Electronic promotion system for an electronic merchant system

Abstract

An electronic promotion system apparatus and method provide promotions across a computer network. The promotion system includes a shopper browser communicating with a merchant server. A shopper places an order using the shopper browser. The order is received by the merchant server. A purchasing pipeline executing in the merchant server process the order. The purchasing pipeline includes a promotion component. The promotion component determines the eligibility of the shopper for each one of multiple promotions using information stored in a promotion table. Furthermore, the eligibility of each item on the shopper order to trigger each one of the multiple promotions is determined. Additionally, the eligibility of each item on the shopper order to receive an award is determined. The awards are then applied appropriately. Each item may be used to trigger only one promotion where awards were granted. Furthermore, each item may only receive one award. Thus, a merchant may offer multiple promotions while ensuring the promotions are applied as intended.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of applying a plurality of promotions to an order received over a communications network, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of promotions, including instructions for applying said promotions, in a merchandising computer system;

receiving an order from a consumer computer over the network;

applying a first of said plurality of promotions to said order; and

applying a second of said plurality of promotions to said order, sorting said plurality of promotions based on a rank of each of said promotions, such that a higher ranked promotion is applied to said order before a power ranked promotion.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining if said consumer is eligible for at least one of said plurality of promotions.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining if at least one of said plurality of promotions is active.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining if at least one of said plurality of promotions is between a corresponding promotion start date and a corresponding promotion end date.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of ensuring that said at least one item receives only one award from said plurality of promotions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of ensuring that said at least one item triggers no more than one of said plurality of promotions.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of entering rules defining at least one of said plurality of promotions into a hypertext markup language page.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating a promotion table defining at least two of said plurality of promotions.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating a quantity of said at least one item which did not receive an award from said plurality of promotions such that said quantity of said at least one item is eligible to receive additional awards.

10. A method of applying a plurality of promotions and granting awards to an order received over a communications network from a shopper, said order having at least one item having a price, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a first memory location for promotion information;

storing promotion information in said first memory location;

providing a second memory location for shopper information;

storing shopper information in said second memory location;

using said shopper information to determine shopper eligibility for at least one of said plurality of promotions;

providing a third memory location for product information;

storing product information in said third memory location;

providing a fourth memory location for an award set;

storing said award set in said fourth memory location;

providing a fifth memory location for a condition set;

storing said condition set in said fifth memory location; and

using said promotion information, said product information, said award set, and said condition set to adjust said price of said at least one item;

sorting said plurality of promotions according to a promotion ranking, such that said highest ranked promotion is applied first to said order.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of removing said at least one item from further promotional consideration.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of calculating a size of said award.

13. A method of applying a plurality of promotions to an electronic order, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a merchant computer;

providing a connection between said merchant computer and a shopper computer;

transmitting an order having at least one item from said shopper computer to said merchant computer;

determining if said at least one item is eligible to receive an award from at least one of said plurality of promotions using a promotion component executing in said merchant computer;

applying said award to at least a portion of said at least one item;

recording that said portion of said at least one item received said award;

preventing said portion of said at least one item from receiving additional awards;

determining if said at least one item is eligible to trigger at least one of said plurality of promotions;

determining a size of said award; and

decrementing said award size by an amount representing said portion of said award applied to said at least one item.

14. A promotion application system comprising:

a trigger identifier module stored in a computer, said trigger identifier module including instructions configured to review a list of items on an order and to identify those items eligible to trigger a promotion;

a target identifier module stored in said computer, said target identifier module including instructions configured to review said list of items on said order and to identify those items eligible to be the target of said promotion; and

a shopper module stored in said computer, said shopper module including instructions configured to identify those shoppers qualifying for said promotion.

15. A promotion application system as defined in claim 14, further comprising an award calculation module stored in said computer, said award calculation module including instructions configured to review said list of items and to calculate an award size.

16. A promotion application system as defined in claim 15, further comprising an award distribution module stored in said computer, said award distribution module including instructions configured to review said list of items and to identify a portion of said award size to be applied to each item on said list of items.

17. A promotion application system as defined in claim 15, further comprising a consideration module stored in said computer, said consideration module including instructions configured to identify which items on said list of items have received awards and which items on said list of items have triggered promotions.

18. A promotion application system comprising;

a trigger identifier module stored in a computer, said trigger identifier module including instructions configured to review a list of items on an order and to identify those items eligible to trigger a promotion;

a target identifier module stored in said computer, said target identifier module including instructions configured to review said list of items on said order and to identify those items eligible to be the target of said promotion; and

a promotion module stored in said computer, said promotion module including instructions configured to review a plurality of promotions and to select at least one of said promotions based on a corresponding rank of said at least one of said promotions.

19. A promotion application system as defined in claim 18, wherein said promotion module includes instructions configured to identify if said at least one of said promotions is active.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to electronic merchandising systems, which provide merchants the ability to sell products over distributed public networks such as the Internet. More particularly, this invention relates to a system for providing customizable and flexible merchandising promotions over the Internet.

2. Description of the Related Art

The demand for "on-line" interactive shopping has given rise to electronic merchandising systems which make use of the Internet and the World Wide Web ("Web"). These merchandising systems include merchant server sites and client sites. Typically, a consumer or shopper uses a personal computer as a client site. When placing an order the consumer uses a standard Web browser, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer.RTM. browser, running on the client site to retrieve hypertext documents from the merchant server site. The hypertext documents typically contain product offerings and order forms. The consumer enters ordering information, including the items he wishes to order, the form of payment, and the shipping information, onto the order form.

To fully exploit the potential of "on-line" shopping, merchants need effective promotion tools to optimize their sales. One significant drawback of existing electronic merchandising systems is that they do not provide a flexible mechanism for offering promotions, including the sophisticated discounting of prices and the granting of awards. Typically, existing electronic merchandising systems are limited to employing electronic coupon-based promotion schemes. An electronic coupon, for example, may entitle any coupon holder to a flat percentage discount on a purchased product. Electronic coupons, however, are restrictive because they do not provide flexible pricing schemes such as varying discounts for bulk purchases. In addition, electronic coupons do not allow merchants to tailor discounts for particular customers or for groups of items. Furthermore, electronic coupons do not permit merchants to offer multiple or overlapping promotions.

Thus, merchants using current electronic merchandising systems cannot not adequately optimize sale promotions to increase profits and to efficiently service consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides promotion stages for an electronic merchant system. The promotion stages allow a merchant to offer promotions over the Internet in a very flexible manner. In the preferred embodiment, the promotions offered by a merchant can include temporary sale pricing, volume discounts, membership discounts and cross-purchasing awards.

When a merchant desires to define a promotion, a hypertext document which prompts the merchant to enter information about one or more promotions is displayed. For example, the merchant can define a "buy three, get one free" promotion. Another promotion might define that all jazz music is 30% off, etc.

After the merchant has entered the promotional information into the hypertext document, the information is stored into a promotion table. The promotion table contains multiple rows and columns. Each of the rows is a record defining a different promotion such that multiple promotions can be active simultaneously. Each column further contains merchant-defined information, including promotion rank, promotion start and stop dates, shopper eligibly information, promoted items, and so forth.

When a customer submits an order, the Merchant Server System invokes the purchasing components while processing the order. Generally, the order includes customer information such as a customer identifier and a list of the items the customer wishes to purchase. The promotion stages determine if any discounts or awards should be applied to the order based on the data in the promotion table.

In the preferred embodiment, the promotion stages determine which promotions apply by evaluating the promotion table for the highest ranked promotion. The promotion stages then determine if that promotion is active. If so, the promotion stages determine if the shopper making the purchase is eligible for the promotion. The promotion table can, for example, specify that a specific customer, a particular group of customers, or all customers are eligible for the promotion. For instance, only customers who have joined the merchant's membership club may be eligible to obtain certain promotions.

If the customer meets the eligibility requirements, the promotion stages determine whether a given product is part of the promotion. The promotion table can, for example specify that a specific product, a group of products or that all products are part of the promotion. For instance, the promotion stages can determine whether a tape for jazz music triggers the 30% discount on jazz music.

If the product triggers a promotion, the promotion stages determine if the customer has bought the required amount of products to trigger the promotion. Here, the promotion table can specify that the required amount of products is based upon unit quantity, the dollar value, etc. For example, the consumer must purchase three music tapes to obtain the buy three, get one free promotion.

Once the promotion stages have determined the above, they then calculate the discount amount on each promoted product. Preferably, the promotion stages then remove from future promotional consideration any products on the order which have received a discount. In accordance with the merchant ranking, the above process is then repeated for the next highest ranking promotion in the promotion table. Removing the discounted items from future promotional consideration, ensures that the promotion stages discount a particular product only once. In an alternative embodiment, the discounted item is considered for additional promotions.

For example, in some cases one promotion may give the consumer a free music tape when the consumer buys three music tapes. Another concurrent promotion may give 30% off on all tapes for jazz music. Assuming that the consumer purchases three music tapes and selects a jazz music tape as the free one, the merchant may not want the consumer to get an additional 30% discount for selecting a free jazz tape. Thus, if desired, the promotion stages preferably remove the three tapes and the free jazz tape from consideration before applying the jazz music promotion. Alternatively, the merchant may wish the consumer to receive both a free tape when purchasing three other tapes, and also receive the 30% discount on all jazz tapes. Thus, purchasing three jazz tapes, in this embodiment, will entitle the consumer to a free tape, as well as an additional 30% off the three jazz tapes.

Furthermore, the present invention allows promotional advertising to be selectively presented to the consumer. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, promotional advertising will be presented to the consumer only if the consumer and the consumer's order is eligible for the promotion. For example, if the promotion is directed only at store members, and entitles members who purchase a hat to purchase an umbrella at half price, then the promotional advertisement, "with the purchase of every hat, get an umbrella at half-price" will, in one embodiment, only be presented to store members placing an order for a hat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a high level block diagram illustrating the architecture of an on-line electronic merchandising system adapted to implement a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is detailed block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a store process;

FIG. 1C illustrates the format of an order in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D illustrates the data structures stored in the databases in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram illustrating an order processing process of an on-line electronic merchandising system in accordance with a one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of the order pipeline;

FIG. 4 illustrates a high level flow chart of one embodiment of the order price adjust promotion stage;

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the selection and sorting of promotions;

FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the application of a promotion;

FIG. 7 illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the condition set criteria evaluation;

FIG. 8 illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the award set criteria evaluation;

FIG. 9 illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the award size calculation;

FIG. 10A illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the application of the award;

FIG. 10B illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the condition limit distribution;

FIG. 10C illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the award limit distribution;

FIG. 10D illustrates a detailed flow chart of one embodiment of the adjusted price calculation;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of the item price adjust promotion stage;

FIG. 12A illustrates one embodiment of the promotion modification administration hypertext page;

FIG. 12B illustrates one embodiment of the promotion creation administration hypertext page;

FIG. 13A illustrates one embodiment of the product table format;

FIG. 14A illustrates one embodiment of the product family table format;

FIG. 14B illustrates one embodiment of the product variant table format;

FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of the shopper table format;

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of the promotion table format; and

FIG. 17 illustrates a sample order in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 18 illustrates the data structures residing in memory in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a method and system for creating and applying merchandising promotions, and for offering the promotions to consumers using the World Wide Web ("Web"). A merchant can create custom promotions without having to write new code by directly entering custom promotion rules into an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document.

The detailed description which follows is organized into the following sections: Glossary of Terms and Acronyms, Architectural Overview Of An On-Line System Appropriate For Use With The Promotion Stages, Architectural Overview Of An Ordering Process, Implementation Of The Promotion Stages, HTML Promotion Rules Form For Use in Defining The Promotions, and the Conclusion.

I. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

To facilitate a complete understanding of the invention, the following terms and acronyms, used throughout the detailed description, are explained.

Action. An action performs various functions in the electronic merchandising system such as, by way of example, adding an item to an order form, beginning a purchase process, or inserting or deleting data from a database.

Client-Server. A model of interaction in a distributed system in which a program at one site sends a request to a program at another site and waits for a response. The requesting program is called the "client," and the program which responds to the request is called the "server." In the context of the World Wide Web, the client is a "Web browser" (or simply "browser") which runs on a computer of a user; the program which responds to browser requests by serving Web pages is commonly referred to as a "Web server."

HTML (HyperText Markup Language). A standard coding convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents. (HTML 2.0 is currently the primary standard used for generating Web documents.) During a document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as "tags") are embedded within the informational content of the document. When the Web document (or "HTML document") is subsequently transferred from a Web server to a browser, the codes are interpreted by the browser and used to parse and display the document. In addition to specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create links to other Web documents (commonly referred to as "hyperlinks"). For more information on HTML, see Ian S. Graham, The HTML Source Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN 0471-11894-4).

HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol). The standard World Wide Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of information (such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents) between a browser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of different types of messages which can be sent from the client to the server to request different types of server actions. For example, a "GET" message, which has the format GET <URL>, causes the server to return the document or file located at the specified URL. Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or private) networks that are linked together by a set of standard protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed network. (While this term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations which may be made in the future, including changes and additions to the existing networks and standard protocols.)

ISAPI (Internet Server Application Program Interface). Microsoft's interface for allowing a Web server (or other information server) to launch and interact with external programs in response to requests from clients. ISAPI programs are in the form of dynamic link libraries (DLLs) which run in the same process space as the Web server. Thus, ISAPI performs a similar function to that of CGI, but without requiring the launching of a separate process. Documentation on ISAPI is available from Microsoft Corporation as part of the Microsoft Internet Information Server Software Development kit.

Persistent Client State Cookies (Cookie). A file stored on the client computer which contains information such as user names and preferences. In the preferred embodiment, the Cookie in the consumer computer stores a member code which uniquely identifies each consumer. The specification for Cookies can be found at http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/ cookie.sub.-- spec.html.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A unique address which fully specifies the location of a file or other resource on the Internet. The general format of a URL is protocol://machine address:port/path/filename. The port specification is optional, and if none is entered by the user, the browser defaults to the standard port for whatever service is specified as the protocol. For example, if HTTP is specified as the protocol, the browser will use the HTTP default port of 80.

World Wide Web ("Web"). Used herein to refer generally to both (i) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable hypertext documents (commonly referred to as "Web documents" or "Web pages") that are accessible via the Internet, and (ii) the client and server software components which provide user access to such documents using standardized Internet protocols. Currently, the primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and acquire Web documents is HTTP, and the Web pages are encoded using HTML. However, the terms "Web" and "World Wide Web" are intended to encompass future markup languages and transport protocols which may be used in place of (or in addition to) HTML and HTTP.

II. Architectural Overview Of An On-Line System Appropriate For Use With The Promotion Stages

This section provides an overview of the on-line electronic merchandising system. FIG. 1A is a high level block diagram illustrating the architecture of an on-line electronic merchandising system adapted to implement a preferred embodiment of the present invention. (In FIG. 1A and throughout the drawings, components which correspond to components shown in previous figures are identified using the same reference numbers.) The on-line electronic merchandising system 2 includes one or more consumer browsers 10, 14 executing on corresponding client sites 12, 16, a merchant browser 22 executing on a merchant client site 20, and a merchant system 4. In the preferred embodiment, the merchant system 4 is connected to the consumer client sites 12, 16 and the merchant client site 20 by one or more communication mediums, such as a wide area network (WAN) 24. The wide area network allows the users of the consumer client sites 12, 16, the merchant site 22, and the merchant system 4 to communicate. The wide area network 24 in the preferred embodiment is the Internet network.

Focusing now on a preferred embodiment of the consumer clients 12, 14 which, in the preferred embodiment, include the consumer browsers 10, 16, each consumer client 12, 14 operates on a general purpose computer (hereinafter referred to as the consumer computer). In the preferred embodiment, the consumer computer is a conventional personal computer which is equipped with a conventional modem. Preferably, the computer runs an appropriate operating system such as the Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. 3.1, Microsoft.RTM. Windows 95, Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. NT, the Apple.RTM. MacOS.RTM., Unix, or IBM.RTM. OS/2.RTM. operating systems. As is conventional, the preferred operating system includes a TCP/IP stack which handles all incoming and outgoing message traffic passed over the communications medium 24.

In other embodiments, the consumer computer could, for example, be a computer workstation, a local area network of computers, an interactive television, an interactive kiosk, a personal digital assistant, an interactive wireless communications device or the like which can interact with the communication medium 24. While in such systems, the operating systems will differ, they will continue to provide the appropriate communications protocols needed to establish communication links with the communication medium 24.

In the preferred embodiment, the consumer browser is a software program which allows a consumer to access the merchant system over the communication medium 24. In the preferred embodiment, the consumer browser is the Microsoft.RTM. Internet Explorer version 3.0 developed by Microsoft Corporation. One of ordinary skill in the art, however, will recognize that numerous other types of access software could also be used to implement the present invention. These other types of access software could, for example, be other types of Internet browsers such as the Netscape.RTM. Navigator developed by Netscape, Inc., or other types of client applications including custom network browsers, two-way communications software, cable modem software, point-to-point software and the like.

Associated with each consumer browser 10, 16 is an optional cookie module (not shown) which stores a shopper identifier code. The shopper identification code, uniquely identifies each consumer. A "cookie" is a file which stores information on the consumer computer for use by the merchant system 4. In the preferred embodiment, the consumer browser stores the shopper identifier code in the cookie so that the consumer does not need to retype the shopper identifier code each time the consumer accesses the electronic merchandising system. The specification for cookies is defined by Netscape Corporation and can be found at http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie.sub.-- spec.html.

In an alternative embodiment, a cookie does not store the shopper identification code. Rather, the shopper identifier code is obtained by the merchant system 4 from the database when the consumer accesses the merchant system. In such embodiments, when the consumer accessing the merchant system, the merchant system prompts the consumer to enter a password and other information which the merchant system then uses to obtain the shopper identification code from the database.

Focusing now on a preferred embodiment of the merchant client 20 which, in the preferred embodiment, includes the merchant browser 22, the merchant client 20, operates on a general purpose computer. The merchant browser 22 allows a merchant to interact with the merchant system 4. In some embodiments, the merchant browser 22 may execute on the same device as the merchant system 4. In other embodiments, the merchant browser executes on a separate computer which accesses the merchant system 4 via a communication medium or network 24. In the preferred embodiment, a merchant uses the merchant client 20 to configure the merchant system 4.

Preferably, the merchant browser 22 executes on a conventional personal computer (the merchant computer) which is equipped with a conventional modem. The merchant computer runs an appropriate operating system such as the Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. 3.1, Microsoft.RTM. Windows 95, Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. NT, the Apple.RTM. MacOS.RTM., Unix, or IBM.RTM. OS/2.RTM. operating systems. As is conventional, the preferred operating system includes a TCP/IP stack which handles all incoming and outgoing message traffic passed over the communications medium.

In the preferred embodiment, the merchant browser 22 is a software program which allows a merchant to access the merchant system 4 over the communication medium. In the preferred embodiment, the merchant browser 22 is the Microsoft.RTM. Internet Explorer, Version 3.0 developed by Microsoft Corporation. One of ordinary skill in the art, however, will recognize that numerous other types of access software could also be used to implement the present invention. Such access software could, for example, be other types of Internet browsers such as the Netscape.RTM. Navigator developed by Netscape, Inc., and other client software such as custom network browsers, two-way communications software, cable modem software, point-to-point software and the like.

The merchant system 4 includes at least one merchant store server 30. The store server 30 includes a merchant application program executing on a computer system. The store server 30 provides merchandising services to users of the consumer client sites 12, 16. Preferably, the merchandising service is implemented as a client-server application, with the merchandising application (the merchandising service) running on the merchant store server 30, and with the client applications (the browsers) running on consumer client sites 12, 16. In the preferred embodiment, each merchant store server 30 can operate multiple electronic stores. The stores may be operated either as stand-alone stores, or as part of an electronic mall.

An information server 40 is preferably interposed between the clients 12, 16, 22 and the merchant store server 30. The information server 40 may be configured using any one of a number of commercially available software packages, including the Internet Information Server (ISS) from the Microsoft Corporation. In the preferred embodiment, the information server 40 is a World Wide Web server. The information server 40 supports the use of virtual servers, allowing multiple web servers to run on a single computer. The information server 40 uses the HyperText Transmission Protocol (HTTP) to communicate with the client browsers 10, 14 or the merchant browser 20. The information server 40 supports HTTP requests from the browsers 10, 20 for pages (normally script files) or documents from the merchant system 4.

As will be discussed in more detail below, in the preferred embodiment, a router 42 is interposed between the information server 40 and the merchant store server 30. The router routes page requests from the information server 40 to an appropriate store process 32, 34, 36 running on the merchant store server 30. The requests are processed and the result is returned to the router 42. The router 42 then sends the result back to the information server 40. The operation of the merchant store server 30 is described in greater detail below.

In the preferred embodiment, a controller 44 contains global configuration registry information defining the merchant store server 30 configuration. The registry information may include the names of all the electronic stores on the merchant store server 30, the location of database components within each store, the location of template files used by the store server and router, system error messages, system constants such as date and currency formats, and other pertinent information. The router 42 and the merchant store server 30 utilize the configuration information in the controller registry to perform their respective functions.

The components which make up the merchant system 4, including the information server 40, the router 42, the controller 44, and the merchant store server 30, may, in one preferred embodiment, all exist on one computer, or, in another preferred embodiment, they may be distributed over several computers.

The operation of the router 42 will now be described. In the preferred embodiment, the router is an Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) filter. ISAPI is a programming interface developed by, and available from the Microsoft Corporation. The use of ISAPI filters is well known to one skilled in the art. The router 42 examines a URL address specified in the request, and determines from the URL path if the URL is a request to a store, rather than a file and directory on the merchant store server 30. If the URL request is to a store, the router 42 further parses the URL to determine the store name. The router 42 uses the URL address and information stored in the controller registry to route page requests from a browser 10, 14, 20 to one of the store processes 32, 34, 36. Once the request is processed, the store server sends the result back to the router 42. The router 42 then replies to the requesting client through the information server 40 in the form of an HTML document.

The operation of the merchant store server 30 will now be described. Upon start-up, the merchant store server 30 initiates multiple store server processes 32, 34, 36 as defined in the controller registry. The merchant store server 30 receives client requests, including the URL, from the router 40. The first available store server process 32, 34, 36 handles the request. The store server process 32, 34, 36 reads a source file defined by the URL and performs all of the dynamic page generation required to complete the request.

In the preferred embodiment, the merchant store server 30 is connected to a storage device 50 storing HTML structures, including order form pages, and administrative forms, and a Structured Query Language (SQL) server 70. The SQL server 70 in turn may be connected to one or more databases 54, 56 residing on storage devices. Preferably, the databases 54, 56 are implemented using Structured Query Language (SQL) code. The structured query language is a language standardized by the International Standards Organization (ISO) for defining, updating and querying relational databases. For example, the databases can be implemented with any number of commercial database programs including Microsoft SQL Server.RTM., Oracle's relational database products and the like. The storage devices 50, 52 may be either local to the merchant store server 30, or may be accessible to the merchant store server 30 over one or more local area networks (LAN) or wide area networks (WAN).

In the preferred embodiment, the product data and other merchandising data is stored in a number of tables located in the databases 54, 56. The tables used to enable the preferred embodiment include, but are not limited to, a shopper table 162, a product table 164, and a promotion table 160, as illustrated in FIG. 1D. These table are described in greater detail below.

In a preferred embodiment, the merchant store server 30 is configured to run on a general purpose Pentiumg class (or better) based computer. The preferred operating system is Microsoft Windows.RTM. NT version 3.51 or later with a Windows.RTM. NT file system. The computer typically includes at least 64 megabytes of memory, at least 45 megabytes of free hard disk space, and a CD-ROM drive. In another preferred embodiment, the merchant store server 30 is configured to run on multiple Pentium.RTM. class (or better) based computers.

During a typical shopping session, the consumer client and the merchant store server 30 communicate with each other over the wide area network 24. The consumer uses the standard Web browser 10, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer.RTM., to access the merchant store server 30, and to retrieve HTML documents. The HTML documents may contain product offerings, promotional advertisements, and order forms. The shopper places an order, which, in one embodiment, includes the items he wishes to order, the form of payment, and shipping information. An item typically includes a product identifier, such as a stock keeping unit (sku), as well as any other specifics related to the product. For example, the item may be a shirt having a sku of "1234" and a monogram "MOC". The order is processed by the merchant system 4 and upon successful processing of the order, the order is fulfilled by the merchant.

FIG. 1B illustrates a detailed block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a store process 32, 34, 36. Each store process 32, 34, 36 includes a dynamic page generator 110, an action manager 150, a database module 140, and an order processing module 130. The dynamic page generator 110, the action manager 150, the database module 140, and the order processing module 130 can, in the preferred embodiment, communicate with each other.

During a typical shopping session, the consumer browser and the store server process communicate with each other over the communications medium 24. Typically, the consumer browser sends URL addresses to one of the store server processes 32, 34, 36, and the store server process 32, 34, 36 responds with HTML documents. The HTML documents may contain registration information, product offerings, promotional advertisements, order forms, etc.

The page generator 110 generates the HTML documents sent to the consumer browser. The page generator 110 dynamically creates HTML documents in response to commands generated by the consumer browser. In the preferred embodiment, the commands generated by the consumer browser utilize the standard GET/POST format of the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). For example, the buttons (or other content items) in an HTML page contain a URL address. When the consumer clicks the button within the consumer browser, the consumer browser generates an HTTP GET message which includes the URL address associated with the button. The HTTP GET message and the associated URL address is then sent from the consumer Web browser to the page generator 110.

The page generator 110 receives the HTTP GET message and the associated URL address, the page generator 110 identifies the template which is associated with the URL address. The page generator 110 then processes the template to generate the appropriate web page. While the page generator 110 in the preferred embodiment dynamically generates the HTML pages based on commands which exist in templates, in other embodiments, the page generator 110 may have a database of HTML pages which are sent to the consumer browser.

The store process 32, 34, 36 additionally contains the shopper order 120. Preferably, the electronic order 120 is an unstructured blackboard which comprises multiple key-value pairs.

The key-value pairs define different aspects of a sales transaction. For example, the key-value pairs define which items the consumer has selected, the number of desired items, where to ship the items, the identity of the consumer, the billing information, etc. Different components in the store server process operate on the key-value pairs to complete a sales transaction.

A detailed diagram of the order 120 is illustrated in FIG. 1C. Unlike organized database entries, the key-value pairs 122 in the blackboards 124, 126 are indexed by keys. Each key is a string which uniquely identifies its associated value. To locate a particular value, the present invention searches one of the blackboards 124 or 126 for the proper key and then accesses the value associated with the key. In the Python programming language, a blackboard is also often called a dictionary.

In the preferred embodiment, the order 120 is an object which comprises at least one order blackboard 124 and one or more item blackboards 126. Preferably, each blackboard is an associative array which contains a key and a value for each key-value pair 122. The key-value pairs 122 in the order blackboard 124 contain order properties such as the order date, the consumer's name, the consumer's address, the desired shipping address, the billing information, the order subtotal, the taxes, the order total, etc.

The preferred format of the order key-value pairs 122 is "order.key." For example, the key for the order identification code in the order blackboard 124 can be represented as "order.order.sub.-- id." The "order" identifies the order blackboard 124 while the "order.sub.-- id" designation identifies the order.sub.-- id key-value pair.

The key-value pairs 122 in the item blackboards 126 contain item information. Preferably, an item blackboard 126 exists for each item. Furthermore, the key-value pairs 122 in one item blackboard 126 can differ from the key-value pairs 122 in another item blackboard 126. The preferred format of the item key-value pairs 122 is "item.key." For example, the key for an item's stock keeping unit (sku) can be represented as "item.sku" where "item" identifies the item blackboard 126 and the "sku" designation identifies the sku key-value pair.

When an order 120 is instantiated, a number of initial key-value pairs 122 are added to the order blackboard 124 and one or more item blackboards 126. The initial key-value pairs 122 may include, but are not limited to: an order.order.sub.-- id key-value pair, an order.shopper-id key-value pair, an order.messages key-value pair, an item.sku key-value pair, an item.quantity key-value pair, an item.placed.sub.-- price key-value pair, an item.adjusted.sub.-- price key-value pair and an item.n.sub.-- unadjusted key-value pair.

In the order blackboard 124, the order.sub.-- id value in the order.sub.-- id key-value pair contains the order identification code which uniquely identifies each order 120. The shopper.sub.-- id value in the shopper.sub.-- id key-value pair contains the shopper identification code which uniquely identifies each shopper. The messages value in the order.messages key-value pair identifies the language used for error messages. The messages value is initially set to "USA."

In each item blackboard 126, the sku value in the sku key-value pair identifies the sku which uniquely identifies a particular item. The quantity value in the quantity key-value pair identifies the number of ordered items. The placed.sub.-- price value in the placed.sub.-- price key-value pair identifies the price of the ordered item. The adjusted.sub.-- price value in the adjusted.sub.-- price key-value pair identifies the amount of the adjusted order price. The n.sub.-- unadjusted value in the n.sub.-- unadjusted key-value pair identifies the amount of the adjusted quantity of ordered items.

As discussed in more detail below, the components in the order processing module 130 modify some of the initial key-value pairs 122 and may add new key-value pairs 122 to the order blackboard 124 and item blackboards 126 when processing the order 120.

In the preferred embodiment, the order processing module 130 processes the order 120. The order processing module 130 contains multiple components called the order pipeline 132. Each component in the order pipeline 132 reads from or writes to its assigned key-value pairs in the order blackboard and item blackboards. Upon receiving an order form, a component searches for its assigned key-value pairs and performs the actions necessary to process the key-value pairs. For clarity, the blackboard prefix identifiers, "order" and "item," are not included as part of the key-value names in the following description.

The action manager 150 executes various functions (also called actions) in response to consumer input, while the order processing module 130 processes the electronic order forms. The order processing module 130 including the order pipeline 132, will be described in greater detail below.

The database module 140 retrieves data required by the store process from one of the databases 54, 56. In the preferred embodiment the database module 140 can retrieve data from a relational database independent of the structure or the schema of the database. The architecture of the database module is further described in a concurrently filed application having the title "Electronic Shopping and Merchandising System," Ser. No. 08/732,012, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,622, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the order process. When the consumer or shopper desires to make a purchase 210, he submits an electronic purchase request, including order items 218 and other shopper information. Upon receiving the shopper order 120, the merchant store server 30 invokes the order processing module 130, including the order pipeline component 132. The processing pipeline component 132, as well as sub-components or stages that make up the processing pipeline component 132, are preferably written in the Python programming language, though other programming languages may be used. As discussed in greater detail below, the order pipeline 132 reads the order 120 and determines a number of factors, including the price of the ordered items 226, any applicable discounts 228, shipping charges 230, tax 232, total cost of the order 234, as well as other factors. Once the order pipeline 132 has successfully completed processing the order 120, the shopper's order is fulfilled 250.

III. Architectural Overview Of An Ordering Process

When a shopper goes shopping in an electronic store he may view various store products by requesting the appropriate HTML pages from the merchant system 4. When the shopper wishes to purchase an item, he first "places" the item in a shopping basket by activating an appropriate button on the HTML page. If the shopper views the shopping basket and initiates the purchase processing operation by activating a checkout button, then the merchant server generates an order. The order is processed by the order pipeline 132. If the processing is completed successfully a message is passed that the order should be fulfilled.

The order format and the order processing are further described in a concurrently filed application having the title "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING ELECTRONIC ORDER FORMS", Ser. No. 08/732,205 which is incorporated herein by reference.

The order pipeline component 132 of the preferred embodiment provides a comprehensive series of stages, including promotion stages, for processing the shopper order. A flow chart of the order pipeline 132 operation is illustrated in FIG. 3. In the preferred embodiment, the order pipeline component 132 includes fourteen stages. The stages may preferably be software components. The stages of the order pipeline component 132 are preferably instantiated before the order is processed. The instantiation of the order pipeline components or stages includes the creation of the respective stage or component and the allocation of memory to hold the respective stage or component. Component instantiation is well known in the art. Before the order 120 is processed by the order pipeline, certain key-value pairs are initialized. Thus, each item on the order has the associated value for the item.n.sub.-- unadjusted set to the quantity of that item being ordered. Additionally, the value for the item.adjusted.sub.-- price is set to $0. The item.n.sub.-- unadjusted and item.adjusted.sub.-- price key-value pairs are used by the preferred embodiment in applying promotions, as described in greater detail below. For clarity, the blackboard prefix identifiers, "order" and "item," are not included as part of the key-value names in the following description.

First, in the preferred embodiment, a product information stage 310 performs an SQL query for each item on the order 120 using the product sku, as identified in a corresponding key-value pair in the shopper order, as a key. The SQL query retrieves product information pertaining to the corresponding product from one or more product tables stored on one of the databases 54, 56 and stores the information on the order. In the preferred embodiment, only one product table is required to store product information. The product table 1300, whose format is illustrated in FIG. 13, includes multiple rows and columns. Each row in the product table is a record corresponding to a particular product, while each product table column contains information related to the product. The location of the product table is specified in the registry.

In the preferred embodiment, the information stored in the product table is defined by the storename.sub.-- product schema, illustrated in Table I below.

                  TABLE I
    ______________________________________
    PRODUCT FAMILY SCHEMA
    Schema: storename.sub.-- product
    Field Name      Format
    ______________________________________
    sku             varchar(30) primary key not null
    description     varchar(255) null
    dept.sub.-- id  int null
    manufacturer    varchar(50)
    date.sub.-- intro
                    datetime null
    list.sub.-- price
                    int not null,
    sale.sub.-- price
                    int null,
    sale.sub.-- start
                    datetime null,
    sale.sub.-- end datetime null,
    color.sub.-- value
                    varchar(20) null,
    size.sub.-- value
                    varchar(20) null,
    image.sub.-- file.sub.-- name
                    varchar(255) null
    ______________________________________

                  TABLE II-A
    ______________________________________
    PRODUCT FAMILY SCHEMA
    Schema: storename.sub.-- product.sub.-- family
    Field Name      Format
    ______________________________________
    pf.sub.-- id    varchar(30) primary key not null
    pf.sub.-- name  varchar(255) null
    pf.sub.-- description
                    varchar(255) null
    dept.sub.-- id  int null
    size.sub.-- type
                    varchar(20) null
    date.sub.-- intro
                    datetime null
    list.sub.-- price
                    int not null
    sale.sub.-- price
                    int null
    sale.sub.-- start
                    datetime null
    sale.sub.-- end datetime null
    image.sub.-- file.sub.-- name
                    varchar(255) null
    ______________________________________

                  TABLE II-B
    ______________________________________
    PRODUCT VARIANT SCHEMA
    Schema: storename.sub.-- product.sub.-- variant
    Field Name     Format
    ______________________________________
    pf.sub.-- id   varchar(30) not null
    sku            varchar(30) primary key not null
    color.sub.-- value
                   varchar(20) null
    size.sub.-- value
                   varchar(20) null
    ______________________________________

                  TABLE III
    ______________________________________
    SHOPPER SCHEMA
    Schema: storename.sub.-- shopper
    Field Name        Format
    ______________________________________
    shopper.sub.-- id char(27) unique not null,
    created           datetime not null,
    is.sub.-- member  tinyint null,
    name              varchar(255) null,
    street            varchar(255) null,
    city              varchar(20) null,
    state             varchar(20) null,
    zip               varchar(10) null,
    country           varchar(20) null,
    phone             varchar(16) null,
    email             varchar(255) unique null,
    age               tinyint null,
    gender            tinyint null,
    marital.sub.-- status
                      tinyint null,
    salary.sub.-- range
                      tinyint null,
    size.sub.-- shoe  varchar(20) null,
    size.sub.-- waist varchar(20) null,
    size.sub.-- shirt varchar(20) null,
    favorite.sub.-- color
                      varchar(20) null
    ______________________________________

                                      TABLE IV
    __________________________________________________________________________
    PROMOTION TABLE
    Column Name
             Format   Description
    __________________________________________________________________________
    promo.sub.-- id
             int primary key
                      Unique id of this entry.
    promo.sub.-- name
             varchar(255) unique
                      Name for the promotion.
    promo.sub.-- description
             text     Description of the promotion that will be shown to
                      shoppers.
    promo.sub.-- rank
             int      Rank of this promotion; this determines the order in
                      which the promotion will be applied to the
                      purchase. The higher the rank, the sooner it will be
                      applied. When a promotion has been applied, any
                      product in either the condition set or the award set
                      is removed from further consideration for additional
                      promotions.
    active   tinyint  A code indicating whether or not this promotion is
                      currently active; this is a convenience to the
                      merchant that enables them to keep promotions in
                      the system without having them be active.
    date.sub.-- start
             datetime The date at which the promotion goes into effect.
    date.sub.-- end
             datetime The date until which the promotion is in effect.
    shopper.sub.-- all
             int      Indicates whether or not this promotion is available
                      to all shoppers.
    shopper.sub.-- column
             varchar(64)
                      If shopper.sub.-- all is false, then shopper.sub.--
                      column
                      specifies which field in the shopper record will be
                      used to determine whether a shopper is eligible for
                      the promotion.
    shopper.sub.-- op
             varchar(2)
                      If shopper.sub.-- all is false, then shopper.sub.-- op
                      will be used
                      as the operand in the comparison to determine
                      whether a shopper is eligible for the promotion; it
                      will be one of ">", "<", "=", ">=", "<=", "!=".
    shopper.sub.-- value
             varchar(64)
                      If shopper.sub.-- all is false, then shopper.sub.--
                      value will be
                      used as the reference value in the comparison to
                      determine whether a shopper is eligible for the
                      promotion.
    cond.sub.-- all
             int      If cond.sub.-- all is true, then any product in the set
                      of
                      products to be purchased will trigger this promotion.
    cond.sub.-- column
             varchar(64)
                      If cond.sub.-- all is false, then cond.sub.-- column
                      specifies
                      which field in the product record will be used to
                      determine whether a product will trigger this
                      promotion.
    cond.sub.-- op
             varchar(2)
                      If cond.sub.- all is false, then cond.sub.- op will be
                      used as
                      the operand in the comparison to determine whether
                      a product will trigger the promotion; it will be one
                      of ">", "<", ">=", "<=", "!=".
    cond.sub.-- value
             varchar(64)
                      If cond.sub.-- all is false, then cond.sub.-- value
                      will be used as
                      the reference value in the comparison to determine
                      whether a product will trigger the promotion.
    cond.sub.-- basis
             char(1)  This determines what to use as the basis for
                      calculating eligibility for the promotion. It will be
                      either "Q", which means a minimum number of
                      units must be purchased, or "P", which means that a
                      minimum dollar amount must be purchased.
    cond.sub.-- min
             int      This specifies the minimum number of units or the
                      minimum dollar amount that must be purchased to
                      trigger the promotion.
    award.sub.-- all
             int      If this is true, then the award can be applied to any
                      product.
    award.sub.-- column
             varchar(64)
                      If award.sub.-- all is false, then award.sub.-- column
                      specifies
                      which field in the product record will be used to
                      determine whether a product is eligible to be the
                      target of the award.
    award.sub.-- op
             varchar(2)
                      If award.sub.-- all is false, then award.sub.-- op will
                      be used as
                      the operand in the comparison to determine whether
                      a product is eligible to be the target of the
                      promotion; it will be one of ">", "<", "=", ">=",
                      "<=", "!=".
    award.sub.-- value
             varchar(64)
                      If award.sub.-- all is false, then award.sub.-- value
                      will be used
                      as the reference value in the comparison to
                      determine whether a product will be eligible as the
                      target of the promotion.
    award.sub.-- max
             int      Indicates the maximum number of products in the
                      award set that are eligible to be the target of the
                      award.
    disc.sub.-- type
             char(1)  A value that is either "$", indicating a fixed dollar
                      amount off, or "%", indicating a percentage off.
    disc.sub.-- value
             decimal(8,2)
                      The amount of the discount, either as amount off or
                      as percentage off.
    __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE V
    ______________________________________
    HAT PROMOTION
    Column Name   Value
    ______________________________________
    promo.sub.-- id
                  999
    promo.sub.-- name
                  Hat promotion
    promo.sub.-- description
                  Buy two hats and get a pair of gloves at
                  half the current price!
    promo.sub.-- rank
                  1
    active        1
    date.sub.-- start
                  12-01-1999
    date.sub.-- end
                  01-31-2000
    shopper.sub.-- all
                  0
    shopper.sub.-- column
                  is.sub.-- member
    shopper.sub.-- op
                  >
    shopper.sub.-- value
                  0
    cond.sub.-- all
                  0
    cond.sub.-- column
                  sku
    cond.sub.-- op
                  =
    cond.sub.-- value
                  1234
    cond.sub.-- basis
                  Q
    cond.sub.-- min
                  2
    award.sub.-- all
                  0
    award.sub.-- column
                  dept.sub.-- id
    award.sub.- op
                  =
    award.sub.-- value
                  11111
    award.sub.-- max
                  1
    disc.sub.-- type
                  %
    disc.sub.-- value
                  50
    ______________________________________

                                      TABLE VI
    __________________________________________________________________________
    Item #
         Item   current.sub.-- price
                       quantity
                           n.sub.-- unadjusted
                                   adjusted.sub.-- price
    __________________________________________________________________________
    1    Hats   $9.00  7   7       $0.00
    2    Red Gloves
                $5.00  2   2       $0.00
    3    Blue Gloves
                $6.00  2   2       $0.00
    __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE VII
    __________________________________________________________________________
    Item #
        Item
            current.sub.-- price
                   quantity
                       n.sub.-- unadjusted
                              adjusted.sub.-- price
                                     n.sub.-- condition
                                           n.sub.-- award
    __________________________________________________________________________
    1   Hats
            $9.00  7   7      $0.00  6     0
    2   Red $5.00  2   2      $0.00  0     2
        Gloves
    3   Blue
            $6.00  2   2      $0.00  0     1
        Gloves
    __________________________________________________________________________