Beacon-Based Product Information Retrieval for Retail
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing product information systems at merchant physical locations are often difficult for customers to access and provide outdated prices, as they rely on dedicated price checking devices that may be hard to find and out of service, and do not account for local discounts or offers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing beacon devices to communicate with customer devices, providing real-time pricing, inventory, and location information for products by scanning barcodes or searching, using a system provider device that retrieves data from local or remote databases, allowing customers to access product information directly within the merchant location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated price checking devices are provided to customers or employees, then product information can be retrieved, but the devices are difficult to find and often out of service
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables customers to independently retrieve product information using their own mobile devices through beacon technology and barcode scanning, eliminating the need for dedicated price checking devices that require maintenance and employee assistance. Customers self-serve by scanning product barcodes and receiving information through the application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical dedicated price checking devices with a software-based solution using mobile devices, beacon technology, and wireless communication. This substitution eliminates physical device maintenance issues and improves accessibility since customers use devices they already possess.
2Loss of information
If dedicated price checking devices are used, then product prices can be retrieved, but the prices are typically a chain store price that does not account for local discounts or offers
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates location-specific pricing by associating each merchant location with its own pricing data, discounts, and offers. The beacon technology enables the system to identify the specific merchant location and retrieve localized pricing information rather than generic chain store prices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system serves multiple functions: it provides pricing information, local discounts, offers, and product availability data through a single integrated platform. The application can retrieve various types of product information from centralized or localized databases depending on configuration.
3Reliability
If employees are provided with price checking devices, then customers can receive product information assistance, but employees are often unavailable or the devices are out of service
Solution Approach 1:
The system empowers customers to independently obtain product information without requiring employee assistance. By using beacon technology for automatic location identification and barcode scanning for product lookup, customers can retrieve pricing and availability information on their own, freeing employees from routine information queries.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring beacon devices at merchant locations and pre-loading product databases. When a customer enters the store, the system automatically identifies their location and prepares to provide information, eliminating the need for employees to manually look up prices during customer interactions.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing product information at a merchant physical location include a system provider device that updates information in a database about each of a plurality of products in the merchant physical location in real time. A product identifier, which is collected from a first customer device that is associated with a first customer, is received by the system provider device over a network from at least one of a plurality of beacon devices that are located at the merchant physical location. The product identifier is used to retrieve pricing information and inventory information about a first product of the plurality of products in the merchant physical location. The pricing information and the inventory information for the first product are then provided through the network for display on the first customer device.