System and method for influencing customer behavior

Abstract

A computer-implemented system and method of influencing customer behavior. The customer is offered a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel as a reward for performing a predefined action. A point-of-sale (POS) system at a merchant determines that the customer performed the predefined action, and stores the PPU discount and a customer identifier in a Discounts-Earned database. When the customer initiates a subsequent purchase of fuel, at the merchant or a different retail fueling merchant, a fuel dispenser controller retrieves the PPU discount from the database, discounts the posted price of the fuel by the PPU discount, and causes the dispenser to dispense fuel to the customer at the reduced price. A redeemed discounts calculator multiplies the PPU discount by the number of units purchased in the fueling transaction, and a clearing mechanism allocates the redeemed discount between the merchant and the retail fueling merchant.

1 . A computer-implemented method of influencing customer behavior, comprising: 
 offering the customer a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel as a reward for performing a predefined action;    determining that the customer performed the predefined action; and    awarding the PPU discount for fuel to the customer.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined action is selected from a group consisting of: 
 performing a debit-type financial transaction rather than a credit-type transaction at a merchant;    purchasing at least one product or service at a merchant utilizing a prepaid cash card;    purchasing at least one product or service at a merchant utilizing a credit card that is subject to an affinity-type agreement between the merchant and an issuer of the credit card;    purchasing more than a threshold amount of products or services at a merchant;    purchasing more than a threshold amount of fuel;    purchasing at least one in-store product or service at a merchant who also sells fuel;    participating in a customer survey; and    participating in a program to enhance security of financial transactions.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of participating in a program to enhance security of financial transactions includes providing biometric information to a merchant database.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined action includes purchasing both fuel and at least one in-store product or service at a merchant, wherein the step of awarding the PPU discount includes awarding a greater PPU discount for a given in-store purchase than for an equal fuel purchase.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of offering the customer a PPU discount includes increasing the PPU discount as a reward for performing the predefined action a plurality of times over a period of time.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising dispensing fuel to the customer in a subsequent fueling transaction at a PPU reduced from a posted price by an amount equal to the PPU discount.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the dispensing step is performed by a retail fueling merchant different from a merchant where the customer performs the predefined action.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising: 
 calculating a redeemed discount by multiplying the PPU discount by the number of units of fuel purchased in the fueling transaction;    providing the redeemed discount to a clearing mechanism; and    allocating the redeemed discount between the merchant and the retail fueling merchant.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after the step of determining that the customer performed the predefined action, the steps of: 
 storing the amount of the earned PPU discount in a database;    determining by a fuel dispenser controller that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel;    retrieving by the fuel dispenser controller, the amount of the PPU discount from the database; and    discounting the price of the fuel posted on the fuel dispenser by the amount of the PPU discount.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the PPU discount is a percentage of the posted price of the fuel, and- the method further comprises, prior to the discounting step, the step of calculating a current PPU discount based on the posted price of the fuel and the percentage PPU discount.  
     
     
         11 . A system for influencing a customer to perform a desired action by awarding the customer a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel as a reward for performing the desired action, said system comprising: 
 means for determining that the customer performed the desired action; and    computer-implemented means for awarding the PPU discount for fuel to the customer.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the means for determining that the customer performed the desired action includes a point-of-sale (POS) system at a merchant, which determines that the customer performed the desired action at the merchant.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the computer-implemented means for awarding the PPU discount includes a fuel dispenser controller for dispensing fuel to the customer in a subsequent fueling transaction, wherein the dispenser controller has access to the customer's PPU discount and reduces a posted price for the fuel by an amount equal to the PPU discount.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising a database connected to the POS system and the dispenser controller, said database receiving the customer's PPU discount from the POS system and storing the PPU discount until the discount is retrieved by the dispenser controller, said database adding a newly earned PPU discount to a previously stored PPU discount to achieve a total PPU discount.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the fuel dispenser controller includes: 
 means for determining that the customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel;    means for retrieving the total PPU discount from the database; and    means for discounting the price of the fuel posted on a fuel dispenser by the total PPU discount.    
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the PPU discount is a percentage of the posted price of the fuel, and the means for discounting the price of the fuel includes means for calculating a current PPU discount based on the posted price of the fuel and the percentage PPU discount.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the PPU discount is a fixed discount value that does not vary with the posted price of the fuel.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the fuel dispenser is located at a retail fueling merchant different from the merchant where the customer performs the desired action.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , further comprising: 
 a redeemed discounts calculator for calculating a redeemed discount by multiplying the total PPU discount by the number of units of fuel purchased in the fueling transaction; and    a clearing mechanism for receiving the redeemed discount, and allocating the redeemed discount between the merchant and the retail fueling merchant.    
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the clearing mechanism includes means for transferring funds from an account associated with the merchant to an account associated with the retail fueling merchant, wherein the transferred funds are equal to the redeemed discount.