System and method for networked loyalty program

#The present invention relates generally to purchaser incentive and awards redemption programs and, more specifically, to the capture of retailer item identifiers and the matching of such retailer item identifiers with corresponding manufacturer item identifiers to facilitate, for example, data analysis and the provision of incentives and awards to consumers.

#Incentive award programs have been developed in a variety of industries to promote customer loyalty. Generally, such programs reward customers for repeat business with the same merchant or service provider by accumulating reward points which can then be redeemed in a plurality of ways, including exchanging the reward points for additional goods and services that may be selected from an approved list or a redemption catalog, for example. The reward points are usually calculated using a predetermined formula or ratio that relates a customer's purchase volume (i.e., in terms of money value or some other volume parameter) to a certain number of reward points. For example, reward points may be issued on a one-for-one basis with each dollar that a customer spends on particular goods and services.

#One well-known example of a customer incentive program is a “frequent flyer” program which rewards airlines passengers with “mileage points” based upon the distances that the passengers fly with a particular airline. The mileage points may then be redeemed for free airfare or free car rentals. Other incentive award programs are designed to induce usage of particular financial instruments, such as credit cards or debit cards, by accumulating reward points or dollar value points based upon the volume of purchases made using the particular financial instrument. These types of programs may be designed such that customers of the financial institution accumulate reward points which can be redeemed for selected goods or services or, alternatively, such that customers accumulate points which have a dollar value which can be applied toward a credit or debit balance, depending on whether the instrument is a credit or debit instrument, for example.

#Additional aspects of the present invention will become evident upon reviewing the non-limiting embodiments described in the specification and the claims, in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals designate like elements, and wherein:

#FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 are schematic block diagrams illustrating exemplary incentive systems in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for instant enrollment at a point-of-sale in accordance with the invention;

#The following disclosure presents and describes various exemplary embodiments in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the following detailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only, and not of limitation, and the scope of the invention is defined solely by the appended claims.

#The present invention may be described herein in terms of functional block components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components (e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like), which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software elements of the present invention may be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, or the like, with the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines, or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted that the present invention may employ any number of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like. For a basic introduction to cryptography, please review a text written by Bruce Schneider which is entitled “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.

#It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical incentive system implemented in accordance with the invention.