Patent ID: 7761344
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer processing-based method for multi-selection gifting, comprising: (a) maintaining, by at least one of a plurality of computers, a merchandise database comprising records for merchandise for a plurality of merchants, each record including (i) a stock keeping unit (SKU) for an item of merchandise, (ii) a description of the item, (iii) a price of the item, and (iv) the merchant for the item; (b) maintaining, by at least one of the plurality of computers, a gift database comprising records for multi-selection gifts, each record including (i) at least one gift recipient, (ii) a plurality of SKU's for items of merchandise, and (iii) at least one selection rule governing selection of at least two of the items of merchandise; (c) interactively enabling, by at least one of the plurality of computers, a gift giver to generate a multi-selection gift for a gift recipient, comprising presenting, to the gift giver, a group of selection rules for selection by the gift giver, the group comprising at least allowing the gift recipient to select all of the items of merchandise in the multi-selection gift, allowing the gift recipient to select up to a specified number of the items of merchandise in the multi-selection gift, and allowing the gift recipient to select items of merchandise in the multi-selection gift up to a specified total cost; (d) interactively guiding, by at least one of the plurality of computers, the gift recipient to select items of merchandise in the multi-selection gift in accordance with the gift's at least one selection rule; (e) aggregating, by at least one of the plurality of computers, the items selected by the gift recipient according to merchant; (f) issuing purchase orders, by at least one of the plurality of computers, to each merchant in accordance with the aggregated selected items corresponding to such merchant; and (g) billing, by at least one of the plurality of computers, the gift giver according to the items of merchandise selected by the gift recipient.