Gift Suggestion System Using Beacon Detection and Implicit User Actions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for purchasing gifts are time-consuming and inaccurate, as gift givers struggle to select items that the recipient would enjoy, especially for non-special occasions where the recipient has not provided a gift registry.
Innovation Solution
A gift suggestion system that associates a first user with item identifiers based on their implicit actions, and when a second user, associated with the first user, enters a physical merchant location, the system provides gift suggestions for items of the same type that are available at that location, using beacon devices and user devices to detect the second user's presence and availability of the item types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If gift givers research items and guess what the recipient would enjoy, then they can select gifts without a registry, but the process is time-consuming and inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the recipient implicitly indicate item interest through viewing behavior, adding items to wish lists, or creating gift registries before the gift-giving occasion occurs. This pre-collected data is stored and later used to automatically generate gift suggestions, eliminating the need for gift givers to conduct time-consuming research and guesses at the moment of gift selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (the gift suggestion system with beacon devices and mobile devices) that mediates between the recipient's implicit preferences and the giver's selection process. The system acts as a bridge by collecting, analyzing, and presenting gift recommendations based on the recipient's pre-expressed interests, thus resolving the contradiction between accuracy and time investment.
2Measurement precision
If gift receivers provide a gift registry at a specific merchant, then gift givers can find accurate gifts, but this only works for special occasions and requires explicit designation
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes the gift registry functionality universal by enabling it to work across multiple merchants and for various types of occasions, not just special events. The beacon technology allows the system to operate in both physical store and online environments, and the implicit tracking method works whether or not the recipient has explicitly created a registry, thus extending applicability to casual gift-giving scenarios as well as formal occasions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by automatically tracking the recipient's item views and interests without requiring explicit registry creation for each occasion. The system autonomously generates gift suggestions based on the accumulated data, eliminating the need for the recipient to manually maintain separate registries for different merchants and occasions, thereby increasing versatility while maintaining accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If the system tracks implicit actions to associate users with items, then gift suggestions become accurate, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual tracking mechanisms with automated electronic tracking through mobile devices and beacon technology. Instead of requiring manual registry entry for each item and occasion, the system uses digital footprints (views, clicks, wish list additions) automatically captured by software, significantly reducing the operational complexity while maintaining or improving measurement precision of user preferences.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for suggesting gifts include associating a first item identifier with a first user in a database in response to receiving at least one implicit action by the first user that is directed to a first item having a first item type that is identified by the first item identifier. A second user device of a second user is then detected as located at a physical merchant location. An association between the first user and the second user is then retrieved. In response to the first user being associated with both the second user and the first item identifier in the database, that the first item type that is identified by the first item identifier is determined to be available at the physical merchant location. A gift suggestion is then provided for display on the second user device that identifies the first user and the first item type.