Method, system, and computer program product for a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history

The present invention is directed to a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history. A method for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: capturing user preferences; and dynamically customizing a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to marketing, and more specifically relates to a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A virtual environment is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Users inhabit and interact in the virtual environment via avatars, which are two or three-dimensional graphical representations of humanoids. There are many different types of virtual environments, however there are several features many virtual environments generally have in common:A) Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once.B) Graphical User Interface: the environment depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to more immersive 3D environments.C) Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time.D) Interactivity: the environment allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content.E) Persistence: the environment's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.F) Socialization/Community: the environment allows and encourages the formation of social groups such as teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.

An avatar can have a wide range of business and social experiences. Such business and social experiences are becoming more common and increasingly important in on-line virtual environments (e.g., universes, worlds, etc.), such as that provided in the on-line world Second Life (Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research in the United States, other countries, or both). The Second Life client program provides its users (referred to as residents) with tools to view, navigate, and modify the Second Life world and participate in it's virtual economy.

Second Life and other on-line virtual environments present a tremendous new outlet for both structured and unstructured virtual collaboration, gaming and exploration, as well as real-life simulations in virtual spaces. These activities, along with yet to be disclosed new dimensions, in turn provide a wide open arena for creative and new marketing methods and mechanisms.

All types of business and personal activities are now performed in virtual environments such as Second Life. The visual stimulation of virtual environments is appealing to users and mundane activities can be made more enjoyable for the end user. One such area of interest is in making on-line purchases. Legacy online retailers provide search and order-entry web pages to make the purchase experience efficient and to increase cross-selling. However, such legacy two-dimensional experiences base all decision trees on icons and text based on user supplied keywords. One problem with this concept is that all users have to navigate through the same mall structure when selecting items to purchase. For example, if a user only ever shops for high definition DVDs and other electronics at a certain mall, why should that user have to search the entire mall to immediately get to the items the user is looking for? Furthermore, it is sometimes very obtrusive for current online shopping malls to aggressively suggest the other items that the user might wish to purchase. This information is sometimes seen as blatant marketing and up-selling and wastes the shopper's time. Accordingly, there is a need for a solution that addresses these and other deficiencies of the related art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history. In the dynamic virtual shopping area, the items that an avatar is more interested in (or may be interested in) are presented to the avatar immediately upon entering the shopping area, without being intrusive. In this disclosure, a shopping area comprises one or more stores.

A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area, comprising: capturing user preferences; and dynamically customizing a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a system for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area, comprising: a system for capturing user preferences; and a system for dynamically customizing a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area.

A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a program product stored on a computer readable medium, which when executed, provides a dynamic shopping area, the computer readable medium comprising program code for: capturing user preferences; and dynamically customizing a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area

A fourth aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for deploying an application for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area, comprising: providing a computer infrastructure being operable to: capture user preferences; and dynamically customize a virtual shopping area for an avatar based on the user preferences, such that the avatar is presented with items the avatar is more likely to purchase upon entering the virtual shopping area.

The illustrative aspects of the present invention are designed to solve the problems herein described and other problems not discussed.

The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As detailed above, the present invention provides a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history. In the dynamic virtual shopping area, the items that an avatar is more interested in (or may be interested in) are presented to the avatar immediately upon entering the shopping area, without being intrusive.

By customizing the view of a shopping area presented to the avatar, the avatar is provided with a better shopping experience. An avatar does not need to trawl through the aisles of a store or shopping mall to find the articles that the avatar is most likely to purchase. From a cross-selling perspective, the ability to place likely products and services of interest to the avatar adjacent to the products that the avatar wants to buy provides an unobtrusive way of advertising those products.

User preferences stated through the use of questionnaires, or implicitly determined through either single or multi-vendor purchase history, and/or using other methodologies, are captured and used to establish the arrangement of a shopping area in a virtual environment. In this manner, the items that an avatar may be more likely to purchase are displayed to the avatar before those items that the avatar is less likely to purchase. For example, the items that are more likely to be purchased by an avatar can be displayed on shelves near the entrance of a store, while items that the avatar is less likely to purchase are placed farther back in the store. This is illustrated with reference toFIGS. 1A and 1B.

InFIG. 1A, a plurality of items, namely Item1, Item2, Item3, Item4, are displayed to an avatar10in a virtual store12in a conventional manner, without any concern to the shopping preferences of the avatar10. As such, if the avatar10is most interested in Item4, the avatar must walk to the rear of the store12to view Item4. InFIG. 1B, however, the plurality of items have been arranged in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention such that the item the avatar10is most interested in (e.g., Item4) is displayed near the entrance of the store12, while the remaining items are displayed in descending order of interest to the avatar10(e.g., Item2, Item1, Item3).

As another example, inFIG. 2A, a virtual mall14contains a plurality of stores, namely Store1, Store2, Store3, Store4, which are displayed to an avatar10in a conventional manner, without any concern to the shopping preferences of the avatar10. As such, if the avatar10is most interested in shopping in Store4, the avatar must walk to the rear of the mall14to enter Store4. InFIG. 2B, however, the plurality of stores have been arranged in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention such that the store the avatar10is most interested in (e.g., Store4) is displayed near the entrance of the mall14, while the remaining stores are displayed in descending order of interest to the avatar10(e.g., Store1, Store3, Store2). Further, the items within each of the stores can be arranged according to the preferences of the avatar10, for example as depicted inFIG. 1B, such that the avatar10will first encounter Item4when entering Store4.

In another embodiment, items and/or stores can also be placed in a virtual shopping area based on a price preference of the avatar. For example, items costing less than $100 (e.g., a price limit set by the avatar) and/or stores containing items costing less than $100, can be presented to the avatar before items costing more than $100.

Consider the example of an avatar that wishes to purchase clothes in a clothing store in a virtual environment. If the personal preferences of the avatar describe height, weight and color preferences, clothes that meet these preferences will be displayed at, or near, the entrance to the clothing store. Consider next the example of an avatar walking into an electronics store in a virtual environment. Again, if the personal preferences of the avatar indicate that the avatar is interested in, for example, DVDs and not VCR cassettes, DVDs will be presented to the avatar when first entering the electronics store, before VCR cassettes.

By correlating prior and current purchases with the preferences of an avatar, related items that may be of interest to the avatar can be displayed in adjacent shelves within a single store. This allows an avatar to browse collocated shelves in a store for related items that the avatar may wish to purchase without any advertising being pushed to the avatar. In this way, it is possible to cross-sell similar items without the need to pressure or otherwise hassle the avatar. Further, stores that may be of interest to an avatar can be collocated.

This present invention also includes the scenario of multiple avatars shopping together in a virtual environment. In this case, the union or intersection of avatars' preferences and past purchasing information can be used to determine what the store, departments, or mall will look like for the multiple avatars.

The present invention creates a dynamically customized shopping experience for an avatar based on the changing preferences of the avatar and/or end user controlling the avatar, as well as shopping history. These preferences can include, for example, what stores to include in the virtual shopping area, the order in which the stores appear, the merchandise included in the store, price range of included merchandise, the order in which merchandise is displayed within the store, and/or the like. Those skilled in the art will realize that other such options also exist.

In an embodiment, as depicted inFIG. 3, the preferences20can be defined in a user profile22, which is read (A1) each time an avatar10enters (A2) a virtual shopping area24within a virtual environment26. The preferences20can be provided (A3) through the use of questionnaires, single or multi-vendor purchase history, and/or using other methodologies, as represented by28. Alternatively, and/or in addition, data30can be collected (A4) from the computer system32of the end user34controlling the avatar10and used to update and modify the virtual shopping area24. Such computer based data may include internet cookies, log files, history files, electronic receipts, site log-ins, and/or other suitable data. In an embodiment, shopping frequency for specific item types, amount of money spent, length of time in store, and other such data can also be evaluated and used to customize a virtual shopping area.

As an example, the end-user34controlling the avatar10may purchase books on-line 60% of the time, hardware another 25% of the time, and finally music 15% of the time. When the avatar10enters a virtual shopping area24, the layout depicted inFIG. 4may be presented to the avatar10, with the stores in the virtual shopping area24ordered based on at least one of the preferences20and data30of the end-user32. Another avatar10′ entering the virtual shopping area24would be provided a differing view based on at least one of the preferences20and data30associated the end user controlling the avatar10′. Additionally, when the avatar10enters the virtual shopping area24at a later point in time, the avatar10may be presented with a differing view (e.g., different arrangement of stores, items in stores, etc.) if at least one of the preferences20and data30have changed since the last shopping trip. As described above, if the avatars10,10′ are shopping together, the union or intersection of the preferences20and/or data30of the avatars10,10′ can be used to determine what the store, departments, or mall will look like for the avatars10,10′.

In an embodiment, the virtual shopping area24can be linked to a store used by the end user34for the goods being purchased. As an example, referring again toFIG. 4, when the avatar10enters the store “World of Books”, this virtual store links to the end user's preferred source for books (e.g., Amazon.com), and the back-end payment process used by the avatar10would be similar to the end user's experience on the actual Amazon site. In another embodiment, entering “World of Books” would take the end user34to the Amazon.com log-in and place the end user34in the book section upon successful log-in. In yet another embodiment, the virtual shopping area24would be a service and would provide a layer of abstraction between the purchaser and the underlying product vendor(s). As an example, the service can process the end user's purchase and obtain the purchased goods from any number of product vendors based on current price, availability, and so forth.

Another aspect of the present invention is the dynamic customization of store content and merchandise based on at least one of the preferences20and data30of the end-user34. Continuing with the previous example, as depicted inFIG. 5, when the avatar10enters the “World of Books” virtual store, the store layout and content are also customized for the individual end-user34. The view presented inFIG. 5is an illustrative result of the reading interests and/or shopping history of the end-user34. In this example, the end-user34most often purchased fiction in general, and further, when shopping for specific fiction, purchased the most titles from author John Smith followed by Mary Jones. The resulting dynamic presentation of the “World of Books” virtual store provides ordered access to these products based on this information.

If the end-user34controlling the avatar10depicted inFIG. 5normally purchases music and books in the same store, additional shopping rooms can be presented to the avatar10, likewise organized by music type and artist. In another variation, the bookstore view would be presented along with a door to enter the music store. In another embodiment, every department and all merchandise may be presented and organized based on at least one of the preferences20and data30of the end-user34. As an example, when the avatar10enters Hank's Hardware, if the end-user34happens to be a plumber and typically purchases plumbing supplies, the plumbing aisle would be presented in the forefront with the cascading rear aisles presented in descending order of relevance to plumbing, or based on other criteria.

The preferences20, data30, etc., of the end-user34can be stored, for example, on the server currently running the virtual environment26in which the avatar10resides. Alternatively, this information can be “portable,” and uploaded from a personal computer or other server to a new retailer, such that the retailer could “pre-construct” the correct environment (e.g., virtual shopping mall, store, department, etc.) for an avatar10before that avatar10comes to visit.

A virtual shopping area24(e.g., shopping mall, store, department, etc.) can be built on top of a grid type of infrastructure of anchor points. This grid can include of the ‘bare bones’ of the virtual shopping area24, which can be configured to meet the needs of an end-user34. Consider, for example, a mall made up of these anchor points, such that the mall is initially empty. Using at least one of the preferences20and data30of the end-user34, each empty slot in the mall can be populated with stores, each store can be populated with departments, each department can be populated with products, and so on. Other methodologies for constructing a virtual shopping area24are also possible.

An illustrative process for designating which store should be populated onto which anchor point on the grid for a given avatar is as follows (seeFIG. 6):B1) Determine how many ‘free’ spaces are available in the mall for a store front.B2) Determine how many stores are available for instantiation into the mall (it is possible that there will be more stores than there are spaces).B3) Read the preferences/data of the avatar—taking into account stated preferences, past and current purchases, etc.B4) Match the avatar preferences/data to an ordered list of stores that should be available in the mall.B5) Match any stores that should be collocated with each other—for example, stores of the same kind or a store that can provide cross-selling to the avatar/end user.B6) For each store in decreasing preferential order, place the store in the ‘best available’ anchor point in the mall. For stores that should be collocated, arrange the stores such that the collocation can occur if possible. If stores cannot be placed adjacent to one another, place the store in another strategic (e.g., easily visible) location.B7) Repeat for the other stores until either there are no more stores left or all anchor points of the mall are full.

This process can be used to populate stores in a mall, departments in a store, items on shelves in a store, and so on. Note that the process can be expanded to take into account external factors such as (but not limited to):1) Pricing—similar to how search engines on the internet move web pages higher up the search list if the company has paid a premium. In this case, stores which have paid a premium may have preferential placement such that it is higher up the priority list when placing stores in the mall.2) Standard location—some stores may wish to always have the same location—especially large stores such that avatars always know where the store will be. This standard location may be determines at the time that the mall is created or based on a ‘rental’ charge to the mall for this preferred treatment.

FIG. 7depicts an illustrative system100for providing a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history, in accordance with any/all embodiments of the present invention. The system100includes a computer infrastructure102that can perform the various processes described herein. The computer infrastructure102is shown including a computer system104.

The computer system104is shown as including a processing unit108, a memory110, at least one input/output (I/O) interface114, and a bus112. Further, the computer system104is shown in communication with at least one external device116and a storage system118. In general, the processing unit108executes computer program code, such as dynamic shopping system130, that is stored in memory110and/or storage system118. While executing computer program code, the processing unit108can read and/or write data from/to the memory110, storage system118, and/or I/O interface(s)114. Bus112provides a communication link between each of the components in the computer system104. The external device(s)116can comprise any device (e.g., display120) that enables a user to interact with the computer system104or any device that enables the computer system104to communicate with one or more other computer systems.

The dynamic shopping system130is configured provide a dynamic virtual shopping area based on user preferences and history, as detailed above, in accordance with any/all embodiments of the present invention. For example, the dynamic shopping system130can comprise a user preference system132for capturing/determining user preferences based, for example, on questionnaires, vendor purchase history, etc., a data collection system134for collecting data from the computer system and/or the like of the end user controlling an avatar, and a shopping area customization system136for customizing a virtual shopping area.

The computer system104can comprise any general purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer program code installed by a user (e.g., a personal computer, server, handheld device, etc.). However, it is understood that the computer system104is only representative of various possible computer systems that may perform the various processes of the invention. To this extent, in other embodiments, the computer system104can comprise any specific purpose computing article of manufacture comprising hardware and/or computer program code for performing specific functions, any computing article of manufacture that comprises a combination of specific purpose and general purpose hardware/software, or the like. In each case, the program code and hardware can be created using standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.

Similarly, the computer infrastructure102is only illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures that can be used to implement the present invention. For example, in an embodiment, the computer infrastructure102comprises two or more computer systems (e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over any type of wired and/or wireless communications link, such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the various processes of the invention. When the communications link comprises a network, the network can comprise any combination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.). Regardless, communications between the computer systems may utilize any combination of various types of transmission techniques.

It is understood that some of the various systems shown inFIG. 4can be implemented independently, combined, and/or stored in memory for one or more separate computer systems that communicate over a network. Further, it is understood that some of the systems and/or functionality may not be implemented, or additional systems and/or functionality may be included as part of the system100.

It is understood that the invention further provides various alternative embodiments. For example, in an embodiment, the invention provides a computer-readable medium that includes computer program code to enable a computer infrastructure to carry out and/or implement the various processes of the present invention. It is understood that the term “computer-readable medium” comprises one or more of any type of physical embodiment of the program code. In particular, the computer-readable medium can comprise program code embodied on one or more portable storage articles of manufacture (e.g., a compact disc, a magnetic disk, a tape, etc.), on one or more data storage portions of a computer system, such as the memory110and/or storage system118(e.g., a fixed disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a cache memory, etc.), and/or as a data signal traveling over a network (e.g., during a wired/wireless electronic distribution of the program code).

In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method that performs the processes of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. A service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure, such as the computer infrastructure102, that performs the processes of the invention for one or more customers. In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising space to one or more third parties.

In still another embodiment, a computer infrastructure, such as the computer infrastructure102, can be obtained (e.g., created, maintained, having made available to, etc.) and one or more systems for performing the processes of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of each system can comprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computer system, such as the computer system104, from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one or more computer systems to the computer infrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the computer infrastructure, to enable the computer infrastructure to perform the processes of the invention.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of this invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible.