Retailing methods and systems

A computerized retailing promotion system capable of communicating with client devices operated by a plurality of consumers and merchants over a communications network, the computerized retailing promotion system being utilized for selling vouchers to consumers via client devices operated by the consumers, each said voucher including a deal at one of a plurality of sequential levels that can be redeemed by a consumer at a merchant for a specified product or service, wherein a consumer is entitled to purchase a voucher having a deal at a higher level only if the consumer has purchased a voucher having a deal at an immediately lower level, and wherein for each consumer redemption of a voucher at a merchant, the computerized retailing promotion system is configured to:

• (i) receive notification from the merchant when the consumer redeems the voucher;
• (ii) make a payment to the merchant;
• (iii) unlock a deal at the next sequential level, if available, and enable the consumer to purchase a voucher for that deal;
• and (iv) repeat steps (i) to (iii) until deals at all levels of a promotion have been sold to the consumer.

A computer program product for conducting retailing promotions, said computer program product residing on a non-transitory computer readable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer processor, cause that processor to:

• (a) sell vouchers to consumers operating client devices, each said voucher including a deal at one of a plurality of sequential levels that can be redeemed by a consumer at a merchant for a specified product or service, wherein a consumer is entitled to purchase a voucher having a deal at a higher level only if the consumer has purchased a voucher having a deal at an immediately lower level;
• and
• (b) for each consumer redemption of a voucher at a merchant:
• (i) receive notification from the merchant when the consumer redeems the voucher;
• (ii) make a payment to the merchant;
• (iii) unlock a deal at the next sequential level, if available, and enable the consumer to purchase a voucher for that deal;
• and (iv) repeat steps (i) to (iii) until deals at all levels of a promotion have been sold to the consumer.