Person Group Check-in System for Aggregate Spending Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional check-in systems only allow individual customers to associate with merchants, failing to track group associations or aggregate spending behaviors, which limits merchants' ability to understand and engage with groups of customers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for person/group check-ins that enable multiple users to associate their accounts, allowing for tracking of aggregate spending, pooling of funds, and notification of spending among group members, using a networked system with user devices and beacon devices to facilitate group interactions and merchant engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional individual check-in systems are used, then individual customer tracking is achieved, but group association tracking and aggregate spending monitoring are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines individual check-in functionality with group association tracking into a unified system. When a customer checks in, the system automatically detects nearby mobile devices and enables group members to check in to the same merchant location, merging individual and group tracking capabilities into a single check-in process that captures both individual and aggregate spending data
2Loss of information
If individual customer tracking is implemented, then individual spending behavior is monitored, but aggregate group spending behavior remains undetected
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback to both individual customers and merchants about group spending patterns. Aggregate spending data is collected from multiple individual check-ins and fed back to merchants through dashboards and to individual customers through notifications about group contributions and spending totals, enabling both parties to understand collective behavior
3Adaptability or versatility
If simple individual check-in is used, then ease of operation is maintained, but merchant ability to engage with customer groups is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic group detection and enrollment without requiring manual intervention from merchants. When individual customers check in, the system automatically detects other mobile devices in proximity and allows them to join the group, then automatically tracks aggregate spending and distributes notifications, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring complex merchant management
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for person/group check-ins include a system provider device receiving from a first user device that is associated with a first user account a first check-in request to allow other user accounts to check-in to the first user account. The system provider device then receives from a second user device that is associated with a second user account a second check-in request to check-in to the first user account. The system provider device associates the first user account and the second user account in a database in response to receiving the second check-in request, and tracks an aggregate behavior associated with both the first user account and the second user account. The system provider device may then provide at least one alert that is based on the aggregate behavior.