Patent ID: 6879960
Filing Date: 2005-04-12
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of utilizing transaction relevant customer information relating to a customer for facilitating a transaction between a merchant and the customer, comprising: (a) obtaining, from a customer computer, customer postal identification information sufficient to identify a customer segment but insufficient to identify the customer; (b) generating a memory sector identifying code based on the postal identification information; (c) sending the sector code to a merchant computer; (d) creating an anonymous customer identification tag; (e) storing the tag on the customer computer; (f) creating an anonymous customer identification tag based on the postal identification information to identity the customer segment but insufficient to identity the customer, and storing the tag on a customer computer, said tag providing an address to a segment of the geodemographic database of transaction relevant customer information that is relevant to the group of people of which the customer is a member (g) retrieving the anonymous identification tag from the customer computer by the merchant computer when the customer computer accesses the merchant computer for the purpose of entering into a transaction; (h) in response to the retrieved anonymous identification tag from the customer computer, retrieving relevant customer information from a segment of a geodemographic memory database identified by the tag for the group of people of which the customer is a member, the geodemographic database including transaction relevant customer information arranged in customer segments comprising groups of people without identifying particular individuals; and (i) using the retrieved transaction relevant customer information to customize communication between the merchant computer and the customer computer, whereby transaction relevant customer information relating to a group of people, of which the customer is a member, is provided and used between a merchant and the customer.