ITMI20010340A1 - PROCEDURE AND GENERAL SYSTEM A LIST OF CUSTOMIZED EXPENSES BASED ON THE HISTORY OF A CUSTOMER'S PURCHASES - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION of the industrial invention entitled:

"PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING A CUSTOMIZED SHOPPING LIST BASED ON A CUSTOMER'S PURCHASE HISTORY"

DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a process and a system for generating a personalized shopping or shopping list and, more specifically, a process and a system for generating a personalized shopping list based on the history of a customer's purchases and for delivering promotions. together with the personalized shopping list. As used herein, the term "promotion" refers to any offer, advertisement, incentive, discount voucher or coupon, commercial message, or communication to promote one or more goods and / or one or more services. Background discussion

As any grocery-grocery shopper knows, using a grocery or shopping list or list can make the task of buying grocery-grocery items easier and can result in fewer items being forgotten. . However, generating a shopping or shopping list takes time and these lists can be difficult to maintain within the time frame before the shopping event that the list is intended for.

In addition, it is well known to provide promotions such as purchase incentives and advertising messages to consumers based on the consumer's particular shopping history and / or based on the purchase items in the consumer's current transaction. This form of marketing or targeted marketing has the drawback constituted by the fact that the seller providing the promotion cannot know precisely when the consumer will need the product that is the object of the promotion, or precisely when the customer will intervene in an event of shopping. Therefore, targeted articles can be delivered to the consumer long before the consumer purchases the traded product. Thus, current targeted advertising messages have the drawback constituted by the fact that the effectiveness of the advertising message can in the meantime vanish, i.e. vanish in the time between the moment in which the consumer receives the advertisement and the moment of purchase of the product associated with. the advertisement itself. Additionally, incentives for targeted purchases can be lost or discarded during this in-between time period.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method, system and computer program product for generating a shopping or shopping list based on a consumer's shopping history.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer-readable process, system and support for delivering targeted promotions to the consumer based on the time of the consumer's purchase event.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for delivering or distributing targeted promotions to the consumer based on items on the personalized shopping list.

These and other purposes are achieved by providing a new process, system and computer program product to generate a personalized shopping-shopping list.

According to an aspect of the invention, a system, a computer program product and a method for generating a customized shopping list are provided. The process, on which the system and the computer program product are based, includes receiving a shopping history associated with a customer identifier element, generating a personalized shopping list based on the purchasing history, associating the personalized shopping list with the customer identifier element and store the customized shopping list associated with the customer identifier element. The purchase history can be received, through a local area network or a wide area network, from a remote computer to generate the purchase history. Items on the personalized shopping list can be determined based on shopping trends identified from the purchase history, in which case the frequency of purchase of items in the shopping history is determined and the items likely to be requested by the customer are determined by the frequency and on the date of the shopping event for which the shopping list is generated.

According to another aspect of the invention, shopping list or shopping list criteria are also received, and the customized shopping list is generated based on the shopping history and shopping list criteria. In this aspect, shopping trends are determined by the shopping history and a preliminary shopping list is generated based on the determined shopping trends. The Preliminary Shopping List is related to items meeting the shopping list criteria and a customized shopping list of items on the Preliminary Shopping List meeting the predetermined criteria is generated.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the personalized shopping list is delivered to a so-called "desktop" computer, or to a customer's laptop, associated with the customer's identifier element, and promotions are generated and delivered with the list. of personalized shopping. Promotions delivered can be determined based on the purchase history associated with the customer identifier element, or based on the items on the personalized shopping list which may be in the form of a product name, generic item name, or any other type of product identification. When the list is a list of generic item types, product groups corresponding to each generic item on the custom shopping list can be identified, and promotions can be generated for each product group corresponding to a respective generic item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A comprehensive evaluation of the invention and many of the consequent advantages thereof will be readily obtained as it is better understood by referring to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a system for generating a customized shopping list according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a customer laptop employed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3A is a table of product identifier elements for associating product identifier elements with respective products and other information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3B is a purchase history table for associating a customer identifier (CID) element with a purchase history; Figure 3C is a shopping list or shopping list table for associating CID with shopping list items according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3D is a table of predetermined promotions for associating predetermined promotions with a CID according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3E is a trigger article table for associating trigger articles with promotions according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a flowchart describing a process for obtaining a personalized shopping list and / or personalized promotions using a customer computer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a flowchart describing a process for determining shopping list items based on a shopping history according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a flowchart describing a process for reviewing shopping list items based on a shopping list criterion according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for generating a customized shopping list according to a predetermined item identification type according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 8A to 8C are exemplary promotions that can be delivered with a personalized shopping list according to an embodiment of the present invention; And

Figure 9 is a schematic illustration of a computer system programmed to perform one or more of the special purpose functions of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate identical or corresponding parts in the various views, and more particularly to Figure 1 thereof, there is represented a computerized system for generating a shopping or grocery list customized based on the history of a consumer's purchases. The system of Figure 1 includes a central computer 101, a global purchasing database 103, one or more retail stores 105, a purchasing data computer 107, a local purchasing database 109, a controller 111 store, store database 113, one or more points of sale (POS) 115, each including a printer 117, terminal 119 and scanning device 121. A server 123 is also included. shopping list or shopping list, a shopping list database 125, and an advertisement server 127, a customer desktop computer 129, a customer laptop 201, and a wide area network network (WAN) "such as the Internet 131.

The central computer 101 is any suitable workstation, server or other device, such as the computer system 901 of Figure 9, for communicating with the purchase data computer 107 and for storing information and retrieving information in / from the database. of the global shopping 103. The central or host computer 101 may also determine targeted promotions which are to be transmitted to customers in the retail store 105. The central computer 101 communicates with the computer 107 of the purchase data using any suitable protocol and can be implemented using the computer system 901 of Figure 9, for example.

The global shopping database 103 is an archive that includes records or records containing information for generating and delivering personalized shopping lists and targeted promotions, according to the present invention. This information includes information about each purchase made by a customer in the retail store 105. This information may include, but is not limited to, the shelf keeping unit (SKU), brand, size, weight, price, date and time of purchases, and a customer identifier or " customer identifier (CID) "relating to the customer making the purchase, for example. In one embodiment, portions of this information are obtained from barcodes on purchased items, which are scanned by the scanning device 121 during a transaction. These barcodes may contain UPC, JAN, and EAN information. Records in the global purchasing database 103 contain fields along with a set of operations for search, selection, recombination and other database functions. The global purchasing database 103 can be implemented, if desired, as two or more databases. One or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5832 457; 5649 114; 5 430 644; and 5 592 560 describe techniques for collecting consumer shopping history information and for storing this information in databases such as global purchases database 103 and store database 113, for example. US Patents No. 5 832 457; 5649 114; 5 430 644; and 5 592 560 are incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, techniques for collecting consumer shopping information and for storing this information in databases, such as the global shopping database 103, and the store database 113 are described in other patents owned by Catalina Marketing and / or Catalina Marketing International. Each patent owned by Catalina Marketing and / or Catalina Marketing International is incorporated herein by reference.

Retail store 105 is generally called a retail location and a place where goods are held for retail to customers. As noted above, many retail stores 105 can be connected to the central computer 101.

The purchase data computer 107 may be implemented using the computer system 901 of Figure 9, for example, or any other suitable PC, workstation, server or device for communicating with the central computer 101 to store and retrieve information in the base. of local purchase data 109 to monitor data transmitted between the terminal 119 and the store controller 111 (i.e. transaction data) and to control the printer 117.

The local shopping database 109 is a file that includes records containing information for providing a personalized shopping list and promotions in accordance with the present invention. The records or registration in the local purchase database 109 contain fields for associating barcodes with products in the retail store 105 (e.g. using UPC, JAN, and EAN codes), associate and identifying elements of customers with promotions, associate consumer identifiers with information from the history of customers' purchases, and associate purchase triggers (e.g. selection barcodes) with promotions. The local purchasing database 109 also includes operations for search function, selection, recombination and other functions of the database. The local purchasing database 109 can be implemented as two or more databases, if desired. Periodically (e.g. daily), information on sales transactions stored in the local purchase database 109 is retrieved by the purchase data computer 107 and transmitted to the central computer 101, which uses the information to update the history information. of purchases stored in the global purchases database 103.

The store controller 111 is any computer or device for communicating with the terminal 119 and for using information stored in the store database 113 to carry out transactions at the point of sale (POS) 115. A description of a store controller 111 is found, for example, in US Patent No. 5 173 851.

The store database 113 is an archive that includes records or records containing information for carrying out transactions at the store 115 by scanning barcodes printed on purchased items. The records in the store database 113 contain fields for associating barcodes with products and their corresponding prices. The store database 113 also includes operations for search function, classification, recombination and other functions of the database, and can be implemented, if desired, as two or more databases. The retail store 105 includes one or more outlets 115. Each store 115 preferably includes a corresponding printer 117, a terminal 119 and a scanning device 121. The printer 117 prints, for example, promotions in response to receipt of computer commands 107 of the purchase data. Terminal 119 may be implemented as a standard cash register and may include a screen, credit card reader, and numeric keypad, for example. The terminal 119 communicates with the store controller 111 and the scanning device 121. The scanning device 121 can be implemented as any conventional scanning device for reading product information such as an item code (e.g. UDC, EAN, or JAN) by barcodes or other markings on the product. Information read by the scanner device 121 is transmitted to the store controller 111 through the terminal 119. The store controller 111 uses the scanned information and the information stored in the store database 113 to determine transaction information including SKU, price of the store. product, product quantity and product description, for example.

If there are a plurality of outlets 115 within the retail store 105, then each terminal 119 is preferably arranged on a ring with the store controller 111. The purchase data computer 107 is positioned in front of the store controller 111 on the ring such that information transmitted from the terminals to the store controller is monitored by the purchase data computer 107.

The customer's desktop computer 129, the shopping list server 123, and the advertisement server 127 can each be implemented as a general-purpose or universal-purpose computer (e.g., computer 901 of Figure 9), and can be appropriately programmed to communicate with each other over a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet 131. The Internet 131 includes various networks and access routes for linking various computer networks and computers together such as a central computer 101, a shopping list server 123, an advertisement server 127, and customer computers 129 and 201.

The customer desktop computer 129 can be any computer that one or more consumers can access, such as home or office computers. The customer computer 129 may also be implemented as an interactive television set or other facility suitable for accessing remote computers via the Internet 131. Interactive television systems are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 4847 700, 5 721 583, and 5552 735. Such U.S. Patent Nos. 4,847,700, 5,721,583, and 5,552,735 and all documents cited therein are incorporated herein by reference. The client's desktop computer 129 can be programmed with any suitable web browser software which allows the desktop computer 129 to retrieve web pages over the Internet 131 from remote computers or servers such as shopping list server 123 and / or advertising message server 127 . The web browser software may also be employed to transmit information provided by a consumer to a remote computer such as the shopping list server 123.

Shopping List Server 123 is a web server programmed to receive, store and / or transmit various types of information including product identifiers, products, consumer identifying information, shopping lists and promotions, although List Server 123 shopping can also be implemented using any type of computer. The advertisement server 127 may be a web server programmed to transmit and receive information relating to promotions to and from a remote computer such as the shopping list server 123 and / or the central computer 101 via the Internet 131 or any other broadband network. area or local area. Shopping list server 123 and advertisement server 127 may be appropriately programmed with server software to deliver Web pages to remote or distant customers or computers, such as customer computers 129 and 201.

The shopping list base 125 can be implemented using any desired structure including any type of computer connected to any type of storage device including magnetic disks such as one or more hard disk drives, optical disks, magnetic-optical disks, chips or chips. memory, or any other desired storage device. The base 125 of the shopping list is an archive that includes records or records containing information to identify consumer products, associate CIDs with a shopping list, and deliver targeted promotions. Records in the base 125 of the shopping list contain fields together with a set of operations for search functions, selection, recombination and other functions of the database, the shopping database 125 can be implemented, if desired, as two or more databases.

It is to be understood that the system of Figure 1 is provided for exemplary purposes only, since many variations of the specific hardware and software employed to implement the present invention will occur spontaneously to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the functionality of shopping list server 123 and central computer 101 can be combined in a single device. To implement these variants as well as other variants, a single computer (e.g., the computer system 1001 of Figure 10) can be programmed to perform the special purpose functions of two or more of the devices depicted in Figure 1. On the other hand, two or more programmed computers can be substituted for any of the devices depicted in Figure 1. Principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancy and replication, can also be implemented as desired to increase system robustness and performance, for example .

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary customer laptop that can be employed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is intended to represent any one of a variety of small screen computers such as the laptop sold under the PalmPilot trademark by Palm, Inc., or a laptop described in any of the U.S. Patent No. 4545 023, 5 133 076, and 5 900 875 for example. Such U.S. Patent Nos. 4 545 023, 5 133 076 and 5 900 875 are incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, the customer's laptop 201 may be a so-called personal data assistant (PDA), or personal data assistant, mobile phone, or any other portable device capable of being held in the hand capable of uploading, downloading, storing and manipulating information. digital.

Preferably, the customer's laptop includes a bus 203 or other communications mechanism for communicating information, and a processor 205 coupled with the bus 203 for processing the information. The customer's laptop 201 also includes a memory unit 207, such as a random access memory (RAM), or other dynamic storage device (e.g. a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous (DRAM (SDRAM), a flash RAM), coupled to bus 203 to store information and instructions to be executed by the processor 205. In addition, the memory unit 207 can be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processor 205. The memory unit 207 may further include a read-only memory (ROM) or other static storage device (for example a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM) ) and an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)) to store static information and instructions for the processor 205. The ROM can be represented as a separate memory unit. orization 211, such as a magnetic disk, may be provided coupled to bus 203 for storing information and instructions.

The customer laptop 201 also includes a display unit 213, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) coupled to bus 203 for displaying information to a user of the customer laptop 201. The customer laptop 201 includes an input device 215, such as an alphanumeric keypad and / or cursor control, for communicating information and command selection to the processor 205.

The customer laptop 201 also includes an interface 217 coupled to the bus 213. The interface 217 provides a bi-directional data communication link 129 through the Internet 130, the customer computer 129, or any other computer system such as the computer system. computer 1001 illustrated in Figure 10. The interface 217 may be a terminal or data port for transmitting and receiving data through a wire medium or a wireless transceiver to provide a two-way radio link to the Internet 131. The interface 217 is intended for transmitting and receiving electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals carrying digital data currents represented in various types of information.

The present invention stores information relating to consumer identifiers, product identifiers, consumer products, and promotions, for example. This information is stored in one or more memories such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetic-optical disk, and / or a RAM, for example. One or more databases, such as the shopping list database 125, and the global shopping database 103, can store the information used to implement the present invention.

Databases are organized using data structures (e.g. records, tables, matrices, fields, graphs, trees and / or lists or lists) contained in one or more memories, such as the memories listed above or any of the devices of storage listed below with reference to the discussion of Figure 10, for example.

Figures 3A-3E illustrate data structures used to implement a system for generating a customized shopping list and delivering targeted promotions along with the shopping list according to an embodiment of the present invention. Data structures are represented in a relational format, employing tables, in which information stored in one column (i.e. field) of a table is mapped or concatenated to information stored in the same row (i.e. record) through the other column or others. columns of the table. These data structures are used by the shopping list server 123, the advertising server 127, the central computer 101, the shopping data computer 107 and / or the store controller 111 to generate a customized shopping list according to the present invention and to deliver promotions with the shopping list.

Figure 3A is a product identifier table 301 which includes a field 303 for storing product identifiers, a field 305 for storing product names associated with the product identifier in field 303, and a field 307 for storing other information relating to the product identifier in field 303. Information contained in field 307 may include a generic item name, product category, product package size, product price, and / or any other information associated with the product identifier element in field 303. Each retail product has a unique product identifier such as a barcode on the product packaging. To illustrate the use of Table 301 of product identifiers, Figure 3A includes four exemplary entries. The first entry in Figure 3A shows that field 303 can contain the number "12345" as a product identifier, and in the same record, field 305 can contain the entry "ABC Cola", as a corresponding retail product . Also, in field 307 of this record are the entries "Cola; non-perishable; 12 oz" or 12 oz non-perishable cola representing the generic item name, product category, and retail product package size. detail, in that order. Product identifier table 301 also includes product identifiers "8765", "FF2081", and "XST342", and the corresponding entries (i.e. the entry in the same record) "Brand A cheese", "XYZ carrots", and "Hefty personal dinner" or brand A cheese, XYZ carrots, and Hefty personal dinner or lunch, respectively in field 305, as well as corresponding other information in field 307. Thus, product identifier table 301 associates each identifier of products with a particular product and any other information specific to that product. The product identifier table 301 is preferably stored in the shopping list database 125 but may be stored in the global purchases database 103 or any other suitable database.

Figure 3B is a purchase history table 311 that includes a field 313 for storing consumer identifiers (CID) and a field 315 for storing consumer purchase histories in field 313. Each customer or consumer has a CID that identifies the particular customer. A CID is any identifying element that is scanned, read or otherwise entered into a computer system at a checkout to identify a customer. Each customer can have a multiplicity of CIDs. Preferably, the CID is represented as a barcode such that it can be rapidly scanned at the target point by the scanning device 117, although any other type of machine-readable or non-machine-readable implementation for storing or displaying identifications may be employed, including magnetic strips, memory chips, and smart cards or so-called "smart cards". Examples of possible consumer IDs or identifiers are credit card numbers, debit card numbers, social insurance card numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, street addresses, names, e-mail addresses and -mail, telephone numbers, frequent customer card numbers, shopper card identifiers (SCID), or shopper loyalty card numbers, issued by retail store 105, although any other suitable form may be employed identification. Field 315 of purchase history table 311 includes a purchase history associated with each CID in field 313. Preferably, field 315 is divided into several subfields to separately store purchase data such as quantity and product identifier of the item purchased, and the date of purchase. Additionally, these subfields may include the location or place of purchase, a description of the items purchased, the price of each item purchased, the time of the transaction, and any other desired information of the consumer's transactions. Thus, as can be seen in the first entry of table 311, the customer associated with the CID 071870 purchased two items with the product identifier element 12345 both on May 14, 2000 and on May 21, 2000. Reference to table 301 of the elements Product identifiers in Figure 3A indicate that the customer purchased two ABC Colas on these dates. As noted in Table 311, field 315 of the purchase history preferably identifies products by the product identifier although any unique identifier for the product can be used. Table 311 also provides a similar exemplary purchase history for the customer corresponding to CID 090269. Purchase history table 311 is preferably stored in the global purchasing database 103, although it may be any suitable database.

Figure 3C is a shopping list table 321 including a field 323, for storing CID and a field 325 for storing shopping list items associated with the CID. Shopping list table 321 stores CIDs of many different customers and shopping lists associated with each CID. The items on the shopping list in table 321 can be in the form of products, generic items, or product identifiers. Thus, as noted in the example entries of Figure 3C, the first entry in Table 321 associates a list of generic items such as Cheddar cheese, frozen carrots and cola as well as other products that make up the consumer's shopping list, with the element customer identifier 071870. The second entry of table 321 associates a shopping list of products including Cola ABC and toothpaste XYZ with a different customer having CID 090269. Table 321 of the items of the shopping list is stored in the database 125 of the shopping list according to one embodiment, but can be stored in any suitable database.

Figure 3D is a predetermined promotions table 331 which includes a field 333 for storing CID and a field 335 for storing predetermined promotions associated with the CID. Table 331 of predetermined promotions stored CIDs of many different customers associated with promotions. Thus, as can be seen in the exemplary items of Figure 3D, the first item in table 331 associates predetermined promotions with the CID 071870 mentioned in Figure 3A, while the second item of table 331 associates a predetermined promotion with a different customer having the CID MMM765. Promotions in field 335 can be determined based on the customer's purchase history obtained by analyzing, for example, purchase data such as the place of purchase, a description of the items purchased, the price of each item purchased, date and time of the transaction, and any other desired information of customer transactions. In one embodiment, the advertisement server 127 operates in conjunction with the central or host computer to provide the predetermined promotions table 331 which is stored in the global shopping database 109 according to one embodiment.

Figure 3E is a table 341 of trigger or incentive items including a field 343 for storing trigger or incentive items and a field 345 for storing promotions. The triggering items in field 343 can be barcodes or other product identifiers. Once a customized shopping list has been generated by the shopping list server 123, the identifying elements of the products on the shopping list are parsed by the shopping list server 123. If a product identifier element on the personalized shopping list fits a product identifier element of a triggering item in field 343, then the corresponding promotions in field 345 are delivered to the customer's computer along with a personalized shopping list. Thus, triggering items table 341 associates triggering items with purchase incentives and advertising messages to be delivered to a customer whose shopping list includes one or more of the triggering items in field 343.

In a preferred embodiment, the triggering articles in field 343 are product identifiers or other identifiers of a specific product brand, and the promotions stored in field 345 apply to products that complement, or compete with, or somehow related to the items triggering purchases stored in field 343. The first entry in Figure 3E illustrates an example of a purchase incentive for a product competing with a triggering product. In this example, "brand A cola" in field 343 is a potential shopping list item that provides a trigger for an incentive to purchase "50 cents of brand B cola" in field 343, cola brand B being competing with brand A cola. Similarly, the trigger or incentive item "brand T tea" in field 143 triggers an advertisement for "brand X sweetener" in field 345, sweetener being routinely employed with tea and therefore a complementary article of tea. Thus, if a customer's shopping list includes both brand A cola and brand T tea, a 50 cent purchase incentive of brand B cola and an advertisement for brand X sweetener will be provided to the computer. customer together with the shopping list.

In another embodiment, the trigger articles in field 343 are generic articles, and the promotions stored in field 345 are related to products that are specific to the generic article. The third item of Figure 3E illustrates an example of promotions for product species corresponding to a generic item. In this example, "Cola" in field 343 is a generic shopping list item that provides a trigger for promotions for "50 cents of brand A cola" and "60 cents of brand B cola", the cola of brand A and B each being a kind of cola - generic item. Similarly, the fourth entry in field 341, ie the generic article "cheddar" is associated with promotions for cheddar cheese. In this way, the consumer can be provided with a variety of promotions corresponding to a generic item on the personalized shopping list. How promotions in fields 335 and 345 are provided in response to CIDs and a triggering article in field 333 and 343 respectively will be further described below.

The data structures incorporated by the present invention include the data structures shown in Figures 3A through 3E, as described above. Alternatively, any other desired way to implement the data structures embodied by the present invention can be implemented in an equivalent manner such that the desired functionality and corresponding practical application are achieved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a consumer delivers their CID to a remote server and receives a promotion together with a personalized shopping list based on a purchase history associated with the CID. Figure 4A is a flowchart explaining the process for obtaining a personalized shopping list and promotions according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step 401, the shopping list server 123 is accessed from the customer's desktop computer 129, for example. This is accomplished by using the web browser on the customer's desktop computer 129 to locate the URL of the shopping list server 123. Once the shopping list server 123 has been accessed, the customer enters a CID into the customer's computer 129. The CID can be entered manually, by scanning a card or other medium having the customer's CID printed on it in a barcode format, or by inserting a magnetic identification card into a magnetic card reader connected to the computer of the customer. A shopping list criterion, a request for promotions, and an item description type may also be entered into the customer's desktop computer 129 at this time. The shopping list criterion allows the customer to limit the items placed on the personalized shopping list, obtain promotions, and otherwise customize the personalized shopping list as will be discussed. For example, the shopping list criterion can allow the customer to obtain a personalized shopping list that includes only perishable, non-perishable, dairy and / or frozen items.

In step 403, the CID and the shopping list information are electronically transmitted to the shopping list server 123 through the Internet 131. In a preferred embodiment, the customer's computer provides access to the shopping list server 123 which includes software to gather the information needed to generate a personalized shopping list. For example, the shopping list server 123 can provide the customer's computer 129 with a web page that includes a field for entering the customer's CID and menu selections for the customer to select shopping list criteria, promotions and other information of the shopping list. Alternatively, the customer's desktop computer 129 may be provided with software for collecting the customer's CID and customer shopping list information which are then transmitted to the shopping list server 123. Furthermore, it should be understood that the customer can enter and transmit a CID and shopping list information whenever a shopping list is required, or the customer can transmit this data to the shopping list server 123 only once as part of a registration process. According to this embodiment, the shopping list server 123 stores the registration data and accesses the data for each shopping list request made by the customer.

Once the CID has been transmitted to the shopping list server 123, the shopping list server retrieves a shopping history associated with the CID from the central computer 101 in step 405. In doing so, the shopping list server 123 accesses the central computer 101 through the Internet 131 in a similar way to that described above, and transmits the CID over the Internet 131 to the central computer 101. The central computer 101 then refers to the purchase history table 311 stored in the database 103 of global purchases and retrieves the purchase history associated with the CID transmitted in step 403.

The shopping history associated with the CID is then electronically transmitted to the shopping list server 123 through the Internet 131. It should be understood that the shopping list server 123 can receive CID from customers and immediately access the central computer 101 to retrieve the purchase history associated with the CID, or the shopping list server 123 can retrieve and store many CIDs within a predetermined time period, transmit these CIDs in bulk to the central computer 101 and the central computer can therefore transmit many purchase histories under form of table 311 of the history of purchases to server 123 of the shopping list.

Once the shopping list server has retrieved the shopping history corresponding to the customer's CID, in step 409 the shopping list server 123 determines the shopping list items based on a shopping history associated with the CID. Shopping list items are determined by revealing shopping trends of the customer associated with the CID as will be discussed with reference to Figure 5.

After the shopping list items have been determined, as represented in decision block 411, the shopping list server 123 then determines whether shopping list criteria have been transmitted along with the CID transmitted in step 403. If a criterion of the ninth list was transmitted in step 413, the shopping list server 123 generates a customized shopping list according to the items determined in step 409. However, if a shopping list criterion was entered and transmitted by the customer in step 403 , in step 415 the shopping list items are revised to include only those items satisfying the shopping list criteria as will be discussed with reference to Figure 6.

In step 413, the shopping list server 123 generates a customized shopping list by associating the list items determined in step 409 or the list items revised in step 415 with the CID transmitted in step 403. According to one embodiment, the Custom shopping list generated in step 413 may include items of a predetermined item identification type as will be further discussed referring to Figure 7.

Once the personalized shopping list has been generated, the shopping list server 123 determines whether promotions should be delivered to the customer along with the personalized shopping list as represented by decision block 417. The fact that promotions are delivered to the customer together with the customized shopping list can be determined based on the shopping list information transmitted by the customer in step 403, or from the shopping list server 123 depending on the business strategies. If promotions are to be delivered, then the shopping list server 123 determines the promotions in step 419 and subsequently delivers the customized shopping list and customized promotions to the customer's desktop computer 29 as represented in step 420. Promotions can be based on the shopping history alone or based on actual items from the custom shopping list generated in step 413. Also, the way promotions are generated depends on the type of item identification employed in generating the personalized shopping list. If promotions are not to be delivered in step 421, then the shopping list server 123 delivers the customized shopping list to the customer as generated in step 413.

Once the shopping list server 123 has generated the personalized shopping list and determined whether and which promotions will be delivered to the customer, the personalized shopping list or the personalized shopping list and promotions are delivered to the customer's 129 desktop computer. 'is represented in steps 420 and 421. According to one embodiment, the personalized shopping list and related promotions are delivered to the customer's desktop computer 129 almost in real time when the customer transmits the customer's request. Alternatively, the personalized shopping list and related promotions are delivered to the customer at a later time. In the latter embodiment, the customer transmits his CID and the information of his shopping list to the server 123 of the shopping list in a first access session. Preferably, the customer would also indicate a time of the shopping event during this session. The shopping list server 123 would then generate a customized shopping list and related promotions and store the list and promotions in the shopping list database 125 where the customer can retrieve them in a second login session. Thus, the shopping list server 123 generates a shopping list table 321 of Figure 3B, stores it in the shopping list database 113 or any other suitable storage space.

Also, it should be understood that shopping list server 123 can automatically generate a customized shopping list and store the shopping list in advance before the customer's request. For example, after the shopping list server 123 has obtained registration data for the customer as discussed above, a list can be generated on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, for example, and stored in the database. 125 on the shopping list. The customer can then access the shopping list server 123 and retrieve the stored shopping list upon request.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step 409 of Figure 4 of determining the items of the shopping list is carried out in accordance with a shopping trend determined by analysis of the customer's purchase history. Figure 5 explains how the items on the shopping list are determined. In step 501, the shopping list server 123 accesses the shopping history table 311 retrieved from the central computer 101 in step 405 of Figure 4. The shopping list server 123 then analyzes the shopping history associated with the CID for the shopping trends in step 503. In one embodiment, shopping trends are timing or time trends that indicate how often the customer purchases a particular product or item. For example, reference to Product Identifier Table 303 and Purchase History Table 311 indicates that the customer associated with CID 071870 purchased two 12 oz colas on both May 14 and May 21, 2000. Therefore, the customer has set a trend for buying cola every week. Similarly, Table 311 also indicates that the customer associated with CID 090269 buys cola roughly every week, but cheddar cheese roughly every two weeks. Trending shopping list server analysis may involve consideration of the quantity of a particular item purchased, the expiration time of a purchased item, or any other information that is important in determining how often a particular item can be purchased. This information is preferably contained in subfields of field 315 of the purchase history of table 311 of the purchase history and / or in the other information field 307 of table 301 of the product identifiers. Thus, in analyzing the shopping history against trends, the shopping list server 123 can access the shopping history table 311 and the product identifier table 301 when needed.

Once shopping list server 323 has identified shopping trends for the customer associated with the CID, shopping list server 123 then determines the date of the shopping event in step 505. This date is preferably provided by the customer with shopping list information as discussed above, but can be estimated based on the date the customer accessed the shopping list server 123 or the customer's shopping history. For example, in analysis step 505, the shopping list server 123 can determine that a particular customer buys on a weekly basis. The shopping list server 123 would therefore estimate that the shopping event for which the custom shopping list is generated is 7 days after the previous shopping event.

Once the shopping list server 123 has identified the customer's shopping trends associated with the CID and has determined the date of the shopping event, the shopping list server 123 then determines the items likely to be requested by the customer in step 507 Specifically, the shopping list server 123 performs an analysis of the identified trends and extrapolates whether each trend would result in the customer's need for the item on the date of the shopping event determined by step 505. example, if a shopping event date of May 28, 2000 was determined for each of the CIDs in table 311 of Figure 3B, then the shopping list server 123 would determine that on that date customer 071870 would likely request to buy cola because the customer buys cola on a weekly basis, and it has already been a week since that customer's last purchase. Similarly, shopping list server 123 may determine that the customer associated with CID 090269 would likely request to purchase hefty personal lunches; however, this customer will likely not require the purchase of cheddar cheese as this item was purchased a week before the day of the event and the customer has shown a tendency to purchase cheddar cheese every two weeks. Thus, as shown in Table 321 of the shopping lists in Figure 3C, the personalized shopping list associated with 071870 includes cola, and the shopping list associated with 090269 includes personal hefty lunch, but does not include cheddar cheese.

Finally, as shown in step 509, the shopping list server 123 associates the probably required items determined in step 507 with the CID originally transmitted by the customer. In this way, the shopping list server 123 performs step 409 of Figure 4 of determining the shopping list items based on the shopping history.

As discussed with reference to Figure 4, shopping list items can be reviewed based on the shopping list criteria entered by the customer. Figure 6 explains how shopping list server 123 reviews shopping list items in accordance with a customer-entered list criterion. In step 601, the shopping list server 123 determines a product category based on the list criteria. In one embodiment of the present invention, the customer can enter various criteria from the list in which case the product category can include various criteria. For example, the customer may indicate a list criterion that requires dairy products and frozen foods so that cold items can be purchased together in a single shopping event. In this situation, the product category consists of those products which are either dairy items or frozen food items.

Once the product category has been determined, in step 603 the shopping list server 123 accesses the product identifier table 301 from the shopping list database 125. As discussed, the product identifier table 301 includes product identifiers as well as products and other information relating to the product identifier in a relational database format. The other information in field 307 of Table 301 includes information required for reviewing the items on the shopping list based on criteria on the shopping list entered by the customer. The shopping list server 123 parses the other information in the product identifier table 301 for each shopping list item determined in step 409 of Figure 4. If the other information indicates that the shopping list item is not satisfies the product category determined in step 601, the shopping list server 123 deletes this item from the shopping list items. For example, and referring again to the previous hypothetical customer wishing to generate a cold item list, if the shopping list server 123 determines in step 409 that the customer is likely to require product identifiers 12345, 8765, and FF2881, then the shopping list server parses the other information field 307 of table 301 for each of these items. In doing so, it is determined that 12345 is the non-perishable item cola ABC, while item 8765 is the cheese dairy item of Brand A, and item FF2081 is the frozen carrot XYZ item. Thus, only the dairy item and the frozen item satisfy the product category and are associated with the CID in step 607. In this way, the shopping list server 123 reviews the shopping list items.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the item list generated in step 413 of Figure 4 can be in the form of different item identification types. Examples of types of item identifiers are generic item names, product names, and product identifiers. Figure 7 explains how shopping list server 123 provides a customized shopping list including different item identifications. In step 701, the identification type of the items is determined. The identification of the items can be included in the other information transmitted by the customer or sent by the server 123 of the shopping list. For example, shopping list server 123 can only provide shopping lists including generic items that can form the basis of various promotions from various manufacturers or brand suppliers. Once the identification type of the items has been determined, the shopping list server 123 accesses the product identifier table in the shopping list database 125. The other information field 307 of the product identifier table 301 preferably includes an identifier element types for each product identifier in field 303.For example, the first item in each entry of the other information field of Figure 3A identifies a generic item name for a respective product identifier. Then, in step 705, for each item on the shopping list, the shopping list server 123 locates the product identifier in the product identifier table 301, and gets the associated identifier type in step 705. The server 123 of the associated shopping list then the identifying elements of the articles obtained with the CID transmitted in step 707. In this way, the server 123 of the shopping list generates a personalized shopping list of any type of identifying element.

As mentioned in the description in Figure 4 above, in addition to providing a personalized shopping list, targeted promotions can be delivered to the consumer along with the personalized shopping list. Thus, the present invention provides, in one embodiment, incentives and advertising messages of targeted purchases to the customer's desktop computer 129 just prior to the consumer shopping event. The actual promotions are preferably provided to the server 123 of the shopping list and / or to the central computer 101 by the server 127 of the advertising messages for delivery to the consumer.

According to an embodiment, the step 419 of Figure 4 for determining promotions to be delivered to the customer's desktop computer 129 is carried out in accordance with predetermined promotions obtained based on the customer's purchase history. In this embodiment, the central computer 101 cyclically queries the computer 107 for the purchase data in each of the retail stores 105 for purchase history information to update the purchase history information stored in the shopping database. global purchases 103. The central computer 101 generates behavior information from the purchase history information stored in the database 103 of global purchases. This behavioral information can be any information that a market researcher (ie a prospecting operator) wishes to use to determine whether a targeted purchase incentive should be provided to a customer. Examples of behavioral information are if a customer has purchased at least five pounds of dog food per month in the past year, if the customer has purchased cold medicine in the past week, and if the customer is consistently purchasing lactose-free milk.

The central computer 101 compares the generated behavior information with purchase criteria stored in the database 103 of global purchases and associated with a promotion. If any customer's behavior information satisfies the purchase criteria, then the customer's CID is stored in field 333 and the corresponding promotion is stored in field 335 of predetermined promotions table 331. In this way, the table 331 of predetermined promotions is populated with CID and associated promotions to be delivered to the corresponding customers.

When a customer generates a customized shopping list, the shopping list server 123 receives the customer's CID and transmits the CID to the central computer 101 as discussed above. The central computer 101 uses the CID to determine if the same CID exists in field 333 of the predetermined promotions table 331. If the CID is found in field 333, then the corresponding predetermined promotions in field 335 are delivered to the shopping list server 123 for supply to the customer's desktop computer 129. In this way, promotions aimed specifically at the customer whose CID has been transmitted to the server 123 of the shopping list are delivered to the customer's desktop computer 129 just before the shopping event. Furthermore, it is to be understood that, although the foregoing description identifies the central computer 101 as determining the predetermined promotions, this function can be performed by the shopping list server 123.

In another embodiment, the step 419 of Figure 4 of determining promotions is performed in accordance with triggering or incentive items on the personalized shopping list generated by the customer. In this embodiment, the central computer 101 receives triggering articles and related promotions, which are stored in the database 101 of global purchases. The triggering articles and promotions can be downloaded from the server 127 of the advertising message operator, entered manually, or transferred by any other suitable means to the central computer 101 (for example by means of a flexible disk or via a connection to another computer). Triggering items and promotions are stored in the shopping triggers table 341 in fields 343 and 345, respectively. Trigger or trigger items correspond to items on a current shopping list. Thus, the trigger items may be barcode information, UPC information, and / or generic item information associated with the corresponding promotions in field 345. Furthermore, each trigger item may be associated with any number of promotions.

As has been discussed, shopping list server 123 generates a customized shopping list. According to a preferred embodiment, the shopping list server 123 transmits the customized shopping list to the central computer 101 via the Internet 131. The central computer 101 then compares the product identification information of the customized shopping list with the trigger item stored in field 343. If there is a match between any of the trigger items in field 343 and the customized shopping list information generated by the server 123 of the shopping list (for example, if a product identified by the item is found on the shopping list), then the central computer 101 electronically transmits the corresponding promotion in field 345 to the shopping list server 123 for delivery to the customer's desktop computer 129. According to the disclosed embodiment wherein the customized shopping list includes a generic item list, the triggering item field 343 in table 341 also includes generic items. Preferably, the promotions associated with the generic trigger articles relate to products that are specific to the generic article as discussed with reference to Figure 3E. Similarly, when the custom shopping list is a list of product brands, the promotions in field 345 are related to competing and complementary items as is also discussed with reference to Figure 3E. In this way, promotions corresponding to trigger items of a personalized shopping list are delivered to the customer's desktop computer 129. Notwithstanding the above description, it should be understood that when a customized shopping list of generic items is generated by the shopping list server 123, the shopping list server 123 can first identify a number of products that are specific to the generic item with reference to table 301 of product identifiers. The shopping list server 123 can then determine promotions for each of the product types, for example by downloading the promotions from a server 127 of the advertiser offering promotions for each product species.

Figures 8A-8C are examples of promotions that can be delivered to a consumer. As depicted in Figures 8A and 8B, promotions can each be incentives to purchases that include a reward likely to be received by the customer, and may or may not include a loyalty condition that must be met by the customer in order to receive the reward. . The condition of fidelity indicates what a person must do to receive the reward. The reward may be a check, coupon or coupon, discount, certificate, redeemable support, and / or other positive benefit to a person who meets the condition. For example, the 901 purchase incentive in Figure 9A includes a 903 reward (60Φ of brand B cola) that has no loyalty condition associated with it. A customer who makes a purchase of Brand B cola at a 105 retail store that accepts the purchase incentive will receive a $ 60 discount with no further action. Figure 8B illustrates a shopping incentive 805 having a reward 807 and a loyalty condition 809. The reward of "one free Hefty meal" is provided to the customer only if the shopping condition "buy two Hefty meals" is met.

The 801 and 805 purchase incentives are preferably a remarkable offer designed to get a customer to switch to a particular product brand or promote brand loyalty for a product. In the case of inducing a customer to switch brands, the purchase incentive is preferably triggered by the purchase of a competing or competing brand or as a kind of generic item on the list as discussed with reference to Figures 4 and 7 above. it should be understood that each purchase incentive can be specifically designed to suit different purposes as desired.

Figure 8C illustrates an exemplary advertisement 811 that can be delivered to the customer according to an embodiment of the present invention. This advertisement includes a 913 message designed to promote a particular brand and product. Thus, as depicted in Figure 8C, brand X sweetener is promoted to the consumer as having only one calorie.

The promotions depicted in Figures 8A, 8B, and 8C may involve matter other than grocery stores and retail stores. Additionally, promotions may include other information not represented in Figures 8A, 8B and 8C, and such other information may include information related or unrelated to the customer's purchase history or shopping list items.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping list and promotions can be obtained by using a customer's laptop 201. According to this embodiment, the consumer can obtain the personalized shopping list as discussed with reference to Figure 4 above; however, rather than printing the shopping list, the customer can download the shopping list to the customer's laptop 201 where the list can be viewed and manipulated. Alternatively, the customer's laptop may be provided with a web browser software and wireless Internet connection allowing the customer's laptop user to access the shopping list server 123 and retrieve a customized shopping list without using the customer's desktop computer 129. Upon receipt of the personalized shopping list and related promotions, the identifying elements of the products and promotions are stored in the memory unit 207 and / or in the storage device 211 through the interface 217 and bus 203 of the customer's laptop 201 . The shopping list stored within the memory of the customer's laptop 201 preferably includes a list of products (i.e. product names) whereby the consumer can easily identify the products in retrieving the shopping list on the customer's laptop 201. Therefore, the customer's laptop 201 can access the product identifier table 301 located in an external storage space such as the shopping list database 125 in order to convert product identifiers such as entered barcodes. into the customer's 201 laptop by scanning, into products. Alternatively, the product identifier table 301 may be stored in the memory unit 07 or in the storage device 211.

After the shopping list and personalized promotions are stored in the customer's laptop 201, the customer can view the shopping list and promotions on the display 213 of the customer's laptop 201. Product identifiers and promotions can be viewed on the display 213 individually or in tabular format as shown in Figures 3C and 3D, respectively, for example, allowing a user of the customer's laptop 201 to see various identifying elements of the products. products and / or promotions at the same time. The input device 215 of the customer's laptop 201 allows a user of the customer's laptop 201 to communicate selections of commands to the processor 205 via bus 203, to select, delete, and otherwise modify the items in the shopping list and promotions stored in the memory of the customer's laptop 201. For example, a customer using the customer's laptop 201 can see all the items on the shopping list and related promotions, group the items to be deleted and retain the remaining items.

Portions of the invention may be conveniently implemented using universal purpose computers or conventional microprocessors programmed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software can be readily prepared by programmers of ordinary experience based on the teachings of this disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the field of software.

Figure 9 illustrates a computer system 901 on which an embodiment according to the present invention can be implemented. Computer system 901 includes a bus 903 or other communications mechanism for communicating information, and a processor 905 coupled with bus 903 for processing the information. Computer system 901 also includes main memory 907, such as random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (e.g. dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) , coupled to bus 903 to store information and instructions to be executed by processor 905. In addition, main memory 907 can be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by processor 905 The 901 computer system further includes a 909 read-only memory (ROM) or other static storage device (e.g. a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM)), and an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a flash ROM) coupled to bus 903 to store static information and instructions for the 905 processor. A 911 storage device, such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk is provided and coupled to bus 903 to store information and instructions.

Computer system 901 may also include special purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), or configurable logic devices (e.g., a generic logic matrix (GAL) or field programmable gate arrays. reprogrammable (FPGA)). Other removable media devices (e.g., a compact disc, tape, and removable magnetic-optical media), or fixed high-density media drives, may be added to the 901 computer system using an appropriate device bus (e.g. a small computer system interface bus (SCSI), an enhanced integrated device electronics (IDE) bus, or an ultra-direct memory access (DMA) bus). Computer system 901 may additionally include a compact disc player, a compact disc read-write unit, or a compact disc jukebox, each of which may be connected to the same device bus or to another bus on the device. device. Computer system 901 can be coupled, via bus 903, to a display 913, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) for displaying information to a computer user. The 913 display can be controlled using a display card or graphics card. The computer system includes input devices such as a keyboard 915 and a cursor control 917 for communicating information and command selections to the processor 905. The cursor control 917, for example, is a mouse, trackball, or directional keys. of the cursor to communicate directional information and command selections to the processor 905 to control the movement of the cursor on the display 913. In addition, a printer may provide printed lists of the data structures represented in Figures 3A to 3F, or any other stored data and / or generated by the 901 computer system.

The computer system 901 executes a portion of or all of the processing steps of the invention in response to the execution by the processor 905 of one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, such as the main memory 907. These instructions may be read into main memory 907 from another computer readable medium, such as storage device 911. One or more processors in a multiprocessing arrangement may also be used to execute the instruction sequences contained in main memory 907. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be employed in place of or in conjunction with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software circuitry.

As previously indicated, the system 901 includes at least one computer readable medium or memory programmed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and for holding data structures, tables, records or records or other data described herein. Stored on any of or a combination of computer readable media, the present invention includes software for controlling the computer system 901, for operating one or more devices to implement the invention, and for allowing the computer system 901 to interact. with a human user, such as a customer. This software may include, but are not limited to, command devices or device drivers, operating systems, development tools and application software. These computer readable media further include the computer program product of the present invention for performing all or a portion (if the processing is distributed) of the processing performed in implementing the invention.

The code and computer devices of the present invention may be any interpreted or executable mechanism or code including, but not limited to, writings, interpretive elements, dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and complete executable programs. Furthermore, parts of the processing of the present invention can be deployed for better performance, reliability and / or cost.

The term "computer readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium participating in providing instructions to the 905 processor for execution. Computer readable media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical, magnetic, and magneto-optical disks, such as the 911 storage device. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as 907 main memory. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire and optical fibers, including the wires that make up the 903 bus. Transmission media may also take the form of acoustic waves or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave communications and infrared data communications.

Common forms of computer readable media include, for example, hard disks, flexible disks, tape, magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, Flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any other magnetic media, compact-disc (e.g. CD-ROM) or any other optical media, punch cards, paper tape, or other physical media with hole patterns, a carrier wave (described below) or any other media that a computer can read from.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in bringing one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the 905 processor for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be brought to a remote computer's magnetic disk. The remote computer can load the instructions to implement all or a portion of the present invention remotely in a dynamic memory and transmit the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A local modem for the computer system 901 may receive data over the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to bus 903 can receive data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on bus 903. Bus 903 carries data to main memory 907, from which processor 905 retrieves and executes instructions. The instructions received from main memory 907 may optionally be stored on the storage device 911 either before or after execution by the processor 905.

The computer system 901 also includes a communications interface 919 coupled to the bus 903. The communications interface 919 provides a bi-directional data communication coupling to a network link 921 which is connected to a local network (e.g. LAN 923) . For example, the communications interface 919 may be a network interface card for attachment to any packet-switched local area network (LAN). As another example, the communications interface 919 may be an asymmetric digital subscriber line card (ADSL), an integrated services digital network card (ISDN), or a modem for providing a data communication connection. to a corresponding type of telephone line. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, the communications interface 919 transmits and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals carrying digital data streams representing various types of information.

Network link 921 typically provides data communication across one or more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link 921 may provide connection through the LAN 923 to a central computer 925 or to data equipment operated by a service provider or provider, which provides data communication services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network or of Internet Protocol 927 (for example Internet 131). The LAN 923 and the IP 927 network both employ electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals across the various networks and the signals on the network link 921 and through the communications interface 919, which carry digital data to and from the computer system 901, are exemplary forms of carrier waves carrying the information. The computer system 901 can transmit notifications or signals and receive data, including program code, over the network or networks, the network link 921 and the communications interface 919.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the previous teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the protective scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced differently from what is specifically described herein.

Claims (45)

CLAIMS 1. Process comprising: receive a purchase history associated with a customer identifier to identify a customer; generate a personalized shopping or shopping list based on said purchase history; associating the personalized shopping list with said customer identifier element; And store a personalized shopping list associated with said customer identifier. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of receiving a history of purchases comprises: receiving a customer identifier element from a first remote computer associated with a customer; transmitting said customer identifier element to a second remote computer associated with an entity to generate customer purchase histories; And receiving from said second remote computer a purchase history associated with said customer identifier element. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receiving step comprises receiving said purchase history through one of a wide area network and a local area network. Process according to claim 1, wherein said step of generating a personalized shopping list comprises: determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; And generate a personalized list based on these determined buying trends. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of determining purchasing trends comprises determining the purchase frequency of each item in said purchase history, and said step of generating a personalized shopping list includes, determine the length of time between the customer's past shopping event and a shopping event for which the personalized shopping list is generated, and generate a personalized shopping list based on said determined frequency and on said period of time. 6. Process according to claim 5, further comprising: estimate a date of the shopping or shopping event for which the personalized shopping list is generated. 7. Process according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving shopping list criteria, wherein said step of generating a personalized shopping list includes generating a personalized shopping list based on said shopping history and on said shopping list criteria. The method according to claim 7, wherein said step of generating a personalized shopping list based on said shopping history and on said shopping list criteria comprises: determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; generate a preliminary shopping list based on said determined shopping trends; searching in said preliminary shopping list for items satisfying a said shopping list criterion; And generate a personalized shopping list of items on the preliminary shopping list that meet said predetermined criteria. 9. Process according to claim 1, further comprising: delivering said personalized shopping list to a customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. The method according to claim 9, wherein said step of delivering said personalized shopping list comprises delivering said personalized shopping list to one of a customer's desktop computer and a customer's laptop associated with said customer identifier. 11. Process according to claim 9, wherein said step of delivering said personalized shopping list comprises: receive a customer request from that customer; retrieve said stored personalized shopping list; and delivering said personalized shopping list to said customer. 12. Process according to claim 9, further comprising: generate a promotion based on said customer identifier; delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. The method according to claim 12, wherein said step of generating a promotion based on said customer identifier element comprises generating a promotion based on said purchase history associated with said customer identifier element. 14. Process according to claim 9, further comprising: generate a promotion based on the personalized shopping list; And delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. A process according to claim 14, wherein said step of generating a promotion based on said personalized shopping list comprises searching for a triggering item in said personalized shopping list; And said step of delivering a promotion comprises, when said triggering item is found in said personalized shopping list, delivering a promotion associated with said triggering article together with said personalized shopping list to said customer associated with said customer identifier element at said retail store place. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of generating a personalized shopping list comprises generating a personalized shopping list of items having a predetermined type of item identification. 17. Process according to claim 15, wherein said predetermined type of identification of the articles is a generic article. 18. Process according to claim 17, further comprising: identify a group of products corresponding to each generic item on said personalized shopping list; And generate promotions for each product group corresponding to a respective generic item. 19. Computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a computer system, which, when executed by the computer system, causes the computer system to carry out the steps in the process according to any one of claims 1- 18. 20. System comprising: a memory device having incorporated therein data relating to a personalized shopping list; And a processor in communication with said memory device, said processor being configured for: receive a purchase history associated with a customer identifier to identify a customer; generate a personalized shopping list based on said purchase history; associating said personalized shopping list with said customer identifier element; And storing said personalized shopping list associated with said customer identifier element in said memory. System according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to receive a history of purchases by the steps of: receiving a customer identifier element from a first remote computer associated with a customer; transmitting said customer identifier element to a second remote computer associated with an entity to generate customer purchase histories; And receiving from said second remote computer a purchase history associated with said customer identifier element. System according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to generate a customized shopping list by the steps of: determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; And generate a personalized list based on these determined purchasing trends. A system according to claim 22, wherein said processor is configured to determine shopping trends by determining the frequency of purchases of each item in said purchase history, and to generate a personalized shopping list by the steps of: determine the time period between the customer's past shopping or shopping event and a shopping or shopping event for which the personalized shopping list is generated; and generating a personalized shopping list based on said determined frequency and period of time. A system according to claim 23, wherein said processor is further configured to estimate a date of the shopping event for which the customized shopping list is generated. A system according to claim 20, wherein said processor is further configured to: receive shopping list criteria, and generate a personalized shopping list by generating a personalized shopping list based on said shopping history and on said shopping list criteria. shopping list. A system according to claim 25, wherein said processor is configured to generate a customized shopping list based on said shopping history and said shopping list criteria by the steps of: determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; generate a preliminary shopping list based on said determined shopping trends; searching in said preliminary shopping list for items satisfying a said shopping list criterion; And generate a personalized shopping list of items on the preliminary shopping list that meet said predetermined criteria. A system according to claim 20, wherein said processor is further configured to deliver said customized shopping list to a customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. A system according to claim 27, wherein said processor is further configured to: generate a promotion based on said customer identifier element; And delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. A system according to claim 28, wherein said processor is configured to generate a promotion based on said customer identifier element by generating a promotion based on said purchase history associated with said customer identifier element. 30. A method according to claim 27, wherein said processor is further configured for: generate a promotion based on said personalized shopping list; And delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. System according to claim 30, wherein said processor is configured to generate a promotion based on said personalized shopping list by searching for a triggering item in said personalized shopping list; and to deliver a promotion by delivering, when said trigger item is found in said personalized shopping list, a promotion associated with said trigger item together with said personalized shopping list to said customer associated with said customer identifier at said location of the retail store. A system according to claim 20, wherein said processor is configured to generate a customized shopping list by generating a customized shopping list of items having a predetermined type of item identification. A system according to claim 32, wherein said predetermined type of item identification is a generic item. 34. A system according to claim 33, wherein said processor is further configured for: identify a product group corresponding to each generic item on said personalized shopping list; And generate promotions for each product group corresponding to a respective generic item. 35. System comprising: means for receiving a purchase history associated with a customer identifier element for identifying a customer; means of generating a personalized shopping list based on said purchase history; means for associating said personalized shopping list with said customer identifier element; And means for storing said personalized shopping list associated with said customer identifier element. A system according to claim 35, wherein said receiving means comprises means for receiving said shopping history through one of a large area network and a local area network. A system according to claim 35, wherein said means for generating a personalized shopping list comprises: means for determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; And means of generating a personalized list based on said predetermined purchasing trends. A system according to claim 35, further comprising: means for receiving shopping list criteria, wherein said means for generating a personalized shopping list includes means for generating a personalized shopping list based on said shopping history and on said shopping list criteria. A system according to claim 38, wherein said means for generating a personalized shopping list based on said shopping history and on said shopping list criteria comprises: means for determining purchasing trends from said purchasing history; means of generating a preliminary shopping list based on said determined shopping trends; means for searching in said preliminary shopping list for items satisfying a said shopping list criterion; And means for generating a customized shopping list of items on the preliminary shopping list satisfying said predetermined criteria. A system according to claim 35, further comprising: means for delivering said personalized shopping list to a customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. A system according to claim 40, further comprising: means for generating a promotion based on said customer identifier; means for delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. 42. System according to claim 40, further comprising: means for generating a promotion based on said personalized shopping list; and means for delivering said promotion together with said personalized shopping list to said customer computer associated with said customer identifier element. A system according to claim 35, wherein said means for generating a personalized shopping list comprises means for generating a personalized shopping list of items having a predetermined type of identification of items. A system according to claim 43, wherein said predetermined type of item identification is a generic item. A system according to claim 43, further comprising: means for identifying a product group corresponding to each generic item on said personalized shopping list; And means for generating promotions for each product group corresponding to a respective generic article.