storing the data relating to the first transaction in a database (CB); during a second transaction between the customer and the second merchant, acquiring by a payment terminal (TP2), the payment device identifier; storing in the database, the data relating to the second transaction; and determining using the database, that the customer viewed the document at the first merchant, and made a purchase at the second merchant. Figure 2

Description

Title of the invention: Transaction method with advertising display and tracking Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the monitoring of advertising campaigns carried out for a group of merchants, for example in a shopping center or a city district. State of the art

[0002] Retailers who want to attract new customers to their store, especially those located nearby, can launch advertising campaigns. However, these advertising campaigns require expertise and represent a significant cost. In addition, it is difficult to determine a priori or even a posteriori the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

[0003] In particular, it is difficult to determine whether a campaign has been effective or not, in particular because it is not possible to determine without the actual participation of customers whether their purchase results from viewing an advertisement. It is possible when a customer makes a purchase to ask the latter whether the purchase results from viewing an advertising message. However, the request for such voluntary participation from the customer making a purchase lacks reliability since the customer may refuse or simply forget to participate.

[0004] There are systems for tracking customer journeys when using a browser on the Internet, particularly on online sales sites, with the broadcasting of personalized advertising messages, selected based on the customer's previous purchases or the websites visited by the customer. However, this solution is difficult to transpose to physical stores.

[0005] It is also known to print promotional coupons on media such as the back of receipts, additional tickets or media or certain packaging. However, these media are difficult to trace and are not very environmentally friendly. In addition, these media require the customer to keep them on them so that they can be presented during a subsequent purchase.

[0006] It is therefore desirable to enable automated tracking of a customer's journey, for example in a shopping center or a city district. It may also be desirable to be able to limit customer participation in this tracking, in particular to increase its reliability and avoid having to impose the creation of customer accounts. It may also be desirable to be able to transmit an advertising message to a customer only if one or more conditions are met. Such conditions may, for example, depend on time, geographic location, transaction amount, or the items or services purchased. Summary

[0007] Embodiments relate to a method for tracking customer journeys among a set of merchants, comprising steps consisting of: during a first payment transaction by a customer at a first merchant of the set of merchants, acquiring by a first payment terminal of the first merchant, a payment device identifier of the customer, and presenting to the customer on a display screen a document associated with an identifier of a second merchant of the set of merchants; transmitting to a customer journey tracking server, data relating to the first transaction and comprising the acquired payment device identifier, an identifier of the first merchant and an identifier of the second merchant; storing by the tracking server the data relating to the first transaction in a database;during a second payment transaction by the customer at the second merchant, acquiring by a second payment terminal of the second merchant, the customer's payment device identifier; transmitting to the tracking server, data relating to the second transaction and comprising the payment device identifier acquired at the second merchant, and the identifier of the second merchant; storing by the server in the database, the data relating to the second transaction; and determining by the tracking server using the database, that the customer having used the payment device corresponding to the payment device identifier has viewed at the first merchant the document associated with the identifier of the second merchant, and has made a purchase at the second merchant, the document associated with the identifier of the second merchant being displayed on a screen of the first payment terminal. ;

[0008] By identifying a customer by the payment device used, it is possible to determine the impact of the presentation of an advertising document promoting a merchant. This method of identification does not require any active participation from the customer, nor the creation of a customer account or the use of a particular identification card other than the payment device. The payment device may be a simple bank card or a smartphone with an electronic wallet application storing a bank card identifier.

[0009] Furthermore, since the document associated with the identifier of the second merchant is displayed on a screen of the first payment terminal, it is not necessary to provide a specific display means for displaying the advertising message, the display screen of the payment terminal being used for this purpose.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the identifier of the payment device is calculated by applying a cryptographic function to a bank card number.

[0011] In this way, the customer can be identified while respecting the confidentiality of his bank card identification information.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the data relating to the first transaction transmitted to the tracking server and stored in the database, further comprises: timestamp data of the first transaction, and / or an identifier of the document presented to the customer, and / or a transaction amount, and / or a list of references of purchased items, each associated with an amount.

[0013] This data advantageously makes it possible to manage purchase logs by customer, and thus to determine customer journeys among a set of identified merchants.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the data relating to the second transaction, transmitted to the tracking server and stored in the database, further comprises: timestamp data of the second transaction, and / or a transaction amount, and / or a list of references of purchased items, each item reference being associated with an item amount.

[0015] This data advantageously makes it possible to carry out precise monitoring of customer journeys among a group of merchants. It is thus possible to determine the effectiveness of a campaign displaying an advertising message.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the method comprises steps consisting of: gathering in a log data from the database relating to all purchases made by each customer; and / or establishing, using the database, correlations between the presentation to a customer of a document designating a merchant, and purchases made by this customer at the merchant designated by the document, following the presentation of the document; and / or determining, using the database, a number and a cumulative amount of purchases and a number of customers concerned during a given period and for a given merchant; and / or calculating, using the database, a ratio between a number of customers having seen a document designating a merchant and having made a purchase at the merchant, and the number of customers having seen the document designating the merchant.

[0017] These treatments make it possible to determine the effectiveness of a campaign for displaying an advertising message.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the method comprises steps consisting of: during the second payment transaction, determining by the tracking server that the customer identified by the customer's payment device identifier benefits from a discount at the merchant identified by the identifier of the second merchant; transmitting a discount amount by the tracking server to a calculator of the second merchant; and carry out the second transaction taking into account the discount amount.

[0019] Thus, the method of tracking a customer's journey among a set of merchants can make it possible to award discounts to customers who have seen the advertising message and made a purchase from the merchant targeted by the advertising message.

[0020] Embodiments may also relate to a system for tracking customer journeys among a set of merchants, the system comprising: a customer journey tracking server, payment terminals installed at the merchants of the set of merchants, and communicating with the tracking server, and payment devices made available to customers, and each able to be put into communication with one of the payment terminals, the system being configured to implement the method defined previously.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the payment devices comprise bank cards and / or customer terminals, storing bank card identifiers in an electronic wallet. Brief description of the figures

[0022] The present invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the appended figures, in which identical reference signs correspond to structurally and / or functionally identical or similar elements.

[0023] [Fig-1] Figure 1 schematically represents a system for tracking the route of customers, according to one embodiment,

[0024] [Fig.2] Figure 2 represents steps of a method for tracking the route of a customer, according to one embodiment,

[0025] [Fig.3] Figure 3 represents steps of a method for tracking the route of a client, according to another embodiment,

[0026] [Fig.4] Figure 4 represents steps of a method for tracking the path of a customer, according to another embodiment. Detailed description

[0027] Figure 1 represents a system for tracking customer journeys in a set of stores. According to one embodiment, the system comprises equipment installed in stores ML1, ML2, a transaction server TSRV and an advertising campaign management server PSRV. Each of the stores ML1, ML2 is equipped with a payment terminal TPI and a cash management computer MSI connected to the payment terminal TPI. Furthermore, the terminal TPI communicates with the transaction server TSRV, via a data transmission network MW, for example the Internet network.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the MSI computer communicates with the PSRV management server via a data transmission network, for example the MW network. Note that the MSI computer can be omitted, the TPI payment terminal grouping the necessary functionalities of the MSI computer and being able to communicate directly with the PSRV server.

[0029] A customer wishing to make a purchase in one of the stores ML1, ML2 has a payment device. This payment device may be a CPI bank card or a CP2 terminal of the smartphone type comprising an electronic wallet application storing the identification data of one or more bank cards, and an NFC near field communication interface. The TPI payment terminal then also has such a near field communication interface.

[0030] Figure 2 represents steps S1 to S7 and S1 to S14 of an advertising display and tracking method, according to one embodiment. In step S1, the management server PSRV transmits to a previously registered merchant ML1 an advertising document AD to promote another merchant ML2. The advertising document AD is associated with an identifier ID2 of the merchant ML2 designated in the advertising document and an advertising document identifier IDD. The advertising document AD is received and stored by the computer MSI of the merchant ML1.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the PSRV server first searches for all the merchants located in a predefined area, for example at a distance less than a distance threshold value from the merchant corresponding to the identifier ID2, and transmits (in step SI) the advertising document AD to all the merchants thus identified, including the merchant ML1.

[0032] In step S2, a customer makes a purchase from the merchant ML1. For this purpose, the merchant selects the item(s) chosen by the customer on the MSI computer or scans the labels of the chosen items. The MSI computer calculates a transaction amount PX based on the selected items. This selection triggers step S3 during which the advertising document AD and a transaction amount PX are transmitted by the MSI computer to the TPI terminal. In step S4, the terminal receives the advertising document AD and the amount PX and displays them on its DSP display screen. It may be provided to display the amount PX only after validation by the customer by pressing a key on the TPI terminal, when the advertising document AD is displayed. The transaction amount PX may also be entered directly using the keyboard of the TPI terminal, and the advertising document may be transmitted directly by the PSRV server to the TPI terminal.

[0033] The MSI computer may have received several advertising documents, and may select the one to be displayed in step S4, for example based on the current date or the items chosen by the customer.

[0034] The TPI terminal can also be configured to successively display several advertising documents which are then provided by the MSI computer and stored by the TPI terminal. The display of a following advertising document by the TPI terminal can be triggered by the customer pressing a validation key on the TPI terminal.

[0035] The MSI computer may have received several advertising documents, and be configured to select and transmit to the TPI terminal only the last advertising document received, or select the advertising document to be transmitted to the TPI terminal according to parameters, such as the articles chosen by the customer, the date (for example only on weekends), the amount of the transaction (only from a certain amount threshold), or even the turnover achieved by the merchant, for example when the turnover achieved during the current period is lower than that achieved during a previous period or lower than a threshold value.

[0036] In step S5, the customer presents a CPi payment device (CPI or CP2) to the TPI terminal. During this presentation, a contact or contactless NFC ("Near Field Communication") communication is established between the CPi payment device and the TPI terminal. The CPi payment device then transmits to the terminal identification data PN1 and authentication of the payment device. This data includes in particular a bank card number PAN ("Primary Account Number"). Thus, the customer may also be required to enter a secret code linked to the payment device to be authenticated. In step S6, the TPI terminal generates a cryptographic token Cil = TK[PN1] containing the bank card number PN1 received. The token Cil is obtained for example using a cryptographic function, such as a hash function. The token ID1 is transmitted to the MSI computer.In addition, the TPI terminal executes the transaction with the TSRV transaction server by generating and transmitting to it a cryptographic data containing the transaction data such as the PN1 bank card number received, the secret code entered by the user, the amount of the transaction, and the recipient of the payment. The Cil token makes it possible to identify the payment device and therefore the customer, without having knowledge of the PN1 identifier of the payment device. Note that the Cil token can be generated not by the TPI terminal, but by the MSI computer.

[0037] In step S7, the computer MSI receives the token Cil and transmits it to the server PSRV with an identifier ID1 of the merchant ML1, transaction data TD, the identifier IDD of the advertising document AD and the identifier ID2 of the merchant ML2 targeted by the advertising document. The TD transaction data transmitted may include the transaction date and possibly the amount of the PX transaction and the identifier of each item thus purchased. Note that the customer's Cil identifier transmitted by the TPI terminal to the PSRV server may be directly the customer's PN1 bank card number. In step S8, the PSRV server receives the information transmitted in step S7 and stores it in a CB database.

[0038] Steps S1 1 to S14 are executed when the customer identified the bank card number PN1 or the corresponding cryptographic token Cil makes a purchase from the merchant ML2 having the identifier ID2 corresponding to the advertising page AD which was displayed on the screen of the terminal TPI. Steps S1 1 to S14 are substantially identical to steps S5 to S8, except that they are executed by the payment terminal TP2 and the computer MS2 of the merchant ML2. Thus, in steps S1 1 and S12, the terminal TP2 reads the customer's payment device CPi, generates the cryptographic token Cil = TK[PN1] containing the bank card number PN1 received and transmits the identifier Cil thus generated to the computer MS2. In step S13, the computer MS2 transmits to the server PSRV the identifier ID2 of the merchant from whom the customer makes the purchase, the identifier Cil of the customer, and the transaction data TD corresponding to the purchase.In step S14, the PSRV server stores the received information in the CB database. As previously, step S11 may be preceded by steps S2 to S4 and a purchase transaction may be carried out with the merchant ML2.

[0039] According to one embodiment, each time the CB database is updated or periodically, the PSRV server can execute several processing procedures applied to the database. A first procedure can aim to create and update purchase logs per customer. This first procedure can consist of gathering in a log the data relating to all the purchases made by each customer. Thus, a journey of each customer can be determined.

[0040] According to one embodiment, a second procedure consists of searching in the CB database for correlations between the presentation of an advertising document to a customer (as carried out in step S4) and purchases made by this customer (such as that made in step S11) at the merchant designated by the advertising document, following this presentation. Each correlation thus found can associate the identifier ID2 of the merchant, the identifier IDD of the advertising document, as well as the date and amount of the purchase. These correlations can be grouped by merchant, to then determine a number and a cumulative amount of purchases and a number of customers concerned during a given period and for a given merchant. It is thus possible to determine the effectiveness of a campaign for displaying an advertising document by calculating the ratio between the number of customers having seen the IDD advertising document and having made a purchase from the ID2 merchant targeted by the advertising document, and the number of customers having seen the IDD advertising document.

[0041] According to an embodiment illustrated by Figure 3, the advertising document displayed in step S4 (Figure 1) can inform the customer that he benefits from a reduction at the merchant ID2. It can then be provided that following the identification of the customer after steps S11 and S12, the computer MS2 of the merchant ID2 sends in a step S21 a request RQ to the server PSRV including the identifier Cil of the customer's payment device, to determine whether the corresponding customer was able to consult the advertising document IDD during a previous purchase at another merchant such as the merchant ID1. In step S22, the server PSRV responds to the request RQ by transmitting the identifier Cil of the customer and a discount value RB. In step S23, the computer MS2 calculates the amount PX' of the purchase requested by the customer taking into account any discount indicated by the server PSRV and transmits the amount PX' to the payment terminal TP2.The amount PX' can also be calculated by the merchant and entered directly using the keyboard of the terminal TP2. Following step S23, the terminal TP2 executes the transaction with the transaction server TSRV on the basis of the amount PX' and transmits, in step S13, to the computer PSRV the identifier ID2 of the merchant, the identifier Cil of the customer's payment device and possibly transaction data TD comprising identifiers and the amounts of the purchased items. In step S14, the server PSRV stores in the database CB the data transmitted in step S13. Here again, step SU can be preceded by steps S2 to S4.

[0042] According to an embodiment illustrated by Figure 4, the MSI computer of the merchant ML1 is configured to transmit to the PSRV server a PRQ request for a progressive web application PWA ("Progressive Web Application"), this request making it possible to obtain a progressive web application PWA. This PWA application is then transmitted to the customer's payment device, which then consists of a CP2 terminal of the smartphone type storing a bank card identifier. Upon receipt of the application, it is executed by the CP2 terminal. According to one embodiment, the execution of this application triggers the display of an advertising page by the CP2 terminal.

[0043] Figure 4 represents steps S31 to S39 which can be executed following step S6 of reception by the MSI computer of the identifier Cil of the customer's payment device. In step S31, the MSI computer transmits to the PSRV server a PRQ request for a progressive web application PWA containing the identifier Cil of the payment device. In step S32, the PSRV server receives the PRQ request, and searches in the CB database, all the merchants located in a predefined area, for example at a distance less than a distance threshold value from the merchant corresponding to the identifier ID2. The PSRV server then extracts from the CS database an identifier IDD of an advertising document corresponding to one of the merchants (for example ID2) thus identified. The PSRV server then generates a PWA type PLNK link to the advertising document IDD, and the identifier ID2 of the merchant corresponding to the advertising document. In step S33, the PSRV server transmits the link PLNK to the MSI computer in response to the PRQ request issued in step S31. In step S34, the MSI computer transmits the link PNLK to the TPI terminal. In step S35, the TPI terminal transmits the link PLNK to the terminal CP2 of the customer and the identifier Cil of the payment device CP2 of the customer via the NFC link established during the payment.Upon receipt of the PLNK link, in step S36, the client's terminal CP2 generates a cookie storing the received identifier Cil and executes the PLNK link which contains the identifiers IDD of the advertising document and ID2 of the corresponding merchant, in association with the cookie containing the identifier Cil of the payment device. The execution of the PLNK link triggers the sending of a web page request to the PSRV server. Upon receipt of this request, in step S37, the PSRV server stores in the database that the client corresponding to the received identifier Cil requests access to the advertising document IDD relating to the merchant corresponding to the identifier ID2. In step S38, the PSRV server generates the required web page WP from the advertising document IDD, and transmits this page to the terminal CP2. In step S39, the terminal CP2 displays the received web page.

[0044] Thanks to the use of the PWA mechanism, it is possible to display an advertising message directly on a smartphone used to make a payment.

[0045] It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to various variant embodiments and various applications. In particular, the invention is not limited to tracking customers only in a commercial area. The method can also be implemented with a first merchant consisting of an online sales site and a second merchant consisting of a physical store or vice versa. In the first case where the first merchant is an online sales site, the geographic position of the customer can be acquired by the customer's terminal and used to select advertising messages from merchants located nearby. The advertising message can be displayed on the customer's terminal.

Claims

Claims

1. 1. Method for tracking customer journeys among a set of merchants, comprising steps consisting of: during a first payment transaction by a customer at a first merchant (ML1) of the set of merchants, acquiring by a first payment terminal (TPI) of the first merchant, an identifier (Cil) of the payment device (CPI, CP2, CPi) of the customer, and presenting to the customer on a display screen a document associated with an identifier (ID2) of a second merchant (ML2) of the set of merchants; transmitting to a customer journey tracking server (PSRV), data relating to the first transaction and comprising the acquired payment device identifier, an identifier (ID1) of the first merchant and an identifier of the second merchant; storing by the tracking server the data relating to the first transaction in a database (CB);during a second payment transaction by the customer at the second merchant, acquiring by a second payment terminal (TP2) of the second merchant, the customer's payment device identifier; transmitting to the tracking server, data relating to the second transaction and comprising the payment device identifier acquired at the second merchant, and the identifier of the second merchant; storing by the server in the database, the data relating to the second transaction; and determining by the tracking server using the database, that the customer having used the payment device (CPI, CP2, CPi) corresponding to the payment device identifier has viewed at the first merchant the document associated with the identifier of the second merchant, and has made a purchase at the second merchant, the document associated with the identifier of the second merchant being displayed on a screen of the first payment terminal.;

2. 2. Method according to claim 1, in which the identifier (Cil) of the payment device is calculated by applying a cryptographic function to a bank card number.

3. 3. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, in which the data relating to the first transaction transmitted to the tracking server (PSRV) and stored in the database (CB), further comprise: timestamp data of the first transaction, and / or an identifier (IDD) of the document presented to the customer, and / or a transaction amount (PX), and / or a list of references of purchased items, each associated with an amount.

4. 4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the data relating to the second transaction, transmitted to the tracking server (PSRV) and stored in the database (CB), further comprise: timestamp data of the second transaction, and / or a transaction amount, and / or a list of references of purchased items, each item reference being associated with an item amount.

5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, comprising steps consisting of: gathering in a log data from the database (CB) relating to all purchases made by each customer; and / or establishing, using the database, correlations between the presentation to a customer of a document designating a merchant, and purchases made by this customer at the merchant designated by the document, following the presentation of the document; and / or determining, using the database, a number and a cumulative amount of purchases and a number of customers concerned during a given period and for a given merchant; and / or calculating, using the database, a ratio between a number of customers having seen a document designating a merchant and having made a purchase at the merchant, and the number of customers having seen the document designating the merchant.

6. 6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, comprising steps consisting of: during the second payment transaction, determining by the tracking server (PSRV) that the customer identified by the customer's payment device identifier (Cil) benefits from a discount at the merchant identified by the identifier (ID2) of the second merchant; transmit a discount amount (RB) by the tracking server to a calculator (MS2) of the second merchant; and carry out the second transaction taking into account the discount amount.

7. 7. System for tracking customer journeys among a set of merchants, the system comprising: a customer journey tracking server (PSRV), payment terminals installed at the merchants of the set of merchants, and communicating with the tracking server, and payment devices made available to customers, and each able to be put into communication with one of the payment terminals, the system being configured to implement the method according to one of claims 1 to 6.

8. 8. System according to claim 7, wherein the payment devices comprise bank cards and / or customer terminals, storing bank card identifiers in an electronic wallet.

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