Patent Application
20080266130
This invention relates generally to kiosks, and more particularly, but not exclusively, provides a system and method of attracting customers to a kiosk in a store or elsewhere.
Nearly all kiosks and interactive systems installed in retail stores suffer from the problem of not being able to attract users to use them. Most kiosks and interactive systems rely on graphics printed on the external enclosure, or repetitive loops of computer graphics or videos displayed on their screens to attract users. However, the customer acquisition rate is typically low. Such low usage may be acceptable if the kiosk is used only to enhance shopper experience, but it is not acceptable if this kiosk is designed for advertising.
A conventional method to improve the customer acquisition rate is to attract attention via audio, such as a voice greeting. However, the very reason of attracting attention (in particular, voice greeting) is the same reason that alienates or even upsets the customer. The challenge of such a system is striking a subtle balance between (1) optimally attracting as many customers to use it (which will increase the frequency/volume of greetings) and (2) not to upset/annoy the customers or store employees who are standing near the kiosk. For example, one design may require the kiosk to continue broadcasting the greeting on a set frequency (e.g., every 15 seconds), while another to greet every time a motion is detected (e.g., when a motion detector is “ON”). The former will hit and miss, and surely annoy the customers who are standing nearby. The latter will continue to blast voice greetings if a customer is standing in the range of a motion detector even if not interested in the kiosk. Either process will guarantee the failure because of customer complaints. Worse yet, it will upset a store employee who may be present (e.g., on an aisle performing tasks such as restocking). It is frequently seen that the kiosk is “silenced” by a store employee either by being unplugged or shut down completely.
However, simply reducing the frequency/volume or skipping the greeting upon detecting motion will surely reduce the customer acquisition rate.
Accordingly, a new system and method are needed to increase customer acquisition without annoying store employees and/or lingering customers.
Embodiments of the invention provide a system and method to automate intelligent customer acquisition and communication via a kiosk using a unique combination of motion sensing, changing voice level, lighting, computer graphics and videos on screen, centering on an intelligent control method.
In an embodiment of the invention, a method comprises: sensing a customer adjacent to a kiosk using a motion sensor; determining if the customer has lingered by the kiosk for a period of time; and emitting a first aural greeting from the kiosk if it is determined that the customer has not lingered.
In an embodiment of the invention, the system (e.g., kiosk) comprises: a motion sensor; electronics; and a speaker. The motion sensor senses a customer adjacent to the kiosk. The electronics, which are communicatively coupled to the sensor, determine if the customer has lingered by the kiosk for a period of time. The speaker, which is communicatively coupled to the electronics, emits an aural greeting if it is determined that the customer has not lingered.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.
The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a particular application. Various modifications to the embodiments are possible, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to these and other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments and applications shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles, features and teachings disclosed herein.
During operation of the store 100, the kiosk 130 uses motion sensing technology (e.g., electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared light, and/or sound, such as ultrasound, etc.) to detect customers 150 within the area 140. Once a customer is sensed, the kiosk 130 emits an aural greeting, such as, “Welcome!”, music, a chime, etc. As will be described further below, customers 160, which are outside the area 140, are not sensed and therefore the kiosk 130 does not issue an aural greeting for them. Further, the kiosk 130 does not always emit an aural greeting for the customers 150 within the area 140. Emission can be based on various factors, such as the location of the customer, whether the customer just passed the kiosk 130, and/or whether the customer has been shopping near the kiosk 130 for a period of time. These factors will be described further below.
The area 140 is shaped so as to not sense store employees, such as the pharmacist 180, that tend to stay within certain areas that would include an area sensed by a conventional kiosk. As such, the kiosk 130 does not sense the pharmacist 180 in his/her normal location, and therefore does not continuously issue aural greetings, which would lead to annoyance and possibly the deactivation of the kiosk 130 by the pharmacist 180.
In an embodiment of the invention, the kiosk 130 may also include additional devices, such as network connections, additional memory, additional processors, LANs, input/output links for transferring information across a hardware channel, the internet or an intranet, etc. One skilled in the art will also recognize that the programs and data may be received by and stored in the kiosk 130 in alternative ways.
In another embodiment of the invention, a rule is similar to the above one except the engine will play lingering video after playing lingering voice message.
AloneIntervals: Comma separated list of integers specifying the AloneInterval in seconds corresponding to each time period defined by TimePeriods. If the intelligent customer acquisition engine 610 does not detect any motion in AloneInterval seconds, it will assume that the previous customer left the area 140 already. It will assume that any subsequent motion detected is triggered by a new customer.
The aggressiveness of this customer acquisition method 700 can be controlled by multiple parameters. For example, raising the volume level of the speakers is more likely to get customers' attention. Reducing AloneInterval can make the intelligent customer acquisition engine 610 go back to “No customer” state (710) more often and play initial voice messages more frequently. Reducing GreetingGaps can make the engine 610 play “lingering customer” messages more frequently. Increasing FasterFlashLightsPeriod can increase the chance of catching customers' attention. TimePeriods allows one to define multiple time periods based on different traffic pattern in a store at different time of a day, and to tune the aggressiveness differently for different time periods. To improve the effectiveness of the voice messages in certain demographical areas, a percentage of the voice messages, specified by EsPerecent, are played in a different language, e.g. Spanish. In an embodiment of this invention, the values of all the parameters are customized based on the characteristics of a store, e.g. size of store, store hours, traffic pattern, demographics, etc. In another embodiment of this invention, the values of the parameters are automatically adjusted by the engine based on historical traffic volume and pattern (e.g. volume and pattern of motions detected) and historical volume and pattern of language picked by customers. The higher the store traffic, the more aggressive the engine will be to minimize the chance of missing new approaching/passed by customers.
To allow store staff to work nearby the kiosk (e.g. replenishing products on shelves near the kiosk) without being distracted by the kiosk, the intelligent customer acquisition engine 610 provides a way (only known to the store) to mute the kiosk temporarily. The time to un-mute the kiosk automatically is controlled by the parameter GreetingMuteResume.
To avoid detecting undesirable motion, e.g. when one of the motion detectors is pointing to a checkout stand, each motion detector can be individually disabled by the parameter DisableMotion. Further, the, the sensitivity, range and angle of motion detection or even the contour of the range can be configured or adjusted by applying a customized mask on the motion detector 200.
The foregoing description of the illustrated embodiments of the present invention is by way of example only, and other variations and modifications of the above-described embodiments and methods are possible in light of the foregoing teaching. The various embodiments set forth herein may be implemented utilizing hardware, software, or any desired combination thereof. For that matter, any type of logic may be utilized which is capable of implementing the various functionality set forth herein. Components may be implemented using a programmed general purpose digital computer, using application specific integrated circuits, or using a network of interconnected conventional components and circuits. Connections may be wired, wireless, modem, etc. The embodiments described herein are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. The present invention is limited only by the following claims.
This application claims benefit of and hereby incorporates by reference U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/914,799, entitled “System and Method for Automated Intelligent In-Store Customer Acquisition/Communication,” filed on Apr. 30, 2007, by inventors Charles C. Koo et al.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60914799 | Apr 2007 | US |
