Abstract:
Disclosed are various embodiments involving access to guest orders in an electronic commerce application. In one embodiment, a request to access a guest account is obtained from a client. The request specifies a destination network address and an order identifier. A message is sent to the destination network address in response to verifying that the destination network address and the order identifier are associated with the guest account. The message includes a link that facilitates access to an order management function for the guest account.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, co-pending U.S. patent application entitled “ACCESS TO GUEST ACCOUNTS IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE,” filed on May 28, 2009, and assigned application Ser. No. 12/473,737, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Many people are unwilling to purchase items from online merchants due to the fact that they may be required to provide personal financial information to the merchant that will then be maintained in an account. As a consequence, online merchants are essentially unable to sell their products to such people, thereby limiting their sales potential. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]    Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0004]      FIG. 1  is a drawing of a data communications network according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a drawing of one example of a user interface generated on a display device of a client in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a drawing of an example of another user interface generated on a display device of a client in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is a drawing of an example of still another user interface generated on a display device of a client in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart that illustrates one example of functionality implemented as a portion of an electronic commerce application implemented in a server in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart that illustrates another example of functionality implemented as a portion of an electronic commerce application implemented in a server in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 7  is a schematic block diagram that illustrates one example of a server employed in the data communications network of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]    The following discussion describes systems and methods relating to providing access to order information associated with guest orders generated in an electronic commerce environment according to various embodiments. Such guest orders are typically generated without establishing a user account with the online merchant as will be described. For the sake of convenience, first a data communications network  100  is described, followed by a discussion of the operation of the various components of the data communications network  100  according to various embodiments. 
         [0012]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , shown is an example of a data communications network  100  that includes a server  103  and one or more clients  106  that are coupled to a network  109 . The network  109  may comprise, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more such networks. For purposes of convenience, the server  103  and client(s)  106  are referred to herein in the singular. However, it is understood that in one embodiment, the server  103  may represent a plurality of servers, and the client  106  may represent a plurality of clients. 
         [0013]    The server  103  is employed to execute various applications that provide for the network presence of online merchants as will be described. As contemplated herein, the terms “network presence” refer to the online existence of an online merchant through which products may be sold by the online merchant. To this end, a “network presence” may be viewed as a network portal or structure through which an online merchant can sell products. Such a portal may comprise, for example, a network site such as a website like those found on the Internet such as EBAY™, GOOGLE™, YAHOO™, or other online merchants. In addition, the products sold through the network presence of online merchants may comprise goods and/or services. 
         [0014]    The server  103  may comprise, for example, a server computer or like system. The server  103  may represent multiple servers arranged, for example, in one or more server banks or other arrangements. Such servers may be located in a single installation or may be dispersed among many different geographical locations. To this end, a server  103  may be viewed as a server “cloud” that represents the computing capacity of multiple servers, etc. 
         [0015]    Various applications and data are executed or stored in the server  103  according to various embodiments. The data associated with the operation of the various applications described below may be stored in a data store  123  as can be appreciated. The applications executed on the server  103  include various network server applications  126  and an electronic commerce application  129 . The network server applications  126  may comprise, for example, web servers or other types of network server applications  126  that provide browser access or other appropriate types of access to clients  106  and the like using various protocols such as the transmission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The electronic commerce application  129  facilitates the network presence of an online merchant. According to one embodiment, the electronic commerce applications  129  facilitate the creation of orders for products as a product of interaction with a client  106  over a network  109 . 
         [0016]    Stored within the data store  123  is all of the data that is necessary for the electronic commerce application  129  to conduct commercial transactions through the network presence of an online merchant. To this end, such data includes user accounts  136 , authenticated orders  139 , guest orders  143 , and other data. The authenticated orders  139  are generated by purchasers for which a user account  136  is maintained in the data store  123 . To this end, such purchasers are typically authenticated with at least a username and password before access to the data in their user account  136  is provided. The guest orders  143  are generated by guest purchasers for which no user account  136  is maintained. As contemplated herein, a “user account”  136  comprises data associated with a given purchaser that facilitates at least one commercial transaction between a merchant and the purchaser. 
         [0017]    Alternatively, the so called “guest order”  143  is generated by a guest purchaser for which no user account  136  is maintained by the online merchant. To this end, the purchaser who originates a guest order  143  is deemed a guest purchaser as there is no user account  136  maintained for the purchaser. To this end, the guest purchaser is required to enter their information such as shipping address, payment instrument information, and other information for each guest order  143  submitted as such information is not maintained in a corresponding user account  136  for the guest purchaser. Once a guest order  143  is created, from time to time a corresponding guest purchaser may wish to access the information associated with the guest order  143  to make changes or to cancel the guest order  143  altogether before it is shipped. To this end, the electronic commerce application  129  includes a guest order access application  133  that facilitates such access as will be described. 
         [0018]    Each of the guest orders  143  are stored in the data store  123  in isolation with respect to the user accounts  136 . This means that there is no association drawn between any one of the guest orders  143  and any one of the user accounts  136 . Also, each of the guest orders  143  is stored in isolation with respect to other ones of the guest orders  143 . That is to say, the data associated with each guest order  143  is self-contained and is complete in and of itself. No data associated with any two or more guest orders  143  is stored in a common location such as a user account  136 . Thus, if a guest purchaser wishes to access order information associated with two or more guest orders  143  that are currently being fulfilled, such a guest purchaser would need to access each guest order  143  individually in a manner as will be described. 
         [0019]    Further, the data associated with guest orders  143  is not maintained in the data store  123  except as needed to implement the fulfillment of the guest order  143  and as may be required by applicable statutes and/or other laws that govern online commercial transactions. 
         [0020]    The client  106  is representative of a plurality of client devices coupled to the network  109 . The client  106  may comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellular telephone, set-top box, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, or other devices with like capability. The client  106  may include, for example various peripheral devices. In particular, the peripheral devices may include input devices such as, for example, a keyboard, keypad, touch pad, touch screen, microphone, scanner, mouse, joystick, or one or more push buttons, etc. The peripheral devices may also include a display device  153 , indicator lights, speakers, etc. The display device  153  may comprise, for example, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, gas plasma-based flat panel displays, LCD projectors, or other types of display devices, etc. 
         [0021]    Executed within the client  106  are various applications including a browser application  156 . The browser application  156  is configured to interact with the electronic commerce application  129  and other applications on the server  103  through the network server applications  126  according to an appropriate protocol such as the Internet Protocol Suite comprising Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or other protocols. To this end, the browser application  156  may comprise, for example, a commercially available browser such as INTERNET EXPLORER™ sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., or MOZILLA FIREFOX™ which is promulgated by Mozilla Corporation of Mountain View, Calif., or other type of browser. Alternatively, the browser application  156  may comprise some other application with like capability. When executed in the client  106 , the browser application  156  renders network pages that include various user interfaces  159  for display. 
         [0022]    The guest order access application  133  may serve up various network pages and send messages to the client  106  during the process of establishing access to the content of a guest order  143  for a guest purchaser. During this process, the guest order access application  133  may send various network pages such as an input page  163  and a confirmation network page  166  in response to various requests from the client  106 . The guest order access application  133  also sends an electronic message  169  having a link  173  included therein to the client  106  as will be described. 
         [0023]    Next, a general discussion of the operation of the various components of the data communications network  100  is provided. To begin, the electronic commerce application  129  facilitates the generation of guest orders  143  for the purchase of products by guest purchasers. To this end, the electronic commerce application  129  serves up multiple network pages that facilitate the input of needed information to generate guest orders  143 . Such information may comprise, for example, identity information, billing address, shipping address, payment instrument information, and any other needed data. 
         [0024]    Ultimately, after a guest order  143  is generated, the same is stored in the data store  123  as described above. The guest order  143  is stored in the data store  123  in isolation with respect to the user accounts  136 , and in isolation with respect to the other guest orders  143  stored in the data store  123 . 
         [0025]    Once a guest order  143  has been created, then it may take a short period of time before the guest order  143  is actually fulfilled. To this end, various fulfillment capabilities may be employed to ship an ordered product to a customer in fulfillment of the guest order  143 . Such fulfillment resources may comprise, for example, fulfillment centers, warehouses, and/or other materials handling centers. 
         [0026]    Given that a period of time exists between the time that the guest order  143  is created and the time it is fulfilled, then it is possible that changes may be made to the guest order  143  before fulfillment. For example, it may be the case that a guest purchaser may wish to reduce the quantity of a product purchased, cancel the guest order  143 , or make other changes as can be appreciated. 
         [0027]    According to one embodiment, the guest order access application  133  provides client access to order data associated with one or more guest orders  143  to facilitate an action to be taken by a guest purchaser with respect to the guest order  143 . The action taken may comprise editing the pending guest order  143  before it is fulfilled, canceling the guest order, or other action. According to one embodiment, the access that is provided to a guest order  143  limits the different types of actions that may be taken by a guest purchaser with respect to a guest order  143  so as to prevent or minimize fraud or other problems as will be described. 
         [0028]    In one example, the customer actions that may be taken with respect to a guest order  143  are restricted to a set of potential actions that do not result in an increase in an original purchase price that was associated with the guest order  143 . This is to prevent unscrupulous individuals from accessing the guest order  143  after stealing the necessary order information from the guest purchaser and increasing the products subject to the guest order  143 , thereby increasing the price. In such case, a guest purchaser could never be charged more than the original amount owed at the time that the guest order  143  was originated, thereby minimizing the losses due to potential fraud. 
         [0029]    In order to provide access to a guest order  143  for a guest purchaser, the guest purchaser first executes the browser application  156  and accesses appropriate network pages of an online merchant to request access to a guest order  143 . Such a request is transmitted to the network server applications  126  and ultimately is received and processed by the guest order access application  133  as part of the electronic commerce applications  129 . In response to the request, a further input network page  163  may be served up to the requesting client  106  that obtains input from the guest purchaser. The input network page  163  is displayed on a display device  153  of the client  106  to facilitate the input of information that uniquely identifies the guest order  143  stored in the data store  123 . In one example, such information may comprise, for example, an order number or other information. 
         [0030]    In addition, the input network page  163  also facilitates the input of a network delivery address of a guest purchaser associated with the guest order  143 . The network delivery address may comprise, for example, any address information that allows a message  169  to be sent thereto so that the guest purchaser can access the message  169 . Thus, the network delivery address may comprise an e-mail address, an SMS address (i.e., a telephone number), or other type of address to which an electronic message  169  may be transmitted. Alternatively, other information may be requested such as confirmation numbers, physical addresses, answers to security questions, or other information. The input network page  163  may be configured to require the information entered to conform with predefined conventions to prevent errors. 
         [0031]    Once the requested information is entered into appropriate fields or other components of the input network page  163 , the guest purchaser may cause the client  106  to send such information to the server  103 . In response, the server  103  first checks to see that the input information is valid (i.e., formatted correctly) and that the input information such as an order number actually corresponds to one of the guest orders  143  stored in the data store  123 . 
         [0032]    Also, the guest order access application  133  determines whether the network destination address received from the client  106  is associated with one of the user accounts  136 . To this end, if the destination address and order number are associated with a respective one of the user accounts  136 , then the guest order access application  133  may cause a login network page (not shown) to be sent to the client  106  that facilitates a user login to the respective user account  136 . This prevents a purchaser who holds a user account  136  from purchasing products as a guest purchaser or accessing orders created under a user account as a guest purchaser. 
         [0033]    For example, where a guest purchaser attempts to access guest orders  143  that were created before a user account  136  was established for the guest purchaser, then the guest order access application  133  may allow the user to access only the guest orders  143  as a guest purchaser. In this embodiment, a user would not be allowed to access orders created under a user account as a guest purchaser. Thus, if both an order number and destination network address are entered that are associated with an order created under a user account, the user may be presented with an appropriate login page through which their account may be accessed. If the order number entered with a destination network address is associated with a guest order and the destination network address is associated with both guest orders  143  and orders generated under a user account, then the purchaser may be provided access to only the guest order  143  as a guest purchaser as described herein. Where a destination network address entered by a purchaser is only associated with orders generated under a user account, the purchaser may be presented with a login page to facilitate access through the user account as guest access to such orders would be improper. 
         [0034]    Assuming that the login network page that facilitates access to a user account is sent to the client  106 , the purchaser may be required to enter login information such as, for example, a user name and password or other login information to access their user account  136  through which they should be able to access the orders associated with their user account  136 . This prevents a purchaser who holds a user account  136  in the data store  123  from attempting to access an authenticated order  139  associated with their user account  136  through a guest order access process. 
         [0035]    Assuming that the guest order access application  133  receives the network delivery address, order number, or other information from the client  106  and the order number and network delivery address are associated with a guest order  143 , then a message  169  containing a link  173  to a confirmation network page  166  is sent to the network delivery address. The confirmation network page  166  is served up by the guest order access application  133  as part of the electronic commerce applications  129 . The confirmation network page  166  may comprise, for example, a user interface  159  that is rendered on the display device  153  to facilitate confirmation of the information previously entered for the guest order  143 . In one example, the confirmation network page  166  requests a user to re-input the order number or other information associated with the guest order  143  to which they desire to gain access. 
         [0036]    The confirmation network page  166  is generated upon receiving an indication in the server  103  from a client  106  that the guest purchaser clicked on or otherwise manipulated the link  173  in the message  169 . Once this indication is received, then the guest order access application  133  is configured to proceed to generate and send the confirmation network page  166  to the client  106 . 
         [0037]    According to one embodiment, the link  173  that was included in the message  169  transmitted to the network delivery address described above is valid for a predefined period of time. That is to say, when the guest order access application  133  sends the message  169  including the link  173  to the respective delivery address, the guest order access application  133  begins tracking a predefined period of time within which the link  173  is valid. To this end, the guest order access application  133  may set a timer or other component that is employed to track the passing of a predefined period of time that occurs after the message  169  is sent to the delivery address. 
         [0038]    In one embodiment, a guest purchaser must manipulate the link  173  to send the request to the server  103  for the confirmation network page  166  while the link  173  is valid in order for the guest order access application  133  to actually serve up the confirmation network page  166 . Assuming that a user manipulates the link  173  in the message  169  before the predefined period of time has passed, then the guest order access application  133  responds by generating the confirmation network page  166  and sending the same to the client  106 . Alternatively, if the indication that the user has manipulated the link  173  in the message  169  is received at the server  103  after the passing of the predefined period of time, then the guest order access application  133  sends an error message to the client  106  indicating that the link  173  is no longer valid. 
         [0039]    Thus, when the message  169  is sent to the network delivery address with a link  173  to the confirmation network page  166 , a guest purchaser has a limited amount of time within which they must access the message  169  through an electronic mail (email) system or other system and manipulate the link  173  before it is invalid. This ensures that the link  173  is not valid for an extended period of time so as to minimize the possibility of fraud in cases where unscrupulous individuals may illicitly gain access to the link  173 . 
         [0040]    In cases where a guest purchaser is unable to access the message  169  in order to manipulate the link  173  in time before the link  173  becomes invalid, then the user may start the process anew by accessing the original input network page  163  to input the delivery address, order number, and/or other information as described above. 
         [0041]    Upon receiving the confirmation network page  166 , the guest purchaser may enter appropriate information such as the order number or other information in order to further authenticate the guest purchaser. A timer may be employed to track whether the guest purchaser enters information through the confirmation network page  166 . If the timer expires without action by the user, then the session may be canceled and the guest purchaser will be required to start the process once more to gain access to the order. 
         [0042]    Assuming that the appropriate information is entered into the confirmation network page  166 , then a guest order summary page is served up to the client  106  that indicates the order information and facilitates editing the order. An inactivity timeout period may be associated with the guest order summary page to ensure that it is not accessed by unscrupulous individuals that might make unwanted changes to the guest order in the absence of the quest purchaser. 
         [0043]    With the foregoing in mind, reference is made to  FIG. 2  which shows an example of a user interface  159  ( FIG. 1 ), denoted herein as user interface  159   a , according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the user interface  159   a  may be embodied in the input network page  163 . As shown, the user interface  159   a  instructs the user to enter required information. This may be accomplished by using various input fields such as, for example, an order number input field  183  and an address input field  186 . Alternatively, input fields may be provided to input other types of information. The input fields  183  and  186  are listed along with instructions to enter such information and indicate that the guest purchaser would have a limited amount of time to check their email account or other message delivery system to open the message  169  and manipulate the link  173  to the confirmation network page  166  as described above. 
         [0044]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , shown is another user interface  159  denoted herein as user interface  159   b  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The user interface  159   b  provides for the re-entry of information entered in the user interface  159   a  ( FIG. 1 ). The user interface  159   b  may be embodied in the confirmation network page  166  ( FIG. 1 ) described above. The user interface  159   b  is downloaded to the client  106  ( FIG. 1 ) in response to a manipulation of the link  173  ( FIG. 1 ) included in the message  169  ( FIG. 1 ) transmitted from the server  103  ( FIG. 1 ) as described above. According to one embodiment, the user interface  159   b  includes an order number input field  193 . Alternatively, the guest purchaser may be required to enter other information in order to confirm the desire to access the guest order  143  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0045]    By virtue of the fact that the message  169  with the link  173  is sent to the given destination network address associated with the guest purchaser, the possibility of fraud is minimized. This is the case as the guest purchaser will have a limited time within which they must access the message  169  and click the link  173  included therein to ultimately gain access to the confirmation network page  166  to confirm information entered and to confirm that they are in fact the guest purchaser associated with the guest order  143  to be accessed. 
         [0046]    Also, given the fact that the message  169  is sent to a specific destination address, then the possibility of third parties obtaining access to the guest order  143  is minimized as the message  169  containing the link  173  is only transmitted to the specified destination address and the link  173  is only valid for a predefined period of time. The fact that the link  173  is only valid for a predefined period of time prevents another user from accessing the email system or other messaging system of a guest purchaser and subsequently clicking on the link  173  to gain access to the guest order  143  in order to make unauthorized changes thereto long after the link  173  would normally have expired. 
         [0047]    Referring next then to  FIG. 4 , shown is a user interface  159  ( FIG. 1 ) which is denoted herein as user interface  159   c  according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The user interface  159   c  depicts an order summary of a guest order  143  ( FIG. 1 ). A guest order  143  may be fulfilled by sending multiple shipments, where different products or groups of products associated with the guest order  143  may be shipped to the guest purchaser at different times. Also, it is possible that a guest purchaser may specify different shipping addresses for respective items associated with a given guest order  143 . 
         [0048]    To this end, the user interface  159   c  lists the order number and the date the guest order  143  was placed. Also, the user interface  159   c  includes shipment boxes  203  that list each product that is included in a given shipment. Each shipment may include an order status  206 . The order status  206  may comprise, for example, “not yet shipped,” “in process,” “shipped,” or some other status. To the extent that the status of one or more products subject to a guest order  143  is “not yet shipped” as indicated in a respective shipment box  203 , then it may be possible to make changes to the guest order  143  as it sets forth information regarding those products. 
         [0049]    In order to facilitate changes to a given shipment expressed in a shipment box  203 , various components such as an “edit” button  209  and a “cancel” button  213  are included in the shipment box  203 . The edit button  209  may be clicked on or otherwise manipulated so as to allow a user to edit the guest order  143  with respect to the products listed in the shipment box  203 . In response, one or more subsequent network pages may be served up to the client  106  that facilitate changing various parameters such as the size, color, or some other aspect of a product that is subject to the guest order  143  as listed in the shipment box  203 . Alternatively, the guest purchaser may also change the shipping address, the shipping type to be employed to transport the items to the shipping address, and other aspects of the shipment depicted. 
         [0050]    However, in some embodiments, it may not be possible for the guest purchaser to change the shipping address so as to avoid the occurrence of fraud. In addition, according to one embodiment, the guest purchaser is prevented from making a change to a quantity of any one of the products associated with the shipment box  203 , for example, that results in an increase in the shipment or guest order price. By enforcing this rule, the price associated with a guest order  143  is prevented from increasing beyond that which was originally specified when the guest order  143  was created. 
         [0051]    Nonetheless, one may be allowed to delete products from the guest order  143 , thereby resulting in a reduction of price. In addition, the cancel button  213  may be manipulated to cancel the portion of the guest order  143  indicated in the shipment box  203  in which the cancel button  213  appears. 
         [0052]    In some situations, the shipment identified by shipment box  203  may be “in process” or “shipped.” In such cases, fulfillment centers or other materials handling centers may have already started the process of fulfilling a guest order  143  such that the process cannot be reversed. In such case, a user is prevented from making any edits to the guest order  143  by virtue of the fact that the edit buttons  209  and the cancel buttons  213  are not included in the respective shipping box  203 . However, it should be noted that shipments may be subject to other status beyond “not yet shipped,” “in process,” and “shipped.” Also, certain fulfillment centers or other materials handling facilities may operate so as to allow an individual to cancel a guest order  143  until it actually has shipped out the door or perhaps even while products are in transit on the way to the shipping address with an appropriate carrier. 
         [0053]    In addition, when a shipment is actually shipped, the user interface  159   c  may include a “track your package” button  216  that allows a user to track the progress of the package in transit. To this end, the track your package button  216  may actuate a link to the network site of a carrier that can provide the status of the shipment at any given time. Alternatively, the track your package button  216  may cause a subsequent network page to be downloaded that facilitates the entry of a shipment number and other information needed in order to obtain a status of a product in transit. In one embodiment, the electronic commerce application  129  may interact with the servers of a carrier to obtain the shipment information to be presented to a user as can be appreciated. In addition, the user interface  159   c  includes a payment information box  223  that lists the payment information as well as the monetary totals for the guest order  143  depicted in the user interface  159   c.    
         [0054]    Beyond those described above, the various actions that a guest purchaser can take with respect to a given guest order  143  include changing gift options such as whether a purchased product is to be gift wrapped, or to include, delete, or edit a gift message associated with the purchased product. In addition, a shipping type may be changed such that a product is shipped to a guest purchaser via a faster (i.e. overnight) or slower (regular post) shipping option that is currently specified. Also, a guest purchaser might wish to change a payment method or a billing address, etc. Still further, a promotion that did not exist when a guest order was created might be retroactively applied to the guest order by a guest purchaser through one or more further network pages. In addition, there may be other actions that a guest purchaser may be allowed to take with respect to a given guest order. 
         [0055]    By virtue of the fact that the user can make the changes to the guest order  143  as described above, then fewer calls to a customer service operation will be made in order to make such changes for guest orders  143 . In addition, an inactivity timeout may be associated with the user interface  159   c  to minimize an occurrence of fraud. 
         [0056]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , shown is a flowchart that provides one example of functionality of the guest order access application  133  according to the various embodiments of the present disclosure. Alternatively, the flowchart of  FIG. 1  may be viewed as depicting methods of a step implemented in the server  103  as can be appreciated. The flowchart illustrates examples of specific functionality implemented in the server  103  in order to provide access to information associated with a guest order  143  generated by the electronic commerce application  129  as described above. 
         [0057]    To begin, in box  253 , the guest order access application  133  serves up the input network page  163  to the client  106  to facilitate an input of information needed to provide access to a guest order  143  for the respective guest purchaser. To this end, the network page may embody, for example, the user interface  159   a  and may present other information as can be appreciated. In box  256 , the guest order access application  133  waits to receive the authentication data entered such as, for example, the order number and destination network address entered into the order number input field  183  ( FIG. 2 ) and address input field  186  ( FIG. 2 ) as described above. If such information is not received within a given period of time, then the operation of the guest order access application  133  may be aborted and the transaction is cancelled. 
         [0058]    Assuming that such information is received in box  256 , then in box  259 , a secure link  173  is sent in a message  169  to the destination network address specified by the guest purchaser. Also, the timer that tracks the limited period of time to receive a response from the guest purchaser is started. 
         [0059]    Before the message  169  with the secure link  173  is sent, the guest order access application  133  may check to see if a guest order  143  exists for the destination network address entered. To this end, it may be the case that an individual (1) has only created guest orders  143 , (2) has created guest orders  143  prior to establishing a user account and creating orders in association with the user account, or (3) only has orders created through a user account and, according to one embodiment, should not be allowed to access such orders as a guest purchaser. In the first scenario, the logic would proceed to facilitate access to the guest orders  143 . In the second scenario, the logic would proceed to provide access to the guest orders  143  only and would not be able to access any orders associated with a user account. In the third scenario, a user would be presented with a login page to access their user account and they would not be allowed to access orders created under a user account as a guest purchaser. In addition, other approaches may be employed in this respect. 
         [0060]    Next, in box  263 , assuming that the message  169  with the secure link  173  was sent to the destination network address, the guest order access application  133  determines whether the time period tracked by the timer has passed. If so, then the link  173  has become invalid. In such a case, the guest order access application  133  proceeds to box  266  in which the session is canceled. If the user clicks on the link  173  after the time period expires, then an appropriate network page is generated that indicates that the link  173  has expired. 
         [0061]    However, if the time period has not expired in box  263  then the guest order access application  133  progresses to box  269 . In box  269 , the guest order access application  133  determines whether an indication that the link  173  was actuated has been received. Such an indication may be embodied in a message  169  from the client  106  ( FIG. 1 ) that indicates that the link  173  in the message  169  has been manipulated. Assuming that such a response is received in box  269 , then the guest order access application  133  proceeds to box  273 . Otherwise, it reverts back to box  263  as shown. 
         [0062]    In box  273  the guest order access application  133  serves up the confirmation network page  166  ( FIG. 1 ) in response to the manipulation of the link  173  in the message  169  and starts a validity timer to track a timeout period associated with the confirmation network page  166 . The confirmation network page  166  facilitates the reentry of data or the entry of new additional data to further authenticate the user with respect to the guest order  143 . In box  275 , the guest order access application  133  determines whether the timeout period associated with the confirmation network page  166  has expired. If so, then the guest order access application  133  proceeds to box  266  described above to cancel the session. To this end, the confirmation network page  166  is deemed valid for a predefined period of time within which the user needs to enter the requested information. In box  276 , the guest order access application  133  determines whether an appropriate response has been received from the client  106  that includes the entered information to further authenticate the guest purchaser. Assuming that the response is received in box  276 , then the guest order access application  133  progresses to box  279 . Otherwise, the guest order access application  133  reverts back to box  275 . 
         [0063]    In box  279 , a template or other appropriate data structure is accessed or generated for the guest order summary network page that is to be populated with data so as to ultimately disclose the information as was described above, for example, with the user interface  159   c  ( FIG. 4 ). Such a template may be dynamically constructed using various network page components and other data as can be appreciated. Then, in box  283 , a first shipment associated with the guest order  143  in question is identified. Thereafter, in box  286 , a shipment box  203  may be generated in the guest order summary network page that includes appropriate components that facilitate various user actions with respect to the guest order  143  depending at least in part upon the status of the respective shipment as described above. 
         [0064]    The components may comprise, for example, the edit button  209  ( FIG. 4 ), the cancel button  213  ( FIG. 4 ), the track your package button  216  ( FIG. 4 ) and other components as can be appreciated. Thereafter, in box  289 , the guest order access application  133  determines whether the last shipment associated with the guest order  143  has been noted in the guest order summary network page. If not, then the guest order access application  133  reverts back to box  293  to designate the next shipment to be represented in the guest order summary network page. Thereafter, the guest order access application  133  reverts to box  286 . 
         [0065]    Assuming that the last shipment has been addressed in box  289 , then the guest order access application  133  proceeds to box  296  to add any further information to the guest order summary network page such as payment information, etc., before serving up the guest order summary network page to the client  106 . Also, an inactivity timer associated with the guest order summary network page is initiated that prevents any edits to the guest order through the guest order summary network page if no activity is detected for the inactivity period. This prevents fraud by minimizing the possibility that an unscrupulous individual may gain access to the guest order summary network page in the absence of the guest purchaser. The inactivity timer may track a time period of appropriate length such as, for example, 15 minutes or other time period. Thereafter, the guest order access application  133  ends as shown. 
         [0066]    In addition, it is understood that other functionality may be included in the guest order access application  133  beyond that described above to facilitate the various capabilities described herein. 
         [0067]    With reference next to  FIG. 6 , shown is a flowchart that depicts an example of additional functionality of the guest order access application  133  according to further embodiments of the present disclosure. Alternatively, the flowchart of  FIG. 6  may be viewed as steps of a method implemented in the server  103  according to various embodiments. The functionality of the guest order access application  133  as depicted in  FIG. 6  is presented as an alternative embodiment in which changes to shipments are allowed if they are deemed permissible based at least in part upon a number of predefined rules. 
         [0068]    For example, a rule may be created that states that no price of a guest order  143  can increase by virtue of an edit made by a guest purchaser. Such may occur, for example, if the quantity of products subject to a guest order  143  is increased, or if an item is eliminated that triggered special pricing such as a two-for-one deal. In addition, there may be many other types of changes that ultimately result in an increase in the price. In addition, a rule may be created that allows certain price increases within a given range, percentage of the original purchase price, or based on some other condition. 
         [0069]    To begin, in box  303 , the guest order access application  133  determines whether a desired potential change received from a client  106  is permissible based at least in part upon a predefined set of rules. To this end, one or more user interfaces  159  ( FIG. 1 ) may be presented during the course of facilitating an edit of a guest order  143  to present respective information to facilitate the editing of the guest order  143 . Thereafter, in box  306 , if the guest order access application  133  determines that the edit is not permissible, then the guest order access application  133  proceeds to box  309 . Otherwise, the guest order access application  133  progresses to box  313 . In box  309 , further guest order summary network pages or other network pages are served up to the client  106  that include an indication that the desired edit was not permissible. Thereafter, the guest order access application  133  ends as shown. 
         [0070]    An edit to a guest order may be deemed permissible depending upon the rules that are applied. For example, as mentioned above, a rule may dictate that the ultimate purchase price associated with a guest order cannot increase over the original purchase price, over a certain percentage higher than the original purchase price, or over some other threshold. In some cases, canceling a product may nullify the effect of a promotion, thereby resulting in an increase in price even though fewer items are purchased. 
         [0071]    However, assuming that the guest order access application  133  progresses to box  313 , then the desired edit is implemented and the guest order  143  is changed accordingly. Then, in box  316 , a revised guest order summary network page is served up to the client  106  that includes the edited guest order information. Thereafter, the guest order access application  133  ends as shown. 
         [0072]    Referring next to  FIG. 7  shown is a schematic block diagram of one example of the server  103  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The server  103  includes at least one processor circuit, for example, having a processor  403  and a memory  406 , both of which are coupled to a local interface  409 . To this end, the server  103  may comprise, for example, a server computer or like device. The local interface  409  may comprise, for example, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure as can be appreciated. 
         [0073]    Stored in the memory  406  are both data and several components and/or applications that are executable by the processor  403 . In particular, stored in the memory  406  and executable by the processor  403  are a server operating system  413 , the electronic commerce application(s)  129 , the guest order access application  133 , and the network server application(s)  126 , and potentially other applications. 
         [0074]    Also, stored in the memory  406  is the data store  123  in which is stored the various data items described above so as to be accessible to the processor  403 . It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored in the memory  406  and are executable by the processor  403  as can be appreciated. Also, other data may be stored in the memory  406  and accessed by the processors  403  beyond the data items described above. 
         [0075]    A number of software components are stored in the memory  406  and are executable or executed by the processor  403 . In this respect, the term “executable” means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor  403 . Examples of executable programs may be, for example, a compiled program that can be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory  406  and run by the processor  403 , source code that may be expressed in proper format such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a random access portion of the memory  406  and executed by the processor  403 , or source code that may be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions in a random access portion of the memory  406  to be executed by the processor  403 , etc. An executable program may be stored in any portion or component of the memory  406  including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory components. 
         [0076]    The memory  406  is defined herein as both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components are those that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, the memory  406  may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disks accessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, for example, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other such devices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other like memory device. 
         [0077]    In addition, the processor  403  may represent multiple processors and the memory  406  may represent multiple memories that operate in parallel. In such a case, the local interface  409  may be an appropriate network that facilitates communication between any two of the multiple processors, between any processor and any one of the memories, or between any two of the memories etc. The local interface  409  may comprise additional systems designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example, performing load balancing. The processor  403  may be of electrical or of some other available construction. 
         [0078]    The various applications, network pages, and other components described above may be implemented using any one or more of a number of programming languages such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, VBScript, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Ruby, Python, Flash, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or other programming languages. 
         [0079]    Although the various applications described above may be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware, as an alternative the same may also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, the same can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These technologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits having appropriate logic gates, or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detail herein. 
         [0080]    The flowcharts of  FIGS. 5 and 6  show examples of the functionality and operation of an implementation of the various applications described above. If embodied in software, each of the various blocks described may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodied in the form of source code that comprises human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that comprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a processor in a computer system or other system. The machine code may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s). 
         [0081]    Although the flowcharts of  FIGS. 5 and 6  show a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ from that which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two or more blocks shown in succession in  FIGS. 5 and 6  may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0082]    Also, where the various applications described herein comprise software or code, each can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor in a computer system or other system. In this sense, the applications may comprise, for example, statements including instructions and declarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by the instruction execution system. In the context of the present disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain logic or code for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system. The computer readable medium can comprise any one of many physical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical discs. Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access memory (RAM) including, for example, static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device. 
         [0083]    It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.