Patent ID: 8583507

Claim:
A web server device for merging online shopping baskets, the web server device comprising: a processor; and a machine-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions, that in response to being executed by the processor, cause the web server device to: associate a primary online shopping basket with a first customer; associate at least one secondary online shopping basket with a second customer, wherein the second customer being different from the first customer, and wherein the at least one secondary online shopping basket is associated with (i) first corresponding pre-defined rules specified by the first customer and which define purchase preferences of the first customer for items within the at least one secondary online shopping basket, and (ii) second corresponding pre-defined rules specified by the second customer and which define purchase preferences of the second customer for items within the at least one secondary online shopping basket; verify that the second corresponding pre-defined rules specified by the second customer do not conflict with the first corresponding pre-defined rules specified by the first customer; allow entry into the at least one secondary online shopping basket of the items which comply with the corresponding first and second pre-defined rules specified by the first and second customers; selectively merge items from the at least one secondary online shopping basket into the primary online shopping basket, the selection being based in part on the corresponding first and second pre-defined rules, to create a single merged online shopping basket; and display the items merged into the single merged online shopping basket on a single web page such that the items are simultaneously viewable on the single web page before checkout of the selected items in the single merged online shopping basket during a single purchase transaction.