Commerce Event Subscription for Collaborative Browsing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Online shopping lacks the social interaction and collaborative experience of in-person shopping, as users browse and purchase items independently without the ability to share or discuss their browsing activities with others in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enable users to subscribe to each other's browsing sessions, allowing for the sharing of commerce event data, such as product selections and user commentary, through a publication-subscription model, while ensuring data is only shared when both users are actively browsing the same merchant's store.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users shop online independently using traditional e-commerce platforms, then shopping efficiency and ease of operation are improved, but social interaction and collaborative experience are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that establishes communication channels between multiple user devices. The server receives browsing data from one user and transmits it to subscribed users, enabling social interaction without disrupting the independent shopping experience. This mediator facilitates real-time sharing of product information, comments, and browsing activities while maintaining the efficiency of online shopping.
2Loss of information
If users share browsing data in real-time, then social interaction is improved, but system complexity and data management requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a subscription-based model where users automatically subscribe to or unsubscribe from other users' browsing sessions based on their shopping interests. The system self-manages the complexity of tracking multiple users, filtering relevant data, and establishing communication channels without requiring complex manual configuration. This reduces system complexity while maintaining rich social interaction capabilities.
3Loss of information
If browsing data is shared across multiple users, then collaborative experience is improved, but data privacy and security management become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments browsing data into different types (product information, comments, browsing history) and controls sharing permissions for each type independently. Users can selectively share specific data categories with different subscription groups, enhancing collaborative experience while maintaining granular control over data privacy and security. This segmentation approach allows flexible permission management without compromising overall system security.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for subscription to retail browsing sessions. While two users are independently browsing the same merchant's store in parallel, the system may enable sharing or cross-sharing of commerce event data from a first user's browsing session to be injected into the other user's browsing session, so that the other user may follow along with the first user's browsing activity. The sharing may be dependent upon the first user enabling a live browse event and the other user subscribing to it. The sharing may be dependent upon subscribers having an active browsing session in the same merchant store as the first user's browsing session. To the extent that a subscribing user navigates to a different merchant or store, the sharing of commerce event data may be stopped or reduced to reflect the fact that the two users are no longer browsing the same merchant location in parallel.