Mobile Offer Management System Using Shopping List and Location Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional businesses face challenges in providing personalized and timely offers to customers due to limitations in accessing user data and historical buying patterns, especially when customers use mobile devices within their premises, leading to missed opportunities for sales.

Innovation Solution

A mobile device system that generates a shopping list module and price negotiator module to receive user input, identify location, and obtain offer records based on the shopping list and maximum price, normalizing and ranking these records for personalized and real-time offer transmission to users within proximity of a business, enabling instant discounts and promotions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional businesses provide static coupons, then customers can collect coupons before shopping, but the coupons lack personalization and fail to target specific customers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepersonalization of offersVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by collecting customer data, identifying shopping lists, and preparing personalized offer records before the customer arrives at the store. The mobile device receives and processes shopping list information in advance, enabling the system to generate targeted offers rather than providing generic static coupons.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The mobile device acts as an intermediary between the traditional business and the customer. It receives shopping list data from the user, communicates with the business system, and delivers personalized offer records back to the customer, enabling targeted marketing without requiring complex changes to the traditional business infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of time

If businesses provide coupons at checkout, then customers receive offers after selecting items, but this misses the opportunity to make immediate sales

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetiming of offer deliveryVSAvoidsales opportunity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system delivers offer records to the mobile device before the customer completes their shopping transaction. By processing shopping lists and generating personalized offers in advance, the system ensures customers receive relevant discounts during their shopping trip rather than at checkout, enabling immediate purchase decisions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from the customer's shopping list data to dynamically generate and deliver relevant offer records. The mobile device receives real-time information about what items the customer intends to purchase and provides targeted offers accordingly, creating a responsive marketing system that adapts to customer behavior.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If businesses use store-specific loyalty cards, then they can track customer purchases, but this limits personalized offers to only loyalty card members

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccess to user dataVSAvoidcustomer reach

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses the mobile device as a universal platform that can serve both loyalty program members and non-members. The mobile device can receive and process shopping list data from any user, enabling the business to provide personalized offers to a broader customer base beyond just loyalty card holders.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service by allowing customers to input their own shopping lists directly into the mobile device. This eliminates the requirement for mandatory loyalty card registration, as customers can independently provide their shopping information and receive personalized offers without business intervention for data collection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Loss of information

If businesses lack access to real-time location data, then they cannot provide location-based offers, but this reduces the ability to target customers within store premises

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelocation informationVSAvoidlocation-based personalization

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The mobile device serves as an intermediary that collects and transmits location information between the customer and the business system. By utilizing the mobile device's location capabilities, the system can identify when customers are within store premises and deliver location-based personalized offers without requiring the business to implement complex location tracking infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10956961B2Mobile application for managing offer records

Publication Date: 2021.03.23 DOORDASH INC

AI summary

The present invention relates to a method and system for managing mobile offer records. The system may receive a query from a user including a shopping list comprising a plurality of items and a maximum price for a set of item descriptions of the shopping list. The system may identify a location of a mobile device. The system may obtain a plurality of offer records based on the location of the mobile device, the shopping list, and the maximum price. The system may normalize the plurality of offer records based on a value of the offer records. The system may rank the plurality of offer records based on the normalization.