NEWS

Amazon's new patent: prohibit customers from comparing prices online in stores

Release time:

2017-07-14 14:10

In recent years, with the vigorous development of online shopping, people will also have the habit of picking up their mobile phones to compare prices online when shopping in physical stores.

However, in order to prevent customers from using mobile phones to compare prices in the store, Amazon, an e-commerce giant, recently obtained a patent that prevents customers from using mobile phones to compare prices online when visiting their physical stores.

Many customers visit the physical store, but still used to use mobile phones to compare prices on the Internet, and found that the online price is cheaper, resulting in people "only shopping do not buy", the physical store is reduced to a display room.

In order to increase the possibility of customers shopping in the physical store, Amazon CEO Bezos previously anticipated that Amazon would cross the physical store in the future and applied for the patent of "controlling physical store online shopping" (Physical Store Online Shopping Control) as early as 2012. When customers enter the physical store of Amazon and connect to the store Wi-fi, this patented technology will intercept customers to compare prices online and visit other web pages, however, Amazon will also inform customers through text messages or emails that entering the store for price comparison will be subject to patented technology to intercept website content.

Amazon has recently entered the physical store and fresh food market frequently. Apart from expanding Amazon's physical bookstore, opening full-automatic supermarkets in Seattle, and picking up fresh food and other services, all signs show that Amazon attaches importance to the physical store market. Now the patent is passed, which is more likely to be a great tool to promote customers' consumption in physical stores. However, Amazon has not yet disclosed when the patent will be used.

Amazon has always had many special and innovative patents, such as anticipatory shipping,One-click Buying and so on.

Grasp the trend of customers, make good use of relevant big data, know the future development in advance and apply for patents for things that people are accustomed to in daily life or things that are familiar and common in the general business environment. Apart from defensive considerations, it can also bring a large amount of royalties. After all, litigation takes many days and costs are huge, so it is unlikely that ordinary businesses will go to court with Amazon.

These also pave the way for Amazon to go from an online bookstore to a stock price that has now risen to $1,300.

　　https://udn.com/news/story/7088/2530467

This news was re-edited and reorganized by the Huaxun team and added analytical comments.