WO2013098569A1

WO2013098569A1 - Method and communication device for handling electronic coupon data

Info

Publication number: WO2013098569A1
Application number: PCT/HU2012/000129
Authority: WO
Inventors: András VILMOS
Original assignee: Vilmos Andras
Priority date: 2011-12-30
Filing date: 2012-12-03
Publication date: 2013-07-04
Also published as: HUP1100732A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for handling electronic coupon data by a communication device (100) that comprises at least one data input interface (110), at least one data output interface (120) and a coupon data handling unit (10), characterized by inputting a unique identifier (14a) into a unique identifier receiving part unit (14) of the coupon data handling unit (10) via the data input interface (110) of the communication device (100), transferring the unique identifier (14a) to a data uniting part unit (16) of the coupon data handling unit (10), inputting coupon data (12a) into a coupon data receiving part unit (12) of the coupon data handling unit (10) via the data input interface (110) of the communication device (100), transferring the coupon data (12a) to the data uniting part unit (16) of the coupon data handling unit (10), uniting the coupon data (12a) and the unique identifier (14a) with the help of the data uniting part unit (16) and thereby creating an individualized coupon data ( 16a), and transferring the individualized coupon data (16a) to the data output interface (120) with a data transmitting part unit (20) of the coupon data handling unit (10), and transmitting the individualized coupon data (16a) with the data output interface (120) in accordance with a mode of use of the individualized coupon data (16a).

Description

«Method and communication device for handling electronic coupon data»

The present invention relates to a method for handling electronic coupon data by a communication device that comprises at least one data input interface, at least one data output interface and a coupon data handling unit.

The invention further relates to coupon data handling unit and a communication device provided with such a coupon data handling unit.

One of the known techniques of enhancing consumption is to issue so called coupons, which provide some kind of benefits (discounts or allowances) for consumers when buying certain goods or making use of services.

In the context of the present invention the term "coupon" is understood to include physical data carriers or electronic data content which forms the basis of any kind of consumer benefit system. A physical carrier may be a flier (also called leaflet), or a part of a flier, or a newspaper advertisement that can be cut out, that provides the consumer with some kind of purchase benefit based on the imprinted contents, or it can be a plastic token, or other object that provide the consumer with a benefit when buying certain products or services or when buying at a certain merchant (retailer) or service provider (collectively referred to as the seller).

If the coupon is electronic data content (i.e. electronic coupon data), such as an electronic purchase discount or allowance sent by e-mail or sms, or an image or symbol (e.g. QR code) that can be downloaded to a PC or a mobile telephone via a remote channel or via a direct contactless interface (NFC), then the consumer will typically carry with himself such electronic data content on a physical carrier (e.g. by printing it or saving it to a mobile telephone) to the place of consumption (i.e. the place of buying the product or service) where it can be redeemed to benefit from the purchase discount or allowance. The redemption may be carried out by handing over the physical data carrier (paper coupon) or by simply showing the coupon (e.g. on the display of a mobile telephone), or by handing over the coupon electronically (e.g. by transmitting the coupon over NFC, or by capturing an image of a displayed QR code and processing the image).

The purchase benefit can take various forms, the most common types being the prompt price discount, i.e. when the consumer buys a product or service promoted by the coupon the price is reduced either by a specified amount or by a percentage as defined by the coupon. The benefit may reside in obtaining a pre-defined or consumer-selected gift when buying a certain product or service. The benefit can be linked to the seller, the simplest form being that the coupon provides for a general discount for any purchase at the given seller, independent from the type of product purchased. There are more complicated forms of purchase benefits, such as the so called loyalty point systems, wherein use of the coupon may result in obtaining loyalty points that provide for future benefits, and the seller keeps a record (typically electronically) of the loyalty points, or the loyalty points are collected on a loyalty point collecting means held by the customer (e.g. a sheet for collecting point stickers thereon, or a chip card for recording the points electronically) for later recognition.

The primary function of coupons is to enhance consumption, thus the issuer is generally motivated in distributing the coupons to as many consumers as possible in order to encourage their purchase. Coupons are often distributed on fliers or they are printed in free newspapers, and electronic coupons are sent with electronic newsletters or even as spams in order to reach as many consumers as possible. Nowadays contactless techniques and even techniques based on QR codes are starting to spread, in which case a mobile telephone can capture the purchase benefit related to an advertisement directly from a billboard. The disadvantage of the known solutions is that the consumers are not motivated to forward, copy and further distribute the coupons, therefore, sufficiently large circle of consumers are still best reached by paper coupons placed in mailboxes which solution is however rather expensive, time consuming and environmentally harmful. It is interesting to note that the "guerrilla marketing" techniques typical of web2 (i.e. when the internal communication of consumers provides the force of the message) do not work in case of coupons, apart from the formation of consumer groups benefiting from joint discounts or allowances.

Another disadvantage of prior art coupons is that their use cannot be tracked. At most, the coupons are provided with coupon identifiers, thus the issuer can only obtain information about which coupons were used and where. However, the issuer generally does not know which consumer used the coupon (this information could only be obtained by processing the redeemed coupons and connecting this information with data obtained in the course of card payment, however this practice may raise serious legal concerns in light of current regulations), and there is absolutely no information on whether the originally targeted consumer (e.g. the owner of the mailbox into which the flier containing the coupon was placed) gave the coupon to somebody else, although this kind of information would be important for developing future marketing strategies.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device and a method which does not have the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a device and a method that allows a consumer to individualize an electronic coupon data of a coupon.

The invention is based on the recognition that if the electronic coupon data is extended with a unique identifier of a consumer and thereby an individualized (unique) coupon is created, it becomes possible to determine the unique identifier from the individualized coupon data after redemption, and to determine there from the originally targeted consumer who has individualized the coupon data even if the coupon is redeemed by another consumer. This allows for tracking the migration of the coupon and its use, and for determining whether or not it was worth providing the originally targeted consumer with the coupon. Furthermore, by identifying the originally targeted consumer it is possible to provide benefits for this consumer even if the coupon is redeemed by another consumer, whereby consumers can be directly motivated to distribute coupons, thereby reducing the costs of the issuer and ensuring the possibility of reaching consumers that were earlier hidden from the seller.

According to the invention these objects are achieved by a method according to claim 1 , and by a coupon data handling unit according to claim 14 and by a communication device according to claim 9.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the attached dependent claims.

Further details of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying figures and exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication device and coupon data handling unit according to the invention and further participating devices according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention.

Fig. 1 depicts a communication device 100 according to the invention that has a coupon data handling unit 10. The communication device 100 may be for example a mobile telephone, computer, laptop, notebook, tablet or any other IT device that is capable of receiving data via at least one data input interface 110, and transmitting data via at least one data output interface 120. The data input interface 110 and the data output interface 120 may coincide, for example it can be a communication interface 111 for connecting to some kind of data transmission channel 1000, the connection 111 can be e.g. a mobile network interface, Internet interface, bluetooth interface, infrared interface, NFC (near field communication) interface, or similar. The communication device 100 may exchange data (receive data or transmit data) over the data transmission channel 1000 with another communication device 200, preferably with another mobile telephone 200a, a computer 200b, a server 200c, a seller terminal 200d. The seller terminal 200d is preferably in data exchange connection with a seller IT system 300 via some kind of data transmission channel 1000, such as a local area network (LAN), or a global IT network such as the Internet.

The data input interface 110 may also be a camera 110a, a keyboard 110b, electronic data carrier reader 110c (e.g. CD reader, DVD reader, memory card reader, USB port, etc.) or a touchscreen 110d, or any other known device can be used, for example in case of a computer a mouse, a scanner, a barcode reader, an electric drawing board, etc. The data output interface 120 may be (apart from the already mentioned communication interface 111 of the data transmission channel 1000) for example a display 120a (which may coincide with the touchscreen 110d serving as the data input interface 10 as well), a printer 120b, electronic data carrier writer 120c (which may coincide with the electronic data carrier reader 0c).

The coupon data handling unit 10 comprises a data receiving part unit 12 for receiving coupon data 12a via the data input interface 110 of the communication device 100, and a unique identifier receiving part unit 14 for receiving a unique identifier 14a. It may be possible to also store the coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a in the data receiving part unit 12 and the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 respectively. However, preferably a coupon data storing part unit 13 is connected to the data receiving part unit 12 and a unique identifier storing part unit 15 is connected to the unique identifier receiving part unit 14. According to another possible embodiment the unique identifier 14a may be a data that is not stored in the coupon data handling unit 10, instead the unique identifier 14a is inputted manually during use with the help of one of the data input interfaces 110. The coupon data 12a need not be stored either if it is processed straight away by the coupon data handling unit 10.

The data receiving part unit 12 and the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 are connected to a data uniting (merging) part unit 16 in a way allowing data transmission (i.e. data transmissibly), which includes the possibility that the data receiving part unit 12 is connected to the data uniting part unit 16 through (with the interposition of) the coupon data storing part unit 13 and the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 is connected to the data uniting part unit 16 through the unique identifier storing part unit 15.

An individualized coupon data 16a is created in the data uniting part unit 16 by uniting the coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a.

The data uniting part unit 16 is connected to a data transmitting part unit

20, which includes the possibility that the data uniting part unit 16 is connected to the data transmitting part unit 20 through an individualized coupon data storing part unit 17. The data transmitting part unit 20 is configured so as to be able to transmit the individualized coupon data 16a created by the data uniting part unit 16 to the data output interface 120 of the communication device 100, whereby the individualized coupon data 16a can be transmitted to or displayed to an external communication device 200. The latter may be the mobile telephone 200a, the computer 200b, the server 200c, or the seller terminal 200d, which is in connection with the seller IT system 300 preferably via some kind of data transmission channel 1000. The server 200c itself may also be in data transmission connection with further devices over the data transmission channel 1000, such as the Internet, as shown on Figure 1.

The coupon data handling unit 10 may preferably comprise one or more data encrypting part units 18 for encrypting the stored data and/or the data to be transmitted, preferably the stored unique identifier 14a, or the individualized coupon data 16a that is to be transmitted.

The operation of the coupon data handling unit 10 and the communication device 100 comprising such a coupon data handling unit 10 is as follows.

Firstly, the consumer 100a having the communication device 100 registers himself or herself, or his or her communication device 00 with the seller 300a in step 500. Even in the latter case the consumer 100a is considered as a registered consumer, in which case such a consumer 100a is identified by identifying his or her communication device 100. The registration may be performed using the communication device 100, for example in case of a mobile telephone by calling a given number or by sending an sms, or by sending an e-mail; if the communication device 100 is capable of IP (Internet Protocol) based communication then e.g. by registering on a website of the seller's 300a IT system 300. The consumer 100a may be allowed to register in other ways as well, for example personally: orally or by filling out and handing over a registration form. As a result of the registration the consumer 100a is preferably registered in an electronic database being part of the seller's 300a IT system 300.

In the course of registration or thereafter, seller IT system 300 assigns the unique identifier 14a to the registered consumer 100a in step 502. The unique identifier 14a may be a combination of numbers and/or letters, or it may be a graphic sign, preferably it may be the consumer's 100a e-mail address or mobile telephone number, or the IMEI number of the communication device 100. The unique identifier 14a may be given to the consumer 00a in the course of the registration or thereafter in step 504, or it may be sent to the consumer's communication device 100 in step 508 for example in the form of an e-mail, sms, data file, etc. In case the unique identifier 14a is sent to the communication device 100, the seller IT system 300 preferably provides the communication device 100 with the coupon data handling unit 10 in step 506 prior to sending the unique identifier 14a in step 508. This may be carried out such that the seller 300a provides a program for creating the coupon data handling unit 10 and makes the program available on the seller IT system 300, from where it can be downloaded by the consumer 100a with his or her communication device 100, or the seller IT system 300 may send it directly to the communication device 100 over the data transmission channel 1000. According to another embodiment the coupon data handling unit 10 can be downloaded from a public market web space, the address of which is either known to the consumer 100a or the consumer 100a is informed of the address by the seller 300a during the registration. Installation of the coupon data handling unit 10 may be carried out by the communication device 100 on its own, or it may possibly request permission from the consumer 100a for certain steps, whereby the coupon data handling unit 10 is made ready for operation. Thereafter, in step 508 the unique identifier 14a is entered into the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 of the coupon data handling unit 10, from where it is preferably transmitted to the unique identifier storing part unit 15, and stored therein. Step 508 may be performed in two ways. If the consumer 100a has already received the unique identifier 14a then the consumer 100a may input the unique identifier 14a into the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 where it may be stored. Inputting the unique identifier 14a can be performed via the data input interface 110 of the communication device 100, e.g. via the keyboard 110b or the touch screen 110d. If the consumer 100a has not already received the unique identifier 14a, then it is preferably sent to the communication device 100 by the seller IT system 300, e.g. via sms or e-mail or it is downloaded by the communication device 100 (that is capable of IP based communication) as a result of communication with the seller IT system 300. According to another conceivable embodiment the consumer 100a receives an individualized program in step 506 which comprises the unique identifier 14a, whereby the unique identifier 14a gets stored in the unique identifier storing part unit 15 upon the installation of the coupon data handling unit 10. According to another possible embodiment the consumer 100a does not store the unique identifier 14a in the coupon data handling unit 10 (thus there is no need for a unique identifier storing part unit 15), instead the consumer 100a enters the unique identifier 14a for the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 manually via the data input interface 1 0 at each use.

Thereafter the consumer 100a can individualize the coupons (i.e. the electronic coupon data 12a) that he or she wishes to use with the help of the coupon data handling unit 10 storing the unique identifier 14a or with a coupon data handling unit 10 into which the unique identifier 14a is manually inputted in the course of the use.

The coupon providing a benefit comprises the coupon data 12a that may include various information (e.g. coupon identifier, an identifier of the product or service, type of benefit, amount of a discount, expiry date of the coupon, etc.). The coupon data 12a is inputted into the coupon data handling unit 10 via a suitable data input interface 0 of the communication device 100 in step 600, and in a given case it may be stored in the coupon data storing part unit 13. Step 600 may be performed for example such that the consumer 100a reads the coupon data 12a (that can be e.g. a combination of numbers and/or letters) from a paper coupon and inputs the coupon data 12a into the coupon data handling unit 10 via one of the data input interfaces 10, e.g. via the keyboard 110b or via the touchscreen 110d. According to another preferred embodiment the consumer 100a captures an image of the coupon or a part thereof with the camera 110a of the communication device 100, and thereby inputs the coupon data 12a (e.g. barcode, 2-dimensional QR code) into the coupon data handling unit 10. According to a further possibility the coupon data 12a is sent to the communication device 00 by the seller's 300a IT system 300 with the help of a communication interface 11 allowing for connecting to a data transmission channel 1000, for example the transmission of the coupon data 12a may be performed over a mobile network (e.g. in an sms, or in a special notifying message typical for smart phones that can be sent from the mobile telephone 200a of the seller 300a), over the Internet (e.g. in an e-mail sent from the seller's 300a computer 200b or server 200c, or downloaded from a webpage running on the server 200c of the seller IT system 300, or possible from a community site and downloaded therefrom), over bluetooth communication, infrared communication, NFC communication (e.g. from a seller terminal 200d or from a smart poster). According to a further possibility the consumer 100a receives the coupon data 12a from an external participant 400a, who may be another consumer. Also in this case the coupon data 12a may be received via the communication interface 11 allowing for connecting to a data transmission channel 1000 as previously described, e.g. in the form of sms, e-mail, or over bluetooth connection, infrared connection or NFC connection with the communication device of the external party 400a (e.g. mobile telephone 200a, computer 200b, server 200c or similar devices).

In step 602 the coupon data handling unit 10 individualizes the coupon data 12a with the unique identifier 14a and creates the individualized coupon data 6a. This is performed as follows.

The coupon data 12a that has been inputted with the data input interface 110 of the communication device 100 is transferred to the data receiving part unit 12 of the coupon data handling unit 10, and afterwards the coupon data 12a is transmitted either directly there from or from the coupon data storing part unit 13 to the data uniting part unit 16. Besides the unique identifier 14a is also transferred to the data uniting part unit 16 from the unique identifier storing part unit 5 of the coupon data handling unit 10. The unique identifier 14a may be encrypted via the data encrypting part unit 18 prior to being stored in the unique identifier storing part unit 15. It is also possible to input the unique identifier 14a upon each occasion into the unique identifier receiving part unit 14 from where it is transferred directly to the data uniting part unit 16 without having to use a unique identifier storing part unit 15. The coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a are united with the data uniting part unit 16, whereby the individualized coupon data 16a is created. For example, if both the coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a are a combination of numbers and/or letters, then these can be joined together (string concatenation) with the help of the data uniting part unit 16a whereby a single number and/or letter combination (string) is created.

The individualized coupon data 16a may be stored in the individualized coupon data storing part unit 17. From the point of view of the process it is irrelevant whether or not the coupon data 12a is stored before or after the personalisation for a shorter or longer period, hence, either of the coupon data storing part unit 13 or the individualized coupon data storing part unit 17 may suffice, or neither one is required if the individualized coupon data 16a is transmitted right away for further use.

According to certain embodiments the created individualized coupon data 16a is encrypted with the data encrypting part unit 18 prior to storing or transmittal, and only thereafter is it transferred to the individualized coupon data storing part unit 17 of the coupon data handling unit 10, or to the data transmitting part unit 20 with the help of which the individualized coupon data 16a is transferred to the data output interface 120. The user 100a may transmit the individualized coupon data 16a to other devices with the help of the data output interface 120 in accordance with the desired use, wherein transmission includes the possibility of displaying the individualized coupon data 16a on the display. A possible mode of using the individualized coupon data 16a is that the consumer 100a transmits the individualized coupon data 16a to an external participant 400a (typically to another consumer) in step 604. The latter may be performed in various ways, for example the consumer 100a may directly transmit the individualized coupon identifier 16a from his or her communication device 100 to the communication device 200 of the external participant 400a, e.g. by sending it in sms or e-mail, or sending it over bluetooth channel, infrared channel, or NFC channel. Another possible way of transmittal is to upload the individualized coupon data 16a to a social site on Internet, from where other external participants 400a may download it, print it, etc. Uploading of the individualized coupon data 16a may be carried out with the help of the communication device 100 (for example over an Internet connection), but it is also conceivable that the individualized coupon data 16a is displayed on the display 120a of the communication device 100 from where it is read by the consumer 100a, after which the consumer 100a inputs the individualized coupon data 16a into another device, e.g. a computer, and uploads the individualized coupon data 16a on the Internet site therewith.

The individualized coupon data 16a comprises on the one hand the coupon data 12a and on the other hand the unique identifier 14a associated with the consumer 100a or his or her communication device 100, thus when the individualized coupon data 16a is used by the external participant 400a at the seller 300a (i.e. when the coupon is redeemed) in step 605, then the seller 300a may obtain information about which registered consumer 100a or communication device 100 performed the individualization. When the individualized coupon data 6a is redeemed the seller 300a retrieves the unique identifier 14a from the individualized coupon data 16a that is handed over electronically or presented (e.g. in a printed form or displayed on the display of the mobile telephone 200a of the external participant 400a). For example the external participant 400a transmits the individualized coupon data 16a from his or her mobile telephone 200a to the seller's 300a terminal 200d, e.g. over bluetooth connection, infrared connection, NFC connection, or by displaying the individualized coupon data 16a on the display of the mobile telephone 200a, which is read by the seller terminal 200d (e.g. if the individualized coupon data 16a is in the form of a barcode or QR code), or which is manually inputted by the seller 300a based on the displayed information (e.g. inputting on a keyboard a displayed number and/or letter combination).

The seller terminal 200d is preferably connected to the seller IT system

300, and the terminal 200d preferably sends the received individualized coupon data 16a to the IT system 300 over some kind of data transmission channel 1000. The IT system 300 preferably retrieves the unique identifier 14a from the individualized coupon data 16a and identifies the registered consumer 100a associated with the unique identifier 14a from an electronic database. According to a preferred embodiment the seller 300a (i.e. the seller IT system 300) modifies the data of the identified consumer 100a in the electronic database in accordance with the use of the coupon, for example if the coupon is redeemed by an external participant 400a the consumer 100a having performed the individualization may obtain a benefit for a future consumption. By recording in the electronic database the data which provides for a benefit, the user may profit from the given benefit the next time when he or she is shopping, or the benefits may be accumulated as loyalty points. With the help of the present invention the consumer 100a can be motivated to transfer the 12a coupon data after individualization to an external participant 400a, as the consumer 100a also receives certain benefits when the individualized coupon data 16a is used by the external participant 400a. Preferably the external participant 400a is also motivated to consume with receiving certain benefits when redeeming the individualized coupon data 16a. The costs of issuing coupons (e.g. printing costs of paper coupons) can be reduced by rewarding the distribution of the coupon data 12a. Furthermore, it is also possible to establish which consumer 100a should be given coupons, i.e. which consumer 100a redeems or distributes the coupons to further external participants 400a.

Another mode of using the individualized coupon data 16a by the consumer 100a who performed the individualization, is that the consumer 100a him-herself redeems the individualized coupon data 16a at the seller 300a during consumption (buying of a product or service) in step 606. Also in this case the seller 300a may identify the consumer 100a from the individualized coupon data 16a however, in this case in reference to personal coupon redemption a purchase benefit may be registered in the electronic database of the seller IT system 300.

The use of the benefit depends on the seller 300a, for example it is conceivable that the consumer 100a can use the individualized coupon data 16a in one way only: either by redeeming it him-herself or by sending it to an external participant 400a (in which case he or she receives the benefit when the latter uses the individualized coupon data 16a). It is further conceivable that the consumer 100a may choose both possibilities in parallel. According to a further possibility the external participants 400a (if they are registered consumers as well), may join their own unique identifier 14a to the received individualized coupon data 16a with the help of the coupon data handling unit 10 installed on their communication device 200, and may then distribute the thus created individualized coupon data 16a for redemption by others. When the individualized coupon data 16a is redeemed that has been individualized twice, the seller 300a may identify both registered consumers 100a via their unique identifiers 14a, thus both consumers 100a may obtain a benefit (preferably with some reduction). There is no theoretical limit to the iteration of the process, i.e. any number of consumers 100a may individualize the received individualized coupon data 16a and forward it to further external participants 400a (possibly to further registered consumers 100a).

When redeeming the individualized coupon data 16a at the seller 300a, preferably not only the unique identifier 14a is retrieved by the seller 300a, but also the original coupon data 12a, which contains information relating to the coupon (such as the identifier of the coupon, the applicable products/services, the percentage/amount/type of benefit, expiry date, etc.).

According to a possible embodiment the coupon data 12a is an n-digit number and/or letter combination (n being a positive integer), to which the coupon data handling unit 10 concatenates in step 602 the unique identifier 14a of the registered consumer 100a consisting of an m-digit number and/or letter combination (m being a positive integer). The created individualized coupon data 16a is therefore an n+m-digit number and/or letter combination, wherein the first n digits denote the coupon data 12a, and the following m digits denote the unique identifier 14a of the consumer 100a. In this case when the individualized coupon data 16a is shown to the seller 300a (in practice to the employee of the seller 300a) the coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a can be easily identified by looking at the number and/or letter combination, which can be inputted into a seller terminal 200d and the seller IT system 300 can determine the benefit associated with the coupon data 12a, as well as can identify the registered consumer 100a having performed the individualization based on the number and/or letter combination and its electronic database. Similarly, in case of multiple individualization the unique identifiers 14a of the other consumers 00a can also be retrieved from the other m-digit parts of the ft

individualized coupon data 16a. It is clear that the coupon data 12a and the unique identifier 14a may be in various other forms as well, and these may be united in various other ways as it is apparent for a skilled person.

In the above description the seller 300a has been described as a single uniform entity, however, it is clear that the seller 300a may be a chain store, a chain of restaurants, a chain of hotels, a shopping centre, an association of vendors/merchants, etc. In this case the seller terminals 200d are typically in remote connection (e.g. IP based connection) with the seller IT system 300, moreover the seller IT system 300 may be operated by a different entity, however, within the context of the present invention the IT system 300 still can be regarded as belonging to the seller 300a. Issuing of the coupons can be performed by a service provider that is different from the seller 300a as well, moreover, according to a further possible embodiment the terminal 200d set up at the seller 300a does not belong to the seller 300a but rather to a service provider issuing coupons and keeping record of and managing the associated benefits. In this case, functionally this service provider can be regarded as the seller 300a providing benefits for the coupons.

The above description disclosed embodiments wherein individualization of the coupon data 12a took place in a coupon data handling unit 10 provided on the communication device 100 of the consumer 100a, however, it is clear that such a suitable unit can be provided elsewhere as well. For example, according to another preferred embodiment of the inventive method, individualization of the coupon data 12a is performed by the seller IT system 300. In this case the IT system 300 stores the unique identifier 14a associated with the consumer 100a, and the coupon data handling unit 10 provided within the IT system 300 unites the coupon data 12a with the unique identifier 14a in order to create the individualized coupon data 16a, which is then sent to the communication device 100 of the consumer 100a or is made accessible to the consumer 100a in other ways (e.g. it is downloadable from the Internet by the consumer 100a).

Various alternatives to the above disclosed embodiments will be apparent to a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection determined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. Method for handling electronic coupon data by a communication device that comprises at least one data input interface, at least one data output interface and a coupon data handling unit, characterised by

inputting a unique identifier into a unique identifier receiving part unit of the coupon data handling unit via the data input interface of the communication device,

transferring the unique identifier to a data uniting part unit of the coupon data handling unit,

inputting coupon data into a coupon data receiving part unit of the coupon data handling unit via the data input interface of the communication device,

transferring the coupon data to the data uniting part unit of the coupon data handling unit,

uniting the coupon data and the unique identifier with the help of the data uniting part unit and thereby creating an individualized coupon data, and transferring the individualized coupon data to the data output interface with a data transmitting part unit of the coupon data handling unit, and transmitting the individualized coupon data with the data output interface in accordance with a mode of use of the individualized coupon data.

2. The method according to claim 1 , characterised by retrieving the unique identifier from the transmitted individualized coupon data when the individualized coupon data is used,

identifying a consumer associated with the unique identifier from an electronic database,

modifying the data of the identified consumer in accordance with the mode of use of the individualized coupon data.

3. The method according to claims 1 or 2, characterised by retrieving the original coupon data from the individualized coupon data when the individualized coupon data is used.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised by storing the unique identifier in a unique identifier storing part unit after its input, and in the course of further use transferring it from the unique identifier storing part unit to the data uniting part unit of the coupon data handling unit.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised by storing the coupon data in a coupon data storing part unit after its input, and in the course of further use transferring it from the coupon data storing part unit to the data uniting part unit of the coupon data handling unit.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised by storing the individualized coupon data in an individualized coupon data storing part unit prior to transferring it to the data transmitting part unit of the coupon data handling unit.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised by transmitting the individualized coupon data with the data output interface over a data transmission channel, preferably over a mobile network, Internet, bluetooth connection, infrared connection, NFC connection, etc. to another communication device, preferably a mobile telephone, computer, server, seller terminal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised by transmitting the individualized coupon data to a computer or server and making it downloadable by other communication devices over the Internet.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised by transmitting the individualized coupon data for further use by presenting it with the data output interface, preferably via a display or printer.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised by inputting the coupon data into the coupon data receiving part unit of the coupon data handling unit via a camera or a keyboard of the communication device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised by inputting the coupon data into the communication device through an interface of a data transmission channel, by transmitting the coupon data from another communication device, preferably from a mobile telephone, computer, server, seller terminal.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterised by associating the unique identifier with a consumer registered in an electronic database,

providing a coupon data handling unit for the communication device of the consumer,

providing the unique identifier to the unique identifier receiving part unit of the coupon data handling unit, preferably over a data transmission channel, such as mobile network or Internet, and

storing the unique identifier in the unique identifier storing part unit of the coupon data handling unit.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the coupon data handling unit comprises at least one data encrypting part unit for encrypting the stored data and/or the data to be transmitted.

14. Coupon data handling unit for handling electronic coupon data, characterised by comprising a data receiving part unit (12) suitable for receiving coupon data (12a) inputted with a data input interface (110) of a communication device (100), as well as a unique identifier receiving part unit (14) suitable for receiving a unique identifier (14a) which are data transmissibly connected to a data uniting part unit (16) configured to unite the coupon data (12a) and the unique identifier (14a) in order to create an individualized coupon data (16a), and the data uniting part unit (16) is in data transmissible connection with a data transmitting part unit (20) provided for transferring the individualized coupon data (16a) to a data output interface (120) of the communication device (100).

15. The coupon data handling unit according to claim 14, characterised by that the data receiving part unit (12) is connected to the data uniting part unit (16) through a coupon data storing part unit (13).

16. The coupon data handling unit according to claims 14 or 15, characterised by that the unique identifier receiving part unit (14) is connected to the data uniting part unit (16) through a unique identifier storing part unit (15).

17. The coupon data handling unit according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterised by that the data uniting part unit (16) is connected to the data transmitting part unit (20) through an individualized coupon data storing part unit

(17) .

18. The coupon data handling unit according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterised by further comprising at least one data encrypting part unit

(18) suitable for encrypting the coupon data (12a), the unique identifier (14a) and/or the individualized coupon data (16a).

19. Communication device, characterised by comprising a coupon data handling unit according to any one of claims 14 to 18.

20. Method of handling electronic coupon data, characterised by assigning coupon data to coupons, which coupon data comprises a coupon identifier,

assigning a unique identifier to a consumer,

creating an individualized coupon data by uniting the coupon data and the unique identifier.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterised by retrieving the unique identifier from the individualized coupon data when the individualized coupon data is used,

identifying the consumer to whom the unique identifier is assigned from an electronic database,

modifying the data of the identified consumer stored in the electronic database in accordance with the mode of use of the individualized coupon data.

22. The method according to claims 20 or 21 , characterised by individualizing the coupon data with a coupon data handling unit provided on a communication device of the consumer.

23. The method according to claims 20 or 21 , characterised by individualizing the coupon data in a seller IT system.