Merchant Analytics via Transaction Location Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging to accurately assess the value of a merchant's online business in a specific geographic region for comparison with other merchants, as online transactions often lack clear geographic association, making it difficult to discern growth rate, revenue stability, and consumer traffic.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for generating aggregated merchant analytics by defining sectors within a geographic region, linking online transactions to these sectors based on transaction location identifiers, and displaying the analytics on a user interface, allowing for a ranking of sectors and visualization of merchant performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If online transactions are associated with a central merchant location (e.g., headquarters), then the transaction processing is simplified, but the geographic accuracy of transaction location identification deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (device location data, IP address, GPS coordinates) to bridge the gap between the simplified central location association and the need for accurate geographic identification. Instead of directly using the merchant's central location, the system uses intermediate data points from the cardholder's device to accurately determine the actual transaction origin location.
2Device complexity
If merchants are compared without standardized geographic sector definitions, then the assessment process is simpler, but the reliability of merchant performance comparison deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the geographic region into standardized sectors or zones. This segmentation creates consistent, comparable units for analyzing merchant performance across different locations. Each sector serves as a standardized container that allows reliable comparison while maintaining manageable complexity through systematic categorization.
3Productivity
If transaction data is collected without linking to specific geographic sectors, then the data collection process is simpler, but the ability to analyze regional business characteristics deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by associating specific geographic characteristics with each sector. Instead of treating all transaction data uniformly, the system attaches location-specific attributes and analyzes transactions within their local geographic context. This allows efficient data collection to be maintained while preserving and utilizing regional business characteristics for meaningful analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for generating aggregated merchant analytics for a sector are provided. The system includes a merchant analytics (MA) computing device in communication with a user computing device. The MA computing device defines a plurality of sectors of a geographic region and receiving transaction data including at least one online transaction associated with a merchant. The MA computing device generates a transaction location identifier for each of online transaction to indicate a location associated with a user device operated by a cardholder associated with the online transaction and links the online transaction to one sector based on the transaction location identifier. The MA computing device generates aggregated merchant analytics for each sector based on the transaction data associated with the online transactions located in the sector and displays the aggregated merchant analytics on the user computing device for analysis.