WO2004077320A1

WO2004077320A1 - Rewards systems

Info

Publication number: WO2004077320A1
Application number: PCT/IB2004/050143
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Francis Heath
Original assignee: John Francis Heath
Priority date: 2003-02-25
Filing date: 2004-02-25
Publication date: 2004-09-10

Abstract

This invention relates to a reward system and more particularly, to a rewards system using electronic communication devices for rewarding and/or redeeming reward points. The rewards system includes a rewards administrator which has a computer system for recording rewards corresponding to mobile telephone numbers. The computer system also includes communication means for receiving and/or transmitting messages from and to a mobile telephone.

Description

REWARDS SYSTEM

FIELD OF THE IN ENTION

This invention relates to a rewards system, and more particularly, to a rewards system using electronic communication devices for awarding and/or redeeming rewards points.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Reward systems and schemes are used by retailers to encourage customers to increase their expenditure in return for rewards, with aim mostly of building customer loyalty and increasing frequency of shopping. A number of different retailers may subscribe to a reward scheme so that customers may redeem their rewards at any of the participating partners, such as, for example, retailers, wholesalers, schools and the like.

A reward scheme administrator may sell rewards in the form of points to retailers at a premium to their face value. The retailer issues the points to customers at face value. Points may be issued to customers in the form of physical tokens or may be recorded on an electronic storage device such as a smart card. An example of the former scheme is the S&H Green Stamp Programme of the early 1970's and of the latter scheme, that administered by Intercredits in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the late '90's, and that of Boots and Shell in the UK. A retailer issues an amount of points to a customer when a customer, for example, makes a once-off purchase above a certain value, or when he/she shops at a given venue, or buys a certain article, more than a predetermined number of times.

The customer can now redeem these points at any participating retailer (scheme partner).

The administration of the rewards scheme may be a difficult task requiring dedicated personnel or a rewards administrator company and/or specialised systems and equipment. Physical tokens can be copied, lost or stolen, thereby undermining the security of a scheme. Such problems may add to the cost and decrease the effectiveness and desirability of the rewards scheme. The use of smart cards is also not desirable as smart cards are relatively expensive and require special electronic terminals.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a reward system which, at least partially, alleviates some of the abovementioned difficulties. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention there is provided a rewards system comprising a rewards administrator having a computer system for recording rewards against mobile telephone numbers; the computer system having communication means for receiving and/or transmitting messages from or to a mobile telephone.

The computer system is connectable to point-of-sale systems and devices.

There is provided for the rewards administrator to issue rewards in the form of points to partners. Alternatively, the rewards administrator is one or more of the partners.

A further feature of the invention provides for the partners to issue points in accordance with predetermined rules set by each or some or all of the partners. For example, partners may issue points to customers when customers enter a store or fill out forms in a store or the like.

There is also provided for rewards to be recorded against a mobile telephone number provided by a customer of a partner in return for a predefined purchase through the partner.

A still further feature of the invention provides for rewards to be issued as coded messages and to be stored as such on the scheme's computer system and/or on a memory means of a mobile telephone. The computer system may also be accessible through a computer network such as the Internet for customers and partners to check on details relating to points awarded and/or redeemed.

Yet further features of the invention provide for rewards to be redeemable by transmitting a message from a mobile phone to the computer system, for the message to include information relating to the amount of the reward, to the amount of a reward to be redeemed, to the goods or services for which at least part of the reward is redeemed and to the partner through which at least part of the reward is redeemed.

Preferably, rewards are redeemable for mobile phone airtime or for utility supplies.

These and other features of the invention are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a schematic diagram of a reward system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

With reference to the drawing, a rewards system is generally indicated by reference numeral 1.

The rewards system 1 includes a rewards company 2, a number of partners P1 to Pn and a number of customers C1 to Cn. The partners may be retailers, wholesalers, schools, charities and the like as is more fully described below.

When a customer purchases goods or services from a partner, the partner will record the customer's details on its point of sale system, in the form of his/her mobile phone number. A reward in the form of a number of points is recorded against the mobile phone number of the customer and a message may be transmitted by the scheme's central computer system to the customer's mobile phone, via a text messaging service, confirming the points award.

Points are awarded in accordance with rules set by the retailer. The retailer may award points when goods or services to a predetermined amount has been purchased by a customer and the scheme may also require a minimum amount of points before allowing a customer to redeem points. The reward has a universal redemption value amongst the partners in the scheme.

Should the customer wish to redeem his points, he may do so at any of the participating partners by transmitting a message from his mobile phone to the rewards company, or the partner interrogates the scheme's central computer which then transmits a message to the point of sale computer system of the partner where the customer wants to redeem his points, as well as to the mobile phone of the customer, if requested. In this way the retailer may verify that the points exist in the customer's account and are redeemable by that customer. Likewise, the customer can confirm, via a text messaging service, that the correct amount of points has been deducted, by requesting a points account balance.

In an alternative embodiment, a coded message including a coded value of an amount of points may be transmitted to the mobile phone and stored on the mobile phone of the customer qualifying for the points. The coded message may be transmitted to the retailer at which the customer wishes to redeem his points. In this way a customer, at the time of purchase of goods or services, may specify any mobile phone telephone number to which the points must be allocated. A customer may thus donate points relating to his/her purchase to another party. The other party may then receive a coded message on his/her mobile phone, notifying that points have been awarded in this manner. The points can then be redeemed as described above.

The system may further include the facility to award points to third parties such as charities, NGO's or schools that effectively become "redeem only" partners in the scheme. A customer may elect to reward his points directly to a "redeem only" partner or a certain amount or a percentage of points awarded may automatically be transferred or allocated to a "redeem only" partner by the rewards scheme administrator.

In another embodiment, customers may earn points which are redeemable for pre-paid utility vouchers, such as electricity vouchers in the case of pre-paid electricity dispensers that utilise key-pad code entry, or for mobile phone airtime. In this case a code may be transmitted to the customer's mobile phone for use to activate or supplement airtime or electricity supply. Alternatively an arrangement can be established with the mobile operator directly credit the customer's mobile phone account once a threshold of points has been reached or exceeded.

Two-way text messaging standards such as, but not limited to, USSD (Unstructured Service Supplementary Data) allow the scheme operator to send a selection menu to the customer's mobile, giving redemption options. The customer selects an option and sends a text message reply to the original text message with his/her choice.

The rewards system described herein will be convenient to use in that the use of mobile telephones will make the administration thereof easier and more cost effective. The use of mobile phones will also facilitate the issuing and handling of larger volumes of rewards. The system described herein will especially be convenient to use for awarding airtime to mobile phone users or for awarding pre-paid utility vouchers, such as electricity vouchers to customers who shop at participating partners.

Claims

Claims:

1. A rewards system comprising a rewards administrator having a computer system for recording rewards against mobile telephone numbers; the computer system having communication means for receiving and/or transmitting messages from or to a mobile telephone.

2. A rewards system as claimed in claim 1 in which the computer system is connectable to point-of-sale systems and devices.

3. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the rewards administrator issues rewards in the form of points to partners of a rewards scheme.

4. A rewards system as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2 in which the rewards administrator is any one of a number of partners of a rewards scheme.

5. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the claims 3 or 4 in which the partners issue points in accordance with the predetermined rules set by each or some of all of the partners.

6. A rewards system as claimed in claim 5 in which partners issue points to customers when customers enter a store or fill out a form in a store.

7. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which rewards are recorded against a mobile telephone number provided by a customer of a partner.

8. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the computer system is accessible through a computer network.

9. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the computer system is accessible through a computer network for customers and partners to check on details relating to points awarded and/or redeemed.

10. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which rewards are redeemable by transmitting a message from a mobile phone to the computer system for the message to include information relating to the amount of the reward, to the amount of the reward to be redeemed, to the goods or services for which at least part of the reward is redeemed and to the partner through which at least part of the reward is redeemed.

11. A rewards system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which rewards are redeemable for mobile phone airtime.

2. A rewards system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 10 in which rewards are redeemable for utility supplies.