In order to provide information to aid consumers in locating a particular product in a retail environment, a merchant may provide signage that displays a static list of products or product categories and their locations by floor and/or aisle, or a diagram showing the location of various departments in the store. Some merchants may provide printed maps of the store layout at store entrances, or may provide a listing of the most frequently sought products or product categories along with location information identifying the location on the map where the product is available. Other merchants may provide an electronic device on a shopping cart of the consumer, through which the consumer may access the store location of desired products. Some merchants may provide a loaner device, or may permit the consumer to install a merchant sponsored software application for use on their own handheld device such as a smart phone, media player, electronic organizer, or handheld computer, to access directions to the products within retail locations of the merchant.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds