1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronically initiated consumer sales transactions and, more specifically, to selling products or services related to audio programming to which the purchasers are listening at the time they initiate the purchases.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's consumers are increasingly mobile. Consumers on the go may prefer to attend to matters as they think of them rather than defer action until a later time. In today's mobile world, it is while listening to the radio, passing a television screen, or driving down the road that people think of items they need and things they have to do. For example, a person may be driving to work and hear a radio advertisement for an upcoming concert he or she would like to attend. At the time, it sounds like a great idea, and the person is motivated to buy tickets. Nevertheless, to act on this desire to buy tickets, the person generally must record the relevant information such as a telephone number that he or she hears advertised, and use a separate device such as a telephone to submit an order. While driving a car it can be difficult to grab paper and pen and record the required information at the time of broadcast. Another difficulty is that, although the information may be available, the person may forget it between the time he or she hears the broadcast and the time he or she is able to reach a telephone and inquire about making a purchase. Frequently, the delay causes the consumer to lose interest in making the purchase, as most purchase decisions are made impulsively.
Encouraging consumers to act on purchase decisions made in response to contemporaneously delivered advertising or other programming or content has been suggested in the art. For example, *CD™ is an automated service tailored to purchasing music heard on a radio broadcast. Like most payment processes, *CD™ requires the consumer to enter a PIN after receiving a purchase summary. This second step is a typical limitation of existing ordering services. Using a phone or internet access site, the listener can key in a radio station and the service will identify the song currently playing. While the service allows the consumer to sample or purchase the CD, it only applies to musical selections on the radio.
Another music purchasing device, known as eGo™, also requires additional steps on the part of the consumer. This device is limited to downloading material from the World Wide Web (“the web”) for playback or purchase. In order to record or purchase content, eGo must be connected to a computer. This requirement of a second device restricts the consumer's mobility, as eGo™ offers only play back capability when disconnected. While eGo™ allows the purchase of advertised goods other than music, the only purchase options are those available from the web.
Another such device, known as Sonicbox™, like eGo™, allows purchase of items only from the web, and not from other media forms. Sonicbox™ requires an add-on component for the user's computer as well as the input signaling device. While Sonicbox™ does allow the consumer to submit a purchase while away from the computer, it has a very limited range of 100 feet. Still other devices, such as eMarker™ and iTag™, require the user to connect the devices to a computer before they can be used to order selected products. Furthermore, they are limited to broadcast radio content.
Other systems that interact with listeners of audio broadcasts have been suggested. U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,795 discloses apparatus and methods for accessing information about audio broadcasts. Similarly, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,849 supplies lyrics to audio as it is received and played. Systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,557,541, 5,539,635, 5,857,149, and 5,918,213 all allow, in different ways and to different degrees, a listener to select broadcast content. The scanner and mark system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,193 also provides means for the consumer to obtain product information. With the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,195, a listener is limited to selecting and storing audio content at the time of broadcast.
Some products are known that attempt to improve a limited aspect of the purchase experience. For example, the Home Shopping Video Catalog disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,998 presents merchandise in video format with respective ordering information for the customer to purchase items over the phone or internet. This catalog does not address the problem of spontaneous ordering, nor does it allow the consumer to make other types of requests. An automated ordering method presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,894 allows customers to compose ordering information offline, but they must still connect to a phone or computer to submit a purchase. With the Network Sales System described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,314 (and its CIP U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,492), customers can both research and purchase products, but this device does not address the need for mobility or alternative types of requests.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,156 describes a portable device into which the user can enter an identification code for a product to initiate its purchase, but the consumer must locate and manually enter a code each time. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,084 provides composite billing and direct payment service, but it does not allow the consumer to order products or otherwise interact with any media. A portable point-of-sale device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,077, but purchases are limited, and it does not address the need for other types of interaction. Both of these devices address only the purchase aspect of the user experience.
It would be desirable to provide a system and method that enables consumers to initiate purchase requests in response to audio broadcasts relating to a product or service. The present invention addresses these problems and deficiencies and others in the manner described below.