GSN Receives Patent for Displaying Product Varieties Online

Grocery Shopping Network, Inc. (GSN), a provider of online technology and advertising solutions for retail grocers, has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Product Variety Information,” which includes GSN’s processes for displaying product varieties from weekly ads, circulars and flyers displayed online.

The patent was issued on June 8, 2010, and is listed as U.S. Patent 7,734,514.

“We are [bringing] a significant business process to the online grocery community, and look forward to working with more retail chains to offer this patented technology,” said Andy Robinson, CEO of Minneapolis-based GSN. “This achievement represents a milestone in the company’s history that illustrates the amount of ongoing focus the company puts into product development and innovation to deliver the best consumer experience and retail performance.”

The patent covers the displaying of available varieties of “on-sale” products when a consumer is viewing an interactive flyer online, For instance, if a top-selling product is on sale, the patented process is a method for taking a general sales item and helping shoppers find exactly the items they want by displaying all varieties of an available product at a specific brick–and-mortar location. This solution was developed to help shoppers while significantly increasing basket size and sales for retailers.

GSN offers retailers a range of services designed to interact with consumers via store Web sites, and manages over 7 million unique visitors planning over 21 million shopping trips monthly and over 35 million loyalty cards, and boasts a survey/email panel of over 2 million users. Some of the solutions for retailers include a display advertising network with revenue share, food and wellness content, coupons, personalized offers, interactive circular creation, and online planning as well as buying. GSN is now in more than 6,300 retail locations across North America.