Patent ID: 9646319
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: G06Q

Claim:
1. A computerized system for providing a reward incentive to a customer desiring to return merchandise to a merchant at a point of return, the system comprising: a web page configured to receive merchandise return data, the web page used by customers to transact a portion of a current merchandise return, wherein the current merchandise return comprises one or more items that the customer desires to return to the merchant for a credit, wherein the web page obtains customer identification data about the customer submitting the merchandise return; a device operated by a clerk at a merchant facility, the device further configured to receive additional information about current merchandise return by a customer at a merchant's point of return within a merchant's physical location, wherein the current merchandise return comprises the one or more items that the customer desires to return to the merchant for a credit; a customer return data repository implemented as a plurality of servers operating as a server farm under management of one or more clustering technologies, the customer return data repository in communication with the web page and the device, wherein the customer return data repository comprises at least one database comprising return data wherein the return data comprises information about return history of prior merchandise returns associated with the return of one or more items by customers to merchants; and at least one decision engine comprising computer hardware configured to perform a first analysis regarding a return authorization that determines whether to authorize the credit for the current merchandise return, the decision engine in communication with the plurality of servers, the decision engine configured to access the customer return data repository and identify return history data associated with the customer submitting the merchandise return based at least in part on the customer identification data; wherein the decision engine is further configured to perform a second analysis regarding whether to offer a reward incentive to the customer at the point of return, wherein the reward incentive is in addition to a credit given for the returned items; wherein the decision engine analyzes in the second analysis customer identification data to create a customer identity that correlates the customer identity with at least a customers address; wherein the decision engine in the second analysis uses the customers address to automatically calculate a geographical distance from a customers address to the merchant facility where the merchandise return transaction occurs; wherein the decision engine in the second analysis determines whether to offer the reward incentive based on the geographical distance from the customers address to the merchant facility; wherein the decision engine further determines in the second analysis whether to offer the reward incentive based at least in part on the return history and the information about the current merchandise return stored in the customer return data repository, wherein the decision engine determines a reward incentive that provides a discount for different types of items than the items being returned by the customer; wherein the decision engine further determines in the second analysis whether to offer the reward incentive based at least in part on the authorization of the credit for the current merchandise return; and wherein the device, in response to the determinations by the decision engine, provides the return authorization and provides the reward incentive at the point of return within the merchant's physical location, wherein the reward incentive incentivizes the customer to make a purchase with at least a portion of the credit before leaving the merchant's physical location.