- Number
- 10783567
- Published
- 2020-09-22
- Filed
- 2017-06-12
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises Inc.
- Inventors
- Smoot; Lanny S., Makofsky; Steven, Watson; Scott F., Katz; Nitzan
- CPC
- G06Q30/0625; G06Q10/087; G06Q30/0631; G06Q30/0643
- Verdict
- Set aside retail customer-assistance business method (G06Q commerce codes despite notable inventor)
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
Abstract
According to one implementation, a system for automating customer assistance includes a computing platform having a hardware processor and a memory storing a venue inventory and activity guide software code. The hardware processor is configured to execute the venue inventory and activity guide software code to receive a query from a customer of the retail venue, and determine if the query corresponds to either a retail product or an experience available at the retail venue. If the retail product or the experience is not available at the retail venue, the hardware processor executes the venue inventory and activity guide software code to generate a negative response. If the retail product or the experience is available at the retail venue, the hardware processor executes the venue inventory and activity guide software code to identify a location of the retail product or the experience, and guide the customer to the location.
Background
BACKGROUND(1) The convenience and efficiency of e-commerce has had a devastating impact on traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets, and has even come to threaten their viability as a business model. Perhaps no effort on the part of traditional retailers can enable an in-store shopping experience to compete with an online product search and purchase on the grounds of speed or ease.(2) If traditional retail outlets are in fact to survive and prosper, they must offer customers a shopping experience including enhancements that cannot be readily replicated in an online environment. Thus, there is a need for a commercial solution enabling a brick-and-mortar retail venue to deliver an enhanced customer experience sufficiently attractive to motivate potential shoppers to do their browsing and purchasing in-store.SUMMARY(3) There are provided retail venues providing automated customer assistance, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, and as set forth more completely in the claims.
Claims
1. A system for automating customer assistance, the system comprising: a camera system of a retail venue configured to generate a camera data of a customer of the retail venue; a computing platform interactively linked to the camera system, the computing platform having a hardware processor and a memory storing a venue inventory and activity guide software code; the hardware processor configured to execute the venue inventory and activity guide software code to: generate an image corresponding to the customer based on the camera data; determine a gender of the customer based on the image; estimate an age of the customer based on the image; generate at least one product recommendation or experience recommendation for the customer based on the determined gender and the estimated age of the customer; receive a query from the customer of the retail venue regarding the availability of a particular product or a particular experience of the at least one product recommendation or experience recommendation; determine if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is available to the customer at the retail venue; if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is not available at the retail venue, generate a negative query response, and deliver the negative query response to the customer via at least one of an audio response, a text message, or an email message; if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is available at the retail venue, identify a location of the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query within the retail venue; and guide the customer to the location.
10. A method for use by a system for automating customer assistance, the system including a retail venue having a camera system configured to generate a camera data of a customer of the retail venue, and a computing platform interactively linked to the camera system, the computing platform having a hardware processor and a memory storing a venue inventory and activity guide software code, the method comprising: generating, using the hardware processor, an image corresponding to the customer based on the camera data; determining, using the hardware processor, a gender of the customer based on the image; estimating, using the hardware processor, an age of the customer based on the image; generating, using the hardware processor, at least one product recommendation or experience recommendation for the customer based on the determined gender and the estimated age of the customer; receiving, using the hardware processor, a query from the customer of the retail venue regarding the availability of a particular product or a particular experience of the at least one product recommendation or experience recommendation; determining, using the hardware processor, if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is to the customer at the retail venue; if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is not available at the retail venue, generating, using the hardware processor, a negative query response, and deliver the negative query response to the customer via at least one of an audio response, a text message, or an email message; if the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query is available at the retail venue, identifying, using the hardware processor, a location of the particular product or the particular experience corresponding to the query within the retail venue; and guiding, using the hardware processor, the customer to the location.