Aggio: A coupon safe for privacy-preserving smart retail environments

Albert F. Harris, Robin Kravets, Robin Snader

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Researchers and industry experts are looking at how to improve a shopper’s experience and a store’s revenue by leveraging and integrating technologies at the edges of the network, such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, cloud-based systems, and mobile applications. The integration of IoT technology can now be used to improve purchasing incentives through the use of electronic coupons. Research has shown that targeted electronic coupons are the most effective and coupons presented to the shopper when they are near the products capture the most shoppers’ dollars. Although it is easy to imagine coupons being broadcast to a shopper’s mobile device over a low-power wireless channel, such a solution must be able to advertise many products, target many individual shoppers, and at the same time, provide shoppers with their desired level of privacy. To support this type of IoT-enabled shopping experience, we have designed Aggio, an electronic coupon distribution system that enables the distribution of localized, targeted coupons while supporting user privacy and security. Aggio uses cryptographic mechanisms to not only provide security but also to manage shopper groups (e.g., bronze, silver, and gold reward programs) and minimize resource usage, including bandwidth and energy. The novel use of cryptographic management of coupons and groups allows Aggio to reduce bandwidth use, as well as reduce the computing and energy resources needed to process incoming coupons. Through the use of local coupon storage on the shopper’s mobile device, the shopper does not need to query the cloud and so does not need to expose all of the details of their shopping decisions. Finally, the use of privacy preserving communication between the shopper’s mobile device and the CouponHubs that are distributed throughout the retail environment allows the shopper to expose their location to the store without divulging their location to all other shoppers present in the store.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2018 3rd ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing, SEC 2018
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages174-186
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9781538694459
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 6 2018
Event3rd ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing, SEC 2018 - Bellevue, United States
Duration: Oct 25 2018Oct 27 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2018 3rd ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing, SEC 2018

Other

Other3rd ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing, SEC 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBellevue
Period10/25/1810/27/18

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Artificial Intelligence

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