Focused coupon system

Claim 2

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: generating for a user with a computer a plurality of discount coupons, each encoded with a unique coupon identification code; providing said plurality of discount coupons to the user; scanning said identifcation codes of redeemed coupons and identifying the user redeeming the coupon to establish which of said plurality of discount coupons said user redeems; generating with said computer for the user another plurality of discount coupons, with at least one of said another plurality of discount coupons selected as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said plurality of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said plurality of discount coupons said user does not redeem, in order to increase the likelihood of redemption of said another plurality of discount coupons, and providing said another plurality of discount coupons to said user.

Claim 3

The method in claim 1 further including determining particular attributes of said user and wherein at least one of said another plurality of discount coupons is selected as a function at least of said attributes of said user.

Claim 4

The method in claim 1 wherein said generating with said computer another plurality of discount coupons including assigning a portion of said another plurality of discount coupons that are not a function of which of said plurality of discount coupons said user redeemed or does not redeem.

Claim 5

The method in claim 1 wherein each of said discount coupons includes at least one parameter including a defined purchase criterion that must be met in order to provide said user said discount amount and wherein said another plurality of discount coupons are selected at least as a function of said defined purchase criterion of said original plurality of discount coupons.

Claim 6

The method of claim 4 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a particular product.

Claim 7

The method in claim 4 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a product from a particular department.

Claim 9

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: generating a coupon encoded with a user identification code that is unique to a particular user and a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon; scanning with a code-reading apparatus, both said user and coupon identification codes of coupons submitted for redemption; providing a substitute code that includes the scanned coupon identification code but not the scanned user identification code; and applying the substitute code to a look-up table in order to identify the particular coupon submitted for redemption and provide the discount specified in the particular coupon.

Claim 10

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: generating a coupon encoded with a user identification code that is unique to a particular user and a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon; scanning with a code-reading apparatus, both said user and coupon identification codes of coupons submitted for redemption; providing a substitute code that includes the scanned coupon identification code but not the scanned user identification code; and applying the substitute code to a look-up table in order to identify the particular coupon submitted for redemption and provide the discount specified in the particular coupon.

Claim 11

The method of claim 8 wherein said reading apparatus is adapted to reading product identifying codes of the type that are applied to products.

Claim 12

The method of claim 8 wherein said providing a substitute code includes writing over said user identification code with a generic code.

Claim 13

The method of claim 8 wherein said providing a substitute code includes masking said user identification code.

Claim 14

The method of claim 8 wherein said step of scanning includes capturing said user identification code and said coupon identification code and uploading the captured codes to a master data processor for decoding.

Claim 15

The method of claim 8 wherein said user identification number and said coupon identification number are combined in a single machine readable code.

Claim 16

The method of claim 13 wherein said single machine readable code is a bar code.

Claim 17

The method of claim 13 wherein said step of reading includes making a single pass of said machine readable code past said code reading equipment.

Claim 18

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user including defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted, each coupon encoded with a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon, and providing the set of coupons to the user; capturing with a point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted by a user for redemption including reading with a code-reading apparatus said coupon identification codes and including identifying the user redeeming said at least one of said set of coupons; uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master data base; updating the at least one attribute of the user redeeming said at least one of said set of coupons using the uploaded data; and generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user including defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted, each of said another set of coupons encoded with a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon, and providing the another set of coupons to the user.

Claim 19

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user including defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted, each coupon encoded with a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon, and providing the set of coupons to the user; capturing with a point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted by a user for redemption including reading with a code-reading apparatus said coupon identification codes and including identifying the user redeeming said at least one of said set of coupons; uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master data base; updating the at least one attribute of the user redeeming said at least one of said set of coupons using the uploaded data; and generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user including defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted, each of said another set of coupons encoded with a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon, and providing the another set of coupons to the user.

Claim 20

The method of claim 16 wherein said master database further includes a plurality of coupon records and a plurality of relationship records, each of said coupon records having a particular value of a coupon parameter including at least one of a discount amount and a purchase criterion for granting said discount amount, and each of said relationship records relating particular attributes of users and corresponding particular coupon parameters.

Claim 21

The method of claim 16 wherein each said generating includes assigning at least one mandatory coupon record to a user.

Claim 22

The method of claim 16 wherein said updating is a function of at least one of which particular or one or ones of said set of coupons the user redeems and which particular one or ones of said plurality of coupons said user does not redeem.

Claim 23

The method of claim 16 wherein said establishing a database includes determining said at least one attribute of a user from a questionnaire completed by that user.

Claim 24

The method of claim 16 including uploading said captured data using a pair of modems.

Claim 25

The method of claim 16 including generating a redemption file for said at least one coupon submitted by said user for redemption and providing said redemption file to a product marketer for credit.

Claim 26

The method of claim 16 wherein said transaction data includes total purchase price of the transaction in which said at least one coupon is submitted for redemption.

Claim 27

The method of claim 16 wherein said transaction data includes information pertaining to non-coupon transactions.

Claim 28

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least one attribute of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; and generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; wherein each said generating includes defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted.

Claim 29

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least one attribute of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; and generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; wherein each said generating includes defining a given number of coupon slots in a set of coupons and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user for which all coupons generated by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted.

Claim 30

The method of claim 25 wherein said master database further includes a plurality of coupon records and a plurality of relationship records, each of said coupon records having a particular value of a coupon parameter including at least one of a discount amount and a purchase criterion for granting said discount amount, and each of said relationship records relating particular attributes of users and corresponding particular coupon parameters.

Claim 31

The method of claim 25 wherein each said generating includes assigning at least one mandatory coupon record to a user.

Claim 32

The method of claim 25 wherein said establishing a database includes determining said at least one attribute of a user from a questionnaire completed by that user.

Claim 33

The method of claim 25 further including capturing with said point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted by a user for redemption including which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems and uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master database.

Claim 34

The method of claim 29 including uploading said captured data using a pair of modems.

Claim 35

The method of claim 25 including encoding each of said set of coupons and each of said another set of coupons with a coupon identification code that is unique to a particular coupon.

Claim 36

The method of claim 31 further including encoding each of said set of coupons and each of said another set of coupons with a particular user identification code that is unique to the particular user.

Claim 37

The method of claim 32 wherein said scanning coupons includes scanning said user and coupon identification codes of redeemed coupons using a code-reading apparatus at said point-of-sale terminal.

Claim 38

The method of claim 33 further including providing a substitute code that includes said scanned coupon identification code but not said scanned user identification code and applying said substitute code to a look-up table in order to determine a value of coupons submitted for redemption and provide the discount specified in each coupon.

Claim 39

The method of claim 34 wherein said look-up table is included with said point-of-sale terminal.

Claim 40

The method of claim 32 wherein said user identification code and said coupon identification code are combined in a single machine-readable code.

Claim 41

The method of claim 36 wherein said single machine-readable code is a bar code.

Claim 42

The method of claim 36 wherein said reading includes making a single pass of said machine-readable code past said code-reading apparatus.

Claim 43

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; and capturing with said point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted for redemption including which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems and uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master database, wherein said transaction data includes total purchase price of the transaction in which said at least one coupon is submitted for redemption.

Claim 44

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; and capturing with said point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted for redemption including which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems and uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master database, wherein said transaction data includes total purchase price of the transaction in which said at least one coupon is submitted for redemption.

Claim 45

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least one attribute of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; and capturing with said point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted by a user for redemption including which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems and uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master database, wherein said transaction data includes information pertaining to non-coupon transactions.

Claim 46

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said at least one attribute of the user, and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; scanning items submitted by the particular user at a point-of-sale terminal in order to determine which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems; updating in the master database the at least one attribute of the user as a function of at least one of which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem; generating from said updated database another set of discount coupons for a particular user based at least in part on said updated attribute of the user, and making the another set of coupons available for redemption by the user; and capturing with said point-of-sale terminal transactional data pertaining to a transaction in which at least one of said set of coupons is submitted by a user for redemption including which of said set of discount coupons said particular user redeems and uploading data captured with the point-of-sale terminal to said master database in order to update said master database, wherein said transaction data includes information pertaining to non-coupon transactions.

Claim 47

The method of claim 40 including generating a redemption file for said at least one coupon submitted by said user for redemption and providing said redemption file to a product marketer for credit.

Claim 48

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: selecting a member from a database of members in a computer; determining a category to which the selected member belongs from a plurality of categories; generating with said computer at least one discount coupon for the selected member by assigning a discount value for the coupon as a function of the category of the selected member wherein members of particular categories are assigned higher discount values than members of other categories; making said at least one discount coupon available for redemption by said member; capturing transactional data with a point-of-sale terminal in order to establish the response of said member to said at least one discount coupon; generating with said computer at least one additional discount coupon for the selected member by assigning a discount value for the additional discount coupon at least in part as a function of said response of said member to said at least one discount coupon; and making said at least one additional discount coupon available for redemption by said member.

Claim 49

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: selecting a member from a database of members in a computer; determining a category to which the selected member belongs from a plurality of categories; generating with said computer at least one discount coupon for the selected member by assigning a discount value for the coupon as a function of the category of the selected member wherein members of particular categories are assigned higher discount values than members of other categories; making said at least one discount coupon available for redemption by said member; capturing transactional data with a point-of-sale terminal in order to establish the response of said member to said at least one discount coupon; generating with said computer at least one additional discount coupon for the selected member by assigning a discount value for the additional discount coupon at least in part as a function of said response of said member to said at least one discount coupon; and making said at least one additional discount coupon available for redemption by said member.

Claim 50

The computer-implemented method of merchandising in claim 42 wherein said category of the selected member is whether the member is a customer or not a customer of a particular retail establishment.

Claim 51

The computer-implemented method of merchandising in claim 43 including assigning higher coupon values to members who are not customers than to members who are customers.

Claim 52

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user, each of said set of coupons including a defined purchase criteria that must be met in order to provide a discount and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; wherein said generating further including assigning a discount value to at least one of the set of discount coupons at least in part as a function of the at least one attribute of the user in order to increase the likelihood of redemption of said discount coupons; capturing transactional data with a point-of-sale terminal in order to provide the discount value assigned to each discount coupon in response to the defined purchase criteria being met.

Claim 53

A computer-implemented method of merchandising, including: establishing a computer-based master database having a multitude of user records, each assigned to a particular user and including at least one attribute of the user; generating from said master database a set of discount coupons for a particular user, each of said set of coupons including a defined purchase criteria that must be met in order to provide a discount and making the set of coupons available for redemption by the particular user; wherein said generating further including assigning a discount value to at least one of the set of discount coupons at least in part as a function of the at least one attribute of the user in order to increase the likelihood of redemption of said discount coupons; capturing transactional data with a point-of-sale terminal in order to provide the discount value assigned to each discount coupon in response to the defined purchase criteria being met.

Claim 54

The method of claim 45 further including updating in the master database the at least one attribute of the user as a function of at least which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user redeems and which particular one or ones of said set of discount coupons said user does not redeem.

Claim 55

The method of claim 45 wherein said assigning a discount value includes assigning one discount value if the at least one attribute of the user is that the user is an established customer and assigning a different discount value if the at least one attribute of the user is that the user is not an established customer.

Claim 56

The method of claim 45 wherein said set of discount coupons includes the at least one mandatory coupon.

Claim 57

The method of claim 45 wherein said establishing a master database includes determining said at least one attribute of the user by a questionnaire completed by that user.

Claim 58

The method of claim 45 wherein said generating includes maintaining a particular purchase criteria for the at least one of the set of discount coupons irrespective of the at least one attribute of the user.