A network of collection, charging and distribution machines collect, charge and distribute portable electrical energy storage devices (e.g., batteries, supercapacitors or ultracapacitors). Locations of collection, charging and distribution machines having available charged portable electrical energy storage devices are communicated to or acquired by a mobile device of a user or a navigation system of a user's vehicle. The locations are indicated on a graphical user interface on a map relative to the user's current location. The user may select particular locations on the map to reserve an available portable electrical energy storage device at a particular collection, charging and distribution machine location. The collection, charging and distribution machine locations displayed may also be based on a physical distance or driving time from the current location of the user mobile device or vehicle.

In one embodiment, a method includes storing, by one or more computing devices of a content-aggregation-and-distribution system, one or more content postings. Each content posting is associated on creation with one or more geographic locations related to accessing the content posting. The method includes selectively providing, by one or more computing devices of the content-aggregation-and-distribution system, one or more of the content postings for display on an access device based on a geographic location associated with the access device. For each content posting selectively provided for display, the geographic location associated with the access device being within a predefined proximity of a geographic location of the one or more geographic locations related to accessing the content posting is requisite to the content posting being selectively provided for display.

A service provider may receive item price information and/or point of sale (POS) transaction information from a plurality of merchant devices associated with a plurality of merchants. The service provider may categorize the plurality of merchants according to the types of items offered by the respective merchants, and may further categorize the merchants according to the locations at which they conduct business. The service provider may subsequently determine a price recommendation or other pricing information for a particular item offered by a particular merchant. A merchant device of the particular merchant may present the pricing information in a user interface that enables the merchant to view projected sales at various different price points. Further, the merchant may be able to specify one or more factors used for determining the recommend price, such as a desired business model, a desired clientele, a desired profit margin, or the like.

A retailing system for providing interaction between a customer and a retailer to assist in the completion of a sale, comprising, a customer interface arranged to display to a customer information about at least one item, an input module arranged to receive input regarding a potential sale of the at least one item from the customer for provision to a database via a communications system, wherein the database is arranged to provide the input from the customer to at least one other user associated with the retailer on a retailer interface viewable by the at least one other user, wherein the at least one other user utilizes the interface to review the input and interact with the customer to assist in the completion of the sale.

The subject disclosure provides devices, systems, and methods for interacting with a home inventory system. Home inventory systems may include appliances and storages which take inventory of their contents. Home inventory systems may interact with mobile devices to alert users of necessary or desired products. Using location information, users may be alerted when their mobile device is within proximity of a necessary or desired product.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for related search suggestions for products. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a query for searching documents wherein the query specifies a first product. A number of occurrences of the first product in a plurality of prior queries of the documents submitted by users is determined. A product category for the first product is determined based on one or more attributes associated with the first product, the category having a predetermined plurality of category attributes. A suggested product is selected wherein the suggested product is associated with attributes that satisfy the category attributes.

A computerized system and method of conducting an on-line shopping cart chat, the method comprising: receiving from an application programming interface (API) of an on-line shopping application an item selected by a user; communicating to the API an instruction to offer the user an iterative chat; presenting the user with a first question associated with the selected product and defined in a preset repository of questions and answers; receiving the user's response to said question; continuing to present the user with a different question based on the selected product and previous response, until the user selects to exit the chat; and responsively to receiving a response from the API of a user interest in a purchase offer of the iterative chat, presenting to the user a purchase offer of the appropriate item.

Devices, to be controlled by an application program (app) miming on mobile computers of the users, are sold to the users through a variety of suppliers. The users are provided with a single generic app for controlling the devices. The app is then provided branding and advertising information about one supplier associated with the sale or service of the devices.

A method and apparatus for selecting treatment for visitors to online enterprise channels are disclosed. The method includes receiving information related to a visitor and a current activity of the visitor on an online enterprise channel. The information is transformed to generate transformed data and a plurality of features is extracted from the transformed data. Using the plurality of features, it is determined whether a treatment when rendered to the visitor is capable of increasing a likelihood of the visitor performing a desired action during a current visit to the online enterprise channel. The treatment is selected and rendered if it is determined that the treatment is capable of increasing the likelihood of the visitor performing the desired action. No treatment is rendered if it is determined that no treatment from among the plurality of treatments is capable of increasing the likelihood of the visitor performing the desired action.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, processes, computer program code, and means for creating digital wallets for users. In some embodiments, digital wallets are created, at least in part, on information obtained from payment transactions conducted by users.