Roll-up Payment System for Automated Wish List Purchasing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals face challenges in saving for expensive products due to financial obligations and the nature of their income, making it difficult to purchase desired items, especially with the need for up-front payment.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for roll-up payments that round up transaction amounts in retail environments, allowing customers to save towards items on a wish list by increasing transaction amounts and applying the additional funds to the wish list, automatically purchasing items once a threshold is reached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If customers manually save money through frequent small transactions, then they can accumulate funds for expensive items, but the process is time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically rounding up transaction amounts and accumulating funds in advance. When the accumulated funds reach the price of a wish list item, the system automatically completes the purchase without requiring customer intervention at the moment of purchase, thus saving time and simplifying the saving process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically monitoring transaction amounts, rounding them up, accumulating funds, and executing purchases when thresholds are met. The customer simply needs to make regular purchases, and the system handles all saving and purchasing operations autonomously, reducing both time effort and operational complexity.
2Productivity
If customers manually monitor and purchase items when funds are accumulated, then they can control their spending, but the process requires multiple searches and server queries
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the accumulated funds against wish list item prices and automatically triggering purchases when the threshold is reached. This automated feedback loop eliminates the need for customers to manually check fund status and search for items, significantly improving purchasing efficiency while the system manages the complexity internally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating when purchase thresholds will be reached and automatically executing purchases at the optimal moment. This eliminates the need for multiple server queries and item searches, improving productivity while the system handles the computational complexity of tracking and timing purchases.
3Loss of time
If the system automatically purchases items when thresholds are reached, then the process is simplified and time is reduced, but server and database burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-organizing wish list items with priority levels and pre-calculating purchase thresholds during the saving accumulation phase. This preparation work is done once when the wish list is created or updated, rather than continuously during monitoring, reducing the energy burden on servers during automated purchase execution while still achieving time savings for customers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments wish list items by priority levels and handles purchases separately for each priority group. This segmentation allows the system to process only necessary purchases at each threshold level, avoiding redundant server queries and database operations, thus reducing energy consumption while maintaining the automated time-saving benefit.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for roll-up payments in a retail environment is provided. The system includes a processor coupled to a memory storing a wish list associated with a wish list user identifying an item, customer registration information identifying a registered customer associated with the wish list, and an amount of available funds associated with the wish list, an interface component configured to receive sales transaction information and provide updated sales transaction information, and a roll-up payment component. The roll-up payment component is configured to match identification information associated with the registered customer with the received sales transaction information, increase the transaction amount and the amount of available funds, determine whether the amount of available funds has transgressed a threshold amount equal to a purchase price of an item on the wish list, and generate a notification for the wish list user.