Dynamic Price-Matching System for Touchless Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current process of price-matching at point-of-sale terminals is manual, inefficient, and poses risks of microbial transmission and privacy compromise, as shoppers must physically share their devices with merchants to verify competitor prices, and often requires supervisor approval, prolonging the process.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic price-matching system that automates the price-matching process by scanning and analyzing claims, generating QR codes or NFC tags for touchless data transfer, and learning from transactions to adjust prices in real-time, eliminating the need for manual interaction and reducing contact risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual price-matching process is used at point-of-sale terminal, then price-matching can be performed with supervisor approval, but the process is inefficient and prolongs transaction time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-validating price-matching claims against stored competitor price data before the transaction is completed. The processor automatically compares the claimed competitor price with database records to verify eligibility, eliminating the need for supervisor approval during the transaction and reducing processing time while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of supervisor approval is replaced with an automated electronic verification system. The processor automatically validates price-matching claims by querying a database of competitor prices and applying pre-configured price-matching rules, substituting human judgment with automated data processing to speed up transactions while maintaining reliability.
2Measurement precision
If shoppers physically share devices with merchants to verify competitor prices, then price-matching verification can be performed, but microbial transmission risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary - a centralized database - that stores competitor price information. Instead of shoppers sharing devices with merchants to verify prices, both parties access the same price data through the database via the processor. This intermediary eliminates the need for physical device sharing while maintaining price verification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of competitor price data stored in a database that can be accessed by the processor without requiring physical access to the shopper's device. The processor retrieves and validates price information from this digital copy, eliminating the need for physical device sharing while maintaining verification accuracy.
3Reliability
If manual price-matching process is used, then supervisor approval ensures policy compliance, but device sharing compromises shopper privacy
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the price verification function from the shopper's personal device and relocates it to a centralized database. The processor retrieves only the specific price information needed for validation without accessing other data on the shopper's device. This extraction maintains policy compliance through automated validation while protecting shopper privacy by eliminating the need to share the entire device.
4Productivity
If automated price-matching system is implemented, then processing speed increases and touchless verification is enabled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves multi-functionality by using a single processor to perform multiple tasks: retrieving competitor price data from the database, validating price-matching claims against stored rules, calculating matched prices, and communicating results to the point-of-sale terminal. This universal processor approach increases productivity while managing complexity through consolidation rather than requiring separate dedicated components for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
In an approach for automating and improving the process of price-matching a product at the point-of-sale terminal, a processor receives a price-matching claim for a product from a shopper. A processor determines whether the product is eligible to be price-matched by analyzing one or more details of the price-matching claim. Responsive to determining the product is eligible to be price-matched, a processor detects a lowest price of the product from the one or more details of the price-matching claim. A processor automatically adjusts a current price of the product to match the lowest price of the product detected at a point-of-sale terminal of a merchant according to a set of pre-defined price-matching policies.