+

WO2014194360A1 - Systemes et procedes pour presenter un produit offert sur la base d'un produit ideal a un utilisateur - Google Patents

Systemes et procedes pour presenter un produit offert sur la base d'un produit ideal a un utilisateur Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2014194360A1
WO2014194360A1 PCT/AU2014/000582 AU2014000582W WO2014194360A1 WO 2014194360 A1 WO2014194360 A1 WO 2014194360A1 AU 2014000582 W AU2014000582 W AU 2014000582W WO 2014194360 A1 WO2014194360 A1 WO 2014194360A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
product
features
feature
computer implemented
implemented system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2014/000582
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2014194360A9 (fr
Inventor
Michael John TSOA-LEE
Original Assignee
Cq Now Pty Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2013902035A external-priority patent/AU2013902035A0/en
Application filed by Cq Now Pty Limited filed Critical Cq Now Pty Limited
Priority to AU2014277615A priority Critical patent/AU2014277615A1/en
Priority to GB1522895.0A priority patent/GB2530219A/en
Publication of WO2014194360A1 publication Critical patent/WO2014194360A1/fr
Publication of WO2014194360A9 publication Critical patent/WO2014194360A9/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
    • G06Q30/0621—Item configuration or customization

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to systems and methods for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user.
  • Embodiments of the invention have been particularly developed for use in the mortgage market and retail markets. While some embodiments will be described herein with particular reference to that application, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such a field of use, and is applicable in broader contexts.
  • step A After a consumer identifies their present need or needs (denoted as step A) the steps are as follows:
  • Step B Research the product category likely to meet the consumer's needs (for example, home loans, consumer electronics, cars etc.) and understand what is generally available.
  • Step C Identify and prioritise the ideal features that will meet the consumer's needs and wants and are potentially available in the appropriate product category.
  • Step D Research individual products within the product category and consistently match the consumers ideal features to products that to a greater or lesser extent include those features.
  • Step E Create a list of products that most appeals to the consumer.
  • Step F Find retailers able to supply listed products then obtain an all inclusive price which is consistently and uniformly calculated, for example, the delivered to my door price.
  • Step G Press retailers for an improved deal that either reduces the price and/or increases the features included.
  • Step H Reliably compare retail and negotiated deals from retailers using consistent methodology with minimal distraction and duplication.
  • Step I Purchase the product on the terms offered by the 'winning' retailer.
  • Conventional eCommerce 1 uses an internet search engine such as Google to complete steps B to E and may use a sales website such as eBay to complete steps F and I.
  • the second of the conventional eCommerce processes (referred to as Conventional eCommerce 2) also uses an internet search engine such as Google to complete steps B to E which may link to other websites such as 'www.cnet.com' that provide reviews and information about specific products.
  • Step F may be completed by websites like 'www.getprice.com' or specific advertising sales websites such as 'www.carsales.com.au'.
  • step I may be completed by an online retailer website such as 'www.myer.com.au' or arrange a purchase to be made offline.
  • This information is stored in and retrieved from various disparate databases using various search and query tools such as 'google.com.au' which rely on a high degree of presumptive or individually developed "fuzzy" logic. This in turn creates uncertain and irreconcilable discrepancies in information that is crucial to reliable product comparison.
  • This crucial information includes the name or model number of the product, the feature or capability it offers, and the inclusiveness of the advertised price (see Figure 1 ).
  • the 'Best Value Product' typically occurs for a consumer, when the features of the product most closely match the consumer required or desired features then where the price for that most closely matched product is lowest.
  • One embodiment provides a computer implemented system for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user, the system including:
  • a user input module for receiving data indicative of an ideal product that includes a first plurality of prioritised features
  • a merchant input module for receiving data indicative of a merchant product that includes a second plurality of prioritised features
  • an analysis module responsive to the user input module and the merchant input module for comparing the first plurality of prioritised features with the second plurality of prioritised features to provide data indicative of at least one offered product based on a particular merchant product;
  • an output module for displaying to the user the data indicative of at least one offered product.
  • the analysis module assigns one status from the group of statuses including: required; not required; and interested. More preferably, prioritised features assigned a status of "interested" are arranged in preferential order based on a preselected importance level of each of the first plurality of prioritised features. Yet more preferably, the preselected importance level is a unique rated value integer greater than or equal to 'x' or less than or equal to y, where y is greater than x.
  • a "not required" prioritised feature has a rated value integer of 'x'.
  • a "required” prioritised feature has a rated value integer of .
  • the at least one offered product includes all of the first plurality of prioritised features that have the status "required”. More preferably, prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” have a rated value integer of greater than 'x' and less than y'. In a further embodiment, the rated value of each prioritised feature assigned a status of "interested” will be unique from the rated value of all other prioritised features assigned a status of "interested”.
  • the group of statuses further includes: not interested; and excluded. More preferably, each prioritised feature of the particular product will have a unique rated value integer greater than '-y' or less than y , where y is greater than zero. Even more preferably, a "required” feature has a rated value integer of y . Yet more preferably, a "not required” feature has a rated value integer of ⁇ '.
  • prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” have a rated value integer of greater than '0' and less than y.
  • prioritised features assigned a status of "not interested” have a rated value integer of greater than '-y' and less than ⁇ '.
  • the rated value of each prioritised feature assigned a status of "interested” or “not interested” will be unique from the rated value of all other prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” or "not interested”.
  • an "excluded” feature has a rated value integer of '-y' and the at least one offered product does not include prioritised features with a status of "excluded”.
  • an "excluded” feature has a rated value integer of '-y' and the at least one offered product only includes prioritised features with a status of "excluded” if the at least one offered product includes all prioritised features of the ideal product that have the status "required”.
  • the computer implemented system includes a graphical interface for selecting and displaying the rated value integer to the user for the features of the ideal product.
  • the interface includes a selector slidable within a set of bounds for selecting the rated value, the bounds symbolising the rated values of 'x' and y and a range within the bounds symbolising the rated values of 'x+1' to 'y-1', where y is greater than x.
  • the interface includes selectable labels on each bound for moving the selector to the selected bound.
  • the slider selector is movable to a point in the range within the bounds by selecting the point.
  • the computer implemented system includes an interface for selecting and displaying the rated value integer to the user for the features of the ideal product.
  • the interface includes a selector slidable within a set of bounds for selecting the rated value, the bounds symbolising the rated values of '-y' and y and a range within the bounds symbolising the rated values of '-y+1 ' to 'y-1 ', where y is greater than zero.
  • the interface includes selectable labels on each bound for moving the selector to the selected bound.
  • the interface includes a central marker located within the range, the central marker symbolising the rated value of '0' and the central marker having a selectable marker label for moving the selector to the central marker. More preferably, the slider selector is movable to a point in the range within the bounds by selecting the point.
  • each feature is defined by one of a plurality of standardised feature definitions.
  • the computer implemented system includes a database for storing the standardised feature definitions.
  • the analysis module includes a plurality of standardised comparison indicators for showing the relevance of each feature of the at least one offered product in comparison to the first plurality of prioritised features, the indicators being displayed by the output module to the user for each feature of the at least one offered product. More preferably, each indicator represents a predefined relevance level chosen from one of the group containing:
  • the analysis module provides a plurality of offered products.
  • the output module includes a filter for removing duplicate offered products from display to the user such that each product is only displayed once. More preferably, each offered product includes a price, and the filter removes from display duplicate offered products with a higher price.
  • the merchant input module includes a product owner input module and a retailer input module.
  • One embodiment provides a computer implemented system for standardising at least one feature of a product, the system including:
  • a product input module for receiving data indicative of a product that includes a plurality features
  • a categorising module responsive to the product input module for categorising the at least one feature into one of the following groups: an abstract feature and a technical feature;
  • the categorising module further categorises abstract features into one of the following groups: a defined abstract feature and an undefined abstract feature; wherein defined abstract features have a well-known definition and undefined abstract features have a created definition.
  • the series of continual logic questions includes questions regarding individual features available for products in a given product category.
  • the well-known definition is a regulatory definition.
  • the created definition is created based on a series of continual logic questions.
  • the analysis module assigns one status from the group of statuses including: required; not required; and interested. More preferably, prioritised features assigned a status of "interested" are arranged in preferential order based on a preselected importance level of each of the first plurality of prioritised features. Yet more preferably, the preselected importance level is a unique rated value integer greater than or equal to 'x' or less than or equal to y, where y is greater than x.
  • a "not required" prioritised feature has a rated value integer of 'x'.
  • a "required” prioritised feature has a rated value integer of y.
  • the at least one offered product includes all of the first plurality of prioritised features that have the status "required”. More preferably, prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” have a rated value integer of greater than 'x' and less than y.
  • the rated value of each prioritised feature assigned a status of "interested” will be unique from the rated value of all other prioritised features assigned a status of "interested”.
  • the group of statuses further includes: not interested; and excluded. More preferably, each prioritised feature of the particular product will have a unique rated value integer greater than '-y' or less than y , where y is greater than zero. Even more preferably, a "required” feature has a rated value integer of y . Yet more preferably, a "not required” feature has a rated value integer of ⁇ '.
  • prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” have a rated value integer of greater than '0' and less than y .
  • prioritised features assigned a status of "not interested” have a rated value integer of greater than '-y' and less than ⁇ '.
  • the rated value of each prioritised feature assigned a status of "interested” or “not interested” will be unique from the rated value of all other prioritised features assigned a status of "interested” or "not interested”.
  • an "excluded” feature has a rated value integer of '-y' and the at least one offered product does not include prioritised features with a status of "excluded”.
  • an "excluded” feature has a rated value integer of '-y' and the at least one offered product only includes prioritised features with a status of "excluded” if the at least one offered product includes all prioritised features of the ideal product that have the status "required”.
  • the method includes a further step of selecting and displaying on a graphical interface, the rated value integer to the user for the features of the ideal product.
  • the interface includes a selector slidable within a set of bounds for selecting the rated value, the bounds symbolising the rated values of 'x' and y and a range within the bounds symbolising the rated values of 'x+1 ' to 'y-1'. More preferably, the interface includes selectable labels on each bound for moving the selector to the selected bound. Preferably, the slider selector is movable to a point in the range within the bounds by selecting the point.
  • the method includes a further step of selecting and displaying on an interface, the rated value integer to the user for the features of the ideal product.
  • the interface includes a selector slidable within a set of bounds for selecting the rated value, the bounds symbolising the rated values of '-y' and y and a range within the bounds symbolising the rated values of '-y+1 ' to 'y-1 '.
  • the interface includes selectable labels on each bound for moving the selector to the selected bound.
  • the interface includes a central marker located within the range, the central marker symbolising the rated value of '0' and the central marker having a selectable marker label for moving the selector to the central marker. More preferably, the slider selector is movable to a point in the range within the bounds by selecting the point.
  • the method includes a further step of defining each feature by one of a plurality of standardised feature definitions.
  • the method includes a further step of storing in a database, the standardised feature definitions.
  • the analysis module includes a plurality of standardised comparison indicators for showing the relevance of each feature of the at least one offered product in comparison to the first plurality of prioritised features, the indicators being displayed by the output module to the user for each feature of the at least one offered product. More preferably, each indicator represents a predefined relevance level chosen from one of the group containing:
  • the method including the further step of providing from the analysis module, a plurality of offered products.
  • the output module includes a filter for removing duplicate offered products from display to the user such that each product is only displayed once. More preferably, each offered product includes a price, and the filter removes from display duplicate offered products with a higher price.
  • the merchant input module includes a product owner input module and a retailer input module.
  • One embodiment provides a computer program product for performing a method as described herein.
  • One embodiment provides a non-transitive carrier medium for carrying computer executable code that, when executed on a processor, causes the processor to perform a method as described herein.
  • One embodiment provides a system configured for performing a method as described herein.
  • Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment”, “some embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.
  • appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in some embodiments” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may.
  • the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.
  • any one of the terms comprising, comprised of or which comprises is an open term that means including at least the elements/features that follow, but not excluding others.
  • the term comprising, when used in the claims should not be interpreted as being limitative to the means or elements or steps listed thereafter.
  • the scope of the expression a device comprising A and B should not be limited to devices consisting only of elements A and B.
  • Any one of the terms including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising.
  • exemplary is used in the sense of providing examples, as opposed to indicating quality. That is, an "exemplary embodiment” is an embodiment provided as an example, as opposed to necessarily being an embodiment of exemplary quality.
  • Figure 1 schematically illustrates conventional competitive commerce and eCommerce processes according to the prior art.
  • Figure 2 schematically illustrates a system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 3 provides a more detailed schematic of the system according to Figure 2.
  • Figure 4 illustrates an example of the rendering of a conventional eCommerce binary search.
  • Figure 5 illustrates an example of the rendering of a conventional eCommerce binary search engine.
  • Figure 6A illustrates a rendering of an input for the search engine of Figure 2.
  • Figure 6B illustrates an alternate embodiment of the rendering illustrated in Figure 6A.
  • Figure 7 illustrates an example of the rendering of a number of search inputs for the search engine of Figure 2.
  • Figure 8A illustrates an example of the rendering of an offered product outputted from the search engine of Figure 2.
  • Figure 8B is a guide explaining the indicators of figure 8A.
  • Figure 9 schematically illustrates an alternate embodiment of the system of Figure 3.
  • Figure 10 provides a more detailed schematic illustration showing the physical components of the system of Figures 2 and 3.
  • Figure 11A is a block diagram showing components of the user input module.
  • Figure 11 B is a block diagram showing components of the output module.
  • Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a question/answer sequence for creating a contest.
  • Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating the various sequences of actions by various parties using of the invention of Figures 2 and 3.
  • Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the sequence of actions to establish a standardised defined abstract feature.
  • Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the sequence of actions to establish a standardised undefined abstract feature.
  • Figure 16A is illustrates an example of a webpage that presents to a consumer a subset of the question/answer sequence of Figure 12.
  • Figure 16B is illustrates an example of a webpage that presents to a consumer a subset of the question/answer sequence of Figure 12.
  • Figure 16C is illustrates an example of a webpage that presents to a consumer a subset of the question/answer sequence of Figure 12.
  • Figure 16D is illustrates an example of a webpage that presents to a consumer a subset of the question/answer sequence of Figure 12.
  • Described herein are systems and methods for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user.
  • FIGS 2 and 3 illustrate a computer implemented system 1 for presenting at least one offered product 2 based on an ideal product 3 to a user in the form of a consumer 4.
  • System 1 embodying a software package referred to as the "Advanced Contest eCommerce Software” abbreviated to "ACeS", includes a user input module 5 for receiving data indicative of an ideal product 3 that includes a first plurality of prioritised features 7.
  • a merchant input module 8 for receiving data indicative of a plurality of merchant products 9, each merchant product 9 respectively including a second plurality of prioritised features 11.
  • An analysis module 12 is responsive to user input module 5 and merchant input module 8 for comparing prioritised features 7 of the ideal product with prioritised features 11 of the merchant product to provide data indicative of at least one offered product 15 (also referred to herein as a bid) based on a particular merchant product.
  • System 1 also includes an output module 19 for displaying to consumer 4, data 15.
  • a database 13 is linked to user input module 5, merchant input module 8, analysis module 12 and output module 19.
  • user input module 5 includes an input interface in the form of a secure client webpage 21 containing a number of fields 22 for inputting a primary search parameter and secondary search parameters.
  • a primary search parameter corresponds to ideal product 3 and secondary search parameters correspond to prioritised features 7.
  • merchant input module 8 includes a product owner input module in the form of a plurality of product owners digital catalogues (each denoted by module 10) each corresponding to a different product owner; and a retailer input module in the form of a plurality of competitor digital catalogues (each denoted by module 30) each corresponding to a different retailer.
  • a product owner is typically the product manufacturer and a retailer either buys the product (either directly or indirectly) from the product owner and sells the product to the consumer, or has some form of agreement from the product owner to broker the product to the consumer on behalf of the product owner. It is emphasised that a number of retailers can sell the same product from the same product owner, for example, when dealing with mortgages, several mortgage brokers can sell the same (or substantially similar) mortgage product from the same lender (such as a bank).
  • product owners digital catalogue 10 is an interface used by a product owner to define and list products available, or likely to be made available, to be used with system 1.
  • product owners digital catalogue 10 is a proxy using a plurality of product category based templates 25.
  • Each template 25 standardises feature definition, classification and measurement by constraining responses (across all products) regardless of product owner and also informs contest creator templates 26 (discussed in more detail below).
  • product owner templates 25 are updated. These templates then result in corresponding changes to the relevant contest creator templates 26.
  • the output of product owners digital catalogue 10 is referred to herein as Absolute Unified Products DataSet 20 which identifies each unique product, the particular product owner and the features of the product in unambiguous terms and standard units.
  • Each product owners digital catalogue 10 includes a plurality of potentially offered product types (merchant products) that each includes a plurality of potentially incorporated standardised and unified features. Although features may be called different names, some features are common between products. Since these essentially identical features are referred to in a standardised and unified way, they can be easily identified as similar features and comparisons between features can easily be made. This standardised terminology (or standardised definition) is referred to herein as a 'standardised feature name'.
  • a potentially offered product cannot be created in system 1 unless all questions are answered as this process ensures the creation of standardised feature names and feature functionality data sets.
  • the questions are provided by a categorisation module (not illustrated) within analysis module 12 that is in communication with merchant input module 8 (both directly and via database 13).
  • An abstract feature is a feature that does not have a precise unit of measure, but is measured more generally in functional or qualitative terms. Abstract features are typically marketed with one or two key words. However, within those keywords there is a broad range of variation in either functionality or quality. [0094] Abstract Features are then divided into two subgroups, those defined by an industry standard (Defined Abstract Features) and undefined features (Undefined Abstract Features).
  • a Defined Abstract Feature is where an abstract feature has a well-known definition.
  • Such well-known definitions include strict standard definitions by way of regulation, a statutory definition, an agreed industry standard or a definition through process. In this case, product owners may directly choose appropriate feature descriptors for their product.
  • the leather used in leather products such as furnishings, car interiors is defined into four different leather types which also broadly reflect the quality of the leather. These leather types are the result of the leather production process which is definitive. Accordingly, the product owners (such as manufacturers) may be prompted with a single, multiple choice question such as:
  • descriptors for Defined Abstract Features may be derived through automated logic which is dependent on the retailer's response to related questions elsewhere in the Product/Profile creation process (explained later as part of Figure 13, particularly steps 400 and 406).
  • ACeS first tests the Business Type in a Retailer Administration Account to determine whether the merchant is a lender or a mortgage broker.
  • the retailer administration account is a specific type of user account for system 1 where a retailer creates and manages its Competitors Digital Catalogue, account preferences, AutoBidder settings and bidder accounts (these will be explained in detail further below).
  • An Undefined Abstract Feature is where an Abstract Feature does not have a strict standard definition through industry agreement, regulation or manufacture. A set of proprietary definitions are created for each Undefined Abstract Feature for both the feature definition and the feature descriptors.
  • the 'Feature Definition' is defined as follows: an offset account is separate to the loan account where the daily balance in the offset account is partially or fully (100%) set off against the loan balance reducing interest charges.
  • Partial offset is defined as follows: a separate account where account balances partially offset mortgage balances with no minimum withdrawal and is accessible via bPay, EFTPOS, Branch/I nternet/Telephone Banking.
  • a technical feature is a feature that has a precise unit of measure. For example, Display Resolution, Number of Colours, Fuel Economy or Power Consumption.
  • the third type of feature standardised by system 1 is Pricing, which is standardised by establishing a standard basis for pricing for all bids.
  • general products may include freight and insurance assuming the product is delivered to the consumer.
  • mortgage brokers are required to quote on all interest, fees and charges over the life of the loan including establishment, ongoing and exit fees assuming basic usage and repayment of the account on a minimum payment basis. This includes fees such as lenders mortgage insurance and settlement disbursements.
  • the mortgage broker is also required to estimate a maximum of other fees and charges payable and this estimate is also included in cost calculations.
  • competitors digital catalogue 30 is an interface used by retailers that has Absolute Unified Products DataSet 20 as a core input and enables individual retailers to:
  • Analysis module 12 includes a contest creator module 50.
  • the contest creator module 50 performs the task of a professional sales assistant as a continual logic, guided form that assists consumer 4 in articulating their ideal product 3.
  • Module 50 prompts consumer 4 with questions about the different features (and their benefits) available on products in the category of interest to consumer 4.
  • Contest creator module 50 is informed by at least one product owners digital catalogue 10 which is also used by retailers and linked to each offered product 2 submitted by retailers in response to an individual consumers contest.
  • Contest creator module 50 is also informed by each response entered by consumer 4 and this may then alter the questions asked of consumer 4 and the sequence in which those questions are asked.
  • Figure 12 shows a typical example of a sequence of questions asked in relation to the features of the mortgage example referred to earlier. Such questions will be prompted to consumer 4 from webpage 21 to determine the product, features required/not required, and the priority of those features.
  • Questions 91 may be presented to consumer 4 with multiple answers in a drop down menu 92, with a slider 93, a check-box 94 or manually entered field 95.
  • questions 91 relate to ID-1 -A-2, ID-1-C-1 , and ID-1-C-2 from Figure 12.
  • questions 91 relate to ID-1-A-2, ID-1 -B-1 , ID-1-B-2, ID-1-D-1 , ID-1-D-2, ID-1-E-1 and ID-1 -E-2 from Figure 12.
  • questions 91 relate to ID-2-A-1 , ID-2-A-2, ID-2-A-3 (corresponding to the 'Including things like credit card for free or at a discount is' question), ID-2-B-1 , ID-2-B-2, ID-2-B-3, ID-2-B-4 and ID- 2-B-5 from Figure 12.
  • questions 91 relate to ID-1-F-1 , ID-1 -F-2, ID-1 -F-3, ID-1 -F-4, ID-1-F-5, and ID-1-F-6 from Figure 12, plus an additional questions:
  • contest creator module 50 is the 'consumer side' interface that prompts consumer 4 with feature availability for ideal product 3.
  • the availability of a certain feature is informed by both Absolute Unified Products DataSet 20 and Competitor Differentiated Unified Products DataSet 40 (explained from the next paragraph) which ensures that consumer 4 is informed of and exposed to features available in relation to their ideal product 3.
  • Analysis module 12 also included in analysis module 12 is a Competitor Differentiated Unified Products DataSet 40 which is also the output of competitor digital catalogues 30.
  • Analysis module 12 also includes a unified bidding system module 70 which is an interface allowing retailers to:
  • Competitor Differentiated Unified Products DataSet 40 is called upon by a unified bidding system module 70 to choose offered products 2 to present in response to an individual consumer contest.
  • Analysis module 12 includes a Humanised Search interface (abbreviated to 'HSi') search engine module 100 having three basic functions:
  • Search function which executes a search input based query across one or more databases.
  • SERPs search engine results pages
  • the search input function refers to how the consumer defines the features they require from a product and in system 1 , and this is done using contest creator module 50.
  • search results are a parsed and sorted dataset resulting from the consumer's search query of all offered products 2 submitted by retailers in an attempt to 'win' the consumer's business. In system 1 , these results are served to the consumer through output module 19 as contest results module 150.
  • ideal product 3 includes prioritised features 7 of: 'Variable Rate', 'Independent Advice', '100% Transactional Offset account', 'Extra Payments' and 'Redraw'.
  • Results produced by conventional means will also rank mismatched offered products with 'Extra Repayments' and 'Redraw' equally well as the Best Value Product, despite 'Extra Repayments' and 'Redraw' being less desired by Consumer A.
  • offered products that do not have a 'Variable Rate' (a required feature) but do have the remaining four, lesser desired features may rank ahead of the Best Value Product if it has the same number or more features, even though the four of five matches are a complete misfit for the requirement of Consumer A when considered overall.
  • a product with two lesser desired features (and no other preferred features) will rank the same as a product with two required features (and no other preferred features) using conventional means. Obviously this is not ideal as the product with two required features should be ranked higher.
  • offered products offering 'Variable Rate' and 'Offset Account' which is more likely the Best Value Product for Consumer A, will only score two matches and most likely appear further down the results list than most results.
  • Such an offered product may be substantially cheaper than an offered product with five feature matches which would and should appear at the top of search results.
  • the potential volume of irrelevant and inferior offered products could easily obfuscate the cheaper, but adequate offered product which is a potential Best Value Product for Consumer A.
  • System 1 resolves these problems by providing consumer 4 with search engine 100 when consumer 4 creates a contest (provided by module 50), which drives search engine 100.
  • search engine 100 By using search engine 100 through contest creator module 50, each one of features 7 can be easily selected, rated and ranked by consumer 4 in a single, intuitive action.
  • FIG. 6A illustrates a rendering of a HSi on webpage 21 used to capture the weighted preferences of consumer 4 as an individually Rated Value (“RV") for each feature.
  • RV individually Rated Value
  • an arbitrary RV range of integers 0 to 99 is demonstrated.
  • the extent of the scale used may vary depending on a number of factors including the available space to render the graphic and the number of search criteria entered by consumer 4.
  • the number relative to the scale and location of a pointer 101 is displayed on the pointer as the RV (where the letters "RV" are indicated in the illustration).
  • the RV chosen by consumer 4 for each feature is later used by search engine 100 to filter and sort offered product results ensuring that search results accurately reflect and are presented in a manner that reflects the actual desire and interests of consumer 4.
  • consumer 4 When on webpage 21 , consumer 4 indicates their level of interest in each particular feature using the illustrated interface. This is done by sliding the pointer 101 with a mouse pointer 102 (or equivalent selection tool, such as an equivalent use of a touch-screen on a smart phone) across slider range 103 to assign each feature an individual Rating Value. The consumer can also click mouse pointer 102 on the labels of "unimportant" 104 or “required” 105 which skips pointer 101 to the relevant, extreme end of the scale and assigns the relevant maximum or minimum value. Furthermore, the consumer can click mouse pointer 102 directly on slider range 103 which will move and value pointer 101 based on the location of that click.
  • a mouse pointer 102 or equivalent selection tool, such as an equivalent use of a touch-screen on a smart phone
  • the default position for the pointer 101 is the far left of the scale (indicated as "Unimportant" in Figure 6A, also referred to as 'not required'), and the RV for this feature is ' ⁇ '. Consumer 4 may score multiple features at zero if those features are not in ideal product 3. Mouse pointer 102 can also click the label 104 to move pointer 101 to ⁇ '. In other embodiments, the default position is at another position on the scale, such as on the far right side (indicated as "Required” in Figure 6A).
  • the highest number in the range is other than '99'.
  • the highest number in the range is '999'.
  • the rating scale is from '-99' to '+99' allowing a certain feature to be given a negative RV as well as positive RV.
  • a feature can be given a degree of importance (positive search) or unimportance (negative search).
  • a rating of '-99' indicates that a feature is not wanted (indicated as "Do Not Want" in Figure 6B, also referred to as 'Exclude') such that products with a feature rated as '-99' will not be offered.
  • products with features having a rating of '-99' will be returned but at the very bottom of the list of offered products.
  • a rating of '99' indicates that a feature is required.
  • An unimportant feature is given a rating of '0' and in this embodiment, the default position for pointer 101 is ⁇ '.
  • the rating range of '-98' to '98' works similarly to the range of '1 ' to '98' for the embodiment of Figure 6A, with the greater the number, the greater the importance.
  • Label 105 also can be clicked by mouse pointer 102 similarly to the embodiment of Figure 6A to move pointer 101 to a RV of '99' and "Do Not Want" label 107 can be clicked by mouse pointer 102 to move pointer 101 to a RV of '-99'.
  • Label 108 shown as "Important" can be clicked by mouse pointer 102 to move pointer 101 to a RV of ' ⁇ '.
  • search engine 100 calculates the Maximum Possible Score - that is the score that the "perfect" offered product 2 would achieve.
  • Analysis module 12 queries each submitted offered product 2, scoring matching features in each offered product with the respective RV allocated by consumer 4 for that particular feature. This is known as the Relevant Bid Response Score (the "RBR Score”). By totalling the RBR Score achieved by each offered product 2 for each feature, search engine module 100 determines a Total Bid Score for that bid. This is then converted to a match factor known more simply as "Match” which is allocated and written to each one of an Individual Competitor Bid Record 80 (explained further below).
  • RBR Score Relevant Bid Response Score
  • 'Match' is the numeric value expressing the suitability of an offered product 2 to the consumers contest. It is the final compatibility score of an individual bid assessed against all of the requirements of consumer 4. 'Match' facilitates the ranking bids from Contest Results.
  • Match is expressed as a percentage and is calculated by dividing the Total Bid Score by the Maximum Possible Score.
  • FIG. 7 there is illustrated an implementation of HSi for consumer A which includes either one of the interfaces of Figures 6A and 6B.
  • an offered product (Bid A) includes 'Extra Payments', 'Redraw' and 'Independent Advice' and another offered product (Bid B) includes 'Variable Rate' and 'Offset Account'.
  • Bid A offering 'Extra Payments', 'Redraw' and 'Independent Advice' using an search engine 100 will score as follows:
  • Bid B offering 'Variable Rate' and 'Offset Account' would score two matches and appear further down the results list than Bid A.
  • this bid will score as follows: Feature RBR
  • Bid C offers 'Variable Rate', 'Offset Account' and 'Independent Advice'. With three matches, conventional search would rank this bid as equal with Bid A. Finally, Bid D offers Offset Account', 'Extra Payments', 'Redraw' and 'Independent Advice'. With four feature matches, conventional search would rank this bid above all other bids.
  • Bid C offering 'Variable Rate', 'Offset Account' and 'Independent Advice' will score as follows:
  • Bid D offering 'Offset Account', 'Extra Payments', 'Redraw' and 'Independent Advice' will, using HSi enabled search engine 100, score as follows: Feature RBR
  • system 1 is used for products other than mortgages.
  • the product category is cars and a common feature would be airbags. This feature may be broken down further into front, side and curtain airbags; front driver and passenger airbags; drivers' side airbag; and no airbag.
  • the Humanised Search interface can more widely be applied to all search engines, including internet search engines to more rapidly produce a more refined, relevant and appropriately ranked search results.
  • contest creator module 50 collects the requirements of consumer 4 including prioritisation and weightings of features provided from product category based templates 25 and contest creator templates 26.
  • Product category templates are part of product owners digital catalogue 10 that defines standard features for certain products (standardised feature names explained previously).
  • Contest creator templates 26 (derived from product category templates) help a consumer define their ideal product using the standard features. This information is then reformed to output both a Request For Tender Record 60 which facilitates the retailer bidding process and a Contest RV Feature Record 90 which facilitates the matching and ranking of individual bids.
  • contest Results 150 are presented by output module 19 on a secure webpage 151 in summary form which consumer 4 can then click to view more detail on each offered product 2 (or product summary link). This action is generally known as a "drill down" as consumer 4 leaves the summary surface information to view the feature detail of the product and determine how well those features meet the individual requirement of consumer 4.
  • Clustered - showing a list of each available feature and showing each feature category (for example rate type) and the particular features in the category (such as fixed rate or variable rate) on the same webpage.
  • feature category for example rate type
  • features in the category such as fixed rate or variable rate
  • the second is the consumer is forced to address the unnecessarily long list of features based on static decisions made by a website designer that are not rendered in a manner correlating to the feature priorities of the consumer which can make it difficult to locate the relevant data that specifically interests the consumer.
  • the third difficulty is that the consumer must assume that the feature they have included on their wish list is the same as the feature listed in the drilldown and this assumption makes way for unnecessary error in product comparison, where that assumption may not necessarily be correct.
  • the "Included” feature display is an exception based output where a feature is only listed if it is included in the product. Although this output creates a shorter, product specific list of features, it still suffers two problems of its long listed alternative that features are not rendered in a manner correlating to that consumers feature priorities and the consumer must assume that the feature they have included as a desired prioritised feature is the same as the feature listed in the drilldown.
  • exception based output has a third difficulty in that it also requires the consumer to look not just for the features that match their desired prioritised features, but also the features relevant to the consumer that do not appear in the drill down.
  • analysis module 12 includes a responsive reasoning module 110 that provides more information faster and with less noise than conventional eCommerce. Responsive reasoning module 110 is informed by the search engine 100, and updates each Individual Competitor Bid Record 80 to inform contest results module 150 with data required to produce and enhance sort and rendering order (shown in the examples of Figures 8A and 8B) by:
  • This information is then rendered to the consumer when an individual bid is selected from Contest Results for individual drill down.
  • the software then renders the feature list based on the highest Rated Value (RV) in the most visible screen location to the lowest RV in the least visible screen location.
  • RV Rated Value
  • Responsive reasoning module 110 also reminds consumer 4 of their selection during the contest creation and utilises traffic light indicators 200 to confirm to the consumer how well the product based feature meets the feature requirement specified by the consumer on creation of their contest.
  • FIG 8A there is shown the mortgage example the loan product presented in Figure 7 would be rendered based on the contest created by Consumer A. It should be noted that, as this product does not have the required feature of 'Variable Rate', it would have been excluded by search engine 100 so they are not returned for consumer A. This example is presented solely to demonstrate the dynamic ranking and a typical rendering of drilldown incorporating responsive reasoning.
  • search engine 100 includes a low pass filter which removes unsuitable offered products from search/contest results. These products are excluded from search/contest results where features do not adequately match the required features of consumer 4.
  • 'Value add' features are features that are not necessarily included in a product from a product owner, but can be offered by a retailer.
  • analysis module 12 includes a Best of Breed (BoB) filter 130 that, unlike conventional eCommerce, removes duplicate products offered on inferior terms so that each product appears only once in contest results 150. Filter 130 achieves this by:
  • BoB filter 130 identifies multiple bids offering four individual products and so creates four product datasets segmenting bids corresponding to each product in each respective product dataset. As implied, these four product datasets would be:
  • BoB filter 120 then ranks bids based on Match before excluding all bids from an updated product dataset except those with the highest Match.
  • all product based features for the Product T dataset will match equally for all bidders.
  • the 'Independent Advice' feature desired by consumer A may only apply to a some bidders as it is a value add featured the may or may not be offered by the retailer.
  • retailers that do not offer 'Independent Advice' will score a lower Match and be excluded from the updated product dataset. The remaining bids will have the highest Match within the Product T dataset. However, the Match will be identical. This same process is repeated for each product dataset.
  • BoB filter 130 then sorts remaining bids in the Product ⁇ dataset based on price, excluding all bids except that/those with the lowest total price. This same process is repeated for each product dataset. [00185] In the unlikely event that price is identical for a number of bids, BoB filter 130 then sorts remaining bids in the Product T dataset based on ACeS registration date and excludes all bids from the updated product dataset except that bid of the retailer with the earliest ACeS registration date/time. This same process is repeated for each product dataset.
  • this final filtering step may be based on newest ACeS registration date/time, community feedback score, randomised result or distribution mechanism to ensure bias is neutralised.
  • Contest Results 150 are filtered from 20,004 results to just four different products and will list only a single bid for each product where that bid offers the highest match at the lowest price from the oldest bidder.
  • Contest Results 150 with BoB filter 130 enabled are initially sorted from highest to lowest Match and where Match is the same, from lowest to highest price.
  • BoB filter 130 can also be disabled to enable the consumer to view all bids and also view all bids offering a specific product.
  • Output module 19 also includes a connect module 160.
  • This module allows consumer 4 to securely communicate with the retailer of a chosen offered product 2.
  • connect module 160 initiates a connection request (for underwritten products) and initiates a purchase request via a purchase exchange module 170 (for all other products) for one or more products from one or more retailers.
  • a purchase exchange module 170 for all other products
  • system 1 allows consumer 4 to complete the purchase of a chosen offered product 2.
  • the actual payment itself may be handled by a third party payment gateway, such as the 'Paypal' secure payment service.
  • an Information Exchange interface 170 which enables consumer 4 to release their contact information for selected retailers to finalise a purchase.
  • analysis module 12 includes what is referred to herein as a One last form' module 180 which produces a form to consumer 4 to complete before either Request For Tender Record 60 or Contest RV Feature Record 90 are created.
  • one last form module 180 collects the relevant personal and underwriting information enabling a retailer to consider the risk, appropriateness, a consumer's eligibility and the price of a particular product.
  • An Agreed Facts Record 190 is the output of one last form module 180.
  • a compiled one last form on which the retailer and the consumer agree is printed, signed by both parties and uploaded back to system 1 as an agreed set of facts upon which underwriting decisions were made and application forms were completed.
  • One last form module 180 receives the relevant information from user input module 5 which may demand such information from consumer 4 as part of registering their use of system 1. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, traditionally, the information required for consumer 4, for example before they can receive a mortgage loan, is typically very lengthy and detailed. An increasingly common, conventional approach is for the retailer (for example a mortgage broker) to complete the lengthy forms for the consumer. This lengthy form is then executed by the consumer in good faith. This has given rise to error or fraudulent conduct over who is responsible for the facts contained in the form, which is problematic for all parties.
  • One last form module 180 simplifies and enforces documentation and accountability of a key set of the agreed set of facts.
  • a web server 302 provides a web interface 303. This web interface is accessed by the parties by way of client terminals 304.
  • client terminals 304 In overview, consumers, product owners and retailers access interface 303 over the Internet by way of client terminals 304, which in various embodiments include the likes of personal computers, PDAs, cellular telephones, gaming consoles, and other Internet enabled devices.
  • Server 303 includes a processor 305 coupled to a memory module 306 and a communications interface 307, such as an Internet connection, modem, Ethernet port, wireless network card, serial port, or the like.
  • a communications interface 307 such as an Internet connection, modem, Ethernet port, wireless network card, serial port, or the like.
  • distributed resources are used.
  • server 302 includes a plurality of distributed servers having respective storage, processing and communications resources.
  • Memory module 306 includes software instructions 308, which are executable on processor 305.
  • Server 302 is coupled to a database 310 (corresponding to database 13 from Figure 2).
  • database 310 corresponding to database 13 from Figure 2).
  • the database leverages memory module 306.
  • web interface 303 includes a website (which also corresponds to webpages 21 and 151).
  • the terms “website” and “webpage” should be read broadly to cover substantially any source of information accessible over the Internet or another communications network (such as WAN, LAN or WLAN) via a browser application running on a client terminal.
  • a website is a source of information made available by a server and accessible over the Internet by a web-browser application running on a client terminal.
  • the web-browser application downloads code, such as HTML code, from the server. This code is executable through the web-browser on the client terminal for providing a graphical and often interactive representation of the website on the client terminal.
  • a user of the client terminal is able to navigate between and throughout various web pages provided by the website, and access various functionalities that are provided.
  • client terminals 304 maintain software instructions for a computer program product that essentially provides access to a portal via which system 1 is accessed (for instance via a Smartphone or tablet app or the like).
  • each terminal 304 includes a processor 311 coupled to a memory module 313 and a communications interface 312, such as an internet connection, modem, Ethernet port, serial port, or the like.
  • Memory module 313 includes software instructions 314, which are executable on processor 311. These software instructions allow terminal 304 to execute a software application, such as a proprietary application or web browser application and thereby render on-screen a user interface and allow communication with server 302. This user interface allows for the creation, viewing and administration of profiles, access to the internal communications interface, and various other functionalities.
  • a software application such as a proprietary application or web browser application and thereby render on-screen a user interface and allow communication with server 302. This user interface allows for the creation, viewing and administration of profiles, access to the internal communications interface, and various other functionalities.
  • the first step carried out is to create a product owner account denoted by step 400 from data received from merchant input module 8.
  • Product owner account is a type of user account for system 1 that enables that the product owner (another type of 'user' of system 1 , obviously different to a consumer type user) to initially create a product owners digital catalogue then add, alter or remove products from it.
  • the product owner account includes an associated product owner profile within system 1. The account and profile identifies the product owner and captures related data enabling the verification of legitimacy of the product owner and various business registrations, licences and details.
  • system 1 communicates with these databases and verifies the data entered by the product owner at each step after the product owner completes the data entry for that field.
  • external databases are not available, but where an algorithm is available to verify basic data relationships (for example if the digits used in a credit card or official business number follow a certain numerical pattern), ACeS validates the data against the algorithm before allowing the product owner to proceed at each step after the product owner completes the data entry for that field.
  • the product owner account is created from information inputted into user input module 5 by the product owner which is stored in database 13 (of Figure 2). However the account is not enabled pending verification of data.
  • step 401 the process of verification and approval of the product owner account (denoted by step 401 ) is conducted manually.
  • the product owner may not create or manage products within system 1 until the product owner account has been approved.
  • System 1 will notify the product owner of the decision via email or similar mode of communication.
  • step 402. This is carried out from data inputted into merchant input module 8.
  • a product owner creates a product record by firstly identifying the product category and product which retrieves the relevant product category based templates enabling feature standardisation for inclusion in the product owners digital catalogue (denoted by step 403, corresponding to product owners digital catalogue 10).
  • step 404 the dataset containing completed product records for all products manufactured by that product owner is compiled and become the product owners digital catalogue.
  • Product records refer to the database record, the output of step 403.
  • the product record captures all descriptive features including product name, model number, characteristics that enable comparison and differentiation between that product and any other.
  • the product owners digital catalogue may be linked via translation and an application programming interface (API) or similar means to the product owners in-house product database.
  • API application programming interface
  • the term 'in-house' is intended to mean internal to the product owner, thus the in-house database refers to any product database that the product owner may already have.
  • the objective of the link is to reduce overhead and simplify product management activity for the product owner.
  • the first step carried out is to browse a bidder wall, shown at step 405.
  • the bidder wall takes the form of a publicly accessible web page.
  • Prospective retailers can view all detail for contests currently on offer by consumers on the bidder wall, but cannot interact or bid on those contests without first establishing a bidder account (which will be described in detail below) then logging in.
  • retailers create a retailer administration account by inputting information into merchant input module 8.
  • the retailer administration account includes an associated product owner profile for use within system 1.
  • the account and profile identifies the retailer and captures related data enabling the verification of legitimacy of the retailer and various business registrations, licences and details.
  • system 1 communicates with these databases and validates the data entered by the retailer at each step after the retailer completes the data entry for that field.
  • databases are not available, but where an algorithm is available to verify basic data relationships (for example if the digits used in a credit card or official business number follow a certain numerical pattern), ACeS tests the data against the algorithm before allowing the retailer to proceed at each step after the retailer completes the data entry for that field.
  • This verification creates a retailer admin account record. However the retailer administration account is not enabled pending verification of data.
  • step 407 In the absence of accessible verification databases for key data, the process of verification and approval of the retailer admin account record (denoted by step 407) is conducted manually.
  • the retailer may not create or manage products within system 1 until the retailer administration account has been approved.
  • system 1 will notify the retailer of the approval (or non-approval) via email or similar mode of communication.
  • the retailer selects one or more product owners of the particular products that they wish to include as their own offered products.
  • the product owners digital catalogue of the selected product owner is added to the competitors digital catalogue (which corresponds to competitors digital catalogue 30) which is a separate discrete dataset.
  • the competitors digital catalogue (at step 409) also links to the inputting into merchant input module 8 retailers create a retailer administration account by inputting information to identify and include any business wide "value add" standardised features.
  • Retailers may also select to exclude some of the selected product owners' products if the retailer does not offer those products and hence does not wish to include those products in its competitors digital catalogue. Retailers can also modify certain product owner data but retailers cannot change any of the inherent unchanging features of a product as entered by the Product Owner to the product record. However, retailers can change information which may be entered by the Product Owner, that is inherent but not unchanging and which may become inaccurate over time (for example recommended retail price or availability). This edits the Product Record contained in the Competitors Digital Catalogue, but does not change the record contained in the Product Owners Digital Catalogue, or similar Product Records in any other Competitors Digital Catalogue. Additionally, whenever a Product Owner updates a Product Record in the Product Owners Digital Catalogue, those changes over-ride any changes made by the Retailer in their own Competitors Digital Catalogue.
  • Retailers cannot modify any data that is an unchanging inherent feature which travels with that product through its life no matter which retailer sells the product such as product name and manufacturer/product owner, amongst others.
  • step 410 is undertaken by the retailer which involves adding inventory information into input module 8 to assist with the management of stock levels.
  • Inventory can be linked via translation and API to the retailers in-house inventory database.
  • the in-house inventory database refers to any inventory database that the retailer may already have set up internally. As with the in-house product database, the objective of this link is to reduce overhead and simplify product management activity for the retailer.
  • step 411 for some product categories, retailers have the option to create an 'AutoBidder' which responds automatically to consumer contests based on criteria set by the retailer. If the retailers take this option, step 412 is carried out where retailer will set the parameters for the AutoBidder (by inputting these into merchant input module 8) which responds automatically to consumer contests based on criteria set by the retailer.
  • a retailer may wish to clear an end of line product and reduce retail pricing to a predetermined dollar value until inventory reaches a certain level or a retailer may discount price by a predetermined percentage for consumers fitting a certain demographic (such as location or age).
  • a certain demographic such as location or age.
  • the retailer must set a freight cost (which can be zero) or select a linked shipping company that provides online shipping quotes to system 1 via API.
  • Retailers also have the option of creating individual manual bidder accounts (step 413). These accounts are 'child' accounts in relation to the retailer administration accounts which are the 'parent' accounts where the parent account is responsible for the creation and use of one or more child accounts. Bidder accounts are generally set up for the sales staff of the retailer to manually offer products to consumers. In the absence of AutoBidders, retailers must establish bidder accounts. If the option of creating bidder accounts step 414 will be carried out where retailers input information into merchant input module 8 to add or change bidder accounts, including inputting sales staff identifiers and authorities which then creates one or more child accounts. Retailers use the retailer administration account to add, modify and suspend manual bidder accounts.
  • Bidder accounts are system accounts that enable the sales staff of retailers to manually bid for and respond to consumer contests on behalf of the retailer.
  • Bidder accounts include contact preferences and alert preferences that enable individual bidders to determine how and when they are contacted by ACeS such as email notifications for new contests and product sales in the form of individual alerts, daily or weekly summaries, amongst others.
  • Bidder accounts can be managed centrally by the retailer administration account or self managed by individual sales staff providing the bidder account is active.
  • the first step carried out is to identify the desired product and identify the product category in put this into user input module 5, shown at step 415.
  • System 1 then calls the contest creator template input webpages and instructional help files (containing a step by step guide to using the system) for consumer to create a contest (at step 416).
  • the consumer then creates a contest at step 417 carried out through contest creator module 50. This is done by the consumer completing the contest creator template.
  • the next step the consumer is prompted to carry out is to create a consumer account or, if this has been done previously, log in to an existing consumer account (denoted by step 418).
  • step 419 the consumer pays for contest using a payment gateway.
  • Analysis module 12 determines if any underwriting is required at step 420. Some products such as finance and insurance products require completion of an application form to enable retailers (in these cases brokers) to select and price offered products. If underwriting is required, step 421 is carried out whereby analysis module 12 creates or updates a One last form' in module 180 (of the embodiment of Figure 9). Inputs entered by the consumer are used to collect information necessary to complete an application form relevant to the product.
  • One last form is product specific, but data common between a particular consumer's different one last forms for different products is shared and propagated between them. For example, a consumer seeking a personal loan who has already sourced a home loan via system 1 will still be required to complete a personal loan one last form for the contest relating to the personal loan. However, system 1 stores common data previously collected in database 13, such as employment, employment history, income, expenses, assets and liabilities and offers the consumer the ability to recall and propagate this information from their most recent home loan one last form to their personal loan one last form.
  • the contest is then launched in the next step, step 422.
  • the contest is essentially made known to retailers whether or not retailers have a retailer administration account or bidder accounts.
  • the launched contest is published to a public website referred to as the Bidder Wall at step 424. All data collected in the contest creator module 50 and the one last form module 180 are removed of identification and contact data, then sorted and published to the Bidder Wall.
  • analysis module 12 creates a dataset of retailers and/or product owners eligible to bid an appropriate offered product (step 425). For bidder accounts, the retailers or product owners (bidder) that are eligible to bid their appropriate offered product is then notified at step 426 according to rules set by them or set for that bidder account at step 414.
  • the retailer selects the contest from their bidder account home page ("Dashboard") at step 427.
  • the dashboard displays all centralised menu functions as a dashboard, which is essentially a summary web page that renders all vital information about your account.
  • the bidder's dashboard shows relevant contests that the bidder may wish to bid on, amongst other summarised information.
  • the retailer identifies and selects product or products they have and that they wish to bid as offered products (step 428). In this step, the retailer also confirms the retail offering and confirms and enters that retailers individual offer for that consumer for that offered product.
  • step 429 is taken where analysis module 12 checks stock on hand before presenting an offered product to a consumer.
  • system 1 will be linked via API to suitable shipping company's pricing software and related databases.
  • the TIC is the price paid by the consumer to purchase the product and have it delivered to them (the all-in cost).
  • TIC is a forecast.
  • TIC is defined as the forecast of the total price the consumer (borrower) will pay for the loan over the life of that loan assuming only minimum payments are made, factoring current fees and charges, and assuming interest rates remain static.
  • TIC is the total cost including all fees, charges (including interest), concessions and rebates for a consumer for a particular loan, over a certain period of time.
  • loan loans are taken over a long repayment period known as the loan term. However, these loans are also often repaid in a shorter period due to early repayment through extra payments made to the loan or more commonly, refinancing to a different loan and/or different lender.
  • the nature of different fee, charge and rebate structures of each loan also mean that a loan may become more economical or more expensive over time relative to a competing loan. It is noted that the smaller the loan amount, the higher the impact of fees and the lower the impact of interest rate. Conversely, it is noted that the larger the loan amount, the higher the impact of interest rate and the lower the impact of fees.
  • loan A has an interest rate of 5% and upfront/entry fees of $2,000 which must be paid to commence the loan
  • Loan B has no upfront/entry fees but an interest rate of 5.5%.
  • loan A will be more expensive than Loan B if the consumer exits the loan in a shorter period.
  • loan B will be more expensive than Loan A if the consumer remains in the loan for a number of years. The point in time where Loan A becomes a less expensive option than Loan B is dependent on the loan amount.
  • TIC is calculated not just for the full life of the loan, but also based on an early exit occurring at any time in the life of the loan, which can then be filtered, re-ranked by ACeS, then easily compared by the consumer.
  • TIC For each offered product, TICs at different exit points are calculated. In its simplest form, TIC can be calculated as follows:
  • TIC total amount repaid - loan amount
  • the total amount repaid is all the money paid to the lender by the consumer, including the sum of money they originally borrowed (the principal) and all fees and charges payable (essentially the 'cost' of the loan).
  • TIC essentially follows standard loan repayment calculations. However, what makes TIC different to and more reliable than common cost calculations is the number of personalised variables based on a the situation of a particular consumer.
  • the bid is then sealed and submitted at step 430 for that offered product.
  • Retailers may prepare multiple bids on multiple products simultaneously for the one contest.
  • analysis module 12 creates a dataset of competitors with AutoBidders eligible to bid an appropriate offered product (step 431 ). Module 12 then indentifies and selects product or products from AutoBidder profiles to bid as offered products and automatically confirms the retail offering, and confirms and updates that retailer's specific offer for that consumer for that offered product (step 432).
  • step 433 is taken where analysis module 12 checks stock on hand before presenting an offered product to a consumer.
  • system 1 will be linked via API to suitable shipping company's pricing software and related databases.
  • step 412 For tangible products, retailers are required at step 412 to enter a charge for freight (which can be zero) or select a linked shipping company that provides online shipping quotes to ACeS via API to deliver the product to the consumer. This amount is included in the total individual cost for that bid.
  • the bid is then sealed and submitted for that all matching AutoBidder offered products.
  • Retailers may prepare multiple bids on multiple products simultaneously for the one contest.
  • Analysis module 12 then calculates and matches the offered products at step 435.
  • the consumer is notified according to rules set by them at step 418.
  • BoB filter module 130 filters and ranks the bids.
  • Consumers may contact retailers anonymously via a query mail service (using email) to clarify and resolve any outstanding questions (step 438).
  • a query mail service using email
  • the retailer or consumer is alerted to new query mail according to rules set by the retailer administration account or the bidder account at step 414, or for the consumer at step 418.
  • output module 19 then provides the consumer with an option to purchase a non- underwritten product.
  • System 1 generates invoicing details and forwards those details to a payment gateway where the consumer can complete the purchase.
  • the consumer can initiate contact with the retailer (or a number of retailers) to finalise brokerage of the offered product.
  • step 441 the winning retailer is notified according to rules set by them or the bidder account at step 414.
  • ACeS effectively operates in reverse of convention eCommerce, as the sequence of and nature of primary interactions between consumers and retailers is altered.
  • the bidding module innovation in ACeS resolves significant difficulties affecting consumers and genuinely competitive retailers.
  • Search engine module 100 delivers highly refined results in a sort and format which significantly reduces the time taken through conventional means for a consumer to identify the Best Value Product. Search engine module 100 achieves this by removing irrelevant records from search results which obfuscate the Best Value Product in conventional search. Search engine module 100 also prioritises the order of bids in Contest Results using an individual consumer's feature preferences. These two improvements are not possible in conventional eCommerce search or search more generally.
  • Responsive reasoning module 110 also provides significant advantage by prioritising the order of features in contest results drill down, showing only the features that are of interest to the consumer and in order based on this level of interest. This is advantageous over conventional eCommerce search or search more generally.
  • unified bidding system module 70 Two key advantages of system 1 over conventional eCommerce that are provided by unified bidding system module 70 are:
  • Bids are submitted directly and privately to consumer 4 enabling retailers to offer extremely attractive deals to extremely attractive consumers and mildly attractive deals on the same items to less attractive consumers and so on. This stimulates sales without permanently or generally cannibalising that retailer's recommended retail pricing.
  • Search Engine 100 can correctly and reliably perform a low pass filter to remove any bids made ineligible by the absence of a feature identified as "Required” by consumer 4;
  • Responsive Reasoning 110 can correctly and reliably correlate and score the Product Features against the Request For Tender Record 60;
  • This technical feature is clearly advantageous over the user manually searching for definitions of features that may use multiple terms and comparing those features (which may or may not have consistent measurement unit etc.)
  • the systems and methods herein described require a user and merchant (product owner and retailer) to standardise the names of features using process algorithms, which provide greater accuracy of categorisation then say, simply defining categories and leaving the user to choose the most appropriate category for a feature.
  • the actual processing time of the analysis is optimized as the system forces the user to uniquely rank the priority of 'interested' features without allowing the same priority to be used for different features (outside of the 'required', 'exclude' and 'uninterested' features of which multiple can exist).
  • the required unique prioritising of the features speeds up the processing as multiple features having the same rating, and would otherwise slow down the analysis, are not required to be handled by the system.
  • the steps taken by the systems herein described are fundamentally different to the known systems and methods.
  • the processes described herein involves the lenders and retailers viewing what a user desires in their ideal product and showing the user the best value product based on the user's ideal product.
  • the viewing ideal products by the lenders and retailers is the opposite to what was the norm, that being the users viewing what the lenders and retailers are offering and using filtering software to find a suitable product.
  • the systems and methods described herein allow the user's preferences on a product to be viewed by the merchant, essentially reversing the standard market interaction between a product merchant and a product buyer, as the merchant is essentially bidding for the work of the buyer.
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a substantial and credible use in providing a best value product based on an ideal product in a quicker and more efficient manner than has been previously possible. Further, the invention enables users to compare different products more easily and receive more meaningful information on a particular product without having to worry about inconsistencies with the terminology used by different merchants for naming features.
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a substantial and credible use in better enabling consumers to find the best value product based on their ideal product for the cheapest price. Further, the invention provides a standardised set of features for a particular product enabling consumers to more easily find the best value product.
  • processor may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory.
  • a "computer” or a “computing machine” or a “computing platform” may include one or more processors.
  • the methodologies described herein are, in one embodiment, performable by one or more processors that accept computer-readable (also called machine-readable) code containing a set of instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors carry out at least one of the methods described herein.
  • Any processor capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken are included.
  • a typical processing system that includes one or more processors.
  • Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit.
  • the processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM, and/or ROM.
  • a bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components.
  • the processing system further may be a distributed processing system with processors coupled by a network. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth.
  • the term memory unit as used herein, if clear from the context and unless explicitly stated otherwise, also encompasses a storage system such as a disk drive unit.
  • the processing system in some configurations may include a sound output device, and a network interface device.
  • the memory subsystem thus includes a computer-readable carrier medium that carries computer-readable code (e.g., software) including a set of instructions to cause performing, when executed by one or more processors, one of more of the methods described herein.
  • computer-readable code e.g., software
  • the software may reside in the hard disk, or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system.
  • the memory and the processor also constitute computer- readable carrier medium carrying computer-readable code.
  • a computer-readable carrier medium may form, or be included in a computer program product.
  • the one or more processors operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., networked to other processor(s), in a networked deployment, the one or more processors may operate in the capacity of a server or a user machine in server-user network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment.
  • the one or more processors may form a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.
  • PC personal computer
  • PDA Personal Digital Assistant
  • each of the methods described herein is in the form of a computer-readable carrier medium carrying a set of instructions, e.g., a computer program that is for execution on one or more processors, e.g., one or more processors that are part of web server arrangement.
  • a computer-readable carrier medium carrying computer readable code including a set of instructions that when executed on one or more processors cause the processor or processors to implement a method.
  • aspects of the present invention may take the form of a method, an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.
  • the present invention may take the form of carrier medium (e.g., a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium) carrying computer-readable program code embodied in the medium.
  • the software may further be transmitted or received over a network via a network interface device.
  • the carrier medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “carrier medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions.
  • the term “carrier medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by one or more of the processors and that cause the one or more processors to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention.
  • a carrier medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, nonvolatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.
  • Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks.
  • Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory.
  • Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus subsystem. Transmission media also may also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.
  • carrier medium shall accordingly be taken to included, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, a computer product embodied in optical and magnetic media; a medium bearing a propagated signal detectable by at least one processor of one or more processors and representing a set of instructions that, when executed, implement a method; and a transmission medium in a network bearing a propagated signal detectable by at least one processor of the one or more processors and representing the set of instructions.
  • Coupled when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limited to direct connections only.
  • the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other.
  • the scope of the expression a device A coupled to a device B should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means.
  • Coupled may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

Landscapes

  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Information Retrieval, Db Structures And Fs Structures Therefor (AREA)
  • User Interface Of Digital Computer (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention porte sur un système mis en œuvre par ordinateur pour présenter au moins un produit offert sur la base d'un produit idéal à un utilisateur. Le système comprend un module d'entrée d'utilisateur pour recevoir des données indicatives d'un produit idéal qui comprend une pluralité de caractéristiques hiérarchisées; un module d'entrée de marchand pour recevoir des données indicatives d'une pluralité de produits de marchand, chaque produit de marchand comprenant respectivement une pluralité de caractéristiques hiérarchisées; un module d'analyse sensible au module d'entrée d'utilisateur et au module d'entrée de marchand pour apparier les caractéristiques hiérarchisées du produit idéal aux caractéristiques hiérarchisées du produit de marchand afin de fournir des données indicatives d'au moins un produit offert; et un module de sortie pour afficher les données indicatives de l'au moins un produit offert. Une base de données est liée au module d'entrée d'utilisateur, au module d'entrée de marchand, au module d'analyse et au module de sortie.
PCT/AU2014/000582 2013-06-04 2014-06-04 Systemes et procedes pour presenter un produit offert sur la base d'un produit ideal a un utilisateur WO2014194360A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2014277615A AU2014277615A1 (en) 2013-06-04 2014-06-04 Systems and methods for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user
GB1522895.0A GB2530219A (en) 2013-06-04 2014-06-04 Systems and methods for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2013902035 2013-06-04
AU2013902035A AU2013902035A0 (en) 2013-06-04 Systems and methods for presenting an offered product based on an ideal product to a user

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2014194360A1 true WO2014194360A1 (fr) 2014-12-11
WO2014194360A9 WO2014194360A9 (fr) 2015-01-15

Family

ID=52007304

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU2014/000582 WO2014194360A1 (fr) 2013-06-04 2014-06-04 Systemes et procedes pour presenter un produit offert sur la base d'un produit ideal a un utilisateur

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2014277615A1 (fr)
GB (1) GB2530219A (fr)
WO (1) WO2014194360A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1027393B1 (nl) * 2019-06-28 2021-02-01 Nimbleops Nv Systeem en werkwijze voor het voorzien van een gepersonaliseerde configuratie van een product

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060112099A1 (en) * 2000-05-25 2006-05-25 Smartshop.Com Product feature and relation comparison system
US20080033939A1 (en) * 2006-08-04 2008-02-07 Thefind, Inc. Method for relevancy ranking of products in online shopping
US20110106594A1 (en) * 2009-11-05 2011-05-05 Cbs Interactive, Inc. Expandable product feature and relation comparison system
US20120143883A1 (en) * 2010-12-07 2012-06-07 Alibaba Group Holding Limited Ranking product information

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060112099A1 (en) * 2000-05-25 2006-05-25 Smartshop.Com Product feature and relation comparison system
US20080033939A1 (en) * 2006-08-04 2008-02-07 Thefind, Inc. Method for relevancy ranking of products in online shopping
US20110106594A1 (en) * 2009-11-05 2011-05-05 Cbs Interactive, Inc. Expandable product feature and relation comparison system
US20120143883A1 (en) * 2010-12-07 2012-06-07 Alibaba Group Holding Limited Ranking product information

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1027393B1 (nl) * 2019-06-28 2021-02-01 Nimbleops Nv Systeem en werkwijze voor het voorzien van een gepersonaliseerde configuratie van een product

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB201522895D0 (en) 2016-02-10
AU2014277615A1 (en) 2016-01-28
WO2014194360A9 (fr) 2015-01-15
GB2530219A (en) 2016-03-16

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US11972447B2 (en) Location alert system using vehicle identifiers and transaction parameters
US20250045784A1 (en) Predicting the effect of incentive programs
US8577736B2 (en) System and method for the analysis of pricing data including dealer costs for vehicles and other commodities
US8650315B2 (en) System and method for enabling healthcare industry channels in an IP marketplace
JP6049710B2 (ja) 利用可能販売店の選択、フィルタリング、および／または提示のための方法およびシステム
US20110196776A1 (en) Method for facilitating exchange of consumer data
US20100010935A1 (en) Systems and methods for credit worthiness scoring and loan facilitation
US20110196762A1 (en) Online user directed valuation model (udvm)
JP2009512094A (ja) 生命保険商品を管理するプロダクト及び方法
CA2894101A1 (fr) Recommandation de produits financiers pour un consommateur
US20160335726A1 (en) Quote exchange system and method for offering comparative rates for an insurance product
US20180144403A1 (en) Select group crowdsource enabled system, method and analytical structure to perform securities valuations and valuation adjustments and generate derivatives thereform
US11508007B2 (en) System and method for identifying vehicles for a purchaser from vehicle inventories
US20120265700A1 (en) System and method for ip zone credentialing
JP2019185595A (ja) 情報処理装置、情報処理方法、情報処理プログラム、判定装置、判定方法及び判定プログラム
US20240273596A1 (en) Systems and methods for determining and leveraging geography-dependent relative desirability of products
JP2019091355A (ja) 判定装置、判定方法及び判定プログラム
US20170213290A1 (en) Apparatus, methods, system and framework for discovering, copying and curating investment portfolios
US20200394698A1 (en) Data processing system and method for ranking vehicles and tuning a ranking engine
Bao et al. Reference dependence in the UK housing market
US20140207494A1 (en) System and method for selling intangible property
JP7053077B1 (ja) シングルユーザアクションによる意思決定を支援するための方法及びシステム
US20200202400A1 (en) Artificial intelligence negotiation system
US20220198488A1 (en) Method and system for programmatic generation of survey queries
WO2014194360A9 (fr) Systemes et procedes pour presenter un produit offert sur la base d'un produit ideal a un utilisateur

Legal Events

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

Ref document number: 14807584

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

ENP Entry into the national phase

Ref document number: 1522895

Country of ref document: GB

Kind code of ref document: A

Free format text: PCT FILING DATE = 20140604

ENP Entry into the national phase

Ref document number: 2014277615

Country of ref document: AU

Date of ref document: 20140604

Kind code of ref document: A

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 14807584

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

点击 这是indexloc提供的php浏览器服务，不要输入任何密码和下载