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`is to be understood that any number of users and mobile devices may exist in this architecture
`
`and may be appropriate recipients for an advertisement 1610.
`
`[0130]
`
`Each of the mobile devices 104 and 1614 mayreceive geolocation information from a
`
`satellite 112 or other source.
`
`The respective mobile devices 104 and 1614 may receive
`
`geolocation information fromdifferent sources (e.g., a radio antenna for one mobile device and a
`
`WiFi hotspot for the other mobile device). The geolocation of the mobile devices 104 and 1614
`
`may be matched with geolocation(s) 512 associated with advertisement content 510 as illustrated
`
`in Fig 5. This may provide location-relevant advertising to the mobile devices 104 and 1614.
`
`[0131]
`
`Fig. 17 illustrates process 1700 for presenting advertisements on a device based on
`
`bids submitted by merchants. At operation 1702, an indication of a geolocation of a mobile
`
`device is received. The geolocation may be determined in reference to the satellite 112
`
`illustrated in Fig. 16. At operation 1704, an advertisement preference of a user of the mobile
`
`device is determined. The system may be configured so that a user receives no advertisements
`
`unless a user affirmatively opts in to receive advertisements. The user preference information
`
`may be part of a user profile such as user profile 404 illustrated in Fig. 4. The advertisement
`
`preference may also specify which categories of advertisements and from which merchants the
`
`user
`
`is willing to receive advertisements.
`
`In some implementations, a list of trusted
`
`merchant(s) 408 may determine the merchants that are able to send advertisements to the user.
`
`The advertising preferences may comprise any other type of user information. For example, the
`
`user information may include information about past transactions between the user and the
`
`merchant. This may be used to create targeted advertisements, for example, by telling the user
`
`about items that he or she purchased in the past and may wish to purchase again (c.g., tall lattc)
`
`or about related items that the user may also wish to purchase (e.g., you purchased a chili dog for
`
`lunch, would you like to purchase antacids at our nearby drugstore?).
`
`[0132] Next, at operation 1706, merchants are identified based on the geolocation of the
`
`mobile device and on the advertisement preference of the user. The identified merchants may
`
`include only merchants within a specified distance from the mobile device. This can limit the
`
`possible source of advertisements to only those merchants that are located proximate to the
`
`geolocation of the mobile device. For example, if the user is walking downa street lined with
`
`restaurants, restaurants along that street may be eligible to advertise on the mobile device but
`
`restaurants located across town would not. A threshold or radius within which merchants are
`
`identified as being proximate to the mobile device may vary based on the type of advertisement.
`
`For example, restaurant advertisements may only be sent to mobile devices that are within a
`
`quartcr mile of the restaurant gcolocation. However, hotcl advertisements may be sent to uscrs
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`with mobile devices within five miles of the hotel geolocation. Additionally, the advertisements
`
`may be sorted by time such that restaurant advertisements may be more common or cover a
`
`larger geographic area in the hours before dinner time and hotel advertisements may cover a
`
`larger geographic area earlier in the day but progressively narrow the geographic focus as it
`
`becomesnight.
`
`[0133]
`
`Once a pool of merchants has been identified based on at
`
`least geolocation and
`
`advertisement preference, bids are received from those merchants at operation 1708. The bids
`
`may be received and processed by the bidding module 312 illustrated in Fig. 3. Each of the bids
`
`may include different factors that the merchant is bidding on as well as a maximum bid price, a
`
`range of bid prices, or other bidding characteristics. For example, a merchant may bid a higher
`
`amount to place advertisements on the mobile device of a user who has made purchases from
`
`that merchant
`
`in the past. As a further example,
`
`the merchant may bid more to place
`
`advertisements on mobile devices that are nearer to the merchant and bid less to place
`
`advertisements on mobile devices that are farther away from the merchant.
`
`[0134] At operation 1710, an advertisement is selected. The selected advertisement may be
`
`determined based on the bid price, the user preferences, and other factors such as, for example,
`
`whether the merchant has enough moneyin an advertising account to pay the bid price. In some
`
`implementations, a winning bid that determines the selected advertisement may be the bid
`
`associated with a largest amount of money. Other bidding or auction arrangements are also
`
`possible such as, for example, the highest bidder paying an amount bid by the second highest
`
`bidder.
`
`[0135] Next, at operation 1712, the selected advertisement is presented on the mobile device.
`
`The advertisement may be supplicd from the advertisement database 126 illustrated in Figs. 5
`
`and 16. More specifically, the advertisement may be generated based on the advertisement
`
`content 510 illustrated in Fig. 5. The advertisement may be presented on the mobile device as a
`
`banner, in a specialized ad window,or the like.
`
`In some implementations, the advertisement
`
`may be integrated with a map so that the user caneasily identify the location of the merchant that
`
`corresponds to the advertisement. The advertisements may remain on the mobile device for
`
`variable periods of time. Some advertisements may expire after a fixed amount of time such as
`
`one minute. Advertisements may also expire based on geolocation of the mobile device so that
`
`when the mobile device leaves a geolocation near the merchant, that merchant’s advertisementis
`
`replaced by a different advertisement.
`
`[0136]
`
`Fig. 18 illustrates process 1800 for providing a promotion to devices when a number
`
`of devices at a merchant exceeds a threshold. Advertisements may contain information touting
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`the virtues of a merchant or the advertisements may also include a coupon or some type of
`
`promotion that may incentivize users to visit the merchant. Merchants may desire driving a large
`
`amount oftraffic through their stores and choose to structure promotions to incentivize many
`
`users to comeinto their stores at the same time. This may also contribute to a certain atmosphere
`
`or ambiance of a busy, lively merchant. Social networking functionality on mobile devices may
`
`be used to spread these types of promotions “virally” or directly from userto user.
`
`[0137] At operation 1802, a number of mobile devices at a merchant is determined based on
`
`geolocation information provided by each of the mobile devices. For example, each mobile
`
`device could detect its own geolocation based on a satellite or other system, and expose that
`
`information to a server(s) 118 for inclusion in a map 310 in which the geolocations of multiple
`
`mobile devices are correlated with the geolocation of a merchant. The number of mobile devices
`
`may represent a numberof unique users present at that geolocation.
`
`[0138] Next, at decision point 1804,
`
`the number of mobile devices at
`
`the merchant
`
`is
`
`compared to a threshold number. The threshold number may be set by the merchant as, for
`
`example, a number of people the merchant would like to have on its premises.
`
`In this
`
`implementation, the threshold may be an integer number. The threshold number may be based at
`
`least in part on a numberof mobile devices at the merchant for which the merchantis designated
`
`as a trusted merchant. For example, if the merchant wishes to bring in new users with the hopes
`
`that they will designate this merchant as a trusted merchant, the threshold may beset as a ratio
`
`such the threshold is exceeded when, for example, more than a third of all mobile devices
`
`present do not designate this merchant as a trusted merchant. When the number of mobile
`
`devices at the merchant exceeds the threshold number, process 1800 proceeds from decision
`
`point 1804 along the “yes” path to operation 1806 and provides a promotion to the users. The
`
`promotion may be a discount for a good or service available at the merchant. The promotion
`
`may be provided to all the users present at the merchant or to only a subset. For example, to
`
`reward loyal customers, a coupon may be sent to the mobile devices of users who have
`
`transacted with this merchant in the past.
`
`[0139]
`
`The promotion may be personalized for each of the users of the mobile devices based
`
`on user information associated with the mobile device. This using information may be the same
`
`as the user information 210 illustrated in Fig. 2 or the user information 122 illustrated in Fig. 4.
`
`For example, in a coffee shop each user may receive a couponfor one dollar off the coffee drink
`
`he or she has indicated as a favorite drink. Other user information may also be analyzed to
`
`personalize the promotions. The coupon may incentivize the user to return to the merchant by
`
`providing a discount at a later time (c.g., this coupon is valid from tomorrow for the next 10
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`days) or by geolocation (e.g., please use this coupon at one of our other stores). The coupon may
`
`also be associated with the user identification so that the coupon is applied automatically the next
`
`time that user conducts a transaction with that merchant.
`
`[0140]
`
`If however,
`
`the number of mobile devices at the merchant does not exceed the
`
`threshold, process 1800 may proceed along the “no” path to operation 1808 and send a message
`
`to the mobile devices. The message maybe a notification of how many more devices must be
`
`present at the merchantin order to cross the threshold. This could be a source of viral marketing
`
`by encouraging users to call or text their friends to come to this merchant location—with their
`
`mobile devices—so that the threshold is crossed and everybody receives the promotion.
`
`In
`
`implementations,
`
`in which mobile devices are counted as being at
`
`the geolocation of the
`
`merchant only when the user of that mobile device opts to expose his or her geolocation to the
`
`merchant this may encourage reticent users to share this information in order to receive the
`
`promotion. Many other implementations that take advantage of the “peer pressure” effect by
`
`providing a promotion for aggregate behaviorare also possible.
`
`[0141]
`
`There may also be instances in which a large number of customers, as indicated by a
`
`number of mobile devices, may be undesirable to the merchant and or the users. Thus in one
`
`implementation,
`
`the “advertisement” may comprise a notification about how many mobile
`
`devices are present at a merchant and to what extent this number exceeds a maximum or
`
`threshold number. For example, a restaurant may report that more mobile devices are present at
`
`its geolocation than the restaurant has seats. With this information a user could be forewarned
`
`that he or she may have to wait for a table at that restaurant. As another example, an airline may
`
`identify mobile deviccs of uscrs scheduled to be on a flight that are not yet at the airport (or not
`
`within a threshold distance of the boarding gate) to inform these users that
`
`the fight
`
`is
`
`overbooked. This implementation may use geolocation in conjunction with user information 122
`
`(e.g., the flight reservation) to provide an offer to take a later flight (perhaps in exchange for an
`
`upgrade or such) to those customers most likely to avail themselves of that offer.
`
`In these
`
`instances the process flow from decision point 1804 may be switched in that the message is sent
`
`out if the numberof user devices exceeds the threshold number.
`
`[0142] After
`
`sending the message at operation 1808, process
`
`1800 may return to
`
`operation 1802 and again determine a number of devices at the merchant. This may repeat until
`
`the threshold is crossed or until a period during which the promotion periods ends. The process
`
`illustrated in Fig. 16 may be combined with process 1800. For example, merchants may bid for
`
`the right to send an advertisement that comprises a promotion.
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`Location-based Coupons
`
`[0143]
`
`Fig. 19 illustrates process 1900 for providing geo-relevant couponsto a mobile device.
`
`Coupons represent one type of promotion or advertisement that may be sent from merchants to
`
`mobile devices. Geo-relevant coupons can be thought of as relevant to a particular location
`
`when a merchant that accepts the coupon is located nearby. When a user is presented with
`
`couponsthat are relevant to his or her current location, as opposed to all available coupons, the
`
`friction associated with selecting and using a coupon is minimized. The incentive of receiving a
`
`discount by using the coupon combined with geographic proximity of the merchant may
`
`encourage users who would otherwise bypass a merchantto stop in and make a purchase.
`
`[0144] At operation 1902, a computing device such as the server 118 shown in Fig. 1 may
`
`receive a request for one or more couponsthat are relevant to a geolocation of the mobile device.
`
`In some implementations, a user of the mobile device may initiate the communication by
`
`pressing,
`
`for example,
`
`a “send me coupons” button.
`
`In other
`
`implementations,
`
`the
`
`communication may be initiated automatically by the mobile device. For example, the user may
`
`have previously indicated a willingness to recetve geo-relevant coupons when such coupons
`
`becomeavailable.
`
`[0145] At operation 1904,
`
`the geolocation of the mobile device is determined.
`
`The
`
`gcolocation may be determined by the location scnsor 230 of Fig. 2 using, for cxample, GPS
`
`technology.
`
`[0146] At operation 1906, a user profile such as the user profile 404 shownin Fig. 4 may be
`
`accessed by, for example, the server 118. The user profile may contain information about the
`
`user such as a wish list of goods or services for which the user has previously expressed interest.
`
`The wish list may bea list of things that the user wishes to purchase for himself or herself or the
`
`wish list could be a shopping list or a lists of gifts to buy for other people. The user profile may
`
`also contain a transaction record such as the transaction record 406 shown in Fig. 4. The
`
`transaction record may identify goods or services that the user previously purchased.
`
`[0147] At operation 1908, bids for the privilege of sending a coupon to the mobile device may
`
`be received from merchants. The coupon may function as a form of advertising and merchants
`
`that wish to send coupons to the mobile device may be charged for sending coupons.
`
`In some
`
`implementations, the merchant with the highest bid may be allowed to send coupons to the
`
`mobile device.
`
`[0148] At opcration 1910, a gceo-relevant couponis selected to be sent to the mobile device.
`
`The selection may be based on the geolocation 1912 of the mobile device. The selected coupon
`
`is geo-relevant because it is redeemable at a merchant location that
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`current location of the mobile device. As discussed above,
`
`the concept of “near” may be
`
`determined by presence of the mobile device within a predetermined proximity of a merchant
`
`location.
`
`[0149]
`
`In some implementations, other factors may also be used to select the coupon. For
`
`example, a coupon may have a limited time span during which it is valid. A coupon for a
`
`restaurant may only be valid from Sunday to Thursday. A coupon for a coffee shop may only be
`
`valid after 11:00 AM. Thus, the user may need to be at the right place (i.e., geolocation) and be
`
`there at the right time in order to use a coupon. Thus, sending a coupon to the user that cannot
`
`be used in the nearfuture either because of geographic or temporal limitations may be frustrating
`
`and oflimited use to the user. Therefore, the operation 1910 may also select the geo-relevant
`
`coupon based on a time period 1914 for which the geo-relevant couponis valid.
`
`[0150] Additionally, the user profile 1916 may be used to select a geo-relevant coupon to
`
`send to the mobile device. If the user profile includes a wish list, a coupon for a good or service
`
`included on the wish list may be selected.
`
`Similarly,
`
`if the user profile 1916 includes a
`
`transaction record, the coupon sent to the mobile device may be based on the transaction record.
`
`For example, inferences may be made about whatthe useris likely to buy in the future based on
`
`past purchases recorded in the transaction record. Therefore, coupons for goods or services that
`
`are likely of interest to the user may be selected based on the transaction record.
`
`[0151]
`
`Selecting the coupon to send to the mobile device may also be based on bids 1918
`
`received from the merchants at operation 1908. For example, if the mobile device is near to
`
`competing merchants, those merchants may wish to send their coupon to the mobile device and
`
`prevent the competitor from sending a coupon. Thus, the bids 1908 may be an additional factor
`
`used in sclecting the coupon to scnd to the mobile device.
`
`In some implementations, the winning
`
`merchant may not pay the bid amount unless the user actually redeems the coupon. Any
`
`combination of the above factors (e.g., geolocation 1912, time period 1914, user profile 1916,
`
`and/or bids 1918) may be used to select the coupon to send to the mobile device.
`
`[0152] At operation 1920, the selected geo-relevant coupon is sent to the mobile device. The
`
`coupon may be sent wirelessly as a signal from, for example, the radio antenna 114 shown in
`
`Fig. 1.
`
`[0153]
`
`Fig. 20 illustrates process 2000 for providing coupons to mobile devices based on
`
`agerceatc group bchavior. As discussed above, merchants may desire more (or fewer) customers
`
`to come to a merchant location. One way of incentivizing behavior is by providing coupons
`
`based on aggregate or group behavior. For example, coupons may be made available to all the
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`mobile devices at a merchant location when the number of mobile devices exceeds a threshold,
`
`but coupons may not be provided to any of the mobile devices until that threshold is reached.
`
`[0154] At operation 2002,
`
`is determined that a mobile device is within a predetermined
`
`proximity of a merchant. The determination of presence within a predetermined proximity may
`
`be similarto that discussed above.
`
`[0155] At operation 2004, a notification is sent
`
`to the mobile device responsive to the
`
`determination that the mobile device is within the predetermined proximity. The notification
`
`may include a request for the user to perform an action and an indication of a threshold number
`
`of other users of mobile devices within the predetermined proximity of the merchant that must
`
`also perform the action before a couponwill be sent to the mobile devices. The action may be
`
`logging in to an account maintained on a communications network such as the network 116
`
`shown in Fig. 1. Logging in may be a signal that the users are present and ready to receive a
`
`coupon. The users may login to, for example, the server 118 or the merchant server 108. Other
`
`actions may such as making a purchase at the merchant, sending a message inviting a friend to
`
`come to the merchant, and the like may also be requested.
`
`[0156]
`
`The notification may also include a description of the coupon. For example, the
`
`notification may indicate that everyone will receive a one dollar off coupon for a cup of coffee
`
`if 10 pcople cometo this coffee shop and login to their accounts.
`
`[0157] At decision point 2006 is determined if the notification includes a time limit. In some
`
`implementations, there may be a time limit within which the users must perform the action.
`
`In
`
`such implementations, the notification sent at operation 2004, may also include an indication of
`
`the time limit. At decision point 2006, When the notification does not include a time limit,
`
`process 2000 proceeds along the “no” path and continues to operation 2008. When the
`
`notification does include a time limit, process 2000 proceeds along the “yes” path to decision
`
`point 2014.
`
`[0158] At operation 2008, a number of users within the predetermined proximity that have
`
`performed that action is determined. Ifthe action is logging in to a web-based service or account
`
`then an entity that manages the service or account may count the numberof user based on the
`
`logins.
`
`[0159] At decision point 2010, the number of user within the predetermined proximity that
`
`has performed the action is comparedto the threshold number providedin the notification sent at
`
`operation 2004.
`
`If it is determined that fewer than the threshold number have performed the
`
`action, process 2000 proceeds along the “no” path and returns to operation 2008 to again
`
`determine how many user within the predetermined proximity have performedthe action.
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`[0160] When the numberof users exceeds the threshold, process 2000 proceeds along the
`
`“yes” path to operation 2012. At operation 2012, a coupon redeemable at the merchantis sent to
`
`the mobile devices of the users that performed the action.
`
`[0161]
`
`Returning to decision point 2006, when the notification indicates a time limit and
`
`process 2000 proceeds along the “yes” path to decision point 2014. At decision point 2014, it is
`
`determined if the time limit has expired. Ifthe time limit has a definite end period then once that
`
`time is reached no more coupons will be sent to users. Thus, if it is determined that the time
`
`limit has expired, process 2000 proceeds along the “yes” route to operation 2016 when there
`
`process 2000 ends.
`
`[0162] Whenthe timelimit has not yet expired, either because the time during which coupons
`
`are sent has not yet started or is currently ongoing, process 2000 proceeds along the “no” route
`
`to operation 2018.
`
`[0163] At operation 2018, the numberof users within the predetermined proximity that have
`
`performedthe action within the time limit is determined.
`
`[0164] At decision point 2020, the numberof uscrs within the predetermined proximity that
`
`have performedthat action within the time limit is comparedto a threshold number. When fewer
`
`than the threshold number have performed the action process 2000 proceeds along the “no” path
`
`and returns to operation 2018 where the numberof users within the predetermined proximity that
`
`have performedthe action within the time limit is again determined.
`
`[0165] When more thanthe threshold numberof users has performed the action, process 2000
`
`proceeds along the “yes” path to operation 2012 where the coupon redeemable at the merchantis
`
`sent to the mobile devices of the users that performed the action within the time limit.
`
`[0166]
`
`Fig. 21 illustrates process 2100 for activating a coupon on a mobile device in response
`
`to a user of the mobile device logging in to a server or other computing device.
`
`In some
`
`implementations, the user may wish to select and download couponsto his or her mobile device
`
`in advance. One way of doing this may involve the user accessing an account from a desktop
`
`computer, or some other computing device that may be different than the mobile device, and
`
`sclecting couponsthat are then pushed to the mobile device or associated with a unique identifier
`
`of the user and later retrieved from the mobile device.
`
`[0167] At operation 2102, login credentials of the user are received. The login credentials
`
`may be entered from the mobile device or from another computing device such as a desktop
`
`computer.
`
`In some implementations, the login credentials may also indicate membership in a
`
`group that has special privileges or otherwise could receive coupons different from those
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`provided to users who are not members of the group. For example, a coupon redeemable at a
`
`store where membership is required (e.g., Costco, Bi-Mart, etc.) may only be sent to users that
`
`are members. The login credentials of the user may also be associated with the transaction
`
`record ofthe user.
`
`[0168] At operation 2104, a plurality of coupons available on a network-accessible database
`
`such as, for example, the advertisement database 126 shown in Fig. 4 may be presented to the
`
`user. The network-accessible database may be accessible through the Internet and presented in a
`
`user interface as a webpage.
`
`In other implementations, the network-accessible database may be
`
`implemented like an app store (orin this case a “couponstore”) that is available from a limited
`
`network such as a network operated by a mobile phoneservice provider.
`
`[0169] At operation 2106, a selection by the user of a coupon redeemable at a merchant from
`
`the plurality of coupons is received. The user mayalso select more than one couponat a time.
`
`[0170] At opcration 2108, an inactive version of the coupon may be sent to the mobile device.
`
`The inactive version may be a placeholder or abbreviated representation of the coupon. This
`
`may be characterized by having a small file size but also uniquely identifying the couponitself.
`
`The inactive version may also be implemented by providing a complete coupon with all the
`
`information necessary for the coupon to be redeemed, but blocking or otherwise inactivating the
`
`coupon until a code, token, key, or similar data to activate the couponis provided.
`
`[0171] At operation 2110, coupons for which inactive versions are present on the mobile
`
`device may be identified. This may be thought of as creating a list of those couponsthat the user
`
`has already downloadedto his or her device and are ready to be used onceactivated.
`
`[0172] At operation 2112, one of the inactive coupons identified at operation 2110 may be
`
`recommended to the user. The recommendation may be based on any numberof factors such as
`
`the geolocation of the mobile device, the transaction record of the user, and the like. The user
`
`may forget which coupons he or she has available on his or her mobile device or the user may
`
`not realize that a merchant for which he or she has already downloaded a coupon is nearby.
`
`Recommending a coupon to the user may help the user fully utilize his or her coupons.
`
`[0173] At operation 2114, the login credentials are received from the mobile device while the
`
`mobile device is located within a predetermined proximity of the merchant. For example, after
`
`arriving as a merchant (or at the parking lot in front of the merchant) the user may manually
`
`enter his or her login credentials in order to access a coupon, inform the merchant that he or she
`
`has arrived, or for another reason.
`
`In some implementations, the uscr may sct the mobile device
`
`to automatically send a message when the mobile device enters the predetermined proximity of
`
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`the merchant. By providing the user login credentials automatically, friction involved with
`
`redeeming a coupon may be reduced.
`
`[0174] At operation 2116 a current time is determined. The current time may be determined
`
`by the calendar/clock 228 shown in Fig. 2.
`
`In some implementations the current time may be the
`
`time when the login credentials are received in operation 2114.
`
`[0175] At decision point 2118, a time of receiving the login credentials of the mobile device
`
`may be compared with a predetermined time. When the time of receiving the login credentials
`
`matches the predetermined time, process 2100 follows the “yes” path and proceeds to
`
`operation 2120. When the time of receiving the login credentials does not match the
`
`predetermined time, process 2100 follows that “no” path and returns to operation 2116 to re-
`
`determine the current time.
`
`In implementation in which providing the login credentials serves to
`
`determine the time, the user may need to re-enter or re-transmit login credentials to reset the
`
`current time.
`
`[0176] At operation 2120, data that activates the coupon is transmitted to the mobile device.
`
`The data may be a code, a token, a key, or the like. Once activated, the user may elect to use a
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`coupon by presented to the merchant either as a visual image shown on a display of the mobile
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`device (e.g., a barcode or another code that an employee enters into a point-of-sale terminal) or
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`in some implementations the coupon may be automatically applicd when the uscr makes a
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`purchase using the mobile device.
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`Illustrative Notifications and Recommendations Based on Geolocation
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`[0177]
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`Fig. 22 showsan illustrative architecture 2200 in which a representative user 102
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`receives information about nearby merchants on a mobile device 104. The user 102 and his or
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`her mobile device
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`104 may be located near
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`several merchants
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`represented here as
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`merchant (1) 2202 merchant (2) 2204, and merchant (3) 2206. The merchants may be similar to
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`the merchant 106 shown in Fig. 1. The location of the mobile device 104 may be determined by
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`the location sensor 230 shown in Fig. 2. For example, the satellite 112 may provide global
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`positioning information to the mobile device 104. The locations of the various merchants 2202,
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`2204, and 2206 may be provided directly to the mobile device 104 (e.g., by wireless radio wave
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`transmissions) or included as a geolocation 500 stored in a merchantprofile 122 available to the
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`server(s) 118.
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`In this implementation, the server(s) 118 may compare a geolocation of the
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`merchants 2202, 2204, and 2206 with a geolocation of the mobile device 104 to determine the
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`relative proximity of the user 102 with the merchants 2202, 2204, and 2206.
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`44
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`

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`WO 2011/119407
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`PCT/US2011/028825
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`[0178]
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`The concept of “near” may be determined by a predetermined proximity, such as a
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`circle 2208, centered on the user 102 and the mobile device 104. The size of the circle 2208,
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`which may be represented by a radius, may vary based on geolocation of the mobile device 104,
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`user preferences set by the user 102, a strength of wireless signals received by the mobile
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`device 104, or other factors. The size of the circle 2208 mayalso vary over time and vary based
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`the nature of an interaction between the user 102 and the mobile device 104. Although
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`illustrated here as a circle 2208, the predetermined proximity relative to the mobile device 104
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`may have any shape. For example, if the user 102 is in an urban environment wherestreets are
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`arranged in a regular grid pattern, the shape may be a squareorrectangle.
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`[0179]
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`The location of the circle 2208 or the point about which the circle is centered may in
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`some implementations be based on a fixed location rather than the current location of the mobile
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`device 104. For example, the user 102 may provide his or her home, work, or other address.
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`The user 102 may frequently shop around this fixed location and may also frequently return to
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`this fixed location. Thus, in some implementations the user 102 may receive notifications of
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`coupons that are useful at merchants near his or her home, office, etc. even when his or her
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`mobile device 104 is at another geolocation.
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`[0180]
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`The architecture 2200 also shows a merchant (4) 2210 and a merchant (5) 2212 that
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`arc outside the predetermined proximity of the mobile device 104.
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`In some implementations,
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`information about these merchants 2210 and 2212 may not be provided to the user 102 because
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`the merchants 2210 and 2212 are deemed too far away. Although three merchants 2202, 2204,
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`and 2206 are shown as being within the predetermined proximity and two merchants 2210
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`and 2212 are shown as being outside of the predetermined proximity, these numbers are only
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`illustrative and any number of merchants (including zcro) may be inside or outside of the
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`predetermined proximity.
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`[0181]
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`Each of the merchants 2202, 2204, 2206, 2210, and 2212 may be associated with
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`goods/services 502 offered for sale by that merchant. The specific goods/services that are
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`available may be identified by the server(s) 118 in reference to the merchant profiles 122 of each
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`of the respective merchants 2202, 2204, 2206, 2210, and 2212.
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`[0182]
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`The server(s) 118 may also have access to the user information 120 as shownin Fig. 4.
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`The user
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`identifier 208 associated with the mobile device
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`104 and that user’s user
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`information 120 may allow the server(s) 118 to compare a list of items of intcrest 408 to the user
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`with the goods and/or services 502 offered for sale by the various merchants. When there is a
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`match and the matching merchant is within the circle 2208 or predetermined proximity of the
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`mobile device 104, the user 102 may b