AU2013270481A1 - An online shopping credit system - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract The invention provides an online shopping credit system to enable participants of the award package system to convert the money been spent into shopping credits, thereby giving the participants 'a second chance' to spend the money on other 5 activities such as shopping. Ideally, the shopping credit system should be integrated into the award package system in order to provide better and more robust functionalities and features for both administrators and users of the software system. The award package system is disclosed in patent application 2011904014 / 2012227160. -O Fig la A Award package system Online shopping credit system s p shopping credit shopping credit package recipient module module sopncrdtB6 sssopin credit cr shopping credit package shopping credit record module B1 list module module distribution schedule B3module B7 distributon schedule shopping credit list module calculator module Computer processor and Machines and Electronic Databases memory devices

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 5 STANDARD APPLICATION -0 An online shopping credit system -5 20 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me. 25 1 Field of invention The invention discloses an online shopping credit system for creating, distributing and managing shopping credits to a plurality of internet and computer users. 5 Background of the invention Patent application 2011904014 / 2012227160 discloses an online award package system which enables users to earn award symbols and prizes from completing qualifying events. Qualifying events may require users to spend money, which implies that the money been spent may be considered 'lost' if the user or participant .o did not win any prizes. It would be desirable to allow participants of the award package system to 'claim back' the money been spent, thus the money spent is not considered 'lost' if the user did not win a prize. It is the object of the invention to provide an online shopping credit system to enable participants of the award package system to 'convert' the money been spent into .5 shopping credits, thereby giving the participants 'a second chance' to spend the 'shopping credits' on other activities such as shopping. Preferably, the process for earning and consuming shopping credits comprises of at least one of the following steps: 1. Registered users complete qualifying events in order to earn shopping o0 credits. The shopping credits being awarded are initially 'locked' and must be 'unlocked' and 'claimed' before the expiry date or the predetermined timeframe. 2. The registered users must spend money on unlock activities to 'unlock' the 25 shopping credits. The registered users must then elect to claim the unlocked shopping credits, which may imply that the rewards and prizes earned from the money been spent on the unlock activities would be, erased, cleared or reset. 30 3. The users may spend the claimed shopping credits on online or offline shopping after the ready-for-use date. Ideally, the shopping credit system should be integrated into the award package system in order to provide better and more robust functionalities and features for both administrators and users of the software system. The award package system is 35 disclosed in patent application 2011904014 / 2012227160. The online shopping system comprises of a shopping credit package list module and at least one of the following modules: 2 a) shopping credit package module b) shopping credit recipient module c) shopping credit module d) distribution schedule module 5 e) distribution schedule list module f) shopping credit record module g) shopping credit calculator module The online shopping credit system is implemented on one or more, data processing apparatus, electronic devices and computer servers. -o Summary of the invention The invention discloses an online shopping credit system which consists of at least .s one computerized machine being configured to providing and implementing a shopping credit package list module for displaying and publishing one or more shopping credit packages, said shopping credit package list module also includes and enables access to at least one of the following modules: o0 a) a shopping credit package module for creating, configuring and data of a shopping credit package and, b) a shopping credit recipient module, which enables one or more website or registered users to be selected as shopping credit or shopping credit 25 recipients of one or more shopping credit packages and, c) a shopping credit module, which enables creation of shopping credit and, d) a distribution schedule module, which enables creation of schedules on 30 when and how often a particular shopping credit is to be distributed or awarded to said shopping credit recipients and, e) a distribution schedule list module, which enables display one or more shopping credits to be distributed to one or more shopping credit recipients in 35 accordance with the settings of the distribution schedule module, f) a shopping credit record module, which enables recording and displaying of shopping credit been distributed, unlocked, claims and spent by said shopping credit recipients and, 3 g) a shopping credit calculator module, which enables real-time calculations of shopping credit been distributed to as well as used by said shopping credit recipients 5 Preferably, said shopping credit refers to a portion or limit set on the amount of money to be awarded to and spent by said shopping credit recipients on online or offline shopping activities Preferably, said shopping credit package module enables scheduled distribution of a .o plurality of shopping credit to a shopping credit recipient group. Preferably, said module refers to the grouping of one or more machine readable/executable instructions to perform one or more tasks and process data required by a computer system, said module may have one or more corresponding graphical user interfaces (GUI) and database tables (database schema) for .5 configuring, storing and processing data associated with the use of the module Preferably, said shopping credit may be distributed to one or more shopping credit recipients without the need for the recipients to complete a qualifying event. Preferably, said award system may be deployed on one or more websites Preferably, said shopping credit system may be integrated into the online award o package system, wherein said online award package system is disclosed in patent application AU 2011904014 / 2012227160 Preferably, said shopping credits may be partially or fully unlocked, thereby allowing partially unlocked shopping credits to be claimed and spent by the shopping credit recipients 25 According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an online method for creating, awarding and spending shopping credits on a data processing apparatus, machine or device, said comprises steps of: 30 a) an administrator of the shopping credit system enables real-time selection of one or more registered users for receiving shopping credits through the use of the shopping credits recipient module and, b) said administrator creates shopping credits to be distributed to said shopping 35 credit recipients through the use of the shopping credits package module and the shopping credits module and, 4 c) said administrator enables scheduled distribution of said shopping credits through the use of the distribution schedule module and, d) said administrator publishes a shopping credit package through the use of the 5 shopping credit package list module and, e) said shopping credits recipients may earn shopping credits through completing a qualifying event and, .0 f) said shopping credit recipients must unlock and claim said shopping credits before the expire date through the use of the shopping credits record module and, g) said shopping credits recipients may spend the unlocked shopping credits on .s a special activity such as online shopping after the read-for-use date of said shopping credits Preferably, the method and system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said shopping credits are to be created, distributed and spent through the 0 use of at least one data processing apparatus, machines or electronic devices. Brief description of the drawings s Fig 1a is diagram showing a collection of software modules of the online shopping credit system. Fig 1b is a diagram showing the workflow for the use of the online shopping credit system. Fig 2a is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying 30 data of the shopping credit package list module Fig 2b is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit package module which incorporates the use of shopping credit recipient module, shopping credit module, and the shopping credit distribution schedule module. 35 Fig 2c is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit recipient module 5 Fig 2d is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit record module Fig 2e is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the distribution schedule list module and the shopping credit calculator 5 module. Fig 3 is a non-administrator side graphical user interface for displaying shopping credit been received, unlocked, claimed and spent by a recipient after the ready-for use date. -o Detailed description of the invention Fig 1a is diagram showing a collection of software modules of the online shopping credit system. -5 A is an award package system disclosed in patent application AU 2011904014 / 2012227160. The integration of the online shopping credit system into the award package is optional not mandatory. B is the online shopping credit system consisting of a collection of software modules. o B1 is a shopping credit package list module for displaying and publishing one or more shopping credit packages B2 is a shopping credit package module for creating, configuring and data of a shopping credit package B3 is a shopping credit record module, which enables recording and displaying of 25 shopping credit been distributed, unlocked, claims and spent by said shopping credit recipients B4 is a shopping credit calculator module, which enables real-time calculations of shopping credit been distributed to as well as used by said shopping credit recipients B5 is a shopping credit recipient module, which enables one or more website or 30 registered users to be selected as shopping credit or shopping credit recipients of one or more shopping credit packages B6 is a shopping credit module, which enables creation of shopping credit 6 B7 is a distribution schedule module, which enables creation of schedules on when and how often a particular shopping credit is to be distributed or awarded to said shopping credit recipients B8 is a distribution schedule list module, which enables display one or more 5 shopping credits to be distributed to one or more shopping credit recipients in accordance with the settings of the distribution schedule module X is collection of hardware components and devices that the online refund system may be implemented on. The components and devices may include but are not limited to processors, database and application servers, electronic devices and .o digital machines. Fig 1b is a diagram showing the workflow for the use of the online shopping credit system. The steps for creating, managing and consuming shopping credit on the .s administrator and user side through the use of the modules are as follows: A is a process for implementing the shopping credit system on the administrator side, where the process comprises steps of: Al an administrator of the shopping credit system enables real-time selection of one or more registered users for receiving shopping credits through the use of the o shopping credits recipient module and, A2 said administrator creates shopping credits to be distributed to said shopping credit recipients through the use of the shopping credits package module and the shopping credits module and, A3 said administrator enables scheduled distribution of said shopping credits 25 through the use of the distribution schedule module and, A4 said administrator publishes a shopping credit package through the use of the shopping credit package list module B is a process for implementing the shopping credit system on the non-administrator 30 side, where the process comprises steps of: B1 shopping credits recipients may earn shopping credits through completing a qualifying event and, B2 said shopping credit recipients must unlock and claim said shopping credits before the expire date through the use of the shopping credits record module and, 7 B3 said shopping credits recipients may spend the unlocked shopping credits on a special activity such as online shopping after the read-for-use date of said shopping credits 5 Fig 2a is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit package list module A is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit package list module .o Al is an 'add' button for adding one row of data to be configured on the shopping credit package list. Each row of data consists of a different shopping credit package with different data configurations. A2 is a 'delete' button for deleting one or more rows of data from the shopping credit package list. The administrator first selects or checks a checkbox of a row, then click .5 on the delete button to delete the row. A3 is a 'sync shopping credit package' button. The 'Sync shopping credit package' button allows the admin to create clones of the selected row of data on the shopping credit package list. To enable data synchronization, the administrator may be required to perform the following steps: -0 a) select one shopping credit package listed on the shopping credit package list by checking the checkbox of the row of the shopping credit package b) click on the sync 'shopping credit package' button. 25 c) when step b) is completed, the shopping credit package is duplicated for every row of shopping credit package listed on the shopping credit package list. 30 A4 is a table showing a list of shopping credit packages. Each row of the table represents one shopping credit package and its associated data configurations. A row may be added or deleted from the table through the use of 'add' or 'delete' button (see Al & A2) 35 X1 is a label on the first column (shopping credit package data field) of a row on the shopping credit package list. The administrator may click on the label to access or open the 'shopping credit package' page for creating a shopping credit package (see Fig 2b) 8 X2 is a label on the fifth column (shopping credit record data field) of a row on the shopping credit package list. The administrator may click on the label to access or open the 'shopping credit record' page for viewing shopping credit been distributed to and spent by by one or more shopping credit recipients (see Fig 2d) 5 X3 is a symbol on the sixth column (publish data field) of a row on the shopping credit package list. The administrator may click on the symbol to publish or unpublish a row representing a particular shopping credit package. When a shopping credit package or a row representing the shopping credit package is set as unpublished, all .0 the data and functionalities associated with the shopping credit package is inactive. Fig 2b is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit package module which incorporates the use of shopping credit recipient module, shopping credit module, and the shopping .5 credit distribution schedule module. A is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit package module Al is an 'add' button for adding a row of the table A5 o A2 is a 'delete' button for deleting one or more rows of the table A5 A3 is a 'save & close' button to save the setting on the shopping credit package page and to close the page after the data has been saved. A4 is a table showing a label for accessing and opening the shopping credit recipient group page (see Fig 2c). The administrator clicks on the label 'edit' to open the page. 25 A5 is a table for accessing or opening pages for creating shopping credit and shopping credit distribution schedule. Each row of the table represents a separate instance of the shopping credit and shopping credit distribution schedule to be created or configured. A6 is a label for accessing or opening the 'shopping credit configuration' page (Fig 30 2b C). A7 is a label for accessing or opening the 'shopping credit distribution schedule' page (Fig 2b G). A8 is a label for accessing or opening the 'shopping credits list' (Fig 2e A). The number of shopping credits to be created, displayed and distributed depends on the 35 settings of the shopping credit schedule module (Fig 2b G). 9 B is a webpage for configuring data for selecting a recipient group. The graphical user interface for configuring data is shown in Fig 2c. C is a webpage for creating shopping credits. The data fields of the page are as follows: 5 1. Shopping credit The field allows the administrator to input the shopping credit in dollar amount. 2. Qualifying events The field allows the administrator input qualifying events for awarding shopping .0 credit 3. Unlock activity The field allows the administrator to input unlock activity, which is a type of activity to enable shopping credit recipients to unlock shopping credits been received. -5 4. Special activity The field allows the administrator to input special activity, which refers to an online or offline shopping in the context of the present invention. -O 5. To expire.... The field 'to expire' enables the administrator to input the number of days on which the shopping credit would expire after it has been awarded to or received by the shopping credit recipients. The shopping credit recipients must unlock and claim the 25 shopping credits before the expiry date. 6. Shopping credit ready-for-use date The field allows the administrator to set the date for which the shopping credit recipients are allowed to spend the shopping credit. 30 D represents a webpage for displaying a list of qualifying events to be selected for awarding shopping credit to the selected shopping credit recipients. 10 E represents a webpage for displaying a list of unlock activities to be selected. An unlock activity refers to an activity which allows recipients to unlock the shopping credits been received. F is a webpage for displaying a list of special activities to be selected. A special 5 activity refers to online or offline shopping in the context of the present invention. G is a webpage for creating a shopping credit distribution schedule. The schedule determines when and how often shopping credit is to be distributed to a selected shopping credit recipient group. This webpage is used when the qualifying event for .0 rewarding shopping credit is set to 'free', meaning that shopping credit is awarded to a shopping credit recipient without the need for the recipient to complete a qualifying event. G1 is a section of the 'shopping credit distribution schedule' page for inputting or configuring data on distributing shopping credit by interval. A shopping credit may be .5 distributed every hour, day, month or year by selecting value on or inputting the values into this table. G2 is a section of the 'shopping credit distribution schedule' page for inputting or configuring data on distributing shopping credit by weekdays. A shopping credit may be distributed on every or any day of a week by selecting value on or inputting the o values into this table. G3 is a section of the 'shopping credit distribution schedule' page for inputting or configuring data on distributing shopping credit by calendar dates. A shopping credit may be distributed on every selected calendar date by selecting value on or inputting the values into this table. 25 Fig 2c is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit recipient module X represents a button or label to access or open the 'select recipients' webpage. The 30 label or button is located in the table of Fig 2b A4. A is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit recipient module. The webpage is divided into left pane and right pane. The left pane enables the administrator to input or create settings for selecting registered users as shopping credit recipients. The right pane displays a list 35 of selected recipients based on the settings of the right pane. The selection process is conducted in real-time where a registered user of the website who fits the selection criteria is automatically selected as a shopping credit recipient. 11 Al is a collection of tabs for directing the administrator to different criteria settings. The administrator may choose to select or filter users by name, location, email, gender or age. More selection criteria may be included depending on the needs of the administrator. 5 A2 is a table which allows the administrator to input or set age range for selecting users as shopping credit recipients. A3 is a 'save' button to save the settings created in A2. A4 is a table which displays and lists the saved settings created in A2. .o A5 is a different example of the left pane of the page where a different tab is selected to enable the administrator to add a different selection criteria for filtering and selecting shopping credit recipients. The 'location' tab is selected to enable the administrator to select recipients by their geographical location. A6 is the 'location' tab which has been selected. .5 A7 is a table which allows the administrator to input or set locations for selecting users as shopping credit recipients. A8 is a 'save' button to save the settings created in A7. A9 is a table which displays and lists the saved settings created in A7. o A10 is a different example of the left pane of the page where a different tab is selected to enable the administrator to add a different selection criteria for filtering and selecting shopping credit recipients. The 'email' tab is selected to enable the administrator to select recipients by their email address. All is the 'email' tab which has been selected. 25 A12 is a table which allows the administrator to input or set email address for selecting users as shopping credit recipients. A13 is a'save' button to save the settings created in A12. A14 is a table which displays and lists the saved settings created in A12. B is the right pane of the webpage which displays a list of users been selected 30 based on the criteria been set on the right pane of the page. 12 Fig 2d is an administrator side graphical user interface for displaying shopping credit been received, unlocked, claimed and spent by a recipient after the ready-for-use date. A is an administrator side graphical user interface for displaying data of the shopping 5 credit record module Al is a 'back' button to redirect the user to the shopping credit package list page. A2 is a 'close' button to close the webpage. A3 is an input field for inputting or selecting criteria for searching or filtering the list of transactions displayed on table A4 .o A4 is a table which displays a list of records of the shopping credits to be unlocked and claimed. The administrator may help to claim the unclaimed shopping credits from the administrator side. A5 is a webpage or popup window to enable the administrator to confirm claiming of an unlocked shopping credit. .s A6 is a table which displays a list of records showing the shopping credits been claimed and spent. A7 is a record on the table A6, which shows the shopping credit been claimed and transferred from table A4. A8 is a record on the table A6, which shows purchasing of a book through the use of o shopping credit after the ready-for-use date. X100 is a step where upon confirmation of claiming an unlocked shopping credit, the record of the claimed shopping credit is transferred from table A4 to table A6. Fig 2e is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying 25 data of the distribution schedule list module and the shopping credit calculator module. A is an administrator graphical user interface showing a list of the shopping credits to be distributed according to the settings of the distribution schedule module. 30 Al is a table which displays a list of shopping credits to be distributed according to the setting of the shopping credit distribution schedule. The table shows that there are 4 shopping credits (each worth $10) to be distributed on every Monday from the 02-December 2012 to 26-December 2012 timeframe. 13 A2 is a table which displays a list of shopping credits to be distributed according to the setting of the shopping credit distribution schedule. The table shows that there is 1 shopping credit (each worth $10) to be distributed on every 25-December from the 02-December 2012 to 26-December 2012 timeframe. 5 B is an administrator side graphical user interface for configuring and displaying data of the shopping credit calculator module. The data fields for inputting and configuring data are as follows: Shopping credit package ID The field displays a unique identification number of a particular shopping credit .o package. Each shopping credit package is assigned a unique identification number in the database. Total shopping credit recipients The field displays total number of recipients been selected at the date of view the .s shopping credit calculator page. The total number is calculated in real-time and therefore the number fluctuates depending on the number of registered users been selected as shopping credit recipients. Total shopping credit distributed o The field displays how much shopping credit in dollar terms have been distributed or awarded to selected shopping credit recipients. This total represents the total amount of shopping credit to be unlocked and claimed by the selected shopping credit recipients for a particular shopping credit package. The equation for calculating total shopping credit distributed is as follows: 25 Shopping credit x total shopping credit recipients (total selected recipients) = total shopping credit distributed Received and expire dates The fields display the received date of shopping credit and the expired date of the 30 shopping credits been received. Shopping credit retained duration The field displays the total number of days from the end or expiry date of shopping credit to the shopping credit ready-for-use date. This is calculated for all shopping 14 credit recipients. Each recipient may spend the money to unlock their shopping credits at different times before the expiry date. Total shopping credit unlocked 5 The field displays the total amount of shopping credits (in dollar terms), been unlocked. Total shopping credit claimed The field displays the total amount of shopping credits (in dollar terms), been claimed. -o Total shopping credit spent The field displays the total amount of shopping credits (in dollar terms) been spent on online or offline shopping. .s Bank interest rate The field displays current bank interest that may be earned from retaining the amount of money been distributed as shopping credit . Bank interest income 20 The field displays the amount of money earned from bank interest from retaining the amount of shopping credit from the expiry date till the shopping credit ready-for-use. This income does not include the interest earned from each individual shopping credit recipient that had spent his/her money at different times before the expiry date. 25 C is a timeline which illustrates the some of the concepts disclosed in Fig 2e B. C1 is the shopping credit received date C2 is the shopping credit expire date. The shopping credit recipient must spend money on an unlock activity before this expire date in order to unlock and claim the locked shopping credits. 30 C3 is the shopping credit ready-for-use date. Shopping credit can be spent on online or offline shopping after the ready-for-use date. 15 X shows that the timeframe for which to unlock and to claim the shopping credit received is 5 days. Y shows that the duration from the expire date to the ready-for-use date is 30 days. This timeframe indicates that the shopping credit recipient may need to wait 30 days 5 in order to be allowed to spend shopping credits been unlocked and claimed. The bank interest income is calculated based on this duration and does not include the interest calculated in X or from each individual shopping credit recipient spending money at different dates before the shopping credit expiry date. .o Fig 3 is a non-administrator side graphical user interface for displaying shopping credit been received, unlocked, claimed and spent by a recipient after the ready-for use date. A is an non-administrator side graphical user interface for displaying data of the shopping credit record module .s Al is a 'back' button to redirect the user to the shopping credit package list page. A2 is a 'close' button to close the webpage. A3 is an input field for inputting or selecting criteria for searching or filtering the list of transactions displayed on table A4 A4 is a table which displays a list of records of the shopping credits to be unlocked o and claimed. The administrator may help to claim the unclaimed shopping credits from the administrator side. A5 is a webpage or popup window to enable the administrator to confirm claiming of an unlocked shopping credit. A6 is a table which displays a list of records showing the shopping credits been 25 claimed and spent. A7 is a record on the table A6, which shows the shopping credit been claimed and transferred from table A4. A8 is a record on the table A6, which shows purchasing of a book through the use of shopping credit after the ready-for-use date. 30 X100 is a step where upon confirmation of claiming an unlocked shopping credit, the record of the claimed shopping credit is transferred from table A4 to table A6. 16 Glossary of terms 1. Award package system Award package system refers to a system in which a collection of software modules, 5 machine components and electronic devices are being assembled as a package to collectively process, transform and calculate data associated with the implementation of the award package. The concept of award package system was disclosed in patent application 2011904014 / 2012227160. .0 2. Online shopping credit system An online shopping credit system refers to a software or computer system for awarding and distributing shopping credits to users who have completed a qualifying event. Shopping credits can be used to purchase goods and services from one or more selected merchants or trading partners. -5 3. Graphical user interface (GUI) The term GUI disclosed herein refers to at least one webpage which enables displaying, configuring and inputting of data for one or more modules, database tables (concept) and, or databases that the GUI is associated with. -0 4. Module A Module refers to the grouping of one or more machine readable/executable instructions to perform one or more tasks and process data required by a system or 25 computer program. A large module may contain many small modules. A module may work independently or with other modules to complete a task. The primary goal when designing modules is to make them general, so they can be reused in different applications. For example, an e-commerce module such as OpencartTM typically contains functionalities that would enable buyers and sellers to interact. Such a 30 module may be used independently or integrated with other large modules to process and calculate data for more complex tasks. 17 Each module may have one or more corresponding graphical user interfaces (GUI) and database tables (database schema) for configuring, storing and processing data associated with the use of the module. 5 5. Qualifying event A qualifying event is a special type of event used to retrieve rewards (shopping credit ) for the participant of the reward program. Any activity may be defined as a .o qualifying event. A qualifying event may include at least one of the following: 1.1 To click on an object on the screen 1.2 To flip over a card by clicking on the card image on a screen 1.3 To roll a dice by clicking the dice image on a screen 1.4 To open a gift box by clicking on the gift box image on a screen .5 1.5 To complete a quiz 1.6 To defeat an enemy in the game 1.7 To make a purchase or to spend money on shopping 1.8 To spend more than 2 hours on a website 1.9 To complete a form and/or survey 20 This is by no means an exhaustive list of all possible expression of a qualifying event. 6. Unlock activity Unlock activities refers to activities that needs to be completed in order to unlock shopping credits. Unlock activities may include but are not limited to: 25 0 making a donation * making a wager * spending money on shopping * spending money on advertising 18 7. Special activity A special activity refers to an activity of which the participation of the activity requires the use of shopping credits. A special activity may include both online and offline shopping or purchases of goods and services from a selection of online and offline 5 retailers and merchants. 8. Shopping credit A portion or limit set on the amount of money to be used for purchasing goods and services from one or more selected merchants or trading partners. -o Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely illustrative, and not restrictive of the invention. For example, although online integrated shopping credit system is described, embodiments of the present invention may be adopted to suit the needs .s of any web or desktop application. One of the diagramming techniques used herein may be referred to as Unified Modeling Language (UML), a visual language for capturing software designs and patterns. A UML model is often used to capture the "big picture"; the high-level ideas and logical relationship between the different parts and/or behaviors of a software o system. One skilled in the relevant art does not need to know the intricate details of low level implementation (the code) in order to build a system with identical characteristics to that of the current invention. Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routines of embodiments of the present invention including C, C++, Java, C#, php, python, 25 assembly language, etc. Different programming techniques can be employed such as procedural or object oriented. The routines can execute on a single processing device or multiple processors. Although the steps, operations, or computations may be presented in a specific order, this order may be changed in different embodiments. In some embodiments, multiple steps shown as sequential in this specification can 30 be performed at the same time. The sequence operations described herein can be interrupted, suspended, or otherwise controlled by another process, such as an operating system, kernel, etc. The routines can operate in an operating system 19 environment or as stand-alone routines occupying all, or a substantial part, of the system processing. Functions can be performed in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in the form of control 5 logic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The control logic may be stored in an information storage medium, such as a computer-readable medium, as a plurality of instructions adapted to direct an information processing device to perform a set of steps disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will .o appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present invention. Embodiments of the invention may be implemented by using a programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application specific integrated circuits, programmable logical devices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may .s be used. In general, the functions of embodiment of the present invention can be achieved by any means as is know in the art. Distributed network systems, components and circuits can be used. Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means. . Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to o particular embodiments therefore, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to 25 adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. 30 20

Claims (11)

1. An online shopping credit system consists of at least one computerized machine being configured to providing and implementing a shopping credit 5 package list module for displaying and publishing one or more shopping credit packages, said shopping credit package list module also includes and enables access to at least one of the following modules: a) a shopping credit package module for creating, configuring and data of a .0 shopping credit package and, b) a shopping credit recipient module, which enables one or more website or registered users to be selected as shopping credit or shopping credit recipients of one or more shopping credit packages and, -5 c) a shopping credit module, which enables creation of shopping credit and, d) a distribution schedule module, which enables creation of schedules on when and how often a particular shopping credit is to be distributed or o0 awarded to said shopping credit recipients and, e) a distribution schedule list module, which enables display one or more shopping credits to be distributed to one or more shopping credit recipients in accordance with the settings of the distribution schedule module, -5 f) a shopping credit record module, which enables recording and displaying of shopping credit been distributed, unlocked, claims and spent by said shopping credit recipients and, 30 g) a shopping credit calculator module, which enables real-time calculations of shopping credit been distributed to as well as used by said shopping credit recipients

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said shopping credit refers to a 35 portion or limit set on the amount of money to be awarded to and spent by said shopping credit recipients on online or offline shopping activities

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said shopping credit package module enables scheduled distribution of a plurality of shopping credit to a 40 shopping credit recipient group. 1

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said module refers to the grouping of one or more machine readable/executable instructions to perform one or more tasks and process data required by a computer system, said module may have one or more corresponding graphical user interfaces (GUI) and 5 database tables (database schema) for configuring, storing and processing data associated with the use of the module

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said shopping credit may be .0 distributed to one or more shopping credit recipients without the need for the recipients to complete a qualifying event.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said award system may be .s deployed on one or more websites

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said shopping credit system may be integrated into the online award package system, wherein said online award package system is disclosed in patent application AU 2011904014 / o0 2012227160

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said shopping credits may be partially or fully unlocked, thereby allowing partially unlocked shopping credits to be claimed and spent by the shopping credit recipients -5

9. A method for creating, awarding and spending shopping credits on a data processing apparatus, machine or device comprises steps of: 30 a) an administrator of the shopping credit system enables real-time selection of one or more registered users for receiving shopping credits through the use of the shopping credits recipient module and, b) said administrator creates shopping credits to be distributed to said shopping 35 credit recipients through the use of the shopping credits package module and the shopping credits module and, c) said administrator enables scheduled distribution of said shopping credits through the use of the distribution schedule module and, 40 d) said administrator publishes a shopping credit package through the use of the shopping credit package list module and, 2 e) said shopping credits recipients may earn shopping credits through completing a qualifying event and, f) said shopping credit recipients must unlock and claim said shopping credits 5 before the expire date through the use of the shopping credits record module and, g) said shopping credits recipients may spend the unlocked shopping credits on a special activity such as online shopping after the read-for-use date of said .0 shopping credits

10. The method an system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said shopping credits are to be created, distributed and spent through the use of at least one data processing apparatus, machines or electronic devices. -5

11.The online shopping credit system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying figures and specification. 3