SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTING CONSUMER PRODUCT INTEREST DATA

Abstract: A system and method (Fig. 1) for automatically collecting consumer product interest data utilizes a consumer assist device, CAD (25), to allow the consumer to make and record a "first selection" of a product. The consumer assist device then provides the consumer with at least one option relating to the product. Each time the consumer makes a selection to view one of the options available (a "second selection"), the second selection is recorded, and the record contains the same type of information contained in records relating to the first selection of the product. A comparison is performed between the products selected and products purchased. If product selected was purchased, correlation is recorded. Collected data are provided to users according to authorization levels.

Description: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTING CONSUMER PRODUCT INTEREST DATA TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to systems and methods for identifying consumer interest in products or groups of products. More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of automated consumer assist devices to track consumer interest by recording, categorizing and storing records of consumer interaction therewith. BACKGROUND Product marketers spend vast amounts of time and money attempting to determine the level of interest consumers have in individual products. The basic premise of these efforts is that marketers who understand and appreciate the interests of consumers can better market their products to those consumers, thereby increasing sales. The more detailed the information is, the more valuable it is to marketers because it allows more specifically tailored sales efforts toward the consumer. Actual sales are, obviously, the ultimate indicator of consumer interest in a product. Beyond sales, a variety of clinical methods have been devised for the purpose of identifying and quantifying consumer interest which (a) relates to future products, or (b) does not rise to the level of interest sufficient to generate a purchase. More specifically, survey results may help determine how much interest there is in products in which there is some level of interest, but which interest is not sufficient to compel a consumer to purchase the product. Such levels of interest can be referred to as "grey area" interest. Surveys are the most commonly employed method for determining grey area interest. Surveys are, by definition, artificial indicators of interest. Survey participants are asked to participate in the survey. If they agree (some do not), they do so in a vacuum — that is to say that they may be asked to consider a pre-selected product as compared to other preselected products, any or all of the pre-selected products possibly being products which the consumer would never independently consider purchasing. Additionally, the artificiality of surveys guarantees that consumer decisions are not made in the context of a "real world" environment. A survey cannot replicate the reality of a mother with her three children hurrying through a grocery store and trying to shop and plan meals for an entire week. Nor is a survey likely to replicate a young bachelor standing in front of the meat case, examining different varieties of meat while trying to figure out which selection will most impress his guest while requiring little skill to prepare. In each case, the mother and the young bachelor may mull over at least several (if not many) related products before selecting a product for purchase. In each case, the mother and bachelor would likely be unreceptive to participation in a survey, and in each case, the products actually purchased reveal only end result of the decision process that went into the purchase of the products. The only way to truly gauge the interest of a consumer in specific products is to monitor the activities of the consumer, in the environment of an actual shopping arena, during the period leading up to the ultimate purchase decision. Because it would be impractical, unpopular and disruptive to overtly monitor consumers while they make their purchase decisions, an automated system directed by (and helpful to) the consumer would be the most feasible mechanism for determining levels of grey area interest. Automated systems for assisting shoppers have recently begun to appear in shopping areas of retail environments such as grocery stores. In particular, automated systems have been devised to provide notification of sale items, provide product coupons, generate shopping lists, and provide recipes and nutritional information regarding individual products. Despite the helpfulness to the consumer of some of these consumer assist devices (hereafter "CADs") — especially in terms of saving time and enhancing shopping convenience, there has not yet been a link between the use of these devices and the desire of product producers and marketers to monitor consumer behavior leading to purchase decisions. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,859,414 to Grimes et al. teaches an interactive customer information terminal which provides a consumer a plurality of options relating to a product. A configuration is presented to the consumer which may include the price of the item, ingredients of the item, nutritional information relating to the item, a location of the item in the store, and a suggested recipe for the item. The information presented to the consumer is received from a remote host computer in response to transmitting a signal to the host computer. While such a system is certainly an advance in the realm of consumer shopping aids, it does not provide for "back end" collection, storage, analysis and retrieval of information relating to consumer grey area product interest. In other words, use of this system by consumers does not generate easily categorizable, heirarchically arranged information relating to consumer use of the system (which is indicative of consumer product interest) for analysis by store owners, product producers and the like. Yet another CAD is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,014,634 to Scroggie et al. Scroggie discloses a system and method for providing shopping aids and incentives to customers through a computer network. In essence, customers of a retail store can establish a bidirectional communications link with the system, and then elect to browse among available purchase incentive offers, or elect to explore other shopping aids, such as a shopping list generator, a recipe center, or other product information. Again, such a system is helpful to consumers, but it does not provide valuable "back end" information, nor does it provide quantifiable insight into grey area consumer product interest. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for collecting consumer interest data relating to individual products without the limitations of presently implemented consumer interest gauges such as surveys and sales figures. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for organizing and categorizing collected consumer interest data in a heirarchically arranged manner. A further object of the present invention is to utilize the collected consumer interest data to specifically tailor advertising efforts to most effectively market products. Yet another object of the present invention is to accomplish the foregoing by utilizing automated systems physically located in the shopping arena. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention satisfies the foregoing objects by providing a system and method for automatically collecting consumer product interest data. The present invention utilizes a consumer product selection means such as a well known CAD to allow the consumer to make a "first selection" of a particular product in which the consumer has interest. This first selection of a product by the consumer is recorded, the record containing information including the identity of the item, the location of the store, time and date, etc. After the consumer makes the first selection of a particular product, the CAD provides the consumer with at least one option relating to the product. Options may differ as between products and types of products, and may include cost of the product, nutritional information about the product, preparation information about the product, information on the origin of the product, recipes using the product, and complementary items for suggested serving with the product. Each time the consumer makes a selection to view one of the options available (a "second selection"), the second selection is recorded, and the record contains the same types of information contained in records relating to the first selection of the product. For some products selected by the consumer, a comparison is performed between the products selected and products actually purchased. If a product selected was also purchased, this correlation is recorded. Periodically, the accumulated records of first selections, second selections and correlations between products selected and products purchased is transmitted to a data storage device. In an embodiment of the present invention, the data storage device has relational database capabilities and permits sorting, organizing and analyzing the accumulated records in multiple well known and useful ways. In another embodiment of the present invention, access to the data storage device is controlled by an access database, which restricts access to the data records in the data storage device to authorized users. In an important optional embodiment of the present invention, the consumer product interest data is analyzed to determine the advertising which would be most effective for a particular geographic region, be the region as small as an individual store or as large as an entire country. Once the determination as to optimal advertising has been made, the advertisements are directed to the CAD for display to passing consumers during periods in which a consumer is not using the CAD to make product or option selections. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 depicts an exemplary operating environment for an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 depicts a representative access matrix in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a flow diagram depicting the steps in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 depicts a representative data tabulation matrix in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 depicts an exemplary operating environment 10 for an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, description of the system and method of the present invention begins in a retail environment such as a grocery store 20. Although the system and method of the present invention will hereafter be specifically illustrated with reference to a grocery store 20 and the products, services and systems within such a store, it will be understood and appreciated that the applicability of the present invention extends to any environment in which (a) consumers have an opportunity to select a product from a larger variety of products, and (b) manufacturers of the products desire to know consumer attitudes toward their products. Within the grocery store 20, and placed in close proximity to a particular product or group of products, such as beef, for instance, is a consumer assist device (CAD) 25. The CAD 25 can take any of a wide variety of forms well known in the art, but nearly any CAD 25 chosen for a particular location will likely possess certain common characteristics. Notably, the CAD 25 will allow a consumer to make a "first selection", thereby choosing a particular product for inquiry. It will allow the consumer to make additional ("second") selections regarding the product first selected, thereby demonstrating additional interest in the product. Finally, the CAD 25 will be communicatively linked via communications link 27 to either a data recipient or an information exchange medium such as the internet 30. In a preferred embodiment, the CAD 25 includes a modem or radio link to accomplish both delivery of information to and receipt of information from outside the grocery store 20 in which it is located. In an optional embodiment, the CAD 25 is able to receive and display advertisements directed to the CAD 25 based on consumer product interest data entered into the CAD 25 by a consumer. The previously referenced first selections by a consumer are accomplished by selection of a product by a consumer and registering the identity of the product selected to the CAD 25. This may be accomplished by the consumer selecting a product from a list of products presented to the consumer by the CAD 25. Alternatively, the CAD 25 may include a product scanner or other product identification medium, thereby allowing the consumer to scan a bar code or other information-laden aspect of a product, which then alerts the CAD 25 that a consumer has interest in the particular product. Regardless of how the consumer conveys to the CAD 25 that he has interest in a particular product, this initial expression of interest in a product is considered to be the consumer's "first selection." When a consumer makes a first selection, the' method and system of the present invention understand this action to be an indication of consumer interest in the product. Little is known about this aspect of consumer behavior — notably, which products are picked up, examined and considered, but not purchased. By recording information as to a product picked up, examined and considered by a consumer, at least a portion of this highly desirable information is available for collection and retrieval, as later specified. After a first selection is made by a consumer and the CAD 25 has identified the product as a product which contains additional information within its system, options relating to the product are presented to the consumer via audio signal, video signal, or a combination thereof. Options may include recipes in which the product could be used, nutritional information relating to the product, location of the product in a store, origin of the product, etc. Each option selected by a consumer which relates to a product already selected is dubbed a "second selection". Each second selection is, as was the first selection, an indicator of consumer interest in the product. It is intuitive that each second selection is an indicator of even greater interest in the product than was the first selection, given the fact that the consumer had enough interest in the product to spend time learning more about the about the product, uses for the product, etc. Importantly, in one embodiment of the present invention, second selections relating to a first selection are weighted according to predetermined criteria. It may be determined, when setting up such a system and method, that certain second selections are indicative of greater consumer interest than others. Such second selections which are more prominent indicators of interest may either be weighted differently, or they may be tabulated separately. Additionally, it may be determined that a consumer who makes a fifth second selection actually has greater interest in the product than a consumer who makes only three second selections. To account for this eventuality, the greater the number of second selections made, the greater the "weight" the later second selections are given, according to pre-established factors. In any event, regardless of the weight or emphasis given the various second selections, the second selections are tagged or categorized as second selections. They are then transmitted, along with information relating to the first selections, to a data recipient such as a data storage device 40. Transmission of the information may be via internet 30, radio link (not shown) or any other data communication medium acceptable for transmission of such data. Importantly, an access database 50 may be interpositioned between the CAD 25 and the data storage device 40 for dual purposes. First, the access database 50 may strictly limit sources from which the data storage device 40 may receive information. This optional feature is desirable because it provides the later users of the data assurances as to the authenticity of the data. Second, the access database 50 may limit access of non-data- inputting entities to those who have subscribed or otherwise have rights to the contents of the data storage device 40. Furthermore, even among such subscribing entities (hereafter "authorized users 70"), different levels of access may be provided to various authorized users 70 depending on need and various commercial factors. System admimstration is accomplished via a system administrator 60. The system administrator 60 manages both data contained in the data storage device 40 and access afforded authorized users 70. Additionally, the system administrator 60 maintains a measure of control over the content of the CAD 25 and the specific information provided to the consumer responsive to consumer product inquiries. Still focusing on the example of a beef product in a retail grocery store, authorized users 70 of the system 10 may include an individual store 72, retail store headquarters 74, peripheral product producers 76, individual beef producers 78, and beef industry associations 80. As will be described hereafter, the need for access to information gathered by the system 10 differs for each authorized user 70. To best understand the different data requirements of the different users, it is instructive to set forth the organizational structure of the data collected by the system 10 and stored in the data storage device 40. As previously described, first selections and second selections are recorded. In some cases, depending on the preferences, goals and objectives of the system administrator 60, second selections may be weighted differently than first selections and, in some cases, differently than each other. In any event, the first and second selections (collectively "selections") may be tagged in a well known manner which will indicate origination information such as the date, the store at which the selections were made, the time of day, etc. When the selections are recorded in the data storage device 40, they are recorded in association with the origination information. Importantly, the data storage device 40 has a relational database capability, thereby allowing searching, grouping, and otherwise organizing and presenting data according to criteria desired by the particular authorized user 70 having access to the data. This organizational capability is especially important to the system administrator 60, who permits access to the data by authorized users 70 according to commercial terms which may differ from authorized user to authorized user, depending on factors ranging from frequency of access to the data stored in the data storage device 40 to the portion of the data contained in the data storage device 40 which the authorized user may desire to obtain. Optionally, the system administrator 60 may establish protocols which, when implemented on the data storage device 40, determine consumer product interest trends on a geographical basis, then transmit advertisements to the particular geographic locations in which such advertisements would be commercially beneficial. The advertisements, once received by the CAD 25 within the grocery store 20, may be displayed to the consumer or to passing consumers in any variety of ways, including full video screen shots in still or motion, a scrolling "banner" as part of the display, audio messages, etc. Figure 2 depicts a representative access matrix in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The access matrix 200 represents an implementation of information contained in the access database 50 regarding authorized users 70. It is envisioned that the access matrix 200, in addition to any other contents of the access database 50, will be admimstered by the system administrator 60. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the system administrator 60 has authority and control necessary to establish and modify access matrices such as access matrix 200. In its simplest form, the access matrix 200 determines which authorized users 70 receive which information (contained in the data storage device 40) from wliich information sources, such as grocery store 20. In the depicted representative embodiment, authorized users 70 are matrixed against various sorting arrangements for the data. As an example, it is helpful to envision the matrixed arrangement as a table (access matrix 200) in which authorized users 210 (corresponding to 70) are listed and matrixed against data origin 220. Still referring to Figure 2, authorized users 210 include an individual store 230 (corresponding to 72), retail store headquarters 235 (corresponding to 74), peripheral product producers 240 (corresponding to 76), individual beef producers 245 (corresponding to 78), and beef industry associations 250 (corresponding to 80). Each of these authorized users desires access to data from the system 10. However, because specific data interests of these authorized users differs, and because costs related to access of the data in the system 10 differ depending on the amount of data accessed by the authorized user, authorized users will likely only subscribe for access to the portion or granularity of data necessary for their individual purposes. For instance, in the depicted embodiment, data origin column 220 may be broken down into store data 225, region data 260 (comprising, for instance, multiple counties, states, etc.), and all data 265. In determining access to data records in the data storage device 40, it is unlikely that an individual store 230 would have any interest in all data 265. Instead, an individual store 230 would likely just subscribe to the system 10 to the extent necessary to get access to both store data 255 relating to its own store, as well as region data 260 relating to other stores in its particular region of the state or country. It is instructive to note that the data origin 220 categories depicted in the exemplary embodiment are only representative. In actual implementation, it is desirable to have a far wider variety of data origin 220 categories, and allow specific access depending on even more specific needs and desires of the authorized users. Continuing the present example, the retail store headquarters 235 will certainly have interest in the store data 255 and region data 260, but will also likely have interest in all data 265. In contrast, the beef industry associations 250 probably have very little interest in any individual store data 255, but may have keen interest in region data 260 and all data 265. The varieties of access which can be established by such an access matrix 200 are virtually limitless and well-suited for tailoring to the specific needs of the authorized users 70. Because specific access to the data records in such a narrowly targeted and useful fashion can be provided, higher revenues can be generated for access to the data, as well. Figure 3 is a flow diagram depicting the steps in an exemplary embodiment of the method of the present invention. More specifically, the method of the present invention begins at step 200. The system 10 remains in stand-by mode at step 205 until, at step 210, a first selection is made by a consumer. The first selection, as described hereinabove, may be made in any number of ways using any number of commercially available devices, but the first selection made in step 210 must identify a specific product, or at least a particular family of products. After selection of a product in step 210, the CAD 25 inquires, at decision block 220, as to whether the particular product which is the subject of the first selection is a product on which the system 10 contains additional information (or additional options) for presentation to the consumer. Additional information, for the purposes of step 220, generally includes information which, if selected by the consumer, would constitute a second selection, as previously described. If no such additional information exists, the system returns to its standby mode at step 200. In one embodiment of the present invention, optional step 225 may be such additional information which may not constitute an "option", per se. As an example, the optional step 225 may reference or trigger presentation of a video clip or other communication of information to the consumer from the producer of the product. In this example, a first selection identifies the product as having been produced by a rancher by the name of Bubba Guiness. When the inquiry is made at decision block 220 as to whether any information related to the product is contained in the data storage device, and if the first selection product is identified as having originated from Mr. Guiness' ranch, a short video or audio clip may be presented to the consumer with a statement such as "Howdy folks, I'm Bubba Guiness and I raised this beef right here on my ranch in Nebraska...I'm proud to say that I use the patented NAC-TRAC® system to insure the safety of my beef...1 sure hope you enjoy it". If, on the other hand, there is no such optional message, but other information exists, the method of the present invention may bypass optional step 225 and the first selection is recorded at step 230. As previously described, much more than just the product which was the subject of the first selection is recorded — namely time, date, location and other important factors. After the first selection is recorded at step 230, additional product options are presented at step 240. The method of the present invention then remains in stand-by mode until either (a) a second selection is made (at decision block 250) from among an additional product option presented at step 240, (b) a different product is selected as a first selection (at decision block 260), thereby returning the method of the present invention to decision block 220, or (c) a predetermined period of time elapses (at decision block 270), after wliich the method automatically returns to its stand-by mode at step 200. Moving to decision block 250, if a second selection is made, the second selection may be weighted at step 280, as previously described, then recorded at step 290. After the second selection is recorded, the method of the present invention returns to step 240 where additional product options are presented to the consumer. The product options may be the same product options previously presented, or they may be a different set of options, depending on the selections the consumer has made. For instance, if a customer makes a second selection regarding nutritional information relating to the product, after the nutritional information is presented, the same selection of product options may be displayed to the consumer. If, on the other hand, the consumer makes a second selection asking for Mexican recipes, additional product selections relating to preparation time, nutritional information regarding the prepared dish, complementary side dishes, etc. may be presented instead of the previously displayed slate of options. Figure 4 depicts a representative data tabulation matrix 300 in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, the depicted data tabulation matrix 300 represents an example of how data records contained in the data storage device 40 might be presented to an authorized user 70 who is accessing the data records in accordance with his particular level of authorization, as previously discussed in reference to Figure 2. The depicted exemplary data tabulation matrix 300 includes three basic data fields — sorting data 310, product choices 320 and interest data 330. First, sorting data 310 includes product information 302, region information 304 and period information 306. Sorting data 310 confirms the elections of an authorized user relating to the particular product being analyzed, the geographic region from wliich the data has been gathered (and corresponding to the access limit of a particular authorized user 70), and the time period over which the data was collected. In this example, the system 10 has allowed an authorized user 70 to access and review data relating to beef sales in Harrisonburg, Virginia during the week of March 12, 2000. The data tabulation matrix also necessarily includes product choices 320 matrixed against interest data 330. Relating to beef, some of the product choices contained in the product choice field 320 include sirloin steak, t-bone, flank steak, brisket, tenderloin, ground chuck and ground sirloin. Obviously, there is no limit to the number of different beef products which could be included among the product choices 320. Central to this invention is the collection and meaningful dissemination of interest data 330 relating to certain products — in this case, beef. As previously described, consumer activity in accordance with the present invention will reveal first selections 332, second selections 334 and purchase information 336. For each available beef product choice, the number of first selections 332, second selections 334 and purchases 336 are tablulated and presented. From this collection and presentation, a wide variety of important and useful conclusions can be drawn. Looking at the interest data for ground chuck, for example, reveals that 407 people scanned, entered or otherwise desired to get some sort of information about a package of ground chuck from the CAD 25. Of those 407 individuals, a total of 832 second selections were made, indicating that among those individuals who made ground chuck a first selection, there was an average of slightly more than two second selections for each. Interpretation of this result is best left to those knowledgeable in the field of produce marketing, though one could might conclude that either individuals were looking for new ways to prepare the ground chuck or that individuals had interest in nutritional information relating to the product. If, as discussed previously in reference to an alternate embodiment, the data collected regarding the consumer's second choices was sufficiently annotated, further conclusions such as these could become a matter of clinical certainty instead of supposition. Nonetheless, even in this basic embodiment, the interest in this product is apparent. Contrast the interest patter of ground chuck with that of flank steak. First, relatively few individuals expressed any interest in this cut of meat. Interestingly (and importantly) the number of first selections is superior to the incidence of flank steak purchases. To a skilled marketer or retailer, this data suggests that a group of people considered purchasing the flank steak, but decided not to for one of a wide variety of reasons. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, analyzation of the data in the data tabulation matrix 300 is limited only by the unlimited manner in which data can be saved, tagged and stored.

Claims: CLAIMS I Claim: 1. A method for collecting consumer product interest data, comprising the steps of: a. recording a first selection of a product by a consumer, b. responsive to a second selection by the consumer of at least one option relating to the product, recording the second selection, c. comparing the product to a list enumerating at least one purchased product, d. responsive to a correlation between the product and at least one purchased product on the list, recording information relating to the purchased product, and e. transmitting the first selection and, if they exist, the second selection and information relating to the purchased product, to a data storage device for remote access. 2. The method of claim 1 , comprising the further step of storing the recorded first selection, recorded second selection and the recorded information relating to the purchased product in an access-restricted data storage device. 3. The method of claim 1 , comprising the further step of storing the recorded first selection, recorded second selection and the recorded information relating to the purchased product in a data storage device having relational database capabilities. 4. A method for accumulating consumer product interest data, comprising the steps of: a. providing a consumer with a selection means for selecting a product from a predefined group of products; b. responsive to selection of a product from a predefined group of products by the consumer, triggering transmission of information relating to the selection of the product to a data storage device; c. providing the consumer with a predefined group of options relating to the product selected; d. responsive to selection by the consumer of an option from the group of options relating to the product selected, triggering transmission of information relating to the selection of the option to the data storage device; and e. comparing information relating to the product selected to a list enumerating products purchased and, responsive to a correlation between the product selected and a product on the list of products purchased, triggering transmission of information relating to the product purchased to the data storage device. 5. A system for collecting and distributing consumer product interest data, comprising: a. a consumer assistance device for detecting consumer interest in a product; b. a computing device for converting detected consumer interest in a product into consumer interest data; c. a transmitter for transmitting consumer interest data to a data storage device; and d. a discriminator for limiting access to the data storage device. 6. The system of claim 5, in which the consumer interest data is sorted responsive to a command by an authorized user. 7. The system of claim 5 in which a correlating message is transmitted to a consumer via the consumer assistance device. 8. The system of claim 7 in which the correlating message is determined by examining the consumer interest data for a relevant region. 9. A method for delivering specifically targeting advertising to consumers, comprising the steps of: a. collecting consumer product interest data by recording a first selection of a product by a consumer, b. responsive to a second selection by the consumer of at least one option relating to the product, recording the second selection, c. comparing the product to a list enumerating at least one purchased product, d. responsive to a correlation between the product and at least one purchased product on the list, recording information relating to the purchased product, e. transmitting the first selection and, if they exist, the second selection and information relating to the purchased product, to a data storage device for remote access; f. determining, from analysis of the data contained in the data storage device, which products should be specifically marketed in a particular geographic area; and g. transmitting, pursuant to determining which products should be specifically marketed in the geographic area, an advertisement directed to the geographic area.

Inventors: HOGAN THOMAS, HOGAN, THOMAS
Applicants: HOGAN THOMAS, HOGAN, THOMAS
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06Q10, G06Q30