Centralized Receipt Network for Consumer Purchase Data Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current receipt management systems do not effectively aggregate and utilize purchase data to facilitate post-purchase activities for both merchants and consumers, and consumers carry multiple loyalty and membership cards for individual merchants, leading to inefficiencies in data analysis and relationship management.

Innovation Solution

A receipt management network that assigns unique consumer identifiers and enrolls consumers and merchants, aggregating purchase data across multiple merchants and payment vehicles, allowing for centralized data storage, analysis, and personalized services, while also consolidating membership information to reduce the need for multiple cards.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If consumers carry multiple loyalty and membership cards for individual merchants, then each merchant can track consumer purchases for analysis, but consumers face inconvenience and complexity in managing multiple cards

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemerchant analysis capabilityVSAvoidconsumer card management

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple merchant-specific membership programs into a single universal receipt management system. The system consolidates purchase data from multiple merchants into one centralized platform, allowing consumers to manage all their membership information through a single interface rather than carrying multiple physical cards. This merging approach maintains merchant analysis capabilities while simplifying consumer interaction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The receipt management system is designed as a universal platform that can interface with multiple different merchants and membership programs simultaneously. It provides multi-functional capabilities including purchase tracking, receipt storage, reward management, and consumer profiling across various merchants, replacing the need for merchant-specific systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Loss of information

If merchants administer separate membership programs for each merchant, then each merchant can analyze consumer behavior independently, but data aggregation and comprehensive consumer profiling become difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconsumer purchase dataVSAvoidmembership system structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a centralized receipt management system as an intermediary between consumers and multiple merchants. This intermediary system aggregates purchase data from various merchants into a unified database, enabling comprehensive consumer profiling while maintaining data security and privacy. The intermediary facilitates information flow without requiring direct complex connections between all merchants and consumers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system merges data collection and analysis functions from multiple independent merchant systems into a single centralized platform. By combining purchase data, consumer profiles, and analytics capabilities in one system, it enables comprehensive consumer behavior analysis while reducing the overall system complexity compared to multiple separate merchant-specific systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Ease of operation

If detailed purchase histories are provided only at individual merchants, then return processes are facilitated, but broader post-purchase activities and personalized offers across multiple merchants are limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereturn processVSAvoidpost-purchase activity range

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The receipt management system provides universal access to detailed purchase histories across all enrolled merchants through a single consumer interface. This multi-functional platform not only supports return processes but also enables a wide range of post-purchase activities including reward redemption, personalized offer delivery, consumer profiling, and cross-merchant analytics, greatly expanding versatility beyond single-merchant capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS8296229B1Method and system for associating consumers with purchase transactions

Publication Date: 2012.10.23 CITICORP CREDIT SERVICES INC (USA)

AI summary

A system and method for associating consumers with their purchases so that consumer transactions can be tied back to a particular consumer is described. More particularly, a central transaction entity as part of a larger network collects, aggregates, manages and mines consumer transaction data from at least consumer and merchant members of the network for the purpose of routing electronic purchase history to consumers and allowing merchant analysis of consumer behavior in order to create consumer profiles to better service consumers and provide more personalized offers.