Systems and methods for processing third-party returns

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12346908-B2
Application number	US-202418773892-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2024
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	Jul 1, 2025
Grant date	Jul 1, 2025

Abstract

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to processing product returns. In some embodiments, a system for processing returns comprises a POS terminal located in a retail facility and configured to receive an order identifier associated with an online order that includes a product purchased from a third-party seller via the retailer's website, wherein the retail facility is a brick-and-mortar facility associated with the retailer, and wherein the third-party seller is not the retailer, and transmit, to a control circuit, the order identifier, a database configured to store order information, and the control circuit configured to receive the order identifier, determine the product, determine a refund amount for the product, determine a location to which the product should be returned, generate a return label, create a return transaction for the product, and transmit the return label, wherein the POS terminal is configured to print the return label.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for processing product returns, the system comprising:
a database, wherein the database is configured to store order information;
a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, wherein the POS terminal is located in a retail facility; and
a control circuit communicatively coupled to the POS terminal, the control circuit configured to:
receive, from the POS terminal, the order identifier;
determine, based on accessing the database, the product, that the product is eligible to be returned, a refund amount for the product, and a location to which the product should be returned;
generate, based on the location to which the product should be returned, a return label;
transmit, to the POS terminal, the return label;
transmit a signal to the database to update a custody flag associated with the product in the database, wherein the custody flag indicates possession of the product by the retailer; and
responsive to the update of the custody flag in the database, trigger a start of a timer, the timer setting a predetermined threshold period of time for the third-party to issue a refund to a customer for the product returned to the retailer, wherein upon an expiration of the timer, the control circuit is programmed to issue the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer even if the third-party has not issued the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer;

wherein the POS terminal is further configured to print the return label.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the database is further configured to: store third-party seller information, wherein the third-party seller information includes return eligibility rules.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the return eligibility rules include one or more of return windows, return shipping fees, and restocking fees.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the determination that the product is eligible to be returned is based on the return windows, and wherein the determination of the refund amount is based on the return shipping fees and the restocking fees.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein third-party sellers provide the third-party seller information to the database.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to issue, based on the refund amount, a refund for the product.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the refund is issued after confirmation is received that third-party seller received the product.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
receive, from the POS terminal, a request for the return label;
retrieve, based on the request for the return label, the return label that was generated by the control circuit; and
retransmit the return label to the POS terminal.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein selection of the custody prompt indicates that the return label has been printed and placed on the product, and that the product has been placed in a designated area.

10. A method for processing product returns, the method comprising:
storing, in a database, store order information;
providing a point-of-sale (POS) terminal located in a retail facility;
by a control circuit communicatively coupled to the POS terminal:
receiving, from the POS terminal, the order identifier;
determining, based on accessing the database, the product, that the product is eligible to be returned, a refund amount for the product, and a location to which the product should be returned;
generating, based on the location to which the product should be returned, a return label;
transmitting, to the POS terminal, the return label;
transmitting a signal to the database to update a custody flag associated with the product in the database, wherein the custody flag indicates possession of the product by the retailer; and
responsive to the update of the custody flag in the database, triggering a start of a timer, the timer setting a predetermined threshold period of time for the third-party to issue a refund to a customer for the product returned to the retailer, wherein upon an expiration of the timer, the control circuit is programmed to issue the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer even if the third-party has not issued the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer;

printing, by the POS terminal, the return label.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the database includes third-party seller information, and wherein the third-party seller information includes return eligibility rules.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the return eligibility rules include one or more of return windows, return shipping fees, and restocking fees.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining that the product is eligible to be returned is based on the return windows, and wherein the determining the refund amount is based on the return shipping fees and the restocking fees.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein third-party sellers provide the third-party seller information to the database.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising issuing, based on the refund amount, a refund for the product.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the refund is issued after confirmation is received that third-party seller received the product.

17. The method of claim 10 , further comprising, by the control circuit:
receiving, from the POS terminal, a request for the return label;
retrieving, based on the request for the return label, the return label that was generated by the control circuit; and
retransmitting the return label to the POS terminal.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein selection of the custody prompt indicates that the return label has been printed and placed on the product, and that the product has been placed in a designated area.

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• Manmohan Maheer
• Humphrys Douglas E
• Shake Sid
• Lobo Charles Harry
• Pandey Tripuresh
• Huang Zhijian
• Mandavia Nivea
• Hulliberger Casey S
• Stanley Darren W

Classifications

• G06Q30/0639

  Locating goods or services, e.g. based on physical position of the goods or services within a shopping facility · CPC title

• G06Q10/0837 Primary

  Return transactions · CPC title

• G06Q20/407 Primary

  Cancellation of a transaction · CPC title

• G06Q20/20

  Point-of-sale [POS] network systems · CPC title

• G07F7/06

  by returnable containers {, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value}, e.g. bottles · CPC title