Behavioral Savings System Using Digital Nudges for Checkout

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current financial and accounting systems fail to provide real-time purchase suggestions based on a purchaser's financial status during the checkout process, leading to overspending on nonessentials due to lack of mindful decision-making support.

Innovation Solution

A behavioral savings system that uses digital nudges to influence purchasing decisions by processing user data and pre-transaction behavior data to generate personalized savings recommendations, presented as graphical user interfaces during the checkout process, facilitating mindful spending habits and savings goals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If real-time purchase suggestions are provided during checkout, then savings optimization is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesavings optimizationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a behavioral savings system as an intermediary layer between the user's financial accounts and the shopping platform. This mediator analyzes transaction data and user behavior, then provides real-time suggestions during checkout without requiring direct integration between the shopping platform and financial institutions, thus improving savings optimization while managing system complexity through modular architecture

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback loops by continuously monitoring user spending patterns, analyzing transaction data, and providing real-time suggestions during checkout. The system learns from user responses to suggestions and adjusts future recommendations, creating a closed-loop system that improves savings optimization through adaptive feedback while managing complexity through iterative refinement rather than complex upfront design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If real-time behavior analysis is performed during checkout, then purchase behavior guidance is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepurchase behavior guidanceVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-analyzing user transaction history and establishing spending patterns before checkout occurs. User profiles are created in advance with baseline spending characteristics, allowing the system to quickly generate real-time suggestions during checkout by comparing current cart items against pre-computed patterns rather than analyzing all historical data from scratch

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the behavior analysis process into distinct phases: offline pre-processing of transaction history to create user profiles, real-time analysis of current checkout items against established patterns, and post-transaction learning. This segmentation allows computationally intensive analysis to occur offline while keeping real-time processing during checkout lightweight and fast

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of operation

If personalized digital nudges are implemented, then user behavior change is improved, but information processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser behavior changeVSAvoidinformation processing requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by providing personalized digital nudges tailored to each user's specific spending patterns, preferences, and financial goals rather than generic advice. The nudges are customized based on the particular items in the user's cart, their historical behavior with similar items, and individual savings objectives, making the information processing focused and relevant rather than broad and redundant

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11741531B2Behavioral savings systems and methods for implementing real-time optimized savings
Publication Date: 2023.08.29 INTUIT INC
  • US11741531B2 patent drawing
  • US11741531B2 patent drawing
  • US11741531B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A computer-implemented system and method for generating and implementing real-time optimized savings recommendations during online purchase checkout processes. The recommendations may be in the form of personalized digital nudges designed to influence the user in a manner that furthers a savings goal.