Distributed electronic commerce system with virtual shopping carts for group shopping

Abstract

An electronic commerce system includes a broker that enables third parties to create their own independent shopping carts including items from one or more merchants and/or items for group shopping. An agent, customer, or merchant can create and store a shopping cart containing one or more items. One or more customers can view the shopping cart to determine whether to purchase the item(s). To make the purchase, the customer(s) are transferred to a broker for the checkout. Where there is more than one customer, the customers can pledge to pay a portion of the total price for the cart. The customer(s) can purchase the items in the shopping cart in a single purchase transaction with the broker, rather than having to deal with each of the merchants. The broker interacts with the merchants to complete the transaction and can charge the customer(s) the appropriate amount or portion pledged.

1 . A computer-implemented method of conducting electronic commerce comprising:
 using a processor to execute method steps, comprising:
 receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart; 
 responsive to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price, charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer; and 
 enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein enabling further comprises enabling the customers to purchase a plurality of items from a plurality of merchants in a single transaction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shopping cart contains a single item that the customers wish to purchase, the customers each pledging a portion of the total price for the single item. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the shopping cart contains a plurality of items that the customers wish to purchase, the customers each pledging a portion of the total price for all of the plurality of items in the shopping cart. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein enabling purchasing of the item occurs before the customers are charged, the customers being invoiced for transaction after purchasing the items. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising approving the customers before enabling purchasing of the item. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the customers invite other customers to view the shopping cart and make pledges. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising allowing more pledges to be received responsive to determining that the sum of the portions pledged equals the total price. 
     
     
         9 . A computer system for conducting electronic commerce comprising:
 a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable software modules comprising:
 a shopping cart management module for receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart; 
 a accounting module for charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer in response to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price; and 
 a transaction module for enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the transaction module is further configured for enabling the customers to purchase a plurality of items in the shopping cart or to purchase a single item in the shopping cart, the customers each pledging a portion of the total price for the virtual shopping cart. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the transaction module is further configured for:
 reviewing the pledges received so far for the item contained in the virtual shopping cart;   determining a sum of the portions of the total price pledged; and   responsive to determining that the sum of the portions pledged does not equal the total price, waiting for additional pledges.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the shopping cart management module is further configured for collecting pledges from the plurality of customers over a period of time until the total price has been pledged. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the transaction module is further configured for enabling purchasing of the item occurs before the customers are charged, the customers being invoiced for transaction after purchasing the items. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising an authorization module for approving the customers before enabling purchasing of the item, wherein the authorization module authorizes each of the plurality of customers individually or authorizes a master customer representing the plurality of customers. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the shopping cart management module is configures for receiving pledges from other customers responsive to the plurality of customers sharing the shopping cart with the other customers and inviting the other customers to view the shopping cart and make pledges. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a shipping coordination module for shipping the item to a person for whom the customers were purchasing the item. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions for conducting electronic commerce, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:
 receiving pledges from a plurality of customers to each pay a portion of a total price of an item contained within a virtual shopping cart;   responsive to determining that a sum of portions pledged equals the total price, charging each of the customers the portion pledged by that customer; and   enabling the plurality of customers to purchase the item.   
     
     
         18 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the enabling further comprises enabling the customers to purchase a plurality of items in the shopping cart or to purchase a single item in the shopping cart, the customers each pledging a portion of the total price for the virtual shopping cart. 
     
     
         19 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein receiving pledges further comprises receiving pledges independently from multiple different customers over time. 
     
     
         20 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein receiving pledges further comprises receiving a group of pledges at a single time from multiple different customers. 
     
     
         21 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , further comprising keeping a tally of pledges received over a period of time, wherein the tally is available for the customers to view. 
     
     
         22 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein charging the customers further comprises automatically billing each of the customers for their pledged portion of the total price. 
     
     
         23 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein receiving pledges from other customers responsive to the plurality of customers inviting the other customers to view the shopping cart and make pledges. 
     
     
         24 . The storage medium of  claim 17 , further comprising allowing more pledges to be received from additional customers responsive to determining that the sum of the portions pledged equals the total price.