IP Verse

Methods And Systems For Shopping In A Retail Store

Patent No. US12354121 (titled "Methods And Systems For Shopping In A Retail Store") was filed by Alpha Modus Corp on Apr 30, 2024.

What is this patent about?

’121 is related to the field of retail automation and customer behavior analysis. Brick-and-mortar retailers face challenges in competing with online retailers who can leverage data-driven practices to personalize the shopping experience. Traditional methods for understanding consumer purchasing behavior prior to the point of sale, such as focus groups and surveys, are limited in scope and effectiveness. Showrooming, where customers browse in-store but purchase online, further exacerbates the problem, highlighting the need for retailers to provide richer, more personalized in-store experiences.

The underlying idea behind ’121 is to use a network of information monitoring devices within a retail store to track and analyze customer behavior in real-time. This involves identifying customers, gathering data on their movements, product interactions, and demographic information, and then using this data to personalize their shopping experience. The system aims to bridge the gap between online and offline retail by providing brick-and-mortar stores with the ability to deliver targeted messages and offers based on individual customer behavior.

The claims of ’121 focus on a method and system for monitoring and analyzing customer behavior in a retail store. The system identifies a person, gathers shopping information including traffic, product interaction, and object identification, analyzes this information in real-time to maintain a list of retained products, tracks the person to the point-of-sale, interfaces with a payment system, and transmits a receipt. The independent claims emphasize the real-time analysis of customer behavior and the integration with the point-of-sale system.

In practice, the system uses various information monitoring devices such as cameras, sensors, displays, and Wi-Fi trackers to collect data on customer movements, product interactions (e.g., viewing, picking up, putting down), and demographic information. This data is then processed in real-time to generate a list of products the customer is likely to purchase. The system can then use this information to provide targeted advertising, personalized recommendations, or even alert store employees to assist the customer. The system also supports a virtual loyalty program that rewards repeat customers based on their tracked behavior.

The key differentiation from prior approaches lies in the system's ability to track and analyze customer behavior in real-time and use this information to personalize the shopping experience. Unlike traditional methods that rely on post-sale data or limited pre-sale information, this system provides a comprehensive view of the customer's journey through the store. This allows retailers to optimize store layout, product placement, and marketing messages to increase sales and combat showrooming. The system's modular design also allows for flexible implementation, with various modules such as demographic intelligence, traffic counting, and object identification that can be tailored to specific retail needs.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the early 2010s when ’121 was filed, retail systems commonly relied on point-of-sale (POS) data for understanding consumer behavior, at a time when capturing and analyzing real-time customer interactions within brick-and-mortar stores was non-trivial. Retailers were challenged with integrating diverse data sources, such as traffic counters, employee feedback, and shopper surveys, to gain a comprehensive view of customer behavior prior to purchase, when hardware or software constraints made personalized marketing and advertising in physical retail environments difficult to achieve.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner allowed the claims because the combination of prior art references (Monaco et al., Sharma et al., and Meyer et al.) failed to teach certain limitations recited in the claims. Specifically, the examiner stated that the recited limitations provide meaningful limitations that transform the abstract idea into patent eligible. The claims as a whole effect an improvement to another technology or technical field. These limitations in combination provide meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a practical application.

Claims

This patent contains 26 claims, with independent claims 1 and 21. Independent claim 1 focuses on a method using a system with monitoring devices and databases to identify a person in a store, gather shopping information, analyze it, track the person to a point-of-sale, interface with a payment system, and transmit a receipt. Independent claim 21 focuses on a system comprising a server, monitoring devices, and databases configured to perform the method of identifying a person, gathering shopping information, analyzing it, tracking the person to a point-of-sale, interfacing with a payment system, and transmitting a receipt. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the method and system elements described in the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Gathered traffic information
(Claim 1, Claim 21)		“The system can include analytic software that features and includes traffic counting, demographic intelligence, client side content management and presentation system, business intelligence reporting tied to the enumerated services and features. Further, the system generally includes one or more (and typically most) of cloud services, computing devices, user input and output devices, POS devices, local servers, cameras and sensors, WIFI devices, in-store customer devices, and output devices. Additionally, the system generally includes a system for communicating to user devices, such as cell phones.”Traffic information of the first person gathered by at least one of the one or more information monitoring devices, and the traffic information comprises identification of one or more stops that the first person makes within and about the retail store.
Information monitoring devices
(Claim 1, Claim 21)		“The disclosed system includes a retail store system that features and can include MAC address tracking, user eye tracking, object identification of goods on shelves, APIs, and an advertising broker rules engine. In addition, the system can include customer engagement with interactive output displays that include displays with demographic and facial expression intelligence, displays with demographics and MAC—panels throughout store at product, displays with demographics and MAC—single panel or few panels scattered throughout store, automated customer assistance at shelf, customer purchase at shelf. Further, the system can include a customer engagement with reviews summary, a virtual loyalty program, and a relevance rating engine.”Devices used to gather information about a person in proximity of the device. These devices include computing devices, user input and output devices, displays, POS devices, cameras, sensors; WIFI devices; in-store customer devices; output devices; system for communicating to user devices, and kiosks.
Object identification information
(Claim 1, Claim 21)		“The disclosed system includes a retail store system that features and can include MAC address tracking, user eye tracking, object identification of goods on shelves, APIs, and an advertising broker rules engine. In addition, the system can include customer engagement with interactive output displays that include displays with demographic and facial expression intelligence, displays with demographics and MAC—panels throughout store at product, displays with demographics and MAC—single panel or few panels scattered throughout store, automated customer assistance at shelf, customer purchase at shelf.”Information gathered by at least one of the one or more information monitoring devices, and the object identification information comprises the one or more products that the first person interacted with during the product interactions.
Payment system
(Claim 1, Claim 21)		“Another of the present systems great strengths is its flexibility. In this way, it can cater to how the customer wants to shop. Just like in the online environment, many customers prefer to buy their products via the digital interface. The system of the present invention allows for this by tying its interface to a pre-existing payment processing system that many customers are already using on a regular basis (Ex: PayPal).”A system for payment by the first person of the list of the products retained by the first person while shopping at the retail store at the point-of-sale area.
Product interaction information
(Claim 1, Claim 21)		“The disclosed system includes a retail store system that features and can include MAC address tracking, user eye tracking, object identification of goods on shelves, APIs, and an advertising broker rules engine. In addition, the system can include customer engagement with interactive output displays that include displays with demographic and facial expression intelligence, displays with demographics and MAC—panels throughout store at product, displays with demographics and MAC—single panel or few panels scattered throughout store, automated customer assistance at shelf, customer purchase at shelf.”Information based upon type of product interactions the first person had with one or more products at the retail store, wherein the type of product interactions are selected from a group consisting of (I) the one or more products viewed by the first person at the retail store at each of the one or more stops, (II) the one or more products picked up by the first person at the retail store at each of the one or more stops, (III) the one or more products put down by the first person at the retail store at each of the one or more stops, ((IV) the one or more products carried away by the first person at the retail at each of the one or more stops, and (V) combinations thereof.

Litigation Cases New

US Latest litigation cases involving this patent.

Case NumberFiling DateTitle
2:25-cv-11234Nov 21, 2025Alpha Modus, Corp. v. Stratacache, Inc.
2:25-cv-01145Nov 21, 2025Alpha Modus, Corp. v. V-Count Global Holding, Ltd.
2:25-cv-01125Nov 14, 2025Alpha Modus, Corp. v. Industria de Diseno Textil, S.A. et al

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US12354121

ALPHA MODUS CORP
Application Number
US18651410
Filing Date
Apr 30, 2024
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Jul 18, 2034
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents