WO2022256928A1

WO2022256928A1 - Methods and systems for augmented reality retail

Info

Publication number: WO2022256928A1
Application number: PCT/CA2022/050917
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matt Schmidt; Miriam ALDEN; Zaman Valli-Hasham; Nick OOSTVEEN
Original assignee: Open Daily Technologies Inc.
Priority date: 2021-06-08
Filing date: 2022-06-08
Publication date: 2022-12-15

Abstract

A system and method of augmented reality retail, the method comprising: matching a customer having a customer device to a personal shopper having a shopper device; scheduling a shopping session between the customer and the personal shopper; providing real-time audio-video communication between the customer device and the shopper device during the shopping session, wherein providing the real-time audio-video communication comprises providing a first user interface to the customer device and a second user interface to the shopper device; receiving a product listing for a product from the shopper device, wherein the product is sold by a retailer; providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface; receiving an order for the product from the customer device; processing payment by the customer of the product; and providing the order for the product to a retailer system corresponding to the retailer.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR AUGMENTED REALITY RETAIL

Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application claims priority from, and for the purposes of the United States the benefit under 37 CFR 1.119 of, United States patent application No. 63/208415 filed 8 June 2021 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for augmented reality retail. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to methods and systems of augmented reality retail using real-time audio-video communication and user interfaces.

Background

[0003] Present methods and systems of online retail include providing a website that allows customers to navigate through an item catalogue, select one or more items, and place orders for the selected items. Typically, customers navigate through the item catalogue by viewing listings of items, sometimes assisted by keyword searches or categories of items. Once a customer discovers a desired item, the customer selects the item and adds the item to an online shopping cart. The customer may then place an order for the items in their online shopping cart.

[0004] For online retail of clothing items such as shirts, pants, dresses and skirts, customers typically first select a clothing item, and then a size of the clothing item. Clothing items may be sized as small, medium or large, or with more discrete sizes, for example dresses numbered sizes 0 through 20. Other closing items may have more than one measurement, for example shirts may be sized by neck circumference and arm length, and shoes may sized by length and width.

[0005] Customers may have preferences for certain clothing items over other clothing items, and/or preferences for certain sizes of a given clothing item over other sizes thereof. A customer’s preference for a clothing item and/or size thereof may depend on one or more of: their individual style, for example traditional or trendy; their physique, for example long torso versus short torso; and their preferred fit, for example tight or oversized. Examples of a customer preferring one clothing item over another include a customer preferring a certain dress design over another dress design, and a certain color of a shirt over another color of the same shirt. Example of a customer preferring one size over another size include a customer preferring a medium size of a shirt over a small size or a medium size of the same shirt, or a tall sized medium dress over a regular sized medium of the same dress.

[0006] When a customer purchases a clothing item in person, they may try on the item to confirm that the clothing item and size thereof meets their preferences prior to purchasing the clothing item. However, when a customer purchases a clothing item through online retail, the customer cannot try on the clothing item prior to purchase. As such, a customer cannot confirm the clothing item and size thereof meets their preferences prior to purchasing the clothing item. Instead, a customer may infer whether or not a particular clothing item and size thereof meets their preferences based on information other than trying on the clothing item.

[0007] During online retail, a customer typically infers whether or not a particular clothing item and size thereof (together a “selected item”) meets their preferences from one or more of: prior purchases of clothing items and sizes thereof; images and/or videos of a clothing item provided by a retailer; descriptions of a clothing item provided by a retailer; sizing guides provided by a retailer; and the like. However, inferring whether or not a selected item meets a customer’s preferences is not always accurate, and a customer may not discover the selected item fails to meet their preferences until the selected item arrives and the customer physically tries on the selected item.

[0008] To address the imprecise nature of inferring whether or not a selected item meets a customer’s preferences in online retail, a customer may purchase multiple sizes of a clothing item at once with the intention of returning the sizes thereof which do not meet the customer’s preferences. The practice of ordering multiple sizes of the same clothing item is referred to as “bracketing”. Bracketing degrades a customer’s retail experience as they must order and try on multiple sizes of a clothing item, determine which if any size of the clothing item meets their preferences, and return all of the sizes of the clothing item which fail to meet their preferences. Furthermore, bracketing incurs expense on a retailer, as the retailer must absorb the cost of accepting the return of the clothing items failing to meet the customer’s preferences, which may include shipping costs, restocking costs, spoilage costs, and costs from having the clothing items out of their inventory. [0009] There is a general desire for an improved method and system of online retail. Preferably, there is a desire for a method and system of online retail that increases the likelihood a customer will infer their preferred style and/or size of a given clothing item.

[0010] The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Summary

[0011] The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above- described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.

[0012] One aspect of the invention provides a method of augmented reality retail, the method comprising: matching a customer having a customer device to a personal shopper having a shopper device; scheduling a shopping session between the customer and the personal shopper; providing real-time audio-video communication between the customer device and the shopper device during the shopping session, wherein providing the real-time audio-video communication comprises providing a first user interface to the customer device and a second user interface to the shopper device; receiving a product listing for a product from the shopper device, wherein the product is sold by a retailer; providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface; receiving an order for the product from the customer device; processing payment by the customer for the product; and providing the order for the product to a retailer system corresponding to the retailer.

[0013] In some embodiments, matching the customer to the personal shopper comprises: receiving customer information from the customer device; receiving personal shopper information from the shopper device; and matching the customer to the personal shopper based at least in part on the customer information and the personal shopper information.

[0014] In some embodiments, receiving the customer information comprises generating the customer information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with the customer; and receiving the personal shopper information comprises generating the personal shopper information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper

[0015] In some embodiments, receiving the customer information comprises providing one or more customer questions to the customer device and receiving responses from the customer device corresponding to the customer questions; and receiving the personal shopper information comprises providing one or more personal shopper questions to the personal shopper device and receiving responses from the personal shopper device corresponding to the personal shopper questions

[0016] In some embodiments, matching the customer to the personal further comprises: training a machine learning model with aggregate session information; generating a confidence interval with the trained machine learning model from the customer information and the personal shopper information; and matching the customer to the personal shopper based at least in part on the confidence interval.

[0017] In some embodiments, the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises receiving a URL to the product listing; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises retrieving a visual element from the URL and overlaying the visual element over the first user interface.

[0018] In some embodiments, the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises: receiving a product identifier from the shopper device; retrieving the product listing from the retailer system corresponding to the product identifier; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises providing a visual element of the product listing overlaid over the first user interface.

[0019] In some embodiments, the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises: receiving a product photo from the shopper device; generating a product identifier from the product photo; retrieving the product listing from the retailer system corresponding to the product identifier; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises providing a visual element of the product listing overlaid over the first user interface.

[0020] In some embodiments, the visual element comprises one or more of a photo of the product, a video of the product, a written description of the product, and a price of the product. [0021] In some embodiments, receiving the order for the product comprises: receiving order details from the shopper device; providing the order details overlaid on the first user interface; receiving an order confirmation from the customer device; and providing the order details to the retailer system

[0022] In some embodiments, receiving the product listing comprises receiving a URL to a shopping cart on the retailer system; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises retrieving a visual element from the URL and providing the visual element overlaid on the first user interface.

[0023] One aspect of the invention provides a system for augmented reality retail, the system comprising: a customer module stored on a customer device; a shopper module stored on a shopper device; and a server module stored on a server system and in communication with a retailer system; wherein the server module is configured to: match a customer associated with the customer device to a personal shopper associated with the shopper device; schedule a shopping session between the customer and the personal shopper; provide real-time audio-video communication between the customer device and the shopper device during the shopping session, wherein providing the real-time audio video communication comprises providing a first user interface to the customer device and a second user interface to the shopper device; receive a product listing for a product from the shopper device, wherein the product is sold by the retailer system; provide the product listing overlaid on the first user interface; receive an order for the product from the customer device; process payment by the customer for the product; and provide the order for the product to the retailer system.

[0024] In some embodiment, the shopper device comprises a first smartphone; the shopper module comprises a first smartphone app; the customer device comprises a second smartphone; and the customer module comprises a second smartphone app

[0025] In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions. It is emphasized that the invention relates to all combinations of the above features, even if these are recited in different claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0027] Figs. 1A and 1 B are schematic diagrams of systems according to example embodiments of the present invention.

[0028] Figs. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of methods according to example embodiments of the present invention.

[0029] Figs. 3A to 3H depict a set of customer user interfaces according to one or more example embodiments of the present invention.

[0030] Figs. 4A to 4D depict a set of shopper user interfaces according to one or more example embodiments of the present invention.

Description

[0031] Throughout the following description specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding to persons skilled in the art. However, well known elements may not have been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.

[0032] Disclosed herein is a system and method for matching a personal shopper with a customer, and providing real-time audio-video communication between the customer and the shopper for an augmented reality personal shopping session. During the shopping session, the shopper may suggest one or more products to the customer in real-time, wherein a listing for the one or more products appears in an interactive overlay over the real-time video. In the case of shopping for clothing products, the shopper may suggest clothing items and sizes of the one or more clothing items.

[0033] The shopper may suggest clothing items and sizes thereof based on first hand experience with the items, for example by having physically handled the clothing items, and/or by having worn the clothing items themselves. Having first hand experience with the clothing items may provide the shopper insight into the clothing items that may affect their suggestion of a clothing item and/or size thereof. For example, the shopper may provide further insight into the color of a clothing item, such as how the color pairs with the color of another clothing item in person. As a further example, the shopper may provide further insight into aspects of the clothing item that may affect the customer’s preference for a size for the clothing item. For example, a shopper may provide insight into how a particular portion of a clothing item fits when worn, such as narrow sleeves of a shirt, or long legs of pants. The shopper may use such insights in part to suggest clothing items and/or sizes thereof.

[0034] The shopper may also suggest clothing items and/or sizes thereof based in part on one or more similarities between the shopper and the customer, for example, similarities between the shopper and customer in individual style, physique, preferred fit, and the like.

[0035] The shopper may also suggest clothing items and/or sizes thereof based in part on interactions during and/or outcomes of previous shopping sessions with the customer. For example, a clothing item and size thereof which the shopper suggested and the customer ordered may have met the customer’s preferences, and thereby the clothing item and size thereof may provide insight for the shopper to recommend further clothing items and sizes thereof to the customer.

[0036] Some embodiments of the system match a shopper to a customer for a personal shopping session based in part on one or more of: similarities between the shopper and the customer, outcomes of previous shopping sessions between the shopper and customer, outcomes of previous shopping sessions between the shopper and other customers, outcomes of previous shopping sessions between other shoppers and the customer, and the like. Matching a shopper and a customer based in part one or more of the above may increase the likelihood that the shopper will suggest a clothing item and/or size thereof that meets the customer’s preferences. Suggesting a clothing item and/or size thereof that meets the customer’s preferences decreases the need for bracketing, and decreases the likelihood the customer will return the item.

[0037] Due to the matching of a customer to a shopper, and/or the real-time audio-video communication between the customer and the shopper during the augmented reality personal shopping session, the shopper may be able to suggest clothing items and/or sizes thereof to the customer that are more likely to meet the customer’s preferences than if the customer were to select clothing items and/or sizes thereof without the shopper’s suggestions. [0038] Because the shopper may be able to suggest clothing items and sizes thereof that are more likely to meet the customer’s preferences than if the customer were to select a clothing item and size thereof without the shopper’s suggestions, the customer may order the clothing item in only one size, thereby averting the need for bracketing, and the customer dissatisfaction and retailer expense associated therewith. Furthermore, the customer may be more likely to retain a clothing item and size thereof purchased with a shopper’s suggestion that an item purchased without, thereby reducing the likelihood the customer will return the purchased item, and averting the customer dissatisfaction and retailer expense associated with returning an item.

[0039] Some embodiments of the present invention facilitate and/or provide a system for purchasing items, for example a shopping cart to which a customer and/or a shopper may add items. The items in the shopping cart may be purchased by the customer either by directly purchasing the items from a retailer of the products, or with the assistance of the shopper. For example, the shopper may place one or more orders for the items with one or more retailers of the items, and forward the customer a single invoice combining the cost of the one or more orders.

[0040] Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of an augmented reality retail system 100 according to an example embodiment of the present invention. System 100 comprises customer module 110, shopper module 112 and server module 114. Customer module 110, shopper module 112 and server module 114 are communicatively coupled by network 116, for example the internet.

[0041] Customer module 110 operates on customer device 118. Customer 120 interacts with system 100 by operating customer device 118. Shopper module 112 operates on shopper device 122. Personal shopper 124 interacts with system 100 by operating shopper device 122. Each of customer device 118 and shopper device 122 include any device comprising a screen, input device, and network communications capability. Such devices may include smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, and the like.

[0042] Server module 114 may be provided by any suitable computer system, for example a server, a virtual machine, and the like. Server module 114 may operate on a single computer system or a distributed computer system, for example one or more servers accessible by each other and/or network 116. [0043] Server module 114 is in communication with retailer system 126 via network 116. Retailer system 126 comprises a product catalogue, an ordering system, and a fulfillment system. The product catalogue may be provided by a database stored on retailer system 126. The ordering system and fulfillment system may be provided by retailer system 126, or some other system in communication with retailer system 126.

[0044] Fig. 1 B is a schematic diagram of an augmented reality retail system 101 according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Similar elements in Fig. 1 B and Fig. 1 A are identified with the same reference number.

[0045] System 101 comprises a plurality of customer modules 110A to 110n (collectively customer modules 110’). Customer modules 110’ respectively operate on customer devices 118A to 118n. Customers 120A to 120n (collectively customers 120’) respectively interact with system 100 by operating customer devices 118A to 118n.

[0046] System 101 may provide real-time audio-video communication between shopper 124 and customers 120’ concurrently.

[0047] Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of method 200 according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Method 200 may be performed by system 100.

[0048] Method 200 comprises:

• step 210, matching customer 120 to shopper 124;

• step 212, scheduling augmented reality shopping session 20 between customer 120 and shopper 124;

• step 214, providing real-time audio-video communication between customer device 118 and shopper device 122 during session 20;

• step 216, receiving product listing 24 from shopper device 122 for product 22 listed in retailer system 126;

• step 218, providing product listing 24 for product 22 overlaid on the real-time video communication during session 20;

• step 220, receiving order 26 for product 22 from customer device 118;

• step 222, processing payment for order 26; and

• step 224, providing order 26 for product 22 to retailer system 126.

[0049] In one or more embodiments of system 100, steps 210 to 224 are performed by server module 114. One or more of steps 214, 216 and 218 may also be performed by one of both of shopper module 112 and customer module 110. [0050] In embodiments where customer 120 places order 26 directly with retailer system 126, steps 220 and 222 may be performed by customer module 110, and/or by server module 114. In embodiments where shopper 124 places order 26 with retailer system 126 on behalf of customer 120, steps 220 and 222 may be performed by shopper module 112, and/or by server module 114.

[0051] In some embodiments, step 220 may be performed by retailer system 126.

Customer module 110 may provide elements of a user interface directly from retailer system 126, and customer 120 may interact directly with retailer system 126 through the user interface provided from retailer system 126.

[0052] For example, customer module 110 may provide a user interface comprising a link to a shopping cart stored on retailer system 126 containing product 22. Customer 120 may order product 22 through an ordering method for the shopping cart performed by retailer system 126.

[0053] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises receiving customer information associated with customer 120, receiving personal shopper information associated with personal shopper 124, and matching customer 120 to shopper 124 based at least in part on the customer information and the personal shopper information. In such embodiments, server module 114 may receive customer information associated with customer 120 from customer module 110, and/or server module 114 may receive personal shopper information associated with shopper 124 from shopper module 112.

[0054] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises generating the customer information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with customer 120, and receiving the personal shopper information comprises generating the personal shopper information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with the shopper 124. In such embodiments, one or more of customer module 110, server module 114, and shopper module 112 may generate the customer information and/or personal shopper information from interactions between customer 120 and shopper 124.

[0055] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises receiving the customer information by presenting one or more customer questions to customer 120 and receiving responses from customer 120 corresponding to the customer questions. For example, server module 114 may provide one or more customer questions to customer module 110, and customer 120 may provide responses to the questions to customer module 110. Customer module 110 may then provide the responses to server module 114.

[0056] Similarly, receiving the personal shopper information may comprise presenting one or more personal shopper questions to shopper 124 and receiving responses from the shopper 124 corresponding to the personal shopper questions. For example, server module 114 may provide one or more shopper questions to shopper module 112, and shopper 124 may provide responses to the questions to shopper module 112. Shopper module 112 may then provide the responses to server module 114.

[0057] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises receiving aggregate session information corresponding to multiple shopping sessions between multiple customers and multiple personal shoppers, and generating one or both of the customer questions and personal shopper questions at least in part based on the aggregate session information. Step 210 may further comprise matching customer 120 to shopper 124 based at least in part on the aggregate session information.

[0058] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises generating a confidence interval with a machine learning model from the customer information and the personal shopper information, and matching customer 120 to shopper 124 based at least in part on the confidence interval, wherein the machine learning model is trained with the aggregate session information. In such embodiments, the aggregate session information may comprise a set of labelled training data, wherein each member of the set comprises a session outcome label and shopping information corresponding to a shopping session between a customer and a personal shopper.

[0059] The shopping information may comprise one or more of:

• a shopping session identifier corresponding to a shopping session;

• a customer identifier corresponding to a customer who participated in the shopping session;

• a personal shopper identifier corresponding to a personal shopper who participated in the shopping session;

• customer-shopper interaction information generated from the interaction between the customer and the personal shopper during the shopping session;

• a product identifier and/or product information corresponding to a product ordered by the customer during the shopping session; and • a return status for the product.

[0060] The product information corresponding to the product may include one or more of: a size of the product, a color of the product, a retailer corresponding to the product, a price of the product, and the like.

[0061] The session outcome label for each member of the set of labelled training data may be based at least in part on the product identifier and return status of each member in the set. In some embodiments, server module 114 generates the set of shopping information from interactions between customer modules and shopper modules, and generates the session outcome label for each member in the set from the shopping information of each respective member of the set.

[0062] In some embodiments of method 200, step 210 comprises presenting multiple personal shoppers including shopper 124 to customer 120, and receiving a selected one of the personal shoppers from customer 120, wherein the selected one corresponds to shopper 124. In such embodiments, server module 114 may provide multiple personal shoppers to customer module 110. Customer 120 may operate customer module 110 to select shopper 124 from the multiple personal shoppers, and operate customer module 110 may then transmit the selection of shopper 124 to server module 114.

[0063] In some embodiments of method 200, step 212 comprises receiving shopper availability from shopper 124, presenting the shopper availability to customer 120, receiving a selected date and time from customer 120, removing the selected date and time from the shopper availability, scheduling the shopping session at the selected date and time, and sending a first shopping session confirmation to the customer and a second shopping session confirmation to the personal shopper.

[0064] Shopper module 112 may provide a user interface to shopper 124 for shopper 124 to provide their shopper availability. Shopper module 112 may then provide the shopper availability to server module 114. Server module 114 may provide the shopper availability to customer module 110, and customer module 110 may provide a user interface to customer 120. Customer 120 may then select a date and time from the shopper availability using the user interface of customer module 110. Customer module 110 may then provide the selected date and time to server module 114.

[0065] In some embodiments of method 200, product listing 24 is stored on retailer system 126, and step 216 comprises receiving a URL to the product listing 24, where the URL directs to retailer system 126. In such embodiments, step 218 may comprise retrieving a visual element from the URL and overlaying the visual element in a user interface provided to customer 120. For example, shopper module 112 may provide the URL to server module 114, server module 114 may retrieve the visual element located at the URL from retailer system 126, and server module 114 may provide the visual element to customer module 110. Customer module 110 may then provide a user interface to customer 120 wherein the visual element is overlaid over the real-time video communication between customer 120 and shopper 124.

[0066] In some embodiments of method 200, product listing 24 is stored on retailer system 126, and step 216 comprises receiving a product identifier from shopper module 112, and retrieving product listing 24 from retailer system 126 corresponding to the product identifier, where product listing 24 includes a visual element. In such embodiments, step 218 may comprise providing a visual element of product listing 24 overlaid over a user interface provided to customer 120.

[0067] For example, shopper module 112 may provide the product identifier to server module 114, server module 114 may retrieve product listing 24 from retailer system 126 corresponding to the product identifier, and server module 114 may provide the visual element of product listing 24 to customer module 110. Customer module 110 may then provide a user interface to customer 120 wherein the visual element is overlaid over the real-time video communication between customer 120 and shopper 124.

[0068] In some embodiments of method 200, product listing 24 is stored on retailer system 126, and step 216 comprises receiving a product photo from shopper module 112, generating a product identifier from the product photo, and retrieving product listing 24 from retailer system 126 corresponding to the product identifier, where product listing 24 includes a visual element. In such embodiments, step 218 may comprise providing a visual element of product listing 24 overlaid over a user interface provided to customer 120.

[0069] For example, shopper module 112 may provide the product photo to server module 114, and server module 114 may generate the product identifier from the product photo. In other embodiments, server module 114 may provide the product photo to retailer system 126, and retailer system 126 may generate the product identifier from the product photo. Shopper module 112 and/or server module 114 may generate the product identifier from the product photo by using a computer vision algorithm. In some embodiments, the computer vision algorithm comprises a machine learning model trained on labelled product photos. [0070] In some embodiments of method 200, step 218 comprises overlaying the visual element over the user interface provided by customer module 110 before providing the user interface to customer module 110. For example, server module 114 may modify the real time video received from shopper module 112 to overlay the visual element on the real-time video before server module 114 provides the real-time video to customer module 110. Server module 114 then provides real-time video to customer module 110 overlaid with the visual element.

[0071] In some embodiments of method 200, step 218 comprises providing the product listing overlaid over a portion of the real-time video, for example a quadrant of the real-time video.

[0072] The visual element of product 22 may comprises one or more of a photo of product 22, a video of product 22, a written description of product 22, and a price of product 22.

[0073] In some embodiments of method 200, step 220 comprises receiving order 26 from shopper module 110, and providing order 26 overlaid on the user interface provided to customer 120, for example the user interface provide to customer 120 by customer module 110. In such embodiments, step 220 further comprises receiving an order confirmation from customer module 110, and providing order 26 to retailer system 126.

[0074] In some embodiments of method 200, product listing 24 may comprise a URL to a shopping cart on retailer system 126. In such embodiments, step 218 may comprise retrieving a visual element depicting the shopping from the URL, and providing the visual element overlaid over the real-time video provided by customer module 110. In such embodiments, order 26 may comprise the URL to the shopping cart.

[0075] In some embodiments of method 200, step 222 comprises calculating an order amount, providing the order amount to a payment system, and receiving a payment confirmation from the payment system. Where the payment system is provided by retailer system 126, providing the order amount to a payment system may comprise providing the order amount to retailer system 126. In other embodiments, the payment system may be separate from retailer system 126, and in communication with server module 114.

[0076] Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of method 201 according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Method 200 may be performed by system 101.

[0077] Method 201 comprises:

• step 226, scheduling virtual shopping session 20 for shopper 124; • step 228, providing real-time audio-video communication between shopper device 122 and a plurality of customer devices 118A to 118n (collectively customer devices 118’) during session 20;

• optional step 230, providing real-time audio, video, and/or textual communication from one or more of customers 120’ to shopper 124 during session 20;

• step 232, receiving listing 24 from shopper device 122 for product 22 listed in retailer system 126;

• step 234, providing listing 24 of product 22 overlaid on the real-time video communication during session 20;

• step 236, receiving one or more orders 26’ for product 22 from a corresponding number of customer devices 118’; and

• step 238, providing orders 26’ for product 22 to retailer system 126.

[0078] Similar to method 200, steps 236 and 238 may be performed by customer modules 110’ and/or though a user interface of retailer system 126 provided by customer modules 110

[0079] Figs. 3A to 3H depict various customer user interfaces (collectively, customer user interfaces 300) according to one or more example embodiments of the present invention. Figs. 4A to 4E depict various shopper user interfaces (collectively, shopper user interfaces 400) according to one or more example embodiments of the present invention.

[0080] Each customer and shopper user interface comprises one or more user interface (Ul) elements. Ul elements may include one or more of:

• output elements, for example: text, images, video, and the like; and

• input elements, for example: text boxes, list boxes, buttons, toggles, date picker, navigation controls, submission controls, and the like.

[0081] One or more elements of user interfaces 300, 400 may be provided by server module 114 and/or retailer system 126. For example, where product listing 24 comprises text and an image, the descriptive text and image may be provided by retailer system 126, and the formatting of the descriptive text and image (e.g. font, background color, etc.) may be provided by server module 114.

[0082] Customer user interfaces 300 may be provided to customer 120 by customer module 110 running on customer device 118. In some embodiments, customer module 110 comprises web content, and customer user interfaces 300 may be provided by a web browser running on customer device 118 executing the web content of customer module 110. In some embodiments, customer module 110 comprises a native application (an “app”) stored on customer device 118 and executed by customer device 118. In such embodiments, customer user interfaces 300 are provided by customer device 118 executing the app of customer module 110.

[0083] Shopper user interfaces 400 may be provided to shopper 124 by shopper module 112 running on shopper device 122. In some embodiments, shopper module 112 comprises web content, and shopper user interfaces 400 may be provided by a web browser running on shopper device 122 executing the web content of shopper module 112. In some embodiments, shopper module 112 comprises a native application (an “app”) stored on shopper device 122 and executed by shopper device 122. In such embodiments, shopper user interfaces 400 are provided by shopper device 122 executing the app of shopper module 122.

[0084] Where one or both of customer module 110 and shopper module 112 comprise an app, the app may provide through a third party app store accessible by one or both of customer device 118 and shopper device 122.

[0085] Fig. 3A depicts customer user interface 300A, wherein user interface 300A comprises a home screen presented to a customer upon first access the system. User interface 300A comprises output elements 302, 304 and 306, for example name text 302, logo image 304, and description text 306. User interface 300A further comprises input elements 308 and 310. Input element 308 comprises a button directing the customer to a further user interface for entering credentials to login to the system. Input element 310 comprises a button directing the customer to a further user interface for a new customer to register with the system.

[0086] Fig. 3B depicts customer user interface 300B, wherein user interface 300B comprises a user interface for a customer to select a shopper with whom to book a shopping session. User interface 300B comprises output element 312 describing how to use user interface 300B. User interface 300B further comprises combined output/input elements 314A to 314D (collectively output/input elements 314). Each of output/input elements 314 comprise an image depicting a personal shopper and a button directing the customer to a further user interface for booking a shopping session with the personal shopper depicted in the respective image. [0087] Fig. 3C depicts customer user interface 300C, wherein user interface 300C comprises a user interface for a customer to select a date and time for a shopping session and book the shopping session. User interface 300C comprises output element 316 depicted an image of the personal shopper with whom the customer is booking the shopping session. User interface 300C further comprises date picker 318 for the customer to select a date of the shopping session, a time picker comprising input elements 320A and 320B for the customer to select a time of the shopping session, and button 322 to book the shopping session at the selected time on the selected date.

[0088] Fig. 3D depicts customer user interface 300D, wherein user interface 300D comprises a user interface for a customer to provide customer information. The customer information may be used in part to match the customer to a shopper, and/or provided to a shopper with whom the customer books a shopping session. User interface 300D comprises output element 324 providing a description of the user interface. User interface 300D further comprises text box 326 and drop down boxes 328A to 328D (collectively drop down boxes 328). A customer may enter free-form text into text box 326, for example a description of their personal style, or the purpose of the shopping session. The customer may select one option from each of drop down boxes 328. For example, one or more of drop down boxes 328 may present options for one or more of: the customer’s style, the customer’s physique, the customer’s preferred fit, the customer’s typical clothing size, and the like. User interface 300D may also comprise button 330 for submitting the customer information to the system.

[0089] Figs. 3E and 3F depict respective customer user interfaces 300E and 300F, wherein user interfaces 300E and 300F comprises a user interface for a customer during a shopping session. User interfaces 300E and 300F comprise output elements 332 and 334. Output element 332 displays a real-time video of personal shopper 124 during the shopping session, for example a real-time video captured by shopper module 112 and transmitted by server module 114 to customer module 110. Output element 334 displays a real-time video of customer 120 during the shopping session, for example a real-time video captured by customer module 110. User interfaces 300E and 300F further comprise controls 336 for managing the shopping session. For example, controls 336 may comprise one or more of: a button to start the customer’s video, a button to stop the customer’s video, a button to mute the customer’s microphone, a button to unmute the customer’s microphone, a button to end the shopping session, and the like. [0090] User interface 300F further comprises output element 338, wherein output element 338 comprises a visual element overlaid over the real-time video of output element 332. In some embodiments, output element 338 comprises one or more of: an image of product 22, a description of product 22, and a price of product 22.

[0091] In some embodiments, output element 338 may also comprise an input element, and customer 120 may select input/output element 338 to navigate to a further user interface, for example user interface 300G depicted in Fig. 3G. User interface 300G may comprise output elements 340A and 340B providing further images and/or text description of product 22. User interface 300G may further comprise input element 342 for the user to navigate to another user interface, for example back to user interface 300F.

[0092] Fig. 3H depicts customer user interface 300H, wherein user interface 300H comprises a user interface for a customer to place an order for one or more products. User interface 300H comprises output elements 332 and 334, and controls 336, as described above. User interface 300H further comprises output element 344 and input element 346. Output element 334 comprises an image, for example an image depicting one or more products, or a shopping cart. Input element 346 comprises a button for placing an order for the one or more products.

[0093] Figs. 4A to 4E depict shopper user interfaces 400A to 400E, wherein shopper interfaces 400A to 400E comprises a user interface for a shopper during a shopping session.

[0094] User interface 400A comprises output elements 402 and 404. Output element 402 displays a real-time video of customer 120 during the shopping session, for example a real time video captured by customer module 110 and transmitted by server module 114 to shopper module 112. Output element 404 displays a real-time video of shopper 122 during the shopping session, for example a real-time video captured by shopper module 112. User interface 400A further comprise controls 406 for managing the shopping session. For example, controls 406 may comprise one or more of: a button to start the shopper’s video, a button to stop the shopper’s video, a button to mute the shopper’s microphone, a button to unmute the shopper’s microphone, a button to end the shopping session, and the like.

[0095] User interfaces 400B and 400C further comprise shopping element 408 overlaid over one or both of output element 402 and 404. Shopper 122 may operate shopping element 408 to select one or more products to share with customer 120, and/or add to a shopping cart to share with customer 120. In some embodiments, shopping element 408 comprises a web browser, and shopper 122 operates shopping element 408 to locate one or more products on a retailer system, and add one or more products to a shopping cart.

[0096] In the embodiment of shopping element 408 depicted in Fig. 4B, shopping element 408 comprises output elements 410 and 412, and input elements 414 and 416. Output element 410 comprises an image of a product, and output element 412 comprises a description of the product. Input element 414 comprises a button to share the product with the customer, and input element 416 comprises a button to hide shopping element 408.

[0097] In the embodiment of shopping element 408 depicted in Fig. 4C, shopping element 408 comprises output elements 418A to 418C comprising images of a plurality of products, and output elements 420A to 420C each comprising descriptions of the products. Output element 422 comprises description of the total price of the products. Input element 424 comprises a button to share a shopping cart containing the products with the customer, and input element 426 comprises a button to hide shopping element 408.

[0098] Fig. 4D depicts shopper user interface 400D for shopper 122 to place an order for one or more products. User interface 400D comprises output elements 428A and 428B comprising images of a plurality of products, and output elements 430A and 430B comprising prices for the respective products. Output element 432 comprises a total price for the products.

[0099] User interface 400D further comprises input element 434 for shopper 122 to provide shipping details, and input element 436 for shopper 122 to provide payment details. In some embodiments, one or both of input elements 434 and 436 may be populated by the system, for example with customer information provided by customer 120 in advance of the shopping session. Input element 438 comprises a button for the shopper to submit an order of the products.

Some Embodiments

[0100] Some of embodiments of the present invention facilitate and/or provide a system for matching a customer with a personal shopper. To improve the likelihood that the shopper will suggest items that meet a customer’s preferences during a personal shopping session, the system may match a customer with a personal shopper based on one or more factors. The factors may include one or more of the following example factors: • previous interactions between the customer and the shopper;

• the outcome of one or more previous shopping sessions between the customer and the shopper, for example the customer purchasing one or more items during a previous session with the shopper and not having returned the items;

• social media contact between the customer and the shopper such as the customer following the shopper’s social media profile, liking the shopper’s social media content, and/or commenting on the shopper’s social media content;

• similarities between the customer and the shopper, for example similarities between one or more of: a customer style and a shopper style, a customer physique and a shopper physique , and/or a customer preferred fit and a shopper preferred fit;

• an availability of the customer and/or an availability of the shopper;

• answers by the customer to one or more questions;

• an output of a machine learning model, for example a confidence interval; and

• the like.

[0101] Some embodiments of the present invention may record and store data generated from shopping sessions. Such data may be used to suggest a shopper to a customer, and/or to generate performance metrics regarding the shopper. Performance metrics may include one or more of: total value of sales, average items sold per session, total items sold, average value of items sold per session, total number of items returned, average number of items returned per session, average customer satisfaction, number of retailers that customer have ordered products from, total value of sales divided by number of products sold, and the like.

[0102] In some of embodiments of the present invention, the customer-shopper matching system may present one or more questions to a customer, and use the customer’s responses to the questions as one of the matching factors. The system may generate the questions based on data generated from previous virtual shopping sessions.

[0103] In some embodiments of systems 100, 101 , server module 114 provides a manager interface, for example through a web interface accessible by a web browser. The manager interface may provide one or more of the following features:

• metrics regarding one or more customers 120;

• metrics regarding one or more shoppers 122; and • the ability to set and monitor performance metrics for one or more shoppers 122.

[0104] In some embodiments of system 100, 101 , customer 120 may schedule shopping session 20 via retailer system 126. In such embodiments:

• retailer system 126 communicates with server module 114 to retrieve availability of personal shopper 124;

• retailer system 126 provides a booking system accessible by customer module 110, for example by providing a booking system through web content accessible by customer module 110;

• customer module 110 communicates with retailer system 126 to access the booking system and customer 120 submits a booking request through customer module 110 to retailer system 126;

• retailer system 126 communicates the booking request to server module 114; and

• server module 114 communicates the booking request to shopper module 112.

[0105] In some embodiment, the booking system provided by retailer system 126 and accessible by customer module 110 may include content provided directly by server module 114 for booking shopping session 20. For example, the booking system may comprise a link to server module 114.

[0106] In some embodiments, system 100, 101 may provide reminders to customer 120 and/or shopper 124 in advance of shopping session 20. For example, server module 144 may provide customer module 110 a reminder, and customer module 110 may cause customer device 118 to provide a reminder notification to customer 120. Server module 114 may provide customer module 110 a reminder via an SMS message or push notification.

The reminder may include an option to confirm and/or cancel shopping session 20, for example by navigating to a link provided in the notification. If customer 120 or shopper 124 confirms or cancels shopping session 20, server module 144 may provide a notification to customer 120 and/or shopper 124 that shopping session 20 has been confirmed or cancelled.

[0107] System 100, 101 may provide reminders to customer 120 and/or shopper 124 at a certain time, for example 24 hours or 5 minutes, before a start of shopping session 20, or at the start of shopping session 20. The reminder may include a link to join shopping session 20. The reminder may include a link to download some or all of the software comprising customer module 110 and/or shopper module 112 in advance of shopping session 20. For example, one or both of customer module 110 and/or shopper module 112 may comprise a native application (commonly referred to as an “app”), and the link provided to customer 120 and/or shopper 124 may include a link to a native app store whereby customer device 118 and/or shopper device 122 may download the app.

[0108] In some embodiments, system 100, 101 provides a notification to shopper 124 when customer 120 joins shopping session 20. The notification may indicate that customer 120 is waiting for shopper 124 to join shopping session 20, and/or include a link for shopper 124 to join shipping session 20. In some embodiments, the notification is an SMS message or an email.

[0109] In some embodiments, system 100, 101 stores a customer profile for customer 120. The customer profile may include one or more of:

• a customer identifier, for example: a customer name, alias, social media handle, and/or the like;

• contact information, for example: an email address, telephone number, social media handle, and/or the like;

• personal details, for example: location, interests, style preference, fit preferences, body measurements, and/or the like; and

• prior shopping session information, for example: prior shopping sessions, personal shoppers previously scheduled with, items purchased, items returned, and the like.

[0110] In some embodiments of system 100, 101 , some or all customer information is associated with a retailer. For example, the prior shopping session information may include a retailer.

[0111] In some embodiments, customer module 110 may provide one or more of the following features:

• one or more interactive elements to login to the system by providing customer profile credentials, or an option to create a customer profile;

• a user interface listing one or more retailers and an interactive element to book a shopping session with the associated retailer;

• a user interface listing one or more personal shoppers and an interactive element to book a shopping session with the associate personal shopper; • links to mark one or more retailers and personal shoppers as a favorite, and a user interface listing all favorited retailers and/or personal shoppers;

• a user interface listing all scheduled future shopping sessions and associated links to join the associated shopping session;

• a user interface listing one or more prior shopping sessions, including one or more of: the date and time of the shopping session, the retailer associated with the shopping session, the personal shopper associated with the shopping session, items purchased during the shopping session, and items returned that were purchased during the shopping session, and the like;

• one or more interactive elements to book a shopping session from prior shopping session information, for example an interactive element to book a shopping session with a personal shopper associated with a prior shopping session;

• and the like.

[0112] In some embodiments, shopper module 112 may provide one or more of the following features:

• a user interface and one or more interactive elements to manage available days and times for customers to book shopping sessions with the shopper;

• a user interface listing one or more upcoming scheduled shopping session, including one or more of:

• a date and time of each shopping session;

• one or more customers associated with each shopping session and information on each customer;

• one or more interactive elements to commence a shopping session;

• one or more interactive elements to send a message to a customer;

• while providing real-time audio-visual communication during a shopping session, one or more interactive elements to provide a link to customer module 110, for example:

• a link to an item on retailer system 126;

• a link to a shopping cart holding one or more items on retailer system 126;

• a link to a check-out page for a shopping cart stored on retailer system 126; and

• the like.

[0113] In some embodiments, one or both of customer module 110 and shopper module 112 provide one or more of the following features: • one or more interactive elements to add/remove/mange participants, for example to invite another customer and/or personal shopper to an in-progress shopping session; and

• one or more interactive elements to manage the audio-visual input and/or output for example: start video, stop video, mute audio, unmute audio.

[0114] Some embodiments of system 100, 101 may perform a checkout method, for example a method comprising one or more of the following steps:

• receiving a request from shopper module 112 for an e-commerce provider associated with retailer system 126;

• receiving one or more items, for example links to items on retailer system 126, from shopper module 112;

• providing one or more links to items, for example links to items on retailer system 126, an to e-commerce provider associated with retailer system 126; and

• providing customer module 110 a link to an e-commerce provider associated with retailer system 126.

[0115] In some embodiments of system 100, 101 , server module 114 may provide one or more administrator features, for example through an administrator web interface. An administrator may access the administrator web interface with a suitable web-connected device, for example a personal computer or smart phone. The administrator features may include one or more of:

• functionality to add/modify/delete shoppers, for example:

• functionality to provide shopper information, such as shopper name, user account details, photo, contact information, and the like;

• functionality to toggle shopper status, for example between active (able to access the system and provide availability) and inactive (unable to access the system);

• functionality to add/modify/delete retailers, for example:

• functionality to provide retailer information, such as merchant name, user accounts, logo, graphics, etc.;

• functionality to toggle merchant status, for example between one or more of: hidden (not displayed to customers and shopper), coming soon (displayed to one or both of customers and shoppers, but cannot book shopping sessions), and available (displayed to both customers and shoppers, and available to book shopping sessions);

• functionality to add one or more website URLs, shopping cart URLs, and checkout URLs for each retailer;

• functionality to add an API for e-commerce provider and associate the API to a retailer, for example a Shopify™ API or the like;

• one or more reporting tools; and

• the like.

[0116] In some embodiments, system 100, 101 tracks and stores data regarding system activity. One or more reports may be generated from the data, and provided to a user of the system. The reports may include one or more of:

• a retailer activity report listing, for a specified date range:

• a number of shopping sessions associated with the retailer, including the date, time, and/or duration of each shopping session;

• a number of personal shoppers associated with the shopping sessions associated with the retailer;

• the number of shopping sessions associated with the retailer that resulted in at least one purchase by a customer from the retailer;

• a number of shopping sessions associated with the retailer where a customer did not join the shopping session;

• a number of shopping sessions associated with the retailer where a shopper did not join the shopping session; and

• a number of total sales from all shopping sessions associated with the retailer.

• a personal shopper report listing, for a personal shopper:

• a number of shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper, including the date, time, and/or duration of each shopping session;

• a average length of shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper;

• the number of shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper that resulted in at least one purchase by a customer;

• a number of shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper where a customer did not join the shopping session; • a number of shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper where the personal shopper did not join the shopping session; and

• a number of total sales from all shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper;

• a customer report listing, for a customer:

• customer details including customer name, customer email address, customer phone number;

• shopping sessions associated with the customer, including past shopping sessions and future scheduled shopping sessions;

• the date the customer was added to the system;

• a list of retailers associated with shopping sessions scheduled by the customer;

• purchase data, including one or more of: purchases by shopping session, a total amount of all purchases, an average amount of purchase per shopping session, a date of the last purchase, and the like; and

• shopping session data, including one or more of: the total number of scheduled shopping sessions, total number of shopping sessions joined, total number of shopping sessions not joined.

[0117] In some embodiments of system 100, 101 , server module 114 may provide one or more retailer features, for example through an retailer web interface. A retailer may access the retailer web interface with a suitable web-connected device, for example a personal computer or smart phone. The retailer features may include one or more of:

• functionality to add/modify/delete personal shoppers, including sending a personal shopper a notification regarding their status with the retailer, for example an email or SMS message inviting a new personal shopper to create an account with the system;

• functionality to view one or more personal shoppers associated with the retailer, including availability of the personal shoppers;

• functionality to view all shopping sessions associated with the retailer and manage scheduled shopping sessions associated with the retailer, for example:

• functionality to cancel a scheduled shopping session;

• functionality to change the personal shopper associated with a shopping session; • functionality to communicate with the personal shopper and/or customer associated with a shopping session, for example by sending the personal shopper and/or customer an email or SMS message;

• functionality to connect to an e-commerce provider associated with the retailer, for example a Shopify™ admin page for the retailer.

Interpretation of Terms

[0118] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims:

• “comprise”, “comprising”, and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to”;

• “connected”, “coupled”, or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling or connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof;

• “herein”, “above”, “below”, and words of similar import, when used to describe this specification, shall refer to this specification as a whole, and not to any particular portions of this specification;

• “or”, in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list;

• the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” also include the meaning of any appropriate plural forms.

[0119] Words that indicate directions such as “vertical”, “transverse”, “horizontal”, “upward”, “downward”, “forward”, “backward”, “inward”, “outward”, “vertical”, “transverse”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “back”, “top”, “bottom”, “below”, “above”, “under”, and the like, used in this description and any accompanying claims (where present), depend on the specific orientation of the apparatus described and illustrated. The subject matter described herein may assume various alternative orientations. Accordingly, these directional terms are not strictly defined and should not be interpreted narrowly.

[0120] Embodiments of the invention may be implemented using specifically designed hardware, configurable hardware, programmable data processors configured by the provision of software (which may optionally comprise “firmware”) capable of executing on the data processors, special purpose computers or data processors that are specifically programmed, configured, or constructed to perform one or more steps in a method as explained in detail herein and/or combinations of two or more of these. Examples of specifically designed hardware are: logic circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”), large scale integrated circuits (“LSIs”), very large scale integrated circuits (“VLSIs”), and the like. Examples of configurable hardware are: one or more programmable logic devices such as programmable array logic (“PALs”), programmable logic arrays (“PLAs”), and field programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”)). Examples of programmable data processors are: microprocessors, digital signal processors (“DSPs”), embedded processors, graphics processors, math co-processors, general purpose computers, server computers, cloud computers, mainframe computers, computer workstations, and the like. For example, one or more data processors in a control circuit for a device may implement methods as described herein by executing software instructions in a program memory accessible to the processors.

[0121] Processing may be centralized or distributed. Where processing is distributed, information including software and/or data may be kept centrally or distributed. Such information may be exchanged between different functional units by way of a communications network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet, wired or wireless data links, electromagnetic signals, or other data communication channel.

[0122] For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative examples may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times.

[0123] In addition, while elements are at times shown as being performed sequentially, they may instead be performed simultaneously or in different sequences. It is therefore intended that the following claims are interpreted to include all such variations as are within their intended scope. [0124] Software and other modules may reside on servers, workstations, personal computers, tablet computers, image data encoders, image data decoders, PDAs, color grading tools, video projectors, audio-visual receivers, displays (such as televisions), digital cinema projectors, media players, and other devices suitable for the purposes described herein. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that aspects of the system can be practised with other communications, data processing, or computer system configurations, including: Internet appliances, hand-held devices (including personal digital assistants (PDAs)), wearable computers, all manner of cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics (e.g., video projectors, audio-visual receivers, displays, such as televisions, and the like), set-top boxes, color-grading tools, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers, and the like.

[0125] The invention may also be provided in the form of a program product. The program product may comprise any non-transitory medium which carries a set of computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a data processor, cause the data processor to execute a method of the invention. Program products according to the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms. The program product may comprise, for example, non- transitory media such as magnetic data storage media including floppy diskettes, hard disk drives, optical data storage media including CD ROMs, DVDs, electronic data storage media including ROMs, flash RAM, EPROMs, hardwired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROM semiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, or the like. The computer- readable signals on the program product may optionally be compressed or encrypted.

[0126] In some embodiments, the invention may be implemented in software. For greater clarity, “software” includes any instructions executed on a processor, and may include (but is not limited to) firmware, resident software, microcode, and the like. Both processing hardware and software may be centralized or distributed (or a combination thereof), in whole or in part, as known to those skilled in the art. For example, software and other modules may be accessible via local memory, via a network, via a browser or other application in a distributed computing context, or via other means suitable for the purposes described above.

[0127] Where a component (e.g. a software module, processor, assembly, device, circuit, etc.) is referred to above, unless otherwise indicated, reference to that component (including a reference to a “means”) should be interpreted as including as equivalents of that component any component which performs the function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), including components which are not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0128] Specific examples of systems, methods and apparatus have been described herein for purposes of illustration. These are only examples. The technology provided herein can be applied to systems other than the example systems described above. Many alterations, modifications, additions, omissions, and permutations are possible within the practice of this invention. This invention includes variations on described embodiments that would be apparent to the skilled addressee, including variations obtained by: replacing features, elements and/or acts with equivalent features, elements and/or acts; mixing and matching of features, elements and/or acts from different embodiments; combining features, elements and/or acts from embodiments as described herein with features, elements and/or acts of other technology; and/or omitting combining features, elements and/or acts from described embodiments.

[0129] Various features are described herein as being present in “some embodiments”.

Such features are not mandatory and may not be present in all embodiments. Embodiments of the invention may include zero, any one or any combination of two or more of such features. This is limited only to the extent that certain ones of such features are incompatible with other ones of such features in the sense that it would be impossible for a person of ordinary skill in the art to construct a practical embodiment that combines such incompatible features. Consequently, the description that “some embodiments” possess feature A and “some embodiments” possess feature B should be interpreted as an express indication that the inventors also contemplate embodiments which combine features A and B (unless the description states otherwise or features A and B are fundamentally incompatible).

[0130] It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions, omissions, and sub-combinations as may reasonably be inferred. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of augmented reality retail, the method comprising: matching a customer having a customer device to a personal shopper having a shopper device; scheduling a shopping session between the customer and the personal shopper; providing real-time audio-video communication between the customer device and the shopper device during the shopping session, wherein providing the real-time audio-video communication comprises providing a first user interface to the customer device and a second user interface to the shopper device; receiving a product listing for a product from the shopper device, wherein the product is sold by a retailer; providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface; receiving an order for the product from the customer device; processing payment by the customer for the product; and providing the order for the product to a retailer system corresponding to the retailer.

2. The method according to claim 1 or any other claim herein, wherein matching the customer to the personal shopper comprises: receiving customer information from the customer device; receiving personal shopper information from the shopper device; and matching the customer to the personal shopper based at least in part on the customer information and the personal shopper information.

3. The method according to claim 2 or any other claim herein, wherein: receiving the customer information comprises generating the customer information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with the customer; and receiving the personal shopper information comprises generating the personal shopper information from one or more prior shopping sessions associated with the personal shopper.

4. The method according to either of claims 2 and 3 or any other claim herein, wherein: receiving the customer information comprises providing one or more customer questions to the customer device and receiving responses from the customer device corresponding to the customer questions; and receiving the personal shopper information comprises providing one or more personal shopper questions to the personal shopper device and receiving responses from the personal shopper device corresponding to the personal shopper questions.

5. The method according to claim 4 or any other claim herein, further comprising: receiving aggregate session information corresponding to multiple shopping sessions between multiple customers and multiple personal shoppers; generating the customer questions at least in part based on the aggregate session information; and generating the personal shopper questions at least in part based on the aggregate session information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4 or any other claim herein, further comprising: receiving aggregate session information corresponding to multiple shopping sessions between multiple customers and multiple personal shoppers; and matching the customer to the personal shopper based at least in part on the aggregate session information.

7. The method according to claim 6 or any other claim herein, wherein matching the customer to the personal further comprises: training a machine learning model with the aggregate session information; generating a confidence interval with the trained machine learning model from the customer information and the personal shopper information; and matching the customer to the personal shopper based at least in part on the confidence interval.

8. The method according to claim 7 or any other claim herein, wherein the aggregate session information comprises a set of labelled training data, wherein each member of the set comprises a session outcome label and shopping information corresponding to a shopping session between a customer and a personal shopper.

9. The method according to claim 8 or any other claim herein, wherein the shopping information comprises: a shopping session identifier corresponding to a shopping session; a customer identifier corresponding to a customer who participated in the shopping session; a personal shopper identifier corresponding to a personal shopper who participated in the shopping session; customer-shopper interaction information generated from the interaction between the customer and the personal shopper during the shopping session; a product identifier corresponding to a product ordered by the customer during the shopping session; and a return status for the product.

10. The method according to claim 9 or any other claim herein, further comprising generating the session outcome label for each member of the set based at least in part on the product identifier and return status of each member in the set.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or any other claim herein, wherein matching the customer to the personal shopper comprises: providing multiple personal shoppers including the personal shopper to the customer device; and receiving a selected one of the personal shoppers from the customer device, wherein the selected one corresponds to the personal shopper.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or any other claim herein, wherein scheduling the shopping session comprises: receiving shopper availability from the personal shopper device; providing the shopper availability to the customer device; receiving a selected date and time from the customer device; removing the selected date and time from the shopper availability; scheduling the shopping session at the selected date and time; and sending a first shopping session confirmation to the customer device and a second shopping session confirmation to the personal shopper device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or any other claim herein, wherein: the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises receiving a URL to the product listing; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises retrieving a visual element from the URL and overlaying the visual element over the first user interface.

14. The method according to claim 13 or any other claim herein, wherein providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises overlaying the visual element over the first user interface before providing the first user interface to the customer device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or any other claim herein, wherein: the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises: receiving a product identifier from the shopper device; retrieving the product listing from the retailer system corresponding to the product identifier; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises providing a visual element of the product listing overlaid over the first user interface.

16. The method according to claim 15 or any other claim herein, wherein providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises overlaying the visual element over the first user interface before providing the first user interface to the customer device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or any other claim herein, wherein: the product listing is stored on the retailer system; receiving the product listing comprises: receiving a product photo from the shopper device; generating a product identifier from the product photo; retrieving the product listing from the retailer system corresponding to the product identifier; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises providing a visual element of the product listing overlaid over the first user interface.

18. The method according to claim 17 or any other claim herein, wherein providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises overlaying the visual element over the first user interface before providing the first user interface to the customer device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18 or any other claim herein, wherein the visual element comprises one or more of a photo of the product, a video of the product, a written description of the product, and a price of the product.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 19 or any other claim herein, wherein: providing the first user interface comprises providing real-time video; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises providing the product listing overlaid over a portion of the real-time video.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or any other claim herein, wherein receiving the order for the product comprises: receiving order details from the shopper device; providing the order details overlaid on the first user interface; receiving an order confirmation from the customer device; and providing the order details to the retailer system.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 or any other claim herein, wherein: receiving the product listing comprises receiving a URL to a shopping cart on the retailer system; and providing the product listing overlaid on the first user interface comprises retrieving a visual element from the URL and providing the visual element overlaid on the first user interface.

23. The method according to claim 22 or any other claim herein, wherein providing the order for the product comprises providing the URL to the shopping cart to the retailer system.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 or any other claim herein, wherein processing payment by the customer for the product comprises calculating an order amount, providing the order amount to a payment system, and receiving a payment confirmation from the payment system.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24 or any other claim herein, further comprising the customer device executing a customer module, wherein the customer module provides one or more customer user interfaces via the customer device.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 25 or any other claim herein, further comprising the shopper device executing a shopper module, wherein the shopper module provides one or more shopper user interfaces via the shopper device.

27. A system for augmented reality retail, the system comprising a memory module storing instructions that when executed by a processor perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24 or any other claim herein.

28. A system for augmented reality retail, the system comprising a server system having a memory module and a processor, wherein the memory module stores instructions that when executed by the processor perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24 or any other claim herein.

29. A system for augmented reality retail, the system comprising: a customer module stored on a customer device; a shopper module stored on a shopper device; and a server module stored on a server system and in communication with a retailer system; wherein the server module is configured to: match a customer associated with the customer device to a personal shopper associated with the shopper device; schedule a shopping session between the customer and the personal shopper; provide real-time audio-video communication between the customer device and the shopper device during the shopping session, wherein providing the real-time audio-video communication comprises providing a first user interface to the customer device and a second user interface to the shopper device; receive a product listing for a product from the shopper device, wherein the product is sold by the retailer system; provide the product listing overlaid on the first user interface; receive an order for the product from the customer device; process payment by the customer for the product; and provide the order for the product to the retailer system.

30. The system according to claim 29 or any other claim herein, wherein: the shopper device comprises a first smartphone; the shopper module comprises a first smartphone app; the customer device comprises a second smartphone; and the customer module comprises a second smartphone app.