Social Contact Pickup System for E-commerce Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
E-commerce sellers face challenges in motivating shoppers to make online purchases due to high shipping costs and the inconvenience of picking up products from physical stores, which can deter buyers from completing transactions.
Innovation Solution
A system that determines a shopper's social contact's presence in a physical store and offers an online purchase option where the social contact can pick up the product on behalf of the shopper, reducing or eliminating shipping fees and the need for the shopper to visit the store.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the seller offers shipping options to deliver products to shoppers, then the shopper can receive the product conveniently at home, but the shipping fee increases the total cost and may deter the shopper from making a purchase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a social contact as an intermediary to receive the product on behalf of the shopper. The social contact acts as a mediator between the seller and the shopper, allowing the product to be delivered to them without incurring shipping fees. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating the shipping cost barrier while still providing convenient product delivery through the intermediary party.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the traditional delivery model where instead of delivering directly to the shopper, the system delivers to a social contact who then transfers the product to the shopper. This copying approach allows the system to bypass shipping fee structures while maintaining the essential function of product delivery to the intended recipient.
2Quantity of substance
If the shopper selects the option to pick up the product from a physical store, then the shipping fee is avoided, but the shopper must spend time and effort to visit the physical store which may be far away or not on their commute path
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a social contact as an intermediary to collect the product at the physical store and deliver it to the shopper. This eliminates the need for the shopper to personally visit the store, transferring the pickup task to someone else in their social network. The shopper avoids both the shipping fee and the time/effort of store visits while still receiving the product.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the social contact to perform the pickup service voluntarily without compensation, effectively utilizing existing social relationships to provide a free delivery service. This self-service approach by the social contact resolves the contradiction by eliminating both cost and time barriers for the shopper.
3Productivity
If the seller implements traditional marketing techniques with discounts and rewards, then the shopper may be encouraged to purchase, but the process remains expensive in terms of process, logistics, and time expended
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages social contacts as intermediaries who can quickly receive and forward products, eliminating the need for lengthy research, comparison, and logistics coordination. The social network infrastructure provides instant verification and delivery capability, dramatically reducing the time and resources required for the purchase process while maintaining high conversion rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical marketing system (discounts, rewards, logistics coordination) with a social network-based system. Instead of using complex marketing mechanisms to encourage purchases, the system utilizes existing social relationships to enable instant purchase and delivery, reducing process complexity and time expenditure.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for marketing a product in real time. A presence of a social contact in a physical store is determined. The contact is connected to a shopper by a social networking service. Based on contextual information about a shopper, it is determined that the shopper intends to purchase the product. A promotion of the product is sent to the shopper. The promotion specifies an online purchase of the product and a selection of a delivery option by which the contact picks up the purchased product at the store. An indication of the online purchase and the selection of the delivery option are received. The contact is notified to pick up the purchased product at the store on behalf of the shopper. A verification that the contact picked up the product is received. The shopper avoids paying a shipping fee and avoids visiting the store.