WO2014128620A1 - Comparison method and system - Google Patents

Comparison method and system Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2014128620A1
WO2014128620A1 PCT/IB2014/059091 IB2014059091W WO2014128620A1 WO 2014128620 A1 WO2014128620 A1 WO 2014128620A1 IB 2014059091 W IB2014059091 W IB 2014059091W WO 2014128620 A1 WO2014128620 A1 WO 2014128620A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
information
service
product
website
user
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2014/059091
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Andre DE WET
Charl Mocke
Conrad STRYDOM
David Mackie
Original Assignee
Pricecheck (Proprietary) Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Pricecheck (Proprietary) Limited filed Critical Pricecheck (Proprietary) Limited
Publication of WO2014128620A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014128620A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a method and system for displaying comparative information.
  • Website comparison systems which collect information relating to offers by merchants, and which allow a user to search online for products listed on the system by participating merchants, and display the search results ranked by various different criteria, such as price.
  • the search results include links to the merchants' own websites, so that a user can select a search result of interest and click through to a relevant merchant's website.
  • comparison system e.g. a price comparison system
  • the comparison system may operate a website which is compatible with mobile devices
  • the websites of participating merchants may not be compatible (i.e. may not be mobile- enabled) and may provide an unsatisfactory browsing experience for users.
  • Another problem is that some merchants do not have websites enabled for e-commerce (in some cases, they may not have websites at all) and are therefore excluded from participating in such a comparison system.
  • a comparison method including: registering a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of suppliers in a database; further registering at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of suppliers for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database; receiving product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and storing the product or service information in a database; receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website which relates to the services or products which the suppliers offer, querying the database in which the product or service information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products or services to the user via the mobile-enabled website; in response to a selection of a particular product or service from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the suppliers which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by
  • the method may be a price comparison method.
  • the suppliers may be in the form of merchants and the method may therefore include: registering a plurality of merchants for a price comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of merchants in a database; further registering at least a subset of the plurality of merchants for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of merchants for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database; receiving product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and storing the product information in a database; receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website which relates to the products which the merchants offer, querying the database in which the product information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products to the user via the mobile-enabled website; in response to a selection of a particular product from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the merchants which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by a user on the mobile
  • the enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website may be searches for products of interest.
  • the enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website may be selections from a plurality of products displayed on the mobile-enabled website.
  • the method may include, In response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, providing a user with an online payment facility through which the product can be purchased.
  • the method may include, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, displaying an order form to the user by means of which the user is able to enter his/her contact details and forward them to the merchant in question.
  • the method may include, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, displaying contact information or address information of the merchant to the user.
  • a comparison system which includes: a database in which is saved registration information of a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement which is configured to receive product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and to store the product or service information in the database; and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relate to products or services which the suppliers offer, and an information retrieval module, which is either communicatively connected to the webserver or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database in response to receiving an enquiry via the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products or services, as well as information as to whether the suppliers) of the
  • the database may refer to both a single database as well as to a plurality/collection of databases.
  • the auxiliary website may be hosted on the at least one webserver which hosts the online user interface.
  • the at least one web server of the interface arrangement may be configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website.
  • the auxiliary website may be configured to display to a user at least one option to purchase a selected product or service, to order a selected product or service, or to obtain further information about the selected product or service of the supplier.
  • the information update arrangement may be configured to establish a connection with a data base of a supplier, in which product or service information which the supplier offers is saved, in order to receive/retrieve product or service information from the supplier.
  • the information update arrangement may include a feed importer module which is configured to receive or establish a feed connection with a website of the supplier in order to allow information relating to products or services which the supplier offers to be fed from the website of the supplier to the database of the system in which it is stored.
  • a feed importer module which is configured to receive or establish a feed connection with a website of the supplier in order to allow information relating to products or services which the supplier offers to be fed from the website of the supplier to the database of the system in which it is stored.
  • the feed importer module may be configured to establish an XML feed with a website of a supplier.
  • the system may include an administration module which is communicatively connected to the database and is configured to update product or service information in the database.
  • the system may include a supplier administration interface which is communicatively connected to the database and which is configured to enable suppliers to manage their product or service information which is stored on the database.
  • the system may be a price comparison system.
  • the suppliers may be in the form of merchants and the system may therefore include: a database in which is saved registration information of a plurality of merchants for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of merchants include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement which is configured to receive product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and to store the product information in the database; and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relates to products which the merchants offer; and an information retrieval module, which is either communicatively connected to the webserver or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database in response to receiving an enquiry from the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products, as well as information as to whether the merchant(s) of the list of products has
  • Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram showing major components of a price comparison system according to an example embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of hardware components of the system
  • FIG 3 is a flowchart showing major steps in the method of operation of the system in Figure 1;
  • Figure 4a shows a series of screenshots of screens displayed to a user of a mobile computing device when using the system.
  • Figure 4b shows one of the screenshots of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a;
  • Figure 4c shows another screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a
  • Figure 4d shows a further screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a
  • Figure 4e shows a yet further screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a.
  • Figure 4f shows a yet another screenshot of the series of screenshots In Figure 4a.
  • the method and system of the technologies described below are intended to enable merchants to make use of a price comparison system which is accessible by potential customers with mobile devices such as smart phones, even when such merchants do not have a mobile-enabled website of their own.
  • the method and system are also intended for merchants which do not have a websites enabled for electronic commerce.
  • a merchant interested in listing its products on a price comparison system can register as a PCS Merchant by filling in an online form available on the PCS's main website, or via a PCS salesperson, or any other suitable means.
  • the merchant would then need to make an XML feed available in a format specified by PCS.
  • the XML feed contains details of products offered by the merchant, including prices
  • the XML feed typically updates offer information, such as the price, whether they have stock, etc.
  • a user can access the PCS system by visiting its main website, a related mobile website, or by installing one of the mobile applications available for a number of mobile devices.
  • T e user may also be directed to one of the abovementioned websites of PCS via search results when a user searches for a product using an Internet search engine, or via online advertising or various other marketing activities.
  • the present technology provides a supplementary service providing a mobile-enabled landing page solution for merchants listed with a price comparison system similar to that of PCS.
  • This supplementary service is essentially an auxiliary website which is mobile enabled and which provides a user with an online purchasing facility for electronic commerce. This helps merchants who do not have mobile-enabled e- Commerce websites listing their products.
  • the operator of the price comparison system will use the information which the merchant initially provided when signing up for the primary service to populate the mobile landing page with the merchant's information. This will typically include the merchant's logo, name, address, telephone number, business hours and, where relevant, a map indicating the location where the merchant's products can be viewed or purchased.
  • the product information comes from an XML feed that the operator of the price comparison system pulls from the merchant's system, called an "update".
  • PCS the operator of the price comparison system
  • * QS the supplementary service and the associated auxiliary website
  • the user When a mobile user uses PCS and clicks on a QS merchant's product, the user will be directed to the QS mobile landing page of the merchant in question.
  • the mobile user will initially typically not be directed to the merchant's own website.
  • the QS page will look like an extension of the merchant's site with the merchant's logo and information as mentioned above.
  • the mobile user will also see the name, a picture, the price and where available more details about the product initially clicked on via the PCS website.
  • the system will allow the mobile user to enter his/her name and contact details (typically, e-mail address and telephone number) on the mobile landing page.
  • the QS service will then forward these details to the merchant, who in turn can contact the mobile user about the particular product that the user is interested in, and hopefully fulfill a purchase order.
  • the mobile user is also able to see the merchant's contact details as well as the location of the merchant's showroom or depot provided as an address and on a map, if he she rather wants to call the merchant or even visit the showroom or depot.
  • Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram showing major components of an example embodiment of the price comparison system of the invention. It is important to note that although this example relates to a price comparison system, the technology provided herein is not necessarily limited thereto and can also be used for other types of comparison systems.
  • an administration module 10 is provided to manage the price comparison system (generally indicated by reference numeral 100), in particularly for adding updating content such as product information that is made available by the system 100.
  • the administration module 10 is operated by personnel of the price comparison system 100.
  • the system 100 includes a primary website 12 as well as a mobile website 14 and a number of apps 16 offering specific functionality.
  • the websites 12, 14 and the apps 16 together form part of an online-user interface. Users can access any of these websites 12, 14 or apps 16 as required.
  • the system 100 further includes the above-mentioned auxiliary website 18 and a main database 20 which stores the product information and other content which is shown on the respective websites and apps. It is important to note that the main database 20 may also consist of multiple databases.
  • a shop admin interface 26 is provided to the merchants to enable them to manage their merchant information as well as to review reports of their shop on the price comparison system.
  • the shop administration interface 26 and the feed importer module 24 forms part of an information update arrangement.
  • the data for the reports is derived from click and lead data (described below) stored in the database 20.
  • the interface 26 is made available to all PCS merchants.
  • Click data refers to clicks-out from PCS to a merchant's online shopping websites 22 or QC (described in more detail later on in the specification) and are generated on PCS and stored in the database 20.
  • Lead data refers to leads generated on QS (described In more detail later on in the specification) and are stored in the database 20 via an API (Application Program Interface) 19 call from QS.
  • the administration module 10 is used to manage the price comparison system 100 and the content shown via the various websites and apps. This module 10 is also used to manage product information, including the adding of new products and ail relevant details thereof, such as a description of each product, its features and one or more images illustrating the product.
  • the administration module 10 can in essence be seen as a content managing system.
  • the module is used by various groups of people in PCS, such as a content team, account managers, sales and billing depending on their login access rights.
  • the content team typically research and add to the product database, such as product photos, descriptions and features list, which is saved on the database 20. This information is referred to as the curated product information.
  • the content team may add additional content relating to categories (e.g.
  • the administration module 10 is also configured to manage the matching of offers provided by the merchant to products already saved in the database 20.
  • the feed importer module 24 is typically configured to synchronise information from the database 20 of various settings managed via the administration module 10 and to then match offers to products using this data and saves it back to the database 20. Although matching may happen automatically by the feed importer module 24, the administration module 10 is configured to allow for overriding defaults and matching and moving offers that may have been incorrectly matched.
  • the administration module 10 is also configured to allow sales and account managers to manage the merchant shop details and user login accounts, as well as billing and invoices of the merchants.
  • the administration module 10 is also configured to provide reports that can be viewed or downloaded, such as click tracking, shop statue and revenue.
  • the feed importer module 24 fetches a feed provided by each merchant and pulls the merchant's XML feed at set times days (e.g. every 24 hours).
  • the administration module 10 is however configured to allow account managers to force a re-pulling of a merchant's XML feed.
  • a merchant may also be able to update the prices and availability of their Offers.
  • the data in this feed is checked by the Feed Importer module 24 in order to determine whether the data relates to an update of a product which is already saved in the main database 20 (i.e. an update for an existing product), or in fact relates to a new product.
  • a new entry is automatically created by the feed importer module 24, by using the data supplied by the merchant in their XML feed, and saved on the database 20.
  • the merchant's offer is then linked to the new product.
  • the new product is typically marked as unverified in the database 20 and the content team is able to obtain a list of unverified products, via the administration module 10, and to merge or edit the information as necessary. If the feed importer module 24 calculates that there is a high probability of a match in the database 20 then no new product is created and the offer is simply linked to the existing product.
  • a user gains access to the product data in the main database 20 via the primary website 12, the mobile website 14, an app 16 or the auxiliary QS website 18.
  • the QS website 18 and the app 16 gains access to product and offer data via the API 19.
  • This latter website typically accesses the same database as the primary website 12 and the mobile website 14.
  • Figure 2 shows a hardware implementation of the system of Figure 1.
  • equivalent components are numbered according to the numbering scheme of Figure 1.
  • the PCS website 12, mobile websites 14 and the QS website 18 are served off a number of web servers collectively called the front end webserver cluster 38.
  • Images uploaded by the PCS Admin team or downloaded via the Merchant Feed updates are stored on a Content Delivery Network cluster 40 and served from there. More specifically, the Admin team is able to upload Images to the administration module 10 either via a web form or entering a URL of an image on the administration module 10.
  • the images typically relates to products, category images or shop logos, etc. -
  • An information retrieval module or search cluster 42 which uses an enterprise search platform, indexes ail the product and offer data and allows full-text search and fast querying of all data.
  • the enterprise search platform uses the database 20 as its data source and indexes certain fields to allow consumers to search for products. It also allows PCS to perform advanced searches such as all phones from a certain branch within a certain price. Most of the search and category list pages are typically driven from the search cluster 42.
  • the online-user interface, the search cluster (i.e. the information retrieval module) 42 and the front end web servers 38 together form part of an interface arrangement.
  • the information that is provided to a user via the front end web servers 38 includes information from both the search cluster 42 and the database 20.
  • the search cluster 42 typically identifies which products should be shown for a specific search query, while the actual product data is obtained from the database 20.
  • the search cluster 42 therefore acts similar to an index in that it indicates what information should actually be shown.
  • a slave database cluster 44 is made up of a number of database servers. Changes are generally made in near real-time but may be delayed if the database clusters 44 are under large amount of load.
  • a user using a mobile device accesses the mobile website 14 or uses an installed PCS mobile application 16.
  • the user may search for a product by various means, including but not limited to typing text into a search text field and clicking the search button, or clicking on a product image or name displayed on the home screen, or navigating to a specific product by clicking on displayed product category names (see blocks 200, 202 and 204). These types of searching are well known and therefore not described in further detail.
  • the user will then end up on a product page that will identify and describe the product to the user using information including one or more of a product name, image, detailed description, reviews and ratings. If the system currently has one or more records of offers for the product from merchants these offers will also be displayed to the user in a list form (at block 202). Offers in the list could, for example, consist of the name of the merchant and their logo and the price at which they are offering to sell the product. The range between the highest and lowest offer prices may be displayed. Other functionality is provided to the user such as changing the order the offers are fisted in, or sharing the relevant product page via e-mail or a social network.
  • the user may, for instance, be allowed to arrange the offers revealed by the search alphabetically, according to popularity (e.g. which is based on how many previous users bought the product) or according to a product rating (e.g. based on an average rating which Is given by users who have previously bought the product).
  • popularity e.g. which is based on how many previous users bought the product
  • product rating e.g. based on an average rating which Is given by users who have previously bought the product.
  • a user can then pick an offer by clicking on the offer's details or link (at block 204).
  • the user's browser or app is then directed to a webpage (hereinafter referred to as the Track Click webpage) (at block 206).
  • a webpage hereinafter referred to as the Track Click webpage
  • an offer IO which is generated by the database when the offer is saved to it by the feed importer module 24 (e.g. by using SQL autojncrement), is parsed as a query string parameter in the URL of the Track Click webpage, which uniquely identifies that particular offer in the database.
  • the frontend web servers 38 fetches the corresponding offer record from the database 20, by using the offer ID contained in the URL.
  • the offer record will identify which merchant this offer is from, and that record will also be fetched from the database.
  • the merchant's record is checked by the Track Click webpage to see whether the merchant has enrolled in the supplementary QS program (at block 208).
  • a record for this click will then be created that contains information such as what offer was selected, the time and date the offer was clicked and the cost of this click to the merchant.
  • the click record may also indicate whether the merchant has enabled the QS system. If the merchant is not enrolled in the QS program the user will be redirected to the merchant's online shop using the URL in the offer record. If the merchant is enrolled in the QS program (at block 212) then the user will be redirected to a unique URL on the supplementary QS website 18 which passes along the offer ID in the URL.
  • the offer ID is encrypted in the URL.
  • PCS will redirect the user to the QS website by sending the user's browser an HTTP redirect request that points to the QS website and has the offer ID encrypted as part of the URL.
  • An offer page on QS website reads the encrypted offer ID from the request URL and decodes it to obtain the offer ID passed along via the redirect request.
  • the term "request URL * refers to the URL the user's browser sends to the QS website when requesting the QS webpage.
  • the QS webpage then requests the corresponding offer record from the API 19 which, in turn, retrieves it from the database 20.
  • the offer record identifies which merchant this offer is from and that particular record will also be requested from the AP119.
  • Product information such as the product name, image and description is extracted from the offer record.
  • This offer record is the merchant's original data obtained via the update instead of the curated product information as shown via the primary website.
  • the details provided on the QS webpage are therefore generally closer to the details contained on the merchants' own website, thereby offering a differential factor to merchants.
  • the curated product information is the data stored in the database 20 that had been added by the Feed Importer module 24 and edited by the Content team.
  • the curated product information is therefore the product information presented to a user via the primary website 12, as well as a mobile website 14 and the apps 16. If there is missing information such as an image that the merchant did not supply in the update the system will fall back to the curated product information obtained from the product record.
  • the merchant can optionally select to only use the curated product information instead of their own data.
  • a user clicking an "Order Now” button which is displayed will be taken to an Order Page on the auxiliary website 18.
  • various options are displayed to the user such as a "Show Contact Info” button, a "Shop Map” button, an "Order Form” button, a “Get Coupon” button and a 'Pay & Collect” button (at block 210).
  • These buttons are optional and are shown or not shown depending on the options set by the Merchant and read from the Merchant record. The user then selects one of the buttons (at block 212) and is directed to the respective page.
  • a record for this lead is created (at block 214) that contains financial and record keeping information such as what lead option was selected, what the offer ID is, the time and date the lead option was clicked and the cost of this click to the merchant.
  • the lead record is stored in the database 20 via the AP1 19.
  • the page will then show the user the contact details for the merchant as stored in the merchant's record in the main database (at block 216). If the user device Is capable the phone number will be displayed on the device in a clickable form so that the user could simply select the number to activate the dialer on their mobile device. Other information such as the merchant's business hours and address could also be shown if such data is available in the record. The user may then use this information to get in contact with the merchant directly.
  • the Show Map page loads a record is created and stored for the lead as discussed above (at block 218).
  • the merchant record is retrieved from the database 20 via the API 19 and the location information the merchant had already stored will be passed to a mapping solution plug-in to display a map with the location highlighted on the page (at block 220).
  • the address information will also be displayed on the page in a readable format. The user may then use this information to locate and visit the location given by the merchant.
  • the user On the Order Form page the user Is requested to provide their contact information (at block 222) by typing in their phone number and/or e-mail ad dress into the generated text fields (at block 224) and then clicking the submit button.
  • the user can optionally enter a name in the provided name field as well.
  • the information is submitted to the API 19 and the user is directed to a "Thank you" page.
  • a lead tracking record is generated as discussed previously (at block 226).
  • the form details are also recorded for record purposes.
  • An e-mail is generated that contains the product details the user is interested in and is sent to the merchant at an address they have previously provided (at block 228).
  • the form details are included in this e-mail for the merchant to use to get in contact with the user. A Thank you" page is then shown (at block 230).
  • the QS webpage prompts the user to enter his/her cell phone number (at block 230). Once entered, the QS webpage sends a request for a coupon to a coupon generating facility/provider (at block 232) which, for the purposes of this example, is an external third party.
  • the coupon generating facility will then generate a coupon and send details thereof (e.g. a reference number) to the user's cell phone number (e.g. via SMS) (at block 234).
  • the user will then be able to redeem the discount by presenting the merchant with the coupon details (e.g. by going down to the merchant's shop) (at block 237).
  • the coupon described above can, for example, be for a discount on a specific product. In a slight variation the coupon may in fact be a voucher which can be used to obtain a discount if their "shopping basket" contains a specific product (or range of products), amongst others.
  • the QS website redirects the user to an online payment facility/provider (at block 240) which, in this case, is an external third party.
  • the online payment facility will typically present the user with a variety of payment options such as by credit card, payment wallets or mobile wallets.
  • the merchant is notified (at block 242) and a request for a coupon Is sent to the coupon generating facility by the QS webpage (at block 232).
  • the coupon generating facility will then generate a coupon and send details thereof (e.g. a reference number) to the user's cell phone number (e.g. via SMS) (at block 234).
  • the user will then be able to redeem the coupon by presenting the merchant with the coupon details (e.g. by going down to the merchant's shop) (at block 237).
  • the first screenshot 28 shows the mobile website 14 which is accessed by the user with his/her mobile device.
  • the user either performs a search and is taken to a search results page 30 (see Figure 4c), from which he/she selects a product, or the user selects a popular product from the start page of the website 14.
  • the user is taken to a product page 32 (see Figure 4d) corresponding to the list of offers referred to above.
  • the user picks an offer by clicking on the relevant details displayed on the product page 32.
  • the user is taken to a QS offer page 34 on the auxiliary website 18 (see Figure 4e). Further options are then available to the user as described above and as per the further steps in Figure 3. If the merchant is not enrolled with the supplementary service, the user is redirected to the merchant's website (see Figure 4f).
  • the operators of the price comparison system can collect revenue from participating merchants based on the number of click-through.
  • the system includes a PCS system, which in essence facilitates price comparison and provides a user with a list of offers from signed up merchants, and a QS website which helps users and the merchants to complete a deal purchase where such a merchant does not have an e-commerce website and to help users to get into contact with merchants which do not have mobile-enabled websites.
  • a PCS system which in essence facilitates price comparison and provides a user with a list of offers from signed up merchants
  • a QS website which helps users and the merchants to complete a deal purchase where such a merchant does not have an e-commerce website and to help users to get into contact with merchants which do not have mobile-enabled websites.

Abstract

The invention relates to a comparison system. The system includes a database (20) in which is saved registration information of suppliers. The system includes an information update arrangement (24, 26) which is configured to receive and save product information from a subset of the suppliers. The system further has an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver (38) which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relate to products which the suppliers offer.

Description

COMPARISON METHOD AND SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and system for displaying comparative information.
Website comparison systems are known which collect information relating to offers by merchants, and which allow a user to search online for products listed on the system by participating merchants, and display the search results ranked by various different criteria, such as price. In one example of such a system, the search results include links to the merchants' own websites, so that a user can select a search result of interest and click through to a relevant merchant's website.
One challenge faced by existing comparison systems has arisen from the increasing use of mobile devices such as smart phones by users. Although the comparison system (e.g. a price comparison system) may operate a website which is compatible with mobile devices, the websites of participating merchants may not be compatible (i.e. may not be mobile- enabled) and may provide an unsatisfactory browsing experience for users. Another problem is that some merchants do not have websites enabled for e-commerce (in some cases, they may not have websites at all) and are therefore excluded from participating in such a comparison system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a comparison method including: registering a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of suppliers in a database; further registering at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of suppliers for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database; receiving product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and storing the product or service information in a database; receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website which relates to the services or products which the suppliers offer, querying the database in which the product or service information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products or services to the user via the mobile-enabled website; in response to a selection of a particular product or service from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the suppliers which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by a user on the mobile-enabled website, directing the user to an auxiliary website displaying product or service information of the selected product or service offered by the supplier; and via the auxiliary website, receiving a selection made by a user of at least one option displayed to the user to purchase a selected product or order a selected service, or to obtain further information about the selected product or service of the supplier.
The method may be a price comparison method.
The suppliers may be in the form of merchants and the method may therefore include: registering a plurality of merchants for a price comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of merchants in a database; further registering at least a subset of the plurality of merchants for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of merchants for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database; receiving product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and storing the product information in a database; receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website which relates to the products which the merchants offer, querying the database in which the product information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products to the user via the mobile-enabled website; in response to a selection of a particular product from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the merchants which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by a user on the mobile-enabled website, directing the user to an auxiliary website displaying product information of the selected product offered by the merchant' and via the auxiliary website, receiving a selection made by a user of at least one option displayed to purchase a selected product, or to obtain further information about the selected product of the merchant.
The enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website may be searches for products of interest. Alternatively, the enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website may be selections from a plurality of products displayed on the mobile-enabled website.
The method may include, In response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, providing a user with an online payment facility through which the product can be purchased.
The method may include, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, displaying an order form to the user by means of which the user is able to enter his/her contact details and forward them to the merchant in question. Alternatively, the method may include, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website to purchase the selected product, displaying contact information or address information of the merchant to the user.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a comparison system which includes: a database in which is saved registration information of a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement which is configured to receive product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and to store the product or service information in the database; and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relate to products or services which the suppliers offer, and an information retrieval module, which is either communicatively connected to the webserver or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database in response to receiving an enquiry via the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products or services, as well as information as to whether the suppliers) of the list of products or services has/have registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service; and send the list of offers to the online user interface, the online user interface, in turn, being configured to display the list of offers to the user; and an auxiliary website which is hosted by a webserver; wherein the interface arrangement is configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website when a user selects a particular product or service from the list of offers via the online user interface, where the supplier of the particular product or service is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service.
The database may refer to both a single database as well as to a plurality/collection of databases.
The auxiliary website may be hosted on the at least one webserver which hosts the online user interface.
The at least one web server of the interface arrangement may be configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website.
The auxiliary website may be configured to display to a user at least one option to purchase a selected product or service, to order a selected product or service, or to obtain further information about the selected product or service of the supplier.
The information update arrangement may be configured to establish a connection with a data base of a supplier, in which product or service information which the supplier offers is saved, in order to receive/retrieve product or service information from the supplier.
The information update arrangement may include a feed importer module which is configured to receive or establish a feed connection with a website of the supplier in order to allow information relating to products or services which the supplier offers to be fed from the website of the supplier to the database of the system in which it is stored.
The feed importer module may be configured to establish an XML feed with a website of a supplier.
The system may include an administration module which is communicatively connected to the database and is configured to update product or service information in the database.
The system may include a supplier administration interface which is communicatively connected to the database and which is configured to enable suppliers to manage their product or service information which is stored on the database.
The system may be a price comparison system.
The suppliers may be in the form of merchants and the system may therefore include: a database in which is saved registration information of a plurality of merchants for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of merchants include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement which is configured to receive product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and to store the product information in the database; and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relates to products which the merchants offer; and an information retrieval module, which is either communicatively connected to the webserver or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database in response to receiving an enquiry from the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products, as well as information as to whether the merchant(s) of the list of products has/have registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service; and send the list of offers to the online user interface, the online user interface, in turn, being configured to display the list of offers to the user, and an auxiliary website which is hosted by a webserver, wherein the interface arrangement is configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website when a user selects a particular product from the list of offers via the online user interface, where the merchant of the particular product is registered for the supplementary mobile- enabled service. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram showing major components of a price comparison system according to an example embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of hardware components of the system;
Figure 3 is a flowchart showing major steps in the method of operation of the system in Figure 1; and
Figure 4a shows a series of screenshots of screens displayed to a user of a mobile computing device when using the system.
Figure 4b shows one of the screenshots of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a;
Figure 4c shows another screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a;
Figure 4d shows a further screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a;
Figure 4e shows a yet further screenshot of the series of screenshots in Figure 4a; and
Figure 4f shows a yet another screenshot of the series of screenshots In Figure 4a.
DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT
The method and system of the technologies described below are intended to enable merchants to make use of a price comparison system which is accessible by potential customers with mobile devices such as smart phones, even when such merchants do not have a mobile-enabled website of their own. In addition, the method and system are also intended for merchants which do not have a websites enabled for electronic commerce.
In overview, a merchant interested in listing its products on a price comparison system (hereinafter referred to as "PCS") can register as a PCS Merchant by filling in an online form available on the PCS's main website, or via a PCS salesperson, or any other suitable means. The merchant would then need to make an XML feed available in a format specified by PCS. The XML feed contains details of products offered by the merchant, including prices After the merchant registration details are verified and the XML file is confirmed correct the merchant will be enabled and their offers will start appearing on the PCS system. The XML feed typically updates offer information, such as the price, whether they have stock, etc.
A user can access the PCS system by visiting its main website, a related mobile website, or by installing one of the mobile applications available for a number of mobile devices. T e user may also be directed to one of the abovementioned websites of PCS via search results when a user searches for a product using an Internet search engine, or via online advertising or various other marketing activities.
When users find an offer that they are interested in, they click a link on the relevant PCS website (or follow a link via an app) and are taken to the relevant page of the merchant's website where they can purchase the product. This type of system thus requires each participating merchant to operate a website of its own which is both compatible with the PCS system and which enables online purchases.
Where the operators of a price comparison system similar to that of PCS operate a mobile-enabled website, and subscribing merchants also operate mobile-enabled websites, this system works satisfactorily. However, in order to accommodate merchants with websites which are not mobile- enabled, or who do not have websites of their own which are enabled for online shopping, an alternative solution is required.
To this end, the present technology provides a supplementary service providing a mobile-enabled landing page solution for merchants listed with a price comparison system similar to that of PCS. This supplementary service is essentially an auxiliary website which is mobile enabled and which provides a user with an online purchasing facility for electronic commerce. This helps merchants who do not have mobile-enabled e- Commerce websites listing their products.
Once the merchant has signed up for the supplementary service, the operator of the price comparison system will use the information which the merchant initially provided when signing up for the primary service to populate the mobile landing page with the merchant's information. This will typically include the merchant's logo, name, address, telephone number, business hours and, where relevant, a map indicating the location where the merchant's products can be viewed or purchased. The product information comes from an XML feed that the operator of the price comparison system pulls from the merchant's system, called an "update".
For convenience, in the following description of the present embodiment, the operator of the price comparison system will be referred to as "PCS", and the supplementary service and the associated auxiliary website will be referred to as *QS".
When a mobile user uses PCS and clicks on a QS merchant's product, the user will be directed to the QS mobile landing page of the merchant in question. The mobile user will initially typically not be directed to the merchant's own website. For mobile devices with the capability, the QS page will look like an extension of the merchant's site with the merchant's logo and information as mentioned above. The mobile user will also see the name, a picture, the price and where available more details about the product initially clicked on via the PCS website.
The system will allow the mobile user to enter his/her name and contact details (typically, e-mail address and telephone number) on the mobile landing page. The QS service will then forward these details to the merchant, who in turn can contact the mobile user about the particular product that the user is interested in, and hopefully fulfill a purchase order.
The mobile user is also able to see the merchant's contact details as well as the location of the merchant's showroom or depot provided as an address and on a map, if he she rather wants to call the merchant or even visit the showroom or depot.
Reference is now made to Figure 1, which is a simplified block diagram showing major components of an example embodiment of the price comparison system of the invention. It is important to note that although this example relates to a price comparison system, the technology provided herein is not necessarily limited thereto and can also be used for other types of comparison systems.
In Figure 1, an administration module 10 is provided to manage the price comparison system (generally indicated by reference numeral 100), in particularly for adding updating content such as product information that is made available by the system 100. The administration module 10 is operated by personnel of the price comparison system 100. The system 100 includes a primary website 12 as well as a mobile website 14 and a number of apps 16 offering specific functionality. The websites 12, 14 and the apps 16 together form part of an online-user interface. Users can access any of these websites 12, 14 or apps 16 as required. The system 100 further includes the above-mentioned auxiliary website 18 and a main database 20 which stores the product information and other content which is shown on the respective websites and apps. It is important to note that the main database 20 may also consist of multiple databases. A number of merchants subscribe to the price comparison system 100, and each merchant will typically have its own website 22. Most such merchants operate an online shopping website 22 and this website 22 is used to provide a feed of information about products and offers to the price comparison system 100, via a feed importer module 24. A shop admin interface 26 is provided to the merchants to enable them to manage their merchant information as well as to review reports of their shop on the price comparison system. The shop administration interface 26 and the feed importer module 24 forms part of an information update arrangement. The data for the reports is derived from click and lead data (described below) stored in the database 20. The interface 26 is made available to all PCS merchants. Click data refers to clicks-out from PCS to a merchant's online shopping websites 22 or QC (described in more detail later on in the specification) and are generated on PCS and stored in the database 20. Lead data refers to leads generated on QS (described In more detail later on in the specification) and are stored in the database 20 via an API (Application Program Interface) 19 call from QS.
The administration module 10 is used to manage the price comparison system 100 and the content shown via the various websites and apps. This module 10 is also used to manage product information, including the adding of new products and ail relevant details thereof, such as a description of each product, its features and one or more images illustrating the product. The administration module 10 can in essence be seen as a content managing system. The module is used by various groups of people in PCS, such as a content team, account managers, sales and billing depending on their login access rights. The content team typically research and add to the product database, such as product photos, descriptions and features list, which is saved on the database 20. This information is referred to as the curated product information. In addition the content team may add additional content relating to categories (e.g. adding new categories) and brands, which can include their names, associated images and descriptions, as well as their hierarchy and linking. The content team may also, for example, add product buying guides which are accessible to users via the primary website 12, the mobile website 14 and apps 16. This content is accessible via the websites 12, 14 or via an API 19 for mobile apps 16. The administration module 10 is also configured to manage the matching of offers provided by the merchant to products already saved in the database 20. The feed importer module 24 is typically configured to synchronise information from the database 20 of various settings managed via the administration module 10 and to then match offers to products using this data and saves it back to the database 20. Although matching may happen automatically by the feed importer module 24, the administration module 10 is configured to allow for overriding defaults and matching and moving offers that may have been incorrectly matched. The administration module 10 is also configured to allow sales and account managers to manage the merchant shop details and user login accounts, as well as billing and invoices of the merchants. The administration module 10 is also configured to provide reports that can be viewed or downloaded, such as click tracking, shop statue and revenue.
The feed importer module 24 fetches a feed provided by each merchant and pulls the merchant's XML feed at set times days (e.g. every 24 hours). The administration module 10 is however configured to allow account managers to force a re-pulling of a merchant's XML feed. By using the API 19 a merchant may also be able to update the prices and availability of their Offers. The data in this feed is checked by the Feed Importer module 24 in order to determine whether the data relates to an update of a product which is already saved in the main database 20 (i.e. an update for an existing product), or in fact relates to a new product. If a particular product does not exist in the database, a new entry is automatically created by the feed importer module 24, by using the data supplied by the merchant in their XML feed, and saved on the database 20. The merchant's offer is then linked to the new product. The new product is typically marked as unverified in the database 20 and the content team is able to obtain a list of unverified products, via the administration module 10, and to merge or edit the information as necessary. If the feed importer module 24 calculates that there is a high probability of a match in the database 20 then no new product is created and the offer is simply linked to the existing product.
A user gains access to the product data in the main database 20 via the primary website 12, the mobile website 14, an app 16 or the auxiliary QS website 18. The QS website 18 and the app 16 gains access to product and offer data via the API 19. This latter website typically accesses the same database as the primary website 12 and the mobile website 14.
The operation of the system will now be described in more detail, with particular reference to users with mobile devices such as smart phones. Reference may also be had to Figure 2 of the attached drawings.
Figure 2 shows a hardware implementation of the system of Figure 1. In Figure 2, equivalent components are numbered according to the numbering scheme of Figure 1.
The PCS website 12, mobile websites 14 and the QS website 18 are served off a number of web servers collectively called the front end webserver cluster 38.
Images uploaded by the PCS Admin team or downloaded via the Merchant Feed updates are stored on a Content Delivery Network cluster 40 and served from there. More specifically, the Admin team is able to upload Images to the administration module 10 either via a web form or entering a URL of an image on the administration module 10. The images typically relates to products, category images or shop logos, etc. -
An information retrieval module or search cluster 42, which uses an enterprise search platform, indexes ail the product and offer data and allows full-text search and fast querying of all data. The enterprise search platform uses the database 20 as its data source and indexes certain fields to allow consumers to search for products. It also allows PCS to perform advanced searches such as all phones from a certain branch within a certain price. Most of the search and category list pages are typically driven from the search cluster 42. The online-user interface, the search cluster (i.e. the information retrieval module) 42 and the front end web servers 38 together form part of an interface arrangement.
The information that is provided to a user via the front end web servers 38 includes information from both the search cluster 42 and the database 20. The search cluster 42 typically identifies which products should be shown for a specific search query, while the actual product data is obtained from the database 20. The search cluster 42 therefore acts similar to an index in that it indicates what information should actually be shown.
Changes made to the database 20, which could be done via by an Admin team member via the administration module 10, or via the feed importer module 24, are saved directly on the database 20. The administration module 10 and the feed importer module 24 therefore, in essence, share the same database 20. These changes are then replicated down to the slave database cluster 44. A slave database cluster 44 is made up of a number of database servers. Changes are generally made in near real-time but may be delayed if the database clusters 44 are under large amount of load.
Reference is specifically made to Figure 3. A user using a mobile device accesses the mobile website 14 or uses an installed PCS mobile application 16. The user may search for a product by various means, including but not limited to typing text into a search text field and clicking the search button, or clicking on a product image or name displayed on the home screen, or navigating to a specific product by clicking on displayed product category names (see blocks 200, 202 and 204). These types of searching are well known and therefore not described in further detail.
If the search is successful, the user will then end up on a product page that will identify and describe the product to the user using information including one or more of a product name, image, detailed description, reviews and ratings. If the system currently has one or more records of offers for the product from merchants these offers will also be displayed to the user in a list form (at block 202). Offers in the list could, for example, consist of the name of the merchant and their logo and the price at which they are offering to sell the product. The range between the highest and lowest offer prices may be displayed. Other functionality is provided to the user such as changing the order the offers are fisted in, or sharing the relevant product page via e-mail or a social network. The user may, for instance, be allowed to arrange the offers revealed by the search alphabetically, according to popularity (e.g. which is based on how many previous users bought the product) or according to a product rating (e.g. based on an average rating which Is given by users who have previously bought the product).
A user can then pick an offer by clicking on the offer's details or link (at block 204). The user's browser or app is then directed to a webpage (hereinafter referred to as the Track Click webpage) (at block 206). By clicking on a particular offer, an offer IO, which is generated by the database when the offer is saved to it by the feed importer module 24 (e.g. by using SQL autojncrement), is parsed as a query string parameter in the URL of the Track Click webpage, which uniquely identifies that particular offer in the database.
The frontend web servers 38 fetches the corresponding offer record from the database 20, by using the offer ID contained in the URL. The offer record will identify which merchant this offer is from, and that record will also be fetched from the database. The merchant's record is checked by the Track Click webpage to see whether the merchant has enrolled in the supplementary QS program (at block 208). A record for this click will then be created that contains information such as what offer was selected, the time and date the offer was clicked and the cost of this click to the merchant. The click record may also indicate whether the merchant has enabled the QS system. If the merchant is not enrolled in the QS program the user will be redirected to the merchant's online shop using the URL in the offer record. If the merchant is enrolled in the QS program (at block 212) then the user will be redirected to a unique URL on the supplementary QS website 18 which passes along the offer ID in the URL. The offer ID is encrypted in the URL.
More specifically, PCS will redirect the user to the QS website by sending the user's browser an HTTP redirect request that points to the QS website and has the offer ID encrypted as part of the URL. An offer page on QS website reads the encrypted offer ID from the request URL and decodes it to obtain the offer ID passed along via the redirect request. The term "request URL* refers to the URL the user's browser sends to the QS website when requesting the QS webpage. The QS webpage then requests the corresponding offer record from the API 19 which, in turn, retrieves it from the database 20. The offer record identifies which merchant this offer is from and that particular record will also be requested from the AP119.
Product information such as the product name, image and description is extracted from the offer record. This offer record is the merchant's original data obtained via the update instead of the curated product information as shown via the primary website. The details provided on the QS webpage are therefore generally closer to the details contained on the merchants' own website, thereby offering a differential factor to merchants. As mentioned earlier, the curated product information is the data stored in the database 20 that had been added by the Feed Importer module 24 and edited by the Content team. The curated product information is therefore the product information presented to a user via the primary website 12, as well as a mobile website 14 and the apps 16. If there is missing information such as an image that the merchant did not supply in the update the system will fall back to the curated product information obtained from the product record. The merchant can optionally select to only use the curated product information instead of their own data. A user clicking an "Order Now" button which is displayed will be taken to an Order Page on the auxiliary website 18. On the Order Page various options are displayed to the user such as a "Show Contact Info" button, a "Shop Map" button, an "Order Form" button, a "Get Coupon" button and a 'Pay & Collect" button (at block 210). These buttons are optional and are shown or not shown depending on the options set by the Merchant and read from the Merchant record. The user then selects one of the buttons (at block 212) and is directed to the respective page.
When the Show Contact Info page loads, a record for this lead is created (at block 214) that contains financial and record keeping information such as what lead option was selected, what the offer ID is, the time and date the lead option was clicked and the cost of this click to the merchant. The lead record is stored in the database 20 via the AP1 19. The page will then show the user the contact details for the merchant as stored in the merchant's record in the main database (at block 216). If the user device Is capable the phone number will be displayed on the device in a clickable form so that the user could simply select the number to activate the dialer on their mobile device. Other information such as the merchant's business hours and address could also be shown if such data is available in the record. The user may then use this information to get in contact with the merchant directly.
When the Show Map page loads a record is created and stored for the lead as discussed above (at block 218). The merchant record is retrieved from the database 20 via the API 19 and the location information the merchant had already stored will be passed to a mapping solution plug-in to display a map with the location highlighted on the page (at block 220). The address information will also be displayed on the page in a readable format. The user may then use this information to locate and visit the location given by the merchant.
On the Order Form page the user Is requested to provide their contact information (at block 222) by typing in their phone number and/or e-mail ad dress into the generated text fields (at block 224) and then clicking the submit button. The user can optionally enter a name in the provided name field as well. The information is submitted to the API 19 and the user is directed to a "Thank you" page.
When the order form is submitted to the API 19 a lead tracking record is generated as discussed previously (at block 226). The form details are also recorded for record purposes. An e-mail is generated that contains the product details the user is interested in and is sent to the merchant at an address they have previously provided (at block 228). The form details are included in this e-mail for the merchant to use to get in contact with the user. A Thank you" page is then shown (at block 230).
When the Get Coupon button/option is selected, the QS webpage prompts the user to enter his/her cell phone number (at block 230). Once entered, the QS webpage sends a request for a coupon to a coupon generating facility/provider (at block 232) which, for the purposes of this example, is an external third party. The coupon generating facility will then generate a coupon and send details thereof (e.g. a reference number) to the user's cell phone number (e.g. via SMS) (at block 234). The user will then be able to redeem the discount by presenting the merchant with the coupon details (e.g. by going down to the merchant's shop) (at block 237). The coupon described above can, for example, be for a discount on a specific product. In a slight variation the coupon may in fact be a voucher which can be used to obtain a discount if their "shopping basket" contains a specific product (or range of products), amongst others.
When the "Pay & Collect* option/button is selected the QS website redirects the user to an online payment facility/provider (at block 240) which, in this case, is an external third party. The online payment facility will typically present the user with a variety of payment options such as by credit card, payment wallets or mobile wallets. Once the payment transaction has been completed, the merchant is notified (at block 242) and a request for a coupon Is sent to the coupon generating facility by the QS webpage (at block 232). The coupon generating facility will then generate a coupon and send details thereof (e.g. a reference number) to the user's cell phone number (e.g. via SMS) (at block 234). The user will then be able to redeem the coupon by presenting the merchant with the coupon details (e.g. by going down to the merchant's shop) (at block 237).
The overall operation of the system and method as described above are illustrated by the diagram of Figure 4a, which includes several screenshots. The first screenshot 28 (see Figure 4b) shows the mobile website 14 which is accessed by the user with his/her mobile device. The user either performs a search and is taken to a search results page 30 (see Figure 4c), from which he/she selects a product, or the user selects a popular product from the start page of the website 14. In either case, the user is taken to a product page 32 (see Figure 4d) corresponding to the list of offers referred to above. The user then picks an offer by clicking on the relevant details displayed on the product page 32. Where the merchant is enrolled with the QS supplementary service, the user is taken to a QS offer page 34 on the auxiliary website 18 (see Figure 4e). Further options are then available to the user as described above and as per the further steps in Figure 3. If the merchant is not enrolled with the supplementary service, the user is redirected to the merchant's website (see Figure 4f).
The operators of the price comparison system can collect revenue from participating merchants based on the number of click-through.
In summary, the system, as a whole, includes a PCS system, which in essence facilitates price comparison and provides a user with a list of offers from signed up merchants, and a QS website which helps users and the merchants to complete a deal purchase where such a merchant does not have an e-commerce website and to help users to get into contact with merchants which do not have mobile-enabled websites.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A comparison method including: registering a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of suppliers in a database (20); further registering at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of suppliers for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database (20); receiving product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and storing the product or service information in a database (20); receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16) which relates to the services or products which the suppliers offer; querying the database (20) in which the product or service information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products or services to the user via the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16); in response to a selection of a particular product or service from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the suppliers which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by a user on the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16), directing the user to an auxiliary website (18) displaying product or service information of the selected product or service offered by the supplier; and via the auxiliary website (18), receiving a selection made by a user of at least one option displayed to the user to purchase a selected product or order a selected service, or to obtain further information about the selected product or service of the supplier. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is a price comparison method. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the suppliers are in the form of merchants and the method therefore includes: registering a plurality of merchants for a price comparison service and saving registration information of the plurality of merchants in a database (20); further registering at least a subset of the plurality of merchants for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; and saving registration information of the subset of the plurality of merchants for the supplementary mobile-enabled service in a database (20); receiving product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and storing the product information in a database (20); receiving enquiries from mobile communication devices of users via a mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16) which relates to the products which the merchants offer; querying the database (20) in which the product information is stored in response to receiving an enquiry and displaying a list of offers of products to the user via the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16); in response to a selection of a particular product from the list of offers, which is offered by one of the merchants which is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service, made by a user on the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16), directing the user to an auxiliary website (18) displaying product information of the selected product offered by the merchant; and via the auxiliary website (18), receiving a selection made by a user of at least one option displayed to purchase a selected product, or to obtain further information about the selected product of the merchant. The method of claim 3, wherein the enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16) are searches for products of interest. The method of daim 3, wherein the enquiries received from users via the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16) are selections from a plurality of products displayed on the mobile-enabled website (12, 14, 16). The method of claim 3, wherein, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website (18) to purchase the selected product, providing a user with an online payment facility through which tiie product can be purchased. The method of claim 3, wherein, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website (18) to purchase the selected product, displaying an order form to the user by means of which the user is able to enter his her contact details and forward them to the merchant in question. The method of claim 3, wherein, in response to a selection made by the user via the auxiliary website (18) to purchase the selected product, displaying contact information or address information of the merchant to the user. A comparison system which includes: a database (20) in which is saved registration information of a plurality of suppliers for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of suppliers include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement (24, 26) which is configured to receive product or service information from the subset of the plurality of suppliers relating to products or services which they offer and to store the product or service information in the database (20); and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver (38) which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database (20) and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relate to products or services which the suppliers offer; and an information retrieval module (42), which is either communicatively connected to the webserver (38) or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database (20) in response to receiving an enquiry via the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products or services, as well as information as to whether the supplier(s) of the list of products or services has/have registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service; and send the list of offers to the online user interface, the online user interface, in turn, being configured to display the list of offers to the user; and an auxiliary website (18) which is hosted by a webserver; wherein the interface arrangement is configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website (18) when a user selects a particular product or service from the list of offers via the online user interface, where the supplier of the particular product or service is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service. The system of claim 9, wherein the auxiliary website (18) is hosted on the at least one webserver (38) which hosts the online user interface. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one web server (38) of the interface arrangement is configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website (18). The system of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the auxiliary website (18) is configured to display to a user at least one option to purchase a selected product or service, to order a selected product or service, or to obtain further information about the selected product or service of the supplier. The system of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the information update arrangement (24, 26) is configured to establish a connection with a data base of a supplier, in which product or service information which the supplier offers is saved, in order to receive/retrieve product or service information from the supplier. The system of claim 13, wherein the information update arrangement (24, 26) includes a feed importer module (24) which is configured to receive or establish a feed connection with a website (22) of the supplier in order to allow information relating to products or services which the supplier offers to be fed from the website (22) of the supplier to the database (20) of the system in which it is stored. The system of claim 14, wherein the feed importer module (24) is configured to establish an XML feed with a website (22) of a supplier. The system of any of claims 9 to 15, which includes an administration module (10) which is communicatively connected to the database (20) and is configured to update product or service information in the database (20). The system of any of claims 9 to 16 which includes a supplier administration interface (26) which is communicatively connected to the database (20) and which is configured to enable suppliers to manage their product or service information which is stored on the database (20). The system of any of claims 9 to 17, wherein the system is a price comparison system.
The system of claim 9, wherein the suppliers are in the form of merchants and the system therefore includes: a database (20) in which is saved registration information of a plurality of merchants for a comparison service, wherein the registration information of at least a subset of the plurality of merchants include an indication that the subset has registered for a supplementary mobile-enabled service; an information update arrangement (24, 26) which is configured to receive product information from the subset of the plurality of merchants relating to products which they offer and to store the product information in the database (20); and an interface arrangement which includes at least one webserver (38) which hosts a mobile-enabled online user interface which is communicatively connected to the database (20) and via which users can submit enquiries from mobile communication devices which relates to products which the merchants offer; and an information retrieval module (42), which is either communicatively connected to the webserver (38) or forms part thereof, which is configured to receive the enquiries submitted via the online user interface; query the database (20) in response to receiving an enquiry from the online user interface; retrieve a list of offers of products, as well as information as to whether the merchants) of the list of products has/have registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service; and send the list of offers to the online user interface, the online user interface, in turn, being configured to display the list of offers to the user; and an auxiliary website (18) which is hosted by a webserver; wherein the interface arrangement is configured to direct a user to the auxiliary website (18) when a user selects a particular product from the list of offers via the online user interface, where the merchant of the particular product is registered for the supplementary mobile-enabled service.
PCT/IB2014/059091 2013-02-19 2014-02-19 Comparison method and system WO2014128620A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ZA2013/01277 2013-02-19
ZA201301277 2013-02-19

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2014128620A1 true WO2014128620A1 (en) 2014-08-28

Family

ID=51390572

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IB2014/059091 WO2014128620A1 (en) 2013-02-19 2014-02-19 Comparison method and system

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2014128620A1 (en)

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020001011A1 (en) * 1998-07-15 2002-01-03 Atsushi Nishioka Ink jet printer and ink priming method therefor
US20020087408A1 (en) * 1999-06-25 2002-07-04 Burnett Jonathan Robert System for providing information to intending consumers
US20070073592A1 (en) * 2005-09-28 2007-03-29 Redcarpet, Inc. Method and system for network-based comparision shopping
US20100086192A1 (en) * 2008-10-02 2010-04-08 International Business Machines Corporation Product identification using image analysis and user interaction
US20100125504A1 (en) * 2008-11-17 2010-05-20 Riaz Ahmed Agha Product or service comparison notification system and method
US20100185514A1 (en) * 2004-03-11 2010-07-22 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Virtual reality shopping experience
US20110246305A1 (en) * 2010-04-05 2011-10-06 Brazeau Daniel M Advertising website

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020001011A1 (en) * 1998-07-15 2002-01-03 Atsushi Nishioka Ink jet printer and ink priming method therefor
US20020087408A1 (en) * 1999-06-25 2002-07-04 Burnett Jonathan Robert System for providing information to intending consumers
US20100185514A1 (en) * 2004-03-11 2010-07-22 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. Virtual reality shopping experience
US20070073592A1 (en) * 2005-09-28 2007-03-29 Redcarpet, Inc. Method and system for network-based comparision shopping
US20100086192A1 (en) * 2008-10-02 2010-04-08 International Business Machines Corporation Product identification using image analysis and user interaction
US20100125504A1 (en) * 2008-11-17 2010-05-20 Riaz Ahmed Agha Product or service comparison notification system and method
US20110246305A1 (en) * 2010-04-05 2011-10-06 Brazeau Daniel M Advertising website

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US9552433B2 (en) Generic content collection systems
US8626602B2 (en) Consumer shopping and purchase support system and marketplace
US20160104254A1 (en) Systems and methods used for publishing and aggregating real world and online purchases via standardized product information
US8332283B2 (en) User interface and methods for enabling users to efficiently track item selections in an electronic catalog
US20110213678A1 (en) Computerized system for e-commerce shopping in a shopping mall
US20200286160A1 (en) System and method of localized searching and discovery of style and fashion of proximity based in store inventory
KR100460008B1 (en) A method for providing an on-line shopping search service and a system thereof
US20150161703A1 (en) System and method for aggregating information associating a user with a product
US20020184096A1 (en) Portable terminal device for providing and obtaining advertisement information, advertisement providing method, advertisement obtaining method, advertisement distributing method and program therefor
US20180341938A1 (en) Methods and systems for connected sales associate services
US20160092957A1 (en) Coordinates information providing system and read information management system
JPH10207945A (en) Distributed contents electronic business transaction system and method
US20170186066A1 (en) System and Method of Searching Style and Fashion
WO2013145454A1 (en) Information provision device, information provision method, information provision program, and computer-readable recording medium storing program
US9159075B2 (en) System and method for distribution and redistribution of electronic content
US11481828B2 (en) Method for online marketplaces
US20100031148A1 (en) Community-oriented social network
JP2012027740A (en) Coupon management device, coupon management method, program, and information recording medium
US20100235848A1 (en) System and method for providing automatic advertising distribution for online computer users
US20130085823A1 (en) System and method for providing localized product offerings publications
AU2016269513A1 (en) Transaction support system
JP2020057321A (en) Information processing device and information processing method
WO2017126707A1 (en) Merchandise purchase assist system
WO2021146655A2 (en) Retail platform with integrated inventory and payment
WO2014128620A1 (en) Comparison method and system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 14753720

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established

Free format text: NOTING OF LOSS OF RIGHTS PURSUANT TO RULE 112(1) EPC (EPO FORM 1205A DATED 12.02.2016)

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 14753720

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1