Patent Publication Number: US-2010125504-A1

Title: Product or service comparison notification system and method

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
     The present invention generally relates to a system and method for generating a notification for a product or service comparison. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     When a range of products or services are offered in a marketplace consumers wish to identify a product or service which best meets their needs. The requirements will include certain parameters that define the required product or service and where there is more than one product or service which meets these requirements, the consumer is then generally most interested in the product of service which is of the lowest cost or one which satisfies a person&#39;s need or requirement. 
     The Internet provides an environment which enables multiple products or service providers to offer their products or services easily. Comparison websites have been developed to allow easier selection of a type of product or service and to enter product or service parameters for a comparison to be carried out. The consumer is then able to select from amongst the comparison results to choose a product or service they wish to purchase, subscribe to or apply for. 
     It is an objection of the present invention to provide an improved system and method for providing product or service comparison data. 
     A first aspect of the present invention provides a notification system for providing a notification of comparison data for products or services to users for display on a user&#39;s computer. The system comprises a storage arrangement to store user notification data for each of the plurality of users, the user notification data comprising user data related to a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest to the user, parameter data comprising parameters required for the comparison of data for products or services of a product or service type of interest to the user, and temporal data indicative of when the user requires a notification; a comparison arrangement to read the user notification data to determine when to determine product or service comparison data by sending a query based on the type data and parameter data to at least one product or service data source; a notification arrangement to generate notification data for display on a user&#39;s computer, the notification data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link directing the user&#39;s computer to send a request for the product or service; and a transmission arrangement to transmit the notification data for each user in dependence upon the user data. 
     The request for the product or service can comprise a request to purchase the product or service, a notification of interest to purchase the product or service, or an application for the product or service. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a notification client apparatus for receiving product or service comparison notification data from a notification system The apparatus comprises a network interface module to communicate with the client notification system over a network to receive the notification data; a data store storing the notification data comprising data comparing products or services; an alert module to generate an alert to a user when the notification data is received; a user interface to allow a user to view the notification data, and to enter a selection of a product or service; and a control module to control the network module and the user interface module to transmit the selection to the notification system. 
     A further aspect of the present invention provides a notification system for providing a notification of comparison data for products or service for users for display on a user device. The system comprises a storage arrangement to store user notification data for each of a plurality of users, the notification data comprising user data identifying a type of notification required by a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest to the user, parameter data comprising parameters required for the comparison data for products or services of a product or service type of interest to the user, and temporal data indicative of when the user requires a notification; a comparison arrangement to read the user notification data to determine when to determine product or service comparison data by sending a query based on the type data and parameter data to at least one product or service data source; a notification arrangement to generate notification data for display at a user device, the notification data including the comparison data; and a transmission arrangement to transmit the notification data for each user independent upon the type of notification defined in the user data. 
     A further aspect of the present invention provides a notification method to provide a notification of comparison data for products or service to users for display on a user&#39;s computer. The method comprises storing user notification data for each of a plurality of users, the user notification data comprising user data related to a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest to the user, parameter data comprising parameters required for the comparison of data for products or services of a product or service type of interest to the user, and temporal data indicative of when the user requires a notification; reading the user notification data to determine when to determine product or service comparison data by sending a query based on the type data and parameter data to at least one product or service data source; generating notification data for display on a user&#39;s computer, said notification data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link directing the user&#39;s computer to send a request for the product or service; and transmitting the notification data for each user in dependence upon the user data. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a notification client method to receive product or service comparison notification data from a notification system. The method comprises communicating with the client notification system over a network to receive the notification data; storing the notification data comprising data comparing products or service; generating an alert to a user when the notification data is received; allowing a user to view the notification data and to enter a selection of a product or service; and transmitting the selection to the notification system. 
     A further aspect of the present invention provides a notification method to provide a notification of comparison data for products or services to users for display on a user device. The method comprises storing user notification data for each of a plurality of users, user notification data comprising user data identifying a type of notification require by a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest to the user, parameter data comprising parameters required for the comparison of data for products or services of a product or service type of interest to the user, and temporal data indicative of when the user requires a notification; reading the user notification data to determine when to determine product or service comparison data by sending a query based on the type data and the parameter data to at least one product or service data source; generating notification data for display at a user device, the notification data including the comparison data, and transmitting the notification data for each user in dependence upon the type of notification define in the user data. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a comparison system for providing a comparison of products or services to users. The system comprises a comparison arrangement to determine product or service comparison data by comparing data on products or services; a display generation arrangement to generate display data for display, the display data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link sending a request for the product or service; and a monitoring arrangement to monitor selections of the selectable links by users for the comparison data; wherein the comparison arrangement is adapted to modify the determination of the comparison data in dependence upon the monitored selections. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a comparison method to provide a comparison of products or services to users. The method comprises determining product or service comparison data by comparing data on products or services; generating display data for display, the display data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link sending a request for the product or service; and monitoring selections of the selectable links by users for the comparison data; wherein the determination of the comparison data is modified in dependence upon the monitored selections. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a comparison system for providing a comparison of products or services to users. The system comprises a comparison arrangement to determine product or service comparison data by comparing data on products or services; a display generation arrangement to generate display data for display, the display data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link sending a request for the product or service; and a monitoring arrangement to monitor selections of the selectable links by users for the comparison data; wherein the display generation arrangement is adapted to modify the generation of the display data in dependence upon the monitored selections. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a comparison method to providing a comparison of products or services to users. The method comprises determining product or service comparison data by comparing data on products or services; generating display data for display, the display data including the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data, the selectable link sending a request for said product or service; and monitoring selections of the selectable links by users for the comparison data; wherein the generation of the display data is modified in dependence upon the monitored selections. 
     The present invention can be implemented in hardware and in software or in a combination of both hardware and software. Thus the present invention encompasses a storage medium storing computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method, a computer program for controlling a computer to carry out the method, and a signal carrying computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out the method. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a comparison notification arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the comparison notification server of  FIG. 1  in more detail; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the user&#39;s computer of  FIG. 1  in more detail; 
         FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the arrangement of  FIG. 1  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating the further steps of the selection process following on from the process  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating the verification process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a flow diagram illustrating the automatic log in process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating the comparison process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a flow diagram illustrating the notification process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
     Embodiments of the present invention are generally concerned with the problem of providing automated notifications of comparisons of products and services carried out in accordance with the user&#39;s requirements. The product services that a user may wish to prepare can for example comprise: 
     1. Insurance services such as life insurance, home insurance, and car insurance, 
     2. Mortgages and loans, 
     3. Credit cards, 
     4. Utility providers such as telephone service providers, mobile phone providers, energy suppliers (such as gas and electricity suppliers) and water suppliers. 
     5. Consumable products such as electronic goods, homeware goods, cars etc. 
     Thus the present invention is applicable to any type of product or service for which a comparison of product parameters can be performed. 
     In a first aspect of the present invention a notification system is generally provided such as by a computer server to notify users of comparison data available for products and services. The system stores user notification data for the users which comprises user data relating to a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest of user, parameter data required for the comparison of data products or services and temporal data indicative of when a user requires a notification. A user can indicate that they require to receive a notification of a comparison periodically such as every month, or at a certain date in the future, such as when a user&#39;s insurance is due for renewal. This indicates the date at which the comparison notification is to be delivered to the user. The user can also indicate a preferred time period for the delivery of the notification to the user. Also, the user data can indicate the preferred type of notification required by the user such as by e-mail, by SMS, by the Web, or by use of a bespoke client application. 
     The system operates to read the stored user notification data for all the users to determine when a product or service comparison should be undertaken in dependence upon the temporal data for the users. In order to perform the comparison a query is constructed for each user requiring a comparison based on the type data and parameter data for each user. The query is then transmitted to at least one product or service data source. 
     Notification data for display on a user&#39;s computer is generated to include the comparison data and a selectable link for each product or service compared in the comparison data. The selectable link directs the user&#39;s computer to send a request for the product or service. The notification is transmitted to each user based on their user data. Thus, for example, user data can define an e-mail address or some other form of address to which the notification data is to be sent. Also, user data can define the preferred type of notification e.g. e-mail, SMS, Web, or bespoke client application and thus the notification is delivered in accordance with that requirement. Where the notification is delivered as an SMS message or plain text email, a selectable link is not present and the notification simply includes summary information to allow a user to access the notification by other means e.g. via the Web. 
     The selectable link for each product or service can comprise a link to a product or service provider&#39;s computer or a link back to the notification system. Where the link is back to the notification system, the notification system can redirect the user&#39;s selection to a third party server or a product or service provider&#39;s server whereby the third party or product or service provider&#39;s server can then communicate directly with the user&#39;s computer. An example of this implemented in Web technology comprises a Web redirection of a browser at the user&#39;s computer as is well known in the art. Alternatively, when the selection is received by the notification system it can pass on data on the selection to a third party server or a product or service provider&#39;s computer and return an acknowledgement message to the user&#39;s computer for example stating that their interest in or order of the product or service has been communicated and the user will be contacted to further progress the matter. 
     Where the user selection is received by the notification system, additional data stored at the notification system for the user can be added to the user selection and passed on to the third party server or product or service provider&#39;s server. For example, in a web implementation, where a user selects to access a web page to purchase a product or service, pages can be pre-populated with data from records of user data stored at the notification system. 
     In order to access the notification system a user&#39;s computer or user must be validated. Login data is received from the user computer either from an automatic source within the computer or entered manually by the user. This is received and checked at the notification system and used to identify the user for future notifications. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention a dedicated client application can be downloaded and stored on the user&#39;s computer. The dedicated client application communicates with the notification system and looks for new notification data for the user. The notification system can thus include a code store for storing the dedicated client application for download to the user&#39;s computer. The dedicated client application can generate an alert to the user on the user&#39;s computer when new notification data is received from the notification system. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention the user&#39;s computer implements a notification client apparatus for receiving product or service comparison notification data from the notification system. A network interface module is provided for communication with the notification system over a network such as the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a wireless network or a wired network. A data store stores the notification data which includes data on compared products and services. An alert module generates an alert to a user when the notification data is received. A user interface allows a user to view the notification data and to enter a selection or a product or service. The control module controls the network module and the user interface module to transmit the selection to the notification system. Thus in this embodiment a separate dedicated client application can provide an efficient and immediate means of communication between the notification system and the user. 
     In one embodiment the user can enter at least one of user data related to a user, type data identifying at least one type of product or service of interest to the user, parameter data comprising parameters required for the comparison of data for products or service for a product or service type of interest to the user, and temporal data indicative of when the user requires a notification. This data can be transmitted to the notification system for storage and use in the determination of notification data for the user. 
     In one embodiment the dedicated client application is capable of working both off-line and on-line. When the communication link to the notification system is unavailable, notification data previously received from the notification system is stored and available to the user. Also user interaction such as entered selections and entered data are stored for transmission to the notification system when communications are re-established. Thus the client application provides significant advantages for users using a device e.g. a computer or mobile phone that has intermittent connection over a network. 
     The process of determining comparison data can comprise at least one of: retrieving comparison data from a product or service data source providing the comparison data; and retrieving product or service data from a product or service data source providing the product or service data and processing the retrieved data to determine the comparison data. Thus where there is readily available comparison data for a product type this can simply be received and made available. When such comparison data is not available, the notification system can retrieve product or service data from a number of sources in order to compile comparison data. 
     The comparison data can include ranking data. This may already be available from the comparison data retrieved from the source, or it can be determined during the comparison process and added to the comparison data. The ranking can be based on a number of factors such as quality, certain feature capabilities, or price. Price is the most commonly used ranking factor. 
     Selections made by users of products or services in the notification data can be tracked over time. This data can be processed and used in the adjustment of the ranking data. Thus prior user behaviour can be used to influence the user selection. 
     In one embodiment all interactions of the user with the notification data or the client application are tracked. This data is stored and can be used to modify the notification data. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a notification arrangement in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     A user&#39;s computer  10  is connected via the Internet  11  to a notification server  12 . The user&#39;s computer  10  can comprise any network-connected device such as a personal computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile phone. The Internet  11  can comprise network interconnection via wires or wireless. The network could also comprise a local area network, a wide area network or any other form of network. 
     The user&#39;s computer operates software modules for implementing this embodiment of the present invention. A web browser  10   a,  a dedicated client application  10   b,  and an e-mail client  10   c  are provided as software modules implemented on the user computer  10 . 
     The notification server  12  is connected to the Internet  11  to provide the notification system functionality as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The notification server  12  can comprise any number of servers and computers connected in unison to provide the necessary functionality. 
     A product data provider server  13  is also connected to the Internet  11  and is provided with product data  14 . The product data provider server  13  is a provider of comparison data for types of products or services. Such a known provider is DeFaqto. Thus the notification server  12  is able to access comparison data for types of products or services over the Internet from the product data provider server  13 . Also connected over the Internet are various product/service provider servers  15 ,  17 ,  18 ,  20 ,  21 ,  23  and  24 . In  FIG. 1 , only one product/service provider server  15  is illustrated connected directly to the Internet. However, many may be connected. Thus the notification server  12  can directly communicate with the product/service provider server  15 . A broker server  16  is connected to the Internet and acts between the notification server  12  and product/service provider servers  17  and  18 . The broker server  16  can be operated by a broker such as insurance broker whereby any selection by a user or a product or service provided by the product/service provider server  17  and  18  will be referred to the broker server  16 . 
     An intermediary server  19  is also connected to the Internet and can provide an intermediate service between product/service providers  20  and  21  and a notification server and a broker server  22  and a notification server  12 . In turn, the broker server  22  acts as a broker for product/service provider service  23  and  24 . 
     As can be seen from  FIG. 1 , product/service provider servers  15 ,  17 ,  18 ,  20 ,  21 ,  23  and  24  can be available to the notification server either directly or via one or more intermediaries. 
     The notification server will now be considered in more detail with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
     A web server  30  is provided connected to the Internet  11 . The web server is provided with web page data  31  which can comprise the data necessary to serve web pages i.e. both static and dynamic web page data. An e-mail server  32  is also provided connected to the Internet  11  for providing outgoing e-mail messages for verification of users as will be described in more detail hereinafter. A client interface module  33  is also provided connected to the Internet  11  for communication with the dedicated client application  10   b  on a user&#39;s computer  10 . A web tracking module  34  and a client tracking module  35  are provided for tracking interactions responses from users through the web server  30  and client application interface  33  respectively. A tracking data database  36  is connected to the web tracking module  34  and the client tracking module  35  for the storage of tracking data. A statistics analysis module  38  is provided connected to the tracking database for the determination of statistical user behaviour for use in the modification of the comparison data as mentioned above. A comparison module  39  is provided connected to the statistics analysis module  38  for performing comparison of product or service data. The comparison module  39  is connected to the product or service database  40  and a user data database  41  via the database server  37 . The comparison module  39  is also connected to the web tracking module  34  and the client tracking module  35  for the sending of comparison data as part of the notification to the user. A notification module  42  is connected to the web tracking module  34 , the client tracking module  35  and the e-mail server  32 . The notification module  42  is also connected to the user data database  41  and a notification data database  43  via the database server. Also the notification module  42  is connected to the comparison module  39  for the formation of the notifications to be sent to the users. An SMS server  44  can also be provided in the notification server or provider independently. The notification module  42  communicates with the SMS server  44  for the sending of SMS notifications to user&#39;s mobile phones  45 . 
     A marketing module  46  is provided for generating adding marketing material to the notifications. The marketing module  46  is connected to the Web tracking module  4  and the client tracking module  35  for noting user behaviour. A marketing data database  47  is connected to the marketing module  46  via the database server  37 . The marketing module  46  is also connected to the user data database  41  via the database server  37 . A verification module  48  is provided connected to the web server  30  and the user data database  41  for performing the verification process. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the details of the client application  10   b  in more detail. 
     The client application includes a network interface module  50  for communication over the Internet  11  with the notification server  12 . A control module  51  provides for control of the network interface module. A user interface module  52  is provided for generation of display notification data and for receiving user selections and user input data. User interface module  52  is under the control of the control module  51 . Notification data received from the notification server  12  by the network interface module  50  is stored in the notification data store  53  by the control module  51 . User parameter data input by the user using the user interface module  52  is stored in the user parameter data store  54  under the control of the control module  51 . User selections made from the notification data using the user interface module  52  are stored in the selection data store  55 . A product service data store  56  is also provided for storing product or service data input by a user to be used for receiving comparison notifications in the future. 
     The client application  10   b  is able to store notification data received from the notification server  12 , user parameter data input by the user and selection data input by the user. Thus, if communications with the notification server  12  are interrupted, the client application  10   b  is able to continue providing functionality to the user until communications are restored. 
     The user data stored in the client application user parameter data store  54  and the user data database  41  of the notification server  12  can comprise personal information on the user including a user name and password for manual log in or a computer address or computer location for automatic log in. Also the user&#39;s email address can be stored for communication purposes. User data can also include information on whether the user is a verified user or unverified user. Only verified users have access to notifications. The notification process will be described in more detail hereinafter. 
     The user data can also include data indicating the preferred notification type e.g. by email, SMS or by web access. Also, it can indicate whether the user has downloaded the client application  10   b.  If so then their preferred notification type will be considered to be via the dedicated client application  10   b.  The user data can indicate not just whether the user has downloaded the client application  10   b,  but also whether they have selected to download it but not yet downloaded it. 
     As part of the data on the address of the user, data can be stored on the type of device that the user prefers to use for connection to the notification server  12 . For example, whether they are using a PC or mobile device. 
     The user data can also include data indicating whether the user has elected to receive targeted advertisements. 
     The personal data will also include the input temporal data by a user indicating when a user wishes to receive notifications. The temporal data can indicate a period such as monthly, or it can indicate a set date in the future or a set date every year e.g. a date of renewal of a product or service such as a date for renewal for insurance. The temporal data can also indicate a preferred time of day for the receipt of the notification. The user may prefer to indicate the preferred time of day such as first thing in the morning when the notification is likely to receive more prompt attention. 
     The product or service data store  56  of the client application  10   b  and the product and service data database  40  of the notification server  12  store type data and product data. Type data indicates the type of product or service and parameter data indicates parameters of that product or service. For example, a type data can indicate whether the product or service is insurance and if so what type of insurance, a mortgage and if so what type or mortgage, a credit card, and if so what type of credit card, a loan, and if so what type of loan, or a utility and if so what type of utility. The parameter data comprises data parameters for a particular type of product or service, for example car insurance, the data will include age, sex, driving experience, previous accidents, address etc. The specific parameter data is used when performing a comparison of products or service of a particular type from different providers. 
     The notification data store  53  of the client application  10   b  and the notification data database  43  of the notification server  12  store notification data to be sent to a user&#39;s computer or received at a user&#39;s computer respectively. The notification data comprises data comparing products or service of the same type from different providers. The comparison data can be ranked by certain factors such as quality, specification, or price: price being the most common form of ranking. 
     The tracking data database  36  in the notification server  12  stores data indicative of user interactions with the provided notification data. In fact, the tracking data also includes any interaction by a user via the website. This data can be analysed by the statistics analysis module  38  to modify the comparison data in the notification data. This will be described in more detail hereinafter. 
     The marketing data database  47  in the notification server  12  stores marketing data for addition to the notifications to be sent to the user if the user has opted to receive marketing data. The marketing data will include data that is aimed at particular demographic targets. The marketing module  46  uses the marketing data and the user data to determine suitable targeted marketing material to be sent to a user. 
     The operation of the notification arrangement, and in particular the user&#39;s computer  10  and the notification server  12  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 4 to 9 . 
       FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are a flow chart of the operation of the user&#39;s computer and the notification server when a user accesses the comparison notification website provided by the web server  30 . 
     In step S 1  a user uses a computer  10  to request the main web page for the comparison notification website. In step S 2  the request is received at the notification server  12  and in step S 3  the main web page is returned to the user&#39;s computer  10 . At this stage of communication between the user&#39;s computer  10  and the notification server  12  an automatic log in process (step s 4 ) can take place. This will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 7 . 
     The main web page is displayed by the web browser  10   a  on the user&#39;s computer  10  (step S 5 ). The user is then presented with options including to sign up for the service, a selection to compare a service or product, or an option to manually log in if required. In step S 6  if a user selects to sign up for the service to become a member, a request for a sign up web page is sent from the user&#39;s computer  10  (step S 7 ) which is received at the notification server  12  (step S 8 ) and the sign in web page is returned to the user&#39;s computer  10  (step S 9 ). The sign in web page is displayed (step S 10 ) and a user then inputs the necessary parameters (step S 11 ). These parameters include user data and product service data. The data is sent to the notification server where it is stored (step S 12 ) in the user data database  41  and a product or service data database  40 . In order to facilitate automatic log in and access to the member section of the web site in the future, a log in cookie is generated and sent to the user&#39;s computer (step S 13 ). The cookie is received at the user&#39;s computer  10  and stored (step S 14 ) a user verification process (step S 15 ) can then take place as will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     If the user has not elected to download the client application  10   b  (step S 16 ) an acknowledgement of a web page is generated and sent to the user&#39;s computer (step S 17 ) to acknowledge that the user&#39;s has signed up for the service. The process then returns to the display of the main web page (step S 5 ). 
     If the client has elected to download the client application  10   b  the notification server  12  sends a download web page to the user&#39;s computer  10  (step S 18 ) where it is displayed to enable a user to select to receive the download (step S 19 ). The instruction to receive the download is sent to the notification server where it is received and the client application  10   b  is downloaded to the user&#39;s computer (step S 20 ). The user&#39;s computer  10  receives and installs the client application  10   b  (step S 21 ). An acknowledgement web page is then generated by the notification server and displayed (step S 17 ) to indicate that the service has been successfully signed up for and the process returns to display the main web page (step S 5 ). On the main web page if the user selects to compare a product or service (step S 22 ) a request for a compare web page is generated (step S 23 ) and sent to the notification server. The notification server  12  receives the request (step S 24 ) and returns the compare web page to the user&#39;s computer (step S 25 ). On the user&#39;s computer  10  the compare web page is displayed (step S 26 ) and the user can input parameters necessary for a comparison. These parameters include type later and parameter data, as well as some user data (step S 27 ). The parameters are then transmitted to the notification server where the comparison process is carried out (step S 28 ). The comparison process will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 9 . 
     On the main web page if a user selects to log in (step S 29 ) a request for the log in web page is transmitted to the notification server (step S 30 ) where upon the notification server receives the request (step S 31 ) and returns the log in web page (step S 32 ). At the user&#39;s computer the log in web page is displayed (step S 33 ) and a log in input from the user is awaited (step S 34 ). The input log in data is sent to the server (step S 35 ) where it is compared to stored user data (step S 36 ). If the data does not match (step S 37 ) an error notice is sent to the user&#39;s computer (step S 38 ) and the process returns to display the log in web page (step S 32  and S 33 ). 
     If the log in data successfully matches the stored data (step S 37 ) a member&#39;s web page is generated and sent to the user&#39;s computer (step S 39 ). At the user&#39;s computer the member&#39;s web page is displayed (step S 40 ) and a user input to select whether or not to update parameters is awaited (step S 41 ). If a request to update the parameters is received it is sent to the server (step S 42 ). The server looks up the already stored parameters in the user data database  41  and a product or service data database  40  and generates a parameter update webpage (step S 43 ), which is then sent to the user&#39;s computer (step S 44 ). At the user&#39;s computer the update web page is displayed (step S 44 ) and updated parameters are awaited (step S 46 ). Any updated input parameters are sent to the server (step S 47 ) where they are stored (step S 48 ) in the user data database  41  and the product or service data database  40  as appropriate. 
     Thus as can been seen in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b,  when a user accesses the web page, they can sign up for the service and download the client application, during which the user data and product or service data for the user is entered and stored. They can also perform a straightforward comparison without having to sign up to the service. Further, they can log in and update their parameters in the user&#39;s data database  41  and the product or service data database  40 . In this latter process, the manual log in may not be required if automatic log in has been successful (step S 4 ). 
     When a user is viewing the main web page if there is a notification (step S 49 ) as can be seen in  FIG. 5 , the notification is displayed (step S 50 ). Also at the end of the comparison process (step S 28 ) as can be seen in  FIG. 5 , the comparison results are displayed (step S 51 ). Thus, referring to  FIG. 5  the process for allowing a user to select a product or service using the displayed notification or display comparison results will now be described. 
     A user selection of a product or service is awaited (step S 52 ). The process provides for two types of selections: a one-click selection, which automatically connects or a tentative selection which requires the display of further information before a selection will be confirmed by a user. Thus in step S 53  it is determined whether the user has made a one-click selection or not. If not, a request is generated and sent to the server for product or service information (step S 54 ). The request is received and the product or service information is looked up (steps S 55  and S 56 ). The product or service information is then formed as a web page (step S 57 ) and returned and displayed at the user&#39;s computer by the web browser (step S 58 ). If the user does not confirm the selection (step S 59 ) the process returns to the display of the notification or the display of the comparison results respectively (steps S 50  or S 51 ). 
     If the one-click selection is made (step S 53 ) or the selection is confirmed (step S 59 ) the request for the product or service is set to the server (step S 60 ) at the server it is determined whether the product or service requested is available as a web selection (step S 61 ) if not data in the user data database and product or service data database are looked up and sent to an intermediary, broker or provider (step  62 ). An acknowledgement message is then generated as a web page and returned to the client (step S 63 ) where it is displayed (step S 64 ). The acknowledgement message can indicate that the user&#39;s selection of a product or a service has been accepted and a representative will contact the user. 
     If a web service is available for the product or service (step S 61 ) it is to determine whether a pre population of the data on the web site is available. If not the request for the web page form the user&#39;s computer which was sent to the notification server is redirected to the product or service providers server (step S 66 ) and the user&#39;s computers web browser  10   a  is redirected to display the product or service webpage from product or service provider (step S 67 ). In this way the intervention by the notification server in the request is transparent to the user. The notification server has however, been able to track the act that the selection has been made. 
     If it is determined that pre-population is available (step S 65 ) data is looked up in the product or service data database  40  for the user data database  41  (step S 68 ) for addition to the request to the product or service provider server. The request from the user is then forwarded to the product or service provider&#39;s server as a redirect request and the webpage is pre-populated with data (step S 69 ). The web browser  10   a  of the user&#39;s computer  10  is thus redirected to display the product of service web page from the product or service provider with pre-populated data (step S 67 ). 
     As can be seen this method enables a web based notification system to operate for web based notifications with links straight to the product or service provider where available or to enable the product or service to be requested via third parties using the capability of the notification server. 
     The verification process (step S 15  of  FIG. 4   a ) will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     The purpose of the verification process is to verify that the user signing up for the process gives a correct e-mail address and it also gives a certain level of verification that the user is genuine. 
     The notification server sends a verification e-mail (step S 70 ) to the e-mail address supplied by the user. At the user&#39;s computer the verification e-mail is received at the e-mail client  10 C (step S 71 ). The process waits until the e-mail is opened (step S 72 ) and the user inputs the necessary response (stem S 73 ). When the user inputs the necessary response, it is sent to the server (step S 74 ) where the user verification status is updated in the user data database  41  (step S 75 ). The automatic log-in process (step S 4  of  FIG. 4   a ) will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIG. 7 . 
     With the sending of the main web page to the user&#39;s computer a request to read the log-in cookie is sent (step S 80 ). At the user&#39;s computer the log-in cookie is looked up (step S 81 ) and if it is not present (step S 82 ) a response is sent saying as such to the server (step S 83 ) if a cookie is present the cookie is read and the data in the cookie is sent to the server (step S 84 ). The data in the cookie is then compared to stored data in the user&#39;s data database  41  (step S 85 ). If the data matches (step S 86 ), the member&#39;s web page is returned (step S 87 ) and it is displayed on the user&#39;s computer (step S 88 ). If the data does not match (step S 86 ) or there is no cookie to send (step S 83 ) a member&#39;s web page access denied message is generated and sent to the user&#39;s computer (steps S 89  and S 90 ) for display at the user&#39;s computer (step S 91 ). If the automatic log-on fails, the user is still able to access the main web page for limited functionality such as undertaking a comparison (step S 22 ) or for locking on manually (step S 29 ). 
     The comparison process (step S 28  of  FIG. 4   a ) will now be described with reference to  FIG. 9 . 
     The service data parameters are received (step S 100 ). It is then determined whether there is a comparison data provider for the product type (step S 101 ). If comparison data is available from the product data provider server  13  in  FIG. 1  a comparison query is formed and sent to the provider server (step S 102 ). The comparison data is received (step S 103 ) and if it contains ranking data (step S 104 ) the ranked comparison data is stored for users (step S 105 ). If the comparison data is not ranked (step S 104 ) a rank comparison process is undertaken (step S 109 ) to generate ranking data for the comparison data and the ranking data is added to the comparison data. It is then determined whether the ranking is to be modified by tracking data (step S 110 ). If not the rank comparison data is stored (step S 105 ). If the ranking is to be modified by the tracking data (step S 110 ) Step S 111  a process for the modification of the ranking is undertaken and the modified ranking data stored with the comparison data in step S 105 . 
     If it is determined that comparison data is not available (step S 101 ) queries are formed and sent to a number of product or service data providers (step S 108 ). The received product or service data (S 107 ) is processed for comparison data for each set of user parameters (step S 108 ). Rank comparison data is then generated for ranking the comparison (step S 109 ). If the ranking is to be modified by tracking data (step S 110 ) the tracking data is used to modify the ranking (step S 110 ) and the ranking data is then stored with the comparison data (step S 105 ). 
     The modification of the ranking in this embodiment can comprise changing the order based on user&#39;s previous selections. For example, if in previous notification data for user&#39;s a particular product or service was ranked highly for many users but not selected, this would indicate a reluctance for users to select the product or service despite being ranked more highly. This can be used to move the product or service down future rankings. It can for example indicate a negative brand image for the product or service even though for example the ranking was based on price, users may prefer to pay slightly more for a product or service having a better brand image. 
     An addition or alternative to changing the ranking, the modification of the ranking data can include simply the addition of data such as an addition of number indicating the percentage of previous users who selected the product or service when ranked in the same position or higher. In other words, the display of the ranking can be modified based on previously tracking selections by users. Thus statistics on user acceptances influences the display of ranked results in future notifications. 
     The notification process will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIG. 9 . 
     The notification module  42  will periodically check the user data database  41  (step S 120 ) to look for temporal data matches for users (step S 121 ). When it is determined that it is an appropriate time for a notification for one or more users, the comparison that is required by the user or users is determined from the product or service database  40  (step S 122 ). If there is recent comparison data stored for the product type (step  123 ) notification data for the users can simply be generated from the stored comparison data (step S 127 ). If there is no recent stored comparison data the comparison requirement for each user is looked up (step S 124 ) and parameters are retrieved (step S 125 ). The comparison process is then performed (step S 126 ) and the notification data for the users is generated (step S 127 ). 
     It is then determined whether the users accept marketing material (step S 128 ) by the marketing module  46  looking up data in the user data database  41 . If the user does accept marketing material, targeted marking material is generated (step S 129 ) by the marketing module  46  using the marketing data database  47 . The targeted marketing material is then added to the notification data (step S 130 ). 
     In order to transmit the notification data to the user, the type of notification required by the user is then looked up in the user data database  41  (step S 131 ). The notification message including the notification data is then formed in each notification type for each user and stored (step S 132 ). The notification module  42  will then determine at an appropriate notification time (step S 133 ) for a user based on the temporal data in the user data database  41  when to send a notification message (step  134 ). 
     If a user receives a notification based on a notification type which is an SMS message or an e-mail of text type and not HTML type, a user cannot select a link. The notification is thus passive and requires the user to visit the service website. These forms of notification merely provide an alert which enable users to visit the user selectable notifications at the website. 
     In the above described embodiments, when a user responds to HTML based e-mail, it can include web base links which enables a user to select a link i.e. select the product or service and go straight to the process at step S 50  in  FIG. 5 . If the e-mail is simply a text e-mail the user must log in and start the process at step S 1  of  FIG. 4   a . Similarly for an SMS based notification, the user must log in the website at step S 1  of  FIG. 4   a  in order to make a selection in the web base notification. 
     Where the user&#39;s computer  10  uses the client application  10   b,  a notification is displayed by the client application and the user can select a product or service displayed by the client application  10   b.  The client application thus carries out the process of steps  50 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  58 ,  59 ,  60  and  64  or  FIG. 5  in a non-web based environment. It is only at step S 57  where there is a direct web link to the product or service provider that the client application calls the web browser to open and be redirected to the service or product provider. 
     It is possible for the client application  10   b  to have further functionality such as the capability of carrying out the comparison process of  FIG. 9 . However, this requires additional coding. 
     Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings implemented using web base technology, it would be understood to a skilled person in the art that the present invention is not limited to such technology and any equivalent functioning technology can be used. 
     In the embodiments described software code modules have been described performing specific functions. It will however be apparent to a skilled person in the art that any of the modules can be combined or divided further based on convenient coding requirements. 
     The present invention is intended to encompass any network based technology including both wired and wireless. The devices used for the notification server and the user&#39;s computer in the embodiment described above can comprise any suitable hardware comprising one or devices and any suitable combination of hardware and software to provide the functionality. 
     The present invention can be implemented in software and as such software can be provided on any suitable carrier medium comprising a storage medium such as a floppy disc, hard disc, CD ROM, DVD, or solid state memory device for example, or a signal such as an electrical, optical, microwave, electromagnetic, or acoustic signal for example. One such form of signal is a TCP/IP signal with a download of computer code over a network such as the Internet, wide area network or local area network.