Patent ID: 8458044
Filing Date: 2013-06-04
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method on a server for managing discount offers for a plurality of users over a communications network, comprising: receiving, from mobile computers communicatively coupled with the communications network, enrollment data of the plurality of users, wherein enrollment data includes at least contact information of the users; receiving, via the communications network, a discount offer, wherein the discount offer comprises at least a product or service description, an initial price, a discount price less than the initial price, a minimum number of acceptances of the discount offer that are required to trigger the discount price and a time deadline for the discount offer; transmitting, via the communications network, computer program code and the discount offer only to the mobile computers of the users that have provided enrollment data to the server, wherein the computer program code comprises a countdown timer that counts down to the time deadline for the discount offer; receiving, via the communications network, acceptances of the discount offer from the mobile computers of the users; detecting attainment of a predefined time before the time deadline; and responsive to detecting attainment of the predefined time before the time deadline, executing the following steps at the predefined time before the time deadline: calculating a number of acceptances of the discount offer at the predefined time before the time deadline, wherein the number of acceptances is calculated to be less than the minimum number of acceptances of the discount offer; decreasing the minimum number of acceptances by a predetermined numerical decrement; increasing the time deadline by an increment of time; and re-transmitting, via the communications network, the discount offer with the decreased minimum number of acceptances and the increased time deadline only to the mobile computers of the plurality of users that provided enrollment data to the server.