Electronic Transaction Receipt System and Method

Abstract

In connection with a sales transaction, an electronic receipt is issued to the buyer that includes hyperlinks. A hyperlink can be associated with post-sale interaction with the product seller, the product manufacturer or parties acting on their behalf that involves the product itself, such as a product return procedure, a product warranty procedure, receiving rebate notices and recall notices, product registration procedures and similar functions.

1 . A method for providing electronic receipts using an electronic receipt generator, comprising the steps of:
 a. conducting a first plurality of sales transactions between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers;   b. transmitting information about each of the first plurality of sales transactions to the electronic receipt generator;   c. generating by the electronic receipt generator an electronic receipt for each of the first plurality of sales transactions, wherein each receipt comprises detailed information describing the sales transaction, wherein the detailed information comprises sale price, total transaction amount, item description, and information indicating completion of the sales transaction;   d. generating by the electronic receipt generator information from the first plurality of electronic receipts that describes the first plurality of sales transactions but that does not personally identify any individual buyer;   e. transmitting the information generated from the first plurality of electronic receipts to a third party; and   f. performing market analysis by the third party using the information generated from the first plurality of electronic receipts.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a. generating by the electronic receipt generator information from a second plurality of electronic receipts that are associated with a buyer and that are associated with the plurality of sellers;   b. converting by the electronic receipt generator the information generated from the second plurality of electronic receipts to a determined format; and   c. transmitting the converted information generated from the second plurality of electronic receipts to the buyer.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a. conducting a sales transaction between the buyer and a first seller;   b. transmitting information about the sales transaction to the electronic receipt generator over a first network;   c. generating by the electronic receipt generator an electronic receipt comprising detailed information describing the sales transaction, wherein the detailed information comprises sale price, total transaction amount, item description, information indicating completion of the sales transaction, and a hyperlink associated with a product return procedure;   d. transmitting the electronic receipt over a second network to a computing device operated by the buyer, wherein the first and second networks are distinct;   e. displaying the detailed information on the computing device;   f. activating, by the buyer, the hyperlink on the computing device;   g. transmitting, to the computing device and in response to activation of the hyperlink, return information containing steps for returning the product;   h. displaying the return information on the computing device;   i. requesting, by the buyer, a return shipping label for the product;   j. transmitting the return shipping label to the computing device; and   k. producing a hard copy of the return shipping label using the computing device.   
     
     
         4 . A method for generating de-identified electronic receipts using an electronic receipt generator, comprising the steps of:
 a. conducting a first plurality of sales transactions between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers;   b. transmitting first data about each of the first plurality of sales transactions to an electronic receipt generator, wherein the first data identifies individual buyers associated with each of the first plurality of sales transactions;   c. generating by the electronic receipt generator an electronic receipt for each of the first plurality of sales transactions, wherein each receipt comprises detailed information describing the sales transaction, including sale price, total transaction amount, item description, and information indicating completion of the sales transaction; and   d. generating by the electronic receipt generator second data from each of the electronic receipts that describes each of the first plurality of sales transactions but that does not personally identify any one of the individual buyers of the plurality of buyers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising the steps of:
 a. transmitting the second data generated from the electronic receipts to a third party; and   b. generating market analysis data by the third party using the second data generated from the first plurality of electronic receipts.