Method and system for electronic distribution of product redemption coupons

Abstract

Provided is a method and system for the electronic distribution of product redemption coupons to remote personal computers located at users' homes. A centrally located repository, such as an online service provider or web site on the Internet, stores packages of coupon data for downloading on demand to the user's computer. The user may view, select, sort and print desired coupons from the downloaded package. The user's demographic as well as coupon selection data is provided back to the online service and coupon distributor and issuers for subsequent marketing analysis. The online service can perform subsequent coupon processing on previously downloaded coupon packages such as variation of discount amounts. The online service provider can also determine how many times a particular coupon was viewed. When the printed coupons are presented at a retail store, the discount is provided to the user. Upon redemption by the store via a coupon redeeming center, transaction data is also supplied to the coupon issuers and distributor for integration into marketing analysis. The electronic coupon system is secure due to the inclusion of user-specific identification indicia printed thereon.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of operating an electronic coupon distribution system comprising:
 collecting device information from a client system, the device information being insufficient to specifically identify a user of the client system;   associating a device ID with the device information at a main server system, the device ID being insufficient to specifically identify the user;   selecting a coupon according to the device ID to thereby identify the coupon appropriate for said user based on the device information; and,   transmitting the selected coupon from the main server system to the client system.