WO2001084445A2

WO2001084445A2 - System to provide discount amounts for performance of work assignments

Info

Publication number: WO2001084445A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/014236
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jay S. Walker; Magdalena Fincham Mik; Michiko Kobayashi; Nandu A. Talwalkar
Original assignee: Walker Digital, Llc
Priority date: 2000-05-02
Filing date: 2001-05-02
Publication date: 2001-11-08
Also published as: AU2001259397A1

Description

SYSTEM TO PROVIDE DISCOUNT AMOUNTS FOR PERFORMANCE OF WORK ASSIGNMENTS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Serial

No. 60/201,339, filed May 2, 2000, for "AD HOC EMPLOYMENT FOR DISCOUNTS", the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/219,267, filed December 23, 1998, for "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE THROUGH PROVIDING CROSS-BENEFITS DURING A TRANSACTION", the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field Of The Invention

The present invention is related to systems for offering discounts to customers. More particularly, the present invention concerns a system to determine, present and provide discounts which are based on work assignments performed by a customer.

Description Of The Related Art

Due to the competitive nature of retail sales, both traditional and "online" retailers employ many tactics designed to attract customers and/or to increase profit margins resulting firom the sale of products. For example, retailers may attempt to attract customers by providing a luxurious shopping environment, exceptional customer service, promotions, giveaways, or substantial price discounts. Although each ofthe above measures may attract additional customers to a retailer, each involves costs which reduce profit margins enjoyed by the retailer. Moreover, in the case of customers who would have visited the retailer without such incentives, these costs are fruitlessly incurred. Several recently-developed systems allow a customer to earn discounts by performing some type of task. Two examples of these systems are websites marketed under the names Beenz™ and Cybergold™. According to these websites, a customer earns points by performing certain tasks, such as by visiting a website or filling out a survey. The points can be redeemed for discounts at retailers affiliated with the websites. Although these systems may encourage customers to shop at the affiliated retailers, these systems do not encourage the customer to increase an amount of time spent shopping at the retailer. More importantly, customers are unlikely to perform a task merely in the hope that they may eventually use their earned points to purchase a desired product. As a result, these systems are not terribly attractive to customers or to retailers.

The above-mentioned U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/219,267 describes a system in which, according to one embodiment, a customer chooses a product and is presented with various tasks which may be performed in order to earn discounts associated with each ofthe various tasks. Such a system provides advantages over the previously-described systems because the customer is assured that performance of a task will serve to reduce a price of a product actually desired by the customer. Accordingly, such a system provides an incentive for customers to visit a retail store employing the system. Moreover, the presented task may be a type of task which requires the customer to remain at the retail store, increasing chances that the customer will make further purchases at the retail store. However, a need still exists for other systems which attract customers to a retail store by providing discounts on desired products and flexibility in selecting discounts and tasks to perform, which encourage customers to remain in a retail store, and which do not require an undue sacrifice in profit margins.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the foregoing by providing a system in which a plurality of discount amounts for a product are transmitted to a customer, each of the plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits. As a result, a customer is able to receive a desired discount amount by performing work assignments of her choice, so long as the work assignments earn the customer a number of work credits associated with the desired discount amount.

According to other aspects ofthe invention, the discount amounts may be sale prices, percentage discount values or price discount values. In addition, a number of work credits associated with each ofthe determined plurality of discount amounts may be different for a first customer than for a second customer.

By virtue ofthe latter aspect, the discount amounts can be controlled such that, for a same number of work credits, a product will be discounted more for a more price-sensitive customer than for a less price-sensitive customer. Accordingly, the granting of unnecessary discounts can be reduced. Moreover, an amount of work performed by a customer may be used to determine the customer's price sensitivity.

In another aspect, the present invention concerns a system for use in selling a product in which a plurality of discount amounts for a product are transmitted to a customer, with a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts being associated with a first work assignment and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts being associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

Again, this aspect ofthe invention provides a novel system for providing discounts which serves to attract customers to the retail store. Due to this aspect, a customer need not perform several different work assignments to earn a discount amount, rather, a customer may simply repeat a first work assignment to earn an additional discount amount.

In yet another aspect, a plurality of discount amounts for a product are transmitted to a customer, with a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts being associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts being associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period. By virtue of this aspect, a customer may simply increase a period during which a work assignment is performed to earn an increased discount amount. For work assignments performed while the customer is in a retail store, a customer is thereby encouraged to spend more time in the store. As a result, the retailer obtains an increased chance that other products may be sold to the customer. The present invention also concerns transmission to a customer of a work assignment, a period of time and a discount amount, wherein the discount amount is earned by the customer for each instance in which the work assignment is performed for the period of time. In addition, the invention relates to a system in which a discount amount and a number of work credits are transmitted to a customer, wherein the discount amount can be accumulated in exchange for multiples ofthe number of work credits. The foregoing aspects provide a customer with flexibility in selecting a discount amount and in earning the discount amount. In another aspect, the present invention includes reception of an indication of a performance of a work assignment, automatic transmission of a discount amount to a customer, the discount amount based on the performance ofthe work assignment, reception of a second indication of a second performance of a work assignment, and automatically transmission of a second discount amount to the customer, the second discount amount based on the discount amount and on the second performance ofthe work assignment. Accordingly, the present invention assists a customer in deciding when to stop performing work assignments by automatically informing the customer of his accumulated discount amounts.

The present invention also relates to a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits, a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a first work assignment and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment, and a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period. With these and other advantages and features ofthe invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature ofthe invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and to the several drawings attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a retailer controller according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a customer device according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a point-of-sale (POS) terminal according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of a customer account database according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; FIG. 6 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of a customer profile ' database according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of a product database < according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of a selected discount database according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion of a work assignment database according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of process steps to transmit a discount offer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; FIG. 11 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; FIG. 15 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 16 is a view showing a discount offer as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; FIG. 17 is a flow chart of process steps to select a discount offer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of process steps to transmit work assignments according to one embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 19 is a view of an accumulated discount amount as transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of process steps to provide a discount according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION To insure clarity ofthe following description, set forth below are definitions of several terms used herein. The scope ofthe present invention is not to be deemed limited by the definitions.

Product: A good or a service. The term product may also be used herein to refer to one or more related or unrelated goods and/or services. Work Assignment: A task which may be performed by a customer to earn a discount amount.

Work Credit: A credit provided to a customer in exchange for performance of a work assignment. Work credits may be stored or applied to obtain associated discount amounts. Work credits may be usable to obtain discount amounts at a single retailer, at several specified retailers, or at all retailers. Similarly, a work credit may be usable to obtain discount amounts for one product, for several products, or for all products.

Work Provider: An entity that generates a work assignment. Examples include product manufacturers, retailers, and centralized work providers that facilitate matching of customers and work providers in exchange for commission fees. A work assignment may be transmitted to a customer directly by the work provider or indirectly through one or more intermediaries. A work assignment may be provided by more than one work provider. For example, a health food manufacturer and a toothbrush manufacturer may generate a work assignment which requires a customer to answer survey questions about effects of sugar-rich foods on oral hygiene. Retailer: An entity which sells products to customers. Such retailers include proprietors of traditional retail stores, proprietors of online retail stores, product manufacturers, product warehousers, and online storefront providers.

Retail Store: Generally, a location at which products are offered for sale by a retailer. Traditionally, a retail store is a physical building in which a retailer offers and sells products to customers. Retail stores also include websites in which descriptions and visual representations of products for sale may be viewed by customers and through which the customers may purchase one or more ofthe products for sale.

Discount Amount: A value used to determine a sale price of a product. Types of discount amounts include prices ($ 100.00), price discount values ($10 off a retail price), and percentage discount values (10% off a retail price). It should be noted that price discount values and percentage discount values may be defined in terms of prices other than a retail price.

Sale Price: A price which a customer pays in exchange for a product. Sale prices include retail prices and prices based on discount amounts.

As a brief introduction to the following detailed description, one specific embodiment ofthe present invention is now described. According to this embodiment, a customer enters a retail store and locates a product that she would like to purchase. The customer scans a Universal Product Code (UPC) located on the product's packaging using her personal digital assistant (PDA), and the UPC is transmitted from the PDA using wireless cornmunication to a retailer controller located in the retail store. Using the UPC, the retailer controller retrieves information regarding the product, including a product description, product identifier and a retail price. The retailer controller also determines discount offers to transmit to the customer. The discount offers include a plurality of sale prices, with each ofthe plurality of sale prices being associated with a number of work credits. The information and the discount offers are transmitted back to the PDA, wherein all the transmitted information is displayed to the customer. FIG. 11, which will be described in more detail below, is a view ofthe information as displayed on the PDA in the present example. After the information is displayed, the customer has the option of selecting the displayed retail price or one ofthe displayed plurality of sale prices. If the retail price is selected, the customer simply brings the product to a POS terminal within the retail store, wherein the product is sold to the customer for the retail price.

On the other hand, if one ofthe displayed plurality of sale prices is selected, the POS terminal determines at checkout that the customer has selected a sale price for the product and charges the customer therefor. In addition, the POS terminal debits an account associated with the customer for a number of work credits associated with the sale price. It should be noted that the debited number of work credits may have been earned prior to selection ofthe product or after selection ofthe product.

To earn the work credits, the customer uses the PDA to access the retailer controller and to request a description of available work assignments. Based on the customer identifier, the retailer controller identifies work assignments which are available to the customer and presents the work assignments, along with rules associated with each work assignment pertaining to the awarding of work credits, to the customer. The work assignments may include answering survey questions, distributing product samples to customers, stocking shelves, or other work specified by a work provider. According to one aspect of this embodiment, the work credits awarded after performance of a work assignment reflect an actual value ofthe work assignment to the retailer. More specifically, a work assignment resulting in an award of 25 work credits to a customer may save the retailer $65. As a result, the retailer may be willing to offer a $65 discount off a retail price of a product in exchange for 25 work credits. Accordingly, a customer is provided with an opportunity to avoid paying a retail price for a desired product, thereby resulting in an incentive for the customer to shop at the retail store, and the retailer enjoys a same profit from a discounted sale ofthe product as would result from a sale at the retail price. It should be noted that the foregoing merely describes one particular embodiment ofthe invention, and that the invention should not be deemed limited to the particular aspects mentioned above.

SYSTEM

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system 10 according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown, the system 10 includes a retailer controller 100 in communication with customer devices 200, 201 and 202 as well as with POS terminals 300, 301 and 302. Each ofthe elements ofthe system 10 maybe located within a retail store. For example, the retailer controller 100 may be a computer server located in a control center within the retail store, customer devices 200, 201 and 202 may be customer kiosks situated at various locations within the retail store, and the POS terminals may be cash registers located at a "checkout" area in the store. Of course, the invention does not require that any ofthe elements ofthe system 10 actually be located in a retail store. In an online embodiment, the retailer controller 100 may be located in a warehouse and one or more ofthe customer devices 200, 201 and 202 may be located in homes of respective customers. It should be noted that the system 10 may provide both an online and a retail store embodiment simultaneously. The retailer controller 100 may comprise one or more computer servers providing, for example, a database server and a World Wide Web server. In one embodiment, the retailer controller 100 determines and transmits discount offers to customers according to the present invention. Multiple physical devices may be used to perform the functions ofthe retailer controller 100 according to the present invention, and some or all of these functions may also be performed manually. The retailer controller 100 may be operated by a retailer, by an entity providing customer acquisition services to retailers, by an entity providing shopping and retail services to customers, by an entity providing online storefronts to retailers, or by any other entity to which the present invention may provide benefits. In the following description, actions which may be performed by an entity operating the retailer controller 100, such as reception of payment, will be imputed to the retailer controller 100. As described above, one or more ofthe customer devices 200, 201 and 202 may comprise a dedicated kiosk or a PDA. One or more ofthe customer devices 200, 201 and 202 may also comprise an Internet kiosk, a hand-held product code scanner, a pager, a cellular phone, a personal computer, a pay phone, a video game, an automated teller machine, a slot machine, a watch, a vending machine, an in-car communications system, such as the NAVSTAR system, for providing World Wide Web data or the like, or any other device adapted to commumcate with the retailer controller 100 over whatever communication media happen to exist between the device and the controller 100. For example, in a case that the customer device 200 is a PDA which communicates with the retailer controller 100 over the World Wide Web, the customer device 200 may execute a web browser application for passing data to the retailer controller 100 and/or requesting data from the retailer controller 100. In another example, the customer device 200 comprises both a terminal located at a retail store and a PDA used to communicate with the terminal via an infrared or other connection.

One or more ofthe POS terminals 300, 301 and 302 may comprise an electronic cash register, computer terminal, or other type of POS terminal. In one embodiment, each ofthe POS terminals 300, 301 and 302 is located at a single retail store and is used to determine prices for products brought to the terminal and to charge a customer for each ofthe products. The POS terminals 300, 301 and . 302 may also comprise dedicated terminals used solely in conjunction with the retailer controller 100 to determine discount prices according to the present invention, or credit/debit card authorization terminals provided with software enabling operation in accordance with the present invention. Although three customer devices and three POS terminals are shown in

FIG. 1, any number of customer devices and POS terminals may be in communication with the retailer controller 100 according to the invention. Furthermore, although the communication media between the customer devices 200, 201 and 202, the POS terminals 300, 301 and 302 and the controller 100 are represented by dedicated connections, it should be understood that one or more of the customer devices 200, 201 and 202 and ofthe POS terminals 300, 301 and 302 may be connected to a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), to which is also connected the retailer controller 100. The network may be an Internet Protocol (IP)-based network, such as the World Wide Web, and/or one or more of a satellite-based network, a cellular network, a radio frequency (RF) network, a telephone network, a cable television network, or any other communication system for transferring data between locations.

In certain embodiments, such as some online embodiments, the retailer controller 100 determines discount amounts and extracts payment from a customer, and therefore obviates a need for separate POS terminals 300, 301 and 302. In other embodiments, the retailer controller 100 controls the determination and transmission of discount offers for several retailers, and each ofthe POS terminals 300, 301 and 302 is located at a different retail store along with one ofthe customer devices 200, 201 and 202.

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 to transmit to each other as necessary, and may actually refrain from exchanging data most ofthe time. For example, a device in . ■ communication with another device over the World Wide Web may not transmit data to the other for weeks at a time.

DEVICES

Retailer Controller

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment ofthe retailer controller 100. The retailer controller 100 may be implemented using a network server, a dedicated hardware circuit, an appropriately-programmed general purpose computer, or any other electronic, mechanical or electro-mechanical device.

The retailer controller 100 of FIG. 2 comprises a processor 110, such as one or more RISC® processors. The processor 110 is coupled to a communication port 120 through which the retailer controller 100 communicates with other devices. For example, the retailer controller 100 receives a product selection from the customer device 200 and transmits a discount offer to the customer device 200 through the communication port 120. As mentioned above, each ofthe customer devices 100, 101 and 102, as well as the POS terminals 300, 301 and 302, may communicate with the retailer controller 100 over different communication media. Accordingly, the communication port 120 is configured, in one embodiment, to communicate using hardware and software protocols ofthe different media. In addition, the retailer controller 100 can communicate with locally-attached devices through the communication port 120.

Also connected to the processor 110 are an input device 130, a display 140 and a printer 150. The input device 130 may be any device for inputting data, such as a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, a voice input device, an infrared port, or the like. The input device 130 can be used by personnel to enter data used by the retailer controller 100 in accordance with the present invention. Data may also be input to the retailer controller 100 using a device connected, either directly or over a communication medium, to the communication port 120. For example, data regarding work assignments may be input to the retailer controller 100 through the communication port 120 by a device operated by a work provider. The display 120 is used to output graphics and text and may be a CRT computer monitor, a flat panel display or another type of display device. Graphics, text or other data may also be output by the printer 150 in hardcopy format.

The processor 110 is also in communication with a data storage device 160. The data storage device 160 is generally a data memory and may include any appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory. The data storage device 160 may also include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), a compact disc and/or a hard disk. Furthermore, the processor 110 and the storage device 160 may each be, for example: (i) located entirely within a single computer or other computing device; or (ii) connected to each other by remote communication media such as a serial port cable, telephone line or radio frequency transceiver. In one embodiment, the retailer controller 100 comprises one or more computers that are connected to a remote server computer for maintaining databases.

The data storage device 160 stores a program 400 of processor-executable process steps. The processor 110 executes the process steps ofthe program 400 and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention, and particularly in accordance with the steps described herein with respect to the retailer controller 100. The program 400 maybe stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. The program 400 can be stored in the storage device 160 during manufacture ofthe storage device 160, can be downloaded from a compact disc or other computer-readable medium, or can be retrieved from a remote or local source through the communication port 120 in the form of a signal having the program 400 encoded thereon. The data storage device 160 also stores processor- executable process steps for basic operation ofthe retailer controller 100, such as process steps of an operating system, a database management system and "device drivers" for allowing the retailer controller 100 to interface with computer peripheral devices. These latter process steps are known to those skilled in the art, ■ and are therefore not described in detail herein.

According to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the steps ofthe program 400 are transferred from the data storage device 160 into a main memory, such as a RAM, and executed therefrom by the processor 110. In alternate embodiments, hard- wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, processor-executable software process steps for implementation ofthe processes ofthe present invention. Thus, embodiments ofthe present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware or software.

The storage device 160 also stores i) a customer account database 500, ii) a customer profile database 600, iii) a product database 700, iv) a selected discount database 800, and vii) a work assignment database 900. The databases 500 to 900 are described in detail below and portions thereof are depicted in tabular form with sample entries in the accompanying figures. In this regard, and as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations and accompanying descriptions ofthe databases presented herein are merely intended to demonstrate operable systems for associating and storing information which may be used in accordance with the present invention. A number of other data structures may be employed besides those suggested by the tables shown. Similarly, the illustrated entries ofthe databases represent sample information only; those skilled in the art will understand that the number and content ofthe entries can be different from those illustrated. Customer Device

FIG. 3 illustrates several elements ofthe customer device 200. The customer device 200 is used in one embodiment to input data to and to receive data from the retailer controller 100, and to present data to a customer. For example, a customer may use the customer device 200 to transmit a product identifier to the retailer controller 100, to receive data regarding discount offers from the retailer controller 100, and to present the discount offers to the customer.

As shown, the customer device 200 includes a processor 210 connected to a communication port 220. The communication port 220 is configured to transmit data to the retailer controller 100, via a network connection, an intermediate device, a dedicated connection, or the like, and to receive data from the retailer controller 100. An input device 230 used to receive data and instructions from a customer is connected to the processor 210, and may include a keypad or product code scanner for inputting a product identifier which is subsequently transmitted to the retailer controller 100. Also connected to the processor 210 are a display 240 for displaying data to the customer, and a printer 250 for creating a hardcopy of data, such as of a discount offer or a description of a work assignment. The input device 230, the display 240 and the printer 250 may comprise any ofthe input devices, displays, or printers discussed above. A storage device 260 is also connected to the processor 210, and stores data and processor-executable process steps for the operation ofthe customer device 200. Specifically, the storage device 260 stores process steps of a program 261 which may be executed to control the customer device 200 to obtain and transmit a product identifier to the retailer controller 100, to receive and display corresponding discount offers, to select a discount offer, and to transmit the selected discount offer to the retailer controller 100. The program 261 may also comprise process steps executable by the processor 210 to receive and display available work assignments, to select and transmit an indication of a work assignment, and to indicate completion ofthe work assignment. The process steps ofthe program 261 may be stored in the storage device 260 during its manufacture, may be downloaded from a compact disc or other computer-readable medium, or may be retrieved from a remote or local source through the communication port 220 embodied in a signal having the process steps encoded thereon.

Also stored in the storage device 260 are processor-executable process steps of a web browser 262 which can be executed by the processor 210 to provide communication between the customer device 200 and the retailer controller 100 via the World Wide Web. Of course, depending on the communication media disposed between the customer device 200 and the retailer controller 100, other known applications or hardware may be needed for the customer device 200 to communicate with the retailer controller 100. Process steps of an operating system (not shown), such as the Palm® operating system, are also stored in the storage device 260 and are executed by the processor 210 to control basic operation ofthe customer device 200.

POS Terminal FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing several components ofthe POS terminal

300 according to one embodiment ofthe invention. According to one version of this embodiment, the POS terminal 300 receives a customer identifier from a customer who has brought products to the POS terminal 300 for the purpose of purchasing the products. The POS terminal 300 uses the customer identifier to retrieve discount information associated with the customer from the retailer controller 100, scans a product to determine a product identifier associated with the product, determines whether the product is specified in the discount information, determines whether a work assignment associated with the product in the discount information has been performed, and, if so, charges the customer for the product based on a discount amount. Details and variations ofthe foregoing process are set forth below.

Returning to FIG. 4, the POS terminal 300 includes a processor 310 for executing processor-executable process steps, and a communication port 320 connected thereto for communicating with the retailer controller 100 over a network or a dedicated connection. The communication port 320 may also be used to communicate directly with the customer devices 200, 201 and 202, or with other devices. Of course, in the latter embodiment, the communication port 320 is configured to provide communication interfaces compatible with the customer devices 200, 201 and 202 and the other devices.

Also connected to the processor 310 are a bar code scanner 330 for scanning a product bar code, usually located on product packaging, and for extracting a product identifier, such as a UPC or a Store Keeping Unit number (SKU#), therefrom. Many types of such scanners are known in the art, including a hand-held scanner and a fixed scanner across which a bar code is swiped.

An employee input device 340 is also connected to the processor 310. The employee input device 340 allows an employee to manually enter a product identifier into the POS terminal 300, and also provides cash register functionality. Accordingly, the employee input device 340 comprises a numeric keypad, function keys for invoking convenient functions, and may be embodied in a keyboard, a voice recognition unit, a touch screen, or other input system.

A display 350 is connected to the processor 310 and is used primarily to display prices to the employee and to the customer. In one embodiment, a price to be charged to the customer is displayed on the display 350 each time a product bar code is scanned by the bar code scanner 330. After all desired products have been scanned, the display 350 displays a total price due to the retailer. The display 350 may comprise any ofthe above-mentioned display types. A printer 360 is primarily used to print receipts and/or coupons for presentation to a customer, and may comprise a thermal printer, a laser printer, an inkjet printer, or other type of printer.

Also connected to the processor 310 is a customer input/output device 370, which is used by a customer to enter a customer identifier and payment information into the POS terminal 300. For example, the customer input/output device 370 may present a request to the customer to swipe her frequent buyer or other retailer-affiliated card through a magnetic card reader ofthe customer input/output device 370. After the customer swipes her card and appropriate data is read therefrom, the customer input/output device 370 may request the customer to swipe a credit or debit card through the card reader so as to provide an identifier for a financial account to which the total price may be charged. Accordingly, the customer input/output device 370 may comprise a credit or debit card authorization terminal.

In other embodiments, the customer input/output device 370 is an interface port through which the customer device 200, such as a PDA, may communicate with the POS terminal 300. As such, the customer identifier and/or the account identifier may be directly transmitted from the customer device 200 to the POS terminal 300. The customer input/output device 370 according to this embodiment may also receive selected discount information and work credit information, discussed in detail below, directly from the customer device 200 A storage device 380 is connected to the processor 310, and stores processor-executable process steps of a POS program 381 which are executed by the processor 310 so as to allow the POS terminal 300 to operate in accordance with the present invention. As described above with respect to the storage device 260 and the storage device 160, the process steps ofthe POS program 381 may be stored in the storage device 380 during manufacturer ofthe storage device 380, may be downloaded from a compact disc or other computer-readable medium, or can be retrieved from a remote or local source through the communication port 320 in the form of a signal having the process steps encoded thereon.

DATABASES

Customer Account Database

FIG. 5 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion ofthe customer account database 500 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The customer account database is used to store general information about a customer which may be used by a system according to the present invention. The information stored in the customer account database 500 may be obtained by requiring a customer to register with the retailer controller 100 via a written form requesting certain customer information or by requesting information through a customer device 200 which communicates with the retailer controller 100 via the World Wide Web or another type of communication network. In a case that the information is obtained through a written registration form, the information may be entered into the customer account database 500 by an employee operating the input device 130 ofthe retailer controller 100.

Each record shown in the illustrated portion ofthe customer account database 500 includes several fields, the fields specifying: i) a customer identifier 510 preferably used throughout the databases of the data storage device 160 to associate data with a particular customer; ii) a name 520 of an associated customer; iii) contact information 530 for use in contacting the associated customer; iv) financial account information 540 usable to extract payment from the associated customer; v) a work credit monetary value 550 specifying a monetary value of each work credit earned by the associated customer; vi) available work credits 560 indicating a number of work credits currently available for use by the associated customer; and vii) work credits earned to date 570 specifying a number of work credits earned by the associated customer, including those credits which have been used by the customer. The customer identifier 510 may be assigned to a customer by the retailer controller 100 upon receipt of requested information. In a case that the customer is provided with a customer device 200 upon entering a retail store, the customer device 200 may transmit an identifier which serves as a customer identifier 510 identifying the customer until the customer returns the customer device 200. The contact information 530, as shown, may include any type of information by which a retailer may contact a customer, such as a postal address, an electronic mail address, a telephone, number, a facsimile number or the like. The financial account information 540 may specify a credit card number, a checking account number, an online bill payment service or other account information using which the retailer may extract a payment from a customer or deliver a payment to the customer. The work credit monetary value 550, in one embodiment, is used to determine a discount amount to provide to a customer. For example, a customer associated with a work credit monetary value 550 of 25 cents could receive a $5 discount by redeeming 20 work credits. A work credit monetary value 550 associated with one customer may be different from a work credit monetary value 550 associated with another customer for many different reasons. In one embodiment, customers may pay a fee to receive greater work credit monetary values 550. In another embodiment, a customer may be associated with a particular work credit value 550 based on purchasing history. For example, customers who regularly shop at a retailer and purchase high margin items at the retailer may be associated with a higher work credit monetary value 550 than those customers who have never purchased an item at the retailer.

Customer Profile Database

FIG. 6 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion ofthe customer profile database 600. The customer profile database 600 is used in some embodiments to determine work assignments available to a particular customer, to determine a work credit monetary value to associate with a customer; to determine a number of work credits earned by a customer due to performance of a work assignment, and/or to determine discount offers to present to a customer. The fields of each record ofthe customer profile database 600 specify: i) a customer identifier 610 identifying a particular customer; ii) an age range 620 ofthe customer; iii) a gender 630 ofthe customer; iv) an income range 640 ofthe customer; v) an occupation 650 ofthe customer; vi) hobbies 660 ofthe customer; and vii) special skills 670 ofthe customer. The customer profile database 600 may include other information relating to customers, such as a customer credit rating, marital status, number of children, likes, dislikes, work assignment preferences, purchase history at the retailer, etc.

Some ofthe information in the customer profile database 600 may be provided by a customer as described with respect to the customer account database 500. Other information may be inferred or provided from other sources. For example, if a customer's purchasing history indicates that the customer is a loyal Sony customer, that information may be noted in the customer profile database 600. In addition, a retailer may obtain customer credit rating information from a credit reporting service in exchange for a payment.

Product Database

FIG. 7 shows a tabular representation of a portion ofthe product database 700. The product database 700 contains information relating to products sold by the retailer operating the retailer controller 100. The fields in the product database 700 specify: i) a product identifier 710 such as a UPC or a code internal to the retailer; ii) a product description 720; and iii) a retail price 730. It should be noted that the product description database 700 may contain additional information relating to a product, such as indications of demand for the product, current product inventory, projected product inventory, product manufacturer subsidies, etc. Usage ofthe product database 700 in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention is described in detail below.

Selected Discount Database

A tabular representation of a portion ofthe selected discount database 800 is shown in FIG. 8. The illustrated portion includes data associated with a single customer identifier 810, and therefore associated with a single customer. Of course, the selected discount database 800 may include data associated with additional customers. The selected discount database 800 is used to record discount offers selected by a customer, to ensure compliance with a selected discount offer, and, if appropriate, to reflect a discount offer in a price paid for a product by the customer.

The fields in the selected discount database 800 specify: i) a product identifier 820 usable in conjunction with the product identifier 710 ofthe product database 700 to retrieve product information; ii) a selected discount offer 830; iii) information regarding work performed 840 in association with the selected discount offer 830; and iv) a total discount amount 850 earned by a customer according to the selected discount offer 830. The selected discount database 800 of FIG. 8 shows several types of selected discount offers 830, each of which will be described in detail below. Generally, however, a discount offer may specify a sale price, a price discount value to be applied to a retail price, and/or a percentage discount value to be applied to a retail price. Each of these discount amounts may be earned by a customer in exchange for a particular number of work credits, a particular number of performances of a single work assignment, and/or performance of a work assignment for a specified duration. In one example, a $300 sale price for a product normally priced at $365 may be earned in exchange for 65 work credits if an associated customer identifier 810 is associated with a work credit monetary value 550 of $1. In other examples, no correlation exists between a discount earned by a customer per work credit and a work credit monetary value 550 associated with the customer.

A selected discount offer 830 may also specify a particular price discount value or percentage discount value off a retail price which may be accumulated by a customer in exchange for a number of work credits, or per performance of a particular work assignment for a specified period of time. For example, the selected discount offer 830 "10 cents per two work credits" may result in a 50 cent total discount amount 850 if ten work credits are redeemed or $1 if twenty work credits are redeemed.

As also shown in FIG. 8, a selected discount offer 830 may not be associated with a product identifier 820. In such a situation, an associated total discount amount 850 is applied to a total price paid upon checkout.

The information regarding work performed 840 can also take several forms. For example, the information 840 may be "Yes" or "No" depending upon whether work specified in a selected discount offer 830 has or has not been performed. Many methods can be employed to determine whether work associated with a selected discount offer 830 has been performed. For example, an employee may supervise or confirm performance of a work assignment, directly or using video monitoring, and thereafter inform the retailer controller 100 that the work assignment has been performed, the customer may self-report that a work assignment has been performed using the customer device 100, or it may be determined that a work assignment has been performed upon receiving results of the work assignment from the customer, such as in a case of survey questions. For a work assignment requiring answers to survey questions, a customer's response time may also be tracked as a measure of determining whether the customer is giving random answers without any true thought and consideration. If a certain number of work credits are required to earn a discount amount according to a selected discount offer 830, it is determined whether the performed work assignment has earned the customer the required number of work credits in order to specify "Yes" or "No" as the associated information regarding work performed 840.

In a case that a selected discount offer 830 specifies a percentage discount value or a price discount value per a number of work credits or per performance of a work assignment for a specified period of time, the associated information regarding work performed 840 indicates a number of work credits or performances for the period of time to be applied to the selected discount offer 830. The number to be applied to such a selected discount offer 830 maybe transmitted to the retailer controller 100 by the customer device 200 in response to a command from a customer, or may be set to equal a number of work credits earned or performances for the specified period of time occurring between selection ofthe discount offer 830 and purchase of an associated product. In the latter example, a customer may select a discount offer, indicate a "start time" using the customer device 200 or other means, perform work assignments, and indicate a "stop time". As a result, work credits earned or performances of a work assignment for a specified period of time occurring between the start time and the stop time are applied to the selected discount offer. It should be noted that information regarding the work performed 840 may reflect work credits earned or performances of a work assignment for a specified period of time occurring prior to selection of an associated selected discount offer 830.

For those records in which the information regarding work performed 840 indicates "Yes", a total discount amount 850 is calculated based on a retail price of the product associated with the associated product identifier 820 and the discount amount specified in the associated selected discount offer 830. In some embodiments, the total discount amount 850 may be calculated based on a profit margin or cost of an associated product. Of course, selected discount offers 830 should be modified to conform to such embodiments.

For cases in which a selected discount offer 830 specifies a percentage discount value or a price discount value per a number of work credits or per performance of a work assignment for a specified period of time, the total discount amount 850 reflects a total of a discount amount based on the associated information regarding work performed 840. For example, if ten work credits are applied to a selected discount offer 830 specifying a 10 cent discount amount per two work credits, the associated total discount amount 850 is 50 cents.

Work Assignment Database FIG. 9 illustrates a tabular representation of a portion ofthe work assignment database 900. The work assignment database 900 includes information regarding work assignments which may be performed by a customer to earn discount amounts. The work assignments may be provided by a retailer selling a product to which the discount amount is applied, by a manufacturer ofthe product, by a central service providing work assignments to retailers and receiving work assignments from other parties, or any combination thereof. The fields ofthe work assignment database 900 specify: i) a work assignment identifier 910 used throughout the databases ofthe storage device 160 to identify a work assignment; ii) a work assignment description 920;' iii) desired customer characteristics 930; and iv) rules for awarding work credits 940.

The work assignment description 920 of a record describes a work assignment which may be performed by a customer. In one embodiment, the work assignment description 920 is transmitted to a customer to allow the customer to determine what work assignment he wishes to perform. Accordingly, it is desirable that the work assignment description 920 be accurate, specific and comprehendible.

Many types of work assignments may be identified and described in the work assignment database 900. For example, a work assignment may require a • customer to answer survey questions. The survey questions may be completely unrelated to any product in which the customer is interested, may be related to a product in which the customer has expressed interest, may be personalized to the customer, or may be designed to influence the customer's purchasing decision. In the latter regard, a survey question may ask a customer intending to purchase brand A toothpaste whether or not he is aware that more dentists recommend brand B toothpaste than brand A toothpaste. A work assignment may consist of other opinion-based tasks, such as product reviews, taste tests, focus groups, etc. Other work assignments which may be represented in the work assignment database 900 include watching advertisements, advertising a brand by walking throughout the retail store while wearing an article of clothing bearing the brand's trademark, passing out flyers, passing out product samples, administering surveys, stocking shelves, sweeping isles, bagging groceries, and collecting shopping carts left in a parking lot.

In some embodiments, it is required that a customer possess the desired customer characteristics 930 associated with a work assignment identifier 910 before the associated work assignment description 920 will be presented to the customer. That is, in these embodiments, a customer is not allowed to perform a particular work assignment to earn discount amounts if the customer does not possess the associated desired customer characteristics 930. In other embodiments, the desired customer characteristics 930 merely reflect a preference which may be demonstrated by more often presenting an associated work assignment description 920 to customers possessing desired characteristics 930 associated with the work assignment 920. For example, an outgoing personality may be desired to perform certain work assignments, or a work assignment may be transmitted to a customer based on a location ofthe customer in a retail store. In the latter regard, a customer in the dairy aisle of a supermarket may be presented with a work assignment of critiquing appearances of milk cartons. The desired customer characteristics 930 may specify a customer's expertise, customer-owned equipment, or other customer-related information which may be retrieved from the customer profile database 600. In addition, a customer may be asked questions or presented with a test to determine whether the customer possesses desired customer characteristics 930. Other possible desired customer characteristics 930 include: a number of other customers referred by the customer; a credit limit; and a type of credit card possessed by the customer.

The rule for awarding work credits 940 associated with a work assignment determines a number of work credits which will be awarded to a customer upon performance ofthe work assignment. Generally, a rule 940 may reflect an awarding of work credits based on many different variables. For example, a rule 940 may be time-based in that the more time a customer spends on a work assignment, the more work credits are awarded to the customer. Along these lines, a customer may also receive a number of work credits in proportion to how quickly or promptly the customer performs or begins a work assignment. A rule 940 may also be quantity-based. In such a case, a customer is awarded work credits in proportion to a number of performances of a work assignment. For example, if the work assignment requires a customer to answer survey questions, the customer may receive one work credit for each survey question answered, may be awarded one work credit for every ten words in a product review, or may be awarded twenty work credits for each shelf stocked.

Awarding of work credits based on a rule 940 may also be based on effort. Specifically, a more-difficult work assignment may result in more credits than a less-difficult work assignment. Effort may also be measured in terms of undesirability of a work assignment. In this regard, a less-desirable task such as cleaning a bathroom may be associated with a rule 940 awarding more work credits than a more-desirable task, such as watching movie trailers. A skillfully-performed work assignment may result in a greater award of work credits than the same work assignment performed less skillfully. Similarly, a work assignment performed by a customer having greater experience in a relevant area than another customer may be awarded with a greater number of work credits. One example ofthe foregoing is a rule 940 which awards twenty work credits for providing cooking advice in a case that the customer performing the work assignment is a professional chef, and only five work credits in a case that the customer is a college student. Another customer-based rule 940 may provide a customer having a customer history indicating loyalty to the work provider with a greater number of work credits than would be provided to a second customer having a customer history indicating less loyalty to the work provider. Such a rule may also relate to the subject matter of a work assignment. For example, a customer who regularly purchases brand C peanut butter may be awarded, according to a rule 940, ten work credits for writing a product review of a new peanut butter, while a customer who rarely purchases brand C peanut butter may be awarded five work credits for performing the same work assignment.

Work credits may be awarded based on a product for which a customer is working to receive a discount amount. As such, a customer working to receive a discount on pasta may receive five work credits for answering survey questions relating to his spaghetti sauce, while an answer to the same survey question from a customer attempting to receive a discount amount on beer would result in two work credits. A number of work credits awarded may also be based on a combination of desired products. For example, a customer intending to purchase five products of a single manufacturer may receive a greater number of work credits for a work assignment or a greater monetary value per work credit then a customer intending to purchase only one product ofthe manufacturer. Any additional discount amount earned by the first customer may be subsidized by the manufacturer.

Work credits may be differentially awarded based on the beneficiary of a work assignment. For example, based on a difference in subsidies provided by manufacturers D and E in exchange for customer responses to survey questions, ten work credits are awarded for answering a survey question from manufacturer D and while twelve work credits are awarded for answering a survey question from manufacturer E. Relatedly, a number of work credits awarded according to a rule 940 may be based on an actual value to the retailer provided by performance of an associated work assignment 920. The value may be determined at the time the work assignment is performed, or at a future time. In a case that the value is determined in a future time, the customer may receive a retroactive discount amount equal to the value.

In a case that a work assignment requires interaction with other customers, the associated rule 940 may be based wholly or in part on feedback from the other customers. As an example, a product review written by a customer in performance of a work assignment may be rated by customers and receive a number of work credits in proportion to the average received rating.

A number of awarded work credits according to a rule 940 may depend upon how many work credits a customer requires to satisfy a selected discount offer. In one example, it becomes more difficult to earn a work credit as a customer approaches a number required to satisfy a selected discount offer. A rule for awarding work credits 940 may, of course, involve any combination ofthe above-described or other factors. PROCESSES

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of process steps 1000 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. In a case that the retailer controller 100 performs the process steps 1000, the process steps 1000 may be embodied in hardware within the controller 100; in processor-executable process steps stored on a computer- readable medium, such as the data storage device 160, and executed by the processor 110; in processor-executable process steps encoded in an electronic signal received by the retailer controller 100 and executed by the processor 110; or in any combination thereof. It should be noted that the process steps 1000 may be executed, wholly or in part, by processors located in several devices or even manually.

All or part ofthe process steps 1000 may be performed by the customer device 200. For example, a retailer may provide a customer with a hand-held scanner storing processor-executable process steps embodying the FIG. 10 process steps. Moreover, the scanner may be used to transmit selected discount information resulting from the process steps 1000 to the POS terminal 300 during a checkout process.

The process steps 1000 begin at step SI 010, in which a request is received for discount offers. Submission of a request by a customer is discussed in detail below with respect to FIG. 16. It should be noted that the request may also be received from a third party, such as a product manufacturer or a product warehouser. In one embodiment, the request includes a product identifier and a customer identifier identifying the customer submitting the request. As will become evident, the request is not required to include any identification ofthe customer submitting the request and/or of a particular product. The request may include a range of prices or a specific price that the customer is willing to pay for a product in a case that the request includes a specific product or group of products. The request may also include an indication of an amount of time the customer has available to perform any required work assignments. The request received in step SI 010 may be a conditional purchase offer including a product and an offer price, which binds the requesting customer to purchase the product for the offer price if the offer is subsequently accepted by the retailer controller 100. Similarly, the request may include a conditional employment offer including an offer price and a product identifier, which would bind the customer to perform any work assignment presented by the retailer controller 100 and to purchase the specified product for the offer price.

Flow proceeds from step SI 010 to step SI 020, wherein a discount offer is determined. As described with respect to the selected discount offer field 830 of the selected discount database 800, many types of discount offers may be determined in step SI 020 in accordance with the present invention. Briefly, a determined discount offer may specify a discount amount equal to a sale price, a price discount value off of a retail price, or a percentage discount value off of a retail price, a discount amount off a total price of items purchased, or other types of discount amounts. In addition, a discount amount may be associated in a discount offer with a particular number of work credits, performance of a particular work assignment a specified number of times, or performance of a particular work assignment for a specified period of time. Examples of such discount offers are illustrated in FIG. 11, FIG. 12 and FIG. 13.

A discount offer determined in step SI 020 may also specify a price discount value or a percentage discount value, associated with a number of work credits or performances of a work assignment for a specified period of time.

Examples of these discount offers are illustrated in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. The price or percentage discount values may be based on an actual value to the retailer ofthe number of work credits or performances ofthe work assignment for the specified period of time, and may also be based on the work credit monetary value 550 associated with the customer identifier received in step S 1010. Moreover, the price discount value and/or the percentage discount value may depend on the product identifier received in step SI 010. In this regard, taken into consideration may be the impending expiration of a product identified by the product identifier, demand for the product, a margin received by sale ofthe product at a retail price, or the like.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 8, a discount offer need not be associated with a particular product identifier. Rather, a discount amount resulting from a discount offer may be applied to a total customer bill for a single purchasing transaction.

After the discount offers are determined, the discount offers are transmitted to the customer in step SI 030. FIG. 11 through FIG. 16 illustrate views ofthe display 240 ofthe customer device 200 resulting from several different embodiments of step SI 030. For example, shown in FIG. 11 is the display 240 of the customer device 200 having displayed thereon information transmitted to the customer in step SI 030. The customer device 200 in this example may be a PDA, a kiosk located in the retail store, or a personal computer accessing a website maintained by the retailer controller 100, or any other ofthe possible customer devices listed above. For the purpose ofthe FIG. 11 example, it is assumed that a product identifier was received along with the request in step SI 010. As shown, a product description 1102 is transmitted to the customer device 200 along with the received product identifier 1104. It should be understood that the product description 1102 is retrieved from the product database 700 of FIG. 7 using the received product identifier 1104. Also taken from the product database 700 and transmitted in step S1030 is the associated retail price 1106. Numeral 1108 indicates a plurality of discount amounts comprising a portion ofthe discount offers determined in step SI 020. In this regard, numeral 1110 denotes a number of work credits associated with each discount amount 1108. Accordingly, each discount amount and associated number of work credits comprises a discount offer.

FIG. 12 illustrates a view of the display 240 of the customer device 200 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention. Again, a product description 720 and a retail price 730 are retrieved from the product database 700 - based on a product identifier 710 received in step SI 010, and all three values are transmitted to the customer in step S1030. As shown in FIG. 12, also transmitted to the customer are discount offers comprising a plurality of discount amounts 1202, each associated with one of a plurality of work-related information 1204. Specifically, the discount amounts 1202 are each price discount values applicable against the retail price ofthe identified product, and the work-related information 1204 consists of different numbers of performances of a particular work assignment. FIG. 13 illustrates a view ofthe display 240 according to yet another embodiment ofthe present invention. According to the illustrated embodiment, transmitted to the customer in step SI 030 are discount amounts 1302 comprising a plurality of percentage discount values and associated work-related information 1304 comprising indications of performances of a particular work assignment for various periods of time. Another embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated in FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 14, only one discount offer 1402 has been determined in step SI 020 and transmitted in step SI 030. The discount offer specifies a price discount value per work credit which is applicable to a product for which information is stored in the product database 700. A discount offer 1502 corresponding to a product ofthe product database 700 is shown in FIG. 15. The discount offer 1502 specifies a price discount value earned by a customer for each instance that a particular work assignment is performed for a specified period of time. FIG. 16 is a view ofthe display 240 according to an embodiment in which a discount offer is transmitted to a user without specifying details of how a discount amount is earned. Rather, as shown in FIG. 16, an inquiry 1602 is transmitted which specifies a work assignment which may be performed to earn a discount amount. The inquiry 1602 may be associated with a discount offer determined in step S1020, such as "10 cents off per two work credits". It should be noted that the discount offer and the inquiry 1602 may or may not be associated with a product identifier.

In step SI 040, a selection of a discount offer from among the transmitted discount offers is received. The selected discount offer is then stored as a selected discount offer 830 in the selected discount database 800 in step SI 050. Also stored in association with the selected discount offer 830 is a product identifier 820 received in step SI 010, if any. FIG. 8 illustrates selected discount offers represented in each of FIG. 11 through FIG. 16 as stored in the selected discount offer field 830 according to step S 1050. FIG. 17 illustrates process steps 1700 to select a desired discount offer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The process steps 1700 may be embodied in processor-executable form and executed by the processor 210 ofthe customer device 200 solely or in combination with other devices. The process steps 1700 maybe executed as a complement to the process steps 1000. That is, the process steps 1700 may be executed by one party during a transaction and the process steps 1000 may be executed by another party during the same transaction.

The process steps 1700 begin at step SI 710, in which a request for discount offers is transmitted to the retailer controller 100. The request transmitted in step SI 710 may have many forms. For example, the request may simply be an indication that a customer has logged on to a website operated by the retailer controller 100 or has approached a kiosk operated by the retailer controller 100. Registration by a customer with a system according to the present invention may also be considered a request to receive discount offers in step S1710. In other embodiments, entering a retail store is considered as transmission of a request for discount offers according to step S1710. Moreover, acceptance of a PDA, a hand- held scanner or other device from a retailer upon entry into a retail store may be considered a transmission of a request for discount offers according to step SI 710. Of course, accessing a kiosk, a website, customer service personnel and transmitting a request to receive discount offers may also be considered a request to receive discount offers. The request transmitted in step S 1710 may include, as described above with respect to step SI 010 ofthe process steps 1000, a customer identifier identifying the customer transmitting the request and/or a product identifier, such as a UPC, identifying a product for which discount offers are being requested. In one embodiment of step SI 710, a customer logs on to a network located within a retail store using his PDA. The customer then scans a bar code located on a desired product using the PDA and selects a Transmit Request function offered by the program 400 executing on the PDA. In response, a customer identifier identifying the customer and the a product identifier extracted from the bar code are transmitted to the retailer controller 100. Next, in step SI 720, discount offers are received. The discount offers may be any ofthe discount offers described above with respect to the process steps 1000. Specifically, reception ofthe discount offers in step SI 720 may comprise reception of data identifying the discount offers over the communication port 220 and/or display ofthe discount offers on the display 240 ofthe customer device 200. Finally, in step S1730, the customer utilizes the functionality ofthe program 400 to select a desired discount offer from among the discount offers received in step SI 720. Such selection may proceed by highlighting one ofthe discount offers displayed on the display 240 and by choosing a Select function provided by the program 400. If only one discount offer is received, the selection may consist of selecting a displayed "Yes" icon. In one embodiment, the selected discount offer is then transmitted to the retailer controller 100. FIG. 18 illustrates a flow chart of process steps 1800 to transmit available work assignments to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. In a case that the retailer controller 100 performs the process steps 1800, the process steps 1800 may be embodied in hardware within the controller 100, in processor-executable process steps stored on a computer-readable medium such as the data storage device 160 and executed by the processor 110, in processor-executable process steps encoded in an electronic signal received by the retailer controller 100 and executed by the processor 110, or in any combination thereof.

Initially, in step S1810, a work inquiry is received from a customer. In one example, a work inquiry is received from the customer device 200 and includes a product identifier and a customer identifier. The work inquiry may also specify a number of work credits needed, a desired product price, a work assignment identifier, and/or an amount of time available to the customer to perform a work assignment. In other examples, such as those described above with respect to step S1710 ofthe process steps 1700, indications that a customer has entered a retail store, registered with the retailer controller 100, accessed an online store through the World Wide Web, or approached customer service personnel may each be considered reception of a work inquiry in step SI 810.

Next, in step SI 820, work assignments available to the customer are determined. The available work assignments determined in step SI 820 may be each work assignment represented in the work assignment database 900. Alternatively, the work inquiry may be routed to various work providers, perhaps with information associated with the received customer identifier in the customer profile database 600, and the available work assignments determined in step SI 820 are those which are received from the work providers in response to the inquiry. Given the different types of information which may be received with the work inquiry, the available work assignments may be determined in several ways. For example, if a work assignment identifier was transmitted with the inquiry, the identifier may be located from among the work assignment identifiers 910 in the work assignment database 900 to identify an associated work assignment description 920 in step SI 820. In addition, an available work assignment may be determined based on the date and time at which the inquiry was received, based on the location from where the request was received (in the retail store vs. outside the retail store), or based on the amount of time available to a customer for performing a work assignment. Available work assignments may also be determined based on the identity of or the retail margin of the product for which the work would be performed (if provided in the inquiry), based on whether the customer's profile satisfies desired customer characteristics 930 listed in the work assignment database 900, or based on a requested price (e.g., work assignments associated with large work credit awards may be determined to be available only when a large price discount is requested). Of course, available work assignments may be determined in step S 1820 based on any combination of the foregoing factors. After step SI 820, the available work assignments are transmitted to the customer along with associated rules for awarding work credits 940. hi one embodiment, the transmitted rules are the rules 940 associated with the work assignment descriptions 920 ofthe determined work assignments in the work assignment database 900. In a case that a customer has specified a desired price or a desired number of work credits, associated rules for awarding work credits may not be transmitted in step SI 830. Additionally, only one available work assignment and associated rule may be initially transmitted, with more work assignments and rules being transmitted if the customer rejects the initial transmission. In this regard, the customer may be limited as to how many transmissions may be rejected. A selection of one ofthe available work assignments is received in step S 1840. It should be noted that if the inquiry received in step S 1810 did not include a product identifier, the selection received in step SI 840 may include a product identifier in order to allow the retailer controller 100 to apply work credits awarded due to performance ofthe selected work assignment to the price of an appropriate product. According to one embodiment, the selection is received in the form of a signal from the customer terminal 100. Alternatively, the selection may be received upon detection of performance of a work assignment. After the selection is received, the retailer controller 100 may begin to track the performance ofthe selected work assignment.

It should be noted that the process steps 1800 may occur before, during or after the process steps 1000. In one contemplated embodiment, the process steps 1800 occur after step SI 030 and before step SI 040 ofthe process steps 1000. Generally, in a case that available work assignments and associated rules for awarding work credits are transmitted to a customer before selection of a discount offer involving work credits, the customer is better able to determine whether a particular discount amount associated with an offer outweighs a cost to the customer ofthe work assignment associated therewith.

Of course, the process steps 1800 may be performed, wholly or in part, by the customer device 200 and the POS terminal 300. For example, the work assignment database 900 and processor-executable process steps embodying the process steps 1800 may be downloaded to the customer device 200 if the customer device 200 is a personal PDA or a device provided to a customer by a retailer.

FIG. 19 is a view ofthe display 240 ofthe customer device 200 illustrating an accumulated discount amount 1902 transmitted to a customer according to one embodiment ofthe invention. The accumulated discount amount 1902 may be generated and/or transmitted by the retailer controller 100, the customer device 200, or the POS terminal 300. The accumulated discount amount 1902 reflects, in one embodiment, total discount amounts 850 associated with a customer identifier 810 in the selected discount database. For example, the accumulated discount amount 1902 may be associated with one or more product identifiers, in which case the accumulated product discount 1902 reflects a sum of any total discount amounts 850 associated with the product identifiers.

In a case that a customer has selected a discount offer without knowing details ofthe discount offer, as illustrated in FIG. 16, display ofthe accumulated discount amount 1902 may assist the customer in deciding when to stop performing work assignments. In this regard, the accumulated discount amount 1902 may be updated as earned discount amounts increase. For example, in a case that a selected discount offer specifies a particular price discount value or percentage discount value off a retail price which may be accumulated by a customer in exchange for a number of work credits, or per performance of a particular work assignment for a specified period of time, an accumulated discount amount 1902 may be updated each time the number of work credits is earned or per performance ofthe particular work assignment for the specified period. It should be noted, however, that the accumulated discount amount 1902 may be transmitted to a customer regardless ofthe type of selected discount offer or offers reflected by the accumulated discount amount.

Although the accumulated discount amount 1902 is shown as a price discount value, it may also be transmitted and/or presented to a customer as a percentage discount value or as a decreasing sale price. The latter two embodiments are especially suited to cases in which the accumulated discount amount 1902 is associated with one or more products.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of process steps 2000 to charge a customer appropriate discount prices for products according to one embodiment ofthe invention. The process steps 2000 may be embodied in processor-executable process steps ofthe POS program 381 and executed by the processor 310 ofthe POS terminal 300. The process steps 2000 may be embodied in the program 261 ofthe customer device 200 or, especially in a case that the products are offered by an online retail store provided by the retailer controller 100, in the program 400 of the retailer controller 100. Flow begins at step S2002, in which a customer identifier is received. In one embodiment of step S2002, a customer arrives at a POS terminal 300 of a retail store with several products, intending to pay for the products and thereafter to leave the retail store with the products. At the POS terminal 300, the customer input/output device 370 displays a message to the customer instructing the customer to swipe his preferred customer card through a magnetic card reader provided with the device 370. The customer identifier is then received by reading it from a magnetic strip located on the card. Alternatively, the customer may swipe a credit or debit card through the magnetic card reader and a customer identifier associated with the customer is received in step S2002 by locating a customer identifier 510 associated with the account information 540 read from the credit or debit card. Such an arrangement allows the customer to use only one card to complete a purchase.

Next, in step S2004, it is determined whether selected discount information is associated with the received customer identifier. The determination proceeds by determining whether or not the selected discount database 800 includes records having an associated customer identifier 810 identical to the received customer identifier. If not, flow continues to step S2006, wherein a product identifier of each desired product is extracted by the bar code scanner 330, an associated retail price for each product is determined from the product database 700, the customer is charged the associated retail prices, a receipt is printed using the printer 360, and the process terminates. If it is determined in step S2004 that selected discount information is associated with the customer, the selected discount information is retrieved in step S2008. More specifically, records having an associated customer identifier 810 identical to the received customer identifier are copied from the selected discount database 800 to the storage device 380 for fast access to the data therein. In an in- store embodiment, step S2002, step S2004 and step S2008 may be performed simply by downloading the customer identifier and selected discount information from the customer device 200 to the POS terminal 300 through the customer input/output device 370.

A product identifier associated with a product is received in step S2010. The product identifier is received in one embodiment by scanning a product bar code located on the product or on the product's packaging. It is assumed that the product identifiers shown in the illustrated databases and mentioned herein are actual UPC's obtainable by scanning such a bar code. Of course, the product identifiers may be other types of codes cross-referenced to one or more UPC's in a data table.

Once the product identifier is received, it is determined whether the product identifier is represented in the retrieved selected discount information. More particularly, it is determined whether the product identifier is a listed product identifier 820 in the retrieved records. If not, the retail price ofthe product is determined using the product identifier in conjunction with the product database 700, and the retail price ofthe product is added to the customer's bill in step S2014. Flow returns from step S2014 to step S2010 for reception of another product identifier.

If the product identifier is listed in the retrieved selected discount information, it is determined, by referring to the associated information regarding work performed field 840, whether the work requirements necessary to earn the associated selected discount offer 830 have been fulfilled. As described above, the requirements are deemed to be fulfilled if the information regarding work performed field 840 associated with the appropriate product identifier 820 contains "Yes" or a number.

A discount price for the product is determined in step S2018 if the associated work requirements have been fulfilled. The discount price may be determined by identifying an associated total discount amount 830 from the selected discount database 800 and a retail price 730 from the product database 700, and by subtracting the total discount amount 830 from the retail price 730. It should be noted that calculation ofthe total discount amount 830 as described with respect to FIG. 8 may be performed in step S2018 by the POS terminal 300 in a case that the total discount amount 830 has not yet been calculated. The determined discount price is added to the customer's bill in step S2020.

If it is then determined in step S2022 that additional products remain to be processed, flow returns to step S2010. Otherwise, the customer's bill is adjusted according to any product-unspecific discount amounts in the retrieved selected discount information. For example, FIG. 8 shows a record which is not associated with a product identifier 820. Accordingly, the total discount amount 850 associated with the record, $1.00, is subtracted from the customer's bill in step S2024.

Finally, the customer is charged the total amount billed for the desired products in step S2026. The amount may be charged to the customer using the financial account information 540 associated with the customer in the customer database 500, or using other known means.

After sale of products for discount prices as illustrated by the process steps 2000, it may be necessary for a work provider (including a central service providing work on behalf of work providers) to pay the selling retailer a settlement amount for discounts resulting from work assignments provided by the work provider. For example, a work provider may pay the retailer the sum of total discount amounts earned by the customer, or the value of a performed work assignment to the work provider. In other embodiments, the customer pays the retailer retail prices for all purchased products and receives a reimbursement from the work provider equal to the total discount amount associated with each purchased product.

ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENTS

The following are several examples of additional embodiments ofthe present invention. These examples do not constitute a definition of all possible embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is amenable to many other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand how to make any changes, if necessary, to the above-described system to accommodate these and other embodiments and applications. In one embodiment, a desired discount amount is received from a customer, which may or may not be associated with a particular product. In response, transmitted to the customer is a list of several work assignments, each of which must be performed to earn the desired discount amount. This embodiment allows a retailer to mask respective values of each work assignment in the list, since the customer will not know what portion ofthe discount amount is earned due to each work assignment. In another embodiment, work credits and/or performance of work assignments can be used by a customer to earn new pricing structures applicable to several or all products offered by a retailer. Specifically, a customer may receive a set of prices for certain products which are lower than retail prices for the products in exchange for a certain number of work credits or for performance of work assignments. The customer may be presented with the lower prices as work credits are earned and/or work assignments are performed. For example, a display associated with a product may present to the customer a price for the product which decreases as work credits are earned and/or work assignments are performed.

The customer device 200 may comprise a telephone using which a customer transmits a request for discount offers. The request may be transmitted to an employee ofthe retailer, who inputs the request into the retailer controller 100, or to an interactive voice response or similar system. The customer may also transmit a product identifier taken from a catalog or other source in order to identify a product to which the discount offers are intended to apply. After . appropriate discount offers and/or work assignments are transmitted to the customer in accordance with the invention, the customer may perform a work assignment, such as answering survey questions, directly over the telephone. After a customer has performed a work assignment to earn a discount amount applicable to a particular product, the retailer controller 100 may output a code to the customer which is associated with the discount amount and the product. The customer presents the code to the POS terminal 300 upon checkout to receive the discount amount. The code may be used by the POS terminal 300 to retrieve the associated discount information from a database. In one embodiment, the code encodes the discount amount and is decoded by the POS terminal 300 to determine the discount amount.

In addition to earning discount amounts on products, customers may perform work assignments to receive discount amounts on services (e.g. massages), combinations of services and products (e.g. restaurant meals), events (e.g. concerts), or other consumables. Moreover, instead of earning a discount amount for one product or a specified group of products, the customer may earn an entire discounted pricing structure through the performance of work assignments. For example, a retailer may give the customer a 1% discount off every product sold by the retailer for every twenty survey questions answered.

A customer may also earn additional product features rather than discount amounts. Therefore, each type of discount offer shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11 through FIG. 15 may specify a set or a number of product features rather than a discount amount.

A customer may be limited as to how much of a discount amount may be applied to certain products. For example, a television manufacturer may specify that a certain television may not be sold for less than $150.

Work assignments may include a series of related assignments designed to provide specialized training to a customer. For example, a retailer may desire to train the customer to become an effective salesperson for the retailer. Accordingly, the series of work assignments may include watching an employee training video, reading a training manual and answering questions related to the material read, and working with a store employee until the customer achieves a certain level of expertise. The number of such work assignments that the customer performs may affect the customer's profile as reflected in the customer profile database 600. In this regard, a customer who has performed two work assignments in a series might be designated a "bronze" customer, whereas a customer who has performed an entire series of work assignments might be designated a "gold" customer.

A customer may be able to place on "hold" a product for which he is currently performing a work assignment. In doing so, the customer may be required to partially pay for the product. This embodiment addresses the possibility that the product may be sold to another customer while the work assignment is being performed. The product may be provided to the customer once he has earned a discount amount equal to the unpaid portion ofthe product.

A group of individuals may perform work assignments in order to accumulate discount amounts. The individuals may register together, consist ofthe individuals in a retail store at a particular time, or consist of a group of individuals indicating an intent to buy a particular product at a particular time. Alternatively, a group of individuals may perform one work assignment together. Correlations between work assignments that a customer performs and subsequent purchases made by the customer may be tracked. For example, the retailer controller 100 may note that a customer who answered ten survey questions about brand F yogurt to earn a discount on toothpaste subsequently buys a pack of brand F yogurt.

A customer may choose a first product and perform a work assignment to earn a discount amount thereon. If the customer then decides not to purchase the first product, the customer may be allowed to reapply any work credits earned toward a different product. The reapplication may require recalculation of a discount amount corresponding to the work credits, especially in a case that the monetary value of work credits is dependent on the identity ofthe product to which they are applied.

A customer may suggest or provide his own work assignment. For example, a first customer in a retail store may observe a second customer having difficulty choosing between two stereo systems. The first customer may then suggest to the retailer controller 100 that he is willing to assist the second customer in exchange for a discount amount.

Discount amounts may be provided to a customer in return for a commitment to perform a work assignment in the future. In this regard, a system according to the invention may inform a customer when a work assignment should be performed. In one example, no work assignments are available for the customer at the moment, however, since the security guard who works from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. is sick, the customer is instructed to return at 8:00 a.m. to perform a security-related work assignment. A customer may be provided an opportunity to earn discount amounts on a product after purchase ofthe product. The discount amounts may be credited to the customer's account, paid out to the customer, or applied to subsequent purchases.

Rather than having intrinsic value, a work assignment performed by a customer may serve to determine the customer's price sensitivity. The determination of a customer's price sensitivity may be based on the difficulty of the work assignment, the amount of time spent on the work assignment, or the quantity of work performed. The determined price sensitivity may be used by retailers to adjust curcent retail prices. In addition, a discount amount corresponding to a work assignment may be varied in order to determine the perceived value ofthe work assignment.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will note that various substitutions and modifications may be made to those embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for use in selling a product, comprising: transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are sale prices.

3. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are percentage discount values.

4. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are price discount values.

5. A method according to Claim 1, further comprising associating an earned number of work credits with the customer based on performance of a work assignment.

6. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on an amount of time over which the work assignment was performed.

7. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a number of times the work assignment was performed.

8. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a difficulty ofthe work assignment.

9. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a quality with which the work assignment was performed.

10. A method according to Claim 9, wherein the quality is determined based on information received from other customers.

11. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a customer profile.

12. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on the product.

13. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a type ofthe work assignment.

14. A method according to Claim 5, wherein the earned number of work credits is based on a value ofthe work assignment.

15. A method according to Claim 5, further comprising determining whether a work assignment was performed.

16. A method according to Claim 1, further comprising: determining that a work assignment was performed; identifying a discount amount based on the performed work assignment; and extracting payment from the customer, the payment based on the discount amount.

17. A method according to Claim 1, further comprising: determining that a work assignment was performed; identifying a discount amount based on the performed work assignment; and outputting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

18. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

19. A method according to Claim 1, further comprising determining the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits.

20. A method according to Claim 19, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on a customer profile.

21. A method according to Claim 20, further comprising identifying the customer profile based on the customer.

22. A method according to Claim 20, wherein the determined plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

23. A method according to Claim 19, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on the product.

24. A method according to Claim 1, further comprising receiving a request to reserve the product for a period of time.

25. A method according to Claim 24, further comprising receiving a payment in exchange for reservation of the product.

26. A method for use in selling a product, comprising: transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a first work assignment and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

27. A method according to Claim 26, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are sale prices.

28. A method according to Claim 26, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are percentage discount values.

29. A method according to Claim 26, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are price discount values.

30. A method according to Claim 26, further comprising: determining a number of performances ofthe first work assignment; identifying a discount amount associated with the number of performances; and extracting payment from the customer, the payment based on the discount amount.

31. A method according to Claim 26, further comprising: determining a number of performances ofthe first work assignment; identifying a discount amount associated with the number of performances; and outputting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

32. A method according to Claim 31, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

33. A method according to Claim 26, further comprising determining the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

34. A method according to Claim 33, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances of the first work assignment are determined based on a customer profile.

35. A method according to Claim 34, further comprising identifying the customer profile based on the customer.

36. A method according to Claim 34, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances of the first work assignment are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

37. A method according to Claim 33, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances of the first work assignment are determined based on the product.

38. A method for use in selling a product, comprising: transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period.

39. A method according to Claim 38, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are sale prices.

40. A method according to Claim 38, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are percentage discount values.

41. A method according to Claim 38, wherein the plurality of discount amounts are price discount values.

42. A method according to Claim 38, further comprising: determining a time period over which the work assignment was performed; identifying a discount amount associated with the time period; and extracting payment from the customer, the payment based on the discount amount.

43. A method according to Claim 38, further comprising: determining a time period over which the work assignment was performed; identifying a discount amount associated with the time period; and outputting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

44. A method according to Claim 43, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

45. A method according to Claim 38, further comprising determining the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period.

46. A method according to Claim 45, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on a customer profile.

47. A method according to Claim 46, further comprising identifying the customer profile based on the customer.

48. A method according to Claim 46, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

49. A method according to Claim 45, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on the product.

50. A method comprising: transmitting to a customer a work assignment, a period of time and a discount amount, wherein the discount amount is earned by the customer for each instance in which the work assignment is performed for the period of time.

51. A method according to Claim 50, wherein the discount amount is a percentage discount value.

52. A method according to Claim 50, wherein the discount amount is a price discount value.

53. A method according to Claim 50, further comprising: determining an actual time period over which the work assignment was performed; and determining a total discount amount based on the time period, the discount amount and the actual time period.

54. A method according to Claim 50, further comprising: determining an actual time period over which the work assignment was performed; determining a total discount amount based on the time period, the discount amount and the actual time period; and outputting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the total discount amount.

55. A method according to Claim 54, wherein the code encodes the total discount amount.

56. A method according to Claim 50, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are determined based on a customer profile.

57. A method according to Claim 56, further comprising identifying the customer profile based on the customer.

58. A method according to Claim 57, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

59. A method according to Claim 50, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are determined based on a product.

60. A method according to Claim 50, wherein the discount can be earned up to a predetermined number of times.

61. A method for use in a sales transaction, comprising: receiving an indication of a performance of a work assignment; automatically transmitting a discount amount to a customer, the discount amount based on the performance ofthe work assignment; receiving a second indication of a second performance of a work assignment; and automatically transmitting a second discount amount to the customer, the second discount amount based on the discount amount and on the second performance ofthe work assignment.

62. Processor-executable process steps embodied in a computer-readable medium, the process steps comprising: a transmitting step to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits.

63. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 62, further comprising: a determining step to determine that a work assignment was performed; an identifying step to identify a discount amount based on the performed work assignment; and an outputting step to output a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

64. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 63, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

65. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 62, further comprising a determining step to determine the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits.

66. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 65, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on a customer profile.

67. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 66, further comprising an identifying step to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

68. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 66, wherein the determined plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

69. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 65, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on the product.

70. Processor-executable process steps embodied in a computer-readable medium, the process steps comprising: a transmitting step to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a first work assignment and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

71. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 70, further comprising a determining step to determine the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

72. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 71, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on a customer profile.

73. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 72, further comprising an identifying step to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

74. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 72, wherein the first one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

75. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 71, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on the product.

76. Processor-executable process steps embodied in a computer-readable medium, the process steps comprising: a transmitting step to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period.

77. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 76, further comprising: a determining step to determine a time period over which the work assignment was performed; an identifying step to identify a discount amount associated with the time period; and an outputting step to output a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

78. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 77, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

79. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 76, further comprising a determimng step to determine the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period.

80. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 79, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on a customer profile.

81. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 80, further comprising an identifying step to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

82. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 80, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

83. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 79, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on the product.

84. Processor-executable process steps embodied in a computer-readable medium, the process steps comprising: a transmitting step to transmit to a customer a work assignment, a period of time and a discount amount, wherein the discount amount is earned by the customer for each instance in which the work assignment is performed for the period of time.

85. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 84, further comprising: a determining step to determine an actual time period over which the work assignment was performed; a determining step to determine a total discount amount based on the time period, the discount amount and the actual time period; and an outputting step to output a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the total discount amount.

86. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 85, wherein the code encodes the total discount amount.

87. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 84, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are determined based on a customer profile.

88. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 87, further comprising an identifying step to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

89. Processor-executable process steps according to Claim 88, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

90. Processor-executable process steps embodied in a computer-readable medium, the process steps comprising: a receiving step to receive an indication of a performance of a work assignment; a transmitting step to automatically transmit a discount amount to a customer, the discount amount based on the performance ofthe work assignment; a receiving step to receive a second indication of a second performance of a work assignment; and a transmitting step to automatically transmit a second discount amount to the customer, the second discount amount based on the discount amount and on the second performance ofthe work assignment.

91. An apparatus comprising: a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits.

92. An apparatus according to Claim 91, further comprising: means for identifying that a work assignment was performed; means for determining a discount amount based on the performed work assignment; and means for transmitting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

93. An apparatus according to Claim 92, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

94. An apparatus according to Claim 91, further comprising means for deciding the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits.

95. An apparatus according to Claim 94, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on a customer profile.

96. An apparatus according to Claim 95, further comprising means for determining the customer profile based on the customer.

97. An apparatus according to Claim 95, wherein the determined plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

98. An apparatus according to Claim 94, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on the product.

99. An apparatus comprising: a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a first work assignment and a second one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

100. An apparatus according to Claim 99, further comprising means for deciding the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

101. An apparatus according to Claim 100, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on a customer profile.

102. An apparatus according to Claim 101, further comprising means for locating the customer profile based on the customer.

103. An apparatus according to Claim 101, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

104. An apparatus according to Claim 100, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on the product.

105. An apparatus comprising: a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period.

106. An apparatus according to Claim 105, further comprising: means for deciding a time period over which the work assignment was performed; means for determining a discount amount associated with the time period; and means for transmitting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

107. An apparatus according to Claim 106, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

108. An apparatus according to Claim 105, further comprising means for deciding the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period.

109. An apparatus according to Claim 108, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on a customer profile.

110. An apparatus according to Claim 109, further comprising means for determining the customer profile based on the customer.

111. An apparatus according to Claim 109, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

112. An apparatus according to Claim 108, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on the product.

113. An apparatus comprising: a transmitting device for transmitting to a customer a work assignment, a period of time and a discount amount, wherein the discount amount is earned by the customer for each instance in which the work assignment is performed for the period of time.

114. An apparatus according to Claim 113, further comprising: means for identifying an actual time period over which the work assignment was performed; means for calculating a total discount amount based on the time period, the discount amount and the actual time period; and means for transmitting a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the total discount amount.

115. An apparatus according to Claim 114, wherein the code encodes the total discount amount.

116. An apparatus according to Claim 113, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are determined based on a customer profile.

117. An apparatus according to Claim 116, further comprising means for determining the customer profile based on the customer.

118. An apparatus according to Claim 117, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

119. An apparatus comprising: means for obtaining an indication of a performance of a work assignment; means for automatically presenting a discount amount to a customer, the discount amount based on the performance ofthe work assignment; means for obtaining a second indication of a second performance of a work assignment; and means for automatically presenting a second discount amount to the customer, the second discount amount based on the discount amount and on the second performance ofthe work assignment.

120. A device comprising: a memory storing processor-executable process steps; and a processor, wherein the processor is operable with the process steps to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits.

121. A device according to Claim 120, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to: i) determine that a work assignment was performed; ii) identify a discount amount based on the performed work assignment; and iii) output a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

122. A device according to Claim 121, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

123. A device according to Claim 120, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to determine the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits.

124. A device according to Claim 123, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on a customer profile.

125. A device according to Claim 124, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

126. A device according to Claim 124, wherein the determined plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

127. A device according to Claim 123, wherein the plurality of discount amounts and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits are determined based on the product.

128. A device comprising: a memory storing processor-executable process steps; and a processor, wherein the processor is operable with the process steps to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a first work assignment and a second one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with a number of performances ofthe first work assignment.

129. A device according to Claim 128, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to determine the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one of the plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances of the first work assignment.

130. A device according to Claim 129, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on a customer profile.

131. A device according to Claim 130, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

132. A device according to Claim 130, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

133. A device according to Claim 129, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the first work assignment and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with the number of performances ofthe first work assignment are determined based on the product.

134. A device comprising: a memory storing processor-executable process steps; and a processor, wherein the processor is operable with the process steps to transmit to a customer a plurality of discount amounts for a product, a first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of a work assignment over a first time period and a second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over a second time period.

135. A device according to Claim 134, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to: i) decide a time period over which the work assignment was performed; ii) determine a discount amount associated with the time period; and iii) transmit a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the identified discount amount.

136. A device according to Claim 135, wherein the code encodes the discount amount.

137. A device according to Claim 134, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to determine the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period.

138. A device according to Claim 137, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first tirrie period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on a customer profile.

139. A device according to Claim 138, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

140. A device according to Claim 138, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

141. A device according to Claim 137, wherein the first one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance of the work assignment over the first time period and the second one ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with performance ofthe work assignment over the second time period are determined based on the product.

142. A device comprising: a memory storing processor-executable process steps; and a processor, wherein the processor is operable with the process steps to transmit to a customer a work assignment, a period of time and a discount amount, wherein the discount amount is earned by the customer for each instance in which the work assignment is performed for the period of time.

143. A device according to Claim 142, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to: i) determine an actual time period over which the work assignment was performed; ii) determine a total discount amount based on the time period, the discount amount and the actual time period; and iii) output a code to the customer, wherein the code can be used to determine the total discount amount.

144. A device according to Claim 143, wherein the code encodes the total discount amount.

145. A device according to Claim 142, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are determined based on a customer profile.

146. A device according to Claim 145, wherein the processor is further operable with the process steps to identify the customer profile based on the customer.

147. A device according to Claim 146, wherein the discount amount, the work assignment and the time period are different for a first customer than for a second customer.

148. A device comprising: a memory storing processor-executable process steps; and a processor, wherein the processor is operable with the process steps to: i) receive an indication of a performance of a work assignment; ii) automatically transmit a discount amount to a customer, the discount amount based on the performance of the work assignment; iii) receive a second indication of a second performance of a work assignment; and iv) automatically transmit a second discount amount to the customer, the second discount amount based on the discount amount and on the second performance ofthe work assignment.

149. A system for use in a sales transaction, comprising: a customer device comprising: a customer device memory storing processor-executable customer device process steps; and a customer device processor, wherein the customer device processor is operative with the customer device process steps to: i) transmit a selection of a product; ii) receive a plurality of discount amounts for the product, each ofthe plurality of discount amounts associated with a respective number of work credits; and iii) transmit a selection of a discount amount and an associated number of work credits;

a retailer controller comprising: a retailer controller memory storing processor-executable retailer controller process steps; and a retailer controller processor, wherein the retailer controller processor is operative with the retailer controller process steps to: i) receive the selection ofthe product; ii) determine the plurality of discount amounts for the product and each ofthe associated respective number of work credits; iii) receive the selection of the discount amount and the associated number of work credits; and iv) calculate a total discount amount based on the selected discount amount, the associated number of work credits, and a number of work credits earned by a customer; and

a point-of-sale terminal comprising: a point-of-sale terminal memory storing processor-executable point- of-sale terminal process steps; and a point-of-sale terminal processor, wherein the point-of-sale terminal processor is operative with the point-of- sale terminal process steps to: i) identify the product; ii) identify an association between the product and the total discount amount; and iii) charge a customer for the product in accordance with the total discount amount.