Ecommerce-Enabled Ad Units for Direct Purchase Transactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic commerce platforms on the Internet face issues such as customer attrition due to non-specific ad links, reluctance to purchase from smaller merchants lacking brand recognition, and the need for improved navigation and payment systems.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that enables customers to purchase items directly through ecommerce-enabled ad units on web pages, using a broker-mediated payment system that allows customers to interact with ads for purchasing without leaving the page, and collects bids from merchants for each sale, facilitating transactions and building trust through reputation scoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ads link to general merchant web pages, then customers can access merchant information, but customer attrition increases and sales decrease due to extra navigation steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the advertising function with the purchasing function by enabling direct purchase capability within the ad unit itself. The ad unit is transformed into a self-contained commerce interface that includes product information, pricing, and purchase buttons, eliminating the need for separate navigation to merchant web pages and resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and sales conversion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the traditional e-commerce funnel by creating self-sufficient ad units that contain complete purchase functionality independent of the merchant's main website. Each ad unit becomes a discrete transactional unit with its own purchase interface, separating the advertising interaction from the navigation process and enabling immediate purchase without additional steps.
2Loss of information
If customers select ads to view more information, then they can learn about products, but they are taken away from the publisher's web page interrupting their interaction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the ad unit multi-functional by integrating both information display and purchase execution capabilities within the same interface element on the publisher's page. The ad unit serves universally as both an informational component and a transactional component, eliminating the need for customers to leave the publisher's page to access product details or make purchases.
Solution Approach 2:
The ad unit acts as an intermediary structure that bridges the publisher's content ecosystem and the merchant's sales capability without requiring page transitions. It mediates the interaction by providing a localized interface that satisfies both information needs and purchase intentions while keeping the customer embedded in the publisher's environment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If smaller merchants run ads, then they can reach potential customers, but customers are reluctant to purchase due to lack of brand recognition and trust
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the publisher as a trusted intermediary that endorses and vouches for merchants operating within its ecosystem. By allowing merchants to run ads and conduct transactions through established publishers, the publisher's reputation acts as a trust signal to customers, mitigating the credibility gap that smaller merchants face and enabling them to participate effectively in the advertising ecosystem.
Data Source
AI summary
Merchants create ecommerce-enabled ad units advertising items offered by the merchants. The ad units contain functionality enabling customers to purchase the items by interacting with the ad units. The ad units have associated bid prices that the merchants agree to pay for sales through the ad units. The merchants provide the ad units to a broker. The broker publishes the ad units on web pages provided by publishers. A customer receiving a web page interacts with the ad unit to purchase the item. During the interactions, the broker dynamically updates the ad unit to carry out the transaction. The broker collects the bid price from the merchant and shares it with the publisher that published the page on which the ad unit appeared.