Automated purchase reward accounting system and method

Claim 1

For use in a retail store point-of-sale system having terminals at customer check-out locations, an in-store computer system communicating with said terminals and having access to in-store data banks and a program management computer system remotely located from the retail store and communicating with said in-store computer system and having access to management data banks, a method for effecting manufacture purchase reward offers, comprising the steps of: identifying products for which purchase reward offers will be provided; compiling said purchase reward offers for circulation to potential offerees; providing each of said potential offerees an identification card with a consumer identification code thereon; storing information respecting said purchase reward offers in the in-store computer data banks and in the management data banks; identifying an offeree at the point-of-sale terminal by reading the consumer identification code of the offeree; comparing products purchased by said identified offeree at the point-of-salt terminal with the stored information respecting said purchase reward offers; identifying purchase reward offers available to said identified offeree for the purchased products; recording purchase transactions of products for which rewards will be provided; and providing on a periodic basis to said identified offeree a listing of said identified offeree's purchase transactions of products for which rewards are available to said identified offeree; and identifying in said listing said identified offeree's progress toward completion of the requirements for purchase reward offers available to said identified offeree.

Claim 9

A method for effecting manufacturer purchase reward offers for use in a retail point-of-sale system having scanners at customer check-out locations and in-store program data collector, said data collector comprising data storage means and communicating with the scanners and with a remotely located program management computer system, comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of purchase reward offers, each purchase reward offer promising a reward to a plurality of offerees for purchasing at least one reward product; storing offer information regarding the plurality of purchase reward offers in an offer file in a management data bank of the program management computer system; providing each offeree with a member identification card with a consumer identification code thereon; identifying one of the plurality of offerees at one of the customer check-out locations by reading the consumer identification code of said one of the plurality of offerees; reading product identification information from machine-readable codes affixed to products purchased by said identified one of the plurality of offerees with one of the scanners; storing the product identification information in the data storage means with said consumer identification code, said consumer identification code and said product identification information forming a purchase record; transferring the purchase record to a data receiver in the program management computer system; comparing the product identification information with the reward offer information to determine which purchased products are reward products; combining the determined reward product identification information with the product identification information of previously purchased reward products stored in a consumer history file in the management data bank; comparing the reward product information in the consumer history file with the offer information to determine which rewards have been earned by said identified one of the plurality of offerees and further rewards available to said identified one of the plurality of offerees; providing said identified one of the plurality of offerees with a reward certificate for the rewards earned; and providing said identified one of the plurality of offerees an outline of his or her progress towards completion of the requirements for a plurality of available rewards.

Claim 10

A method for effecting manufacturer purchase reward offers for use in a retail point-of-sale system having scanners at customer check-out locations and in-store program data collector, said data collector comprising data storage means and communicating with the scanners and with a remotely located program management computer system, comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of purchase reward offers, each purchase reward offer promising a reward to a plurality of offerees for purchasing at least one reward product; storing offer information regarding the plurality of purchase reward offers in an offer file in a management data bank of the program management computer system; providing each offeree with a member identification card with a consumer identification code thereon; identifying one of the plurality of offerees at one of the customer check-out locations by reading the consumer identification code of said one of the plurality of offerees; reading product identification information from machine-readable codes affixed to products purchased by said identified one of the plurality of offerees with one of the scanners; storing the product identification information in the data storage means with said consumer identification code, said consumer identification code and said product identification information forming a purchase record; transferring the purchase record to a data receiver in the program management computer system; comparing the product identification information with the reward offer information to determine which purchased products are reward products; combining the determined reward product identification information with the product identification information of previously purchased reward products stored in a consumer history file in the management data bank; comparing the reward product information in the consumer history file with the offer information to determine which rewards have been earned by said identified one of the plurality of offerees and further rewards available to said identified one of the plurality of offerees; providing said identified one of the plurality of offerees with a reward certificate for the rewards earned; and providing said identified one of the plurality of offerees an outline of his or her progress towards completion of the requirements for a plurality of available rewards.