Method and system for generating a customized electronic checkout user interface

Abstract

To provide a method and system for generating customized electronic checkout user interfaces.SOLUTION: A method for completing a checkout operation includes: determining a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for the checkout operation; determining a set of checkout information elements available at an online store; identifying missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements compared with the set of information elements available at the online store; and transmitting instructions for rendering a checkout user interface at a computing device, the checkout user interface being configured to receive the missing checkout information elements from a user to complete the checkout operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic transactions, and more particularly, to the generation of user interfaces for use in connection with electronic commerce transactions.

Background Art

[0002] Online store checkout systems have become increasingly complex over time to accommodate a wide range of possible commerce transactions. For example, chips, collection of tax identification information, delivery options / pricing / instructions, subscriptions, gift messages / wrapping options, purchaser installment payments, and many other advanced features are all commerce concepts that need to be understood by the checkout mechanism to support sophisticated commerce use cases that merchants may require in their online stores. In addition to these known commerce concepts, certain merchants have specific one-time customizations or configurations within the checkout that are important for their purposes but are not necessarily shared by any (or many) other merchants. For example, when reserving dog daycare or dog boarding services, emergency veterinarian contact information is requested.

[0003] However, using complex forms during checkout can lead to decreased efficiency and / or user dissatisfaction. In particular, complex forms may require a large amount of computer resources to obtain information and check that the information is being provided correctly, and may require a large amount of communication between the customer's computing device and network elements by obtaining missing information or duplicate information.

[0004] The use of digital wallets can be beneficial for certain transactions. In particular, many digital wallets store information such as the customer's shipping address, billing address, and credit card information. Using such information can improve the efficiency of transaction processing. For example, the consumption of computing resources (e.g., memory) for collecting such information via a user interface can be avoided and / or reduced. However, during a transaction, some information necessary for the checkout process on the merchant's computing system may not be stored in such a digital wallet. This can lead to a scenario where the user has to complete the transaction through the wallet and then repeatedly enter the information on the merchant's checkout page, resulting in a further decrease in efficiency that is incompatible with the desired efficiency improvement. In fact, in such cases, the resources used to access the e-wallet and then collect redundant information may again exceed the resources that would have been consumed by simply avoiding the use of the e-wallet. In a further scenario, once the checkout process moves to the wallet and the transaction is completed, the user cannot return to the merchant's computing system and is left without the information the merchant needs. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The subject matter of this application relates to embodiments that can simplify checkout operations for users or customers of online or electronic stores while providing the information necessary for the checkout operations of a business.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method for completing a checkout operation may be provided, the method comprising: determining a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for a checkout operation; determining a set of checkout information elements available in the online store; identifying missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements when compared with the set of information elements available in the online store; and sending instructions to a computing device for rendering a checkout user interface, wherein the checkout user interface is configured to receive the missing checkout information elements from the user in order to complete the checkout operation.

[0007] In some embodiments, determining the set of available checkout information may include receiving informational elements from the services identified in the checkout configuration.

[0008] In some embodiments, the service may include at least one of the following: a configured application, a digital wallet service, a payment processing service, a customer profile repository, and a library of functions associated with the digital wallet service.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the set of available checkout information may involve querying an e-wallet service.

[0010] In some embodiments, the set of required information elements may be based on the products or services of the checkout process.

[0011] In some embodiments, the checkout configuration may be based on a vendor configuration for checkout in an online store.

[0012] In some embodiments, the checkout configuration may include services configured for checkout in an online store.

[0013] In some embodiments, the instructions may be configured to render the checkout user interface based on any missing checkout information elements.

[0014] In some embodiments, the instruction may be configured to render a first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and at least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements.

[0015] In some embodiments, the instructions may be configured to render the checkout user interface, fill in the available checkout information, and highlight any missing checkout information.

[0016] In a further embodiment, a network element configured to complete a checkout operation may be provided, the network element comprising a processor and a communication subsystem, the network element may be configured to determine a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for a checkout operation, determine a set of checkout information elements available in the online store, identify any missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements when compared with the set of information elements available in the online store, and send instructions to render a checkout user interface on a computing device, the checkout user interface being configured to receive any missing checkout information elements from the user to complete the checkout operation.

[0017] In one embodiment, a network element may be configured to determine the set of available checkout information by receiving information elements from services identified in the checkout configuration.

[0018] In one embodiment, the service may include at least one of the following: a configured application, a digital wallet service, a payment processing service, a customer profile repository, and a functional library associated with the digital wallet service.

[0019] In one embodiment, the network element may be configured to determine the set of available checkout information using queries from the electronic wallet service.

[0020] In one embodiment, the set of necessary information elements may be based on the products or services of the checkout process.

[0021] In one embodiment, the checkout configuration may be based on a vendor configuration for checkout in an online store.

[0022] In one embodiment, the checkout configuration may include a service configured for checkout in an online store.

[0023] In one embodiment, the instruction can be configured to render the checkout user interface based on missing checkout information elements.

[0024] In one embodiment, the instruction may be configured to render a first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and at least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements.

[0025] In one embodiment, the instructions may be configured to render a checkout user interface, populate available checkout information, and highlight missing checkout information.

[0026] In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing the instruction code may be provided, and when the instructions are executed by a processor of a network element configured to complete a checkout operation, the network element may be caused to determine a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for the checkout operation, determine a set of checkout information elements available in an online store, identify missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements when compared to the set of information elements available in the online store, send instructions for rendering a checkout user interface on a computing device, and the checkout user interface may be configured to receive missing checkout information elements from a user to complete the checkout operation.

[0027] Thus, a method, system, and computer program as detailed in the following claims are provided. The present invention provides, for example, the following. (Item 1) A method for completing a checkout operation, comprising: determining a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for the checkout operation; determining a set of checkout information elements available in an online store; identifying missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements when compared to the set of information elements available in the online store; Sending instructions for rendering a checkout user interface in a computing device, wherein the checkout user interface is configured to receive user input for providing the missing checkout information elements to complete the checkout operation A method comprising (Item 2) The method according to any of the above items, wherein determining the set of available checkout information includes receiving information elements from a service specified in the checkout configuration (Item 3) The method according to any of the above items, wherein the service includes at least one of a configured application, a digital wallet service, a payment processing service, a customer profile repository, and a function library associated with the digital wallet service (Item 4) The method according to any of the above items, wherein determining the set of available checkout information includes a query of an electronic wallet service (Item 5) The method according to any of the above items, wherein the set of required information elements is determined based on the product or service of the checkout operation (Item 6) The method according to any of the above items, wherein the checkout configuration is based on a merchant configuration for checkout at the online store (Item 7) The method according to any of the above items, wherein the checkout configuration includes a service configured for checkout at the online store (Item 8) The method according to any of the above items, wherein the instructions are configured to render the checkout user interface based on the missing checkout information elements (Item 9) The method of any of the above items, wherein the instruction is configured to render a first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and at least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements. (Item 10) The method of any of the above items, wherein the instruction is configured to render the checkout user interface, fill in available checkout information, and highlight any missing checkout information. (Item 11) A network element configured to complete checkout operations, Processor and Communication subsystem and Equipped with, It is configured to perform any of the methods described in the above items, Network elements. (Item 12) A computer program including instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by a processor of a network element configured to complete a checkout operation, the computer program causes the network element to perform the method described in any of the above items. (Summary) A method for completing a checkout operation, comprising: determining a set of required checkout information elements based on a checkout configuration for the checkout operation; determining a set of checkout information elements available in the online store; identifying missing checkout information elements from the set of required checkout information elements when compared with the set of information elements available in the online store; and sending instructions to a computing device for rendering a checkout user interface, wherein the checkout user interface is configured to receive any missing checkout information elements from the user in order to complete the checkout operation.

[0028] This disclosure will be better understood by referring to the following drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0029] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an exemplary computing environment that can be used in embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of a simplified computing device that can be used in embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This process diagram illustrates a process for facilitating checkout operations by comparing the information necessary to present a user interface to customers with available information. [Figure 4] This is a process diagram showing the process used to determine the information elements necessary for checkout operations. [Figure 5] This is an example of a user interface that includes a checkout category field added to allow customization of checkout for products or services added to an online store. [Figure 6]This is a process flow diagram showing application registration to network elements, including the provision of necessary information elements to the network elements. [Figure 7] This is a process diagram illustrating the process of compiling a list of necessary information elements required for a specific checkout operation. [Figure 8] This data flow diagram shows the process by which the information selection engine retrieves available checkout information elements for a customer. [Figure 9] This data flow diagram shows network elements that send rendering information to a computing device to display the user interface for checkout operations. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0030] This disclosure is described in detail here by referring to the accompanying drawings to illustrate various exemplary and non-limiting embodiments thereof. However, this disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Rather, embodiments are provided to ensure that this disclosure is thorough and to fully convey the concepts of this disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0031] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a method and system for presenting a user with requests for information necessary to efficiently complete a checkout transaction / operation.

[0032] In particular, the set of information elements required to complete a transaction is determined either before the transaction workflow begins, during the transaction workflow, or both. This can be done, for example, by checking the form fields in the configuration file for the checkout process.

[0033] For example, during checkout, once the necessary information elements required to complete a transaction are determined, a comparison may be made between the information elements available to the electronic transaction customer and the necessary information elements. Information elements available to the customer can be found in various ways. For example, a customer may have an account with a vendor and store information on a server associated with the vendor. Alternatively, a customer may have an account with a provider of an e-commerce platform, such as a wallet managed by the e-commerce platform, and store information on a network element associated with that account. Further, a customer may have a wallet with a third-party wallet service, and a set of information elements stored in the wallet service can be found. In another case, a payment processing service may provide the customer's information elements. In yet another case, information elements can be queried from a functional library associated with a digital wallet service. In a further embodiment, the configuration for checkout may include form fields that can be compared with data from a data source or information library. Even further, other information libraries or services can be queried. In some embodiments, multiple data sources or services can be queried to determine the available information elements.

[0034] Next, it is possible to identify the missing set of information or functions necessary to complete the transaction.

[0035] Based on the identified missing information, among other options, network elements used in checkout operations, such as servers, web services, and cloud services, can provide instructions for rendering a user interface that may be presented to the customer on a computing device. Such a user interface can be customized for the missing information. For example, in one case, the user interface may display only the fields for the missing information. In other cases, the user interface can present all the information the vendor needs, but the fields where information is available are pre-filled. In this case, the fields for the missing information may sometimes be highlighted to provide ease of use and increase the potential conversion of the transaction. Other options for rendering the user interface are possible. In any case, a simplified user interface and input requirements reduce the memory requirements for displaying such information and reduce network communication by reducing the amount of information that needs to be entered.

[0036] Therefore, the efficiency in the above embodiment is provided by not duplicating the collection work during the checkout process.

[0037] Each of the above processes will be examined below.

[0038] Computing environment Embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented on any computer system. One exemplary operating environment for this disclosure is provided with reference to Figure 1. However, the embodiment in Figure 1 is provided merely as an example, and different computing environments are possible.

[0039] In the embodiment of Figure 1, the network element 110 may be any server or group of servers located within the network. For example, the network element 110 may be part of a cloud service such as an e-commerce platform. In other cases, the network element 110 may be a server such as a web server associated with a vendor or e-commerce platform. In other cases, the network element 110 may consist of multiple servers. In other cases, the network element 110 may be a kiosk or point-of-sale (POS) terminal associated with a physical store. Other options for the network element 110 are possible.

[0040] The network element 110 can communicate with other computing devices and services via a local or wide area network, such as the Internet 112. For example, in one case, the network element 110 can communicate with the configuration repository 120, either directly or via the Internet 112. The configuration repository 120 can store configuration information for checkout operations that can be used by the network element 110 to determine the information that may be required by the checkout operations. The information stored by the configuration repository 120 may, in some cases, further include user interface layouts among other information.

[0041] In some cases, the configuration repository 120 may contain information about products or services for checkout customization. For example, certain products or services may be configured with a standardized checkout configuration, while other products or services may require a special checkout configuration.

[0042] In some embodiments, the network element 110 can communicate with a wallet service, such as wallet service 130 or wallet service 132. Wallet service 130 or wallet service 132 may, in some cases, belong to an operator of an e-commerce platform and may be able to query what type of information is available to a particular user or customer, as described below. In other cases, wallet service 130 or wallet service 132 may belong to a third-party wallet or service, and the checkout operation may be redirected to such wallet service for part of the checkout operation.

[0043] In other cases, the network element 110 can communicate with a payment processing service 134. For example, such a payment processing service may enable the use of a credit card during checkout. Furthermore, the payment processing service 134 may store certain information about the consumer or user.

[0044] In some cases, if wallet service 130 or wallet service 132 does not allow querying for the types of user information stored in such wallets, a functional library may be optionally provided. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the functional library 136 can store typical information found within a particular wallet service. Such a functional library may be collected and maintained, for example, by an e-commerce platform, by a vendor, or by another party. The functional library can be queried by a network element to find the types of information that a wallet typically stores. For example, the functional library 136 may provide information that a particular wallet service typically stores, such as the shipping address, billing address, credit card information, and whether the user is tax-exempt. Thus, a query by the network element 110 will find the types of information available in the wallet service, but specific information about a particular user will not be available to the network element 110.

[0045] In further cases, a hybrid system may be used in which wallet service 130 or wallet service 132 is used in combination with the functional library 136. For example, wallet service 130 may provide only a subset of the information required, or it may be possible to query only a portion of the information stored in the wallet. In this case, the information that is always in the wallet can be obtained from the functional library 136 and wallet service 130, which is queried for other information. For example, wallet service 130 may always have some information such as an email address, telephone number, and physical address because it is required for registration with the wallet service, but it may not necessarily have a shipping address. Therefore, functional library 136 may provide information that is known to be in the wallet service, but it may be necessary to query the wallet service for information for which it is optional whether the wallet service has such information.

[0046] In further cases, the functional library may contain information about all possible information found in the wallet service 130, but may include flags for fields that may need to be queried because they are optional in the wallet service.

[0047] Other options are available.

[0048] Furthermore, the embodiment shown in Figure 1 includes an application server 140 that can provide applications to facilitate checkout operations for vendors. Thus, such an application server 140 can provide applications to a network element 110, or can run applications that can communicate with the network element 110 regarding various information elements required for checkout operations.

[0049] Furthermore, the customer profile repository 142 may, in some cases, be stored in the memory of the network element 110. In other cases, the customer profile repository may be accessible by the network element 110 via the internet 112 or based on other network (e.g., other wired or wireless network) communication mechanisms. The customer profile repository 142 can provide customer profile information to the network element 110. Thus, if the network element 110 is associated with a particular vendor and such vendor has customer profiles, the network element 110 can query such customer profile repositories to find available information elements from such customer profiles.

[0050] The computing device 150 may be any device capable of communicating with the network element 110, for example, via a network or the internet 112. For example, the computing device 150 may be a customer's home or work computer, laptop, mobile device, tablet, or smartphone, among other such options. In other cases, the computing device 150 may be associated with a physical vendor and be part of an automated checkout, kiosk, or POS terminal, among other options. Furthermore, in some cases, the computing device 150 may be part of the network element 110, for example, if the network element 110 is a kiosk or point-of-sale (POS) terminal. The customer can use the computing device 150 to execute a transaction and complete the checkout procedure.

[0051] The elements in Figure 1 are provided merely as examples, and in some cases, further servers, repositories, or services may be part of such a computing environment. In other cases, the various servers, modules, repositories, or services shown in Figure 1 may be omitted from the computing environment. Thus, the embodiment in Figure 1 is provided simply as an example of one computing environment in which the embodiments of this disclosure may operate.

[0052] The network element 110, the computing device 150, and the various services and repositories in Figure 1 can be implemented in any type or combination of computing devices. For example, a simplified computing device capable of performing the embodiments described herein is provided with respect to Figure 2.

[0053] In Figure 2, the computing device 210 includes a processor 220 and a communication subsystem 230, the processor 220 and the communication subsystem 230 cooperating to perform the methods of the embodiments described herein.

[0054] The processor 220 is configured to execute programmable logic that can be stored on the computing device 210 along with data, and is shown as memory 240 in the example of Figure 2. Memory 240 can be any tangible non-temporary computer-readable storage medium, such as DRAM, flash, optical storage (e.g., CD, DVD, etc.), magnetic storage (e.g., tape), flash drive, hard drive, or other memory known in the art. In one embodiment, the processor 220 may also be implemented entirely in hardware and require no stored program to perform logical functions. When executed by the processor 220, memory 240 can store instruction code that causes the computing device 210 to execute embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] Alternatively, in addition to the memory 240, the computing device 210 can access data or programmable logic from an external storage medium, for example, via the communication subsystem 230.

[0056] The communication subsystem 230 enables the computing device 210 to communicate with other devices or network elements.

[0057] In one embodiment, communication between the various elements of the computing device 210 can be via an internal bus 260. However, other forms of communication are possible.

[0058] Checkout configuration Each vendor can uniquely combine the necessary information through various options for their store, including the e-commerce platform, third-party applications installed on their store, or customizations such as scripts and theme changes. This checkout configuration can be performed on a computing device, such as network element 110 from Figure 1.

[0059] In particular, Figure 3, which illustrates a process that facilitates checkout operations, is referenced here. The process in Figure 3 starts in block 310 and proceeds to block 320, where a data selection engine on a computing device such as a network element can determine the necessary checkout information elements required for the checkout operation.

[0060] Each of these required pieces of information may be enabled for the entire store, or for each product or service. For example, tax identification information may be required for all transactions. A tipping option may be required for certain services, such as haircuts.

[0061] Such necessary information may be obtained before an electronic transaction occurs, or through subsequent setup or configuration, including, for example, when establishing a business on an e-commerce platform.

[0062] For example, see Figure 4, which illustrates the process for configuring vendor checkout requirements. In the embodiment of Figure 4, the process begins in block 410 and proceeds to block 420, where global checkout requirements for the vendor are configured. For example, specific checkout requirements may be required to complete the checkout process for such a vendor, based on information such as the business location, type of business, whether products or services are for sale, or other information about the vendor. The configuration in block 420 may be performed, for example, in the vendor computing system when registering with an e-commerce platform. In other cases, the e-commerce platform may configure such checkout requirements for the vendor computing system when the vendor registers with the e-commerce platform. In other cases, the global configuration may be performed by a web developer or vendor establishing a vendor website. Other options are possible.

[0063] From block 420, the process in Figure 4 can optionally proceed to block 430, where various goods or services can be categorized into different categories in order to establish checkout requirements. For example, a vendor, e-commerce platform, or other administrator can define categories to group similar goods or services that have similar checkout requirements together. For instance, in a spa, various services such as manicures, pedicures, and massages can be added to a category where a tipping option must be offered to the customer during checkout. Other items, such as a line of scented candles, can be considered products and can utilize a standard checkout model that does not offer a tipping option.

[0064] In a further optional process, the process in Figure 4 can proceed from block 430 to block 440, where individual goods or services may constitute checkout requirements. For example, if a vendor adds goods or services to its online store, such an addition may specify checkout requirements for such goods or services.

[0065] Based on the information provided in blocks 420, 430, and / or 440, the network elements may collect the information elements required for a particular transaction into a repository, list, or other storage. A list may have standard elements required for all transactions. A list may further have conditional elements, which may be based on the vendor, the products or services in the customer's shopping cart, or a customer profile for a particular customer, among other options. The list or repository may then be used to configure the checkout process, as described below.

[0066] Next, the process proceeds to block 450 and terminates.

[0067] Therefore, in addition to the pre-configured information required for the entire store, other information may be determined at the time of the electronic transaction. The goods and / or services in a customer's shopping cart may be compared to the rules for such goods and / or services. For example, in the case of a business that provides dog boarding services through its e-commerce store, the e-commerce store may need to collect information such as, for example, the name and contact information of an emergency veterinarian, and / or information on the threshold limits of fees that may be imposed by such veterinarian before explicit approval should be obtained, and / or other information specific to the environment of the dog boarding. However, the e-commerce store may offer other goods or services that do not create the need to collect such information, and / or different information. For example, if a customer simply has dog treats in their shopping cart, there is no requirement for such information. Therefore, in this case, in addition to the pre-configured features for the entire store, only product-specific features related to the product in the cart are considered necessary.

[0068] For example, referring to Figure 5, one example of a user interface that may be provided to a vendor to add a product or service to an online store is shown. The user interface 500 includes various information about the product or service being added. Such information may include, among other options, a title, description, media associated with the product or service, pricing, an identifier for the product or service, and, if the item being added is a single product, the quantity of such product available. The fields shown in Figure 5 are merely examples, and other information about the product or service may be required when adding a product or service to an online store, such as color options, size options, or other such information. Therefore, the embodiment in Figure 5 is not limited to any specific product or service or user interface associated with the addition of such a product or service.

[0069] In one case, a further field 510 indicating a checkout category for such goods or services may be added to the user interface. In the example in Figure 5, the category has a pull-down menu 512 which may have a standard configuration for checking out goods or services. However, other options may be configured for e-commerce stores, and the goods or services may include tipping options that allow the consumer to be presented with a checkout user interface that has options to tip.

[0070] In other cases, a checkout process for clothing retailers may be designed to reflect the fact that children's clothing is tax-free in certain jurisdictions while adult clothing is taxable, and therefore, a checkout option may be a tax-free option for certain jurisdictions.

[0071] Categories may, in some cases, be defined during the onboarding process for a vendor to the e-commerce platform. In other cases, a vendor, administrator, or other authorized user may define categories either during or after the vendor's initial setup.

[0072] Furthermore, in the example in Figure 5, a custom checkout option 514 is provided. A custom checkout option may provide an additional user interface that allows a business to specify or add additional fields required for a particular product or service. For example, in the case of a business that provides dog boarding through an e-commerce store, the information required by the computer system for checkout operations may include the veterinarian's name, address, and emergency contact information for such a veterinarian. Other examples of custom fields are possible, and the embodiment in Figure 5 is not limited to any specific custom fields that may be added. Moreover, custom fields allow for deselection of standard requirements for checkout when such standard requirements are not necessary for a particular product or service.

[0073] The embodiment in Figure 5 shows a user interface that may need to be composed of each product or service added to the online store, but in other cases, information can be added using other techniques. For example, scripts, batch processing, database analysis, or other techniques can be used to find the information elements necessary for checkout.

[0074] In further embodiments, the computer system may use one or more applications to facilitate checkout operations. Such applications may be stored, for example, in the application server 140 from the embodiment of Figure 1. Such applications used for checkout operations can be registered with network elements and provide details of information elements required during checkout operations. See, for example, Figure 6.

[0075] In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the network element 610 communicates with application 612. Application 612 may be an application used to facilitate or customize checkout operations. In this case, application 612 may be registered with the network element 610, as indicated by message 620.

[0076] In some cases, the registration message 620 may further include a list of required information elements. However, if the registration message 620 does not include such a list, the network element 610 can query what required information elements the application 612 has, as indicated in message 630.

[0077] Upon receiving message 630, application 612 may provide the network element 610 with the necessary information element list, as indicated in message 632.

[0078] As those skilled in the art will understand, if registration message 620 contains the necessary information elements, messages 630 and 632 are optional.

[0079] Once the network element 610 has a list of information elements necessary for a particular broker's transaction, in block 640, the data selection engine on the network element 610 can add the necessary information elements to the list or repository of necessary information elements.

[0080] Embodiments in Figures 4, 5, and 6 provide examples of how network elements may obtain the information elements necessary for the checkout process. These embodiments in the figures are provided solely for the purpose of illustrating how the necessary information elements may be determined. Therefore, in some cases, a particular vendor may use only one of the embodiments in Figures 4, 5, or 6, or a combination of two or more such embodiments.

[0081] When structuring a checkout process, the information elements required for such a checkout process may, in some cases, be static and uniform across the e-commerce store. However, in other cases, the checkout process may have different required information elements based on one or more vendor profiles, goods or services that form part of the e-commerce, and / or customer profiles for customers who conduct e-commerce. See Figure 7 here.

[0082] In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the process begins in block 710 and proceeds to block 720, where the data selection engine in the network element can compile a list of information elements required for the checkout operation. The compilation in block 720 may include retrieving the required information elements from a repository of required information elements, such a repository may be created using one or more embodiments of Figures 4, 5, or 6.

[0083] From block 720, the process proceeds to block 730, where a check is performed to determine whether any conditional requirements exist and are present in the list of required information elements. For example, as mentioned above, if a particular service is part of a consumer's shopping cart, one option might be to add a tipping function to the checkout process. Therefore, the repository of required information elements may have an indicator that a particular information element is only needed if a specific product or service, or class of products or services, is present in the shopping cart.

[0084] In some cases, the criteria may be related to a specific customer profile rather than to the goods or services of the e-commerce transaction. For example, if a customer has an account with either the vendor or the e-commerce platform, this information can be used to find the necessary information. In one case, for example, based on past transaction values, a buyer might prefer to proceed with the full checkout process (e.g., to avoid one-click ordering) for expensive items that exceed a certain threshold. In other cases, a customer's checkout may be based on whether the e-commerce store is familiar with this buyer; for example, if the buyer has previously made one or more purchases with the store, the information elements required from the customer may be customized.

[0085] In yet another case, the required information elements may depend on the characteristics of the business. For example, an e-commerce store may exist in two countries, and different information elements may be required depending on the country where the transaction takes place.

[0086] Other examples are possible.

[0087] If the check in block 730 determines that a conditional requirement exists and that the required information element is present in the list of required information elements, the process proceeds to block 740, where the list of required information elements is updated based on the condition and whether such condition is met. This may, in some cases, involve adding the required information element to the list of required information elements. In other cases, it may involve removing the required information element from the list of required information elements.

[0088] If no conditional requirements exist, the process proceeds from block 730 or block 740 to block 750 and then terminates.

[0089] Therefore, based on static and / or dynamic analysis by a network element data selection engine, a computer system can determine the set of necessary information elements required to complete an electronic transaction.

[0090] Determining available information Referring again to the embodiment in Figure 3, once the checkout information elements necessary for the checkout process are determined, the process proceeds from block 320 to block 330, where the checkout information elements available for the checkout process can be determined. In particular, during an electronic transaction, for example, an information selection engine can be used in a network element to find available information about the customer. This can be done from one or more data sources.

[0091] Refer to Figure 8, where the information selection engine 810 can communicate with one or more information sources. In the example in Figure 8, two information sources are shown, namely information source 812 and information source 814. However, the example of two information sources is provided for illustrative purposes only, and in other cases, the information selection engine 810 can query only a single information source. In other cases, the information selection engine 810 can query multiple information sources to obtain information elements for information about a customer.

[0092] Information sources 812 and 814 may reside on the same computing device as the information selection engine, or may be accessible via a wired or wireless connection, and may be managed by the same party as the information selection engine, or by a third party.

[0093] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 8, the information selection engine 810 sends a query to the information source 812 regarding the available information, which is indicated as message 820.

[0094] In some cases, message 820 may be a poll and may consist of multiple messages. For example, message 820 may ask whether certain pieces of information are available, and information source 812 may confirm or reject whether such information elements are available in response 822.

[0095] In other cases, message 820 may be a more sophisticated message and may depend on the application programming interface (API) of the information source 812.

[0096] In some cases, the query in message 820 may simply ask whether an information field is available without actually retrieving such information. For example, if the information source is a digital wallet service, the digital wallet service may not have to return information about a specific customer for privacy reasons, but it may be willing to provide information on whether a particular type of information is available in the digital wallet service.

[0097] In other cases, the query in message 820 may ask whether an information field is available and request the return of information contained within the information field in information source 812.

[0098] For example, in the first case where the customer has an account on the vendor's computer system, the vendor may have information stored with them. For example, in the case of a vendor that provides dog boarding services through an e-commerce store, the customer may have previously boarded their dog with that vendor, and the vendor may have stored the customer's address and information about an emergency veterinarian. At the start of or during the checkout process, or during the e-commerce transaction, the customer may be prompted to log in, and the information selection engine 810 queries a database or repository containing an information source 812 and becomes aware of information stored regarding the customer's profile. In this case, the response 822 from the information source 812 may contain information about a particular customer.

[0099] In another case, the customer may have an account on the e-commerce platform used by the merchant. For example, the merchant may use the Shopify® e-commerce platform, and the customer may register for the ShopPay® wallet and fast checkout mechanism. In this case, the information selection engine 810 will know the information elements of the information stored in the information source 812 regarding the customer.

[0100] In other cases, customers may use third-party wallets (e.g., wallets not associated with / provided by the e-commerce platform). Such wallets are used for a variety of reasons, including providing reliable payment transactions across sites, thereby ensuring that user data should be kept secure, and, in some cases, providing the option to speed up checkout. In this case, each wallet may store certain information about the customer. This information can be found by the information selection engine 810 in several ways.

[0101] In some cases, the wallet may have an API that allows the information selection engine 810 to query the wallet (information source 812) regarding the type of information stored by the wallet. In some situations, this may be a general query about fields stored by the wallet. In other situations, information about input fields specific to a particular customer may be requested. In either case, to ensure consumer privacy, general information fields rather than specific information may be returned and provided to the information selection engine 810.

[0102] Such API queries may involve a network element associated with the information selection engine 810 making network calls to a remote server associated with the wallet service, utilizing the API's functions and procedures to retrieve fields stored in the wallet service for the customer profile.

[0103] In other cases, non-confidential information of a specific customer may be requested. In this case, where API functions and procedures may be used on a remote server, this non-confidential information can be obtained using network message exchange.

[0104] If a wallet does not have an API or does not allow queries, or to avoid query latency, a functional library such as the functional library 136 from the embodiment of Figure 1 can be built and maintained by the e-commerce platform or vendor. In other cases, if a wallet has a subset of optional information fields, to improve network efficiency, network calls to a remote server associated with the wallet service can be restricted to the optional fields, and the remaining information can be obtained from the functional library.

[0105] Such a functional library can store data about information fields that may be available from various third-party wallets, including, for example, what information fields are typically found in a given type of wallet.

[0106] In some cases, information stored in a particular wallet may be found before the user selects a wallet. In such cases, a priority order for the wallet may be presented to the customer.

[0107] In other situations, the information stored in a particular wallet can be determined once the wallet is selected and before the user is directed to the wallet to complete a transaction.

[0108] In other situations, the customer may be redirected back to their wallet and then returned to the merchant's page. In this case, certain information may become available to the merchant from the wallet.

[0109] Other options are available.

[0110] Once the information selection engine 810 receives one or more responses 822, a mapping or conversion function 824 may be required to map or convert the responses to the necessary information elements, as determined in the embodiments of Figures 3 to 7. Specifically, the information source 812 can provide information in various ways that do not directly correspond to the fields required for the checkout operation. For example, the information source 812 may provide a complete location address including the city name and postal code or ZIP code, but the checkout operation requires each element of the address to be in a separate field. In this case, the mapping function 824 can analyze the response 822 and correlate the received information with the information elements required for the checkout operation.

[0111] In other cases, response 822 may contain the information itself, rather than field names. In this regard, the conversion function in block 824 can be used to correlate the received information with the fields required for the checkout operation. In other cases, information source 812 may provide information in fields that do not directly match the information elements required for the checkout operation, and the mapping function in block 824 can determine whether the fields are sufficient to correspond to the information elements required for the checkout operation. Other options are possible.

[0112] However, the mapping function block 824 is optional and may not be required depending on the information source 812.

[0113] As described above, a single query 820 and a single response 822 are shown in the embodiment of Figure 8, but in some cases, multiple queries and responses are possible between the information selection engine 810 and the information source 812.

[0114] Furthermore, in some cases, for privacy reasons, the information source 812 may provide a response indicating that it has certain information in response 822. If the vendor requires such information to complete the checkout process, such information may be provided in the checkout process after the customer has been redirected back to the information source to verify their credentials. Other options are possible.

[0115] Furthermore, in some cases where information is retrieved from information source 812, that information is then used to pre-enter fields in the checkout process, and if the pre-entered information is changed, the updated information may, in some cases, be returned to and stored in information source 812 in order to update such information source.

[0116] Similarly, the information selection engine 810 can send a query to the information source 814 regarding the information available in message 830 and receive a response 832 back. If necessary, the mapping function 834 can map the information elements in response 832 to the information elements required for the checkout transaction.

[0117] Again, while message 830 and response 832 are shown as a single message and response in the example in Figure 8, they may include multiple messages or queries and responses.

[0118] If more information sources are available, the information selection engine 810 can also query such information sources.

[0119] Once all information sources have been queried, the information selection engine 810 can compile the determined available information elements. Thus, using one or more of the above techniques, the information selection engine can determine the available information about a customer.

[0120] Identifying missing information elements Referring again to Figure 3, once the checkout information elements available for the checkout process are determined in block 330, the process proceeds to block 340, where it is possible to identify the checkout information elements for which network elements are missing.

[0121] In this case, the process in block 340 may include comparing the required checkout information elements with the available checkout information elements and identifying any missing checkout information elements when comparing the two lists.

[0122] In some cases, if the mapping function is not active, identifying missing checkout information elements may require some form of mapping, parsing, or transformation to enable a comparison between the required checkout information elements and the available checkout information elements.

[0123] Therefore, in block 340, the delta between the required information element and the available information element can be identified.

[0124] Rendering the checkout user interface Once the missing checkout information element is identified in block 340, the process in Figure 3 proceeds from block 340 to block 350, where a command may be sent from the network element to the user's computing device for the user's computing device to render the checkout user interface based on the missing information element.

[0125] In particular, refer to Figure 9 here. In the embodiment of Figure 9, the network element 910 can communicate with a customer computing device 912. The customer computing device 912 may be any device that the customer uses for e-commerce, and may be the computing device 150 from the embodiment of Figure 1.

[0126] Based on the missing information elements identified in block 340 of Figure 3, the network element 910 can determine the checkout user interface in block 920 to capture the missing information elements during the checkout process, as indicated by message 930, and then provide rendering information transmission for one user interface (UI) element. This configuration of the user interface improves the efficiency of the network and computing devices by ensuring that computing resources are not wasted by duplicating data collection and validation tasks. Specifically, by providing a user interface in which only a subset of the information elements required for the checkout process is presented, or fields are pre-populated, less time, less memory is used, and the size of network communication messages or messages required for data collection is reduced. Specifically, the case where the same information is provided twice during the checkout process is avoided. Information already known for the checkout process does not need to be passed over the network. Known information also does not need to be re-populated from the computing system and passed over the network to the network element, but it can be validated and errors may be flagged back to the consumer's computing device.

[0127] The first UI element can be any UI element that captures some or all of the missing information elements.

[0128] In some cases, no missing information elements exist. In this case, the customer may be presented with a confirmation screen to review the transaction without being asked for further details. Therefore, sending message 930 may be an instruction to render such a confirmation screen.

[0129] In other cases, a particular checkout may be selected based on the required and missing information. As used herein, a checkout may be a set of screens that provide information from a customer in order to complete a transaction and create a contract between the customer and the vendor. For example, a set of checkouts may be approved for use by the vendor, and the determination in block 920 may compare these approved checkouts with any missing information elements and use one that captures such missing information elements. Thus, the determination in block 920 may be the selection of one checkout from multiple checkouts.

[0130] In other cases, the user interface may be structured to present the customer with only the fields containing the missing information. This can be done in block 920 of Figure 9. Therefore, if a tipping option should be presented to the user, this can be done before or after redirecting them to a wallet that does not support tipping options.

[0131] In further cases, the necessary fields in a user interface, which may be a generic, uncustomized user interface, may be populated with available information, while fields for the required information may be left blank. Such fields may, in some cases, be highlighted or rearranged to appear together.

[0132] In other cases, pop-ups can be used to obtain any missing or necessary information. This may result in multiple user interface elements being provided to the user, as shown in the embodiment of Figure 9 as messages 932 and 934. Although the embodiment of Figure 9 shows only three messages, in some cases one message may suffice, and in other cases two, three, or more messages may be provided to the computing device 912.

[0133] Other options are possible for designing and implementing user interfaces to obtain the necessary missing information, and this disclosure is not limited to any particular user interface.

[0134] Requests for missing information can be made before the user is directed to the payment screen, after they return from the payment screen, or both. For example, if certain information is expected to be provided by the wallet but is not, this missing information can be requested later without requiring the user to re-enter existing information. This can be done, for example, by sending message 930 using a pop-up asking for missing information.

[0135] Therefore, upon receiving any of messages 930, 932, or 932, the computing device 912 can render a user interface and provide back the information entered into such a user interface to the network element 910.

[0136] Therefore, the embodiments described herein enable the completion of checkout operations by facilitating customer information collection while meeting the needs of e-commerce. This can lead to more efficient computing systems. Conveniently, such checkout operations may also have the advantage of avoiding overwhelming the user being served, at least in some embodiments. As a result, this can lead to reduced customer dissatisfaction with the checkout process and increased conversions at checkout. Conversion as used herein means the completion of a transaction initiated by the user, rather than the user abandoning the transaction by leaving items in the shopping cart and not completing the transaction. For example, if users are required to fill out a form at checkout, a high percentage of users will abandon the transaction, resulting in lost sales for the vendor.

[0137] The elements described and illustrated herein, including flowcharts and block diagrams of the entire drawing, suggest logical boundaries between elements. However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depicted elements and their functions may be implemented on a machine via a computer executable medium having a processor capable of executing program instructions stored as a monolithic software structure, as a standalone software module, or as a module using external routines, code, services, etc., or any combination thereof, and all such implementations may be within the scope of this disclosure. Examples of such machines may include, but are not limited to, personal digital assistants, laptops, personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld computing devices, medical devices, wired or wireless communication devices, transducers, chips, calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, e-books, gadgets, electronic devices, devices with artificial intelligence, computing devices, network equipment, servers, routers, etc. Furthermore, elements shown in flowcharts and block diagrams or any other logical components may be implemented on a machine capable of executing program instructions. Accordingly, while the aforementioned drawings and descriptions illustrate functional aspects of the disclosed system, specific arrangements of software for implementing these functional aspects should not be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitly stated or evident from the context. Similarly, the various steps identified and described above may be modified, and the order of the steps may be adapted to specific uses of the technology disclosed herein. All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, descriptions and / or explanations of the order of the various steps should not be understood as requiring a specific order of execution of those steps unless required by a particular application, explicitly stated, or otherwise evident from the context.

[0138] The methods and / or processes described above, and their steps, can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination of hardware and software suitable for a particular application. Hardware may include general-purpose computers and / or dedicated computing devices or specific computing devices, or specific embodiments or components of specific computing devices. Processes can be implemented in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors, or other programmable devices, along with internal and / or external memory. Processes may also, or instead, be embodied in application-specific integrated circuits, programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, or any other devices or combinations of devices that can be configured to process electronic signals. Furthermore, it should be understood that one or more processes may be implemented as computer executable code that can be run on machine-readable media.

[0139] Computer executable code can be written using structured programming languages ​​such as C, object-oriented programming languages ​​such as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming languages ​​(including assembly languages, hardware description languages, database programming languages ​​and techniques) that can be stored, compiled, or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or different hardware and software combinations, or any other machine capable of executing program instructions.

[0140] Accordingly, in one embodiment, each of the methods described above, and combinations thereof, may be embodied in computer executable code that performs the steps when executed on one or more computing devices. In another embodiment, the methods may be embodied in a system that performs the steps, which may be distributed across devices in several ways, or all functions may be integrated into a dedicated standalone device or other hardware. In yet another embodiment, the means for performing the steps related to the processes described above may include either the hardware and / or software described above. All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0141] This instruction may also be extended to one or more features of the following numbered clauses: 1. A method for completing the checkout process, the method being: Based on the checkout configuration for checkout operations, determine the set of necessary checkout information elements, To determine the set of checkout information elements available in the online store, When comparing the set of information elements available in the online store with the set of required checkout information elements, the missing checkout information elements are identified. A method comprising sending instructions for rendering a checkout user interface on a computing device, wherein the checkout user interface is configured to receive any missing checkout information elements from the user in order to complete a checkout transaction. 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein determining the set of available checkout information includes receiving information elements from the service identified in the checkout configuration. 3. The method described in Clause 2, wherein the service includes at least one of the following: a configured application, a digital wallet service, a payment processing service, a customer profile repository, and a functional library associated with the digital wallet service. 4. The method described in Clause 1, which includes querying the electronic wallet service to determine the set of available checkout information. 5. The method described in Clause 1, wherein the set of required information elements is determined based on the products or services of the checkout operation. 6. The checkout configuration is based on the vendor configuration for checkout in the online store, as described in Clause 1. 7. The method described in Clause 1, wherein the checkout configuration includes services configured for checkout in the online store. 8. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the instruction is configured to render the checkout user interface based on missing checkout information elements. 9. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the instruction is configured to render a first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and at least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements. 10. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the instructions are configured to render a checkout user interface, fill in available checkout information, and highlight any missing checkout information. 11. A network element configured to complete checkout operations, wherein the network element is Processor and A communication subsystem is provided, Network elements are Based on the checkout configuration for checkout operations, determine the required set of checkout information elements. Determine the set of checkout information elements available in the online store. When comparing the set of information elements available in the online store with the missing checkout information elements from the required set of checkout information elements, It is configured to send instructions for rendering a checkout user interface on a computing device, A network element configured to receive missing checkout information elements from the user in order to complete the checkout process, which is part of the checkout user interface. 12. A network element as described in Clause 11, configured to determine the set of available checkout information by receiving information elements from a service identified in the checkout configuration. 13. The network element described in Clause 12, which includes at least one of the configured application, digital wallet service, payment processing service, customer profile repository, and functional library associated with the digital wallet service. 14. The network element described in Clause 11, which is configured to determine a set of available checkout information using queries from an electronic wallet service. 15. The checkout configuration is based on the vendor configuration for checkout in the online store, as described in Clause 11. 16. Network elements as described in Clause 11, including services configured for checkout in an online store. 17. A network element as described in Clause 11, which is configured to render the checkout user interface based on missing checkout information elements. 18. The network element described in Clause 11, wherein the instruction is configured to render a first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and at least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements. 19. The network element described in Clause 11, which is configured to render a checkout user interface, fill in available checkout information, and highlight any missing checkout information. 20. A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing instruction code, wherein when an instruction is executed by a processor of a network element configured to complete a checkout operation, the network element... Based on the checkout configuration for checkout operations, determine the necessary set of checkout information elements. Determine the set of checkout information elements available in the online store. When comparing the set of information elements available in the online store with the set of required checkout information elements, the system identifies the missing checkout information elements. A non-temporary computer-readable medium configured to send commands to a computing device to render a checkout user interface, and for the checkout user interface to receive any missing checkout information elements from the user in order to complete the checkout process. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0142] 110, 610, 910 network elements 112 Internet 120 configuration repositories 130, 132 Wallet Services 134 Payment Processing Service 136 Function Library 140 Application Servers 142 Customer Profiles 150 computing devices 220 processors 230 Communication Subsystem 240 memory 612 Applications 810 Information Selection Engine 812, 814 Information Sources Messages 820 and 830 822, 832 Responses 824, 834 mapping 912 Customer Computing Devices

Claims

1. A method performed by a network element for completing a checkout operation, Based on the pre-stored checkout configurations for online store checkouts, the set of necessary checkout information elements is determined based on the checkout configuration that is determined according to the product or service of the checkout operation. The set of checkout information elements available in the online store is determined by querying an information source that includes at least one of a digital wallet service and a customer profile repository. When comparing the set of available information elements in the online store with the set of required checkout information elements, the missing checkout information elements are identified from the set of required checkout information elements. Sending instructions to render a checkout user interface on a computing device, wherein the checkout user interface is customized to include only input fields for entering the missing checkout information elements in order to complete the checkout operation, and is configured to receive user input to said input fields. Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information source further comprises at least one of a configured application, a payment processing service, and a functional library associated with the digital wallet service.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the instruction is configured to render the checkout user interface based on the missing checkout information elements.

4. The aforementioned instruction, A first checkout user interface for a first set of missing checkout information elements, and At least one further checkout user interface for at least one further set of missing checkout information elements, The method according to claim 3, configured to render.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the instruction is configured to render the checkout user interface, fill in the available checkout information, and highlight the input fields corresponding to the missing checkout information elements.

6. A network element configured to complete the checkout process, Processor and Communication subsystem and Equipped with, A device configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 5. Network elements.

7. A computer program that includes instructions, A computer program wherein, when the instruction is executed by a processor of a network element configured to complete a checkout operation, the instruction causes the network element to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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