WO2000060516A2

WO2000060516A2 - Method and system for the presentation and redemption of reward offers

Info

Publication number: WO2000060516A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/008183
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jay S. Walker; Magdalena Mik
Original assignee: Walker Digital, Llc
Priority date: 1999-04-01
Filing date: 2000-03-28
Publication date: 2000-10-12
Also published as: AU4037000A; WO2000060516A8

Abstract

A system and method for conducting a retail transaction between a customer and a retailer. The retail transaction relates to a reward offer presented to the customer. The reward offer may be an offer for the sale of a reward product at a reward offer price. More than one reward offer may be presented to the customer. During an initiating transaction at a retail establishment, the customer provides an account identifier identifying a financial account to be charged. The account identifier and other transaction data are transmitted to a central server by a point of sale terminal. The central server determines a reward code that is transmitted to the point of sale terminal for presentation to the customer. The central server may store the reward code in association with the transaction data in a transaction database. The central server may also store one or more reward offers in association with the reward code and the account identifier in an outstanding reward offers database. The customer then enters the reward code to the central server via a website. In response to receiving the reward code from the customer, the central server retrieves the reward offers from the outstanding database. The reward offers may each have a rule associated therewith or may be valid only for a limited duration. The central server determines which reward offers are appropriate for presentation to the customer based on rules and/or time validity. The central server may also determine whether a reward product is available in inventory before presenting a reward offer to the customer. The customer transmitts a customer response indicating acceptance or rejection of the reward offers. If a reward offer is accepted, the account identifier is retrieved, and an accepted reward offer price is charged to the financial account associated with the customer. The customer may then return to the retail establishment to obtain the purchased reward product or products.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE PRESENTATION AND REDEMPTION OF

REWARD OFFERS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to retail transactions conducted via a distributed network. More particularly, the present invention relates to retail transactions conducted via a distributed network which correspond to retail transactions conducted in a conventional retail environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Consumer loyalty may be essential to the success of a retail establishment in a marketplace where retailers compete for a common set of potential customers. One way for a retailer to foster customer loyalty is to establish personal relationships with customers. Customers who believe that they are valued or are somehow provided personal attention by a retailer are likely to develop a sense of loyalty to that retailer. Retailers typically pursue aggressive marketing strategies involving mass media advertisements, discounts offered by way of coupons, mail-in rebate offers, in-store discounts, private membership clubs, etc., in an effort to attract customers to their particular retail establishments. However, such traditional marketing strategies are typically not tailored to an individual consumer and are thus not effective, in and of themselves, in inducing consumer loyalty.

A retailer may establish personal relationships with valued consumers by rewarding an individual consumer with a personalized reward offer. As an example of a personalized reward offer, a retailer may offer to sell a particular product to an individual customer at a personalized price and/or discount. Similarly, a retailer may offer discounts on specific products that are of particular interest to an individual customer. However, no system presently exists whereby a retailer may efficiently determine or communicate such personalized reward offers to an individual customer within the retail environment. In addition to rewarding valued customers, retailers may be interested in liquidating certain inventory items. By way of illustration, a retailer may wish to sell off stock of an old model of a product in preparation for the release of a new model of the product by the manufacturer As another example, a retailer may wish to make space available in a storeroom by selling off a portion of a product line In some cases a manufacturer may encourage a retailer to drive sales of a product by providing the retailer with monetary incentives to offset profit loss due to discounted prices

In the existing retail environment, a retailer may attempt to liquidate unwanted inventory by advertising a discounted price for the product Such an advertisement ma'y be placed withm the retailer's establishment or outside of the retailer's establishment However, the effectiveness of such an advertisement is unpredictable The retailer typically has no way of knowing whether a person who sees the advertisement is inclined to purchase the advertised product

Furthermore, traditional advertisements commit the retailer to selling a substantial amount of the selected product for a relatively extended period of time The retailer must be able to provide a substantial amount of customers with the advertised product at the sale pπce or otherwise πsk disappointing or upsetting its customers Also, the retailer must typically plan such a sale in advance and be prepared to commit to the sale for a predefined period of time, even if it is only for a day There is currently no effective method for a retailer to be able to provide a selected product at a discounted pπce to a particular customer for a limited peπod of time Furthermore, there is no effective method in conventional systems for a retailer to dynamically select such products to be sold at a discount in real time, on a short notice basis or to discontinue such sales in real time

Accordingly, a need exists for providing reward offers to customers of a retailer wherein the reward offers may be personalized to a particular customer There is a further need for providing reward offers to customers of a retailer wherein the reward offers are determined based on inventory, profit margin, and other concerns of the retailer Still a further needs exists for providing reward offers to customers of a retailer wherein the reward offers are valid only duπng a limited time peπod or for a limited number of customers

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention satisfies the above describe needs by providing a system and method for the presentation and redemption of reward offers. Reward offers are offers for sale by a retailer of reward products at reward offer prices, which may be lower than retail prices. Of course, other types of sellers, in addition to or instead of retailers, may be included in the practice of the present invention.

Transaction data relating to an initiating transaction may be collected at, or generated by, a point of sale (POS) terminal at a retail establishment. Transaction data may include an account identifier identifying a financial account associated with the customer. The account identifier is charged, debited, or credited during the initiating transaction. The point of sale terminal transmits the transaction data to a central server for storage in a transaction database. In response to the transaction data, the central server determines a reward code. Alternatively, the reward code may be determined at the point of sale terminal and transmitted to the central server as part of the transaction data. The reward code may be selected from a set of predetermined reward codes or may be generated based on a predetermined algorithm. The reward code is transmitted to the point of sale terminal for presentation to the customer. For example, the point of sale terminal may print the reward code on a receipt generated for the customer in relation to the initiating transaction. Alternately, the reward code may be e-mailed from the central server to an e-mail account maintained by the customer. Also, the central server may cause the reward code to be printed on a credit card statement sent to the customer.

The central server determines one or more reward offers to be presented to the customer. A number of available reward offers may be stored in an available reward offers database at the central server. The available reward offers may be selected by the retailer or other authorized party based on any number of factors, including inventory and profit margin. An available reward offer may have a rule associated therewith, wherein the rule governs whether the reward offer is to be presented to the customer. A rule may also be based on any number of factors, including the transaction data relating to the initiating transaction, the purchase history of the customer, a generalized purchasing trends of customers, the time at which the customer uses the reward code, etc. Accordingly, other databases may be stored at the central server, including a customer database storing purchase history information and/or demographic information, and an inventory database storing inventory information for reward products. Thus, determining reward offers to be presented to a customer may involve accessing an available offers database and selecting those reward offers that have a corresponding satisfied rule. Selected reward offers are then stored in a record of an outstanding reward offers database in association with the reward code. Portions of the transaction data, namely the account identifier, may also be stored in the record of the outstanding reward offers database. A selected reward offer may optionally have a reward offer validity associated therewith that specifies the time period in which the reward offer is valid. The customer supplies the reward code to the central server. Preferably, the customer operates a user device that is operable to access a website hosted by or otherwise in communication with the central server. Based on the reward code received from the customer, the central server retrieves the appropriate record from the outstanding reward offers database. The central server then transmits to the user reward offers stored in the outstanding reward offers record.

In response to being presented with the reward offers, the customer transmits a customer response to each reward offer to the central server. A customer response indicates an acceptance or a rejection of a reward offer. Alternatively, a lack of a customer response to a reward offer may indicate a rejection of the reward offer. The customer response to a reward offer may be stored in the appropriate record of the outstanding reward offers database. As mentioned above, each reward offer specifies a reward offer price. The central server determines an accepted reward offer price upon receiving a customer's acceptance of at least one reward offer. An accepted reward offer price is the monetary amount owed by the customer, resultant from the customer's acceptance of at least one reward offer. An accepted reward offer price may be determined by, for example, summing the reward offer price of the reward offers accepted by the customer.

The central server then retrieves the account identifier from the record of the outstanding reward offers database corresponding to the reward code. The central server authorizes a charge in the amount of the accepted reward offer purchase price to the financial account identified by the account identifier. The central server may transmit the account identifier and a charge instruction to a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment. Alternately, the central server may communicate with a financial network in order to charge the accepted reward offer price to the customer's financial account. Charging the accepted reward offer price to the financial account may involve placing a hold for the amount of the accepted reward offer price on the funds of the account until the customer returns to the retail establishment to pick up the accepted reward product or products and charging the accepted reward offer price to the financial account once the customer's return to the retail establishment is determined. In an alternate embodiment, the accepted reward offer price may be charged to the financial account at substantially the time of the customer's acceptance of the reward offer. In yet another alternate embodiment, the customer's acceptance and the accepted offer price may simply be stored in the memory of the central server and the accepted reward offer price charged to the financial account once the customer's return to the retail establishment is determined.

The customer may return to the retail establishment to obtain an accepted reward product. Alternatively, the customer and the retailer may make arrangements to have the accepted reward product shipped to the customer. At the retail establishment, the customer may present the reward code to a cashier operating a point of sale terminal. The cashier determines a product identifier for a product identified as the reward product. For example, the cashier may scan a bar code associated with the reward product. The reward code and the product identifier are transmitted from the point of sale terminal to the central server for verification of the accepted reward offer. Upon receiving the reward code and the product identifier from the point of sale terminal, the central server retrieves the appropriate record in the outstanding reward offers database. The central server then verifies that the product identifier identifies the reward product and that the reward offer has been accepted by the customer. If a hold was placed on the customer's financial account, that hold will be released. If the customer has not already been charged for the reward product (if the customer's financial account has not been charged the accepted reward offer price), such a charge may be processed at this time. The central server then instructs the point of sale terminal that the customer is authorized to remove the reward product from the retail establishment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides an overview block diagram of a system in accordance an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overview block diagram of a system in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a central server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary transaction record of a transaction database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary available reward offers database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary rules database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary inventory database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary customer database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary outstanding reward offers record of an outstanding reward offer database in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternate embodiment of an outstanding reward offers record of the outstanding reward offer database in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a general flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for providing reward offers to the customers of a retailer.

FIG. 12 (consisting of FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C) is a detailed flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for providing reward offers to the customers of a retailer.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for selecting a reward offer to present to a customer based on rules associated with available reward offers. FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for outputting reward offer with an associated time of validity to a customer, in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for redemption of an accepted reward offer at a retail establishment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to retail transactions conducted via a distributed network in a conventional retail environment. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a customer using a credit card to conduct an initiating transaction at a retail establishment is provided with a reward code. The reward code entitles the customer to be presented with a reward offer. The reward code is an indicator (i.e. a pointer) of one or more reward offers. The reward code may be for example, a set of one or more alphanumeric characters, a Universal Resource Locator (URL) or a two or three-dimensional bar code. The reward code may be printed on the customer's receipt by a point-of-sale terminal. The reward code may be valid only for a limited time, and the valid time duration may also be printed on the customer's receipt. The reward code may either be generated at the point of sale terminal or at a central server in communication with the point of sale terminal via a distributed network or a dedicated communications link. Upon completion of the transaction, transaction data may be transmitted to the central server from the point of sale terminal. Transaction data may comprise an account identifier associated with the credit card used by the customer during the initiating transaction.

The customer may enter, via a user device such as a personal computer, the reward code into an appropriate input field at a website maintained or authorized by the retailer associated with the retail establishment. The website may be hosted by the central server or by another server in communication with the central server. In response to entering the reward code, the customer may be presented with a reward offer comprising an offer for sale of a reward product from the retailer, typically at a price lower than the retail price for the product. A reward product may comprise a tangible good or an intangible service. As an example, the reward offer may be for the sale of a particular product at an offer price that is discounted compared to the retail price. The reward product included in the reward offer may be selected by the retailer based on revenue management considerations. For example, the retailer may choose to offer as a reward product a product nearing its expiration date or a product for which a newer model is soon to be released. The reward product and reward offer price may alternatively or additionally be personalized for the customer. For example, the reward product may be related or otherwise complementary to products purchased during the initiating transaction or another transaction of the customer.

The customer may indicate acceptance or rejection of the reward offer by transmitting an appropriate response to the website. In one embodiment, the customer may use a mouse or other input device to select an "accept" or a "reject" button or icon displayed in association with the reward offer on the website. If the reward offer is accepted by the customer, the reward offer price may be automatically charged to the account associated with the credit card used by the customer during the initiating transaction. This is especially advantageous in that the customer may initiate an additional purchase without having to again specify a means of payment. Thus, the additional purchase may be initiated with the mere touch of a button (e.g. a mouse click) by the customer. This clearly increases the chance that the reward offer will be accepted. The customer may subsequently return to the retail establishment to obtain the purchased reward product. Alternately, the customer and retailer may make arrangements to have the purchased reward product delivered to the customer.

To obtain the accepted reward product at the retail establishment, the customer may present the reward code received during the initiating transaction to a cashier. The cashier may then input the reward code and a product identifier associated with the reward product into a point of sale terminal. The point of sale terminal communicates with the central server to verify that payment has been rendered for the reward product and that the customer is authorized to remove the reward product from the retail establishment without further payment therefor.

The following description will hereinafter refer to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several figures. FIG. 1 provides an overview block diagram of a system 100 in accordance an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a central server 105 is in communication with one or more point-of-sale terminals 107a&b and one or more user devices 109a&b via a distributed network 111. A point of sale terminal 107a or user device 109b may alternatively be in communication with the central server 105 via a dedicated communications link 113. As used herein, user device 109 is representative of uger devices 109a and 109b and point of sale terminal 107 is representative of point of sale terminals 107a and 107b. Although only two user devices and two point of sale terminals are illustrated in figure 1, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any number of user devices and point of sale terminals may be 'used. The physical connections between the various components of the exemplary system and the distributed network 111 may be wire or wireless (e.g., modem, direct network connection or any other means of communicating with the resources of the distributed network 111). The distributed network 111 may comprise the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), or more than one interconnected networks. Those of ordinary skill in the art should recognize that the network configuration shown in FIG. 1 is by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

A user device 109 may comprise a conventional personal computer configured with hardware and software for connecting to the distributed network 111. In addition, the user device 109 may be equipped with application software for allowing a user to interact with services offered over the distributed network 111. For instance, the user device 109 may include browser software for interpreting web pages received via the distributed network 111. Also, the user device 109 may include other application software, such as electronic mail (e-mail) applications, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications and other file transfer applications, and the like, to interact with other resources offered via the distributed network 111. User device 109 may also include peripheral devices such as printers, display devices and input devices. User device 109 is operated by a customer to access reward offers using a reward code in accordance with the present invention.

The point of sale terminal 107 may be located at one or more retail establishments owned by one or more retailers. As is known in the art, a typical point of sale terminal 107 is equipped with a processor and a memory storage device. Point of sale terminal 107 may further comprise peripheral devices such as a keypad, barcode reader, credit card reader, other input devices, and a display device. Point of sale terminal 107 may also be equipped with hardware and software for communicating with a distributed network 111 or a dedicated communications link 113. Point of sale terminals are customarily operable to communicate with one or more financial institutions via financial networks (not shown). The central server 105 comprises a processor, and a memory storage device. The central server 105 is also equipped with the hardware and software required for communication with the resources of the distributed network 111. The central server 105 may be configured for execution of a database management system (DBMS). In operation of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the central server 105 receives transaction data via the distributed network 111 or the dedicated communications link 113. Transaction data comprises data relating to transactions conducted at the point of sale terminal 107. The central server 105 may be configured to proactively monitor transactions conducted at the point of sale terminal 107. Alternatively, the central server 105 may passively await a transmission of transaction data from point of sale terminals 107. At the central server, transaction data is stored in a database.

In response to transactions conducted at the point of sale terminals 107 in the retail establishment(s), the central server 105 issues reward codes to the point of sale terminals 107. Reward codes may then be provided to the customers participating in the transactions at the retail establishment. A reward code may be selected from a set of predetermined codes, or may be generated in accordance with a predefined algorithm. In an alternate embodiment, the reward code may be generated at the point of sale terminal 107 and may be transmitted to the central server 105 as part of the transaction data. The central server 105 is also in linked to a website (not shown) that is maintained or authorized by one or more retailers. The central server 105 may itself host the website or may be in communication with another server which hosts the website. The website provides a user interface that allows a customer operating a user device 109 to communicate with the central server 105. The website may comprise one or more input fields for accepting input data, such as a reward code, from a user device 109. Upon receiving a reward code from a user device 109, the central server 105 presents a reward offer to the customer via the website. The determination of a reward offer will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 2 is an overview block diagram of a system 200 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The system 200 shown in FIG. 2 utilizes a hierarchical architecture for enhanced scalability. As shown, a plurality of point of sale terminals 107a-e are in communication with a plurality of retailer servers 202a-c, which are in turn in communication with the central server 105. In this manner, a retailer server 202 may function to collect and batch transaction data received from point of sale terminals 107. A retailer server 202 may transmit batch files containing transaction data to the central server 105 for storage in a database. In an exemplary embodiment, a retailer server may be responsible for generating reward codes in response to receiving transaction data from a respective point of sale terminal. The retailer server may thus transmit a reward code that point of sale terminal, while storing a copy of the reward code along with the transaction data for later transmission to the central server 105. As described in FIG. 1, the customer may use the user device 109 to access a website that is linked to the central server 105.

The system 200 may be employed in situations where a first retailer maintains each retailer server 202 as well as the central server 105. For example, each of the retailer servers 202a-c may be geographically distributed throughout various regions so as to be in proximity with retail establishments housing respective point of sale terminals. A retailer server may collect transaction data from the point of sale terminals in its geographic region and transmit the collected transaction data to a centrally located central server 105. The system 200 may also be employed in situations where a central service maintains the central server 105 and different retailers maintain respective retailer servers 202a-c. In the case where retailer servers may be maintained by more than one retailer, the central server 105 may distinguish between retailer servers based on a retailer identifier, which may optionally be incorporated into the reward code, e.g. the first three digits of the reward code may be used to identify a specific retailer.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the hierarchical architecture of the system 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be scaled according to specific performance requirements. For example, a second level of retailer servers may be added to collect transaction data from a plurality of the retailer servers 202. Furtheπnore, as described with respect to FIG. 1, the retailer servers 202a-c are not required components of a system in accordance with the present invention. These and other system architectures will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the various system architectures described and shown with respect to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of the central server 105. The central server 105 may comprise a processor 302, a clock 304, a memory storage device 306, a display device 308, an input device 310, a printer 312, and a communication port 314. The processor 302 may comprise one or more processors and is responsible for executing a control program 316, stored in the memory storage device 306, to carry out the functions of the present invention. The clock 304 may actually be internal to the processor, but is shown separately for clarity. The clock 304 may be used to determine the time at which a transaction takes place or the time at which a customer logs into the central server 105 via the website. In one embodiment, which will be described in detail below, the terms of a reward offer presented to a customer may depend on the time and date at which the customer conducted the initiating transaction or logged into the website. The control program 316 interacts with a database management system

(DBMS) 320 that is also stored in the memory storage device 306. The DBMS is operable for inserting, modifying and extracting data from various databases 330 through 336 stored in the memory storage device 306. The memory storage device 306 may be composed of one or more memory storage devices. The memory storage device 306 comprises an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory, and may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Readonly Memory (ROM) and/or a hard disk. The processor 302 and the memory storage device 306 may each be (i) located entirely within a single computer or other computing device; (ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, such as a serial port cable, telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or (iii) a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the POS terminal 107 may comprise one or more computers that are connected to a remote server computer for maintaining databases. Similarly, the various databases 330 through 336 shown may be combined into a single database, or divided into any number of databases. However, for ease of discussion, each database 330 through 336 may be thought of as a stand-alone database within the memory storage device 306 of the central server 105. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein are exemplary arrangements for stored representations of information. A number of other arrangements may be employed besides those suggested by the tables shown. Similarly, the illustrated entries of the databases represent exemplary information, and those skilled in the art will understand that the number and content of the entries can be different from those illustrated, herein.

The transaction database 330 stores transaction data received from point of sale terminals 107. Based on the transaction data and/or other factors, the control program generates one or more available reward offers for the customer. The available reward offers are stored in the available reward offers database 331. Each available reward offer may have one or more rules associated therewith. A rule can specify one or more conditions which may (or may not) be met at a particular time. Rules may be used to determine which available reward offer to present to the customer. Rules may be time dependant, based on portions of the transaction data or based on the retailers available inventory of a particular product. Rules may also be based on the demographic information of a customer, the purchasing history of the customer with the retailer, or any other factors deemed appropriate by the retailer. Rules are stored in the rules database 332. A record of the retailer's inventory of reward products to be included in reward offers is stored in the inventory database 333. Likewise, customer demographic information and purchase history information (data regarding previous transactions) may be stored in the customer database 334.

The reward code database 335 stores reward codes that are provided to customers. As mentioned above, reward codes may be generated by a point of sale terminal 107 or a retailer server 202. Alternately, reward codes may be generated by the control program 316 at the central server 105. When a reward code is input by a customer to the central server 105, via the website, the control program 316 retrieves one or more reward offers associated with the reward code from the available offers database 331 The outstanding reward offers database 336 stores all reward offers that are selected by the control program 316 from the available reward offers database 331, based on one or more rules, for presentation to customers

The input device 310, in conjunction with the display device 308, may be used to access and manipulate the data of some of the databases 330-336 stored in the memory storage device 306 For example, a retailer may wish to alter the terms of an available reward offer stored in the available reward offers database 331 The printer 312 may be used to print out reports or other information based on the data stored in the vaπous databases 330-336 As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the communication port is used to receive and transmit via the distributed network 111

FIG 4 is an illustration of an exemplary transaction record 400 of the transaction database 330 shown in FIG 3 The transaction database 330 stores a transaction record 400 compnsing transaction data for an initiating transaction completed at a point of sale terminal 107 in the system of the present invention Each transaction record 400 may be identified by a unique transaction identifier 402 Transaction data received from a point of sale terminal 107 and stored m a transaction record 400 may include, for example, (l) a point of sale terminal identifier 404 to identify the point of sale terminal at which the initiating transaction took place, (π) a product identifier 406 to identify each product included in the initiating transaction, (in) a product descπption 408 to descπbe each product included in the initiating transaction, (IV) a product pπce 410 to identify the pπce of each product included in the initiating transaction, (v) a purchase total 412 to identify the total purchase pπce of the initiating transaction, (vi) the date and time 414 at which the initiating transaction took place, (vu) the reward code 416 provided to the customer duπng the initiating transaction, and (vu) an account identifier 418 that identifies an account that was charged, debited or credited dunng the initiating transaction Other types of information may be included in the transaction data

As shown in FIG 4, the exemplary transaction record 400 indicates that an initiating transaction identified by the transaction identifier "9987102" occurred on 8/29/98 at 2 23PM Four products were purchased by a customer duπng the initiating transaction a 24" potted plant (408a) having a product identifier of "PI 02" (406a) and a price of S20.00 (410a); a 3-shelf plant stand (408b) having a product identifier of "P320" (406b) and a price of $78.00 (410b); plant food (408c) having a product identifier of "P548" (406c) and a price of $ 1.99 (410c); and a ceramic pot (408d) having a product identifier of "P031" (406d) and a price of $14.85 (410d). The initiating transaction occuπed at a point of sale terminal identified by the point of sale terminal identifier "102". The initiating transaction was completed when a charge was made to the customer's account identified by the account identifier "9999-3333-7777-1 11 1 " in the amount of "$121.73", which is equal to the sum of the four product prices (410a through d) plus applicable sales tax (6% in this example). At the completion of, or sometime during the initiating transaction, the customer was provided with the reward code "1 1 1 -222".

FIG. 5 is table 500, illustrative of an embodiment of the available reward offers database 331 (FIG. 3). An available reward offers database 331 stores all reward offers that may potentially be made available to a customer. The terms of available reward offers may be based on any number of factors to be determined by the retailer. For example, reward products to be offered for sale may be selected based on the retailer's inventory level or on an expected profit margin. In particular, if there is an overabundance of a certain product, the retailer may offer that product as a reward product at a discounted price until excess inventory of that product is depleted. Likewise, due to manufacturer-provided incentives or other market factors, the retailer may offer certain reward products at discounted prices while still earning a satisfactory profit. Also, if sales of a certain product are not sufficient, the retailer may offer that product as a reward product at a discounted price in order to stimulate such sales. Determining available reward offers may also involve examining generalized purchasing trends. For example, purchasing trends may indicate that customers who buy product X tend to also buy product Y. Thus, when an initiating transaction at a retail establishment includes product X and not product Y, the customer may later be presented with a reward offer for a discounted sale of product Y. Also, it may be discovered that an initiating purchase of product X and product Y typically leads to a subsequent purchase of an additional product Y (e.g., a refill or replacement part) Accordingly, an available reward offer may include product Y if a predetermined peπod of time has elapsed since a previous purchase of product X

In table 500, each available reward offer comprises (1) a reward product identifier 502 that identifies the product of the reward offer, (n) a reward product descπption 504 descnbing the product of the reward offer, (in) a reward offer pπce 506 for the reward product, (iv) a retail pπce 508 for the reward product, and (v) a rule identifier 510 identifying a rule that is to be satisfied before the reward offer may be presented to the customer Rules will be discussed in detail with respect to FIG. 6. Table 500 specifies seven available reward offers 511 through 517 For example, an available reward offer 513 stored in table 500 is an offer to sell a coffee maker for a reward price of $20.00 if a rule "R101" is satisfied. As can be seen, the coffee maker of the reward offer 513 has a retail price of $30 00 and is identified by the reward product identifier "P099".

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, available reward offers are determined and entered into the available offers database 331 by a retailer or a party authorized by the retailer, such as a central service The retailer or authoπzed party also determines a set of rules that are utilized by the control program 316 to determine if and when to present an available reward offer to a customer As illustrated in table 500, each available reward offer 511 through 517 may have at least one rule associated therewith. As an example, a particular reward offer may be contingent on a rule specifying a minimum purchase total that must have been spent duπng an initiating transaction.

FIG. 6 is a table 600, illustrative of an embodiment of rules database 332 (FIG. 3). Table 600 contains a rule descπption 602 for each rule identifier 510 that is stored in table 500 (FIG. 5). Table 600 may also include other rules for use in connection with available reward offers that are not yet created As mentioned, the control program 316 quenes the available offers database 331 for available reward offers. Since each available reward offer may have an associated rule identifier 510, the control program 316 must ascertain the appropπate rule descπption 602 in the table 600. The control program is operable to determine, based on a rule description 602, whether an available reward offer may be presented to the customer Rules may be defined based on any type and number of factors deemed appropriate by a retailer or authorized party. Table 600 shows some sample rules 604 through 622 that may be used to determine whether a customer should be offered a particular reward product at a discounted price. For example, rule 604 states that an associated reward offer may be presented to a customer is the initiating transaction at the retail establishment involved a purchase total greater than $100. Thus, when encountering rule 604, the control program 316 may reference the transaction database 330 to determine whether the purchase total for the initiating transaction satisfies the rule 604. In another example, rule 620 states that an associated reward offer may be presented to a customer if the customer has accepted another reward offer within the last thirty days. Accordingly, rule 620 requires reference to the customer database 334, which may store data relating to customers' purchase histories. An exemplary customer database will be described with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 7 is table 700, illustrative of an embodiment of inventory database 333 (FIG. 3). Table 700 includes (i) a reward product identifier 502, and (ii) an amount available 702 (in units) which indicates the number of units of the corresponding product that is available. Table 700 stores data records 710 through 720 pertaining to ten reward products. As may be seen by reference to table 500 of FIG. 5, each available reward offer 511 through 517 includes a reward product identifier 502 that is also maintained in table 700. Accordingly, an inventory database 333 may be used by the control program 316 to determine whether a unit of a reward product is available (e.g. amount available exceeds 0) at a retail establishment prior to presenting a reward offer for that reward product to a customer. As a result, an inventory database 333 allows a retailer to avoid creating obligations to provide reward products that are not available at one of its retail establishments. In an alternate embodiment, the amount available 702 entry corresponding to a reward product in the table 700 may be decremented as appropriate once an acceptance from a customer of the reward product is received.

In some cases, the control program 316 may be required to query the inventory database 333 based on a rule in the rule database 332. For example, rule 610, identified as "RI04," describes that an associated reward offer may only be made available to a customer if the amount available in inventory of the reward product is less than three units Rules placing restraints on reward offers based on inventory level, such as rule 610, may allow a retailer to control the liquidation of excess inventory by discontinuing reward offers when a particular inventory level is achieved Such a scheme may be implemented to ensure that a certain level of inventory is available for m-store sales at full retail pπce

Those skilled in the art should recognize that table 700 represents an exemplary embodiment of the present invention Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be implemented without the inventory database 333, or with an inventory database that maintains information on only selected reward products For example, due to a consistent relationship with a supplier, a retailer may not be concerned with whether a particular reward product is in inventory when a reward offer is presented to a customer

FIG 8 is table 800, illustrative of an embodiment of the customer database 334 (FIG 3) A customer database 334 may contain information relating to customers, which may be used in determining reward offers to present to a particular customer. For example, a rule associated with a particular reward offer may require that the reward offer is only to be made available to a customer having certain demographic characteπstics Table 800 includes a customer rating 808 associated with each customer record 811 through 813 To illustrate the use of a customer rating 808 to determine whether a customer should be presented a particular reward offer, rule "R107" 618 (FIG 6) states that an associated reward offer may only be made available to a customer having a customer rating 808 of "A" Methods by which a customer rating 808 may be determined are disclosed in Applicant's co-pending patent application No 09/166,267, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINTNG A PROGRESSIVE DISCOUNT FOR A CUSTOMER BASED ON THE FREQUENCY OF THE CUSTOMER'S TRANSACTIONS," the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference

A customer database 334 may also include other data pertaining to customers, such as the sum of purchase totals associated with a customer duπng a predetermined time peπod (e g one month), histoπcal information relating to a customer's purchases (e g the product identifier of each product purchased by the customer in the past), an average purchase or spending total for the customer, etc As previously mentioned, the terms of an available reward offer or a determination of whether to present an available reward offer to a customer may be based on data stored in a customer database 334. However, those skilled in the art should appreciate that a customer database 334 is an optimization of an exemplary embodiment and is not required for operation of the present invention.

A customer record database 334 may be particularly useful in a "frequent shopper club" embodiment of the present invention. In a frequent shopper club (or other group of members) embodiment, only members of the frequent shopper club of the retailer may be entitled to receive a reward code at a point of sale terminal upon completion of an initiating transaction. A reward code presented to a frequent shopper club member is stored in the customer database 334 in association with a customer identifier unique to that frequent shopper club member. If the frequent shopper club member later accepts a reward offer via the retailer's website, that acceptance and the terms of the reward offer (e.g., reward product identifier 502, reward offer price 506, etc.) may be stored in the frequent shopping club member's record of the customer database 334. An account identifier may have been stored in the frequent shopper club member's record in the customer database 334. Thus, a financial account of the frequent shopper club member may ascertained and charged at the time the reward offer is accepted. When the frequent shopper club member returns to the retail establishment to pick up the reward product, he may present to a cashier a frequent shopper card along with the reward product. The cashier may operate a point of sale terminal in communication with the central server 105 or a retailer server to verify that the reward product being picked up is the same as the reward product stored in the frequent shopper club member's record of the customer database 334. For example, the cashier may scan bar codes on the frequent shopping card and on the reward product to read a customer identifier and a reward product identifier 502, respectively. The scanned customer identifier and reward product identifier 502 may be compared to the corresponding values stored in the customer database 334. Also, if payment was not rendered for the reward product at the time the reward offer was accepted, the cashier may apply to the transaction the reward offer price retrieved from the frequent shopper club member's record in the customer database 334. Application of the reward offer price may comprise (i) charging the reward offer price to the frequent shopper club member directly (i.e. in one financial transaction), or (ii) charging the retail price to the frequent shopper club member and crediting the difference between the retail price and the reward offer price to the frequent shopper club member.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary outstanding reward offers record 900 of an outstanding reward offer database 336, as was shown in FIG. 3. An outstanding reward offers database stores outstanding reward offers that have been selected for presentation to a customer. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an outstanding reward offer is a reward offer that was selected for presentation to a customer from the available reward offers database 331. The exemplary outstanding reward offers record 900 stores the reward code 416 that was provided to the customer, the account identifier 418 provided by the customer, the reward product identifier 502, reward product description 504 and reward offer price 506 for each outstanding reward offer.

The exemplary outstanding reward offers record 900 also includes a reward offer status field 902 for each outstanding reward offer. Once a customer enters the reward code via the website, the outstanding reward offers database record 900 associated with the reward code is retrieved from the outstanding offers database 336 and any outstanding reward offers therein are presented to the customer. The customer may provide a customer response to each outstanding reward offer, indicating an acceptance or rejection thereof. The customer response (e.g., "accepted" or "rejected") is recorded in the offer status field 902 of the outstanding reward offers record 900. The offer status field 902 may contain an indicator that the associated reward offer remains pending, i.e., the outstanding reward offer has not been accepted or rejected by the customer.

Once the customer has accepted one or more reward offers, an accepted reward offer price 904 is calculated and stored in the outstanding reward offers record 900. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the customer has accepted a reward offer 911 for a 22" grow light at $23.00 and a reward offer 913 for a 5" x 7" picture frame at $5.00. Therefore the accepted reward offer price is equal to $29.68 (i.e., $23.00 + $5.00 + 6% sales tax). The accepted reward offer price may be charged to the customer's financial account (e.g., credit card account) using the account identifier 418. In an exemplary embodiment, the customer's financial account is "authorized" for a charge in the amount of the accepted reward offer price. In other words, a hold is placed on the funds of the customer's financial account in the amount of the accepted reward offer price and the accepted reward offer price is actually charged to the credit card once the customer picks up the reward products of the accepted reward offers at the retail establishment. Accordingly, a payment status field 906 may indicate that the accepted reward offer price has been "paid," "not paid," "authorized," "not authorized" or the like. FIG. 10 shows an alternate embodiment of an outstanding reward offers record 1000 of the outstanding reward offer database 336 (FIG. 3). The exemplary outstanding reward offers record 1000 includes a reward offer validity field 1002, which allows different reward offers to be presented to a customer depending on the time at which the customer logs into the website. Accordingly, once a customer enters a reward code via the website, the control program 316 determines the current time from the clock 304 (FIG. 3). The current time is compared to the entries in the reward offer validity field 1002 associated with each of the outstanding reward offers. Any outstanding reward offers that are determined to be valid during the current time are presented to the customer. The control program 316 may set to "expired" the reward offer status 902 associated with each outstanding reward offers whose time of validity has passed. Alternatively, the control program 316 may periodically examine all of the outstanding reward offer records in the outstanding reward offers database 336 for reward offer validity 1002 and change the reward offer statuses 902 to "expired" as necessary. In addition, a reward offer validity 1002 may be defined in such a way that the reward offer may not yet be valid when the customer logs into the website. Accordingly, the reward offer status field 902 may indicate that the reward offer is not yet valid, but also not expired, and the reward offer may be saved for possible later presentation to the customer.

FIG. 11 is a general flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1100 for providing reward offers to the customers of a retailer. From starting block 1101, the method 1100 progresses to step 1102, where transaction data is received. In an exemplary embodiment, the transaction data is received at the central server 105 from a point of sale terminal or a retailer server. Transaction data relates to an initiating transaction and includes an account identifier or a customer identifier. An account identifier identifies a customer's financial account that was charged, debited, or credited during the initiating transaction. If no financial account was accessed during the initiating transaction (e.g., if the customer paid in cash), a customer identifier may be received instead of an account identifier. Possibly, an account identifier for the customer's financial account may be stored in the customer database 334 in association with the customer identifier.

At step 1104, a determination is made as to whether the account identifier identifies a financial account that may be charged at a subsequent time. As mentioned, the account identifier may have to be retrieved from the customer database 334 based on a received customer identifier. The exemplary method 1100 requires access to a financial account of the customer so that payment for any accepted reward offer may be guaranteed. However, those skilled in the art should recognize that an alternate embodiment may not require such access to a financial account and that the customer may be permitted to render payment for an accepted reward offer at the retail establishment when picking up the reward products.

If the account identifier does not identify an account that may be charged (or credited or debited) at a subsequent time, the exemplary method 1100 ends at step 1118. On the other hand, if the account identifier does identify an account that may be charged (or credited or debited) at a subsequent time, the exemplary method 1100 progresses to step 1106, where a reward code is (i) output and (ii) stored in association with the transaction data. The reward code may be stored in the transaction database 330 along with the transaction data. A copy of the reward code may be output to a point of sale terminal (possibly via a retailer server) for presentation to a customer.

At step 1108 the reward code is received from a customer. In an exemplary embodiment, the reward code is received at the central server 105 from an end user device operated by the customer. The reward code is entered by the customer into an input field on a website that is hosted by or in communication with the central server 105. In response to receiving the reward code, at least one reward offer is output at step 1110. According to an exemplary embodiment, each output reward offer is presented to the customer via a website that is hosted by or in communication with the central server 105. Next, at step 1112, a customer response to each reward offer is received. Again, in an exemplary embodiment, the customer response is received at the central server 105 from a user device, via a website. Still, while the exemplary embodiments have been described thus far as involving a website for facilitating the exchange of information between the customer and the central server 105, those skilled in the art should appreciate that the present invention may be practiced by way of a voice response unit (VRU) or a touch-tone menu system at the central server 105. Customer may access a VRU or touch-tone menu system through a telephone system in order to input reward codes, receive reward offers, respond to reward offers, etc.

At step 1114, a determination is made as to whether the customer response indicates an acceptance of at least one of the reward offers. If the customer response does not indicate an acceptance of a reward offer, the exemplary method 1100 ends at step 1118. However, if the customer response does indicate an acceptance of at least one reward offer, the accepted reward offer price is charged to the account identified by the account identifier. The accepted reward offer price is contemplated as being equal to the sum of each reward offer price plus any applicable taxes or other charges. After the charge has been made to the customer's account, the exemplary method 1100 ends at step 1118.

As mentioned, in an exemplary embodiment, the account identifier identifies a financial account or other payment means maintained by the customer that may be charged, debited, or credited by the retailer or other authorized party. The central server 105, retailer server, and/or a point of sale terminal may have access to the customer's financial account via a financial network. In addition, those skilled in the art should recognize that other manners of rendering and receiving payment may be employed in practicing the present invention. For example, a frequent customer (e.g., frequent shopper club member) may accumulate "reward points" based on the amount of money he spends at a retail establishment over time. An account of reward points may be stored in the customer database 334. Upon accepting a reward offer, the customer's account of reward points may be debited by an appropriate amount of reward points. FIG 12A - 12C is a more detailed flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1200 of providing reward offers to the customers of a retailer At step 1202 transaction data is received Transaction data relates to transactions such as may occur at a point of sale terminal at a retail establishment Transaction data includes an account identifier identifying a financial account of the customer In an exemplary embodiment, transaction data is received at the central server 105 from a point of sale terminal or a retailer server Next, at step 1204, a transaction identifier is determined in order to identify the transaction data of the initiating transaction At step 1206, a reward code is determined that may be subsequently used by a customer to redeem reward offers In an exemplary embodiment, the reward code is determined at the central server 105 However, in other embodiments, the reward code may be determined at a point of sale terminal or at a retailer server and transmitted to the central server 105 At step 1208, the reward code is stored in association with the transaction identifier so that the initiating transaction may be recalled based on the reward code In an exemplary embodiment, the reward code, the transaction identifier, and the transaction data may be stored in the transaction database 330 at the central server 105

At step 1210, a new record is created in the outstanding reward offers database 336 using the reward code In an exemplary embodiment, the outstanding reward offers database 336 is maintained at the central server 105 and is used to store reward offers that are to be presented to the customer who possess the reward code Then, at step 1212, the reward code is output If determined at the central server 105, the reward code may be output to a point of sale terminal. At the point of sale terminal the reward code may be pπnted on the customer's receipt from the initiating transaction Still, those skilled in the art should understand that many ways of communicating a reward offer to a customer may be performed in accordance with the present invention, including but not limited to verbal, wπtten, or electronic communication By way of example only, the reward code may be e-mailed to the customer or may be pπnted on the customer' s credit card statement At step 1214, an appropπate reward offer is selected for presentation to the customer based on at least the reward offers stored in the available reward offers database 331 In an exemplary embodiment, the available reward offers database 331 is populated by the retailer or other authorized party. The available reward offers database 331 stores reward offers that may potentially be presented to a customer. Each reward offer stored in the available reward offers database 331 may have a rule associated therewith to dictate whether the reward offer is to be presented to the customer. Reward offers other than those stored in the available reward offers database 331 may also be selected for presentation to a customer. For example, a reward offer may be generated in real-time based on the transaction data from the initiating transaction.

At step 1216 a determination is made as to whether the reward product of the selected reward offer is in inventory. In an exemplary embodiment, this determination is satisfied if the amount available in inventory of the reward product is greater than zero. Also, other inventory level constraints may be imposed. If the reward product of the selected reward offer is not in inventory, the method 1200 returns to step 1214 where another appropriate reward offer is selected. In an exemplary embodiment, at least one reward offer should be presented to a customer. However, it is conceivable that no appropriate reward offers may be available, at least at the present time. For example, a reward offer presented to the customer may be tied to the real-time inventory of the retailer at the time the customer logs into the retailer's website. Thus, the reward offers may not be determined or selected at the time of the customer's initiating transaction, but are determined at the time the customer logs into the website using his reward code.

If at step 1216 the reward product is determined to be available in inventory, at step 1218 the selected reward offer is stored in association with the reward code in the new record of the outstanding reward offers database 336 (from step 1210). In the new record of the outstanding reward offers database 336, the reward offer status 902 of the selected reward offer is set to "pending" at step 1220. At step 1222 a determination is made as to whether there is another appropriate reward offer to present to the customer. If another appropriate reward offer exists, the method 1200 is returns to step 1214 and progresses therefrom. When it is determined at step 1222 that there is no other appropriate reward offer, the method proceeds to step 1224, where the reward code is received from a user device operated by the customer. As previously mentioned, the user device may interface with a website that is hosted by or otherwise in communication with the central server 105. In response to receiving the reward code from the user device, the record associated with the reward code is .retrieved from the outstanding reward offers database 336 at step 1226. Next, the reward offers are extracted from the retrieved record and are output to the user device at step 1228. A customer response to the reward offers is received at step 1230. In an exemplary embodiment, a customer response may indicate an acceptance or rejection of a reward offer. Still, other customer responses may be appropriate and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. For example, it is conceivable that a customer response may be a counter-offer to the reward offer.

Based on the customer response, the reward offer status of each accepted reward offer is set to "accepted" at step 1232. Similarly, the reward offer status of each rejected reward offer is set to "rejected" at step 1234. Then, at step 1236, a determination is made as to whether at least one reward offer was accepted by the customer. If no reward offers were accepted by the customer, the exemplary method 1200 ends at step 1248. Otherwise, the method 1200 proceeds to step 1238, where the accepted reward offer purchase total is determined. The accepted reward offer purchase total may be determined by summing the reward offer prices for the accepted reward offers and then applying any appropriate tax. At step 1240, an attempt is made to authorize a charge in the amount of the accepted reward offer purchase total, using the account identifier stored in association with the reward code. If the attempted authorization is determined to have been unsuccessful at step 1242, an "unable to process transaction" message is output to the user device at step 1244, and the exemplary method ends at step 1428. Otherwise, at step 1246 a payment status associated with the accepted reward offer purchase total is set to "authorized", and a "transaction complete" message is output to the user device. From step 1246, the exemplary method 1200 ends at step 1248.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1300 for selecting a reward offer to present to a customer based on rules associated with available reward offers. Available reward offers may be stored in an available reward offers database 331. Thus, the exemplary method 1300 progresses from starting block 1301 to step 1302, where a reward offer is selected from the available reward offers database 331. Available reward offers may have one or more rules associated therewith. Rule identifiers may thus be stored in association with a reward offer. At step 1304, a rule description corresponding to each rule identifier associated with the selected reward offer is retrieved from the rules database 332.

Rules governing whether a reward offer is to be presented to a customer may be determined by a retailer or another authorized party. Rules may be based on any factor deemed appropriate by the retailer or authorized party. By way of illustration, a rule may be based on the purchasing history of the customer. For example, a rule may state that the associated reward offer for a reward product of a particular department (e.g. gardening or sporting goods) is only to be presented to the user if the initiating transaction or other previous transactions of the customer did not include products from that particular department. Conversely, if the customer tends to buy many products from a certain department, the retailer may reward that customer with a reward offer for additional reward products from that department at discounted prices. In the latter case, a rule may specify that the associated reward offer is to be presented to the customer only if several prior transactions involved a product from the certain department.

An available reward offer may also be contingent on the purchase total stored in the transaction record. Specifically, a reward offer may only be presented to a customer if the customer spent more than a predetermined amount of money at the retail establishment during the initiating transaction or during a certain time period. Also, a rule may specify that if the customer spent very little at the retail establishment during the initiating transaction or during a certain time period, he should be presented with a reward offer for deep discounts on an expensive reward product. Such a reward offer may induce the customer to spend more money at the retail establishment. On the other hand, if the customer tends to spend very little at the retail establishment a rule may specify that the customer is to be presented with a reward offer involving only nominal discounts. Similarly, rules may dictate that the number of reward offers to be presented to a customer may vary with the purchase total spent during the initiating transaction. For example, thirty reward offers may be presented to a customer who spent $50 during an initiating transaction, while fifty reward offers may be presented to a customer who spent $75.

Rules associated with available reward offer may also be based on the reward offers accepted by the customer in the past. For example, if the customer has been offered reward products of a particular manufacturer many times in the past, but has never accepted such reward offers, the retailer may decide not to make any further reward offers for reward products of that manufacturer. Conversely, if a customer regularly accepts. reward offers for products of a certain manufacturer, the retailer may decide to offer such reward products with greater frequency. As a further example, if a customer does not typically accept reward offers involving more than a certain percentage discount in price, the retailer may decide not to present reward offers involving a lesser discount. It should be appreciated that the above list of examplary rules is not exhaustive. Other types of rules will be apparent to those of ordinary skill and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. At step 1306 a determination is made as to whether the selected reward offer is appropriate for association with the reward code 416 based on the corresponding rule description. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a rule used to govern whether a reward offer is to be presented to a customer may require cross- refernce to other databases. For example, determining whether a rule is satisfied may require examination of the transaction database 330 storing transaction data or the cutomer database 334 storing purchase history and/or demographic data relating to a customer. The determination of step 1306 may also be made based on transaction data or customer data associated with the reward code, independent of any rule.

If at step 1308 the selected reward offer is determined not to be appropriate for association with the reward code, the exemplary method 1300 proceeds to step 1316, where it is determined if another available reward offer exists. In another available reward offer exists, the exempary method 1300 continues to step 1302. If no other avaible reward offer exists, the exemplary method 1300 ends at step 1318. However, if the selected reward offer is determined at step 1308 to be appropriate for association with the reward code, the inventory of the reward product is examined. In an exemplary embodiment, the reward product of the selected reward offer is identified by a reward product identifier. Accordingly, at step 1310 an inventory record associated with the reward product identifier is retrieved from an inventory database 333 for examination.

At step 1312 a determination is made from the retrieved inventory record as to whether the amount available in inventory of the reward product is greater than zero units. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any other restriction on inventory level may be set, or that in some cases it is not necessary or desirable to bother checking inventory level. If the amout available in inventory is not greater than zero units, the reward offer will not be presented to the customer, and the exemplary method progresses to step 1316 to check for another available reward offer. If the amount available in inventory is greater than zero, the reward product identifier, the reward product description and the reward offer price are all stored in an outstanding reward offers database 336 in association with the reward code. In this manner, the customer may subsequently be presented with the reward offers stored in the outstanding reward offers database 336. At step 1316 it is determined if another available reward offer exists. In another available reward offer exists, the exempary method 1300 continues from step 1302. If no other available reward offer exists, the exemplary method 1300 ends at step 1318.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1400 for outputting a time dependant reward offer to a customer. One or more reward offers may be stored in the outstanding reward offer database 336. These reward offers may have associated therewith a time duration for the reward offer validity 1002 (Fig. 10). The exemplary method 1400 advances from starting block 1401 to step 1402, where a reward code is received from a user device. In an exemplary embodiment, the reward code is received at the central server 105 via a website. At step 1404 the current time is determined. The current time thus corresponds to the time at which the customer logged into the website. The cuπent time may be determined by accessing the clock of the central server 105. After the current time is determined, the record corresponding to the reward code in the outstanding reward offers database 336 is retrieved at step 1406. Next, a first reward offer is selected from the retrieved record at step 1308. At step 1310 a determination is made as to whether the current time is within the reward offer validity time of the selected reward offer. If the current time is not within the reward offer validity time of the selected reward offer, the reward offer status of the selected reward offer is set to "expired" at step 1414, and the selected reward offer will not be presented to the customer However, if the current time is within the reward offer validity time, the selected rew ard offer is output to the user device at step 1416 At step 1418, a determination is made as to whether another reward offer exists in the retrieved record from the outstanding reward offers database 336 If another reward offer exists, that reward offer is selected at step 1420, and the exemplary method 1400 returns to step 1410 If no other reward offer exists, the exemplary method ends at step 1422

Those skilled in the art should recognize that reward offer validity may be employed in other manners For example, reward offer validity may be based on the timing of the reward offer and the terms of selected reward offers may change based on the time the customer uses his reward code In other words, a reward offer may not completely expire after a certain amount of time, but the percentage of the discount in the reward offer pπce or the quality of the reward products may change over time If a customer uses a reward code within the first twenty four hours of the initiating transaction, the reward offer may involve a fifty percent discount But, if the customer does not use the reward until forty eight hours after the initiating transaction, the same reward offer may involve only a twenty five percent discount FIG 15 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1500 for redemption of an accepted reward offer at a retail establishment The exemplary method 1500 proceeds from starting block 1501 to step 1502, where a reward code is received from a customer At step 1504 a reward product identifier is received Receiving the reward product identifier may compπse scanning a bar code affixed to or associated with a reward product The reward product may have been selected from the retail establishment by the customer Alternately, the reward product may have been stored for the customer at a customer-service type location At step 1506 an account identifier is received from the customer For example, a credit card of the customer may be scanned or an account number may be entered by a cashier on a keypad The reward code, reward product identifier, and the account identifier received at the retail establishment should match a reward code, reward product identifier, and account identifier involved in a reward offer that has been accepted by the customer In an exemplary embodiment the terms of the reward offer are stored in the outstanding reward offers database 336 at the central server 105 Thus, at step 1508, an outstanding reward offers database record associated w ith the reward code is accessed Accessing the database record may involve transmitting a query concerning the reward code and reward product identifier to the central server 105 and awaiting a response Alternately, accessing the database record may involve receiving a database record associated w ith the reward code from the central ser er If at step 1510 it is deteπruned that the reward product identifier receι\ed from the retail establishment is not stored in the retrieved outstanding reward offers database record, an error message is output to the customer at step 1511, and the method ends at step 1518 without the transaction being authoπzed (1 e the customer is not permitted to remove the reward product from the retail establishment without rendering further payment)

However, if the reward product identifier received from the retail establishment is determined to be involved in the reward offer, it is next determined at step 1512 whether the reward offer status is set to "accepted " A reward status of "accepted" indicates that the reward offer has been accepted by the customer and that a charge in the amount of an accepted reward offer pπce has been made to a financial account of the customer If at step 1512, it is determined that the reward offer status is not "accepted," an error message is output to the customer at step 1511, and the method ends at step 1518 without the transaction being authoπzed If the reward offer status is set to accepted, a determination is made at step 1514 as to whether the account identifier received from the retail establishment is the same as the account identifier stored in the record of the outstanding reward offers database 336 If the account identifier received from the retail establishment is does not match the stored account identifier, an error message is output at step 1511, and the method ends at step 1518 without the transaction being authoπzed Other ise, the account identifier is involved in the reward offer, meaning that the corresponding financial account of the customer has been charged in the amount of the accepted reward offer pnce, and the transaction is authorized at step 1516 Authoπzing the transaction involves allowing the customer to remove the rew ard product from the retail establishment without rendeπng further payment at the retail establishment The exemplary method 1500 ends at step 1518 While this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected withm the spirit and scope of the invention For example, an alternate embodiment for redeeming an accepted otter at a retail establishirient may involve the customer having been issued a coupon or voucher at the time of accepting the reward offer The customer may punt out the coupon or voucher via a personal computer The retailer may then honor the coupon or voucher when the customer returns to the retail establishment to redeem it The coupon or voucher may include a bar code which acts as a pointer to a record in a database at the central server The record in the database stores the customer's reward offer and acceptance The cashier at a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment may scan the coupon or voucher The point of sale terminal may then communicate with the central server to retrieve the accepted reward offer pπce for the reward product included in the reward offer The point of sale terminal may then apply the accepted reward offer pπce to the transaction The redemption of the reward offer may then be stored in the outstanding reward offers database record Alternatively, the coupon or voucher may have the reward product and the accepted reward offer pπce pπnted on thereon, causing communication with the central database to be unnecessary

In another alternate embodiment, reward offers may be pπnted along with the reward code on the back of a receipt generated duπng an initiating transaction The customer may then use the reward code to access a website or telephone VRU to indicate acceptance of the reward offer(s) The pπnted reward offer and/or reward code may also appear on a credit card statement sent to the customer In another alternate embodiment, the initiating transaction is not processed by the retailer until (l) the customer uses the reward code associated with the initiating transaction and indicates either an acceptance or rejection of a reward offer, or (u) a time limit associated with the reward code expires If the customer uses the rew ard code and accepts a reward offer before the reward code expires, the reward offer pπce may be added to the purchase total of the initiating transaction, and the initiating transaction may then be processed In another alternate embodiment, the reward code provided to a customer may not be unique to that particular customer. For example, all of customers completing transaction at the retail establishment on a given day, or between certain hours, may be issued the same reward code. Similarly, the first one hundred customers of a retail establishment may receive a first reward code, which entitles them to greatly reduced reward offer prices. The customers for the remainder of the day may be issued another reward code, which entitles them to less reduced reward offer prices.

In yet another embodiment, once a customer accepts a reward offer via the website, the retail establishment at which the customer will pick up the reward product is notified of the accepted reward offer (e.g. via automated e-mail, Fax, or other electronic notification from the central server to personnel at a service desk). The service desk personnel may then remove the reward product from the store shelves and store the reward product until the customer arrives to pick it up. When the customer arrives at the retail establishment and presents a reward code in order to redeem the reward product, the reward product may be identified based on the code and retrieved from a stockroom. Such an embodiment may be especially useful for retailers that want to utilize the present invention for selling off products that they no longer want to keep on the store shelves. These and other alternate embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is

1 A method for presenting a reward offer to a customer comprising the steps of receiving transaction data corresponding to an initiating transaction at a retail establishment, in response to receiving the transaction data, determining a reward code that entitles the customer to receive a reward offer, stonng the reward code and the transaction data, and transmitting the reward code to the customer

2 The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of stonng one or more selected reward offers in association with the reward code, receiving the reward code from the customer, and in response to receiving the reward code from the customer, transmitting the one or more selected reward offers to the customer

3 The method of claim 2, wherein the reward code is received from the customer via a website

4 The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more selected reward offers are transmitted to the customer via a website

5 The method of claim 2, wherein the reward code is received from and the one or more selected reward offers are transmitted to the customer via at least one of a voice recognition unit and a touch tone menu system

6 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instructions for performing the method of claim 2

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more selected reward offers each comprise a corresponding reward offer price; and wherein the method further comprises the steps of: receiving a-customer response from the customer indicating acceptance of at least one of the selected reward offers, in response to receiving the customer response, determining an accepted reward offer price, and charging the accepted reward offer price to a financial account associated with the customer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the accepted reward offer price is determined by summing the corresponding reward offer price of each accepted selected reward offer and applying any applicable tax.

9. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instructions for performing the method of claim 8.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the transaction data comprises an account identifier identifying the financial account associated with the customer; and wherein the method further includes the step of retrieving the account identifier from a database for use in charging the accepted reward offer price to the financial account associated with the customer.

11. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instructions for performing the method of claim 10.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the reward code comprises selecting the reward code from a set of predetermined reward codes.

13 The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the reward code comprises generating the reward code randomly in accordance with a predefined algorithm.

14 The method of claim 13, wherein the predefined algorithm utilizes a portion of the transaction data

15 The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction data is received from a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment

16 The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting the reward code to the customer compπses transmitting the reward code to a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment, whereby the point of sale terminal may pnnt the reward code on a receipt corresponding to the initiating transaction.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting the reward code to the customer comprises transmitting an e-mail containing the reward code to an e-mail account maintained by the customer

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the reward code to the customer comprises causing the reward code to be pnnted on a credit card statement sent to the customer.

19. A method for offeπng a reward offer to a customer comprising the steps of receiving a reward code from the customer, the reward code having been provided to the customer duπng an initiating transaction at a retail establishment; in response to receiving the reward code from the customer, transmitting the reward offer to the customer, the reward offer compnsing a reward offer pπce; receiving a customer response from the customer indicating an acceptance of the reward offer; and in response to receiving the customer response, charging an accepted reward offer price to a financial account associated with the customer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the reward offer comprises an offer for the sale of a reward product; and wherein charging the accepted reward offer price to the financial account associated with the customer comprises placing a hold on the financial account in the amount of the accepted reward offer price, whereby the hold may be removed from the financial account when the customer subsequently obtains the reward product from the retail establishment.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of charging the accepted reward price to the financial account associated with the customer comprises: charging the accepted reward price to the financial account of the customer when the customer obtains the reward product from the retail establishment.

22. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 19.

23. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 20.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: receiving transaction data associated with the initiating transaction from a point of sale terminal located at the retail establishment; and storing the transaction data in a database.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the transaction data comprises an account identifier identifying the financial account associated with the customer; and wherein the method further comprises the step of retrieving the account identifier from the database for use charging the accepted rew ard offer price to the financial account associated w ith the customer

26 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for perfoπmng the method of claim 25

27 The method of claim 25, wherein the step of charging the accepted reward offer pπce to the financial account associated ith the customer comprises transmitting the account identifier to the point of sale terminal at the retail establishment along with an instruction for the point of sale terminal to charge the accepted reward offer price to the financial account identified by the account identifier

28 The method of claim 19, wherein at least one available reward offer is stored in a database, wherein each of the at least one available reward offer compπses a corresponding reward offer pπce to be charged for a reward product, wherein the reward offer compπses at least one selected available reward offer, and wherein the accepted reward offer pnce is determined by summing each coπesponding reward offer pnce for each of the at least one selected available reward offer that is accepted by the customer and applying any applicable tax

29 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 28

30 The method of claim 28, wherein the at least one available reward offer each has at least one rule associated therewith for determining whether the associated available reward offer is to be presented to the customer, and wherein the at least one selected available reward offer compπses an available reward offer whose at least one associated rule is determined to be satisfied

31 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 30

32 The method of claim 30, wherein transaction data associated with the initiating transaction is stored m a transaction database, wheiein the at least one rule is based on the transaction data, and wherein determining if the at least one rule based on the transaction data is satisfied compπses retrieving the transaction data from a database and comparing the retrieved transaction data to the at least one rule

33 The method of claim 30, wherein purchase history infoπriation pertaining to the customer is maintained in a customer database, wherein the transaction data compπses a customer identifier, wherein the at least one rule is based on a purchase history of the customer, and wherein determining if the at least one rule based on the purchase history is satisfied compnses retrieving the customer identifier from the transaction database, based on the retrieved customer identifier, retrieving the purchase history information from the customer database, and compaπng the retneved purchase history information to the at least one rule

34 The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one rule is based on a generalized purchasing trend of customers, and wherein determining if the at least one rule based on the generalized purchasing trend is satisfied comprises retrieving the transaction data from the transaction database, and based on the retneved transaction data, compaπng the initiating transaction to the at least one rule based on the generalized purchasing trend

35 The method of claim 30, wherein demographic information pertaining to the customer is maintained in a customer database, wherein the transaction data comprises a customer identifier, wherein the at least one rule is based on demographic information, and wherein determining if the at least one rule based on the demographic information is satisfied comprises retrieving the customer identifier from the transaction database, based on the retrieved customer identifier, retrieving the demographic information from the customer database, and comparing the retrieved demographic information to the at least one rule

36 The method of claim 30, wherein a customer rating for the customer is maintained m a customer database, wherein the transaction data further compπses a customer identifier, wherein the at least one rule is based on the customer rating, and wherein determining if the at least one rule based on the purchase history is satisfied compπses retrieving the customer identifier from the transaction database, based on the retrieved customer identifier, retrieving the customer rating from the customer database, and companng the retrieved customer rating to the at least one rule

36 The method of claim 28, wherein the at least one selected available reward offer compnses an available reward offer for a reward product of which there is a greater than a predetermined amount available in inventory

37 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 36

38 The method of claim 26, wherein the at least one available reward offer each has a corresponding reward offer validity, and wherein the at least one selected available reward offer comprises an available reward offer having a reward offer validity that is valid when the reward code is received from the customer.

39. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for perfoπning the method of claim 38.

40. The method of claim 20, wherein the reward offer comprises an offer for the sale of a reward product; and wherein the method further comprises: receiving a second reward code from a retail establishment, receiving and a reward product identifier from the retail establishment, determining that the second reward code matches the reward code, determining that the reward product identifier matches the reward product, and authorizing the customer to remove the reward product from the retail establishment.

41. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 40.

42. The method of claim 20, wherein the reward offer comprises an offer for the sale of a reward product; and wherein the method further comprises authorizing shipment of the reward product to the customer.

43. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting an e-mail to the customer reminding the customer of the acceptance of the reward offer.

44. A method for providing a reward product to a customer, the reward product having been purchased by the customer through an acceptance of a reward offer, a financial account of the customer hav ing been charged an accepted rew ard offer price in response to the acceptance of the reward offer, the method comprising the steps of receiving a second reward code and a reward product identifier from a retail establishment, accessing an outstanding reward offers database to determine that the second reward code matches a first reward code stored therein, accessing the outstanding reward offers database to determine that the revvaid product identifier matches the reward product identified therein, and transmitting an authorization message to the retail establishment authorizing the customer to remove the reward product from the retail establishment

45 The method of claim 44, further compnsmg the step of stonng the authorization message in the outstanding database in association with the first reward code

46 The method of claim 44, wherein a hold m the amount of the accepted reward offer pnce was placed on the financial account of the customer in response to the acceptance of the reward offer, and wherein the method further comprises the step removing the hold from the financial account so that the accepted reward offer pnce may be charged to the financial account

47 The method of claim 44, wherein a first account identifier identifying the financial account of the customer is stored in the outstanding reward offers database, and wherein the method further compnses, pπor to transmitting the authonzation message, receiving a second account identifier from the retail establishment and accessing the outstanding reward offers database to determine that the second account identifier matches the first account identifier

48 A computer readable medium hav ing stored thereon computer implemented instruction for perfonning the method of claim 46

49 A method for presenting a reward offer to a customer comprising the steps of generating transaction data corresponding to an initiating transaction between a retail establishment and the customer, transmitting the transaction data to a central server for storage in a database, in response to transmitting the transaction data, receiving a reward code, and presenting the reward code to the customer, the reward code entitling the customer to the reward offer

50 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 49

51 The method of claim 49, further compnsmg the steps of receiving a second reward code from the customer, determining a reward product identifier of a reward product, transmitting the second reward code and the reward product identifier to the central server for veπfication that the second re ard code matches the reward code and that the reward product is involved m the reward offer

52 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 51

53 The method of claim 51 , further compnsmg in response to transmitting the second code and the reward product identifier to the central server, receiving an authonzation message from the central serv er authorizing the customer to remove the reward product from the retail establishment

54 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 53

55 The method of claim 51 , further compπsing transmitting an account identifier to the central server for verification that a financial account identified by the account identifier has been charged in the amount of an accepted re ard offer price

56 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 55

57 A method for redemption of an accepted reward offer comprising the steps of receiving a reward code from a customer, receiving a product identifier associated with a reward product, based on the reward code, accessing a record of an outstanding reward offers database corresponding to a reward offer, determining that the reward code and the reward product identifier are stored in the record of the outstanding reward offers database, determining that the reward offer pnce has been accepted, authonzing the customer to remove the reward product from the retail establishment

58 The method of claim 57, further compnsmg receiving an account identifier from the customer, and determining that the account identifier is stored in the database record and that the financial account identified by the account identifier has been charged in the amount of an accepted reward offer pnce

59 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 57

60. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 58.

61. A method for conducting a retail transaction with a retailer comprising the steps of: supplying an account identifier to complete an initiating transaction at a retail establishment; receiving' a reward code; entering the reward code into an input field on a website; in response to entering the reward code, being presented with a reward offer for the sale of a reward product; providing a customer response indicating acceptance of the reward offer, the acceptance of the reward offer authorizing the retailer to charge a financial account identified by the account identifier; and obtaining the reward product from the retailer.

62. The method of claim 61 , wherein obtaining the reward product from the retailer comprises returning to the retail establishment to pick up the reward product.

63. The method of claim 62, further comprising the step of upon returning to the retail establishment, presenting the reward product and the reward code to a cashier operating a point of sale terminal, whereby the cashier may use the reward code to verify that the financial account has already been charged for the accepted reward offer price of the reward product.

64. The method of claim 61 , wherein obtaining the reward product comprises receiving a shipment containing the reward product.

65. A method for conducting a retail transaction with a retailer comprising the steps of: entering a reward code into an input field on a website, the reward code having been piovided b the retailer in response to an initiating transaction at a retail establishment, an account identifier having been provided to the retailer during the initiating transaction, in response to entering the reward code, being presented with a reward offer, providing a customer response indicating acceptance of the reward offer, the acceptance of the reward offer authorizing the retailer to charge a financial account identified by the account identifier

66 A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer implemented instruction for performing the method of claim 65

67 The method of claim 65, further comprising the step of obtaining the reward product from the retailer after providing the customer response indicating acceptance of the reward offer

68 The method of claim 67, wherein obtaining the reward product from the retailer compπses returning to the retail establishment to pick up the reward product

69 The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of upon returning to the retail establishment, presenting the reward product and the reward code to a cashier operating a point of sale terminal, whereby the cashier may use the reward code to venfy that the financial account has already been charged for the accepted reward offer pπce of the reward product

70 The method of claim 67, wherein obtaining the reward product compnses receiving a shipment containing the reward product

71 . A central server for conducting a retail transaction between a customer and a retialer comprising: a memory storage device for storing a control program and a transaction databse; a communications port for receiving transaction data coπesponding to an initiating transaction at a retail establishment; a processor for executing the control program; and wherein the control program is operable for: in response to the transaction data, determining a reward code that entitles the customer to receive a reward offer, storing the reward code and the transaction data in a transaction database, and transmitting the reward code to the customer via the communication port.

72. The central server of claim 71, wherein the memory storage meanse further comprises an outstanding reward offers database; wherein the communications port further receives a reward code from the customer; and wherein the control program is further operable for: storing one or more selected reward offers in association with the reward code in the outstanding reward offers database, and in response to the reward code received from the customer, transmitting the one or more selected reward offers to the customer via the communications port.

73. The central server of claim 72, wherein the communication port received the reward code from and transmits the one or more selected reward offers to the customer via a website.

74. The central server of claim 72, wherein the communication port receives the reward code from and transmits the one or more selected reward offers to the customer via a voice recognition unit or a touch tone menu system.

75. The central server of claim 72, wherein the one or more selected reward offers each comprise a coπesponding reward offer price; wherein the communication port further receives a customer response; and wherein the control program is further operable for: determining that the customer response received from the customer indicates an acceptance of at least one of the one or more selected reward offers, in to the acceptance, determining an accepted reward offer price by summing the corresponding reward offer price of each accepted selected reward offer and applying any applicable tax, and authorizing a charge in the amount of the accepted reward offer price to a financial account associated with the customer.

76. The central server of claim 75, wherein the transaction data comprises an account identifier identifying the financial account associated with the customer; and wherein the control program is further operable for retrieving the account identifier from the transaction database for use in authorizing the charge to the financial account associated with the customer.

77. The central server of claim 71, wherein determining the reward code comprises selecting the reward code from a set of predetermined reward codes.

78. The central server of claim 73, wherein determining the reward code comprises generating the reward code randomly in accordance with a predefined algorithm.

79. The central server of claim 78, wherein the predefined algorithm comprises a hash function that includes a portion of the transaction data.

80. The central server of claim 71 , wherein the transaction data is received from a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment. 1 81 The central server of claim 71 , wherein the step of transmitting the reward

2 code to the customer via the communication port compπses transmitting the reward

3 code to a point of sale terminal at the retail establishment,

4 whereby the point of sale terminal may print the reward code on the receipt ^**. provided to the customer at the completion of the initiating transaction

1 82 The method of claim 71 , wherein the step oi transmitting the reward code to

2 the customer comprises transmitting an e-mail containing the reward code to an e-mail

3 account maintained by the customer

1 83 The central server of claim 71 , wherein the step of transmitting the reward

2 code to the customer via the communication port compπses causing the reward code to

3 be pπnted on a credit card statement sent to the customer

1 84 A system for conducting a retail transaction between a customer and a retailer

2 compnsmg

3 a central server for receiving a reward code from a user device, the reward

4 code having been provided to the consumer dunng an initiating transaction at a retail "^■■ establishment,

6 the central server being further operable for

7 transmitting a reward offer to the user device, the reward offer compπsing a

8 reward offer pπce,

9 receiving a customer response message from the user device indicating an 0 acceptance of the reward offer, and 1 authoπzing a charge m the amount of an accepted reward offer pnce to a 2 financial account associated with the customer, and 3 a point of sale terminal for receiving an instruction from the central server to 4 charge the accepted reward offer pπce to a financial account associated with the -^ customer 85 The system of claim 84, wherein the point of sale terminal is further operable for transmitting transaction data corresponding to the initiating transaction to the central server, the transaction data comprising an account identifier identifying the financial account associated with the customer

86 The system of claim 85, wherein the point of sale terminal is further operable to receive the reward code from the central server in response to transmitting the transaction data, arid wherein the point of sale terminal is further operable to output the reward code to the customer