Patent Application
20140164176
This application relates to shopping and more particularly to a fast track payment system to securely checkout and exit a store using a smart cart.
The brick and mortar shopping experience had remained unchanged for many years. Customers selected items they wished to purchase. Customers either gathered the items themselves, or gathered product identifiers that they could then take to a cashier to pay for. After paying for the products at the cashier, customers were free to leave the store with their products. One bottleneck in this traditional brick and mortar shopping experience is the check out process. Depending on the day of the week, the time of day, or the season, retail stores can vary in how busy they are. While appropriate staffing, e.g., additional cashiers available during busy times, can help alleviate the pressures that occur when a large amount of customers desire to check out in unison, additional cashiers cost money to employ, or are not always available.
A generally pleasant shopping experience for a customer while selecting products and adding them to their shopping cart can quickly change to a highly negative experience if the customer is forced to wait for an extended period of time to check out. Some customers may see long checkout lines and abandon the products they were planning on purchasing and leave the store without making a purchase. In the case of a customer that does wait in line for an extended period of time, they may not return to the store and may prefer to shop at a store carrying similar products but with less of wait, costing the original store potential future sales. In the case of a customer that abandons the cart, the store loses money in not conducting the sale, and may bear additional costs in restocking the items the customer abandoned to the proper place on their shelves.
With the advent of online shopping, consumers can choose to avoid the brick and mortar experience altogether and instead purchase a product online. In most cases, online customers do not have to wait in line to check out, and can purchase products on their own timeline. However, online shopping does carry inherent disadvantages. For example, a customer cannot physically see the product they are purchasing online and must rely on photos, videos, or a written description of the product. In addition, online shoppers most likely have to wait for the product to be packaged and shipped before receiving the product, while a brick and mortar shopper can take the product with them immediately.
While the traditional brick and mortar shopping experience has distinct advantages in seeing in the product, and catering to instant gratification in taking the product with you upon your exit of the store, processing brick and mortar transactions is traditionally far less convenient that processing an online transaction. Some stores have combated this problem by establishing self checkout lanes where customers can scan the products in their shopping cart, bag the products, and pay for the products. These self checkout lanes can be subject to the same inconveniences of the traditional cashier, in that lines can still form during busy shopping periods requiring customers to wait. For the avoidance of doubt, the above-described contextual background shall not be considered limiting on any of the below-described embodiments, as described in more detail below.
The following presents a simplified summary of the specification in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the specification. This summary is not an extensive overview of the specification. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the specification nor delineate the scope of any particular embodiments of the specification, or any scope of the claims. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the specification in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented in this disclosure.
Systems and methods disclosed herein relate to fast checkout at a retail store using a smart cart. A shopping cart device can have a forward facing radio frequency identification (“RFID”) reader component that can read a first set of RFID tags and generate a first set of items based on RFID information read from the first set of RFID tags. A rear facing RFID reader component can read a second set of RFID tags and generate a second set of items based on RFID information read from the second set of RFID tags. A shopping cart list component can and remove items to a set of shopping cart items based on updates received from the forward facing RFID reader component and the rear facing RFID reader component regarding the first set of items and the second sets of items. A communications component can send and receive data respectively to or from a secure shopping system. A personalization component can receive identification data based on user input received by the shopping cart device, wherein the identification data includes payment vehicle data. A checkout component can, in response to receiving a checkout request, process the set of shopping cart list items to generate transaction data and send the transaction data to the secure shopping system. A payment processing component can present a transaction summary representing the transaction data to the user and requests a transaction authorization from the user. A shopping cart alarm component can trigger an alarm based on the transaction data, the first set of items, and the second set of items.
In another embodiment, a secure shopping system can comprise a communications component that is configured to send or receive data respectively to or from a shopping cart device. A payment information component can receive a payment profile from the shopping cart device, wherein the payment profile includes at least a payment account. A transaction component can receive transaction data representing transaction items from the shopping cart device wherein the transaction data includes radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag data associated with the transaction items. A payment processing component can process a transaction based on the transaction data and the payment account.
The following description and the drawings set forth certain illustrative aspects of the specification. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the specification may be employed. Other advantages and novel features of the specification will become apparent from the following detailed description of the specification when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It may be evident, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the various embodiments.
Systems and methods disclosed herein relate to fast checkout using a smart cart. A customer can use the smart shopping cart to deposit products into as they are shopping. Products can be affiliated with a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag that can be scanned by RFID readers embedded within the smart shopping cart. The shopping cart dynamically updates a list of products within the cart while the customer is shopping. The customer can then checkout using the smart shopping cart independent of the location of the cart, therefore, avoiding any line in the checkout process. In addition, the store can establish anti-theft protocols using the smart shopping cart that unobtrusively protect a store's interest in theft prevention, while offering a heightened level of convenience to the customer.
Referring now to
Smart shopping cart 101 can be a proprietary device that includes the functionality as described herein or alternatively can be a proprietary device that works in conjunction with a consumer electronic device capable of communicating with the store.
At 110, each product 103 in a store catalog 105 can be assigned with a unique RFID tag. An attached RFID tag can be either short range or long range or a combination of both. In one implementation, each individual product, including those products that are identical, can be outfitted with a unique identification such that store catalog 105 can uniquely identity individual variations of each product. In another implementation, the unique identifier can be shared by identical products. By establishing a store catalog/inventory 105 of products correlated with a unique identifier, the catalog can later be used by, for example, anti theft/security protocols 107 in securely processing the transaction.
At 120, store catalog/inventory 105 can be integrated with anti theft security protocols 107. For example, an anti-theft gate or area can be established at the exits of the store. At the gate, a scanner or multiple scanners can be placed capable of reading both long range RFID tags and short range RFID tags. In addition, protocols can be established, as described in more detail with regards to
At 130, a consumer can begin the shopping process by initializing smart shopping cart 101 to act as a mobile wallet for payment/checkout processing by the shopper. For example, using bank/transaction processor 109, the shopper can be identified, and in one example given a purchase limit. A customer could sign into smart shopping cart 101 using a long, password, personal identification number (“PIN”), a thumb print, a fingerprint, facial recognition software, etc, where a shopper profile already exists with preferred payment instructions, such as a specific debit card, credit card, or checking account which the shopper wants to use to process the transaction. In another example, the smart shopping cart 101 can have a card reader on the device that can scan a physical card such as a debit card or a credit card. Bank 109 can then authorize prospective charges to the card, by, for example, placing a hold of funds on the account until a transaction is completed or abandoned. In one example, the shopper can authorize smart shopping cart 101 to place a specified amount on hold. It can be appreciated that a vendor can have some certainty that an amount placed on hold with credit or debit provider guarantees the funds are available later at checkout. A credit or charge limit can be established by the shopper, the bank or the retail store. Example of a credit or charge limit can include, a per transaction limit, a per day limit, a per week limit, a per month limit, etc. In addition, multiple shoppers can be affiliated with an identity, where limits are placed on individual shoppers or the group as a whole. For example, all members of a family can be affiliated with an account with common payment instructions; however, family members can have separate individual limits along with an overall family limit.
At 140, the bank/transaction processor 109 can be integrated with store catalog 105, such that the store catalog 105 can communicate transaction terms directly with bank/transaction processor and personal shopping device 101 can strictly communicate with the store. In this sense, access can be restricted to Bank/Transaction processor 109 to a single point of contact. It can be appreciated that in some instance, by limiting communications to a single point of contact, the security of transactions can be improved.
At 150, a shopper can begin selecting products they wish to purchase by placing them within smart shopping cart 101. RFID tag readers within the smart shopping cart 101 can detect products placed within the cart. It can be appreciated that communication at 160 can occur dynamically as products are placed into the cart at 150. In some implementations, as the product is selected, information about the product can be displayed on smart shopping cart 101, such as pricing, subtotals, quantity, additional product information, a link to a manufacturer web site, a product set of frequently asked questions (“FAQs”), etc. In another implementation, as products are removed from the cart, RFID scanners within the cart can detect the product is no longer present within the cart and a shopping cart list can be updated accordingly.
At 160, products selected at 150 can be moved to a shopping cart list. The shopping cart list can aggregate the unique product identifiers associated with each product added to the list for later use at a security checkpoint when the shopper is exiting the store. IN addition, as the shopping list is dynamically updated, the shopper can be informed via smart shopping cart 101 of the subtotal of items in the cart, or whether a specific product is actually on the shopping cart list. For example, a child could add or remove items from the shopping cart without a guardian's knowledge, and the guardian may wish to consult the shopping cart list to determine if a product in the shopping cart is actually on the shopping cart list.
At 170, the shopper using smart shopping cart 101 can process the transaction, using just smart shopping cart 101. For example, the payment terms authorized at step 130 can be used to complete the transaction by charging a debit card, credit card, withdrawing from a checking account, etc. The shopper using smart shopping cart 101 is not required to meet with an automated or non-automated cashier to close the transaction. Thus, the shopper can be anywhere within the store to close the transaction. This can save the shopper a significant amount of time as items are not needed to be rescanned, subtotaled, and paid for under the traditional retail experience. At this stage, a receipt can be generated. The receipt can be printed on the smart shopping cart, emailed to an email account associated with the shopper's identity, or saved and associated with the shopper's identity within the store.
At 180, a shopper exiting the store can pass through security protocols 107. The shopping cart, shopping bag, or the shopper themselves can be scanned to determine the products within the cart, bag, shopper. For example, security zones can be established at the store's exit where an RFID scanner can work individually or in tandem with the shopping cart RFID scanners to determine whether products within the shopping cart or on the person of the customers, in sum an exit list, have been paid for. The exit list is a list of the actual products the shopper is leaving the store with. The shopping cart list which was subtotaled and paid for at step 170 can then be compared to the exit list. If the two lists don't match, many different solutions can be implemented. For example, if the shopping cart list, e.g., the list of items the shopper paid for, does not include items in the exit list, the shopper can be immediately billed for the unpaid for items. Shoppers can agree to have their method of payment charged for any items not previously paid for, and can be notified of the additional charges. In another example, an alarm can be triggered that notifies store personnel of a potential theft. In an example where the shopper paid for items that are not in the exit list, the transaction can be modified to provide a credit to the shopper.
Referring now to
Similarly, shopping cart 202 is flanked by RFID readers 220 and 222 respectively on opposite sides of shopping cart 202. Product 224 that is within shopping cart 202 will be read by both RFID readers 220 and 222. Product 226 that is outside the shopping cart will be read by only RFID reader 222. It can be appreciated that RFID readers can be setup on any side of a shopping cart, so long as both RFID readers are on opposite sides of the cart.
Referring now to
Shopping cart list component 330 can add and remove items to a set of shopping cart items 308 based on updates received from the forward facing RFID reader component and the rear facing RFID reader component regarding the first set of items and the second sets of items. For example, as referenced supra with regards to
Referring now to
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Payment processing component 520 can present a transaction summary representing the transaction data to the user and requests a transaction authorization from the user. For example, the customer can input any information, e.g., signature, security code, pin number, security question answer, etc. needed to validate the transaction with the customer's bank.
Referring now to
In one implementation, the shopping cart alarm component 610 can trigger the alarm further based on a set of defined security locations. For example, defined security locations can be those locations near an exit. Thus, shopping cart alarm component won't trigger an alarm outside the defined security location, e.g., anywhere within the store where the customer is most likely shopping and not trying to exit the store without paying for merchandise. It can be appreciated that a location RFID tag can be placed near the security locations whereupon either forward facing RFID reader component 310 or rear facing RFID reader component 320 reads the location RFID tag, shopping cart alarm component 610 is then allowed to trigger an alarm.
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At 916, a checkout request can be received. At 918, the set of shopping cart list items can be processed into transaction data. At 920, the transaction data can be sent to the secure shopping system. At 922, the method provides for facilitating presenting a transaction summary based on the transaction data. At 924, subsequent to presenting the transaction summary, a transaction authorization that authorizes a transaction based on the transaction data can be received.
Referring now to
At 1016, a checkout request can be received. At 1018, the set of shopping cart list items can be processed into transaction data. At 1020, the transaction data can be sent to the secure shopping system. At 1022, the method provides for facilitating presenting a transaction summary based on the transaction data. At 1024, subsequent to presenting the transaction summary, a transaction authorization that authorizes a transaction based on the transaction data can be received. At 1026, an alarm can be triggered based on transaction data, the first set of items, and the second set of items.
Referring now to
Payment information component 1120 can receive a payment profile from the shopping cart device, wherein the payment profile includes at least a payment account. Payment account can include at least one of a debit card, a credit card, a routing number and account number associated with a checking account, or a store credit account. In one implementation, payment information component can further receive contact information as a part of the payment profile. In another implementation, payment processing component 1120 further can send a receipt associated with at least one of the transaction or the modified transaction to the contact information.
Transaction component 1130 can receive transaction data representing transaction items from the shopping cart device wherein the transaction data includes radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag data associated with the transaction items. For example, the RFID tag data can include associated RFID tags that are associated with items in the transaction list. Payment processing component 1140 can process a transaction based on the transaction data and the payment profile. In one implementation, payment processing component 1140 can process the transaction independent of the location of the shopping cart device.
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With reference to
The system bus 1508 can be any of several types of bus structure(s) including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Card Bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), Firewire (IEEE 1394), and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI).
The system memory 1506 includes volatile memory 1510 and non-volatile memory 1512. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines to transfer information between elements within the computer 1502, such as during start-up, is stored in non-volatile memory 1512. By way of illustration, and not limitation, non-volatile memory 1512 can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory 1510 includes random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. According to present aspects, the volatile memory may store the write operation retry logic (not shown in
Computer 1502 may also include removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media.
It is to be appreciated that
A user enters commands or information into the computer 1502 through input device(s) 1528. Input devices 1528 include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and the like. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1504 through the system bus 1508 via interface port(s) 1530. Interface port(s) 1530 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1536 use some of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1528. Thus, for example, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1502, and to output information from computer 1502 to an output device 1536. Output adapter 1534 is provided to illustrate that there are some output devices 1536 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other output devices 1536, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1534 include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1536 and the system bus 1508. It should be noted that other devices and/or systems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such as remote computer(s) 1538.
Computer 1502 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s) 1538. The remote computer(s) 1538 can be a personal computer, a bank server, a bank client, a bank processing center, a certificate authority, a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance, a peer device, a smart phone, a tablet, or other network node, and typically includes many of the elements described relative to computer 1502. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1540 is illustrated with remote computer(s) 1538. Remote computer(s) 1538 is logically connected to computer 1502 through a network interface 1542 and then connected via communication connection(s) 1544. Network interface 1542 encompasses wire and/or wireless communication networks such as local-area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN) and cellular networks. LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet, Token Ring and the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).
Communication connection(s) 1544 refers to the hardware/software employed to connect the network interface 1542 to the bus 1508. While communication connection 1544 is shown for illustrative clarity inside computer 1502, it can also be external to computer 1502. The hardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1542 includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and external technologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems, cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and wired and wireless Ethernet cards, hubs, and routers.
Referring now to
The system 1600 also includes one or more server(s) 1604. The server(s) 1604 can also be hardware or hardware in combination with software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The servers 1604 can house threads to perform, for example, identifying morphological features, extracting meaning, auto generating FAQs, ranking, etc. One possible communication between a client 1602 and a server 1604 can be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes where the data packet contains, for example, a certificate. The data packet can include a cookie and/or associated contextual information, for example. The system 1600 includes a communication framework 1606 (e.g., a global communication network such as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client(s) 1602 and the server(s) 1604.
Communications can be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber) and/or wireless technology. The client(s) 1602 are operatively connected to one or more client data store(s) 1608 that can be employed to store information local to the client(s) 1602 (e.g., cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s) 1604 are operatively connected to one or more server data store(s) 1610 that can be employed to store information local to the servers 1604.
The illustrated aspects of the disclosure may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
The processes described above can be embodied within hardware, such as a single integrated circuit (IC) chip, multiple ICs, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. Further, the order in which some or all of the process blocks appear in each process should not be deemed limiting. Rather, it should be understood that some of the process blocks can be executed in a variety of orders that are not all of which may be explicitly illustrated herein.
What has been described above includes examples of the implementations of the present invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methods for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but many further combinations and permutations of the subject embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Moreover, the above description of illustrated implementations of this disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed implementations to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such implementations and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.
In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the various embodiments includes a system as well as a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/or events of the various methods of the claimed subject matter.
