PCT
`
`WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
`International Bureau
`
`
`
`INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`(51) International Patent Classification 7 :
`(11) International Publication Number:
`WO 00/42548
`G
`(43) International Publication Date:
`20 July 2000 (20.07.00)
`06F 17/60
`
`
`
`(21) International Application Number: PCT/US00/00337|(81) Designated States: AE, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG,
`BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, EE,
`ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU,ID,IL,IN,IS, JP,
`KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA,
`MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU,
`SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG,
`UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW, ARIPO patent (GH, GM,KE,LS,
`MW,SD,SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian patent (AM, AZ,
`BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), European patent (AT, BE,
`CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IT, LU, MC,
`NL, PT, SE), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA,
`GN, GW, ML, MR,NE, SN, TD, TG).
`
`
`
`;
`A computer—implemented system and method for coupon
`shopping in an on-line shopping mall. A shopping mall system
`makes electronic stores of an electronic shopping mall publicly
`accessible over a public network to consumers, merchants, and
`others. A consumer may browse from one store to another, or
`select a store by category or otherwise. The consumer mayselect
`a product by browsing through a store, or by searching either a
`store or the mall for a particular type of product. A consumer
`may select one or more products, from one or more stores, for
`consolidated purchase from a single shopping cart. The selected
`products may be grouped together for viewing and/orediting by
`the consumerprior to the consolidated purchase. The consumer
`may add or remove products from the shopping cart, or change
`the quantity of an item, prior to purchase. Also, consumers may
`be offered a merchant coupon (sponsored by a merchant) or a mall
`coupon (sponsored by the shopping mall). A consumer may add
`either kind of coupon to the shopping cart to reduce the price of
`one or more applicable products in the shopping cart. A merchant
`coupon may apply to all products in the merchant’s on-line store,
`or to certain products that may be specified by product category,
`productline, or other categorizations. A mali coupon may apply
`
`(22) International Filing Date:
`
`7 January 2000 (07.01.00)
`
`(30) Priority Data:
`09/228 ,768
`
`9 January 1999 (09.01.99)
`
`US
`
`(71) Applicant: STUMPWORLD SYSTEMS, INC. [US/US]; 70
`Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459 (US).
`
`(72) Inventors: MATALON,Scott, A.; 48 Allston Street, Allston,
`MA 02134 (US). CLEBNIK, Michael, D.; 412 Parker
`Street, Unit H, Newton, MA 02459 (US).
`
`(74) Agent: GORDON,Peter, J.; Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.,
`600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02210 (US).
`
`Published
`Without international search report and to be republished
`upon receiptof that report.
`
`(54) Title) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COUPON SHOPPING IN A COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED SHOPPING MALL
`
`(57) Abstract
`
`FF-LINE,
`SOFRMARESEERTON. lot
`
`toallproductsintheshoppingmail,toproductsinspecifiedstores
`
`or categories of stores, to certain products in specified stores, or
`according to other categorizations.
`
`-
`:
`:
`feo
`oo
`i
`i
`
`DEA
`
`.
`
`PUBLIC NETWORK
`
`a-sevonseessesses
`
`CONSUMER
`NODEB
`
`i
`
`=
`conscumsloSHOPPING
`
`MALL COMPUTER
`SYSTEM,100
`
`160
`?
`
`rf
`
`PAYMENT
`PROCESSOR
`
`PROVI-1022 - Page 1
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`PROVI-1022 - Page 1
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`

`

`Singapore
`
`Albania
`Armenia
`Austria
`Australia
`Azerbaijan
`Bosnia and Herzegovina
`Barbados
`Belgium
`Burkina Faso
`Bulgaria
`Benin
`Brazil
`Belarus
`Canada
`Central African Republic
`Congo
`Switzerland
`Céte d'Ivoire
`Cameroon
`China
`Cuba
`Czech Reraublic
`Germany
`Denmark
`Estonia
`
`ES
`FI
`FR
`GA
`GB
`GE
`GH
`GN
`GR
`HU
`IE
`IL
`Is
`IT
`JP
`KE
`KG
`KP
`
`KR
`KZ
`LC
`LI
`LK
`LR
`
`Spain
`Finland
`France
`Gabon
`United Kingdom
`Georgia
`Ghana
`Guinea
`Greece
`Hungary
`Treland
`Tsrael
`Tceland
`Italy
`Japan
`Kenya
`Kyrgyzstan
`Democratic People’s
`Republic of Korea
`Republic of Korea
`Kazakstan
`Saint Lucia
`Liechtenstein
`Sri Lanka
`Liberia
`
`Lesotho
`Lithuania
`Luxembourg
`Latvia
`Monaco
`Republic of Moldova
`Madagascar
`The former Yugoslav
`Republic of Macedonia
`Mali
`Mongolia
`Mauritania
`Malawi
`Mexico
`Niger
`Netherlands
`Norway
`New Zealand
`Poland
`Portugal
`Romania
`Russian Federation
`Sudan
`Sweden
`
`LS
`LT
`LU
`LV
`MC
`MD
`MG
`MK
`
`ML
`MN
`MR
`MW
`Mx
`NE
`NL
`NO
`NZ
`PL
`PT
`RO
`RU
`SD
`SE
`SG
`
`FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFORMATION ONLY
`
`Codes used to identify States party to the PCT on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international applications under the PCT.
`
`Slovenia
`SI
`Slovakia
`SK
`Senegal
`SN
`Swaziland
`SZ
`Chad
`TD
`Togo
`TG
`Tajikistan
`TJ
`™ Turkmenistan
`TR
`Turkey
`TT
`Trinidad and Tobago
`UA
`Ukraine
`UG
`Uganda
`Us
`United States of America
`UZ
`Uzbekistan
`VN
`Viet Nam
`YU
`Yugoslavia
`ZW
`Zimbabwe
`
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`WO 00/42548
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`PCT/US00/00337
`6
`
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COUPON SHOPPING IN A COMPUTER-
`
`IMPLEMENTED SHOPPING MALL
`
`Copyright Notice
`
`A portionof the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject
`
`to copyright protection, particularly the graphical user interfaces shown in someofthe
`
`drawings. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
`
`the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records,
`
`but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
`
`Field of the Invention
`
`Background
`
`The present invention generally relates to methods and systemsfor providing
`
`incentives for consumers to engage in computer-implemented systems for shopping, and,
`
`moreparticularly, to applying discounts to products ordered by consumersin shopping
`
`systemsaccessible over a public network suchas the Internet.
`
`Related Art
`
`The Internet provides consumers with unprecedented information about, and access
`
`to, merchants and their products. A variety of Internet-based shopping systems are known
`
`20
`
`that attempt to exploit these capabilities by making products available to consumersat an
`
`Internet site. The Internetis a public network that includes a large numberof smaller
`
`networks of computer systems referred to as network servers. Network servers in the
`
`Internet typically support the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that allows the transfer of
`
`data files formatted in the Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML). Theinterconnection of
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`25
`
`such network servers is sometimesreferred to as the World Wide Web,andthe data files
`
`transferred over the World Wide Web are commonlyreferred to as web pages. The Internet
`
`site at which a merchantoffers its products may therefore be referred to as that merchant’s
`
`web page.
`
`(It will be understood that, although the singular “page” is used hereafter for
`
`30
`
`convenience, a web page mayconsist of many linked HTML documents.orportions of
`documents, that may be separately addressed and that may appear to one addressingthe
`documentsas a series of pages of HTML documents.)
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`.
`
`A merchant’s web page contains data such as, for example, products and product-
`
`order forms, that may be viewed by the consumerby use ofa software application
`
`commonly referred to as a web browser. This data may appearin a variety of forms,
`
`including text, graphics, pictures, sound, and video. In addition, a web page commonly
`
`includespointers, or hyperlinks, to other web pagesor to directories. Each hyperlink has
`
`associated with it an address, known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), that uniquely
`
`identifies a directory, web page, or a location on a web page. A user mayselect the
`
`hyperlink and thereby indirectly indicate the URL of the web page that the user wishes to
`
`retrieve. Also, by entering data, such as entering ordering information in an order form, and
`
`then selecting a hyperlink (labeled, for example, “send order”), a consumer mayprovide the
`
`data to the merchant.
`
`Some merchants advertise the URL of their web page so that consumers mayenter
`
`the URL in their browser and thereby access the web page. Also, a consumer who wishesto
`
`find the URL ofa selected merchant mayaccessanyofa variety of Internet-based software
`
`applicationsreferred to as search engines or meta-search engines. However, there are
`
`significantlimitations to the use of these approaches. Asindicated, the consumer must
`
`either know the URL of the merchant with whom the consumer wishesto do business, or
`
`spend time to find the URL using a search engine. Also, the products that the consumer may
`
`view at the merchant’s web site are generally limited to that merchant’s products. If the
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`20
`
`consumerwishesto purchase an item not offered by the merchant, the consumer must repeat
`
`the process of finding the URL of another merchant whocarries the item and accessing that
`
`other merchant’s web page. This situation is analogousto that experienced by a non-Internet
`
`shopper whosearchesthe yellow pages to find a hardwarestore, calls or visits the hardware
`
`store but finds that it does not carry a desired paint brush, searches the yellow pages again to
`
`25
`
`find a paint store, and calls or visits the paint store in search of the brush.
`
`Conventional, physical, shopping malls are attractive to consumersin part because
`
`the process of visiting numerousstores, either to find a desired product or to browse, is
`
`simplified. Similarly, a variety of Internet-based websites are available to provide some
`
`aspects of one-stop electronic shopping. These conventional Internet-based sites generally
`
`30
`
`maybe divided into two types: “product-centric” and “merchant-centric.” In addition. sites
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`
`.
`
`in either of these categories may be distinguished based ontheir relationships to the
`
`merchants who supply the products available at thesite.
`
`The focus of a “product-centric” site is on one or more product categories. for
`
`example, books, computer merchandise, music, and so on. Typically, these sites provide a
`
`searchable catalogue of products. Someof these cataloguesare limited to a particular
`
`product category. An exampleis found at the URL “bibliofind.com”ofBibliofind, Inc..
`
`which deals in books. Book merchants pay a fee to Bibliofind to have their books listed in
`
`the catalogue. An Internet consumershopsBibliofind’s catalogue and selects books listed
`
`on behalf of a number of book merchants. Bibliofind notifies each book merchantof the
`
`consumer’s selections of that merchant’s books. The consumerpurchasesthe booksdirectly
`
`from each merchant. This type of product-centric web site thus enables a consumer
`
`conveniently to engage in shopping for the products of numerous book merchants, an
`
`advantage that is not provided by single-book-merchant sites such as, for example. Barnes
`
`and Noble (“barnesandnoble.com”). However, the type of product-centric site exemplified
`
`by Bibliofind does not provide full “one-site” shopping in the sense that the consumerstill
`
`does business with each book merchant separately. Also, the web site is limited to a
`
`particular kind of product.
`
`To be contrasted are other product-centric sites that directly offer a wide variety of
`
`goodsfor sale to consumers. For example, numerous products. made by numerous
`
`20
`
`manufacturers, may be purchased using the Cybershop website (“cybershop.com’”), or the
`
`online catalog of Shopping.com. Unlike sites such as the Bibliofindsite, the consumerin
`
`this example makesthe purchasedirectly from the web-site host, i.e., Cybershop or
`
`Shopping.com,rather than from the merchants or manufacturers (hereafter, simply
`
`“merchants”) from which the web-site host acquired the products. One disadvantageofthis
`
`25
`
`type of arrangementis that the relationship maybepartially adversarial between the web-site
`
`host and the merchants. The goal of the web-site host generallyis to negotiate to obtain the
`
`products from the merchants at deep enough discounts so that profits may be made even
`
`while the price of the product to the consumeris maintainedat a level competitive with the
`
`price of the product offered directly by the merchant. Byselling products to the web-site
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`30
`
`host at a negotiated discount, however, the merchantis essentially competing withitself for
`
`the businessof at least some of the same consumers.
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`.
`
`This self-competition is made more significant because the merchant's products.
`rather than the merchantitself, is presented to the consumerat the host’s web site. Thatis.
`
`the website is oriented toward encouraging a business relationship between the consumer
`
`and the web-site host, not primarily between the consumerand the merchantthat provided
`the products to the web-site host. This orientation may beparticularly unattractive to
`
`merchantsthat have built wider profit margins by specializing in brand name merchandise.
`
`These merchants present their goods as having additional value due to consumertrust in the
`
`brand name. The willingness of consumers to pay extra for brand names, however, may be
`undermined by the unprecedented ease with whichelectronic catalogue shoppingallows,
`and often encourages, price, feature, and performance comparisons. Also the availability of
`the brand name merchandise in a catalogue of many thousands ofproducts from many
`merchants may undermine the brand-namestatus of a product and makeit appear to
`
`consumers more as a commodity.
`
`This inherent tension between the web-site host and merchants may ultimately
`disadvantage the consumer because the merchant maynot havea strongincentiveto provide
`discounts deep enoughto be passed through to the consumerasprice savings. Aspects of
`this type of arrangement also may be disadvantageousto the web-site host sinceit incurs
`
`costs of acquiring products; processing the acquisition; and,if it takes physical possession,
`
`of storing, shipping, insuring, and otherwise handling the products. If the web-site host does
`
`not take physical possession, it generally must rely on others to ship and handle the products
`
`and otherwisesatisfy the consumers.
`
`The other type of Internet shopping site may be referred to as “merchant-centric”
`
`becausethis type is centered around merchants rather than products. As noted with respect
`to Barnes and Noble, it is commonfor a merchant to host its own web page. The process of
`
`custom designing a web page, however, maybe difficult and expensive, requiring the
`services of consultants. Thus, software products have been developed that assist merchants
`
`in designing and producing the HTML documentsthat, when made appropriately accessible
`
`from an Internet server, constitute a web site. Some, such as Online Merchant™
`
`20
`
`25
`
`(“onlinemerchant.com”) produced by Stumpworld Systems, Inc., are quite easy to use and
`effectively eliminate the expense of hiring consultants to design a web page. However,
`
`30
`
`these software packages generally are not capable of providing other services required for a
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`-5-
`
`.
`
`merchant to achieve an effective Internet presence. For example, a merchant muststill either
`
`find an Internet host, or invest substantial time and moneyto self-host a site. Also, the
`
`merchant must develop strategies for marketing and promoting the website.
`
`One approach to solving these problemsis to group merchants’ websites through a
`
`common web-site host. A numberof these merchant-centric web sites have been developed.
`
`Some examples are YahooStore (“viamall.com”), iCat Mall, (“icat.com”), and iMALL
`
`“jmall.com”). The organization of someofthese electronic malls resembles the
`
`organization of a typical physical shopping mall in that a consumer mayselect products
`
`from one merchant, then move onto another merchantin the mall to select other types of
`
`products, and so on. That is, the consumer deals separately with a group of merchants who
`
`are conveniently assembled for commonaccess through the web-site host. By selecting a
`
`hyperlink to a particular merchant (or merchant’s product), the consumeris presented with
`the merchant’s web page, or “store.” The consumer then shopsin that store and, typically,
`
`arranges purchases for each store separately by filling out a separate order form for each. It
`
`may even be necessary for the consumer to conclude the purchasesfor onestore, by
`
`selecting a hyperlink that sends the order-form information to the merchant, before leaving
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`that merchant’s store.
`
`Summary
`
`The present invention is a computer-implemented system and method for
`
`20
`
`consolidated mall shopping. In one embodiment, a shopping mall system in accordance
`
`with the invention makeselectronic stores of an electronic shopping mall publicly accessible
`
`over a public network to consumers, merchants, and others. In some implementations,
`
`merchants may generate theirstores off-line. Each store typically presents productsforsale
`
`by the merchant that generated the store. A consumer may browse from onestore to
`
`25
`
`another, or select a store by category or otherwise. The consumer mayselect a product by
`
`browsing througha store, or by searching either a store or the mall for a particular type of
`
`product. A consumermayselect one or more products, from one or morestores, for
`
`consolidated purchase from a single “shopping cart.” That is, the consumer mayselect
`
`products from multiple stores and these selections may be grouped together for viewing
`
`30
`
`and/or editing by the consumerprior to the consolidated purchase.
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`The consumer may add or remove products from the shopping cart. or change the
`
`quantity of an item, prior to purchase. Also, consumers may be offered a merchant coupon
`
`(sponsored by a merchant) or a mall coupon (sponsored by the shopping mall). A consumer
`
`may addeither kind of couponto the shopping cart to reducethe price of one or more
`
`applicable products in the shopping cart. A merchant coupon mayapplytoall products in
`
`the merchant’s on-linestore, or to certain products that may be specified by product
`
`category, productline, any combination of the preceding, and/or other categorizations. A
`
`mall coupon may apply to all products in the shopping mall; to products in specified stores
`
`or categories ofstores; to certain products in specified stores that may be specified by
`
`product category, product line, any combination of the preceding and/or other
`
`categorizations; and any combination of the preceding and/or other categorizations.
`
`In one embodiment, the invention is a method for consolidated shopping in an on-
`
`line shopping mallthat provides at least one consumer with access to order two or more
`
`products from two or more on-line stores in the shopping mall. The method includes the
`
`15
`
`stepsof:
`
`(1) generating a first on-line store having associated withit at least a first
`
`product; (2) generating a second on-line store having associated with it at least a second
`
`product; (3) receivingafirst product order from a first consumerforthe first product; (4)
`
`receiving a second productorder from thefirst consumer for the second product; and (5)
`
`generating a first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregation of thefirst and
`
`20
`
`second product orders. In some implementations, step (5) includes dynamically generating
`
`the first aggregated consumerorder in response to a commandfrom thefirst consumer.
`
`In some implementations, the method mayfurtherinclude the step of (6) displaying
`
`the first aggregated consumerorderto the first consumer. The method mayalso include(7)
`
`changingthe first aggregated consumerorderin response to a commandfrom thefirst
`
`25
`
`consumer; and (8) displaying the changed first aggregated consumerordertothe first
`
`consumer. In other implementations, the method includes (6) dis-aggregating the first and
`
`second product orders from the first aggregated consumerorder based ontheir respectively
`
`associated on-line stores. Also included maybethestepsof: (7) reporting the dis-
`
`aggregated first product orderto a first merchant that is associated withthefirst on-line
`
`30
`
`store; and (8) reporting the dis-aggregated second product order to a second merchantthatis
`
`associated with the second on-line store.
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`In yet other implementations, in which thefirst on-line store has associated with it a
`
`third product, the method mayinclude (6) receiving a third product order from a second
`
`consumerfor the third product; (7) generating a second aggregated consumerorder
`
`including an aggregationof at least the third productorder; (8) dis-aggregating the first and
`
`second product orders from thefirst aggregated consumerorder based ontheir respectively
`
`associated on-line stores; and (9) dis-aggregating theat least the third product order from the
`
`second aggregated consumerorder based on the respectively associated on-line stores of the
`
`at least the third product order. In these implementations, the first and second on-line stores
`
`may respectively have associated with them first and second merchants. The method may
`
`also include (7) reporting the dis-aggregated first product order and the dis-aggregated third
`
`productorderto the first merchant; and (8) reporting the dis-aggregated second product
`
`order to the second merchant.
`
`In another embodiment, the invention is a computer-implemented system for
`
`consolidated shopping in an on-line shopping mall. The system providesat least one
`
`consumerwith access to order two or more products from two or more on-line stores in the
`
`
`
`shopping mall. Included in the system are a store managerthat generatesafirst on-line
`
`store having associated with it at least a first product and also generates a second on-line
`
`store having associated with it at least a second product. The system also includes a
`
`transactions managerthat receivesafirst product order fromafirst consumerforthe first
`
`20
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`product, receives a second product order from the first consumerfor the second product. and
`
`generatesa first aggregated consumerorder that includes an aggregation ofthe first and
`
`second product orders.
`
`Another embodimentof the invention is a computer-implemented system for
`
`consolidated shopping in an on-line shopping mall.
`
`In this embodiment, the system
`
`25
`
`provides at least one consumer with access to order two or more products from two or more
`
`on-line stores in the shopping mall. The shopping mall includesa first aggregated consumer
`
`order comprising an aggregation ofa first product orderfor a first product fromafirst
`
`consumer, and a second product order for a second product from the first consumer. The
`
`first productis associated with a first on-line store associated with a first merchant, and the
`
`30
`
`second product is associated with a second on-line store associated with a second merchant.
`
`The system in accordance with this embodimentincludes a transactions managerthat dis-
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`aggregatesthe first and second product orders from the first aggregated consumer order
`
`based ontheir respectively associated on-line stores. The transactions manageralso reports
`
`the dis-aggregated first product order to the first merchant and reports the dis-aggregated
`
`second product order to the second merchant.
`
`In yet another embodiment, the invention is a consolidated shopping mall computer
`
`system for consolidated shopping in an on-line shopping mall. The computer system has a
`
`central processing unit (CPU) and a first memory storage device having stored therein a set
`
`of consolidated shopping managerinstructions for execution by the CPU. When these
`
`instructions are executed, they provide at least one consumerwith access to order two or
`
`more products from two or more on-line stores in the shopping mall. The set of
`
`consolidated shopping managerinstructions includesa set of store managerinstructions that
`
`generate a first on-line store having associated with it at least a first product. Theset of store
`
`managerinstructions also generate a second on-line store having associated with it at least a
`
`second product. Also included in the set of consolidated shopping managerinstructionsis a
`
`set of transactions managerinstructions. Theseinstructions receive a first product order
`
`from a first consumerfor the first product, receive a second product order from the first
`
`consumerfor the second product, and generate a first aggregated consumerorderthat
`
`includes an aggregation ofthe first and second productorders.
`
`The invention, in another embodiment, is storage media that contains software that.
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`whenexecuted on a computing system, performs a method for consolidated shopping in an
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`on-line shopping mall that provides at least one consumer with accessto ordera first product
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`associated with a first-on line store in the shopping mall and a second product associated
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`with a second on-line store in the shopping mall. The method includesthe steps of (1)
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`receiving a first product order from a first consumerfor the first product; (2) receiving a
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`second product order from the first consumerfor the second product; and (3) generating a
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`first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregationofthe first and second
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`productorders.
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`In a further embodiment, the invention 1s a method for consolidated shopping in an
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`on-line shopping mall that provides at least one consumerwith access to order a first product
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`30
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`associated with a first-on line store in the shopping mall and a second product associated
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`with a second on-line store in the shopping mall. The method includesthe steps of: (1)
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`receiving a first product order from a first consumerforthe first product; (2) receiving a
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`second product order from the first consumer for the second product; and (3) generating a
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`first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregation ofthe first and second
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`productorders.
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`In yet a further embodiment, the invention is a computer-implemented system for
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`consolidated shopping in an on-line shopping mall that provides at least one consumer with
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`access to ordera first product associated withafirst-on line store in the shopping mall and a
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`second product associated with a second on-line store in the shopping mall. The system
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`includes a transactions managerthat receivesa first product order fromafirst consumerfor
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`the first product, receives a second product order from the first consumer for the second
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`product, and generatesa first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregation of
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`the first and second productorders.
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`The invention mayalso be a method for consolidated shopping in an on-line
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`shopping mall that providesat least one consumerwith access to order a plurality of
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`products from a plurality of on-line stores in the shopping mall. The plurality of products
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`includesa first product associated with a first-on line store in the shopping mall and a
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`second product associated with a second on-line store in the shopping mall. The method
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`includesthe stepsof: (1) receiving a first product order from a first consumerforthefirst
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`product; (2) receiving a second product order from the first consumerfor the second
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`20
`product; (3) receiving a first coupon havingafirst discount fromthe first consumer; and (4)
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`generating a first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregation ofthe first and
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`second product orders and the first coupon. In one implementation, the method also
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`includes the step of (5) applyingthefirst discountto the first product order.
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`In another embodiment, the invention is a computer-implemented system for
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`25
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`consolidated shopping in an on-line shopping mall. The system providesat least one
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`consumerwith accessto ordera first product associated with a first-on line store in the
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`shopping mall and a second productassociated with a second on-line store in the shopping
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`mall. The system includes a transactions managerthatreceives a first product order from a
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`first consumerforthe first product, receives a second product order from thefirst consumer
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`30
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`for the second product, receives a first coupon havinga first discount from thefirst
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`consumer, and generates a first aggregated consumerorder that comprises an aggregation of
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`the first and second product orders and the first coupon. In one implementation,the
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`transactions manageralso appliesthe first discount to the first product order.
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`In another embodiment, the invention is a method for consolidated shopping in an
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`on-line shopping mall that provides at least one consumer with access to order a plurality of
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`products from a plurality of on-line stores in the shopping mall. The methodofthis
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`embodimentincludes the steps of: (1) selecting a coupon applicable to purchases from at
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`least two ofthe plurality of on-line stores;
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`(2) designating a product for purchase from one
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`of the at least two on-line stores; and (3) applying the couponto purchase the designated
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`product.
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`The above inventions may be employed singly or in combination. The description of
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`one embodimentis not intendedto be limiting with respect to other embodiments.
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`Brief Description of the Drawings
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`The above and further advantages of the invention will be more clearly appreciated
`from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
`drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like structures or method steps, in which
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`the leftmost one or two digits of a reference numeralindicate the numberofthe figure in
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`whichthe referenced elementfirst appears (for example, the element 310 appearsfirst in
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`Figure 3, the element 1020 appearsfirst in Figure 10), dotted lines generally indicate data
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`20
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`flow,solid lines generally indicate control flow or control and data flow, and wherein:
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`Figure | is a simplified schematic diagram of one embodimentof a consolidated
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`shopping mall computer system of the present invention, including its connection to a public
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`network;
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`Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the consolidated shopping mall computer
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`25
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`system of Figure 1;
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`Figure 3A is a simplified functional block diagram of one embodimentof a publicly
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`accessible networkserverof the consolidated shopping mall computer system of Figure 1;
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`Figure 3B is a simplified schematic representation of one implementation of various
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`data structures stored in one embodiment of a memory storage device of the publicly
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`30
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`accessible network server of Figure 3A;
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`Figure 4A is a simplified functional block diagram of one embodimentofan isolated
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`database server of the consolidated shopping mall computer system of Figure 1;
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`Figure 4B is a simplified schematic representation of one implementation of a main
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`database stored in one embodiment of a memory storage device of the isolated database
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`server of Figure 4A;
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`Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of one embodimentof a consolidated
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`shopping managerofthe publicly available network server of Figure 3A;
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`Figure 6A is a functional block diagram of one embodimentof a store manager of
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`the consolidated shopping managerof Figure 5;
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`Figure 6B is one embodimentof a flow diagram showing methodstepsrelated to the
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`operation of one embodiment of a new merchantinitiator of the store manager of Figure 6A:
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`Figure 6C is one embodimentof a flow diagram showing methodsteps related to the
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`operation of one embodimentof an on-line store generator and update of the store manager
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`of Figure 6A with respect to generating or updatingastores data structure of the main
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`database of Figure 4B;
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`Figure 6D is one embodimentof a flow diagram showing methodsteps related to the
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`operation of the on-line store generator and update ofthe store manager of Figure 6A with
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`respect to updating shopping mall pages stored in the memory storage device of Figure 3B:
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`Figure 7 is a simplified schematic representation of one embodimentofa stores data
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`structure of the main database of Figure 4B employedby the store manager of Figure 6A for
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`storing andretrieving stores data;
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`Figure 8A is a simplified graphical representation of one embodimentof a portion of
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`an off-line store employed as a graphical user interface for obtaining information to be
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`processed by the store managerof Figure 6;
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`Figure 8B is a simplified schematic representation of one embodimentof a product
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`hyperlink of the portion of the off-line store of Figure 8A;
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`Figure 9A is a functional block diagram of one embodimentof a transactions
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`manager