WO2001063522A2 - Method and apparatus for presenting and selecting product agreements - Google Patents

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRESENTING AND SELECTING PRODUCT AGREEMENTS

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application hereby claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/184,485 filed February 23, 2000, entitled "Virtual Product UPC Codes," the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. This application is related to commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/340,953, filed June 28, 1999, entitled "System and Method for Establishing and Managing Subscription Purchase Agreements Including Commitments to Purchase Goods Over Time at Agreed Upon Prices"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/221,457, filed December 28, 1998, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Determining a Subscription to a Product in a Retail Environment"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/538,805, filed March 30, 2000, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Managing Subscriptions"; commonly owned, co- pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/335,644, filed June 18, 1999, entitled "Method and apparatus for selling subscriptions to periodicals in a retail environment"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/136,147, filed August 18, 1998, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Establishing a Subscription to a Periodical"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/260,437, filed March 2, 1999, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Facilitating the Sale of Subscriptions to Periodicals"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/545,596, filed April 6, 2000, entitled "Method and apparatus for establishing and managing vending machine subscriptions"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/526,575, filed March 16, 2000, entitled "Systems and methods to price an item for a customer based on price management data"; commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/166,367, filed October 5, 1998, entitled "Method and apparatus for providing a discount to a customer that participates in transactions at a plurality of merchants"; and commonly owned, co- pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/223,903, filed December 31, 1998, entitled "System and method for negative retroactive discounts", all ten of which, in their entirety are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

In addition, this application is related to commonly owned, US Patent Number 5,768,382 filed on June 16, 1998 and entitled "Remote-auditing of computer generated outcomes and authenticated billing and access control system using cryptographic and other protocols", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for offering products for sale or lease. More specifically, the present invention relates to presenting product agreements at a point of display as an alternative to the product alone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to retailers and manufacturers to establish relationships with customers that extend beyond an initial purchase. Returning customers may make additional purchases which create a more reliable revenue stream for the retailers and manufactures. Retailers and manufacturers have attempted to create this relationship by offering customers purchase agreements that, for example, in exchange for discounted prices, require or induce customers to return to the retailers or continue buying the manufacturers' products. In addition, methods that offer customers discounted subscription purchase agreements, in which the customers are obligated to return to retailers to purchase additional units of products, have been employed to create ongoing contractual relationships. Other examples include the use of third-party subsidy funded discounts in which a customer receives a discount off the purchase of a product and then must satisfy an obligation to a subsidizing merchant. Likewise, the sale of maintenance or insurance contracts for offered products will frequently result in additional contact between the retailer/manufacturer and the customer. Another example often used by cellular telephone service and Internet service providers involves providing customers with "free" hardware if the customer agrees to a service contract with a minimum term.

Thus, the use of customer agreements is desirable but because such agreements involve more than the simple exchange of currency for a unit of a product, executing a transaction involving an agreement is frequently time consuming and cumbersome. In particular, prior art methods using agreements have practical limitations that have prevented retailers from offering agreements for many of their products. Existing methods simply do not provide the means necessary to offer and administer agreements for many products. Further, in most retail environments it is not cost justified to have sales people presenting agreements for individual products at a point of display (POD). For example, there simply is not enough margin in a month subscription for a weekly gallon of milk to cover the cost of a sales person presenting a customer with the different options in the dairy section of a grocery store. Thus, prior art methods may require employing cashiers at the point of sale (POS) to present such agreements.

Unfortunately, asking a customer to sign up for multiple agreements at a point of sale may be problematic. Because establishing and executing agreements is more complicated than simple purchases, it can take time for a customer to make decisions. If a customer has to make decisions about multiple purchase agreements, this decision making can severely slow down a check-out line and put pressure on the customer to make hasty decisions. Further, a customer who makes his product choices at the point of display and may not want to reconsider these choices again when he reaches a point of sale. For example, if a customer were to be asked to select agreements at a point of sale, it might be difficult or inconvenient for the customer to change purchasing decisions made at a point of display. "Buyer's remorse" and other factors can result in customers abandoning purchases. In addition, a cashier can make mistakes when typing in a customer's selections of purchase agreements, it can take time for a cashier to describe all the agreements that are available to a customer for each different product, and it can take time for a customer to recite information about agreement selections to a cashier. Even if customers are aware of their options from signs at the point of display, they are not likely to be able to remember all the details of agreements previously presented to them. Each of these potential problems is likely to result in cashiers having to repeatedly reiterate different agreement terms to customers. If a customer purchases for example, twenty items at a grocery store, the problems and delays are potentially further exacerbated by twenty times. It would be advantageous to provide a method and system that overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of the prior art discussed above. What is needed is an inexpensive and efficient method and system that allows a customer to select a product agreement at a point of display, and for a retailer to automatically receive this selection. Further what is needed is a method that allows retailers and manufacturers to be able to use product agreements to influence a customer's choice of a product and also add to the momentum that develops in making a purchase decision. What is further needed is a method and system that facilitates simplified presentation and selection of multiple product agreement offers for multiple products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the shortcomings inherent in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method that allows customers to make a selection of a product agreement at a point of display and communicate this selection to a computer system. The invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a convenient, inexpensive, quick, and straightforward means for a customer to indicate his desire to accept a product agreement. The present invention provides a system and method of offering product agreements. The system of the invention is operative to perform the methods of the invention which include displaying products at a point of display in a store; offering product agreements (or "virtual products") by providing representations of the product agreements at the point of display; and receiving, from a customer, a selection of at least one of the product agreements.

For example, according to some embodiments of the invention, a customer shopping in a retail store, where a plurality of products are on display, may be presented with one or more product agreements. Representations of the product agreements may be offered to the customer in the form of, for example, coupons or stickers with printed bar codes. A poster next to a canned chili display may indicate to the customer that he may sign up for one of the following product agreements: $1.50 for a can of chili (BRONZE level discount); 10% off the regular price of a can of chili if he promises to purchase 3 more cans of chili in the next month (SILVER level discount); a free can of chili if he promises to answer a set of survey questions at www.goodchili.com (GOLD level discount). While still at the point of display, the customer may select a product agreement. According to some embodiments of the invention, tins selection is made by addmg an agreement identification code to a unit of the product. This agreement identification code identifies the product agreement that the customer selected. By placing the agreement identification code on the unit of the product, the customer indicates his interest in signing up for the product agreement. For example, a customer who wishes to sign up for one of the sample product agreements above (e.g. 10% off the regular price of a can of chili . . .) may place a coded sticker on the can of chili. This coded sticker, which may obtained from a dispenser at the point of display, may have printed on it an agreement identification code that identifies the product agreement (10% off the regular price of a can of chili . . .). Continuing with this example, once an agreement ID code has been associated with a unit of a product, (in this example, a coded sticker applied to a can) a customer may then bring the unit of the product to a point of sale, where he may pay for the product agreement. At the point of sale, a cashier operating a point of sale terminal may use an input device (e.g. a bar code scanner) to scan the unit of the product and the coded sticker to determine the agreement identification code that the customer added to the unit of the product. This agreement identification code may then be used to determine which product agreement the customer selected, possibly by accessing a database. A customer may then formally accept the previously selected product agreement offer and pay for the product and/or the product agreement.

In alternative embodiments, a customer may indicate a product agreement selection in other ways. A customer may specify agreement ID codes to a cashier at a POS terminal using pre-printed coupons or tickets distributed at the point of display. In such embodiments, each of the coupons or tickets includes at least one agreement ID code. Alternatively, the coupons may be distributed in a newspaper advertisement or via a web page. In such embodiments, the advertisement or the web page is the point of display.

Other embodiments of the invention use customer devices, such as a wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), to allow the customer to indicate a product agreement selection at the point of display. For example, a customer shopping in the aisles of a store can use a PDA to scan a bar code on a poster representative of a desired agreement ID code. The customer's selection may be stored on the PDA, and then, at check-out, the PDA may transmit the selected agreement ID code directly to the POS terminal.

With these and other advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims and to the several drawings attached herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a second example system according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a controller 100 as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a table illustrating an example data structure of an example agreement database 312 as depicted in FIG. 3 for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a table illustrating an example data structure of a second example agreement database 312 as depicted in FIG. 3 for use in some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4C is a table illustrating an example data structure of a single record of a third example agreement database 312 as depicted in FIG. 3 for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a table illustrating an example data structure of a customer database 314 as depicted in FIG. 2 for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for offering product agreements to customers according to and for use in some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for processing a transaction using agreement identification codes at a POS according to and for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for formalizing the customer's acceptance of a selected product agreement according to and for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sequence of three images demonstrating a removable sticker embodiment of associating an agreement identification code with a product for use in some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is three images that are examples of possible uses of agreement ID codes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Applicants have recognized that a need exists for systems and methods that help retailers merchandise and administer product agreement offers to customers. In addition, Applicants have recognized that a need exists for a method that allows retailers and manufacturers to inexpensively simplify the presentation and selection of multiple product agreement offers for multiple products while using the product agreements to influence a customer's choice of a product without disrupting the customer's purchase decision.

One benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that selection and acceptance of product agreements is more convenient for customers. A typical retail store is designed so that aisles of products are in the back of the store and point of sale terminals are in the front of the store. Because of this, most customers are accustomed to making product decisions (e.g. which product to buy) at a point of display (e.g. in the aisle) rather than at a point of sale (e.g. check-out). For this reason, customers generally prefer to make a decision about a product agreement at a point of display rather than at a point of sale. This preference may be influenced by a variety of factors, including freedom to take time when making decisions about product agreements (e.g. comparison shopping), the association of product agreements with the selection of products, and the convenience of not having to remember information about product agreements during check-out. The present invention provides a convenient method of allowing a customer to make a selection of a product agreement at a point of display.

Another benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that selecting product agreements as part of an initial purchase decision at the point of display helps to speed up the check-out process. It may take some time for a customer to make a decision about whether to accept a product agreement. If a customer makes this decision at the point of sale, then the delay involved in making the decision will likely slow down the check-out process. If a customer is asked to make decisions about multiple product agreements, the delay could be even longer. Long delays at a point of sale may be inconvenient for retail stores because they will result in long checkout lines, which may discourage customers from purchasing products. The present invention provides a convenient method of allowing a customer to make a selection of a product agreement at a point of display rather than at a point of sale. This helps to reduce delays at points of sale, thereby increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

Yet another benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that having a customer select a product agreement as part of an initial purchase decision at the point of display allows a manufacturer and/or retailer to influence the customer's product selections. Retailers and manufacturers may use product agreements to influence customers to buy particular products. For example, a retailer may provide a 10% discount if a customer signs up for a 3-month subscription (i.e. agrees to buy x carrots in the next 3 months) to carrots, thereby influencing the customer to buy carrots. Since most customer product decisions are made at a point of display, product agreements may be more effective in influencing customer purchases if they are offered to a customer at a point of display. Thus, the present invention helps to influence product decisions that are made at a point of display.

Yet another benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that selecting product agreements as part of an initial purchase decision at the point of display helps remind customers of their product agreement selections or eliminates the need for a customer to remember selections. Merely displaying information about product agreements at a point of display alone may help to speed up the checkout process and influence product selections made by customers. However, the present invention also provides a method for reminding a customer at the point of sale about a product agreement that he selected at the point of display. Without the present invention, customers might easily forget to inform a cashier at a point of sale of their desire to sign up for one or more product agreements. This might result in lost revenues for a store, and frustration for customers who forget to sign up for product agreements. The present invention can avoid these problems by registering a customer's selection of a product agreement at a point of display. Yet another benefit of embodiments of the present invention is that the invention can be easily, conveniently and inexpensively implemented in existing retail environments. It is not necessary for retailers or customers to purchase expensive equipment, or for manufacturers to make extensive changes in packaging of products to practice embodiments of the present invention. A. DEFINITIONS

Throughout the description that follows and unless otherwise defined, the following terms will refer to the meaning provided in this section. These terms are provided to clarify the language selected to describe the embodiments of the invention both in the specification and in the appended claims.

The terms "product," "goods," "merchandise," and "services" shall be synonymous and refer to anything licensed, leased, sold, available for sale, available for lease, available for licensing, and/or offered or presented for sale, lease, or licensing including packages of products, subscriptions to products, contracts, information, services, and intangibles.

The term "unit of a product" shall refer to a retail element of a product packaged and/or available for sale, lease, and/or licensing. This term can be differentiated from the term "a product." For example, there may be fifteen Acme 100-pound anvils on a shelf at a point of display. All of these anvils are identical, so there is only one "product." However, since there are fifteen anvils on the shelf, there are fifteen "units of a product".

The terms "product agreement" and "virtual product" shall be synonymous and refer to an agreement between a party (e.g. a seller) and a customer, that specifies at least a future behavior and optionally, a benefit. A product agreement can be associated with a product and/or a unit of a product. Note that these terms are not limited to the legal definition of an agreement or a contract (e.g. a product agreement may or may not be or represent a legally binding contract).

The term "customer" shall refer to any entity that offers to purchase, lease, and/or license a product for themselves or on behalf of another. The teπn "seller" shall refer to any entity that offers to sell, lease, and/or license a product to a customer for themselves or on behalf of another. For example, sellers may include individuals, companies, manufactures, distributors, re-sellers, and/or retailers. Sellers may transact out of buildings including stores and warehouses, and/or they may transact via any number of additional methods including mail order catalogs, online web sites, and/or telephone marketing.

The term "benefit" shall refer to a financial or other advantage and/or value to be given to a customer. A benefit can be associated with a product agreement. If there is a benefit associated with a product agreement, the customer's receipt of the benefit may be contingent upon satisfaction of a future behavior also associated with the product agreement.

The term "future behavior" shall refer to a condition or obligation that can be satisfied by a customer after an associated product agreement has been accepted. A future behavior can be associated with a product agreement. Note that a future behavior is a type of condition that includes a timing element.

The terms "set of terms," "agreement term," "provision," "obligation," and "condition" shall be synonymous and refer to one or more stipulations, requirements and/or restrictions that may be associated with a product agreement and/or included as part of a product agreement.

The terms "identification code" or "ID code" shall be synonymous and refer to a code (e.g. a number, a bar code, a graphic, etc.) that may be used to identify at least one of a unit of a product, a product agreement, or any other item that may be present in a retail store (e.g. a coupon). Different types of ID codes include product ID codes, agreement ID codes, and combination ID codes.

The term "product ID code" shall refer to an identification code that is used to identify a unit of a product.

The term "agreement ID code" shall refer to an identification code that is used to identify one or more product agreements.

The term "combination ID code" shall refer to an identification code that is used to identify a unit of a product and at least one product agreement.

The term "customer identifier" shall refer to information that may be used to identify a customer. The term "payment identifier" shall refer to information that may be used to identify a method of payment. A payment identifier may be provided by a customer.

The terms "point of sale" and "POS" shall be synonymous and refer to a location where a transaction may occur, e.g., a location where a unit of a product may be sold and an agreement may be processed. A point of sale terminal may be located at a point of sale. In some embodiments of the invention, a customer's commitment to and/or formal acceptance of a product agreement may be processed at a point of sale.

The terms "point of sale terminal" and "POS terminal" shall be synonymous and refer to a device, located at a point of sale, which may be used to facilitate transactions. In some embodiments of the invention, a point of sale teπninal may provide and receive information about product agreements, products, etc.

The terms "point of display" and "POD" shall be synonymous and refer to a location where a unit of a product is presented for sale, lease, and/or licensing (e.g. an aisle, a shelf, etc.).

The terms "point of display terminal" and "POD terminal" shall be synonymous and refer to a device, located at a point of display, which may be used to provide and receive information about product agreements, products, etc.

The term "customer device" shall refer to a device that is associated with a customer and provides a method of storing information about product agreements, products, etc. A personal digital assistant is one example of a customer device. The term "input device" shall refer to a device that is used to receive an input. An input device may communicate with or be part of another device (e.g. a point of sale teπninal, a point of display terminal, a customer device). Possible input devices include: a bar-code scanner, a magnetic stripe reader, a computer keyboard, a point-of-sale terminal keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, an infrared sensor, a sonic ranger, a computer port, a video camera, a digital camera, a

GPS receiver, a radio frequency identification (RFID) receiver, a RF receiver, a thermometer, and a weight sensor in the floor. The term "output device" shall refer to a device that is used to output information. An output device may communicate with or be part of another device

(e.g. a point of sale terminal, a point of display terminal, a customer device).

Possible output devices include: a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, light emitting diode (LED) screen, a printer, an audio speaker, an infra-red transmitter, a radio transmitter. B. SYSTEM

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system according to some embodiments of the present invention includes a controller 100 that is in one or two-way communication with one or more POS terminals 102, 104, 106 and/or customer devices (not pictured). Referring to FIG. 2, an alternative system according to some other embodiments of the present invention further includes one or more point of display (POD) terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 and/or customer devices (not pictured) also in one or two-way communication with the controller 100. In both embodiments, communication between the controller 100 and the POS terminals 102, 104, 106 may be direct and/or via a network such as the Internet. Likewise, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, communication between the controller 100 and the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 may be direct and/or via a network such as the Internet. In other embodiments, the system includes customer devices (not pictured) that are also in one or two-way communication with the controller 100. Now referring to both FIGs. 1 and 2, each of the controller 100, the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, and the customer devices (not pictured) may comprise computers, such as those based on the Intel^® Pentium^® processor, that are adapted to communicate with each other. Any number of POS terminals 102, 104, 106, POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, and customer devices (not pictured) may be in communication with the controller 100. In addition, the customer devices (not pictured) may be in one or two-way communication with the POS terminals 102, 104, 106 and POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206. The POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the controller 100, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, and the customer devices (not pictured) may each be physically proximate to each other or geographically remote from each other. The POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the controller 100, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 and the customer devices (not pictured) may each include input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 (not pictured for the controller 100, see FIG. 3, 308) and output devices 114, 116, 118, 216, 218, 220, 222 (not pictured for the controller 100, see FIG. 3, 308).

As indicated above, communication between the controller 100, the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 and customer devices (not pictured) may be direct or indirect, such as over an Internet Protocol (IP) network such as the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet through a web site maintained by the controller 100 on a remote server or over an on-line data network including commercial on-line service providers, bulletin board systems, routers, gateways, and the like. In yet other embodiments, the devices may communicate with the controller 100 over local area networks including Ethernet, Token Ring, and the like, radio frequency communications, infrared communications, microwave communications, cable television systems, satellite links, Wide Area Networks (WAN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), other wireless networks, and the like.

Those skilled in the art will understand that devices in communication with each other need not be continually transmitting to each other. On the contrary, such devices need only transmit to each other as necessary, and may actually refrain from exchanging data most of the time. For example, a device in communication with another device via the Internet may not transmit data to the other device for weeks at a time.

The controller 100 may function as a "web server" that generates web pages which are documents stored on Internet-connected computers accessible via the World Wide Web using protocols such as, e.g., the hyper-text transfer protocol ("HTTP"). Such documents typically include a hyper-text markup language ("HTML") file, associated graphics, and script files. A web server allows communication with the controller 100 in a manner known in the art. The POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, customer devices (not pictured) may use a web browser, such as NAVIGATOR^® published by

NETSCAPE^® for accessing HTML forms generated or maintained by or on behalf of the controller 100.

As indicated above, any or all of the controller 100, the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, and customer devices (not pictured) may include, e.g., processor based cash registers, telephones, interactive voice response (IVR) systems such as the ML400-IVR designed by MISSING LINK INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEMS, cellular phones, vending machines, pagers, personal computers, portable types of computers, such as a laptop computer, a wearable computer, a palm-top computer, a hand-held computer, and/or a Personal Digital Assistant ("PDA").

In some embodiments of the invention the controller 100 may include POS terminals 102, 104, 106, and/or POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206. Further, the controller 100 may communicate with customers directly instead of through the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, and/or the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206. Although not pictured, the controller 100, POS terminals 102, 104, 106, and/or the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 may also be in communication with one or more customer credit institutions to effect transactions and may do so directly or via a secure financial network such as the Fedwire network maintained by the United States Federal Reserve System, the Automated Clearing House (hereinafter "ACH") Network, the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (hereinafter "CHIPS"), or the like. In operation, the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, and/or the POD terminals

200, 202, 204, 206 may receive information about offering product agreements from the controller 100 and transmit information about accepting product agreements to the controller 100.

C. DEVICES

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example of the controller 100 of FIGs. 1 and 2. The controller 100 is operative to manage the system and execute the methods of the present invention. The controller 100 may be implemented as one or more system controllers, one or more dedicated hardware circuits, one or more appropriately programmed general purpose computers, or any other similar electronic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, and/or human operated device.

The controller 100 comprises a processor 302, such as one or more Intel^® Pentium^® processors. The processor 302 may include or be coupled to one or more clocks 304, which may be useful for determining information relating to time conditions that are included in product agreements, and one or more communication ports 306 through which the processor 302 communicates with other devices such as the POS terminals 102, 104, 106, and/or the POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206. The processor 302 is also in communication with a data storage device 308. The data storage device 308 includes an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, for example, additional processors, communication ports, Random Access Memory ("RAM"), Read-Only Memory ("ROM"), a compact disc and/or a hard disk. The processor 302 and the storage device 308 may each be, for example: (i) located entirely within a single computer or other computing device; or (ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, such as a serial port cable, telephone line, radio frequency transceiver, or the like. In some embodiments for example, the controller 100 may comprise one or more computers (or processors 302) that are connected to a remote server computer operative to maintain databases, where the data storage device 308 is comprised of the combination of the remote server computer and the associated databases. The data storage device 308 stores a program 310 for controlling the processor 302. The processor 302 performs instructions of the program 310, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention, and particularly in accordance with the methods described in detail herein. The present invention can be embodied as a computer program developed using an object oriented language that allows the modeling of complex systems with modular objects to create abstractions that are representative of real world, physical objects and their interrelationships. However, it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention as described herein can be implemented in many different ways using a wide range of programming techniques as well as general purpose hardware systems or dedicated controllers. The program 310 may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. The program 310 furthermore may include program elements that may be generally necessary, such as an operating system, a database management system and "device drivers" for allowing the processor 302 to interface with computer peripheral devices. Appropriate general purpose program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and need not be described in detail herein. Further, the program 310 is operative to execute a number of invention-specific modules or subroutines including but not limited to one or more routines to offer and process product agreements; one or more routines to display product agreements; one or more routines to capture customer selections of product agreements; and one or more routines to control databases or software objects that track customers, product agreements, products, acceptances, transactions, and prices. These routines are depicted in detail below using flowcharts.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the instructions of the program 310 may be read into a main memory of the processor 302 from another computer-readable medium, such from a ROM to a RAM. Execution of sequences of the instructions in the program 310 causes processor 302 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry or integrated circuits may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions for implementation of the processes of the present invention. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software.

The storage device 308 is also operative to store (i) an agreement database 312 and optionally (ii) a customer database 314. The databases 312, 314 are described in detail below and example structures are depicted with sample entries in the accompanying figures. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the sample databases presented herein are exemplary arrangements for stored representations of information. Any number of other arrangements may be employed besides those suggested by the tables shown. For example, even though two separate databases are illustrated, the invention could be practiced effectively using one, three, four, five, or more functionally equivalent databases. Similarly, the illustrated entries of the databases represent exemplary information only; those skilled in the art will understand that the number and content of the entries can be different from those illustrated herein. Further, despite the depiction of the databases as tables, an object based model could be used to store and manipulate the data types of the present invention and likewise, object methods or behaviors can be used to implement the processes of the present invention. These processes are described below in detail with respect to FIGS. 6 to 9. According to some embodiments of the invention, a system including the above described devices may be used to receive, store, display, and process information about an identification code. The system may be arranged in a variety of different ways and FIGs. 1 through 3 represent only a few of the possible arrangements. It should be understood that systems not explicitly described herein may also be used to practice the methods of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, as shown in FIGs. 1 and 2, identification codes are scanned using input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 that are associated with POS terminals 102, 104, 106. These POS terminals 102, 104, 106 may in turn transmit information to a controller 100, which performs processing relating to determining product agreements from identification codes. Alternatively, some or all of the functionality of the controller 100 could reside in the POS terminals 102, 104, 106. Associating input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 with POS terminals 102, 104, 106 is particularly well-suited to embodiments of the invention in which POS terminals 102, 104, 106 use information that is received from input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 (e.g. input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 scan bar codes to determine the prices of units of products).

According to some embodiments of the invention, identification codes may be scanned using input devices (not pictured) that are connected directly to the controller 100. That is, a point of sale terminal may not be involved in practicing the invention. Instead, other methods may be used to allow a customer to identify himself, sign up for a product agreement, and provide payment.

As indicated above, communication between a point of sale terminal and the controller 100, a point of sale terminal and an input device 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214, or an input device and the controller 100 may be implemented using a variety of different methods of transmission including: a wire connection (e.g. twisted pair, coaxial cable), infra-red, radio waves, and ultrasound. In addition, a variety of different protocols and network topologies (e.g. Ethernet, token ring) may be used when transmitting information. Different methods of communication may be used for different connections (e.g. POS terminals 102, 104, 106 may have wire connections to their input devices 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214, but communicate with a controller 100 using infra-red).

According to some embodiments of the invention, input devices are located at the point of sale, but are not comiected to POS terminals 102, 104, 106. Instead, input devices are connected to output devices, which may output information about product agreements. This may be useful for reminding customers about a product agreement that is associated with a unit of a product, without actually communicating information about the product agreement to a controller 100. For example, an input device may read a bar code on a unit of a product, recognize that this bar code is an agreement ID code that identifies a product agreement, and then use an audio speaker to remind a customer or a cashier to register the customer for the product agreement.

D. DATABASES

As indicated above, it should be noted that although the example embodiment of FIG. 3 is illustrated to include two particular databases stored in storage device 308, other database arrangements may be used which would still be in keeping with the spirit and scope of the present invention. In other words, the present invention could be implemented using any number of different database files or data structures, as opposed to the two depicted in FIG. 2. Further, the individual database files could be stored on different servers (e.g. located on different storage devices in different geographic locations). Likewise, the program 310 could also be located remotely from the storage device 308 and/or on another server. As indicated above, the program 310 includes instructions for retrieving, manipulating, and storing data in the databases 312, 314 as necessary to perform transactions in the methods of the invention as described below.

1. Agreement Database In some embodiments of the invention, information related to an identification code is transmitted from an input device 108, 110, 112, 208, 210, 212, 214 to a controller 100 for processing (a POS or POD terminal 102, 104, 106, 200, 202, 204, 206 may be used to relay this transmission). As indicated above, the controller 100 may store this information in an agreement database 312, which is used for determining and storing information about product agreements.

Three example embodiments of the agreement database 312 are described below with respect to FIGs. 4A, 4B, and 4C. The three particular embodiments depicted are intended to illustrate examples of different ways an agreement database 312 can be structured depending on how the product agreements are referenced and used. The first embodiment (FIG. 4A) illustrates a straight forward indexing structure based on a product agreement identification code. The second embodiment (FIG 4B) illustrates a database indexed using a combination of a product agreement identification code and a product identification code. The third embodiment (FIG. 4C) illustrates a single record of a database that is indexed using a product identification code. However, the third embodiment includes an additional dimension that is sub-indexed using a product agreement identification code. The present invention can use any practicable combination of the three different data structures. As will become more clear in the process description section below, a particular data structure may be more useful based upon how the information it stores is to be used.

(a) A First Embodiment of the Agreement Database

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a tabular representation of a first embodiment of an agreement database 312A according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of an agreement database 312 A includes six sample records or entries each including information regarding a different product agreement. In some embodiments of the invention, an agreement database 312A is used to track such things as agreement terms including benefits, conditions, and penalties related to the agreements. Those skilled in the art will understand that such an agreement database 312A may include any number of entries. The particular tabular representation of an agreement database 312A depicted in FIG. 4A defines a number of fields for each of the entries or records. The fields may include: (i) an agreement ID code field 400A that stores a representation uniquely identifying the product agreement; (ii) a benefit field 406A that stores a representation of a particular benefit associated with the product agreement; (iii) a future behavior field 408 A that stores a representation of the customer's obliged future behavior and/or other agreement terms according to the product agreement; and (iv) a penalty field 410A that stores a representation of the penalty charged for not fulfilling the future behavior associated with the product agreement.

The first data row of the agreement database 312A provides example data that helps illustrate the meaning of the information stored in this database embodiment. An agreement ID code 400A (e.g. PA-234089-234) is used to identify and index the product agreements. This first listed product agreement specifies a benefit 406 A (i.e. 20% discount on bacon), a future behavior 408 A (i.e. purchase bacon four times in the next five weeks, also at a 20% discount) and a penalty 410A that a customer may be charged if the customer does not purchase bacon four times in the next five weeks (i.e. $6.00).

(b) A Second Embodiment of the Agreement Database Referring now to FIG. 4B, a tabular representation of a second embodiment of an agreement database 312B according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of an agreement database 312B includes five sample records or entries each including information regarding a different product agreement and associated product. In some embodiments of the invention, an agreement database 312B is used to track such things as information about a unit of a product including a description and discounted price, and product agreement terms including conditions and penalties related to the agreements. Those skilled in the art will understand that such an agreement database 312B may include any number of entries.

The particular tabular representation of an agreement database 312B depicted in FIG. 4B defines a number of fields for each of the entries or records. The fields may include: (i) a combination ID code field 400B that stores a representation uniquely identifying a unit of a product and product agreement combination; (ii) a product field 402B that stores a representation of a name and/or description of the unit of the product associated with the product agreement; (iii) a price field 404B that stores a representation of the discounted price for a unit of the product, (iv) a future behavior field 408B that stores a representation of the customer's obliged future behavior and/or other agreement terms according to the product agreement; and (v) a penalty field 41 OB that stores a representation of the penalty charged for not fulfilling the future behavior associated with the product agreement.

The first data row of the agreement database 312B provides example data that helps illustrate the meaning of the information stored in this database embodiment. A combination ID code 400B is used to identify and index units of the products and the associated product agreements. The first listed combination ID code 400B (i.e. CC-09182-9023) identifies a product and product agreement combination that specifies a unit of a product 402B (i.e. bacon), a benefit in the form of a discounted price 404B for the product (i.e. $3.20 instead of, e.g., $4.00), a future behavior 408B (i.e. purchase bacon 4 times in the next 5 weeks, also at a 20%) discount) and a penalty 410B that a customer may be charged if the customer does not purchase bacon four times in the next five weeks (i.e. $6.00).

(c) A Third Embodiment of the Agreement Database Referring now to FIG. 4C, a tabular representation of one record 412c of a third embodiment of an agreement database 312C according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of a record 412c of an agreement database 312C includes five sample sub-records or sub-entries, each including information regarding a different product agreement for the product of the record. Thus, each product would have its own record that includes entries for each of the product agreements associated with the product. In some embodiments of the invention, an agreement database 312C is used to track, per product, such things as agreement terms including benefits, conditions, and penalties related to the agreements. Those skilled in the art will understand that such an agreement database 312C may include any number of entries and any number of sub-entries. The particular tabular representation of a record 412c of an agreement database 312C depicted in FIG. 4A defines a number of fields for each of the sub- entries or sub-records. The fields may include: (i) an agreement ID code field 400C that stores a representation uniquely identifying the product agreement; (ii) a benefit field 406C that stores a representation of a particular benefit associated with the product agreement; (iii) a future behavior field 408C that stores a representation of the customer's obliged future behavior and/or other agreement terms according to the product agreement; and (iv) a penalty field 410C that stores a representation of the penalty charged for not fulfilling the future behavior associated with the product agreement.

The data in the first sub-entry of the record of the agreement database 312C provides example data that helps illustrate the meaning of the information stored in this database embodiment. An agreement ID code 400C (e.g. D-123-237589) is used to identify and index product agreements related to a product that has already been identified which, in this example, is a package of ham (product code P-

08910-1243). For this package of ham, an agreement ID code (i.e. D-123-237589) identifies a product agreement which specifies a benefit (i.e. a 20% discount), a future behavior (i.e. purchase ham four times in the next five weeks, also at a 20% discount) and a penalty that a customer may charged if he fails to purchase ham four times in the next five weeks (i.e. $6.00).

2. Customer Database

Referring now to FIG. 5, a tabular representation of a customer database 314 according to some embodiments of the present invention is illustrated. This particular tabular representation of a customer database 314 includes two sample records or entries each including information regarding a different customer. In some embodiments of the invention, a customer database 314 is used to track such things as customer financial account information, product agreements that a customer has accepted, and information indicating whether the customer has fulfilled future behaviors associated with the product agreement.

Those skilled in the art will understand that a customer database 314 may include any number of entries. This particular tabular representation of a customer database 314 can also define a number of fields for each of the entries or records. The fields may include: (i) a customer identifier field 500 that stores a representation uniquely identifying the customer; (ii) a credit card number field 502 that stores a representation of a financial account identifier; (iii) an agreements list field 504 that stores a representation of one or more future behaviors the customer is obligated to fulfill as the result of having accepted product agreement(s); and (iv) a progress towards completion field 506 that stores a representation of whether, and in some instances, how much, the customer has fulfilled a corresponding future behavior and/or other conditions. This embodiment of a customer database 314 stores a customer identifier

500 (e.g. C-9028345-23), a credit card number 502 which functions as a payment identifier for this customer (e.g. 1243-9583-3455-9028), and the future behaviors and conditions of any product agreements for which the customer has registered 504 (e.g. get free haircut at Coolcuts). For each condition, this embodiment of the customer database also stores an indication of the progress towards completion of this condition 506 (e.g. ³Λ complete, expires on 1/10/00). A customer database 314 may also store additional information, including a customer's name, preferences, purchasing history, benefits received, product agreements accepted, and associates. According to some embodiments, information from a customer database may be made available to customers (e.g. through a web site) so that they can track their product agreements.

E. PROCESS DESCRIPTIONS The system described above, including the hardware components and the databases, are useful to perform the methods of the invention. However, it should be understood that not all of the above described components and databases are necessary to perform any of the present invention's methods. In fact, in some embodiments, none of the above described system is required to practice the invention's methods. The system described above is an example of a system that would be useful in practicing the invention's methods. For example, the customer database 314 described above is useful for tracking customers and their obligations, but it is not absolutely necessary to have such a database in order to perform the methods of the invention, h other words, the methods described below may be practiced using a conventional customer account list in conjunction with a log of customer obligations. In general terms, the steps of the present invention can be summarized as follows: (1) display products at a POD in a store; (2) offer customers product agreements for products at the POD; (3) provide means to allow customers to indicate or record selections of product agreements; and (4) receive the customers' selections of the offered product agreements.

1. Facilitating Selection of Product Agreements At the Point of Display

Referring to FIG. 6, a flow chart is depicted that represents some embodiments of the present invention that may be performed by the controller 100 (FIGs. 1 and 2). The particular arrangement of elements in the flow chart of FIG. 6, as well as the other flow charts discussed herein, is not meant to imply a fixed order to the steps; embodiments of the present invention can be practiced in any order that is practicable. In Step SI, a party, usually a seller, first displays a product at a point of display. In Step S2, the party offers, at the point of display, multiple product agreements, usually to a customer. In Step S3, the party receives a selection of at least one of the product agreements. Although these steps appear relatively simple, they encompass many variations and different embodiments of the invention. Each portion of each of these steps will now be discussed in detail.

(a) The Product Agreement As mentioned above, a product agreement is an agreement between a seller and usually a customer, that specifies at least a future behavior and optionally, a benefit, a penalty, and/or other conditions. A product agreement may be associated with a product and/or a unit of a product. According to some embodiments of the invention, an agreement ID code is used to identify product agreements and also to allow a customer to indicate a selection of a product agreement. The following are a few illustrative examples of product agreements: (1) "The customer receives 20% off this can of beans if he promises to buy beans 3 more times in the next month, also at a 20% discount."; (2) "The customer receives $1.00 off this bag of potato chips if he promises to shop at King's Hardware Store."; (3) "The customer receives this package of baseball cards for free if he promises to go watch a home team baseball game this summer."; (4) "The customer receives a 40% discount on this video game if he promises to win at it before June."; and (5) "The customer receives a free haircut at Ralph's if he donates this can of green beans to a food drive."

There are several notable aspects of product agreements that will be described. These aspects include explanations of different ways that product agreements can be associated with a unit of a product, characteristics and examples of specifying benefits, characteristics and examples of specifying future behaviors, and explanations of different ways product agreements can be dynamically modified.

i. Product Agreements May Be Associated With A Unit Of A

Product A product agreement may be associated with a unit of a product in many different ways. A first way of associating a product agreement with a unit of a product would be to associate a benefit specified by the product agreement with a unit of a product. For example, a product agreement may specify a benefit that a customer is to receive 10% off the price of a box of pasta. A second way of associating a product agreement with a unit of a product would be to associate a future behavior specified by the product agreement with a unit of a product. For example, a product agreement may specify the future behavior that a customer must recycle the product container. A third way of associating a product agreement with a unit of a product would be to use an agreement ID code that happens to be associated with the unit of the product to identify the product agreement. For example, a product agreement may be represented by an agreement ID code that is printed on a unit of a product. A fourth way of associating a product agreement with a unit of a product would be to use a combination ID code to identify the product agreement, and this combination ID code is associated with the unit of the product. For example, a combination ID code may identify both a unit of a product and a product agreement, thereby associating the product agreement with the unit of the product.

It is not necessary that a product agreement be limited to association with a single unit of a single product. A product agreement may also be associated with at least one unit of at least one product. For example a product agreement may be associated with all units of a product (i.e. associated with a product as opposed to a unit of a product), all units of products that are produced by a particular manufacturer (i.e. associated with a manufacturer), all units of products purchased by a customer in a particular transaction (i.e. associated with a transaction), and/or all units of products available for sale from a particular retailer (i.e. associated with a retailer).

A product agreement may be associated with a unit of a product that is available for sale. For example, a product agreement may be associated with a block of cheese that is being sold at a supermarket. In addition, a product agreement may -be associated with a unit of a product that is available for rental. For example, a product agreement may be associated with a video cassette that is available for rental. In addition, a product agreement may be associated with a unit of a product that is available for licensing. For example, a product agreement may be associated with a software program that is available to be licensed. It is possible that a product agreement may be associated with a unit of a product in more than one way. For example, a product agreement may provide a benefit that is associated with a unit of a product and be represented by an agreement ID code that is attached to the unit of the product. In addition, it is possible that a product agreement may be associated with multiple different products. In some embodiments, a product agreement may provide a benefit that relates to a first product, and specify a future behavior that relates to a second product, and be represented by an agreement ID code that is attached to a third product. This is particularly applicable to conditions relating to cross-subsidies. For example, a product agreement may provide 10% off of a bag of tortilla chips (a benefit) if a customer purchases two jars of salsa in the next 3 weeks (a future behavior), and be represented by an agreement ID code that is printed on the package of a frozen burrito. In this example, the frozen burrito manufacturer could be the entity providing a cross-subsidy to fund the discount on the bag of tortilla chips.

Note that it is possible that the only way that a product agreement is associated with a unit of a product is that the product agreement is identified by an agreement ID code that is attached to the unit of the product. For example, a product agreement that offers a customer a free pompon if he buys football tickets may be identified by a product code that is attached to a can of beer. The customer may sign up for this product agreement and receive a free pompon when he purchases the can of beer.

ii. Product Agreements May Specify Benefits As indicated above, a product agreement may optionally specify a benefit to a customer or on behalf of a customer (e.g. donation to charity, gift, etc.). According to some embodiments, the benefit that is provided to a customer may be associated with a unit of a product. Possible examples of benefits that are associated with a unit of a product include: a discount on the unit of the product (e.g. 10% off this box); a discount on the unit of the product and a unit of a second product (e.g. 10% of all the products in this transaction); additional functionality of the unit of the product (e.g. a password that enables extra levels in a video game); and/or additional usage of the unit of the product (e.g. rent this digital video disk (DVD) for 2 additional days at no extra cost).

Note that, as mentioned above, a product agreement may also be associated with a unit of a product in other ways than through a benefit. In this case, a product agreement may provide other types of benefits. Examples of these other types of benefits include: discounts on a unit of another product (e.g. 10% off a car wash, free manicure); additional functionality and usage of units of another product (e.g. a password that allows a customer to access a secret level in a video game); benefits to parties other than the customer (e.g. donations to charities); and/or payments (e.g. $10). In some embodiments of the invention, a benefit may be provided immediately. For example, a customer may receive a $5.00 discount on a current transaction. In some embodiments of the invention, a benefit may be provided after a transaction. Examples include: benefits that do not relate to the current transaction (e.g. "receive a free haircut") and benefits that are provided after a condition is fulfilled (e.g. "receive a $10 rebate if you win at this video game"). From a timing perspective, product agreements can be thought of as including three events: (1) the transaction, (2) the conferring of the benefit (if any), and (3) the fulfillment of the future behavior. The transaction occurs when the customer accepts the product agreement. The benefit may occur concurrently or after the transaction. The future behavior occurs after the transaction. There is no timing restriction related to conferring the benefit relative to the future behavior. In other words, a benefit may be conferred before, during, or after a future behavior. Thus, there are four different timing possibilities when a benefit is specified by a product agreement. The first is that the transaction and conferring of the benefit occur concurrently, while the future behavior occurs afterwards. The second is that the transaction occurs, after the transaction the benefit is provided, and after the benefit is provided, the future behavior occurs. The third is that the transaction occurs and afterward, the benefit conference and future behavior occur concurrently, although perhaps not coterminously. The fourth possibility is that the transaction occurs, then the future behavior occurs, and then after the future behavior is fulfilled, the benefit is provided. In some embodiments of the invention, a benefit may be provided based on a condition and/or a future behavior. Examples include: a benefit may only be provided if a condition and/or a future behavior is fulfilled (e.g. a customer receives a free oil change if he wins at a video game); a benefit may be provided but then revoked if a condition and/or a future behavior is not fulfilled (e.g. a customer receives a calling card, but the calling card is canceled if a condition is not fulfilled); and a benefit may be provided, but then a penalty may be imposed if a condition and/or a future behavior is not fulfilled. The penalty may be greater than the benefit (e.g. $5 benefit, $10 penalty), less than the benefit (e.g. 10% benefit, 5%> penalty), or equal to the benefit. iii. Product Agreements Specify Future Behaviors A product agreement specifies a future behavior that (1) simply occurs, (2) the customer, as a party to the product agreement, is obliged to fulfill and/or (3) the customer causes to happen, in the future (i.e. after a current transaction). An example of a future behavior would be a future purchase (e.g. where a customer commits today to purchase groceries in the future). Future purchases may be restricted in various ways, including that they must occur at certain times, certain products must be purchased, and purchases must be made at certain retailers or from a particular seller. Note that products and sellers specified as part of a future behavior condition may be different than the unit of a product that is associated with the product agreement and the seller that is selling thislrnit of the product. For example, a customer may receive 10% off a can of peaches if he promises to buy grapefruit next week. In another example, a customer may receive a 10% discount on Mighty-O's cereal if he agrees to be brand flexible on his next six cereal purchases (e.g. he lets the seller pick which cereal he purchases). A second example of a future behavior would be a behavior that is to be performed by a customer (e.g. buy a can of soup every week for the next month, use a credit card 10 times in the next 2 weeks, shop at a particular store, visit a web site, sign up friends for a multi-level marketing system, answer survey questions, winning at a video game, return a rental product in good condition). Note that a wide variety of behaviors are possible, including purchases, product use, and marketing. A third example of a future behavior would be the occurrence of an event (e.g. if it rains tomorrow, if a seller experiences a predefined inventory status, if a retail store sells out of an item, if an item is available). In some embodiments, a benefit may be provided if a condition and/or a future behavior is fulfilled. The amount of the benefit may be determined based on the fulfillment of the condition and/or a future behavior. For example, a customer may receive $1 for answering 20 survey questions, $2 for answering 50 survey questions, or 10 cents for each survey question answered. In some embodiments, future behaviors may be performed on behalf of the customer by other parties. A future behavior may specify that a party other than the customer satisfy the future behavior. For example, a future behavior might be that the customer's friends must purchase over $1000 worth of groceries within the next month. In some embodiments a future behavior may also be a benefit. For example, a future behavior may be a requirement that a customer sample a product for free (e.g., a free hair cut at Coolcuts, a free month of AT&T® Long Distance Service.)

In some embodiments, a penalty may be imposed if a condition and/or a future behavior is not fulfilled. Some examples of possible penalties include: payments that must be made by a customer (e.g. a $10 charge is placed on a customer's credit card bill); actions that must be performed by a customer (e.g. a customer must answer survey questions on a web site); products or services that may be denied to a customer (e.g. a customer may be disallowed from signing up for more product agreements); and purchases that must be made by a customer (e.g. a customer must purchase an upgrade to a product).

In addition, the value of a penalty that is included in a product agreement may be greater than, less than, or equal to the value of a benefit that is specified by the product agreement. For example, a customer may receive a $1 discount on a unit of a product (a benefit), but receive a $3 penalty if he does not perform the specified future behavior of the product agreement (or some other associated condition is not fulfilled). Likewise, a customer may receive a 10% discount on an order, but only receive a 5% penalty if an event does not occur (i.e. a future behavior is not fulfilled).

The value and nature of a penalty may be based on a number of factors, including: the degree of fulfillment of a future behavior (e.g. if a customer is supposed to answers 10 survey questions and answers all but 2 questions, he may receive a penalty equivalent to 20% of the total penalty that is possible); and information about a customer (e.g. a customer who is a preferred shopper may not receive a penalty, and instead will only receive a warning).

According to some embodiments of the invention, a monetary penalty may be enforced in a number of different ways, including requiring a customer to pay a penalty "deposit" at the initiation of a product agreement, and then refunding this penalty deposit if a condition and/or a future behavior is fulfilled. In this embodiment, payment may be made in a variety of different ways, including credit card, debit card, cash, and check. A monetary penalty may also be enforced by authorizing a charge on a customer's credit card for the total amount of a penalty at the initiation of a product agreement. If a condition and/or the future behavior is not fulfilled, the actual charge may then be made to the customer's credit card. A monetary penalty may also be enforced by receiving and storing a payment identifier (e.g. credit card number, debit card number, bank account number) from a customer at the initiation of a product agreement. If a condition and/or the future behavior is not fulfilled, the amount of a penalty is charged to the payment identifier. According to some embodiments, a future behavior may relate to playing a video or electronic game. For example, a customer may receive a 20% discount on purchasing a video game if he promises to win at the video game within 30 days. In this embodiment, it may be useful to have a central system that is used for verifying performance in a video game, which may be used to determine fulfillment of a condition. U.S. Patent No. 5,768,382, assigned to Walker Digital LLC, describes a system which uses authentication codes to verify video or electronic game scores.

According to some embodiments, a condition and/or a future behavior may relate to a behavior that a customer may engage in or perform in a retail store. For example, a customer may receive a 10% discount on a product for answering survey questions at a kiosk in a supermarket. In some embodiments, this kiosk may be used to produce an agreement ID code that is useful for identifying a product agreement (e.g. a sticker that may be attached to a unit of a product).

iv. Product Agreements May Specify Additional Conditions

In addition to specifying a future behavior, a product agreement may optionally specify one or more conditions that should met in order for the product agreement to be enacted. For example, a product agreement that offers a customer a 10% discount on a 10 can, 4 month, subscription to soup may include a condition that the customer should purchase a can of soup during the same transaction in which the customer signs up for the subscription. In a second example, only preferred customers may be allowed to sign up for a particular product agreement. In some embodiments, a customer may be prevented from selecting a product agreement if one or more conditions are not met. In a third example, a customer may only be peπnitted to select a product agreement if he has already purchased a particular product.

v. Product Agreements May Be Dynamically Modified According to some embodiments of the invention, the controller 100 may dynamically modify product agreements. For example, a product agreement may originally provide 10% off of a can of soup if a customer agrees to purchase soup at a discount three times in the next month. Based on information about the expected demand for soup (e.g. soup will be in high demand), the controller 100 may modify this product agreement so that it provides a discount of 5% instead of 10%. This change may be made before or after a customer accepts a product agreement. According to some embodiments, the benefit specified by a product agreement may be modified. For example, a product agreement that specifies a 10% discount on a product may be modified to specify a 20% discount on the product. In addition, a product agreement may be modified so as to specify additional benefits, or benefits may be removed from a product agreement. According to some embodiments, the future behavior specified in a product agreement may be modified. For example, a product agreement that includes the condition that a customer should visit a web site may be modified to include the condition that a customer should purchase an item from this web site. In addition, a product agreement may be modified so as to specify additional future behaviors and/or conditions. Further, future behaviors and/or conditions may be removed from a product agreement.

Modifications to a product agreement may be based on a variety of factors, including: the number of customers who sign up for the product agreement; information about a customer; the current or expected inventory of a product; and revenue-management information (e.g. supply and demand pricing principles, market based pricing principles, etc.) More detailed information about revenue- management principles can be found in a book by Robert G. Cross entitled "Revenue Management: Hard-Core Tactics for Market Domination", Pub. 1997 by Broadway Books, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. In addition, product agreements may be modified in response to indications or information from customers, sellers, or other parties.

(b) Using Identification Codes

As mentioned above, an identification code (ID code) is a code that may be used to identify at least one of a unit of a product, a product agreement, and/or any other item that may be present in a store or offered by a seller. Examples of identification codes include: a printed bar code (e.g. UPC codes); a two- dimensional bar code (e.g. those used by UPS for tracking packages); a graphic or graphic design (e.g. as on cash currency); a magnetic stripe (e.g. affixed to an identification card); a radio frequency identification system (RFID) such as those produced by Checkpoint Systems of Thorofare, New Jersey (RFID systems can scan and identify items using radio waves); a radio frequency (RF) security tag such as those also produced by Checkpoint Systems; various other optical formats (e.g. holograms, pit-encoding like on compact discs, etc); an alphanumeric code that may be scanned or keyed in (e.g. the numbers that are used for processing personal checks issued by banks); an electronic memory (e.g. random access memory, read-only memory); information stored in a computer chip (e.g. a computer chip with a memory); and an alphanumeric code, symbol, pattern, or graphic that is written on a product by hand. Note that an identification code may be machine readable. Machine readable identification codes can help to speed up the check-out process. An identification code may be associated with a unit of a product in a variety of different ways, including: printed on the product (e.g. a bar code printed on a cereal box); attached to the product (e.g. a sticker that is glued to the product); part of the product (e.g. a product contains a computer chip that stores a product code); presented along with the product at a point of sale (e.g. a coupon or ticket); and provided at a point of display of the product (e.g. a number that is printed on a poster). Databases, such as those illustrated in FIGs. 4A through 4C, may use ID codes to index lists of products, product agreements, and associations between the two.

As mentioned above, there are three types of identification codes used in describing different embodiments of the present invention: product ID codes, agreement JO codes, and combination ID codes. These three names were chosen to help illustrate the present invention. A product ID code is an identification code that is used to identify a unit of a product. Note that all units of a product may have the same product ID code. Product ID codes like Universal Product Codes (UPC codes) are already in widespread use across the United States. An agreement ID code is an identification code that is used to identify at least one product agreement. A combination ID code is an identification code that is used to identify both a unit of a product and at least one product agreement. According to some embodiments of the invention, the same type of identification code (e.g. bar code) may be used for identifying units of products, product agreements, coupons, frequent shopper cards, and various other items that may need to be identified at a point of sale. For example, many supermarkets currently use bar codes for identifying units of products that are available for sale. Product agreements can be identified by similar bar codes, so that that the same point of sale computer system can be used to identify both units of products and product agreements. This is advantageous because many implementations of the invention will not require significant, if any, changes to the existing network infrastructure or computer systems in supermarkets and other stores.

According to some embodiments of the invention, different types of identification codes may be used for identifying units of products, product agreements, and other items that may need to be identified. For example, a supermarket may use bar codes for identifying units of products, magnetic stripes for identifying frequent shopper cards, and radio frequency identification tags for product agreements. In a second example, some product agreements may be designated by magnetic stripes, while other product agreements are designated by bar codes. Using different types of identification codes for units of products and product agreements may be advantageous by helping to avoid mistakes when scanning identification codes. If the same type of identification code is used for identifying both units of products and product agreements, then a product agreement code could possibly be missed when scanning a unit of a product. According to some embodiments, an identification code may store additional information such as a customer identifier or a payment identifier.

i. Agreement ID Codes Agreement ID codes are used to identify at least one product agreement and in some embodiments, an agreement ID code may uniquely identify a product agreement. For example, a bar code may be used to designate a product agreement in which a customer subscribes to buying five watermelons in the next year, each for 50% off, while a different bar code is used to designate a product agreement in which a customer subscribes to buying four watermelons in the next year, each for 40%) off. An agreement ID code may identify a category of product agreements. For example, a magnetic stripe may be used to designate any product agreement in which a customer receives a 10%o discount on a unit of a product if he promises to buy the product again in the next 3 weeks. This same agreement ID code, designated by the magnetic stripe, could be used to select the product agreement for bacon, eggs, video tapes, or any other units of products.

Similarly, a single agreement ID code may be used to represent multiple product agreements. For example, one agreement ID code may be used to indicate a customer's interest in registering for a 3-week subscription to a product at 10% off (a first product agreement) and getting an additional 15% discount by answering survey questions online (a second product agreement). Also, a single agreement ID code may be used to represent different product agreements depending when, how, where, and by whom the agreement ID code is used. For example, if a particular agreement ID code used in conjunction with the purchase of a can of soup, then it may correspond to a first product agreement (e.g. buy soup once a week for the next 3 weeks at a 10% discount). However, if this agreement ID code is used in conjunction with the purchase of loaf of bread, then it may correspond to a second product agreement (e.g. buy bread once a week for the next 4 weeks at a 10% discount). In a second example, an agreement ID code may identify a product agreement with a 10% discount when used by regular customers, but identify a product agreement with a 20% discount when used by a preferred customer.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a list of product agreements that is indexed using agreement ID codes. A controller 100 is able to receive an agreement ID code and retrieve (or store) information regarding the associated product agreement in an agreement database 312A (FIG. 4A) using the agreement ID code.

According to some embodiments of the invention, multiple agreement ID codes may be used to represent a single product agreement. For example, it could be that two agreement ID codes are used to specify a product agreement. A first agreement ID code may be used to specify a benefit that may be received (e.g. a customer may select between getting a 10%> discount on a bag of tortilla chips or receiving a free jar of salsa), and a second agreement ID code may be used to specify a condition that may be fulfilled (e.g. purchasing tortilla chips 3 times in the next 2 weeks, or buying a tape of salsa music in the next month).

Alternatively, identification codes may not uniquely identify a product agreement. Instead, an identification code may be used as a reminder to a customer that he would like to sign up for a product agreement. For example, when a product is scanned that has a agreement ID code or combination ID code on it, a message may be printed on the display screen of a cashier's point of sale terminal, indicating to him that he should ask the customer about signing up for a product agreement.

ii. Combination ID Codes In some embodiments of the invention, a combination ID code may be used to identify both a unit of a product and at least one product agreement. Thus, a combination ID code may be thought of as an identification code that is a combination of: a product ID code (which represents a unit of a product); and an agreement ID code (which represents at least one product agreement). For example, a single combination ID code may be used to represent both a can of soup and a product agreement to buy soup once a week for the next 3 weeks at a 10% discount. In a second example, a combination ID code may be used to simultaneously represent a bag of potatoes, a product agreement to receive a 10% discount on the bag of potatoes for buying a bag of corn next week, and a second product agreement to receive an additional 10% discount on the bag of potatoes for purchasing at least three bags of potatoes in the next year. Combination ID codes inherit many of the properties of product ID codes and agreement ID codes discussed above. By analogy to the properties of agreement ID codes discussed above, combination ID codes have the following properties: a combination ID code may uniquely identify a product agreement; a combination ID code may identify a category of product agreements; a combination ID code may represent multiple product agreements; and a combination ID code may represent different product agreements in different situations. Combination codes are particularly useful for certain methods of selecting a product agreement that will be discussed in detail below.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a list of product agreements associated with products that is indexed using combination ID codes. A controller 100 is able to receive a combination ID code and retrieve (or store) information regarding the associated product and product agreement in an agreement database 312B (FIG. 4B) using the combination ID code.

iii. Supplemental Information About ID codes

An identification code (e.g. a product ID code, an agreement ID code, a combination ID code) may also identify additional information. Additional information that may be identified by an identification code includes customer identifiers and payment identifiers. A customer identifier may be used to identify a customer who selects a product agreement. This information may be particularly useful in avoiding confusion as to which customer has selected a particular product agreement. For example, a first customer may select a product agreement by adding an agreement ID code to a unit of a product. However, this first customer may then change his mind and place the unit of the product back on a shelf. A second customer may then remove the unit of the product from the shelf and attempt to purchase it. If the agreement ID code does not include a customer identifier, then the second customer may inadvertently sign up for the product agreement identified by the agreement ID code. Including a customer identifier corresponding to the first customer in the agreement ID code averts this potential problem by providing a way of verifying that the second customer did not add the agreement ID code to the product.

A payment identifier (e.g. a credit card number) may be useful in automating payment of a benefit to a customer or in penalizing a customer for not fulfilling a condition and/or a future behavior of a product agreement. Payment identifiers are discussed in more detail below.

(c) At The Point of Display i. Defining the Point of Display A point of display is a location where a product is presented for sale. For example, in a supermarket, the point of display of a product is where a unit of the product sits on a shelf. Alternatively, a point of display may show a representation of a product (e.g. a picture of the product). For the purposes of this specification, the term "point of display" is used to refer to the general location where a unit of a product is presented for sale, rather than a specific point. Examples of a point of display include: a shelf in a grocery store, the men's department in a department store, a thirty foot radius surrounding a unit of a product, a page in a mail order catalog, and/or a web page on a web site.

In some embodiments of the invention, the point of display is different from the point of sale. In contrast to a point of display, a point of sale is the location where a transaction occurs (e.g. a POS terminal where a customer purchases a unit of a product). In many retail stores, a customer may select a unit of a product at a point of display and then bring this unit of the product to the front of the store, where there is at least one point of sale terminal useful for processing transactions.

In some embodiments of the invention, the point of display may be the same as or very close to the point of sale. For example, in a convenience store, units of products may be displayed to a customer at the point of sale. Typical examples are small products like candy bars, baseball cards, cigarettes, and lottery tickets.

ii. Methods of Displaying Products There are many different ways of displaying products for sale at a point of display. An entire inventory of units of products that are available for sale can be displayed on rows of shelves. A customer can select a unit of a product from the shelf and bring it to a POS teπninal 102 for purchase. This method of displaying units of products is often used by supermarkets, department stores, and other retail stores. Alternatively, samples or pictures of different products can be displayed, customers can be permitted to order units of products, and receive them in a separate manner. Some appliance stores, electronics stores, wallpaper stores, and fabric stores use this method of displaying representations of products. For example, a customer in an appliance store may browse through aisles of dishwashers that are on display. Various product agreements may also be presented to the customer. He may then select a dishwasher and a product agreement by writing down a combination ID code. The customer may then bring this combination ID code to a point of sale, where he may purchase the dishwasher and sign up for the product agreement. The dishwasher may then be delivered to the customer's home by a delivery truck.

There are many other ways of displaying representations of products, including embodiments in which the point of display is not in a retail store. Examples of these methods include using printed catalogs (e.g. The Lands End® catalog, The L.L. Bean® catalog, The Sears® catalog); displaying product representations on Web sites on the Internet (e.g. Amazon.com, FreePC.com); displaying on television (e.g. commercials, The Home Shopping Channel, situation comedies wherein the props are available for sale), and any practicable combination of the above methods.

iii. Methods of Displaying Product Agreements

According to methods of the invention, a plurality of product agreements may be offered to a customer at a point of display. There are a number of different ways of offering such product agreements. This section lists a few possible example methods of displaying information about product agreements at a point of display.

Product agreements may be displayed adjacent to a point of display of a product. For example, a poster next to a shelf of products may display information about three possible product agreements that a customer may choose. This poster could outline the details of each product agreement and instruct the customer as to how to sign up for a product agreement. In a second example, an in-aisle coupon dispenser or a kiosk could dispense coupons or tickets that offer product agreements to customers.

Product agreements may be displayed on a unit of a product. For example, information about four different product agreements may be printed on the side of a can of hairspray. In a second example, a sticker on a banana may indicate to a customer that it is possible to sign up for a subscription to this product. Product agreements may be displayed using an output device 114, 116,

118, 216, 218, 220, 222. The output device 114, 116, 118, 216, 218, 220, 222 could be located adjacent to a point of display of a product, or on a unit of a product. For example, a video monitor next to a shelf of products may display information promoting product agreements, h a second example, a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on a unit of a product (e.g. a stereo system, a telephone) may display information about product agreements that are available to customers. According to some embodiments of the invention an output device 216, 218, 220, 222 may be part of a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 or a customer device.

FIG. 4C illustrates an example agreement database 312C structure that is particularly suited for displaying all of the available product agreements for a particular product. Thus, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 or a customer device may access, through a controller 100, a single product record in an agreement database 312C in order to retrieve all the related product agreements and display them on a connected output device 216, 218, 220, 222 to a customer considering the product. (d) Providing Means To Let The Customer Make a Selection In some embodiments of the invention, a customer makes a selection of a product agreement at a point of display. This section describes a number of different ways that a customer may make a selection of a product agreement at a point of display. However, note that while there may be other ways of selecting a product agreement at a point of display, not all possible methods can be listed herein. Thus, the present invention includes, but should not be limited to the following ways of allowing the customer to make a selection.

i. Adding an Agreement ID Code to a Unit of a Product

According to some embodiments of the invention, a customer may make his selection of a product agreement by adding an agreement ID code to a unit of a product. For example, consider the following scenario:

A customer is shopping in a grocery store for a can of chicken noodle soup. He goes to the appropriate aisle of the grocery store, where cans of soup are kept on a shelf. Next to this shelf is a small poster describing five product agreements that are available for cans of chicken noodle soup. For each of the five possible product agreements, there is a corresponding stack of stickers available. Each sticker has an agreement ID code (e.g. a bar code) printed on it that identifies one of the five product agreements. The poster instructs the customer that if he wants to sign up for a product agreement, he should select the coπesponding sticker and place this sticker on the can of soup that he wishes to purchase. The customer does this and then takes the can of soup to the checkout lane, where it is scanned by the cashier. The agreement ID code on the sticker indicates that the customer would like to sign up for the particular product agreement that the customer chose that relates to the can of soup.

The scenario described above is an example of a sticker embodiment of the present invention. In a sticker embodiment, a customer selects a product agreement by placing a special sticker on a unit of a product that he wishes to purchase. The sticker has an agreement ID code (e.g. bar code) on it, which may be scanned at the point of sale to determine which product agreement a customer has selected. Many different types of identification codes (e.g. bar codes, magnetic stripes, radio frequency identification chips) as described above, can be used.

Affixing stickers are only one method that may be used to allow a customer to add an agreement ID code to a unit of a product. A variety of other methods of adding agreement ID codes to units of products are also possible. For example, tags that are affixed to units of products in other ways, including string, magnets, static electricity, etc. can be used. Tags may be made out of any material, including paper, cloth, plastic, and metal. Another example method would be to instruct a customer to write an alphanumeric code on a unit of a product. This code could be written using a pen, a marker, paint, an engraver, an ink stamp, and/or any of a variety of other instruments. For example, a customer could use a pen to write the agreement ID code "SUBSCRIBE20%" on a unit of a product, thereby indicating that he would like to sign up for a product agreement under which he agrees to purchase additional units of the product for a 20% discount. Another way a customer can add an agreement ID code would be by downloading an agreement ID code into a computer chip that is attached to a unit of a product. For example, a computer chip with a memory may be attached to a unit of a product. To select a product agreement, a customer may initiate a download of an agreement ID code into this computer chip. Such a download could be transmitted using radio waves, infra-red, through an wire connection, or by various other means. The agreement ID code that is downloaded into the computer chip may then be uploaded at the point of sale. Similarly a seller could provide an electronic kiosk near the point of display that is able to print an agreement ID code in the fonn of a bar code on a label that can be attached to a unit of a product.

Customers may obtain agreement ID codes from a variety of different sources, including: sources at the point of display (e.g. a customer removes a sticker from the shelf and places it on a unit of a product, a customer copies an agreement ID code off of a poster); a kiosk located in a retail store (e.g. a customer obtains a sticker from a kiosk at the front of a supermarket, then walks to a point of display, selects a unit of a product, and places the sticker on the unit of the product); identifiers may be mailed to the customer (e.g. a customer receives a sheet of stickers in the mail); and/or a customer creates his own identifiers (e.g. a customer goes to a web site and prints out stickers with bar codes indicating a selected product agreement).

According to some embodiments, multiple agreement ID codes may be added to a single unit of a product. For example, a customer may place one sticker on a unit of a product indicating that he would like to receive a 10% discount for agreeing to be brand flexible on his next five grocery purchases from a specific supermarket (a first product agreement), and place a second sticker on the unit of the product indicating that he would like to receive a $20.00 discount for agreeing to purchase a new vacuum cleaner from Hoover (a second product agreement). Note that, as discussed earlier, multiple agreement ID codes may be used to represent a single product agreement.

ii. Adding a Combination ID Code to a Unit of a Product According to some embodiments of the invention, a customer may make his selection of a product agreement by adding a combination ID code to a unit of a product. Adding a combination ID code to a unit of a product is very similar to adding an agreement ID code to a unit of a product, except for some differences relating to product ID codes. In some embodiments, a combination ID code may be used to obscure or replace a product ID code for a unit of a product. For example, a can of soup may be identified by a product ID code in the form of a printed bar code. A customer may obtain a sticker that has a combination ID code printed on it in the form of a bar code. This combination ID code identifies both the unit of the product (the can of soup) and a product agreement (e.g. get a 10% discount for buying soup 10 more times this year). To select the product agreement identified by the combination ID code, the customer may place the sticker over the product ID code, thereby obscuring the product ID code and replacing it with the combination ID code. When the unit of the product is taken to the point of sale and scanned, only the combination ID code will be read.

According to other embodiments, a unit of a product initially may not have a product ID code. For example, in certain departments of some supermarkets (e.g. the bulk foods section of Wegman's® Supermarket), customers can be asked to add product ID codes to units of products. In this case, a customer may either add a product ID code to a unit of a product or add a combination ID code to the unit of the product. Either code will provide the necessary information to identify the unit of the product. By adding the combination ID code to the unit of the product, the customer indicates his selection of a product agreement identified by the combination ID code.

iii. Activating an Agreement ID Code In some embodiments of the invention, a customer may select a product agreement by revealing or activating an agreement ID code. For example, a removable sticker or a scratch-off latex film may be used to cover or obscure an agreement ID code that is printed on a unit of a product. To select the product agreement designated by this agreement ID code, a customer may remove the sticker (or film) and discard it, thereby revealing the agreement ID code.

Note that these embodiments involving exposing an agreement ID code are different from embodiments where agreement ID code stickers are added to a unit of the product. In the "expose the code" embodiments, the agreement ID code is already associated with a unit of a product but it is inactivated in some way (e.g. it is covered by a sticker). In the "apply the code" embodiments, the agreement ID code is not initially associated with the unit of the product, so it must be added to the unit of the product.

Stickers are only one possible way an agreement ID code may be covered or inactivated. Another possibility would be other types of tags or labels that prevent an agreement ID code from being scanned. A tag may be affixed to a unit of a product in a variety of ways, including string, magnets, static electricity, etc. Tags may be made out of any material, including paper, cloth, plastic, and metal. As indicated above, an agreement ID code (e.g. a bar code) may be hidden by a scratch-off coating which must be removed to reveal the agreement ID code. Further, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, such as those produced by Checkpoint Systems can be used to allow a customer to activate an agreement ID code. A RFID tag may be activated using a special device available to a customer at the point of display. Activation may be permanent or temporary. An indicator light can be used in such an embodiment to make the state of a RFID tag visible to a customer. Similarly, a computer chip may receive a signal indicating that it should make an agreement ID code active (e.g. by setting a bit in a memory register).

According to some embodiments of the invention, multiple agreement ID codes that are hidden or otherwise deactivated may be associated with a single unit of a product. For example, there may be three bar codes printed on a unit of a product, each hidden beneath a removable sticker that is labeled with instructions. Each bar code may represent a different product agreement. To select one or more of the product agreements corresponding to the different bar codes, a customer may remove one or more of the stickers that conceal the bar codes.

iv. Activating a Combination ID Code In a variation on the above described embodiments involving activating an agreement ID code, a customer may select a product agreement by revealing or activating a combination ID code. Activating a combination ID code on a unit of a product is very similar to activating an agreement ID code on a unit of a product, except for some differences relating to product ID codes. A combination ID code can be printed on a unit of a product. This combination ID code identifies both the unit of the product and a product agreement. However, this combination ID code is obscured by a removable sticker that has a product ID code printed on it. With no modifications, only the product ID code is visible, so only the product ID code would be scanned at a point of sale. A customer interested in the product agreement may select the product agreement by removing the sticker and revealing the combination ID code as illustrated in FIG 9.

In other embodiments, a product ID code and at least one combination ID code can be printed on a product. Both codes are inactivated (e.g. obscured by two removable stickers). If a customer wants to sign up for the product agreement, he may activate the combination ID code (e.g. remove the sticker that is covering the combination ID code). If the customer does not want to sign up for the product agreement, he may activate the product ID code (e.g. remove the sticker that is covering the product ID code).

v. Modifying an Identification Code In some embodiments of the invention, a customer may modify an identification code to indicate his selection. That is, an identification code corresponding to a first product, product agreement, and/or other item may be modified to become a second identification code corresponding to a second product, product agreement, and/or other item. According to some embodiments, a customer may modify a product ID code to select a product agreement. This can be done by converting the product ID code into a combination ID code. For example, a unit of a product may be identified by a product ID code in the form of a magnetic stripe. A customer may use a seller provided magnetic device to modify the magnetic stripe so that it becomes an combination ID code. This combination ID code will identify both the unit of the product and a product agreement (e.g. a subscription to the product) that the customer has selected.

According to some embodiments, a customer may modify an agreement ID code to select a product agreement. For example, a unit of a product may be identified by a product ID code (e.g. a bar code) and be associated with a first agreement ID code (e.g. a bar code) that is printed on the product. This first agreement ID code may identify a first product agreement that gives 10% discount on the unit of the product in exchange for agreeing to purchase the product again next week. A customer may use a computer printer to extend this first agreement ID code so that it becomes a second agreement ID code (i.e. add additional stripes and numbers to the bar code). This second agreement ID code may identify a second product agreement that gives 20% discount on the customer's next transaction if the customer agrees to let the controller 100 plan his meals for the next week. By modifying the first agreement ID code to become the second agreement ID code, the customer selected the second product agreement.

According to some embodiments, a customer may modify a combination ID code to select a product agreement. For example a unit of a product may be identified by a first combination ID code (e.g. a handwritten number, "243-009") that also identifies a first product agreement (e.g. 10% off if the customer buys the product again next week). Following instructions on a nearby poster, a customer may modify the first combination ID code ("243-009") so that it becomes a second combination ID code ("243-009-234"). Note that in this example, the modification was performed by adding additional digits to the first combination ID code. The second combination ID code may identify a second product agreement (e.g. 20% off if the customer applies for a new credit card in the next month) that has been selected by the customer. According to some embodiments, an identification code may be completely modified. That is, no portion of the identification code is left unchanged in the modification process. For example, a computer chip with a memory may store information about a identification code. By downloading information about a new identification code, a customer may overwrite the memory of the computer chip, thereby completely modifying the identification code stored therein.

According to some embodiments, an identification code may be partially modified. That is, some portion of the identification code may be left unchanged in the modification process. For example, an identification code may be a number (e.g. "123-456"). The last three digits of this identification code could be modified so that the identification code reads "123-789".

According to some embodiments, information may be appended to an identification code. For example, an identification code may be a number (e.g. "123-456"). Information could be appended to the identification code, so that the new identification code reads "123-456-789". In a second example, a computer chip is used to store information about one or more identification codes.

Information about an additional product agreement may be downloaded into the computer chip, so that the computer chip will now store all of the previous information, plus a agreement ID code corresponding to the new product agreement. A variety of other methods of modifying an identification code are also possible, and many of these methods are dependent on the type of identification code that is used. In many cases, a customer may use a device (e.g. a magnetic stripe writer, a hole punch, a computer printer, a pen) to modify an identification code.

vi. Selection by Removing an Identification Code In some embodiments of the invention, a customer may select a product agreement by removing one or more identification codes from a unit of a product. In some embodiments of the invention, the removal of an identification code from a unit of a product reveals or activates an agreement ID code. For example, a product ID code may be printed on a sticker that is attached to a unit of a product. A customer may remove this sticker (and the product ID code) to reveal a combination ID code that is printed on under the sticker on the unit of the product. FIG. 9, which will be described in detail below, illustrates an example of how peel- off stickers may be used with bar codes.

In some embodiments, there may be two active identification codes on a single unit of a product. For example, a unit of a product may have two tags attached to it: a first tag that indicates a first combination ID code, and a second tag that indicates a second combination ID code. Since there are two combination ID codes on the unit of the product, successful scanning of the unit of the product at a point of sale may be prevented. A customer may select one of the two product agreements by removing either the first combination ID code or the second combination ID code.

In some embodiments, it may be possible to remove or deactivate multiple identification codes that are associated with a single unit of a product. For example, there may be three agreement ID code stickers on a unit of a product, each associated with a different product agreement. A customer may remove and discard two of these stickers, leaving only one sticker remaining on the unit of the product. This means that the customer has selected the product agreement corresponding to the agreement ID code on the remaining sticker. Similarly, the customer may remove only one of the agreement ID code stickers, thereby selecting two product agreements.

The embodiments of the invention described above are more examples of "sticker embodiments". Many other embodiments are also possible. For example, a tag may be affixed to a unit of a product in a variety of ways, including string, magnets, static electricity, etc. Tags may be made out of any material, including paper, cloth, plastic, and metal. An agreement ID code can be printed on a scratch- off coating. To remove the agreement ID code, all the customer has to do is scratch-off the coating. Note that this embodiment works particularly well if a second agreement ID code is hidden beneath the scratch-off coating. A customer can deactivate a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, such as one produced by Checkpoint Systems, to remove an ID code. A RFID tag may be deactivated using a special terminal available to a customer at the point of display. Deactivation may be permanent or temporary. According to some embodiments of the invention, deactivation may be visible to the customer. Another example embodiment uses a computer chip that may receive a signal indicating that it should make an agreement ID code unavailable.

vii. Additional Notes About Making a Selection

In the above examples, the addition of an agreement ID code to a unit of a product is performed by a customer who is interested in purchasing the unit of the product. Alternatively, an agreement ID code could be added to a unit of a product by other entities, including store employees, kiosks, and other computer systems. For example, a customer might select a unit of a product, take it to a kiosk, and have the kiosk print a product ID code on the unit of the product. Similarly, an entity other that than the customer could remove a previous agreement ID code from a product. For example, a store employee could obscure a bar code on a product using a magic marker. Note that it is also possible for a customer to deselect a product agreement by removing an agreement ID code or a combination ID code. That is, a product agreement may initially be selected, and a customer needs to deselect the product agreement if he does not want to sign up for it.

As noted above, it is possible for an identification code to include supplementary information (e.g. a customer identifier). When selecting a product agreement, a customer may also indicate supplementary information that should be included in an identification code. Various methods of indicating supplementary information are analogous to methods described above. For example, a customer may use a kiosk in a retail store to select a product agreement. The customer may also supply supplementary information to the kiosk, including a customer identifier and a payment identifier. The kiosk may then print an identification code (e.g. an agreement ID code, a combination ID code) that may identify the product agreement, the customer, and a method of payment.

(e) Receiving The Selection

According to some embodiments of the invention, a customer may bring a unit of a product to a point of sale, where a point of sale terminal may be used to receive information about a product agreement. As discussed above, this product agreement may be identified by an agreement ID code or a combination ID code.

i. Scamiing a Unit of a Product According to some embodiments or the invention, an identification code is scanned using an input device 108, 208 to determine information about a unit of a product, a product agreement, or other information (e.g. a customer identifier, a payment identifier). Depending on the type of identification code, a variety of different input devices 108, 208 may be used to read the identification code. Possible input devices 108, 208 include: a bar code reader (in wand or table form); a magnetic stripe reader; a radio frequency identification tag (RFID) receiver; an optical sensor (e.g. a video camera); a radio frequency (RF) receiver; a magnetic sensor; an acoustic sensor; a handwriting recognition unit (this input device 108 may be useful in an embodiment in which the customer writes a product code on a product); and a computer keyboard or keypad (for typing in an identification code). Note that in many cases, the input device 108, 208 may be specially adapted to the type of identification code. In some embodiments of the invention, it may be necessary for an employee or a customer to activate the input device 108, 208. For example, a cashier in a grocery store may pull a trigger on bar code reader to activate the reader and scan a bar code on a unit of a product. A customer may activate a radio frequency identification tag receiver by stepping on a weight sensor. (Weight sensors are often used to activate doorway-type anti-theft systems in retail stores.) A salesman in a retail store may hold units of products in front of a bar code reader to scan them. Passing a unit of a product in front of a bar code reader may activate the bar code reader, allowing it to read a bar code from the unit of the product. A cashier in a grocery store may use a keypad on a point of sale terminal to enter information about an identification code. It is also possible that an input device may automatically scan an identification code, i.e. no activation of the input device 108, 208 is required.

In some embodiments of the invention, there may be multiple identification codes associated with a single unit of a product. Therefore, depending on the types of the identification codes and the type of input device 108, 208 it may be necessary to use the same input device 108, 208 multiple times on the unit of the product or to use multiple input devices 108, 208. For example, a can of soup might have two bar codes on it: the first bar code is used to identify the can of soup; the second bar code is used to identify a product agreement. In order to scan both bar codes, a cashier may activate the bar code scanner twice, once for the first bar code, and once for the second.

In another example, ajar of mayonnaise might have two magnetic stripes on it, one to identify it as a unit of a product, and a second to identify a coupon that is associated with the unit of the product. A first magnetic stripe reader may be used to read the first magnetic stripe and a second magnetic stripe reader may be used to read the second magnetic stripe.

In addition, not all of the identification codes need to be of the same type, so it may be desirable to use multiple different types of input devices 108, 208. For example, a bag of potato chips may have two identification codes associated with it: a product ID code and an agreement ID code. The product ID code is a bar code, which is printed by the manufacturer on the bag. The agreement ID code is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, which is attached to the bag with a clothespin by the seller. The cashier at the store scans the bag of chips with a bar code reader to identify the unit of the product to the point of sale terminal. Simultaneously, a second input device 108 may automatically scan the bag for the presence of a RFID tag. This second input device 108 will then receive information about the agreement ID code corresponding to a product agreement that has been selected by a customer.

In another example, a television set may have four identification codes associated with it: a bar code representing a product ID code, two magnetic stripes for agreement ID codes that identify two product agreements, and a RFID tag indicating a customer identifier. The cashier scans the bar code using a bar code reader and then uses a magnetic strip reader to scan the first magnetic stripe (the first agreement ID code) and the second magnetic stripe (the second agreement ID code). The RFID tag may then be scanned to determine the customer identifier.

ii. Customer Identification and Payment Note that additional steps may be necessary to sign up a customer for a product agreement. This section describes some additional steps that may be performed to implement a product agreement. These steps are optional and do need to be practiced as part of the method of the invention.

The controller may perform one or more steps to verify that a customer would like to sign up for an indicated product agreement. This may be helpful to avoid having a customer inadvertently sign up for a product agreement (e.g. a product agreement that was selected without his knowledge). For example, a first customer may select a product agreement by placing a combination ID code sticker on a unit of a product. If the first customer then places this unit of the product back on a store shelf and a second customer attempts to purchase the product, the second customer may not notice the combination ID code on the product and inadvertently sign up for the product agreement selected by the first customer. One way to avoid this problem is for controller to use an output device (e.g. a LCD screen) to query a customer and verify that the customer would in fact like to sign up for the product agreement that has been selected. The customer may respond to this query by using an input device (e.g. a keypad) to indicate his acceptance of the product agreement. In another embodiment, the controller may use an output device to display a prompt to an employee (e.g. a cashier operating a POS terminal) indicating that the employee should verify that a customer would like to sign up for a product agreement. The employee may then verify that the customer would like to sign up for the product agreement (e.g. by talking to the customer), and use an input device to indicate this acceptance to the controller.

Alternatively, the controller may not verify that a customer would like to sign up for an indicated product agreement.

In some embodiments, the controller may determine whether a customer may sign up for a product agreement. A customer may be prevented from signing up for a product agreement if one or more conditions of the product agreement are not met. For example, if a product agreement includes a condition that a customer should be a preferred customer, then the controller may verify that a customer is preferred customer before allowing the customer to sign up for the product agreement. In a second example, a customer may only be permitted to sign up for a product agreement if he is purchasing a specified product, hi this case, the controller may access a transaction log to determine whether the customer is purchasing the specified product.

It may be helpful for the controller 100 to receive additional information that is useful in implementing a product agreement. Possible additional types of information include a payment identifier and a customer identifier.

A payment identifier (e.g. a credit card number, a debit card number) may be used when providing a benefit to a customer, or when imposing a penalty on a customer. To provide a benefit to a customer, an amount of money may be credited to an account identified by the payment identifier. To impose a penalty on a customer, an amount of money may be charged against an account identified by the payment identifier. It is also possible that a customer may supply multiple payment identifiers (e.g. one for benefits, and one for penalties). According to some embodiments, the controller may verify a payment identifier using a financial network (e.g. a credit card authorization system).

A customer identifier (e.g. a frequent shopper number, a name, a postal address, an email address) may be useful in identifying a customer and tracking product agreements to which the customer has committed. In some embodiments of the invention, a customer identifier may be useful in obtaining a payment identifier for a customer (e.g. a customer's frequent shopper card is linked to his credit card account). In other embodiments, a customer's payment identifier and customer identifier may be the same (e.g. a customer is identified by his credit card number).

According to some embodiments, information like a payment identifier and a customer identifier may be identified by an identification code. This identification code may be the same one that is used to indicate a customer's selection of a product agreement.

In one embodiment, the controller may query a customer to provide additional information, including information that may be used in executing a product agreement. For example, the controller may use an output device to query a customer for his home telephone number, which the customer may then provide using an input device. Similarly, the controller may prompt an employee to obtain information from a customer and then the employee may indicate this information to the controller. Information about a customer (e.g. a payment identifier associated with a customer) may be stored by the controller in the customer database 314 shown in Figure 5. This information may be useful in processing and executing product agreements. Also, it may not be necessary to query a customer for certain information (e.g. a payment identifier) if this information is already stored in the customer database.

2. Processing a Transaction

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a method of processing a transaction at a point of sale terminal 102 according to some embodiments of the invention. The controller 100 receives information identifying a customer (e.g. a customer identifier) in Step S10 and then begins a loop in of receiving identification codes (e.g. products are scanned at a point of sale terminal) in Step Sll. If the identification code identifies a product in Step S12, then information about the product (e.g. a price) is provided to a point of sale terminal in Steps S13 and S14. If the identification code identifies a product agreement in Steps S12 and SI 5, then the controller 100 determines the product agreement (e.g. by accessing the product agreement database) in Step S16 and formalizes the customer's acceptance of the product agreement in Step SI 7. Once all the products have been scanned and the order is finished in Step SI 8, the controller receives payment in Step S19 and completes the transaction in Step S20. Other methods of processing a transaction are known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail herein.

3. Accepting And Executing A Product Agreement

Turning to FIG. 8, according to some embodiments, the central computer may use information about a product agreement to formalize a customer's acceptance of a product agreement. The flowchart of FIG. 8 illustrates a method of signing up a customer for a product agreement. After receiving information identifying a product agreement in Step S30 (e.g. by scanning an agreement ID code in the form of a bar code on a unit of a product with an input device 108 connected to a POS terminal 102) and information identifying the customer in Step S31 , the controller 100 verifies that the customer does want to commit to the identified product agreement in Step S32. This verification step avoids inadvertently signing up a customer for a product agreement he does not want. If the customer accepts the terms of the agreement in Step S32, the controller 100 receives information including a payment identifier in Step S33. In Step S34, the controller 100 directs the POS terminal 102 to print, on an output device 114, an executable contract that can be used to memorialize the agreement. The seller can then have the customer sign the contract.

In general, once a customer's selection of a product agreement has been received by the controller, the customer may sign up for the product agreement (i.e. agree to the terms of the product agreement). A customer may sign up for the product agreement in a number of ways, including indicating an acceptance of the agreement using an input device, indicating an acceptance of the agreement to an employee who may then use an input device to communicate this acceptance to the controller, and signing a receipt or contract. Applicants have previously disclosed various methods of negotiating agreements, executing agreements, verifying compliance, providing benefits, and administering penalties in the related applications identified herein. By analogy, similar systems and methods may be used to negotiate product agreements, sign up customers for product agreements, verify future behaviors, provide benefits, and administer penalties.

F. EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following specific examples are provided to further illustrate the invention. It should be understood that although these examples specify devices and methods that could be used to embody the invention, these are by no means the only ways the invention could be practiced. Thus, it is important to understand that the invention can be practiced in many other ways, too numerous to list exhaustively.

Turning to FIG. 9, an embodiment of the invention in which a product ID code for a product (shown here as a UPC code) is printed on a removable sticker. A customer may remove the sticker from the product to reveal a second code: a combination ID code, which may identify a product agreement as well as the product. A cashier operating a point of sale terminal may then scan the combination ID code to receive information about the product agreement.

For example, a package of toilet paper 600 sits on a shelf in a grocery store. The package of toilet paper 600 is available for sale for $4.00 as indicated by a price label on the shelf. A bar code label printed on the package is completely covered by a removable sticker that also has a bar code printed on it. On a sign next to the shelf, customers are presented with the option of purchasing the package of toilet paper for only $2.00 if they agree to purchase five more packages at the grocery store within the next three months. The sign further explains that if customers want to take advantage of the offer, they should peel of the bar code sticker 602 to reveal a special bar code that will signal their intentions to the cashier when the package 604 is scanned at the check-out counter.

FIG. 10 illustrates three exemplary uses of agreement ID codes. For example, a customer may obtain a coupon 700 from a point of display coupon dispenser and present this coupon at checkout to indicate that he would like to sign up for a product agreement that provides him with a discount of $5.00 if he agrees to purchase a COLEMAN gas grill within the next four months. This product agreement also specifies a penalty of $8.00 if the customer does not purchase the gas grill. The bar code 702 is an agreement ID code that identifies this product agreement. In a second example, a customer may place sticker 710 on a can of tuna fish to indicate that he would like to sign up for a subscription to tuna fish. Note that this product agreement includes a condition that the customer should purchase a can of tuna fish in order to sign up for the product agreement. In a third example, a coupon 730 may be used to indicate that a customer would like to sign up for a product agreement. Note that this product agreement includes a future behavior that is associated with a product (bacon), but the benefit (a free haircut) is not associated with the product.

G. ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following are example alternative variations which illustrate additional embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the particular variations described in this section can be combined with the different embodiments, or portions thereof, described above in any manner that is practicable. These examples do not constitute a definition or itemization of all possible embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is applicable to many other embodiments. Further, although the following examples are briefly described for clarity, those skilled in the art will understand how to make any changes, if necessary, to the above-described apparatus and methods to accommodate these and other embodiments and applications.

1. Coupons

According to some embodiments of the invention, an agreement ID code is not physically associated with a unit of a product (i.e. an identification code is not attached to a product in any way.) Instead, an agreement ID code may be represented on a coupon, ticket, or other token. For example, a paper coupon may have printed on it a bar code that identifies a product agreement.

Materials for coupons (e.g. cloth, paper, plastic, wood) and methods of representing identification codes on coupons (e.g. bar codes, magnetic stripes, radio frequency identification tags) are analogous to those described above. Customers may obtain coupons through a variety of different means, similar to those discussed for agreement ID codes above. In some embodiments of the invention, a coupon may be presented at a different point of display than a unit of a product with which it may be associated. For example, a coupon for a unit of a product may be available in one aisle of a grocery store, and the unit of the product may be located in a separate aisle of the grocery store. In a second example, a coupon may be obtained from a catalog and then used to purchase a unit of a product that is displayed on a retail shelf. In a third example, a coupon may be printed by a kiosk that is located distant from a point of display of a unit of a product.

One difference between this coupon embodiment and embodiments discussed above is the manner in which an agreement ID code on a coupon is received. The above described embodiments of the invention have identification codes associated with products. In a coupon embodiment, agreement ID codes are not physically associated with products, so a customer may be required to present a coupon at a point of sale. For example, a customer may hand a coupon to a cashier, thereby indicating his desire to sign up for a product agreement specified by the coupon. Note that the coupon does not necessarily require additional items (e.g. stickers with identification codes) to be available at a point of display of a unit of a product. However, in the "sticker embodiments" described above it is not necessary for a customer to perform any additional action at a point of sale (e.g. presenting a coupon).

2. Point of Display Terminals

According to some embodiments of the invention, information about a selection of a product agreement is received at a point of display by a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206. The following scenario provides one example of how a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may be used.

Consider a customer in a supermarket who uses a kiosk with a bar code scanner and a touch screen to select a product agreement. This kiosk may be located in an aisle of a supermarket, or near the front of the store. First, the customer uses the bar code scanner on the kiosk to scan a product ID code that is printed on a can of beef stew. The kiosk then communicates with the store's controller 100 to determine one or more product agreements that may be associated with this can of beef stew. Information about these product agreements is then displayed to the customer using the kiosk's touch screen. If the customer wants to sign up for one or more of the product agreements, he may select these product agreements and provide a customer identifier to the kiosk (e.g. the customer uses the bar code scanner to scan his frequent shopper card). This information may then be transmitted to the controller 100, which may in turn provide the information to a point of sale terminal when the customer finishes shopping and decides to check out. In this way a customer may select a product agreement at a point of display and have this information transmitted to a point of sale for checkout.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a network in which information can be transmitted between POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, a controller 100, and POS terminals 102, 104, 106. As discussed above, a variety of different methods of transmission may be used to communicate between POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206, the controller 100 and POS terminals 102, 104, 106, including a wire com ection, radio transmission, and infra-red transmission. A POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may have one or more input devices

208, 210, 212, 214. These input devices 208, 210, 212, 214 may be used for a variety of different functions, including receiving information about identification codes, customer identifiers, payment identifiers, and selections of product agreements. For example, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may have a magnetic stripe reader useful for reading a customer's credit card (a payment identifier).

A POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may also have one or more output devices 216, 218, 220, 222. These output devices 216, 218, 220, 222 may be useful for displaying a variety of different types of information, including information about product agreements and instructions for a customer. In some embodiments of the invention, POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 do not have any output devices 216, 218, 220, 222; instead they are just used for receiving information about selected product agreements. For example, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may consist of a keypad on a shelf that a customer may use to indicate his interest in a product agreement.

According to some embodiments of the invention, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may be used to negotiate a product agreement with a customer. For example, a customer may use a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 to input information about his preferences, and the POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may communicate with a controller 100 to determine a product agreement appropriate for the customer. In some embodiments of the invention, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may have a communications port useful for communicating with a customer device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). This customer device may be used for conducting product agreement negotiations. In addition, this device may be used to store information about one or more product agreements.

3. Customer Carries a PDA

According to some embodiments of the invention, a customer may carry a customer device. A customer device may be any device that is associated with a customer and provides a method of storing information about product agreements (e.g. agreement ID codes). Possible customer devices include personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable personal computers, cellular telephones, smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, punch cards, scratch-off cards, a piece of paper with a bar code printed on it, electronic books, etc. Note the wide variety of customer devices that are possible, including some examples that may not typically be considered "devices" (e.g. a magnetic stripe card).

In some embodiments, a customer device may be associated with a customer in a variety of different ways, including: a customer carries a customer device, a customer device is carried by a salesperson who services a customer, and a customer device is affixed to a customer's shopping cart. In some embodiments, a customer device may be provided by a customer.

For example, a customer may own a Palm VII^® personal digital assistant (PDA) manufactured by Palm^®, Inc. and bring this device with him to a retail store. Note that this embodiment allows a customer to use the same customer device at a plurality of different sellers' stores.

In some embodiments, a customer device may be provided by a store. For example, a supermarket may provide a smart card to a customer if he signs up for its frequent shopper program. In a second example, a customer device may be permanently attached to a customer's shopping cart, which is also provided by a retail store.

In some embodiments, a customer may first use his customer device to receive information about one or more product agreements. Information may be received using an input device such as those described above, which may be associated with a customer device. For example, a customer may use a stylus and touch screen to input identification code information into a PDA. In a second example, a customer may use a bar code reader on his customer device to read a bar code that indicates information about a product agreement. In a third example, a customer may use a cellular telephone to dial a phone number, negotiate a product agreement, and receive an agreement ID code corresponding to this product agreement, hi some embodiments, information about one or more product agreements (e.g. a portion of the agreement database) may downloaded into a customer device and then a customer may select from these product agreements. A customer device may then store information about one or more product agreements. This information may consist of the terms of a product agreement, an agreement ID code, or other similar information. This information may be encoded so as to prevent a customer from modifying the stored information. For example, a personal digital assistant may store a list of agreement ID codes in a random access memory (RAM). In a second example, a personal computer attached to a shopping cart may use a hard disk to store terms and conditions of a product agreement.

For some types of customer devices (e.g. magnetic stripe cards), the step of receiving information may be the same as the step of storing information. For example, a customer may store an agreement ID code on a magnetic stripe card by swiping this card through a magnetic stripe encoder at a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206. In a second example, a customer may remove a scratch-off coating from a plastic card to reveal one or more agreement ID codes.

Information that is stored in a customer device may then be uploaded at a point of sale. This upload process may be performed using an output device (e.g. infra-red communications port) associated with a customer device and an input device 108, 110, 112 (e.g. infra-red communications port) associated with a point of sale terminal. For example, a wire may be connected to a customer's PDA and used to upload one or more identification codes into a point of sale terminal. Alternatively, an input device 108, 110, 112 at a point of sale terminal may be used to receive information that is stored in a customer device. For example, a magnetic stripe reader may be used to read one or more identification codes that are stored on a magnetic stripe card that is carried by a customer. In a second example, a cashier may use a keypad to type in a series of identification codes that are written on a piece of paper. In some embodiments, a customer device communicates with the controller

100 to transmit and receive information about product agreements. For example, a portable personal computer that is carried by a customer may use a radio modem to communicate directly with the seller's controller 100.

In some embodiments, a customer device may be used to store a customer's selection of one or more products in addition to information about product agreements. For example, a customer may operate a self-checkout scanner such as the PORTABLE SHOPPING SYSTEM® produced by SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES® to register his product selections. In response to the customer scanning a unit of a product, the self-checkout scanner may display information to the customer about available product agreements. This information about product agreements may be stored by the self-checkout scanner or received from the controller or a product terminal. The customer may then select a product agreement using a keypad and the self-checkout seamier may store both the customer's product selection and product agreement selection. The coupon embodiment described above provides a similar way of storing information about product agreements. Indeed, some of the embodiments of the invention that are described in this section are very similar to those described above. For example, a simple piece of paper may function as a customer device if it is associated with a customer and used to store information about one or more product agreements. A coupon may function in this way also. However, when a piece of paper is used as a customer device, information is stored (written) on the paper as the customer shops.

4. Web Site Embodiment

According to some embodiments, a POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 may not be located in a retail store where a customer may sign up for a product agreement. Other examples of POD terminals 200, 202, 204, 206 include telephones and personal computers. For example, a customer may use a catalog to view information about a product and a product agreement. The customer may then use a telephone to indicate his selection of the product agreement. In a manner similar to the POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 embodiment described above, information about the customer's selection of the product agreement may be transmitted to the controller 100 and in turn to a point of sale terminal where the customer may sign up for the product agreement.

In another example, a customer may access a web site to view information about products and product agreements. This web site may communicate with the controller 100. Using the web site, the customer may select a product agreement. To indicate his selection of the product agreement, the customer may use a computer printer to print out an agreement ID code. The customer may then bring this agreement ID code to the store to identify the product agreement that he selected. Alternatively, in a manner similar to the POD terminal 200, 202, 204, 206 embodiment described above, the customer may supply a customer identifier through the web site. This customer identifier may be used to track the customer so that information about his selection of a product agreement may later be associated with him when he arrives a point of sale and may sign up for the product agreement. 5. Deselection of a Product Agreement

A number of different embodiments of the invention in which a customer may select a product agreement are described above. In a alternate embodiments, a customer may deselect a product agreement. For example, it could be that a product agreement is selected by default, and that a customer must deselect this product agreement in order to avoid signing up for it.

In some embodiments, a customer may deselect a product agreement by deactivating, obscuring, modifying, or otherwise removing an agreement ID code. For example, a unit of a product may be identified by a product ID code and have a tag attached to it that indicates an agreement ID code. If a customer does not remove the agreement ID code, then this means that he has selected a product agreement identified by the agreement ID code. Alternatively, the customer may remove the agreement ID code (e.g. remove a sticker on which the agreement ID code is printed) to deselect the product agreement and purchase the unit of the product without a product agreement

A customer may deselect a product agreement by deactivating, obscuring, modifying, or otherwise removing a combination ID code. For example, a unit of a product may be identified by a combination ID code that also identifies a product agreement. If a customer does not modify the combination ID code in any way, then this means that he has selected the product agreement identified by the combination ID code. Alternatively, the customer may modify the combination ID code (e.g. cross-out the second half of a bar code) to deselect the product agreement and purchase the unit of the product without a product agreement.

6. Other Uses of Identification Codes

According to some embodiments described above, identification codes can be used in a method of signing up a customer for a product agreement. However, there are other uses of identification codes relating to product agreements.

A customer may use one or more identification codes to indicate his compliance with a product agreement. For example, a customer may have signed up for a product agreement in which he is supposed to buy three cans of soup in the next month. When purchasing a can of soup as part of this product agreement, the customer may indicate his compliance with the product agreement by placing an identification code on the top of the can of soup. In a second example, a customer could present a coupon that has printed on it an identification code indicating the customer's compliance with a product agreement. A customer may use one or more identification codes to indicate that he would like to terminate a product agreement. For example, a customer may have signed up for a product agreement in which she is supposed to buy two bagels every week for the next four months. The customer may indicate his desire to terminate this product agreement (and possibly pay a penalty) by placing an identification code (e.g. a special tag) on a unit of a product.

H. Conclusion

It is clear from the foregoing discussion that the disclosed systems and methods to facilitate selection of product agreements at the point of display represents an improvement in the art of offering product agreements. While the method and apparatus of the present invention has been described in terms of its presently preferred and alternate embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The specifications and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Further, even though only certain embodiments have been described in detail, those having ordinary skill in the art will certainly appreciate and understand that many modifications, changes, and enhancements are possible without departing from the teachings thereof. All such modifications are intended to be encompassed within the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of offering a product for sale, comprising displaying a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; offering, at the point of display, at least one product agreement; and receiving a selection of the at least one product agreement.

2. The method of claim 1 further including providing the customer with means for indicating a selection of the at least one product agreement at the point of display.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the means for indicating includes at least one of a removable sticker, an alterable label, an attachable sticker, a coupon, a representation of the product agreement, and a representation of an agreement ID code.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein receiving a selection includes receiving a selection at a point of sale.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the product is available for sale.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the product is available for lease.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying a representation of the product includes displaying a unit of the product.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying a representation of the product includes displaying a description of the product.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying a representation of the product includes providing a free sample unit of the product.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying a representation of the product includes presenting a graphic depiction of the product.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies an associated benefit.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein receipt of the benefit is contingent on fulfillment of a condition.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the benefit includes a discount on a transaction.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the transaction includes purchasing the product.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the transaction includes leasing the product.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the benefit is provided by a retailer who is selling the product.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the benefit is provided by a party other than a retailer who is selling the product.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition to be fulfilled by a customer who transacts for the product.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition to be fulfilled after the completion of a transaction involving the product.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition and wherein a penalty is imposed if the condition is not fulfilled.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition and wherein a fee is charged to a transacting party if the condition is not fulfilled.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition and wherein the condition requires purchasing at least one product.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a condition and wherein the condition requires providing information to a third-party.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of determining if a condition of the at least one product agreement has been fulfilled.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of determining includes receiving a customer identifier from a customer and receiving information about a purchase that was made by the customer.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is associated with the product.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is identifiable using at least one of a bar code, a magnetic stripe, an alphanumeric code, a radio-frequency identification tag, and an electronic memory.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is identifiable by information that is machine readable.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is identifiable using an identification code and wherein the identification code is at least one of: machine readable, associated with the product, attached to the product, and printed on a coupon.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is identifiable using an identification code and wherein the identification code is printed on paper.

31. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement is identifiable using an identification code and wherein a customer can associate the identification code with the product.

32. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of offering at least one product agreement includes displaying information about the at least one product agreement to a customer.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein displaying information about the at least one product agreement includes at least one of: displaying using an output device, displaying using a product terminal, displaying using a user device.

34. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a selection includes receiving information at a point of sale.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein receiving information at a point of sale includes at least one of receiving information using a point of sale terminal and receiving information using a customer device.

36. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a selection includes receiving information at a point of display.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein receiving information at a point of display includes at least one of receiving information from a point of display terminal and receiving information from a customer device.

38. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a selection includes receiving information identifying the at least one product agreement.

39. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a selection includes receiving information from at least one input device.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the input device includes at least one of a bar code scanner, a optical sensor, a radio receiver, a magnetic sensor, a keypad, and a microphone.

41. The method of claim 1 further including the step of receiving information identifying a customer.

42. The method of claim 1 further including the step of receiving information identifying an indication of a method of payment.

43. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a number of units of the product to be purchased in the future.

44. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a time period and number of units of the product to be purchased within the time period.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one product agreement specifies a price, a time period and number of units of the product to be purchased at the price within the time period.

46. A method of offering a product for sale, comprising displaying a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; determining a plurality of product agreements associated with the product to offer customers; presenting, at the point of display, the product agreements; and receiving, from a customer, a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of determining a plurality of product agreements includes generating product agreements based upon at least one of a number of customers who accepted a product agreement associated with the product, infoπnation about a customer viewing the representation of the product, an inventory status of the product, and revenue management information related to the product.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of receiving a selection includes receiving at least one of: a signal indicating that an agreement ID code was added to a unit of the product, a signal indicating that a combination ID code was added to a unit of the product, a signal indicating activation of an agreement ID code, a signal indicating activation of a combination ID code, a signal indicating a modification of an ID code, and a signal indicating that an identification code has been removed a unit of the product.

49. A device, comprising: a processor; and a storage device coupled to said processor and storing instructions adapted to be executed by said processor to: display a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; offer, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements; and receive a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

50. A medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to perform a method of selling, said method comprising: displaying a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; offering, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements; and receiving a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

51. A medium transmitting instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to perform a method of selling, said method comprising: displaying a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; offering, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements; and receiving a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

52. A computer-readable medium that stores program code and date accessible by and executable by a processor in a data processing system, the program code and data including: a first module operable to display a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; a second module operable to offer, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements; and a third module operable to receive a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

53. A system for offering a product for sale, comprising means for representing a product at a point of display in a store; means for providing, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements offerings; and means for accepting a selection of at least one of the offered product agreements.

54. A method of shopping comprising: viewing a representation of a product at a point of display in a store; receiving, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreement offers related to the product; and indicating a selection of at least one of the product agreement offers.

55. A method of selling, comprising

(a) displaying, by a retailer, a representation of a product for sale, including a unit of the product, at a point of display in a retail store to at least one customer; (b) offering, at the point of display, a plurality of product agreements, each product agreement specifying a condition, a benefit, and a penalty, wherein the condition specifies a price, a time period and number of units of the product to be purchased at the price within the time period, wherein receipt of the benefit is contingent upon fulfillment of the condition by the customer, wherein the penalty may be imposed if the condition is not fulfilled, wherein the benefit includes a discount on purchasing the product provided by the retailer displaying the product, wherein at least one of the product agreements is identifiable using at least one of a bar code, a magnetic stripe, an alphanumeric code, a radio- frequency identification tag, and an electronic memory;

(c) receiving a selection, from the customer, of at least one of the offered product agreements at a point of sale;

(d) receiving information identifying the customer; (e) receiving information identifying an indication of a method of payment;

(f) receiving and storing information about the customer accepting the product agreement and purchasing the product; and

(g) determining if the condition of at least one of the product agreements has been fulfilled.

56. A method of offering a product for sale, comprising displaying a representation of a product at a point of display on a Web site; offering, at the point of display, a plurality of virtual products associated with the product; receiving a selection of at least one of the offered virtual products; and selling a selected virtual product at a point of sale in a store.

57. A method of offering a product for sale, comprising displaying at least one product at a point of display in a store; providing at least one representation of at least one virtual product related to the at least one product at the point of display; and receiving, from a customer, a selection of the at least one representation.

58. A method of offering a product agreement, comprising displaying a representation of at least one product agreement at a point of display in a store; providing means to indicate a selection of the at least one product agreement at the point of display; and receiving the selection of the at least one product agreement.

59. A method of selling a virtual product, comprising display a representation of at least one virtual product at a point of display in a store; provide apparatus to make a selection of the at least one virtual product at the point of display; and receive the selection of the at least one virtual product.

60. A method of presenting product agreements, comprising: receiving, at a point of sale, a code representative of an offered product agreement selected by a customer at a point of display; inputting the code into a point of sale; and establishing the product agreement with the customer.

61. A label for use in offering product agreements, comprising: an identification code representative of a product agreement; and a means of associating the identification code with a unit of a product, wherein the identification code is displayed at a point of sale and is operative to be used to indicate a selection of the product agreement at the point of display.

62. A point of sale terminal, comprising: an input device operable to receive a selection of at least one product agreement, wherein the selection is represented by an identification code associated with the product agreement that is presented to a customer for selection at a point of display in a store; a processor coupled to the input device; and instructions, operable to execute on the processor, for accessing a data storage system to retrieve and store information to effect a transaction involving the product agreement.