Transaction Item Identification via Merchant Website Parsing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transaction data sets are limited, preventing entities from adequately understanding or reporting on economic activities due to the lack of detailed information on transaction items beyond macro-level data.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that expand transaction data sets by automatically querying and analyzing merchant websites to identify transaction items, determine tax rates, and generate pre-tax transaction amounts, using a transaction data processor with a memory and itemized database to gather and store detailed item information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If macro-level transaction information is collected, then data collection is simple and efficient, but the data is insufficient for detailed economic analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses merchant websites as an intermediary data source to bridge the gap between macro transaction data and detailed item information. The system queries merchant websites using transaction data as keys to retrieve supplementary item-level information, effectively multiplying the value of existing transaction data without requiring direct collection of detailed item data from consumers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing transaction data to extract key information (merchant ID, transaction amount, location) before using this processed data to query merchant websites. This preliminary extraction and preparation enables efficient retrieval of detailed item information from multiple websites without requiring complex real-time processing during the actual data collection phase.
2Measurement precision
If automated website querying is implemented, then item identification accuracy improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing transaction data to extract key information (merchant ID, transaction amount, location) before using this processed data to query merchant websites. This preliminary extraction and preparation enables efficient retrieval of detailed item information from multiple websites without requiring complex real-time processing during the actual data collection phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the merchant's product catalog by querying and parsing their website data. Instead of requiring direct access to physical inventory systems or complex real-time verification, the system retrieves a copy of the product information from the merchant's website, which provides sufficient accuracy for identification purposes while significantly reducing processing time.
3Loss of information
If multiple item combinations are analyzed, then consumer behavior insights improve, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex task of analyzing multiple item combinations into distinct manageable steps: (1) retrieving transaction data, (2) querying merchant websites for item information, (3) matching items to transaction records, (4) analyzing item combinations and their frequencies, and (5) generating consumer behavior insights. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently and reduces overall computational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where consumer behavior patterns identified in one analysis phase feed back into subsequent analysis phases. For example, frequently purchased item combinations identified in initial analysis can be used to refine search queries and focus subsequent analysis on the most relevant consumer behaviors, reducing the computational search space and improving insight accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods for determining items purchased in a transaction are described. Transaction information, such as a transaction amount, transaction location, and merchant ID may be used to generate a pre-tax transaction amount. A website affiliated with a transacted merchant may be parsed to determine whether one or more single items, or combinations of items, have prices that alone or when summed equal the pre-tax transaction amount. The items may be assigned probability values based on clustering and consumer profiling and an item ID may be stored for each item having the highest probability value.