Local shopping and inventory

Abstract

Estimating product inventory comprises determining a rate of sales events for a product and an amount of time that has elapsed since a previous product availability estimate fro the product. Then, a new product availability estimate for the product is determined based on the rate sales events for the product. The rate of sales events for the product can be determined based on product data feeds from the merchant or other sales data.

1 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving data on a computer, the data comprising a first product identifier that identifies a product that was sold, a first store identifier that identifies a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a timestamp corresponding to a first time (t 1 ) at which the product was sold;   determining, by the computer, based at least on the received POS data, a rate of sales events (r e ) for the product at the merchant location;   receiving, by the computer, at a second time (t 2 ), a query for the product, wherein the second time is after the first time;   determining, by the computer, based at least on the rate of sales events (r e ), a probability of not seeing any sales events during a duration of time (t 3 ) corresponding to the second time less the first time (t 2 -t 1 ); and   providing an indication of product availability for the product at the merchant location in response to the query.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprises data from a source other than a device associated with the merchant location at which the product was sold, the source other than the device associated with the merchant location comprising a device associate with a third-party's location, a merchant headquarters, or a merchant regional office. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of product availability comprises an “in stock” indicator when the probability is greater than a first probability threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the indication of product availability comprises:
 a “limited” indicator when the probability is less than the first probability threshold and greater than a second probability threshold, wherein the second probability threshold is less than the first probability threshold, or   an “out of stock” indicator when the probability is less than the second probability threshold.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing r e  and the timestamp in a data object corresponding to the product and the merchant location. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the probability of not seeing any sales events during the duration of time (t 3 ) is determined according to an equation exp(−r e *t 3 ). 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rate of sales events (r e ) is determined according to an exponential moving average. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the rate of sales events (r e ) is determined according to an equation 1/<t>, where <t> is determined recursively as
     <t>   i =(1 −k )*< t>   i-1   +k*t   i , 
 
       such that t i  is a period of time between sales events i and i-1, and k is a constant in a range 0<k<1. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein k is in a range 0.02≦k≦0.5. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein k is in a range 0.03≦k≦0.1. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are consistent for all products sold by the merchant location. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are static. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are the same. 
     
     
         14 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, data identifying a product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to the time at which the product was sold;   retrieving, by the computer, a data object corresponding to the product and the merchant location, wherein the data object comprises a rate field (<t>) indicating an average time between sales events for the product, a limited time field indicating the time at which the product availability indicator should be switched to “limited,” an out-of-stock time field indicating the time at which the product availability indicator should be switched to “out of stock,” and a timestamp field (T last     —     sale ) corresponding to a time of a prior sale of the product;   determining, by the computer, a new limited time based at least on the first timestamp, the rate field, the timestamp field, and a first probability threshold (p 1 );   determining, by the computer, a new out-of-stock time based at least on the first timestamp, the rate field, the timestamp field, and a second probability threshold (p 2 );   replacing, by the computer, the limited time field with the new limited time;   replacing, by the computer, the out-of-stock time field with the new out-of-stock time;   storing, by the computer, the data object; and   providing, by the computer, the product availability indicator based at least on the data stored in the data object.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving a product availability request for the product at the merchant location,   wherein the step of providing the product availability indicator comprises comparing the time at which the product availability request was received with at least one of the limited time field and the out-of-stock time field.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 determining a rate of sales events (r e ) for the product at the merchant location, such that r e =1/<t>; and   wherein the new limited time is determined according to an equation (new_limited_time=T last     —     sale −log(p 1 )/r e ), and   wherein the new out-of-stock time is determined according to an equation (new_out-of-stock_time=T last     —     sale −log(p 2 )/r e ).   
     
     
         17 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, data, the data identifying a product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to the time at which the product was sold;   retrieving, by the computer, a data object corresponding to the product and store, wherein the data object comprises a rate field indicating an average time between sales events for the product and a timestamp field corresponding to the time of the last sale of the product;   determining, by the computer, a new average time between sales events based at least on the rate field, the timestamp field, and the first timestamp corresponding to the time at which the product was sold;   replacing, by the computer, the rate field with the new average time;   replacing, by the computer, the timestamp field with the first timestamp;   storing, by the computer, the data object; and   providing, by the computer, the product availability indicator based at least on the data stored in the data object.   
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, data identifying a product that was sold, a quantity of the product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a time at which the product was sold;   determining, by the computer, based at least on the quantity of the product that was sold and the first timestamp, a rate of sales (r s ) for the product at the merchant location;   receiving, by the computer, an inventory snapshot, wherein the inventory snapshot reflects the inventory (Q) of the product at the merchant location at a first time (T 1 ), and wherein receipt of the inventory snapshot occurs at a second time (T 2 ) subsequent to the first time;   determining, by the computer, a probability that fewer than Q products were sold between times T 1  and T 2 , wherein the probability is based at least on the rate of sales (r s ), the first time (T 1 ), and the second time (T 2 ); and   providing, by the computer, a product availability indicator based at least on the probability.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein (ΔT=T 2 −T 1 ), (N=Q−1), (x=r s ΔT), and the probability that fewer than Q products were sold between times T 1  and T 2  is determined according to an equation 
       
         
           
             
               
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         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the rate of sales (r s ) is determined according to an exponential moving average. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the rate of sales (r s ) is determined by an equation <u>/<t>, where <u> is determined recursively as
   < u>   i =(1 −j )*< u>   i-1   +j*u   i , 
 
       and <t> is determined recursively as
   < t>   i =(1 −k )*< t>   i-1   +k*t   i , 
 
       such that u i  is the number of units sold during sales event i, t i  is a period of time between sales events i and i-1, j is a constant in a range 0<j<1, and k is a constant in a range 0<k <1. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein j is in a range 0.02≦j≦0.5. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein k is in a range 0.03≦k≦0.1. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein j and k are equal. 
     
     
         26 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, data identifying a product that was sold, a quantity of the product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a time at which the product was sold;   determining, by the computer, based at least on the quantity of the product that was sold and the first timestamp, a rate of sales (r s ) for the product at the merchant location;   receiving, by the computer, an inventory snapshot, wherein the inventory snapshot reflects the inventory (Q) of the product at the merchant location at a first time (T 1 ), and wherein receipt of the inventory snapshot occurs at a second time (T 2 ) subsequent to the first time;   determining, by the computer, a probability that fewer than Q products were sold between times T 1  and T 2 ;   providing, by the computer, an “in stock” indicator when the probability is greater than a first probability threshold; and   providing, by the computer, an “out of stock” indicator when the probability is less than a second probability threshold.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are consistent for all products sold by the merchant location. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are static. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the first probability threshold is not the same as the second probability threshold. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the second probability threshold is less than the first probability threshold, the method further comprising the step of providing an “unknown” indicator when the probability is less than the first probability threshold and greater than a second probability threshold. 
     
     
         31 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, data identifying a product that was sold, a quantity of the product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a first time at which the product was sold;   retrieving, by the computer, a data object corresponding to the product and merchant location, wherein the data object comprises a first rate field indicating a function of the number of units sold in a sales event for the product, a second rate field indicating a function of time between the first time at which the product was sold and a time of a prior sale of the product, a timestamp field corresponding to the time of the a prior sale of the product, a quantity field, and a ΔT field corresponding to a difference between a first time and a second subsequent to the first time;   determining, by the computer, a new function of the number of units sold based at least on the first rate field and the quantity of the product that was sold;   determining, by the computer, a new function of time between the first time at which the product was sold and the time of a prior sale of the product based at least on the second rate field, the timestamp field, and the first timestamp;   replacing, by the computer, the first rate field with the new function of the number of units sold;   replacing, by the computer, the second rate field with the new function, of time between the first time at which the product was sold and the time of a prior sale of the product;   replacing, by the computer, the timestamp field with the first timestamp;   storing, by the computer, the data object; and   providing, by the computer, the product availability indicator based at least on the data stored in the data object.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 receiving an inventory snapshot, wherein the inventory snapshot reflects the inventory (Q) of the product at the merchant location at the first time (T 1 ), and wherein receipt of the inventory snapshot occurs at the second time (T 2 ) subsequent to the first time;   replacing the quantity field with the inventory (Q); and   replacing the ΔT field with the value (T 2 -T 1 ).   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the data object further comprises an r s-upload  field, the method further comprising:
 replacing the r s-upload  field with the value of the first rate field divided by the second rate field.   
     
     
         34 . A computer-implemented method for providing a product availability indicator, comprising:
 receiving, by the computer, data identifying a product that was sold, a quantity of the product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a time at which the product was sold;   retrieving, by the computer, a data object corresponding to the product and merchant location, wherein the data object comprises a first rate field indicating an average number of units sold in a sales event for the product, a second rate field indicating an average time between sales events for the product, a timestamp field corresponding to a time of the a prior sale of the product, a quantity field, and a ΔT field corresponding to the difference   providing, by the computer, the product availability indicator based at least on the data stored in the data object.   
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . A product availability estimation system, comprising:
 a storage resource;   a network module;   a processor communicatively coupled to the storage resource and the network module, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage resource and that cause the product availability estimation system to:
 receive, via the network module, a periodic inventory snapshot, wherein the inventory snapshot reflects the inventory (Q) of a product at a merchant location at a first time (T 1 ), and wherein receipt of the inventory snapshot occurs at a second time (T 2 ) subsequent to the first time; 
 store, into the storage resource, the inventory (Q) and the value (ΔT=T 2 −T 1 ) in a data object corresponding to the product and the merchant location 
 receive, via the network module, real-time data, the data identifying the product, the merchant location, a quantity of the product that was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a time at which the product was sold; 
 retrieve, from the storage resource, the data object corresponding to the product and merchant location, wherein the data object comprises a first rate field indicating a function of the number of units sold in a sales event for the product, a second rate field indicating a function of time between sales events for the product, a timestamp field corresponding to the time of sale, a quantity field corresponding to the stored inventory (Q), and a ΔT field corresponding to the stored value (ΔT=T 2 −T 1 ); 
   determine a probability that fewer than Q products were sold between times T 1  and T 2 ; and
 provide a product availability indicator based at least on the probability, the product availability indicator being an “in-stock” indicator when the probability is greater than a first probability threshold, and the product availability indicator being an “out of stock” indicator when the probability is less than a second probability threshold. 
   
     
     
         38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system having a network interface and a storage resource, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:
 instructions for receiving, via the network interface, real-time data, the data identifying a product that was sold, a quantity of the product that was sold, a merchant location at which the product was sold, and a first timestamp corresponding to a time at which the product was sold;   instructions for determining, based at least on the quantity of the product that was sold and the first timestamp, a rate of sales (r s ) for the product at the merchant location;   instructions for receiving, via the network interface, an inventory snapshot, wherein the inventory snapshot reflects the inventory (Q) of the product at the merchant location at a first time (T 1 ), and wherein receipt of the inventory snapshot occurs at a second time (T 2 ) subsequent to the first time;   instructions for determining a probability that fewer than Q products were sold between times T 1  and T 2 , wherein the probability is based at least on the rate of sales (r s ), the first time (T 1 ), and the second time (T 2 ); and   instructions for providing a product availability indicator based at least on the probability, the product availability indicator being an “in stock” indicator when the probability is greater than a first probability threshold, and the product availability indicator being an “out of stock” indicator when the probability is less than a second probability threshold.   
     
     
         40 . (canceled) 
     
     
         41 . (canceled) 
     
     
         42 . A product availability estimation system, comprising:
 a storage resource;   a network module;   a means for determining a rate of sales (r s ) for a product at a merchant location based on received data;   a means for determining a probability that fewer than a quantity (Q) products were sold between a first time (T 1 ) and a second time (T 2 ), wherein the probability is based at least on the rate of sales (r s ), the first time (T 1 ), and the second time (T 2 ), and wherein the quantity (Q), the first time (T 1 ), and the second time (T 2 ) correspond to a received periodic inventory snapshot;   means for providing a product availability indicator based at least on the probability, the product availability indicator being an “in stock” indicator when the probability is greater than a first probability threshold, and the product availability indicator being an “out of stock” indicator when the probability is less than a second probability threshold, and   a processor communicatively coupled to the storage resource and the network module, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage resource and that cause the product availability estimation system to provide a product availability indicator based at least on the probability.   
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the first and second probability thresholds are the same threshold. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the rate of sales (r s ) is determined according to an exponential moving average. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the rate of sales (r s ) is determined by an equation <u>/<t>, where <u> is determined recursively as
   < u>   i =(1 −j )*< u>   i-1   +j*u   i , 
 and <t> is determined recursively as
     <t>   i =(1 −k )*< t>   i-1   +k*t   i , 
 
 such that u i  is the number of units sold during sales event i, t i  is a period of time between sales events i and i-1, j is a constant in a range 0<j<1, and k is a constant in a range 0<k<1. 
 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein j is in a range 0.02<j<0.5. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein k is in a range 0.03<k<0.1. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein j and k are equal.