Amazon's Technology Wish List

I am getting into the festive season a little early; but here's a story linked with technology that will have a vested Christmas interest for us all... Amazon, the online retailer could soon be offering us the opportunity to swap bad presents for items we do want before the gift even leaves the warehouse! Amazon has been granted a patent application that will make it easy for their customers to request a different item in place of the gift ordered by a friend or relative. I just know this news will cheer us up, especially those of us who have received the endless pairs of novelty socks or bottles of bubble bath for Christmas. The patent, is titled 'system and method for converting gifts' and granted on 9 November 2010, listing Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos and Colin Bryar as inventors.

Amazon is one of the busiest stores over the Christmas period and in order to keep up with the demand, Amazon has announced it is going to hire thousands of new employees and am sure this new service will keep them busy long after the Christmas decorations have come down. Amazon's patent story comes at the right time for the brand, who has recently been in the headlines when it initially supported one of its electronic book authors, who was selling a how-to-guide for paedophiles. The company stated, "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable." However, the book self-published by Phillip R. Greaves II, 'The Paedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-lover's Code of Conduct', has since been removed from the Kindle store.

Going back to the Amazon patent story, the patent reads, "As in other gift-giving situation, it sometimes occurs that gifts purchased online do not meet the needs of tastes of the gift recipient. In such situations, the recipient may wish to convert the gift to something else, for example, by exchanging the gift for another item or by obtaining a redemption coupon, gift card or other gift certificate to be redeemed later." If this technology goes ahead it will be available across the Amazon platform, giving its customers the opportunity to set up 'rules', so that whenever an order is placed by a well-meaning 'gift buyer', the item is automatically swapped for a gift certificate of the same value, or a similar-priced gift item from the recipient's Amazon 'wish list'.

This technology could also be used in other ways; allowing Amazon customers to block friends and relatives from buying certain gifts; or it could keep a record of the correct clothing sizes, and even send automated thank-you notes to the gift-giver. Amazon has not yet indicated whether it has started to build the system outlined in the patent, or whether it plans to make the gift conversion tool available on its site...so it definitely watch this space as your Christmas list to Santa could just be about to get a whole lot better!

Photo Credit: howcheng