System for combining on-line commerce with retail stores
OwnerRobert Baker, Jeremy Knudseninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for providing an e-commerce presence for a merchant having a conventional store infrastructure, wherein the e-commerce presence is operated via a global communications network, wherein a consumer can purchase an item, then choose to pick up that item from a conventional store operated by the merchant, instead of having the item delivered, and wherein the conventional store's inventory database is managed so as to reflect the decrease in inventory at the conventional store for the on-line purchase.
Claims31
A method for providing on-line purchasing of products that are retrieved by a consumer from a conventional store, the method comprising the steps of:
- (1) integrating inventory of a plurality of conventional stores with an on-line site where purchases can be made by the consumer;
- (2) enabling the consumer to select at least one product from the on-line site;
- (3) identifying a geographic location near which the consumer desires to pick up the at least one product;
- (4) providing a list of the plurality of conventional stores that are within a selectable distance of the geographic location;
- (5) enabling the consumer to select one of the plurality of conventional stores from the list where the at least one product will be held for the consumer;
- (6) enabling the consumer to complete a purchase of the at least one product at the on-line site;
- and
- (7) modifying the inventory of the selected one of the plurality of conventional stores to reflect the purchase made by the consumer.
A method for providing on-line purchasing of products that are delivered to a consumer from a conventional store, the method comprising the steps of:
- (1) integrating inventory of a plurality of conventional stores with an on-line site where purchases can be made by the consumer;
- (2) enabling the consumer to select at least one product from the on-line site;
- (3) identifying a geographic location near which the consumer desires the at least one product be delivered from;
- (4) providing a list of the plurality of conventional stores that are within a selectable distance of the geographic location;
- (5) enabling the consumer to select one of the plurality of conventional stores from the list from which the at least one product will be delivered to the consumer;
- (6) enabling the consumer to complete a purchase of the at least one product at the on-line site;
- and
- (7) modifying the inventory of the selected one of the plurality of conventional stores to reflect the purchase made by and delivered to the consumer.
A method for coordinating sales from an on-line purchase with inventory at a conventional store, the method comprising the steps of:
- (1) providing on-line purchasing of a product at a web site;
- and
- (2) enabling a consumer to pick up the product purchased on-line at a conventional store selected by the consumer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.