JP2003271867A - Method and system for promoting sales using network and short distance communication - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for promoting sales by using a network and a short distance communication. <P>SOLUTION: Sales promotion information is sent to a cellular phone 1 of a consumer from a shop terminal 4 via a server 7 by a network. Free service points may be added to sales promotion information. When the consumer goes to a shop and the cellular phone 1 gets into a short distance communication range of the store terminal, the cellular phone 1 sends individual information of the consumer to the store terminal 4 by a short distance communication. Free service point information or information about commodities which the consumer want to buy may be included in the individual information. Individual management information can include point kept by the consumer may be included in individual management information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sales promotion method and system using a network and short-range communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones have become widespread and can be carried by anyone. Also, T
Cellular phones that perform communication in accordance with CP / IP or a protocol in place of it, and perform communication in accordance with HTTP by a WWW browser incorporated therein have also become widespread. Furthermore, it is also possible to create, send, receive, and display e-mail with a mobile phone.

Also, mobile phones, which have a communication function such as Bluetooth and communicate with Bluetooth compatible devices in a short-range communication area, have become popular. Therefore, it is possible to use a mobile phone that does not have a WWW browser and a PDA or personal computer that has a WWW browser on a Blu.
It is also possible to connect by Etooth and display a home page with a WWW browser of a PDA or a personal computer.

[0004]

However, although there are mobile phones having a function of connecting to a network such as the Internet and mobile phones having a function of performing short-distance communication as described above, the function of connecting to a network such as the Internet is available. There has not been a commercially available mobile phone that organically combines the function of performing short-range communication with.

On the other hand, the seller of goods or the provider of services provides information (for example, advertisement) for the purpose of promoting sales or provision of goods or services on the WWW on the Internet.
Although it can be sent by the server, since this information is generally read by a consumer who is away from the store, it does not necessarily have the effect of sending the consumer to the store. In addition, a consumer who goes to a store must go through a certain menu or ask the clerk for the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the homepage in order to access the homepage that the store has opened. It was inconvenient.

[0006] Further, the seller of goods or the provider of services is
The free service points are distributed to consumers for the purpose of promoting the sale or provision of goods or services, but the consumers who receive the free service points receive the free service point ticket near the store or the free service by direct mail. It was not possible to give free service points to an unspecified large number of consumers only to those who delivered the points.

[0007] Further, for the purpose of sending a direct mail or the like, a seller of goods or a provider of services creates a customer list, but in order to add a consumer who has visited a store to the customer list, You must have the person fill out the address, name, etc. on the specified form. Even if there is no resistance in notifying the user's own information, it is not always easy to add the consumer who has visited the store to the customer list because there are consumers who have trouble filling in the information.

[0008] In addition, although a store clerk sometimes asks a consumer who goes to a store about a product that he wants to purchase or a service he wants to receive, the consumer does not always respond to this. In addition, when the store is large, there may be a case where the consumer who goes to the store wants to ask the store clerk where the product that he / she wants to purchase is being sold, but the store clerk is not always at the place where the consumer is. Not always, and because consumers do not always know the location of the information center, it is easy for consumers to know where the products they are trying to purchase are sold. Not exclusively.

In addition, there is a point system for sales promotion in which points are given to the purchaser according to the purchase amount and the points can be used as consideration for products or the like that the purchaser purchases later. It is often written on the receipt that the person receives at the time of purchase, so unless the purchaser saves the receipt, know the points that he / she owns until he / she goes to the store again and makes a purchase again. Often unable to

Therefore, the present invention provides a method and system for promoting sales using a device such as a mobile phone having a function of connecting to a network and a function of performing short-distance communication, which solves the above problems. With the goal.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a step of transmitting information intended for sales promotion from a seller device to a buyer device using a network, and the buyer device promoting the sales promotion. Outputting the information for the purpose of, and when the buyer device is within the short-range communication range of the seller device, transmitting the information about the buyer from the buyer device to the seller device using short-range communication, ,
A sales promotion method using a network and short-range communication is provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the buyer device is within the short-range communication range of the seller device, the information for the purpose of promotion is described from the seller device to the buyer device by using the short-range communication. Sending information for identifying the homepage, the buyer device accessing the homepage using a network, and the short-range communication when the buyer device is within the short-range communication range of the seller device. A step of transmitting information about the buyer from the buyer device to the seller device by using the network, and a sales promotion method using short-distance communication.

In the sales promotion method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the information for the purpose of the sales promotion may include information on free service points.

In the sales promotion method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the information regarding the buyer may include information regarding the free service points.

In the sales promotion method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the information regarding the buyer may include information regarding products or services desired to be purchased.

In the sales promotion method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the seller device transmits information regarding buyer management corresponding to information regarding the buyer to the buyer device using the network or the short-range communication. The method may further include steps.

In the sales promotion method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the information regarding the buyer management may include information regarding service points owned by the buyer.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] Referring to FIG. 1, a sales promotion system using a network and short-distance communication according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a mobile phone 1 used by a consumer.
A store terminal 4 used by a person who sells products or provides services, and a server 7 for these to perform network communication.
Equipped with.

The mobile phone 1 has a function of communicating with the store terminal 4 via the server 7 via a network such as the Internet. Therefore, the mobile phone 1 has a function of browsing a home page made transmittable on the Internet and a function of creating, transmitting / receiving, and displaying an electronic mail. In addition, the mobile phone 1 has a function of performing short-distance communication with the store terminal 4 when it is within the short-distance communication range of the screen 2 such as LCD and the store terminal 4. The short-distance communication is, for example, communication by Bluetooth, infrared communication, communication by wirelessly connecting to a LAN to which the shop terminal 4 is connected, or the like.

The store terminal 4 has a function of communicating with the mobile phone 1 via the server 7 via a network such as the Internet. Therefore, the shop terminal 4 has a function of uploading a homepage to the server and a function of creating, transmitting / receiving, and displaying an electronic mail. Further, the store terminal 4 has information about the buyer (hereinafter referred to as “personal information”) and information for sales promotion (advertisement, etc., below).
It is called "sales promotion information". ) And the seller of the product can confirm such information and the mobile phone 1 has a function of performing short-distance communication with the mobile phone 1 when the mobile phone 1 is within the short-distance communication range of the store terminal 4.

The store terminal 4 can upload the buyer management information and the sales promotion information 8 to the server 7.

The server 7 can transmit the sales promotion information 8 received from the shop terminal 4 to the mobile phone 1 through the network to a plurality of mobile phone users.

The mobile phone 1 displays the sales promotion information 8 received from the server 7 on the display unit 2 so that the user can browse the sales promotion information.

Here, the person who sells the product at the store is the seller,
An embodiment in the case where a person who visits a store and purchases a product is a buyer and both of them use the present invention will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 1, the seller of the product uses the store terminal 4 to create the sales promotion information 8 to be communicated to the buyer of the product.

The sales promotion information 8 is uploaded to the server 7. The server 7 notifies the buyer's mobile phone 1 of the sales promotion information 8 via the network.

As a method of notifying the mobile phone 1 of the above-mentioned sales promotion information 8, the seller publishes the sales promotion information on the homepage and the buyer obtains the sales promotion information by accessing the homepage, or a mailing list. Known methods such as a method using e-mail as a medium can be used.

As a method for selecting the sales promotion information received by the buyer side, the sales promotion information can be distinguished according to genre, and the homepage of only the sales promotion information of the specific genre is browsed or the sales promotion information of the specific genre is described. It is possible to use the method of receiving only the mail that has been sent.

In addition, free service points can be included in the sales promotion information. When the sales promotion information is provided on the home page, the free service points are described on the home page, and the free service points are written in the memory of the mobile phone 1. When providing promotional information by e-mail, describe the free service in the body of the e-mail. E-mail text is mobile phone 1
Written in memory.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the user of the mobile phone 1 who has obtained the sales promotion information 8 comes to the store that sent the sales promotion information 8 as a buyer, the personal information 9 is sent to the store terminal 4 by infrared rays. It transmits using the communication apparatus 3. The personal information includes, for example, name, age, sex, address, telephone number, e-mail address and the like.

The seller holds the personal information 9 of the buyer received using the infrared communication device 6 of the shop terminal 4, the personal information 9 and the sales promotion information 8 in the device 8 in which the seller can confirm the information. to manage.

In addition, the personal information transmitted by the mobile phone 1 to the store terminal 4 includes the information on the free service points stored in the memory of the mobile phone 1, and the personal information on the store terminal 4 indicates the free service points. When it is confirmed that the information is included, the selling price of the product may be discounted by the amount corresponding to the free service point.

Further, the personal information 9 transmitted from the mobile phone 1 to the store terminal 4 may include information on the product desired by the buyer among the products indicated by the sales promotion information 8. To this end, for example, J included in the home page in which the sales promotion information received by the mobile phone 1 is described.
A program such as ava Applet (Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.) or the like is used for the mobile phone
Is executed so that the buyer can select the product desired to be purchased. The terminal 4 for the store provides the mobile phone 1 with the information (for example, the product list, the sales floor guide map, etc.) that meets the needs of the buyer through the short-range communication by obtaining the information about the desired product to be purchased from the buyer. It becomes possible to do.

When the store terminal 4 receives the personal information from the mobile phone 1, the store terminal 4 manages the buyer management information 10 (which is managed by the store terminal 4 in association with the personal information. For example, the mobile phone 1 is connected to a point by network communication (FIG. 3) or near field communication (FIG. 4).
Send to. Therefore, for example, if the buyer enters the store and transmits the personal information, the buyer can confirm the points he / she currently holds.

If the buyer purchases the product, points are added, and the store terminal 4 transmits the added points to the mobile phone 1 by network communication (FIG. 3) or short-distance communication (FIG. 4).

[Second Embodiment] Referring to FIG. 5, a sales promotion system using a network and short-distance communication according to a second embodiment of the present invention is a mobile phone 1 used by a consumer.
It is provided with store terminals 11, 15, 19 used by a person who sells goods or provides services, and a server 7 for performing network communication. The store terminals 11, 15, and 19 have the same functions as the store terminal 4 of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, when a plurality of sellers use short-distance communication as means for notifying buyers of sales promotion information, the store terminal 11 uses the infrared communication device 13 to store the sales promotion information 12. The terminal 15 uses the infrared communication device 17 to send the sales promotion information 16 to the store terminal 19
Using the infrared communication device 21, each seller notifies the mobile phone 1 of the sales promotion information 20.

Here, the shop terminal 11 and the shop terminal 15
And for store 19 are terminals of different stores.

The mobile phone 1 receives a plurality of sales promotion information by using the infrared communication device 23 and displays the reception result on the display unit 24, so that the user of the mobile phone 1 is notified of the sales promotion information. Let us know

The short-distance communication has a short communication distance and a low data transfer rate. Therefore, as an example of implementation, for example, when a buyer enters a department store, instead of notifying all of the sales promotion information from each tenant store that has a store in the department store, the UR of the home page describing the sales promotion information
The mobile phone 1 is notified of L so that the list 24 of the URLs can be confirmed on the display unit 2 of the mobile phone 1.

On the other hand, each store uploads the home pages 14, 18 and 22 in which detailed sales promotion information is described to the server 7.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the buyer selects a desired URL from the list 24 of received URLs, accesses the home page of the server 7, and details the sales promotion information provided by the store having the selected URL. Get 18.

Further, it is possible to include free service points in the sales promotion information. When the sales promotion information is provided on the home page, the free service points are described on the home page, and the free service points are written in the memory of the mobile phone 1. When providing promotional information by e-mail, describe the free service in the body of the e-mail. E-mail text is mobile phone 1
Written in memory.

With reference to FIG. 7, when the user of the mobile phone 1 who has obtained the sales promotion information 18 comes to the store that sent the sales promotion information 18 as a buyer, the terminal 15 for the store is used.
The personal information 26 is transmitted using the infrared communication device 3. The personal information includes, for example, name, age, sex, address, telephone number, e-mail address and the like.

The seller manages the personal information 26 of the buyer received by using the infrared communication device 17 of the shop terminal 15 in the device which holds the personal information 26 and the sales promotion information 18 and can confirm the information. To do.

In addition, the personal information transmitted by the mobile phone 1 to the store terminal 15 includes the information about the free service points stored in the memory of the mobile phone 1, and the personal information about the free service points is stored in the store terminal 15. When it is confirmed that the information is included, the selling price of the product may be discounted by the amount corresponding to the free service point.

Further, the personal information 26 transmitted from the mobile phone 1 to the shop terminal 15 may include information about the product desired by the buyer among the products indicated by the sales promotion information 18. To this end, for example, the mobile phone 1
The mobile phone 1 executes a program such as Java Applet (Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.) included in the homepage describing the sales promotion information received by the mobile phone 1 so that the buyer can select a desired product. You can leave it as it is. Store terminal 15
By obtaining the information about the desired product to be purchased from the buyer, it is possible to provide the mobile phone 1 with information (for example, a product list and a sales floor guidance map) that meets the needs of the buyer by short-distance communication. Become.

When the shop terminal 15 receives the personal information from the mobile phone 1, the shop terminal 15 manages the buyer information 27 managed by the shop terminal 15 in association with the personal information. (For example, points) are transmitted to the mobile phone 1 by network communication (FIG. 8) or short-distance communication (FIG. 9). Therefore, for example, if the buyer enters the store and transmits the personal information, the buyer can confirm the points he / she currently holds.

If the buyer purchases the product, points are added, and the shop terminal 15 transmits the added points to the mobile phone 1 by network communication (FIG. 8) or short-distance communication (FIG. 9).

In the case of the second embodiment, since the sales promotion information can be provided to the person who is present near the store, the so-called customer attraction effect can be obtained. Also, the buyer can obtain sales promotion information of nearby stores in real time by moving around the city, select desired information from the information, and enjoy the service.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are exhibited.

Since the consumer can store the free service points in the mobile phone at the same time as accessing the home page describing the sales promotion information at a place away from the store, the stored free service points can be used in the store. The effect of attracting customers can be enhanced.

Moreover, since the consumer can access the home page URL of the store just by going to the store and accessing the home page, the consumer obtains a lot of information at the time of purchase. And help promote sales.

Further, since the consumer can store the free service point in the mobile phone at the same time as accessing the home page where the sales promotion information is written at a place away from the store, the consumer who receives the free service point appears near the store. Is no longer limited to users and those who receive direct mail, which is useful for sales promotion.

Further, since the consumer goes to the store and the personal information is transmitted from the mobile phone to the store terminal, it becomes easy to add the personal information to the customer list, which is useful for sales promotion.

Further, when the consumer goes to the store and sends the information about the desired product or service to the store terminal from the mobile phone, the information useful for the purchasing behavior of the consumer according to the information (for example, the product list, the sales floor). Information maps, etc.) can be sent from a store terminal to a mobile phone, which is useful for sales promotion.

When the consumer goes to the store and the personal information is transmitted from the mobile phone to the store terminal, the points owned by the consumer are transmitted from the store terminal to the mobile phone. You can check the points you currently have and it will be useful for sales promotion.

Further, since the consumer can confirm the registration status of himself / herself, it is easy to grasp the service that can be received at the time of revisiting the store. Therefore, the probability that the consumer will revisit the store where his / her personal information is registered. Will increase and help promote sales.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a first diagram for explaining the operation of a sales promotion system using a network and short-range communication according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a second diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a third diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a first diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a second diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a third diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a fourth diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the short-range communication according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a fifth diagram for explaining the operation of the sales promotion system using the network and the near field communication according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Mobile Phone 2 Display Unit 3 Infrared Communication Device 4 Store Terminal 5 Device that Holds Customer's Personal Information and Sales Promotion Information and Allows Seller to Check Such Information 6 Infrared Communication Device 7 Server 8 Sales Promotion Information 9 Personal Information 10 Buyer management information 11 Store terminal 12 Sales promotion information 13 Infrared communication device 14 Detailed sales promotion information 15 Store terminal 16 Sales promotion information 17 Infrared communication device 18 Detailed sales promotion information 19 Store terminal 20 Sales promotion information 21 Infrared Communication device 22 Detailed sales promotion information 23 Infrared communication device 24 List of URLs 25 Detailed sales promotion information 26 Personal information 27 Management information

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A step of transmitting information intended for sales promotion from a seller device to a buyer device using a network; a step in which the buyer device outputs information intended for the promotion; and the buyer device, Transmitting the information about the buyer from the buyer device to the seller device using the near field communication when the seller device is within the short range communication range. How to promote sales. 2. When the buyer's device is within the short-range communication range of the seller's device, the seller's device transmits the information specifying the home page describing the information for the purpose of sales promotion to the buyer's device using the short-range communication. The step of accessing the home page by the buyer device using a network; and the step of using the short range communication from the buyer device to the seller when the buyer device is within the short range communication range of the seller device. A step of transmitting information about a buyer to a device, and a sales promotion method using a network and short-range communication. 3. The sales promotion method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information for the purpose of sales promotion includes information on free service points. 4. The sales promotion method according to claim 3, wherein the information regarding the buyer includes information regarding the free service points. 5. The sales promotion method according to claim 1, wherein the information regarding the buyer includes information regarding a product or service desired to be purchased. 6. The sales promotion method according to claim 1, wherein the seller device transmits information regarding buyer management corresponding to information regarding the buyer to the buyer device using the network or the short-range communication. A sales promotion method, further comprising steps. 7. The sales promotion method according to claim 6, wherein the information regarding the buyer management includes information regarding service points owned by the buyer. 8. A seller device and a buyer device, wherein the seller device comprises means for transmitting information intended for sales promotion to the buyer device by using a network, and the buyer device comprises the sales promotion device. And a means for transmitting the information about the buyer to the seller device using short-range communication when the buyer device is within the short-range communication range of the seller device. Sales promotion system using a network and short range communication. 9. A seller device and a buyer device are provided, wherein the seller device aims to promote sales to the buyer device by using near field communication when the buyer device is within a short range communication range of the seller device. And a means for transmitting information for identifying a homepage describing the information, the buyer device accessing the homepage using a network, and the buyer device being within the short-range communication range of the seller device. And a means for transmitting information regarding the buyer to the seller device by using the short-range communication, and a sales promotion system using the short-range communication. 10. The sales promotion system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the information for the purpose of sales promotion includes information on free service points. 11. The sales promotion system according to claim 10, wherein the information about the buyer includes information about the free service points. 12. The sales promotion system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the information about the buyer includes information about products or services desired to be purchased. 13. The sales promotion system according to claim 8, wherein the seller device uses the network or the short-range communication to transmit information regarding buyer management corresponding to information regarding the buyer to the buyer device. A sales promotion system, further comprising: 14. The sales promotion system according to claim 13, wherein the information about the buyer management includes information about service points owned by the buyer.