System and method for linking sales associates to customer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10956745-B2
Application number	US-201916369292-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2019
Priority date	Mar 29, 2019
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

A computer is configured to obtain a digital image (e.g., a video) of a customer in a retail store setting, and analyze the digital image to determine whether the customer was assisted with a particular sales transaction by one or more sales associates. If so, the computer identifies which particular sales associates assisted the customer based on the analysis, and links those sales associates to the customer's sales transaction. Such linking provides a basis for training tools, as well as for the accurate apportionment of a sales commission.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of connecting sales associates to customer transactions, the method comprising:
obtaining a digital image of an interaction between a customer and a sales associate in a retail store;
determining, based on an image analysis performed on the digital image, whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction;
responsive to determining that the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction:
determining an identity of the sales associate in the image; and
linking the identity of the sales associate to the sales transaction; and

calculating a commission for the sales associate based on information associated with the linking.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction comprises:
detecting one or more markers in the image, wherein each marker indicates a potential interaction between the customer and one or more sales associates; and
determining that the sales associate assisted the customer with the sales transaction based on the image analysis performed on the digital image at one of the one or more markers.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction is based on an elapsed time of the interaction.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction is based a number of times the sales associate interacts with the customer.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction is based on one or both of a time and a location the interaction took place in the store.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the time and location the interaction took place in the store is determined based on information obtained from a receipt for the sales transaction.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction comprises detecting a predefined gesture performed by the sales associate in the digital image.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting the sales associate in the image based on one or more of:
clothing worn by the sales associate in the image;
a badge worn by the sales associate in the image;
one or more physical characteristics of the sales associate in the image; and
a wireless signal transmitted from a device associated with the sales associate in the image.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the identity of the sales associate in the digital image is determined using a facial recognition technique.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining that the customer was assisted with the sales transaction by a plurality of sales associates;
wherein linking the identity of the sales associate to the sales transaction comprises linking the identity of each sales associate that assisted the customer to the sales transaction; and
wherein calculating a commission for the sales associate based on information associated with the linking comprises apportioning the commission for the sales transaction to each sales associate linked to the sales transaction.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining a digital image of an interaction between a customer and a sales associate in a retail store comprises retrieving the digital image from a third-party server responsive to receiving an indication of being tagged in the digital image.

12. A computer for connecting sales associates to customer transactions, the computer comprising:
communications interface circuitry configured to communicate data and information with one or more devices via a communications network; and
processing circuitry operatively connected to the communications interface circuitry and configured to:
obtain a digital image of an interaction between a customer and a sales associate in a retail store;
determine, based on an image analysis performed on the digital image, whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction;
responsive to determining that the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction:
determine an identity of the sales associate in the image; and
link the identity of the sales associate to the sales transaction; and

provide information associated with the link as input to calculate a commission for the sales associate.

13. The computer of claim 12 wherein to determine whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction, the processing circuitry is configured to:
detect one or more markers in the image, wherein each marker indicates a potential interaction between the customer and one or more sales associates; and
determine that the sales associate assisted the customer with the sales transaction based on the image analysis performed on the digital image at one of the one or more markers.

14. The computer of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction based on an elapsed time of the interaction.

15. The computer of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction based a number of times the sales associate interacts with the customer.

16. The computer of claim 12 wherein to determine whether the interaction indicates that the sales associate assisted the customer with a sales transaction, the processing circuitry is configured to detect a predefined gesture performed by the sales associate in the digital image.

17. The computer of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect the sales associate in the image based on one or more of:
clothing worn by the sales associate in the image;
a badge worn by the sales associate in the image;
one or more physical characteristics of the sales associate in the image; and
a wireless signal transmitted from a device associated with the sales associate in the image.

18. The computer of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
determine whether the customer was assisted with the sales transaction by a plurality of sales associates; and
responsive to determining that the customer was assisted with the sales transaction by a plurality of sales associates:
link the identity of each sales associate that assisted the customer to the sales transaction; and

provide the information associated with each link as the input to apportion the commission for the sales transaction to each sales associate.

19. The computer of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to retrieve the digital image from a third-party server responsive to receiving an indication of being tagged in the digital image.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer program code stored thereon that, when executed by a processing circuit of a computer associated with a retail store, configures the processing circuit to:
obtain a digital image of an interac

Assignees

• Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corp
• Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions

Inventors

• Herring Dean Frederick
• Brosnan Susan W
• Rodriguez Adrian X

Classifications

• G06V40/172

  Classification, e.g. identification · CPC title

• G06V20/40 Primary

  in video content (extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44) · CPC title

• G06V20/44

  Event detection · CPC title

• G06Q10/063 Primary

  Operations research, analysis or management · CPC title

• G06T7/20

  Analysis of motion (motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51) · CPC title