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US 7,890,379 B2Granted
Methods, systems, and products for facilitating electronic purchases
AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
InventorsBarrett Morris Kreiner, Ronald Perrella
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for facilitating electronic purchases. A record of a customer's selection of items is received at a merchant's server. Some items in the record are associated with a different merchant and were selected from the different merchant's website. The merchant inspects the record for items associated with the different merchant. The merchant sends a recommendation to the customer to remove a different merchant's item and to instead add a substitute item associated with the merchant.
Claims15
A computer-implemented method of facilitating electronic purchases, comprising:
- receiving at a merchant's server an electronic shopping cart comprising a selection of items of a customer from different merchants, with some items associated with a different merchant and selected for purchase from a different merchant's website;
- inspecting the electronic shopping cart for other items associated with the different merchant;
- sending a recommendation to the customer via a communications network to remove a different merchant's item and to instead add a substitute item associated with the merchant;
- seek authorization from the customer to replace the different merchant's item with the substitute item;
- receive a response from the customer via the communications network that authorizes removal of the different merchant's item from the electronic shopping cart;
- replacing the different merchant's item in the electronic shopping cart with the substitute item associated with the merchant;
- sending a notification from the merchant to the different merchant, the notification describing the recommendation to remove the different merchant's item;
- receiving a counteroffer from the different merchant, the counteroffer comprising an updated offer to purchase the different merchant's item;
- and
- permitting the customer to compare the counteroffer with the substitute item and to select a desired item to be added to the electronic shopping cart.
7 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a processor executing code stored in memory that causes the processor to:
- receive at a merchant's server an electronic shopping cart comprising a selection of items of a customer, with some items associated with the merchant and at least one item associated with a different merchant and selected for purchase from the different merchant's website;
- prior to checkout, inspect the electronic shopping cart by the merchant's server for an item associated with the different merchant;
- determine that the item is found in the electronic shopping cart;
- determine that the merchant offers a better term for the item;
- send a recommendation to the customer via a communications network that describes the better term offered by the merchant and that seeks authorization from the customer to replace the item with a substitute item from the merchant;
- receive a response from the customer via the communications network that authorizes removal of the item from the electronic shopping cart;
- replace the item in the electronic shopping cart with the substitute item from the merchant;
- send a notification from the merchant's server to a server associated with the different merchant that describes the recommendation to replace the item with a substitute item from the merchant;
- receive a counteroffer from the server that comprises an updated offer to purchase the item from the different merchant;
- and
- permit the customer to compare the counteroffer with the substitute item and to select a desired item to be added to the electronic shopping cart.
9 more elements
A non-transitory computer program product storing comprising computer-readable instructions for performing a method of facilitating electronic purchases, the method comprising:
- receiving at a merchant's server an electronic shopping cart comprising a selection of items of a customer, with some items associated with the merchant and at least one item associated with a different merchant and selected for purchase from a different merchant's website;
- prior to checkout, inspecting the electronic shopping cart by the merchant's server for the at least one item associated with the different merchant;
- determine that a different merchant's item is found in the electronic shopping cart;
- determine that the merchant offers a better term for the different merchant's item;
- send a recommendation to the customer via a communications network that describes the better term offered by the merchant and that seeks authorization from the customer to replace the different merchant's item with a substitute item from the merchant;
- receive a response from the customer via the communications network that authorizes removal of the different merchant's item from the electronic shopping cart;
- replacing the different merchant's item in the electronic shopping cart with the substitute item associated with the merchant;
- sending a notification from the merchant's server to a server associated with the different merchant that describes the recommendation to replace the item with a substitute item from the merchant;
- receiving a counteroffer from the server that comprises an updated offer to purchase the item from the different merchant;
- and
- permitting the customer to compare the counteroffer with the substitute item and to select a desired item to be added to the electronic shopping cart.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.