WO2001078483A2

WO2001078483A2 - Point of exposure electronic commerce systems and methods

Info

Publication number: WO2001078483A2
Application number: PCT/CA2001/000480
Authority: WO
Inventors: Steven Fundarek; Kerry Mclellan
Original assignee: 724 Solutions International Srl
Priority date: 2000-04-13
Filing date: 2001-04-11
Publication date: 2001-10-25
Also published as: AU5019701A

Description

POINT OF EXPOSURE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to point of exposure purchase systems and methods, and more particularly, the invention relates to point of exposure purchases facilitated by electronic commerce. Description of the Prior Art

The Internet has created a tremendous growth in electronic commerce (i.e. purchase of goods and services on-line). For most users, the e-commerce experience consists of navigating to various merchant web sites on the Internet using a personal computer (PC) loaded with Internet browser software, such as Netscape Navigator™ or Microsoft Internet Explorer™. The user then browses through the products/services offered by the merchant on its web site until the user decides on the particular product/service the user wishes to purchase. To complete the transaction, the user then communicates his/her financial instrument of choice (usually credit card information) to the merchant, and if delivery is required, the user also enters his/her address information.

Recently, numerous wireless computing devices (such as digital phones, pagers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) capable of data processing, and two way digital communication have appeared on the market. A number of these devices include a mini- browser software (such as the Phone.com™ browser) to enable the users of the devices to access the Internet. However, these devices have numerous limitations, which make it difficult for users to participate in the e-commerce model described above.

These wireless devices generally have a small screen and low resolution, which limits the size and richness of the product/service advertisements and descriptions which the merchants can provide in order to inform or entice the users. In addition, the devices have poor input capabilities, which make browsing and entering information very laborious. For example, a user wishing to visit a particular web site would have a very difficult time entering the universal resource locator (URL) into the device. Even if the user did enter the site and purchased a product, it would be very time consuming for the user to enter payment information and name and address information for shipping.

Accordingly there is a need for systems and methods which simplify the e- commerce experience for users of wireless computing devices.

It would be advantageous to provide point of exposure purchase systems and methods, which were particularly suited to mobile users by providing a more convenient alternative to conventional web browsing. In addition, it would be advantageous to reduce the amount of data entry required to complete the commercial transaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, a method of using a computing device to conduct a commercial transaction between a user and a merchant is provided. The method includes providing a product communication to a user, which includes a product description, and an identifier. The method further includes inputting the identifier into a computing device, transmitting the identifier and a payment instrument to a merchant interface, and debiting the payment instrument to complete the transaction.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of using a computing device to conduct a commercial transaction between a user and a merchant. The method includes providing a product communication which has a product description, a merchant identifier, and a product identifier, to a user. The merchant identifier is a merchant telephone number. The method further includes the user inputting the merchant telephone number and the product identifier into the computing device, and transmitting the product identifier and a payment instrument to a merchant interface. The merchant interface is located by retrieving a merchant URL corresponding to the merchant telephone number; and the system debits the payment instrument to complete the transaction.

According to another aspect of the invention, an electronic commerce system is provided, which includes a communication, which includes a merchant identifier and a product identifier. The system also includes a user computing device adapted for input and communication of the merchant identifier, product identifier, and a payment instrument. The system includes a merchant interface corresponding to the merchant identifier, a storage module for storing a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier, and a routing module for retrieving the merchant URL from the storage means and routing the product identifier and the payment instrument to the merchant interface. The routing module is in communication with the user computing device, storage module, and merchant interface.

According to another aspect of the invention, an electronic commerce system is provided. The system includes an off-line communication, which includes a merchant identifier and a product identifier. The system includes a user computing device adapted for input and communication of the merchant identifier and the product identifier, and a wallet module adapted to store at least one user payment instrument. The system also includes a merchant interface corresponding to the merchant identifier. A storage module is employed for storing a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier, and a routing module is employed for retrieving the merchant URL from the storage module, retrieving the payment instrument from the wallet module, and routing the product identifier and the payment instrument to the merchant interface. The routing module is in communication with the computing device, storage module, wallet module and merchant interface.Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of purchasing an advertised product or service via a network. The method includes entering an identifier obtained from the advertisement into a computing device, which is selectively coupled to the network. It also includes , accessing a web site identified by at least part of the identifier and accessing additional information about the advertised product or service. The additional information is identified by another portion of the identifier.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a method of providing access to advertised goods or services via a network. The method includes receiving at a server, via the network, a merchant identifier entered by a consumer. The method also includes converting the merchant identifier into a URL for a web site and routing the consumer to the web site. The method includes receiving a product identifier at the web site, and providing information about the advertised goods or services to said consumer in response to receipt of the product identifier.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an electronic commerce system. The system includes a wallet server adapted to store at least one payment instrument, a merchant interface corresponding to a merchant identifier, and a storage device configured to store a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier. The system also includes a router configured to retrieve the merchant URL from the storage device, retrieve the at least one payment instrument from the wallet server, and route the payment instrument to the merchant interface, the router being in communication with the storage device, the wallet server and the merchant interface.

Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, the preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of the purchasing routine according to the preferred embodiment; and Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of the payment routine according to the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for facilitating electronic purchases over the Internet or some other network (for ease of explanation, only the Internet will be referenced herein, however the invention is applicable to other networks as well). A consumer may view an advertisement for goods and/or services, which may be purchased via the Internet. The advertisement may be located in a periodical, on television, on a billboard, in a book, on the Internet, in an e-mail or in some other visual media. The advertisement could also be heard by the consumer on the radio, in a television commercial or via some other audio media.

The advertisement may include information such as a merchant identifier, which identifies a network address of the merchant, and a product identifier for accessing additional information (such as cost, availability, etc) about the object of the advertisement. If the consumer decides to purchase the goods/services advertised, the consumer enters the information into an Internet browser and is then given the opportunity to make the purchase.

Fig. 1 shows a system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The system includes a product display 1, which can be seen or heard by the user. The product display may be an on-line display or an off-line display. Since the preference will be for an off- line display, the display will be referred to herein as the "off-line" display. However, those skilled in the art will recognise that the display could be provided in any medium, which can communicate information to the consumer. The display can be provided in any number of media, including but not limited to a billboard, print, radio, or television. The products displayed may be goods, which are to be delivered to the user at a later date, or services. The off-line display includes a merchant identifier 2 and a product identifier 3. Those skilled in the art will recognise that the merchant identifier and the product identifier could be combined into a single identifier which identifies both the merchant and the product. The identifiers are unique to the merchant and product for the purpose of access via the Internet at least at any given moment in time. It is possible that different merchants will employ the same merchant identifier and/or product identifier for different purposes. However, when those identifiers are entered into the Internet, they will only access one of the merchants. It is also possible that the product identifiers are the same but the merchant identifiers are different even as they pertain to the Internet. Preferably, the merchant identifier 2 is a telephone number, such as the telephone number of the merchant. However the merchant identifier 2, does not have to be a telephone number: It could be any number or a combination of letters/characters and numbers (athough preferably the number of letters/characters will be limited to one or two). A telephone number has the advantage of being easy to remember for the consumer. In addition, the consumer can easily look up the merchant identifier by checking a paper or electronic telephone directory.

The system also includes a computing device 4 operated by the user. Preferably, the computing device is an Internet enabled device such as a PDA, Internet- compatible television, two way pager, or a digital phone. The computing device 4 includes a conventional mini-browser. One such browser is available from Phone.com™. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the computing device may be any other type of device which is configured to communicate over a network, such as a conventional cellular, PCS, coaxial cable, satellite, or digital network.

Referring to Fig. 1, the computing device 4 communicates with a channel server 5 over a communications network, such as a wireless network, etc.. The channel server 5 may perform one or more of the following additional functions: o support multiple connections from devices which communicate using various protocols (such as CDMA, TDMA, WAP, GSM, etc.) appropriate for each of the supported computing devices (such as digital phones or PDAs, etc.); o validate message integrity; o provide user interface (Ul) rendering engine in order to format and present aggregated content to the computing device.

The channel server 5 communicates with a commerce server 6 (described in detail below), t e channel server 5 also communicates with a preference server 7 to send and receive the user preferences, such as a preferred language or default account. The channel server 5 also communicates with a session server 8 to send and receive information relating to the logical session, such as the time the user logged on to the system and the length of time the user has been logged on. The channel server 5 communicates with an authentication server 9 to authenticate the user. The authentication server 9 is responsible for authenticating the username and password.

As shown in Fig. 1 , the channel server 5 communicates with a commerce server 6, which routes the user requests relating to the commerce functionality to appropriate servers described below. The commerce server 6 preferably communicates with a digital wallet server 10. The digital wallet server 10 enables the user to store and edit financial information, such as payment instruments (such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers), and credentials (such as addresses, user names and passwords) for accessing merchant web sites. The user can edit or add information to his/her digital wallet profile by accessing the digital wallet server 10 using his or her PC with a wired connection to a secure website. Alternatively, the user may use an internet enabled device such as a PDA, or a set-top box to access his/her digital wallet profile.

The commerce server 6 also communicates with a merchant directory server 11, which enables access to and editing of merchant information. The merchant directory server 11 stores the descriptions, capabilities, and location of each merchant connected to the system. As this information is static, it is preferably updated off-line based on information provided by each merchant from the merchant profile 12 (while only one merchant profile . is illustrated, multiple merchant profiles may be employed). In order to support merchants with differing capabilities and ordering models, the merchant directory may include one or more the following data for each merchant:

• whether a merchant requires payment (preferred), or whether the merchant may provide the product and be willing to invoice the user, or whether the merchant takes reservations with the payment to be completed in person; • types of payment methods supported (i.e. credit card, electronic account debit, etc.);

• whether, the merchant's products require shipment;

• whether the user must be registered with the merchant to place the order;

• method of specifying payment instrument (i.e. using digital wallet server 10, default payment instrument registered with merchant, the user entering a credit/debit card number, or permitting the user to choose from any of the above ); • method of specifying a shipping address if shipping is required (i.e. using the address stored in the digital wallet server 10, or a default address registered with the merchant).

Preferably, the servers communicate with each other using a transport protocol knows as CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) using an XML (extensible Markup Language) based content definition. Although other protocols may also be employed.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that servers described above may each be a stand alone computer (preferred) a group of computers, or software running on a single server. The commerce server 6 is responsible for communication with each merchant via a merchant interface 13 (for clarity, only one is shown in Fig. 1). Preferably, the communication takes place over the Internet, using the HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol) for non sensitive data (e.g. catalogue requests), and the HTTPS (Hyper Text Transport Protocol

Secure) for sensitive data (e.g. addresses and credit card information) and for implementing the business rules for catalogue browsing and creating and placing orders. The commerce server

6 may also communicate directly with back end financial institution payment systems (not shown), such as bank or credit card payment systems, to process payments on the merchant's behalf.

Preferably, each merchant interface 13 corresponds to a particular merchant (although merchants may share interfaces 13). The merchant interface 13 is administered by the merchant or an agent of the merchant, and preferably comprises a conventional system which includes a web server (not shown) or the like running the merchant web site. Preferably, the merchant interface 13 is in communication with an application server (not shown) which may be protected by a firewall!. The application which implements the merchant interface 13 is responsible for communicating with the various components within the merchant's back office system to fulfil the requests sent to it from the commerce server 6. The application server of the merchant interface 13 communicates with conventional authentication 14, user profile 15, product catalogue 16, and order system 17 modules. The user profiles 15 and product catalogue 16 modules may be databases, while the authentication 14 and order system 17 modules may be a combination of a database and an application. Software and services for building modules such as these are commercially available from IBM under the trademark WebSphere or can be built by those skilled in the art.

METHOD A method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1-3. As shown in Fig. 1, the user sees/hears an off-line communication 1 from a merchant which includes the unique merchant identifier 2 and the product identifier 3. Preferably, the merchant identifier 2 is a telephone number (preferably including area code), such as the telephone number of the merchant. Having the merchant phone number as the merchant identifier provides the advantage of ensuring a unique merchant identification, making the merchant identifier easy to remember and locate for subsequent purchases. In addition, the user does not have to remember the URL for the selected merchant's site, and a phone number is much easier to input into certain computing devices, such as digital phones. These devices have numeric keypads only, and entering alphanumeric characters is difficult and time consuming for the user.

Referring to Fig. 1, the user initiates a communication session from the computing device 4 that he/she is using. The initiation of the communication session preferably requires the user to enter a system user name and password to insure that the user is authorized by the system. The authentication function is performed by the authentication server 9. The user's preferences for rendering information for the session is handled by the preference server 7, and the session is tracked by the session server 8.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, after the initiation of the session, the user is presented with a main menu 20 which includes a "shop" option 21. After selecting the "shop" option, the user is presented with a request to enter the merchant identifier 22. The merchant telephone number is entered by the user and is sent to the commerce server 6 to be checked against the merchant identifiers 22 stored in the merchant directory 11. Having a telephone number as the merchant identifier is also advantageous for the system operator. In particular, it avoids the necessity of having the electronic commerce system operator create and maintain a unique numbering system for cataloguing merchants. If the merchant identifier is invalid, the user is presented with an error message

23, and sent back to "enter merchant identifier" 22 screen. If the merchant identifier is valid, the commerce server 6 receives the merchant information for the merchant welcome screen 24 from the merchant directory 11, and sends it to the channel server 5. The information is rendered for the computing device 4 by the channel server. The merchant welcome screen 24 may give the user an opportunity to view the terms and conditions 25, which is received from the merchant directory 11. If the user does not wish to view the terms and conditions, the user continues onto the product identifier screen 26, where the user enters the product identifier 3 from the off-line communication 1.

The commerce server 6 routes the product identifier 3 to the appropriate merchant interface 13 for validation in its product catalogue 16. Preferably, the commerce server 6 communicates with the merchant interface 13 for a selected merchant by retrieving from the merchant directory 11 the URL corresponding to each merchant identifier 2. The URL for a selected merchant identifier points to the Internet address for the selected merchant.

If the product identifier 3 is invalid, the user is presented with an error message 27 and sent back to the "enter product identifier" 26 screen. If the product identifier 3 is correct, the user is presented with the product information screen 28, which includes the product description and price, and which may include availability. If the system is configured to employ a combined merchant/product identifier, the user may be presented with the product information screen without the need to navigate through the other screens discussed above. If the product information displayed does not match the product described in the off-line communication 1 , the user may be given an option to enter another product identifier 3 .

If the product description is verified by the user and the user indicates a desire to purchase, the user is presented with a quantity screen 29, where the user enters the number of the selected products desired. The quantity is sent to the merchant interface 13, which verifies with its order system 17 that the quantity is available. The merchant interface 13 then returns the subtotal details 30, which includes the price of the purchase. This information is passed along to the channel server 5, which renders the information on the computing device 4. The user is given one last opportunity to cancel the order and quit. If the user chooses to accept the purchase, he is then asked to provide payment information (e.g. credit/debit card number, username and password, etc.).

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 3, the system preferably searches the user's record on the digital wallet server 10 to determine if the user has stored a username and password for the selected merchant. If so, the commerce server 6 retrieves the user's default payment method, shipping method, and address and presents it on the computing device via the channel server 5. If the user has not saved a username and password for the selected merchant on the digital wallet server 10, the user may be given the option to manually enter this information, along with the option for storing the information on the digital wallet server 10 for future use.

As shown in Fig. 3, the user is presented with a default payment information screen 31. The user may be given the option to edit the default payment information either by choosing alternate payment options, addresses, etc. stored on the digital wallet server 10, or by entering new information into the computing device 4. Preferably, the user may choose only to continue or quit.

If the user chooses to continue, the request is passed from the channel server 5 to the commerce server 6. The commerce server 6 sends to the user the order summary information 32, which is preferably a duplicate of the subtotal details screen 30. The order summary information 32 is preferably cached on the commerce server 6, but may be obtained again in real time by communicating with the merchant interface 13 for the selected merchant (as described above). The user is given the option to quit or buy the product.

If the user selects the buy option, the user is presented with a request to enter the user's wallet password 33 in order to authenticate the user's payment information stored in the digital wallet server 10. If the information is authenticated, the commerce server 6 preferably sends the user's username and password for the selected merchant, payment information, such as credit card information onto the merchant interface 13 for the selected merchant, as well as the user's shipping address. The merchant interface 13 performs the function of payment verification and debit in a conventional manner. Alternatively, the commerce server 6 may have the capability to access financial institutions' payment networks directly, and then communicate the transaction details to the merchant interface 13.

If the wallet password is not correct, the user is sent an error message 35 and asked to enter the username and password again. If the merchant interface 13 executes the transaction, a confirmation message 34 is returned to the user. The user is given an option to quit the session or purchase another item.

It will be appreciated that the above description relates to the preferred embodiment by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be obvious to those knowledgeable in the field, and such obvious variations are within the scope of the invention as described and claimed, whether or not expressly described. Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and secured by Letters Patent is:

Claims

1. An electronic commerce method of purchasing a product, the method comprising the steps of: providing a product communication to a user, the communication comprising a product description, and an identifier; inputting the identifier into a computing device; transmitting the identifier and a payment instrument to a merchant interface; and, debiting the payment instrument to complete the transaction.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier comprises a merchant identifier and a product identifier, and wherein the identifier that is transmitted to the merchant interface is the product identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the product communication is an off-line communication.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the merchant identifier is a telephone number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the merchant identifier is the merchant's telephone number.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the product communication includes a product price.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising retrieving a merchant URL corresponding to the telephone number, the merchant URL being adapted to locate the merchant interface.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the payment instrument is retrieved from a digital wallet server.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user inputs the payment instrument into the computing device.

10. A method of using a computing device to conduct a commercial transaction between a user and a merchant, the method comprising the steps of: providing a product communication to a user, the communication having a product description, a merchant identifier, and a product identifier, the merchant identifier being a merchant telephone number; the user inputting the merchant telephone number and the product identifier into the computing device; transmitting the product identifier and a payment instrument to a merchant interface, the merchant interface being located by retrieving a merchant URL corresponding to the merchant telephone number; and debiting the payment instrument to complete the transaction.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the product communication is an off-line communication.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the off-line product communication includes a product price.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the payment instrument is retrieved from a wallet server.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the user inputs the payment instrument into the computing device.

15. An electronic commerce system comprising: a communication comprising a merchant identifier and a product identifier; a user computing device adapted for input and communication of the merchant identifier, product identifier, and a payment instrument; a merchant interface corresponding to the merchant identifier; storage means for storing a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier; and, routing means for retrieving the merchant URL from the storage means and routing the product identifier and the payment instrument to the merchant interface, the routing means being, in communication with the user computing device, storage means, and merchant interface.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the product communication includes a product price.

17. An electronic commerce system comprising: an off-line communication comprising a merchant identifier and a product identifier; a user computing device adapted for input and communication of the merchant identifier and the product identifier, wallet means adapted to store at least one user payment instrument; a merchant interface corresponding to the merchant identifier; storage means for storing a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier; routing means for retrieving the merchant URL from the storage means, retrieving the payment instrument from the wallet means, and routing the product identifier and the payment instrument to the merchant interface, the routing means being in communication with the user computing device, storage means, wallet means and merchant interface.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the off-line product communication includes a product price.

19. A method of purchasing an advertised product or service via a network comprising: entering an identifier obtained from the advertisement into a computing device which is selectively coupled to said network; accessing a web site identified by at least part of said identifier; and, accessing additional information about said advertised product or service, wherein said additional information is identified by at least another portion of said identifier.

20. The method of purchasing of claim 19 further comprising entering payment information via said computing device.

21. The method of purchasing of claim 19 further comprising entering payment information via said computing device.

22. The method of purchasing of claim 19 wherein said identifier comprises a merchant identifier and a product identifier, and wherein said portion of said identifier is said merchant identifier and said another portion of said identifier is said product identifier.

23. The method of purchasing of claim 22 wherein said merchant identifier comprises a telephone number.

24. A method of providing access to advertised goods or services via a network comprising: receiving at a server, via the network, a merchant identifier entered by a consumer; converting said merchant identifier into a URL for a web site; routing said consumer to said web site; receiving a product identifier at said web site; providing information about said advertised goods or services to said consumer in response to receipt of said product identifier.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said merchant identifier and said product identifier are the same identifier.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein said merchant identifier comprises a telephone number.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising: receiving payment information at said web site; and, charging an account included with said payment information for a cost of said product or service.

28. An electronic commerce system comprising: a wallet server adapted to store at least one payment instrument; a merchant interface corresponding to a merchant identifier; a merchant directory server configured to store a merchant URL corresponding the merchant identifier; and, a commerce server configured to retrieve the merchant URL from the merchant directory server, retrieve the at least one payment instrument from the wallet server, and route the payment instrument to the merchant interface, the commerce server being in communication with the merchant directory server, the wallet server and the merchant interface.