Bidding via bluetooth beacon

Abstract

A method comprises transmitting, by a merchant web-client, a signal using a low energy consuming device, wherein the signal may be received by a transaction account holder web-client, wherein the signal may carry content associated with a merchant, and wherein the merchant is associated with the merchant web-client, and/or receiving, by the merchant web-client, a response from the transaction account holder web-client, wherein the response may be transmitted by the transaction account holder web-client to the merchant web-client using the low energy consuming device. The content may comprise an advertisement associated with an item offered for sale by the merchant.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a merchant web-client and from a transaction account holder web-client, a first signal using a low energy consuming device, in response to a customer logging into an app on the transaction account holder web-client,   wherein the first signal includes personal information associated with the customer and a micro-location of the transaction account holder web-client; and   receiving, by the merchant web-client and from the transaction account holder web-client using the low energy consuming device, a response including a bid to purchase an item from a plurality of items offered by a merchant associated with the merchant web-client.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low energy consuming device comprises a low energy BLUETOOTH beacon (“BLE beacon”), and wherein the BLE beacon utilizes a cryptographic key exchange protocol. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low energy consuming device communicates with the transaction account holder web-client within 300 meters of the low energy consuming device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising uploading, by the merchant web-client, merchant content for the plurality of items offered for sale by the merchant. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a transaction account of the customer is synched with the transaction account holder web-client to create a synched transaction account. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the merchant web-client, merchant content based upon the personal information associated with the customer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising updating, by the merchant web-client, merchant content to create updated content while the transaction account holder web-client is located within the micro-location. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising updating, by the merchant web-client, merchant content to create updated content while the transaction account holder web-client is located within the micro-location and based upon the micro-location of the transaction account holder web-client and at least one of new customer status, loyal customer status or time of day that the transaction account holder web-client is located within the micro-location. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client and to the transaction account holder web-client, an interactive item catalog of the plurality of items based on updated content and offered for sale by the merchant. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client and to the transaction account holder web-client, an interactive item catalog of the plurality of items based on updated content and offered for sale by the merchant while the transaction account holder web-client is located within the micro-location. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client, a second signal using the low energy consuming device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client, a second signal using the low energy consuming device, wherein the second signal is received by the transaction account holder web-client associated with the customer while the transaction account holder web-client is located within the micro-location. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client, a second signal using the low energy consuming device, wherein the second signal carries updated content associated with the merchant. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant web-client, a second signal using the low energy consuming device, wherein the second signal carries updated content associated with the merchant, wherein the updated content comprises an advertisement for an item of the plurality of items offered for sale by the merchant, and wherein the advertisement is based on the updated content. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selecting, by the merchant web-client, the bid from a plurality of bids based upon at least one of: a highest bid, a loyalty associated with the customer to the merchant, or a new customer status of the customer with the merchant. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising notifying, by the merchant web-client, the transaction account holder web-client of winning the bid. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the merchant web-client and from a payment processor, payment information and authentication details associated with the item, in response to the transaction account holder web-client authorizing the payment processor to pay for the item using a synched transaction account. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the merchant web-client, feedback from the transaction account holder web-client using the low energy consuming device. 
     
     
         19 . A merchant web-client comprising:
 a processor; and   a tangible, non-transitory memory communicating with the processor,   the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:   receiving, by the merchant web-client and from a transaction account holder web-client, a first signal using a low energy consuming device, in response to a customer logging into an app on the transaction account holder web-client,   wherein the first signal includes personal information associated with the customer and a micro-location of the transaction account holder web-client; and   receiving, by the merchant web-client and from the transaction account holder web-client using the low energy consuming device, a response including a bid to purchase an item from a plurality of items offered by a merchant associated with the merchant web-client.   
     
     
         20 . An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a merchant web-client, cause the merchant web-client to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, by the merchant web-client and from a transaction account holder web-client, a first signal using a low energy consuming device, in response to a customer logging into an app on the transaction account holder web-client,   wherein the first signal includes personal information associated with the customer and a micro-location of the transaction account holder web-client; and   receiving, by the merchant web-client and from the transaction account holder web-client using the low energy consuming device, a response including a bid to purchase an item from a plurality of items offered by a merchant associated with the merchant web-client.