WO2004075028A2

WO2004075028A2 - Systems and methods for variable rebate and incentive programs

Info

Publication number: WO2004075028A2
Application number: PCT/US2004/005093
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jerry Chen
Original assignee: Jerry Chen
Priority date: 2003-02-20
Filing date: 2004-02-20
Publication date: 2004-09-02
Also published as: WO2004075028A3

Abstract

The systems and methods provided by the present invention, referred to as 'MegaSloto'.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VARIABLE REBATE AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/449,189, filed on February 20, 2003, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for converting small consumer rebate programs into large consumer rebate programs through a game of chance. The business methods of the present invention relate to computer programs for increasing incentives while controlling costs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Currently used sales promotion methods often involve the distribution of incentives to consumers or sales personnel by sponsors (e.g., manufacturers, retailers, and distributors). Upon mailing a proof of purchase, consumers are permitted to claim a cash rebate or gift through the mail. Alternatively, consumers may receive a ticket for a drawing either with their purchase or through the mail, giving them a chance to win a big prize. Alternatively, sales promotions may involve sponsor sales incentives in the form of a cash incentive or "spiff." In these programs, sponsors provide a cash bonus per unit sold to sales personnel. Other types of sponsor sales incentives rely upon drawings as sales rewards. For instance, sponsors may provide drawing tickets (including State lottery tickets) to sales personnel to reward top sales people during an incentive period. There are, however, disadvantages to the current sales promotion and incentive programs. One problem is that these programs have an unpredictable budget due to uncertainties regarding rebate or gift claim rates. In addition, relatively small and conservative rebates or gifts are provided due to the risks posed by an uncertain claim rate. Thus, there is a need in the art for sales promotion systems and methods comprising a predictable budget and/or large rebates or gifts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In particular the present invention provides systems for providing enhanced rebates to customers comprising: a processor configured to receive information from one or more vendors and from one or more customers through an electronic communications network, the information comprising: rebate incentive information related to at least one product from each of the one or more vendors, the rebate incentive information comprising a rebate value for each product and identity of each product; and rebate claim information from the one or more customers; wherein the processor is configured to combine the rebate values for the at least one product from each of the one or more vendors to create a pooled rebate fund, wherein the processor is further configured to provide an optional game of chance to at least one player comprising the customer accessing the system with the rebate claim information, and wherein the game of chance provides the player with a given outcome, and the processor is configured to assign a portion of the pooled rebate fund to the player based on the given outcome. In some embodiments, the rebate value is from 0.5% to 25% of the product value, however, the present invention is not limited to this rebate value range. Thus, in other embodiments, the rebate value is anywhere from 0.0 to 100% of the product value. Also provided are embodiments, wherein the one or more vendors are chosen from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, hi preferred embodiments, the one or more vendors comprises a plurality of vendors, and or the at least one product comprises a plurality of each of several different products. In particularly preferred embodiments, the portion of the pooled rebate fund is inversely correlated with probability of the given outcome provided by the game of chance. In some embodiments, the game of chance comprises matching at least three numbers in a drawing of greater than three numbers from a multitude of numbers.

The present invention also provides systems having several of the above attributes, and wherein the processor is further configured to supply the customer with enhanced rebate information comprising personal information, product information, and value of the assigned portion of the pooled rebate fund, through the electronic network, some preferred embodiments, the processor is further configured to validate the rebate claim information supplied by the one or more customers, and wherein only customers providing valid rebate claim information are permitted to participate in the optional game of chance. In other preferred embodiments, the processor is further configured to provide the optional game of chance to at least one player further comprising one or more employees of the one or more vendors, for a nominal fee that the system adds to the pooled rebate fund. In additionally preferred embodiments, the system further comprises a means for depositing the assigned portion of the pooled rebate fund to a financial account of the player. In some of these embodiments, the financial account is chosen from a checking account, a savings account, and a credit card account, hi other preferred embodiments, the processor is further configured to provide marketing information from one or more of the plurality of vendors to one or more of the customers.

Additionally, the present invention provides methods for providing enhanced rebates to customers, comprising: providing a system for providing enhanced rebates to customers; collecting the rebate incentive information from the one or more vendors to generate the pooled rebate fund; collecting the rebate claim information from the one or more customers; providing the game of chance to at least one player comprising the one or more customers; determining an outcome of the game of chance for each player; and assigning a portion of the pooled rebate fund to each player. In some embodiments, the one or more vendors comprises a plurality of vendors, and/or the at least one product comprises a plurality of each of several different products. In preferred embodiments, the portion of the pooled rebate fund is inversely correlated with probability of the given outcome provided by the game of chance.

The present invention also provides methods having several of the above attributes, and wherein the processor is further configured to supply the customer with enhanced rebate information comprising personal information, product information, and value of the assigned portion of the pooled rebate fund, through the electronic network, and wherein the method further comprises supplying the customer with enhanced rebate information, h some preferred embodiments, the processor is further configured to validate the rebate claim information supplied by the one or more customers, and wherein only customers providing valid rebate claim information are permitted to participate in the optional game of chance to claim a portion of the pooled rebate fund, and wherein the method further comprises validating the rebate claim information. In additionally preferred embodiments, the processor is further configured to provide the optional game of chance to the at least one player further comprising one or more employees of the one or more vendors, for a nominal fee that the system adds to the pooled rebate fund, and wherein the method further comprises providing the optional game of chance to the one or more employees, and adding the nominal fee to the pooled rebate fund. Moreover, the present invention provides embodiments further comprising a means for depositing the assigned portion of the pooled rebate fund to a financial account of the player, and wherein the method further comprises depositing the assigned portion of the pooled rebate fund to the financial account. Also provided are embodiments wherein the processor is further configured to provide marketing information from the one or more vendors to at least one of the customers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a flow chart of the consumer rebate request process.

Figure 2 is a flow chart of the process for validating and processing a rebate request.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the process for setting up of the rebate program.

Definitions

To facilitate an understanding of the present invention, a number of terms and phrases are defined below:

As used herein, the terms "processor" and "central processing unit" or "CPU" are used interchangeably and refer to a device that is able to read a program from a computer memory (e.g., ROM or other computer memory) and perform a set of steps according to the program.

As used herein, the terms "computer memory" and "computer memory device" refer to any storage media readable by a computer processor. Examples of computer memory include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, computer chips, digital video discs (DVD), compact discs (CDs), hard disk drives (HDD), and magnetic tape.

As used herein, the term "computer readable medium" refers to any device or system for storing and providing information (e.g., data and instructions) to a computer processor. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, DVDs, CDs, hard disk drives, magnetic tape and servers for streaming media over networks.

As used herein, the term "encode" refers to the process of converting one type of information or signal into a different type of information or signal to, for example, facilitate the transmission and/or interpretability of the information or signal. For example, image files can be converted into (i.e., encoded into) electrical or digital information. Likewise, light patterns can be converted into electrical or digital information that provides an encoded video capture of the light patterns.

As used herein, the term "hyperlink" refers to a navigational link from one document to another, or from one portion (or component) of a document to another. Typically, a hyperlink is displayed as a highlighted word or phrase that can be selected by clicking on it using a mouse to jump to the associated document or documented portion.

As used herein, the term "Internet" refers to any collection of networks using standard protocols. For example, the term includes a collection of interconnected (public and/or private) networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols (such as

TCP/IP, HTTP, and FTP) to form a global, distributed network. While this term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations that may be made in the future, including changes and additions to existing standard protocols or integration with other media (e.g., television, radio, etc). The term is also intended to encompass non-public networks such as private (e.g., corporate) Intranets. As used herein, the terms "World Wide Web" or "web" refer generally to both (i) a distributed collection of interlinked, user- viewable hypertext documents (commonly referred to as Web documents or Web pages) that are accessible via the Internet, and (ii) the client and server software components which provide user access to such documents using standardized Internet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire Web documents is HTTP, and the Web pages are encoded using HTML. However, the terms "Web" and "World Wide Web" are intended to encompass future markup languages and transport protocols that may be used in place of (or in addition to) HTML and HTTP. As used herein, the term "web site" refers to a computer system that serves informational content over a network using the standard protocols of the World Wide Web. Typically, a Web site corresponds to a particular Internet domain name and includes the content associated with a particular organization. As used herein, the term is generally intended to encompass both (i) the hardware/software server components that serve the informational content over the network, and (ii) the "back end" hardware/software components, including any non-standard or specialized components, that interact with the server components to perform services for Web site users.

As used herein, the term "HTML" refers to HyperText Markup Language that is a standard coding convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents. During a document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as "tags") are embedded within the inforaiational content of the document. When the Web document (or HTML document) is subsequently transferred from a Web server to a browser, the codes are interpreted by the browser and used to parse and display the document. Additionally, in specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create links to other Web documents (commonly referred to as "hyperlinks").

As used herein, the term "HTTP" refers to HyperText Transport Protocol that is the standard World Wide Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of information (such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents) between a browser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of different types of messages that can be sent from the client to the server to request different types of server actions. For example, a "GET" message, which has the format GET, causes the server to return the document or file located at the specified URL. As used herein, the term "URL" refers to Uniform Resource Locator that is a unique address that fully specifies the location of a file or other resource on the Internet. The general format of a URL is protocol://machine address :port/path/filename. The port specification is optional, and if none is entered by the user, the browser defaults to the standard port for whatever service is specified as the protocol. For example, if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the browser will use the HTTP default port of 80.

As used herein, the term "in electronic communication" refers to electrical devices (e.g., computers, processors, etc.) that are configured to communicate with one another through direct or indirect signaling. For example, a conference bridge that is connected to a processor through a cable or wire, such that information can pass between the conference bridge and the processor, are in electronic communication with one another. Likewise, a computer configured to transmit (e.g., through cables, wires, infrared signals, telephone lines, etc) information to another computer or device, is in electronic communication with the other computer or device.

As used herein, the term "transmitting" refers to the movement of information (e.g., data) from one location to another (e.g., from one device to another) using any suitable means.

As used herein, the term "XML" refers to Extensible Markup Language, an application profile that, like HTML, is based on SGML. XML differs from HTML in that: information providers can define new tag and attribute names at will; document structures can be nested to any level of complexity; any XML document can contain an optional description of its grammar for use by applications that need to perform structural validation. XML documents are made up of storage units called entities, which contain either parsed or unparsed data. Parsed data is made up of characters, some of which form character data, and some of which form markup. Markup encodes a description of the document's storage layout and logical structure. XML provides a mechanism to impose constraints on the storage layout and logical structure, to define constraints on the logical structure and to support the use of predefined storage units. A software module called an XML processor is used to read XML documents and provide access to their content and structure. As used herein, the term "distribution system" refers to systems capable of transferring and/or delivering materials from one entity to another or one location to another. For example, a distribution system for transferring goods from one party to another may comprise, but is not limited to, a packaging department, a mail room, and a mail delivery system. Alternately, the distribution system may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more delivery vehicles and associated delivery personnel, a display stand, and a distribution center (e.g., retail stores,etc).

As used herein, the term "at a reduced cost" refers to the transfer of goods or services at a reduced direct cost to the recipient. In some embodiments, "at a reduced cost" refers to transfer of goods or services at no cost to the recipient. In some embodiments, when a company provides goods or services to customers or clients at a reduced cost, the recipient is not directly charged the full price of the goods or services. However, the reduced portion of the cost may be partially or totally recovered indirectly (e.g., increases good will, increase business volume, etc.).

As used herein, the term "at a subsidized cost" refers to the transfer of goods or services, wherein at least a portion of the recipient's cost is deferred or paid by another party. In some embodiments, "at a subsidized cost" refers to transfer of goods or services at no cost to the recipient.

As used herein, the term "at no cost" refers to the transfer of goods or services with no direct financial expense to the recipient. As used herein, the term "game of chance" refers to a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, and upon which contestants frequently wager money. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, spun wheels, and numbered balls drawn from a container, although the present invention is not limited to these devices. The terms "lotto" and "keno" as used herein, refer to games in which numbered balls are drawn at random, and players wager on sets of numbers.

As used herein, the term "probability" refers to a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur.

As used herein, the term "validate" refers to a process of making or confirming that something (e.g., rebate form) is true or legally acceptable. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The systems and methods identified herein and referred to as "MegaSloto", are business processes, with associated software, which enable manufacturers, retailers, and/or distributors (sponsors), alone or in combination with other sponsors, to create exciting consumer rebate programs to drive sales and to give incentives to their customers and sales personnel. Importantly the systems and methods of the present invention allow sponsors to precisely control overall costs of the rebate programs.

Systems and Methods of the Present Invention

Implementation preferably involves a website, or similar interface, which sponsors can access to set-up their basic program, and to initiate participation in a prize plan of the present invention, which aggregates resources from a number of sponsors in order to create a meaningful large prize. In some embodiments, customers access the same website in order to play games of chance that determine their initial rebate. In the event that the product sponsor chooses to participate in the prize plan, the customers can use their initial rebate to fund their participation in the corresponding prize.

Sponsor's Simulation Model

Sponsors may input their traditional rebate/incentive programs as they normally run them. In some embodiments, the simulation model program then converts their traditional program into the dynamic rebate program of the present invention. The required input fields are, for example: " Projected units sold during the promotional period", "Suggested retail price", "Rebate amount", and "Estimated claim rate". In some embodiments, the systems and methods of the present invention may utilize or incorporate one or more games of chance that provide definite probabilities of outcomes. A "slot machine" concept is provided as an exemplary embodiment. In one example, the website or interface form includes the following inputs (exemplary inputs shown in bold): projected total units sold = 10,000 suggested retail price = 100 rebate/cash bonus per unit sold = 20 estimated claim rate (% of total units sold that file a rebate claim) = 30 After entering the required inputs, the sponsor submits the information.

Total rebate amount=$59,930 Based on the sponsor's inputs: total units sold, rebate per unit and expected rebate claim rate, the simulation model of the present invention converts the fixed rebate program into a variable rebate program. The variable rebate program provides greater customer interest and a controllable budget. From the sponsor's point of view, there are multiple advantages to this program including a budget that is fixed and controlled by the sponsor. The same budget is redistributed to 100% of customers, instead of the normal percentage of customers, which claim a rebate. As the website is accessed by the customer through the sponsor's own website, more traffic comes to the sponsor's site, thereby increasing customer contacts. The variable customer rebate program is more attractive as it provides coupons saying "up to $1,200 rebate" instead of simply "$20 rebate". Moreover, the variable rebate program is easily incorporated in the unit cost accounting structure. A higher respondent percentage yields a better customer database for future warranty service or mass marketing programs.

MegaSloto Program

The MegaSloto program, one embodiment of the present invention, is available to all sponsors who participate in the base program. It is a means of aggregating resources from all participating sponsors to create large and exciting prizes that will stimulate customer interest. Although any games of chance can be used, preferred embodiments utilize a Lotto or Keno concept of matching numbers on a drawing.

Funding of the MegaSloto prize pool is generated through the following exemplary means. Each participating sponsor is charged 10% of his total rebate budget to fund the prize pool. Forfeited, unclaimed or unqualified rebates are placed in the prize pool. Customers may purchase $.25 MegaSloto ticket(s) utilizing the variable rebate amounts that they win on the basic rebate game. Since the prize amounts are determined by the total prize pool, the website updates the MegaSloto grand prize amount on a real-time basis. In some embodiments, a system administrator controls the drawing frequency in order to maximize the MegaSloto prizes, while still maintaining customer interest. In an exemplary embodiment, customers select 6 numbers from 1 to 60 per ticket. Table 2. Exemplary Prizes and Odds

*Prize amounts vary depending on participation levels and number of winners. On any play, only the highest prize won is awarded (i.e., the winner with six winning numbers does not also claim a prize for five winning numbers, four winning numbers, etc.).

In some embodiments, the MegaSloto program also provides a resellers incentive program, in which sponsors run a similar slot machine-type game for their customers, and also participate in the MegaSloto program.

Customer rebate claim procedure is as follows. After purchasing a product offering a rebate, the customer visits the website to fill out customer information: Name; Mailing address; Telephone number; Email address; where and when the product was purchased; product serial number; comments/suggestions; and other marketing information. The customer may then play the customized slot machine or other game of chance to determine their rebate amount. In some embodiments, ten chances are offered to each player/customer. The highest prize is the final rebate amount for the customer. The system then issues a winning control number for the customer to fill in on his downloadable claim form, which he mails in with his proof of purchase. The control number provides information regarding the rebate amount, the sponsor, the purchase date, and the customer identification.

The system then verifies the mail-in rebate form with the customer's computer inputs. If correct according to the published rebate rules, the system micro-encodes the control number on a machine-readable internal control document. The computer then issues the rebate check automatically by reading the MICR codes. If banking information is provided, system wires the rebate to the customer's bank account. If the customer wishes to participate in the MegaSloto prize program, all or a portion of his rebate can be applied against the customer's MegaSloto tickets. i some embodiments, the system provides a cross selling feature for all sponsors. Using rules defined by the sponsor, purchase of certain products may allow the customer to buy other products from the original sponsor or from other sponsors, at a discount. This program provides sponsors with more exposure and extra income opportunities.

Software Specifications

I. Sponsor Administration Functions a) Simulation Model - Sponsors inputs during the promotional period for each product: Projected units sold, Suggested retail price, Rebate amount, and Expected rebate claim rate. Sponsors also select the rebate type (Fixed rebate or Dynamic rebate). For the dynamic rebate program, the simulation model displays suggested variable rebate allocations, probabilities and administration fee. Sponsors can compare different rebate tables (e.g., different rebate amounts, or different rebate claim rates) before finalizing the promotion program. b) Sponsors can join the MegaSloto program. c) Sponsors can set up and maintain their own accounts. d) Sponsors can track their own up-to-date rebate claim status. e) Sponsors can produce all necessary management reports. f) Sponsors can access their customer database.

In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3, a sponsor/vendor inputs 31 rebate program data into the vendor's own personal online account, and selects 32 from a fixed rebate program and a variable rebate program. If the vendor selects 32 the fixed rebate program, then the system allocates and/or displays 33 a fixed rebate administration fee. Alternatively, if the vendor selects 32 the variable rebate program, then the system calculates and displays 34 variable rebate amounts, probabilities and numbers of different rebate prizes, based upon the rebate program data entered 31 by the vendor. The system then allocates and/or displays 33 a variable rebate administration fee. II. Rebate Application a) Customers select the sponsor/product rebate program. b) Customers set up their own personal accounts, rebate applications, and necessary marketing info. c) Customers can check their on-line rebate status. d) For the dynamic rebate program, the system can email customers confirmation of the final and actual rebate amount. e) The system provides the capability to verify/qualify customer mail-in information with their computer inputs (e.g., the purchase date, the rebate program date, the valid receipt, the valid UPC code, etc.). f) If customers wish to participate in a future MegaSloto drawing, their personal account allows them to either maintain their rebates without having to immediately apply them to the current MegaSloto drawing, or to receive their cash rebate.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 1, a customer selects 11 a sponsor and a product for a rebate claim. The customer then sets up or accesses 12 his own personal account, and selects 13 from a fixed rebate or a variable rebate. If the customer selects a fixed rebate, then the system sends an email or enables 15 the customer to download a rebate form with a control number associated with a fixed rebate amount. If the customer selects a variable rebate, then the system runs 14 a rebate generator in the form of one or more games of chance, to determine a variable rebate amount, and subsequently sends an email or enables 15 a customer to download a rebate form with a control number associated with the variable rebate amount.

HI. Dynamic Rebate Generator a) After the customer fills out the application, he can immediately play "Dynamic Rebate Generator" (e.g., slot machine, keno, etc.). b) Once a rebate amount is generated, the system emails the confirmation rebate form to customers with an unique control number. The rebate form includes all the pertinent information (e.g., personal information, product information, rebate amount etc.).

IV. Validate Rebate a) Fixed rebate program. b) Dynamic rebate program. V. MegaSloto a) Upon receiving and qualifying the rebate claim forms, the system sends email/mail to inform customers of their eligibility to play the MegaSloto program. b) The system allows qualified customers to apply their rebate amounts against

MegaSloto tickets. The amount of MegaSloto tickets cannot exceed the customer's total rebate amount. c) MegaSloto drawings are held periodically (e.g., preset weekly, monthly,etc.) to determine the winning numbers. d) If there is no winner for a prize, the prize amount is added to the next drawing. e) Participating sponsors can allow their own customers or sales personnel to participate in their own game, and to also join the MegaSloto drawing. f) Once the result is announced, the system sends an email to notify the winners and mails out their total check amount (rebate amount minus ticket purchased plus mega rebate). g) Any forfeited, unclaimed, or unqualified rebates are added to the MegaSloto fund, h) The system provides real time online display of the accumulated MegaSloto fund, i) The system has the capability to include numbers chosen by the customer or computer generated numbers for each ticket.

In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 2, the system receives 21 a mail-in rebate form (comprising a control number), and then validates 22 the rebate form by comparing information on the form with that in the customer's personal online account. If the system determines 23 that the rebate is not valid (invalid), then the system adds 24 the rebate funds allocated to the claim to a prize (MegaSloto) fund. On the other hand, if the system determines 23 that the rebate is valid, then the system saves 25 the customer information. If the customer chooses 26 to participate in the prize program/game of chance, then the system runs 28 the game of chance and provides the customer with the outcome of the game, which is associated with a given an variable pooled rebate amount. If the customer chooses not 26 to participate in the prize program/game of chance, then the system send the customer funds corresponding to the unpooled rebate amount. Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention, which are obvious to those skilled in the art (computer programming, sales, gaming, etc.) and/or related fields are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A system for providing enhanced rebates to customers comprising: a processor configured to receive information from one or more vendors and from one or more customers through an electronic communications network, said information comprising: a) rebate incentive information related to at least one product from each of said one or more vendors, said rebate incentive information comprising a rebate value for each product and identity of each product; and b) rebate claim information from said one or more customers; wherein said processor is configured to combine said rebate values for said at least one product from each of said one or more vendors to create a pooled rebate fund, wherein said processor is further configured to provide an optional game of chance to at least one player comprising said customer accessing said system with said rebate claim information, and wherein said game of chance provides said player with a given outcome, and said processor is configured to assign a portion of said pooled rebate fund to said player based on said given outcome.

2. The system of Claim 1, wherein said rebate value is from 0.5% to 25% of said product value.

3. The system of Claim 1, wherein said one or more vendors are chosen from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

4. The system of Claim 1, wherein said one or more vendors comprises a plurality of vendors.

5. The system of Claim 1, wherein said at least one product comprises a plurality of each of several different products.

6. The system of Claim 1, wherein said portion of said pooled rebate fund is inversely correlated with probability of said given outcome provided by said game of chance.

7. The system of Claim 1 , wherein said game of chance comprises matching at least three numbers in a drawing of greater than three numbers from a multitude of numbers.

8. The system of Claim 1 , wherein said processor is further configured to supply said customer with enhanced rebate information comprising personal information, product information, and value of said assigned portion of said pooled rebate fund, through said electronic network.

9. The system of Claim 1, wherein said processor is further configured to validate said rebate claim information supplied by said one or more customers, and wherein only customers providing valid rebate claim information are permitted to participate in said optional game of chance to claim a portion of said pooled rebate fund.

10. The system of Claim 1 , wherein said processor is further configured to provide said optional game of chance to at least one player further comprising one or more employees of said one or more vendors, for a nominal fee that said system adds to said pooled rebate fund.

11. The system of Claim 1, further comprising a means for depositing said assigned portion of said pooled rebate fund to a financial account of said player.

12. The system of Claim 1, wherein said financial account is chosen from a checking account, a savings account, and a credit card account.

13. The system of Claim 1 , wherein said processor is further configured to provide marketing information from one or more of said plurality of vendors to one or more of said customers.

14. A method for providing enhanced rebates to customers, comprising: a) providing the system of claim 1 ; b) collecting said rebate incentive information from said one or more vendors to generate said pooled rebate fund; c) collecting said rebate claim information from said one or more customers; d) providing said game of chance to at least one player comprising said one or more customers; e) determining an outcome of said game of chance for each player; and f) assigning a portion of said pooled rebate fund to each player.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein said one or more vendors comprises a plurality of vendors.

16. The method of Claim 14, wherein said at least one product comprises a plurality of each of several different products.

17. The method of Claim 14, wherein said portion of said pooled rebate fund is inversely correlated with probability of said given outcome provided by said game of chance.

18. The method of Claim 14, wherein said processor is further configured to supply said customer with enhanced rebate information comprising personal information, product information, and value of said assigned portion of said pooled rebate fund, through said electronic network, and wherein said method further comprises supplying said customer with enhanced rebate information.

19. The method of Claim 14, wherein said processor is further configured to validate said rebate claim information supplied by said one or more customers, and wherein only customers providing valid rebate claim information are permitted to participate in said optional game of chance to claim a portion of said pooled rebate fund, and wherein said method further comprises validating said rebate claim information.

20. The method of Claim 14, wherein said processor is further configured to provide said optional game of chance to said at least one player further comprising one or more employees of said one or more vendors, for a nominal fee that said system adds to said pooled rebate fund, and wherein said method further comprises providing said optional game of chance to said one or more employees, and adding said nominal fee to said pooled rebate fund.

21. The method of Claim 14, further comprising a means for depositing said assigned portion of said pooled rebate fund to a financial account of said player, and wherein said method further comprises depositing said assigned portion of said pooled rebate fund to said financial account.

22. The method of Claim 14, wherein said processor is further configured to provide marketing information from said one or more vendors to at least one of said customers.