WO2001061548A2

WO2001061548A2 - Electronic commerce mall

Info

Publication number: WO2001061548A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/005340
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Gourgey; John Cavaliero; Michael Chung; Steven Rosati
Original assignee: Accenture Llp
Priority date: 2000-02-18
Filing date: 2001-02-20
Publication date: 2001-08-23
Also published as: AU2001241577A1

Description

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MALL

This application is being filed as a PCT International Patent application in the name of Accenture LLP, a U.S. national coφoration, on February 20, 2001, designating all countries except the United States of America. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic commerce site and, more particularly, to an electronic commerce mall which allows a user to shop for products from various vendors, as well as search for vendors. In addition, if the user selects to purchase products from various vendors, the user need only to check out once at which time the user specifies shipping and payment information.

Background of the Invention Electronic commerce or e-commerce has become a popular way for customers to shop for products over the Internet. Typically, a vendor establishes a web presence or storefront from which a customer can shop. Because each vendor establishes its own web presence, a customer is only exposed to that vendor and its products. If a customer wants to compare products from another vendor, then the customer typically has to log onto another vendor's site. This can be very burdensome to the user. In addition, it makes it difficult for a customer to compare one vendor to another or compare competing products. To_. provide greater flexibility, websites have been developed that allow a customer to purchase products produced by various vendors. For example, Imall located at "www.imall.com" allows a customer to purchase products from various vendors, however, for each item selected, the customer must enter purchase and shipping information for that specific item before the user can select another item from a different vendor. In other words, the customer checks out after each selection instead of waiting until after all selections are made. Depending on the number of purchases a customer desires to make this can become a tedious process.

Another example of an ecommerce site is Golf Discount at "www.golfdiscount.com." Golf Discount is a golf product shopping site where a customer can select various golf items from various vendors. For example, a customer can shop for clubs and specify various search parameters such as vendor and type of club, for example. From the search results, the customer can order an item or items which are placed in the customer's shopping cart. When the customer wants to check out, the customer is asked to specify a shipping method. Once this is done, the list of items to be purchased is displayed as well as pricing information. If a customer is satisfied with this information, the customer submits the order, otherwise the customer can edit the order. With such a service, however, the customer is not directly interacting with the vendors of the various products, instead, the customer is interacting with a single store that has purchased items from various vendors for resale. Thus, the selection available at the site is determined by what the store has selected, not by the various vendors. Thus, a customer does not have access to the entire catalogue of the individual vendor's products. In addition, the customer is not provided with an opportunity to contact individual vendors through the site or peruse a vendor's catalog. Thus, it is desirable to provide an electronic mall that allows a customer to select various products from various vendors for purchase and then check out only after all the customer's selections have been made regardless of the vendor. In addition, it is desirable to provide an electronic mall where the selection of products is determined by the individual vendors in the mall. Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect there is provided a method of facilitating commercial transactions between a customer and a plurality of vendors over a computer network wherein the customer has access to the computer network via an input device and a display. The method includes the steps of:

(a) maintaining a database coupled to the computer network wherein the database stores information on the plurality of vendors including a vendor product catalog for each of the plurality of vendors;

(b) displaying a welcome page on the customer's display wherein the welcome page provides the customer with an option to shop for products, to shop for vendors and to view a favorites list of the customer;

(c) in response to step (b), if the customer selects the shop for products option displaying a shopping for products screen on the customer's display wherein the customer can provide search criteria to locate product information from the database via the shopping for products screen;

(d) in response to the customer providing search criteria in step (c), retrieving information from the database that matches the search criteria and displaying on the customer's display a products list;

(e) in response to step (b), if the customer selects the shop for vendors option, displaying a vendor's yellow page screen on the customer's display wherein the customer can provide search criteria to locate vendor information from the database via the vendor's yellow page screen; and

(f) in response to the customer providing search criteria in step (e), retrieving information from the database that matches the search criteria and displaying on the customer's display a vendors list. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an on-line computerized shopping system that includes: an electronic shopping mall network; a database operatively coupled to the shopping mall network for storing information concerning a plurality of vendors and a product catalog for each of the plurality of vendors wherein the product catalog includes information on products offered for sale by the vendor on the network; a search engine operatively coupled to the network and the database wherein the search engine allows a customer operatively coupled to the network to search the database for products or vendors according to a search criterian, wherein the search engine will retrieve information from the database that match the customer's search criteria and display that information on the customer's display; an electronic shopping cart operatively coupled to the database and network for collecting products selected by a user for purchase; and a payment engine operatively coupled to the network and the database wherein a customer can check out of the shopping mall after the user has selected various products for purchase from various vendors.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a system for computerized shopping. The system includes: a general purpose computing device; a computer program comprising one or more program modules executable by the computing device wherein the program modules comprise a search engine module operatively coupled to a database and an electronic shopping mall network for searching the database for products or vendors according to search criteria provided by a user operatively coupled to the electronic shopping mall network wherein the search engine will retrieve information from the database that match the search criteria. an electronic shopping cart module operatively coupled to the database and network for collecting products selected for purchase; and a payment engine module operatively coupled to the network and database for providing a single check-out for a user after the user has concluded shopping wherein the user can designate a single payment for products from multiple vendors.

Brief Description of the Drawings FIGS, la, lb are screen shots of a home page of an electronic commerce service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2a, 2b are screen shots of a "Your Favorites Lists" page according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3a, 3b are screen shots of a favorite vendor list according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4a, 4b are screen shots of a favorite product list according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an add to favorites list screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an error occurred screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a shopping for products screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a shopping for products advanced search options screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a shopping for products/shopping browse results screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a vendor yellow pages screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an advanced search option screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a yellow pages search results screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a product details screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a vendor details screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a shopping cart screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a check out screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a specify payment information screen shot of the check out page according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a purchase request summary screen shot of the check out page according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a confirmation screen shot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the login logic software according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21-24 are flow charts of the shopping logic software according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 25-30 are flow charts of the buying logic software according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 31-36 are flow charts of the registration logic software according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart illustrating a product catalog creation logic software. FIG. 38 is a diagram of the electronic shopping mall according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

A Detailed Description FIGS, la, lb are screen shots 10 of a home page of an electronic commerce service site according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. This home page welcomes a user to the on-line electronic shopping service from which a user can browse and shop. Preferably the user is a subscriber or guest. In addition, this home page welcomes vendors or sellers who can modify or update their product listings and catalogues directly from the site. In a preferred embodiment, the electronic commerce service is a web-based service wherein users, i.e., both customers and vendors can access the commerce service through a web browser such as Internet's Explorer. As can be seen from the display screen 10, a user has several options. A top and side menu bars 12 and 14 are present on all display screens as will be seen in the display screens described hereinafter. The top menu bar 12 displays a plurality of icons that allow the user to navigate to different pages of the site. For example, a home icon 16 allows a user to return to the home page shown in FIG. 1 from any other page. A shoppers' icon 18 allows a user to view the home page for shopping where a user may view favorites, search and browse for products and vendors. A sellers icon 20 allows a vendor to access and modify or update the vendor's product list and catalogue. A bill center icon 22 allows a user to view a bill center where the user may access financial statements, transactions, statistics and payment disputes. A member center icon 24 allows a user to visit the member center where a user may update user information, areas of interest, address book, credit cards and change passwork.

The icons in the left menu 14 also allow the user to navigate to other pages of the site, as will be described in detail hereinafter. From the main display 26 the user has three options to choose from, "view personal favorites" 28, "Shopping for Products" 30, and "Yellow Page Listing" 32. In a preferred embodiment, each of these options is in the form of a component as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art of object oriented programming. The objects on the main display are in the form of hyper-links which link the user to a particular page when the user selects that hyper-link with a selection device, such as computer mouse or keypad. The "View Personal Favorites" component 28 allows a user to create favorites lists which provide convenient, quick and easy access to a user's favorite products and favorite vendors. This allows the user to reorder a product or access vendor information quickly and conveniently. The second component is the "shopping for products" component 30. By selecting the shopping for products component, the user is hyper-linked to a search for products component which will be described hereinafter. Finally, the user can select the "yellow page listing" component 32 that allows the user to search for vendors that meet a user's business needs, for example, by product or location. By selecting the yellow page listing component 32, the user is hyper-linked to the yellow pages component which will be described hereinafter. Also shown in the main display of the home page 10 at FIG. lb is a search dialog box 34. The user accesses the dialog box by scrolling down the screen shown in FIG. la to reach the screen shot shown in FIG. lb. The user can enter keywords in the dialog box which will search databases that store vendor and product information. Radio buttons 36, 38 allow the user to specify whether the search should be conducted in a product database or vendor database respectively. In addition, hyper-link 40 provides a user with more search options which need not be described in detail here.

FIGS. 2a, 2b are screen shots of a "Your Favorites Lists" page according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The user navigates to this page either from the "view personal favorites" component 20 of the home page 10 or the my favorites icon 56 in the left menu 14. It can be seen that the same top and left menu bars 12, 14 respectively are shown on the screen. The your favorite lists page or display screen 42 allows the user to view a collection of all of the user's favorite lists. In the particular preferred embodiment illustrated, the favorites lists are categorized as to type, i.e., vendors and products. From this page, the user may select to view a particular list by selecting the view push button 44 adjacent to a particular list. In addition, for lists that are categorized as product lists, the user can directly add the entire product list to their shopping cart by selecting the add to shopping cart push button 46. This is very useful if a user typically reorders select items. In addition, the user can create new lists by entering a new list name in dialog box 48, specifying whether it is a product or vendor list with radio buttons 50, 52 and selecting the create push button 54. In addition, the search function 34 which was described with respect to the home page, is made available to the user from this page as well. In the particular example shown in FIG. 2, the user has four favorites lists, i.e., Test 1, Test 2, Test 3, Test 4. The first and third lists, Test 1, Test 3, are product lists and the second and fourth lists, Test 2, Test 4 are vendor lists.

If the user selects to view the "Test 2" vendor list by selecting the view push button associated with that list, the display screen 58 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the user's display. FIGS. 3a, 3b are screen shots of a favorite vendor list of the your favorites lists page which allows the user to view a list of the vendors that they choose to place on that particular vendor list. In this particular example, one vendor "Granbanski, Inc." is listed. The user has the option to delete the entire list by selecting the delete list push button 60. Furthermore, the user can view each vendor's product catalog by selecting the product catalog push button 62, as well as details about the vendor by selecting the vendor details push button 64. In addition, hyper-links are provided to allow the user to send the vendor e-mail 66, and view the vendor's web-site 68 if one is available. Additionally, the user may choose to perform either a product search or a vendor search from this page as previously discussed. Also, the user can return to their list of favorites previously shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b by selecting the view favorites lists push button 72.

Returning to FIGS. 2a, 2b if the user had selected to view the "Test 1" product favorite list, the screen shots 74 shown in FIGS. 4a, 4b are displayed. The favorites product page is somewhat similar to the vendor page previously described and displays the user's favorite products on a selected list, in this case, the Test 1 product list. In addition, key information about the product, such as a picture, price, availability and vendor name are also displayed. The user can either add a product to their purchase request, i.e., shopping cart, by selecting then add to shopping cart push button 76 adjacent a particular product or the user can add the entire favorite list by selecting the entire list add to shopping cart push button 78. In addition, the user can delete a particular product from the list by selecting the delete push-button 80 adjacent the product or the entire favorites list can be deleted by selecting the entire list delete list push button 82. The name of each product is a hyper-link that allows the user to view product details by clicking on the name of each product. The user can also increase or decrease the quantity of the product by selecting the update push button 84 as well as contact a particular vendor through the vendor hyper-link 86. Additionally, the user can choose to search, either by product or by vendor, with the search box located at the bottom of the screen as previously described. The user can also return to the user's favorites list by activating the view favorites list push button 88.

FIG. 5 is an "Add To Favorites List" screen shot 90 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The user may access this page by activating the add to favorites button from one of the following four pages: a product search results/product listing page, vendor search results/vendor listing page, product details page, and vendor details page all of which will be described in detail hereinafter. The add to favorites list page 90 allows the user to add a product or a vendor to either a pre-existing list or to create a new product or vendor list. If the user does not have a previously defined list, then the user will be presented with a message to create a new list. If the user does not enter a list name when creating a new list, the screen shot 92 shown in FIG. 6 will then be displayed to notify the user that an error has occurred. A continue push button allows the user to return to the page shown in FIG. 5 to enter the list name.

Returning to FIGS, la, lb, if the user selects the "shopping for products" component 30 from the home page 10, then the shopping for products screen shot 96 shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. The shopping for products page allows a user to either search for a product in an entire database of products which will be described hereinafter. The user may search for a desired product by entering a product name or keyword in dialog box 98, or browse for a product by clicking on an appropriate category for the products. The user can select a particular category to search either by selecting a main category heading 100 or using a drop-down box 102. The user may further parameterize his or her search by performing an advance search, as will be described in detail hereinafter. The user may access the shopping for products page at any point within the shopping pages by selecting the shopping menu 104 from the left menu bar in the frame. The user can also enter this page through a request to view a vendor's product catalog button from either the user's favorite vendor list, a vendor search results list or from a vendor detailed page. There is also a hyper-link 106 at the top right hand corner of the frame that allows the user to be linked to the advance search page which will be described hereinafter.

If the user selected the advance search option, then the screen shot 110 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. The advanced search option page is an optional page that the user may choose to enter from the products search if he or she would like to define additional product search parameters. Such parameters may include product specific parameters, such as price range 112, vendor name 114 and manufacturer 116, or searching parameters such as word matching specifications 118, and how many results to show per page in the search results page 120. The user fills in or alters as many fields as he or she wants and is not required to fill any particular field except for the key word field in the search dialog box 122. The search push button 124 is a submit button that submits all of the information that the user entered in the key word field and in all of the advance search option fields for querying the database in finding matches.

After a user has submitted a search request, a shopping browse results page 130 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. This screen returns the results from a product search preferably in list form. For each product listed, the price per unit, vendor, product description as well as options to add the item to a favorites list or add the item to the user's shopping cart are displayed. The user may also click on the product name to view product details or click on a vendor's name to view vendor details. The user has the option to sort the results on the page by product, price, or vendor in either ascending or descending order using radio buttons 132, 134. If more results are returned than the number of results per page limit set by the user, then navigation options are presented to the user at the bottom of the page to view the additional pages of search results as necessary.

Returning to FIGS, la, lb, if the user selected the yellow page listing component 32, then the vendor yellow pages page 140 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. The vendor yellow page allows the user to search for either a vendor through dialog box 142 or browse for a vendor by clicking on an appropriate category 144. In a preferred embodiment, there may be sub-categories behind some or all of the main categories. The user may also further parameterize his or her search by performing an advance extended search by clicking on the hyper-link 146 at the top right hand corner of the page. The user may access this page at any point within the shoppers web pages directly by clicking the yellow pages menu 148 on the left tool menu in the frame or by entering the yellow pages through the home page 10 shown in FIG. 1. The dialog box 142 allows the user to enter a word or words that either describe what type of vendor the user is searching for or a keyword for the company's product/industry. A drop down category list 150 is an optional short cut feature for the user so that the user may either default to searching all the category headings or may specify a search in a particular category. The search button 152 allows the user to submit the words that the user has entered in the text box for querying. The various main categories 144 listed on the screen are links that represent a product or service category which the user may browse and explore in order to locate a desired vendor.

If the user selects the advance searching option 146, then the advanced search option screen 160 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. The advance vendor search is an optional page that the user may choose to enter from the vendor's search page if the user would like to define additional vendors search parameters. Such parameters include vendor specific parameters, such as city, state, or zip code, or searching parameters such as word matching specifications, and number of results per page the user wishes to display. After the user enters the various search parameters desired, the search is submitted by selecting the search button 162.

The results of the search are shown in a yellow pages search results page 170 shown in of FIG. 12. The yellow pages search result page 170 returns the results from a vendor search in list form. For each vendor listed, the vendor's name, e-mail contact which is preferably linked to an e-mail handler, phone number, web-site URL, as well as options to add the vendor to a favorites list or view the vendor's product catalog are displayed. If more results are found than the number of results per page limit specified by the user, then navigation options are presented to the user at the bottom of the page. The vendor's name is hyper-linked to a vendor database that allows the user to view further information about a particular vendor on the list. Thus, for each vendor, the user has four options where the user can view the vendor's product catalog, the user can send the vendor e-mail, the user can view the vendor's web-site, if available, and the user can add the vendor to their favorites list.

Returning to FIG. 9 which displays the shopping browse results, if the user selects a product to be displayed, the product details page 180 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed where the product details are shown. The product details are retrieved from a products database as will be described in detail hereinafter. Page 180 displays a description of the product, the product's name, preferably a picture of the product, the manufacturer of the product, its price and the vendor of the product. In addition, the vendor's web-site URL and e-mail contact are shown. In addition, discussion groups relating to buyer reviews and news releases for the products can be accessed from this page. The user enters the view product details screen from either the user's favorites list or from a product listed on a shopping browse results page such as that shown in FIG. 9. The user can also view details about a particular vendor. FIG. 14 shows a vendor details page 190 for a chosen vendor. Page 190 displays the chosen vendor's logo, name, a description about the vendor and options to add the vendor to a favorites list or view the vendor's product catalog. The user can reach this screen through either their favorites list or through the vendor search/browse results page described earlier.

While the user is shopping the electronic mall or at the conclusion of a shopping event, the user can view the contents of his or her shopping cart by selecting the shopping cart menu from the left menu bar 200, for example, shown on every display screen. FIG. 15 is a shopping cart page 202 illustrating the contents of a user's shopping cart. The shopping cart page 202 presents items the user has selected during shopping. The shopping cart is preferably organized as a table with headings for a product i.d.'s, product name, vendor name, unit price, quantity, and total price per item. In addition, an order subtotal is displayed. The user can delete an item from the shopping cart by selecting the delete button 204 next to the item to be deleted. The user can also delete all of the items in the shopping cart by selecting the empty shopping cart button 206. The user can change the quantity of any item in the shopping cart by simply updating the number in the quantity field. If the user changes a quantity field, the user selects the update quantity button 208 to update the shopping cart. From this page the user has the option to view product details or view vendor details by selecting the respective hyper-link found under the product or vendor headings. The user also has the option to continue shopping by selecting the continue shopping button 210 or check out by selecting the check out button 212 while in the shopping cart display. If the user decides to check out, then the check out page 220 of FIG. 16 is displayed. The check out page is broken down into three subpages as will be described with respect to FIGS. 16-18. In particular, the check out page in FIG. 16 allows the user to specify shipping information. The check out page of FIG. 17 allows the user to specify payment information and the checkout page of FIG. 18 summarizes the user's purchase request. Preferably, the shipping information is pre- populated by data from the user's profile stored in a database. If the user wants to select a different address from that stored in its profile, the user can enter the new address directly in the address fields on the page. The user enters the specified shipping information display either from the shopping cart as previously described or from a purchase request summary display which will be described hereinafter. Once the information has been entered, the user presses the continue button and the specify payment information page 190 of the check out page as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. From this page, the user specifies payment information. The user preferably chooses between using a credit card or an existing account. The credit card information and account information remain hidden until the user selects a method of payment. Once the user does, the screen then loads with the default credit card information or account information. The user is able to modify all of the credit card fields directly from the page. From this page, the user can display purchase request summary by pushing the summary button 192.

FIG. 18 is a purchase request summary page 194 of the check out page according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The purchase request summary page 194 allows the user one last option to edit his or her purchase requests. The user is allowed to view the contact information, shipping address and requirements, product information, product subtotal, shipping and handling total costs, total tax, if any, and grand total. In addition, the user is allowed to edit or delete items from the shopping cart. The purchase request is preferably segregated by vendor to allow a purchase request to be sent to each vendor from which a product was purchased. It can be appreciated that with the present invention, the user is provided with one check out after the user has selected various items from various vendors. The products carried on the site are determined by each individual vendor. The user can then confirm purchase by selecting the submit push button 196.

More particularly, if the user selects the edit button 198 in the shopping cart display portion of the screen, the user is brought back to the shopping cart display as shown in FIG. 15. If the user selects the edit button 200 the shipping information, the user is brought back to the specified shipping information display screen shown in FIG. 16. If the user selects the edit button 202 in the payment information section of the page, the user is brought back to the specified payment information display screen of FIG. 17. Once the user submits his or her purchase request, a confirmation page 210 as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed which informs the user that the purchasing process is complete. From the confirmation page 210 the user can go to the "Member Center" by selecting the hyper-link 212. At the member center the user can review purchase orders and their shipment status.

Operation of the electronic commerce service provided by the site will be described with respect to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 20-36. A log-in screen is displayed to the user as shown at block 200 when the user contacts the site through a web browser. The user can log in as a registered user or as a guest. Ifthe user is logging in as a registered user, then they are required to supply a password. In addition, the user can select to register as a member in which case a welcome to registration screen is displayed. The registration process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 31-35. At decision block 210, it is determined whether the user logged in as a registered user. If it is determined that the user has not logged in as a registered user, then control is passed to decision block 212 where it is determined that the user is a guest. If the user is a guest, control is passed to block 214 where a default profile is retrieved from database 216.

If it is determined at decision block 210 that the user has logged in as a registered user, control is passed to decision block 218 where it is determined whether the user has forgotten their password. If the user has not forgotten their password, control is passed to block 220 where the user I.D. and password entered by the user are validated by retrieving data from database 222 based upon information entered by user. Control is then passed to block 224 where it is determined whether the user I.D. and password are valid. If they are, then control is passed to block 214 which retrieves the user's profile from database 216. If the user I.D. and password are not valid, control is transferred to block 200 where the log-in display screen is shown again so that the user can re-enter i.d. and password information.

If it is determined at decision block 218 that the user has forgotten their password, then control is passed to block 226 where a personal validation question and answer screen is displayed. Through the question and answer screen, the user will be asked various questions and, depending upon the answers, will be allowed access to their password. More particularly, at block 228, the personal identification answer is validated by retrieving data from database 230 based upon information entered by the user and at decision block 232 it is determined whether the personal identification answer is correct. If it is not correct, control is returned to block 226 where the user is allowed the opportunity to re-enter information. If the user correctly answered the questions, control is passed to block 234 where a screen is displayed to the user notifying the user that their password will be e-mailed to a default e-mail address. At block 236 the user's password is sent via e-mail. In either case, control is returned to decision block 212 where it is determined whether the user is a guest (there is no other option) and at block 214 either a default profile is retrieved from database 216 if the user is a guest or the user's profile is retrieved if the user is a member. Control is then passed to block 238 where a home page such as shown in FIG. 1 is loaded. Next, with respect to FIGS. 21-24, flow charts for the shopping process are shown. In particular, at block 240, the welcome to shopping home page shown in FIG. 1 is displayed on the user's display. As previously discussed, the user is provided with three options; to retrieve the user's favorites list, to shop for products, or to shop for vendors. If the user selects to shop for products, as indicated at block 242, control is then passed to FIG. 22 where display screen 244 such as that shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. If the user chooses to search the vendor yellow pages as indicated at block 246, then control is passed to FIG. 23. If the user selects to retrieve a favorites list at block 250, then the favorites list is retrieved from a database 252 of the user's favorite list and is displayed on the user's display at 254. From the favorite list screen the user can select a favorite product list or a favorite vendor list as previously described. If a favorite product list is selected at block 256, then it is determined from the favorites list whether the user has selected to view product details 261, purchase the product 257 or view vendor details 259. If a favorite vendor list was selected at block 258, then from the favorites list it is determined whether the user has selected to search/browse under products catalog 263, email a particular vendor 265 or go to a vendor's website 267.

With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, if the user selected to search for products at block 242, then product search display page 244 is displayed. The user enters keywords in the dialog box on the page and control is passed to block 260. If the user selected at display screen 244 to search by categories, then control is passed to block 264 where sub-categories for a category are retrieved, if available, and displayed. At decision block 226, it is determined whether there are more sub- categories. If so, the screen 244 is updated to display those sub-categories and the cycle is repeated. If it is determined at decision block 266 that there are no more sub-categories, control is passed to block 268 where a product listing is retrieved from the products database 262 and the product listing is displayed as screen 270. More particularly the key word entered by the user in the dialog box is matched to products stored in database 262 and the search results are retrieved. If it is determined at screen 244 that the user selected an advanced product search, then screen 272 is displayed such as that shown in FIG. 8 where the user can then specify a key word and additional parameters to be matched. At block 274, the key words and additional parameters are searched against the product database 262 and the results are displayed in screen 270. At decision block 276, it is determined whether the user wants to view details about a product or a vendor displayed on screen 270 or purchase a product. If the user selects to view details with respect to a vendor, then at block 280, the details about a vendor are retrieved from a vendor database 282 and the retrieved details are displayed in screen 284. A user can also be directed to this part of the flow chart from block 259 of FIG. 21. The screen 284 such as that shown in FIG. 17 allows the user to go to a vendor's web-site (block 286), e-mail a vendor (block 290), view a vendor's catalog (block 292). If a user chooses to view a vendor's product catalog, then the catalog information is retrieved from database 282 and at block 294 control is passed to block 340 (FIG. 24).

If it was determined at decision block 276 that the user selected to view details about a product, then at block 296, the details of the product are retrieved from database 298 and the retrieved results are displayed as a view products detail page 300. From this page the user can select to buy a product (block 302) or view vendor details (block 304). A user can also enter this part of the flow chart directly from block 261 (FIG. 21) If it is determined at block 276 that the user wants to purchase a product, control is passed to block 306 where the buying process is initiated. If the user chose the vendor yellow pages at block 246 (FIG. 21), then a vendor search and categories page 248 (FIG. 23) is displayed. If the user enters key words in the dialog box of that page, then at block 310, the key word entered is matched to a database 312 which contains a list of products organized by vendors and the search results are retrieved and displayed on a view vendor listing page 314. If the user selected a category from page 248, then at block 316 the category is retrieved from database 312 and the results are displayed on page 248. At decision block 318 it is determined whether there are any more sub-categories to the category selected. If so, these sub-categories are displayed on page 248. If not, at block 320 the vendor listing for the category and sub-category selected is retrieved from database 312 and displayed on page 314.

At block 326 if it is determined that no related categories are chosen, then a view vendor search/browse page 328 is displayed. From this page, the user can select to view vendor details (block 330), search/browse vendor products catalog (block 332), go to the vendor's web-site (block 330) or e-mail the vendor (block 336). If the user selects block 332, a product search and categories in a catalog page 340 (FIG. 24) is displayed. The same flow chart as shown in FIG. 21 follows except that the company logo of the vendor will be displayed and the search/browse for products will retrieve a subset of products that belong to the selected vendor. The list of products will be displayed in the products list. FIGS. 25-30 are flow charts of the buying process according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The user enters this part of the flow chart from block 302 or 306 (FIG. 22). At block 400 the item the user has selected to purchase is added to a purchase request. At block 402 the user's profile is retrieved from a profile database 404. At decision block 406 it is determined whether a purchase request list already exists for the user. If one does that at block 410 an existing purchase request list is retrieved from a purchase request database 412. In any case, at block 408 a subtotal and total for the purchase request are calculated and this information is placed in the user's shopping cart at block 414.

With reference to FIG. 26, page 500 displays the purchase request list for the user. At decision block 502 it is determined whether the user wants to edit a line item. If the user does, then at block 504 the subtotal and total of the purchase request are calculated after the edit has been made. If it is determined at block 502 that the user does not want to edit a line item, then at block 514 it is determined whether the user wants to check out. From page 500, depending upon the user's selection, at decision block 506 it is determined whether the user wants to add another item to the purchase request. If the user does not, then at block 514 it is determined whether the user wants to check out. If it was determined at block 506 that the user wants to add another item to the purchase request, then at block 508 the purchase request list is updated and saved in a purchase request database 510. Control is then passed to block 512 where the user can return to the shopping portion of the flow chart shown in FIGS. 21 - 23.

If it is determined at block 514 that the user does want to check out, then at decision block 516, it is determined whether the user logged in. The user can either log in at the beginning of the session or may wait until they decide they would like to make a purchase. If the user did not log in then at block 518 using the process shown in the flow chart of FIG. 20. In either case, control is then passed to block 460 of FIG. 30 where the default shipping preferences are retrieved from the personal profile database 462. Page 464 displays the shipping preferences which allows the user to select or modify the preferences. At decision block 466, it is determined whether the user wants to use the default shipping address. If the user does not want to, then at block 468 it is determined whether the user wants to archive a new shipping address. If the user does want to archive the new shipping address, then at block 470 the shipping preferences are updated and stored in the profile database 472. If it was determined at block 466 that the user wants to use the default shipping address or at block 468 that the user does not want to archive the new shipping address, control is passed to the flow chart shown in FIG. 27. At block 600 user user's credit card and account information are retrieved from a personal profile database 602. A select payment method page 606 such as that shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. At decision block 610 it is determined whether the user wants to use its default credit card that is stored with the user's profile. If the user does not want to use its default credit card at block 610, then control is passed to the decision block 612 where it is determined whether the user wants to enter a new credit card. If the user wants to enter a new credit card, then control is passed to block 614 which saves the new credit card as the default credit card and stores the new credit card in the personal profile database 616.

If it is determined at block 612 that the user does not want to enter a new credit card or if it is determined at block 608 that the user wants to use their account, then the display screen 620 FIG. 28 is displayed showing the purchase request summary. At decision block 422, it is determined whether the user wants to edit or delete an item from the purchase request summary. If the user does, then at block 424 the shopping cart is displayed. If it is determined at block 422 that the user does not want to edit or delete an item then at block 426 the purchase request is submitted and the purchase request database 428 is updated. At block 430 is determined whether the user is using a credit card. If the user is using a credit card then at block 432 authorized payment with the credit card company is determined. At block 434, the credit card company is contacted to obtain authorization. In either case, control is passed to block 436 of FIG. 29 where it is determined if the payment is authorized. If the payment is not authorized, then control is returned to block 400 of FIG. 27 where the credit card and account information is retrieved from the personal profile database 402. If it is determined at block 436 that payment is authorized, then at block 438 the personal profile database 440 is updated to show that the user is using this credit card. At decision block 442, it is determined whether any of the contact information has been changed. If it has, then at block 446, the contact information is updated in the personal profile database 448. If it is determined at block 442 that contact information has not been changed, then at block 450 the vendor is e-mailed the purchase request and at block 452 the user is e-mailed the purchase request and page 454 is displayed to the user to show confirmation of the purchase request. FIGS. 31-36 are flowcharts of the registration process according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As previously described with reference to FIG. 20, a user can register from the log in screen 200. Registration page 201 is displayed. At block 800 the user's account is validated by retrieving a user i.d. from database 802. At decision block 804 it is determined whether the user is a valid customer. If not, control is returned to block 800. If it is determined that the user is a valid customer then at blocks 806, 808, 810 general information which need not be described herein in detail is collected. After the general information is collected, a preferred payment method page 812 is displayed. Control is passed to decision block 814 to determine whether the user has selected a credit card as a preferred method of payment. If so, at blocks 816-826, information concerning the credit car as well as verification of the credit card is performed. If the credit card is valid as determined at block 826, control is passed to block 850 (FIG. 35) where a page 850 is displayed which allows the user to select a user i.d. and password. At block 852 the entries are validated and at decision block 854 it is determined whether the entries are valid. If not, control is returned to page 850. If the entries are valid, then at block 856 the user i.d. is verified for uniqueness by comparing the user i.d. with user i.d.'s stored in database 858. At decision block 860 it is determined whether the user i.d. is unique. If it is not, control is returned to page 850 where the user can enter another i.d. If the user i.d. is unique, control is passed to page 862 (FIG. 36) where a summary of the registration is displayed. At decision block 864 it is determined whether any edits are required. If so, then the appropriate information is retrieved. If no edits are required, control is passed to block 874 where the registration is submitted. Page 876 is displayed confirming registration which is stored in database 878 and at block 880 the user is sent a confirmation if registering by email. Returning to FIG. 32, if it was determined at decision block 814 that the user did not select a credit card as a preferred method of payment, then control is passed to page 828 where the preferred method of payment is by account. Blocks 830-842 illustrate the process by establishing an account as a preferred method of payment. FIG 37 is a flowchart illustrating a product catalog creation scenario. A vendor can enter this by selecting the "Sellers" icon 20 from the home page shown in FIG. 1 The vendor can add its own listing which will cause a line item to come up in response to a user's search, add a product catalog to a listing, edit product catalog (which would include the online adding, editing and deleting of product information - including product name, price description, image, etc.) view statistics regarding the vendor's catalog such as which product pages have been viewed and how frequently, view order requests from other companies and change update order status. Vendors are presented with the order status for all of the purchase of their products. Each order has an ID number that is linked to detailed information regarding that order. This detailed information includes all of the products ordered, the quantity ordered of each product, the buyer's shipping information, and the buyer's purchasing information.

FIG. 38 is a diagram of the electronic shopping mall 1000 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The shopping mall includes a system administrator 1002, databases 1004, users 1006, sellers 1008 and credit card companies 1010 of which only one is shown. All of these parties are coupled preferably via the Internet 1012. The users 1006 may also be sellers 1008 and vice versa. Sellers 1008 communicate with the system administrator 1002 to process orders that have been made and also to update their product catalogs or other information. The system administrator 1002 stores pertinent information and retrieves pertinent information from databases 1004 as previously described. Each vendor determines which of its products are carried by the mall.

While various database are illustrated, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In addition, the layout of the various pages can vary.

The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing form the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. A method of facilitating commercial transactions between a customer and a plurality of vendors over a computer network wherein the customer has access to the computer network via an input device and a display, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining a database coupled to the computer network wherein the database stores information on the plurality of vendors including a vendor product catalog for each of the plurality of vendors; (b) displaying a welcome page on the customer's display wherein the welcome page provides the customer with an option to shop for products, to shop for vendors and to view a favorites list of the customer;

(d) in response to the customer providing search criteria in step (c), retrieving information from the database that matches the search criteria and displaying on the customer's display a products list; (e) in response to step (b), if the customer selects the shop for vendors option, displaying a vendor's yellow page screen on the customer's display wherein the customer can provide search criteria to locate vendor information from the database via the vendor's yellow page screen; and (f) in response to the customer providing search criteria in step (e), retrieving information from the database that matches the search criteria and displaying on the customer's display a vendors list.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises the step (c)(i) of selecting a category from a list of categories in which the search criteria is to be applied.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises the step (c)(i) of specifying a range of product prices within which the search criteria must be confined.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step (d)(i) displaying a detailed product information screen on the customer's display of a product displayed in step (d) in response to a customer's action of selecting the name of the product displayed.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the customer's action comprises the step of highlighting the name of the product displayed in step (d) via the input device.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step (f)(i) of transferring the customer to a vendor's Web site in response to the customer's action of selecting the name of the vendor displayed in step (f).

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the customer's action comprises the step of highlighting the name of the vendor displayed in step (f) via the input device.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step (g) of providing the customer with the option of adding any of the products listed in step (d) to a shopping cart.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step (h) of displaying a customer's shopping cart on the customer's display in response to a request by the customer.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps (i) of allowing the customer to add or delete products from the customer's shopping cart.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step (i) of allowing the customer to specify shipping information and payment information for all of the products in the customer's shopping cart.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step (j) of confirming the order by displaying a confirmation screen at the customer's display.

13. An on-line computerized shopping system comprising: an electronic shopping mall network; a database operatively coupled to the shopping mall network for storing information concerning a plurality of vendors and a product catalog for each of the plurality of vendors wherein the product catalog includes information on products offered for sale by the vendor on the network; a search engine operatively coupled to the network and the database wherein the search engine allows a customer operatively coupled to the network to search the database for products or vendors according to a search criterian, wherein the search engine will retrieve information from the database that match the customer's search criteria and display that information on the customer's display; an electronic shopping cart operatively coupled to the database and network for collecting products selected by a user for purchase; and a payment engine operatively coupled to the network and the database wherein a customer can check out of the shopping mall after the user has selected various products for purchase from various vendors.

14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the method recited in claim 1.

15. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process performing the method recited in claim 1.

16. A system for computerized shopping, the system comprising: a general purpose computing device; a computer program comprising one or more program modules executable by the computing device wherein the program modules comprise a search engine module operatively coupled to a database and an electronic shopping mall network for searching the database for products or vendors according to search criteria provided by a user operatively coupled to the electronic shopping mall network wherein the search engine will retrieve information from the database that match the search criteria. an electronic shopping cart module operatively coupled to the database and network for collecting products selected for purchase; and a payment engine module operatively coupled to the network and database for providing a single check-out for a user after the user has concluded shopping wherein the user can designate a single payment for products from multiple vendors.