JP2007094598A - Promotion support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for objectively examining and selecting suitable sections for arranging merchandise and other articles in a display place. <P>SOLUTION: The system is constructed with a promotion information acquiring means 101 for acquiring promotion information for specifying articles to be promoted for every class of customers who visit the display place; a customer class information acquiring means 102 for acquiring customer class information on the class of many customers who visit the display place every time zone; a noted section detecting means 103 for detecting sections preferentially noted by the customers who visit the display place, every time zone; and an instruction information output means 104 for outputting instruction information for instructing which articles are arranged in which sections, based on the promotion information, the customer class information and the sections preferentially noted every time zone. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for investigating and selecting in which area of a display place an article such as a product, a sample, a trial product, or a free sample should be placed.

At a retail store, every time a product is sold, information on the fact that the product has been sold is recorded, and the POS (Point Of Sales) system (for example, refer to the following patent document) that makes it possible to use the aggregated results for inventory management and marketing. Are often introduced. By using the POS system, it is possible not only to improve the efficiency of inventory management and ordering of merchandise, but also to perform marketing analysis such as grasping the correlation between the weather and the sales of merchandise.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 08-021131

  However, it is not possible to directly investigate where in the store the product can be effectively appealed to customers and increase sales by using the POS system. In reality, where and what to display is often determined artificially based on the experience, intuition and customs of store staff and managers. Therefore, it is presumed that the product placement area is not always optimal, and that the product cannot be effectively appealed to customers who are likely to purchase the product, and that the sales opportunity of the product is often missed. Is done.

  In addition, the arrangement area where products can be strongly appealed to customers who visit the store, in other words, the area where the customer who visits the store pays more attention, is not necessarily the same in every customer segment. For example, because children and adults have different perspectives, it is necessary to place products in a different area than when promoting products for adult customers. Is required. The arrangement suitable for appealing the product may vary depending on the sex, age, occupation, etc. of the customer. Depending on the customer base, there may be a tendency to reach out focusing on products that are located at very low or high positions.

  Moreover, the customer base that visits the store is not always constant regardless of the time of day, day of the week, etc., so it is necessary to grasp the tendency of the customer base for each time zone and consider the optimal product display arrangement for each time zone. Is also necessary in some cases.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems for the first time, and it is preferable to place an article such as a product, a sample, a trial product or a free sample in an area of the display place. It aims to realize a system that can be investigated and selected objectively.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, when various articles are displayed at a display place, a system for selecting which article is to be placed in the display place. In addition, the promotion information acquisition means 101 for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each customer group of customers visiting the display place, and the customer group for acquiring customer group information regarding the customer group of customers who visit the display place frequently for each time zone Information acquisition means 102, attention area detection means 103 for detecting an area focused on by customers who visit the display place for each time zone, promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means 101, customer base information The customer base information acquired by the acquisition means 102 and the time zone detected by the attention area detection means 103 are focused on. Based on the area, it was constructed promotion support system formed by including an instruction information output unit 104 for outputting indication information indicating where to place the area of any of the articles.

  Here, the display place refers to a place for placing, displaying, or displaying an article, particularly an article display fixture arranged in a retail store or a retail store. The display place can be divided into a plurality of areas, and one or more kinds of articles can be arranged in each area. An area refers to, for example, each floor in a retail store or each area obtained by dividing one floor into a plurality, or upper and lower stages or parts of an article display fixture.

  To acquire information (promotion information, customer demographic information), acquire information in a static sense that reads information stored in a database in advance, and receive information by sensing or from other systems (POS system, etc.) It is a concept that encompasses the acquisition of information in a dynamic sense.

  The time zone (or time period) is generally from a certain time to a certain time of the day, but the time zone mentioned here is not limited to the meaning of a part of the day. Thus, for example, “weekdays 11: 00 to 15: 00” and “holidays 11: 00 to 15: 00” may be regarded as separate time zones, and “weekdays” and “holidays” are simply separated. It may be considered as a time zone. Weather and other external conditions may be adopted for time zone classification. For example, “11:00 to 15:00 on a sunny day” and “11:00 to 15:00 on a rainy day” may be regarded as separate time zones. In addition, the start point / end point of the time zone is not limited to a value with good separation and no fraction. For example, “11:25 to 16:45” can be handled as one time zone.

  The customer segment is a unit in which customers who visit the display place are classified according to a predetermined condition. For example, “Children”, “Students”, “Business Persons”, “Housewifes”, “Matures”, and so on. The customer base of visitors to the display place is likely to change from time to time. In the evening of weekdays, “students” and “business people” will be the dominant customers.

  Goods to be promoted are goods that the store wants to promote / recommend / introduce / provide to customers who visit the display place, or are popular with customers who visit the display place Say goods. The former is artificially formulated in advance, but the latter is not impossible to set by software with reference to sales information recorded by the POS system.

  The area that the customer focuses on is the area that attracts more attention overall. Specifically, it is considered to be suitable for promoting or appealing an article, which corresponds to a frequency where the customer reaches for the area and a frequency where the customer picks up an article placed in the area.

  By integrating the customer demographic information acquired by the customer demographic information acquisition means 102 and the detection result of the customer attention area by the attention area detection means 103, it can be determined which customer demographic is focused on which area. . After that, the goods that you want to promote or appeal to the desired customers can be placed in the area. When this system is used, it is best to change the arrangement of the articles for each time zone, but it is not essential to change the arrangement of the articles for each time zone. For example, if males focus exclusively on high positions and females focus exclusively on low positions, men's goods may be placed at high positions regardless of time, and women's goods may take time. What is necessary is just to arrange | position in a low position, without choosing.

  In the case where it is not necessary to investigate the customer base of customers who visit the display place for each time period, as shown in FIG. 2, promotion information acquisition means 101 for acquiring promotion information for defining articles to be promoted for each time period; , An attention area detection means 103 for detecting an area where a visitor who visited the display place is focused on every time zone, the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means 101, and the attention area detection means 103 A promotion support system comprising instruction information output means 104 for outputting instruction information for instructing which article to be placed in which area based on the area focused on for each time zone detected in That's fine.

  Further, when it is left to the store staff, managers, etc. to decide which items should be promoted, it is not necessary to acquire promotion information. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the customer base information acquisition means 102 for acquiring customer base information, which is information related to the customer base of customers who frequently visit the display place every time zone, and the customers who visited the display place every time zone are prioritized. Attention area detection means 103 for detecting an area focused on, customer layer information acquired by the customer information acquisition means 102, and areas to be focused on for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means 103 What is necessary is just to be a promotion support system provided with the instruction information output means 104 which outputs the instruction information containing the information regarding.

  There are at least two modes in which the promotion support system outputs the instruction information. One of them is that the instruction information output means 104 outputs the instruction information in a manner that appeals to the audiovisual sense of a person responsible for the display of goods, for example, a store staff or a manager. In other words, the instruction information is provided to a human. To output information (instruction information) in a manner that appeals to the audiovisual sense, it is displayed on the screen of the display or hard-copyed via a printer, as well as lighting provided in each area of the display place It also includes indicating an area suitable for display of articles by ON / OFF of the light source, control of the illumination light quantity and light color, and the like. In addition, it is conceivable that an article to be displayed is indicated by the illumination light quantity or light color at that time. Further, when an LED display device, a liquid crystal display, or the like is assembled in the article display fixture or the like, the instruction information may be displayed and output by controlling them. As a result, a person browses the instruction information and performs an article display operation.

  The other is that the instruction information output means 104 outputs, as the instruction information, a control signal for driving and controlling a transfer device having a function of transferring an article and placing it in a required area. As the transfer device, for example, a turntable on which an article can be placed, a gondola that can hold an article, and a lift that puts an article in and out of each area of an article display shelf are assumed. In other words, this is a mode in which the instruction information is input to the transfer device responsible for the display work of the article and the arrangement of the article is changed.

  In addition, writing the instruction information to a predetermined storage medium (particularly a portable flash memory, an optical disk, etc.) is also included in the instruction information output mode.

  There are at least two ways in which the promotion support system can survey the customer base of visitors to the display area. One of them includes a reader that reads information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each customer as an element, and the customer layer information acquisition means 102 is a predetermined one carried by a customer who has visited the display place. By reading the customer attribute information from the storage device, customer layer information relating to the customer layer of customers who frequently visit the display place is obtained for each time period. The predetermined storage device is, for example, a non-contact card, a mobile phone terminal or the like mounted with a wireless tag (or IC chip), or a magnetic card, and can store customer attribute information. The customer attribute information is information used to determine the customer segment of the customer, and includes, for example, age, gender, name, occupation, address, office, contact telephone number, e-mail address, and the like. However, the attribute information may directly indicate the customer segment to which the customer belongs.

  The other includes a reader that reads information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each individual customer as an element, and the customer layer information acquisition means 102 is a predetermined type carried by a customer who has visited the display place. The customer who visits the display place frequently for each time period through reading the identification information for identifying the customer from the storage device and searching and referring to the attribute information of the customer registered in the database in advance using the identification information as a key It acquires customer demographic information about the customer demographic. That is, the customer attribute information is not stored in the card carried by the customer, and the customer attribute information is separately searched.

  When customer attribute information is stored in a database or the like in association with identification information for identifying the customer, the identification information serving as a key for searching the database is stored in a storage device such as a card carried by the customer. Not necessarily. The ID number and / or passcode input by the customer's own hand, the customer's biometric information, etc. can also be adopted as the identification information, so that the device for acquiring the customer's identification information is also a card reader Will not be limited to. That is, an operation input device such as a push button or a touch panel, or a biometric sensor and recognition / collation software are incorporated in the system, and customer identification information is allowed to be acquired via these devices.

  In addition, it may be possible to determine the customer base for each time zone by using a POS system or the like. When there is a clear correlation between the customer segment and the best-selling product, the customer segment information can be obtained by referring to the sales information recorded by the POS system and determining the customer segment for each time period. When store staff, managers, and the like input information such as the gender and rough age of customers into the POS system via a register or the like, customer information for each time period can be obtained from the accumulation of the information. In addition, a camera sensor that shoots the display location or store entrance, checkout location (cash register), etc. is installed, and the photographed image is analyzed to extract information on the appearance, clothes, etc. It is also possible to estimate attributes such as age and occupation.

  In addition, there are at least two ways for the promotion support system to detect an area that attracts the attention of customers visiting the display place. One of the elements includes a wireless tag attached to each article and a reader for wireless communication with a wireless tag present in each area of the display place. By detecting the fact that the communication between the wireless tag and the reader was not established, the frequency at which articles placed in each area were picked up by the customer's hand was counted, and which area was focused on Is detected.

  The other is a sensor device, which is arranged for each area and senses a motion of the customer to put out a hand toward the area, and the area-of-interest detecting means 103 is provided in each area. By counting the frequency with which the hand is put out, it is detected which area is focused on. The sensor device here refers to, for example, a mechanical switch that senses the fact that the customer has touched the area or an article placed in the area, or the finger of the customer approaches the article placed in the area or area. An infrared sensor, a camera sensor, or the like that senses the fact. In short, it is a way to detect without using a wireless tag where the customer is putting out many hands in the display area of the goods, and where the customer is picking up many goods placed in the areas. is there.

  In addition, it is also possible to detect an area that attracts the attention of customers by using a POS system or the like. A variety of similar items are displayed over a certain range, such as stores selling stationery, personal computers, mobile phone terminals, home appliances, etc. (quality differences and performance differences between displayed items) It is estimated that the price difference is small and the placement position has a considerable influence on the customer's selectivity), and if the placement of each article is fixed, the sales information recorded by the POS system, etc. It is possible to detect an area in which the customer is paying attention with reference.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the system which can objectively investigate and select where it is suitable to arrange | position various articles | goods in a display place is implement | achieved.

§1
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the basic configuration of the promotion support system according to the present invention will be described. In this promotion support system, one or a plurality of computers 1 that are communicably connected to each other form the core. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the computer 1 includes hardware resources such as a processor a, a main memory b, an auxiliary storage device c, a display control device d, a display e, an operation input device f, and a communication interface g. The computer 1 is controlled by a controller (system controller, I / O controller, etc.) h and operates in cooperation. The auxiliary storage device c is a hard disk drive, a non-volatile memory (flash memory), an optical disk drive, or the like. The display control device d temporarily stores video chips (graphics chips), image data, and the like that generate image data to be displayed based on the drawing instruction received from the processor a and send the image data to the display e. The video memory etc. The operation input device f is a pointing device such as a push button that can be operated with a finger, a keyboard, a mouse, a track pad, or a touch panel (may be provided to overlap the display e). The communication interface g is a device for exchanging information with other systems, apparatuses, or devices via an electric communication line, and includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), a wireless LAN transceiver, a USB (Universal Serial Bus), It is represented by an interface such as IEEE1394.

  Normally, a program to be executed by the processor a is stored in the auxiliary storage device c, and when the program is executed, it is read from the auxiliary storage device c into the main memory b and decoded by the processor a. Specifically, an OS (Operating System) program and various device driver programs attached thereto are installed to mediate use of hardware resources by other programs. In addition, programs necessary for constructing the system are installed, and the hardware resources are operated according to the programs, and the promotion information acquisition unit 101, customer demographic information shown in FIGS. It functions as the acquisition unit 102, the attention area detection unit 103, the instruction information output unit 104, and the database.

  In addition, this promotion support system can use other systems, particularly a POS system. That is, various information collected, recorded, and stored by a POS system or the like can be acquired and referred to via a telecommunication line.

§2
In order to select in which area Q in the display place it is preferable to place various articles, it is first necessary to grasp the customer base of customers visiting the display place for each time zone. In this section, the customer demographic information acquisition means 102, which is one of the components of this promotion support system, will be described in detail. The customer demographic information acquisition means 102 acquires customer demographic information related to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display places every time period. Regarding acquisition of customer demographic information, the following multiple modes are conceivable.

§2-1
If the customer base for each time zone is already investigated by some method and the customer base information obtained as a result is stored in the database in advance, the customer base information may be read from the database when necessary. Customer demographic information stored in the database is illustrated in FIG.

§2-2
If customer demographic information is not stored in the database in advance, it is necessary to dynamically acquire customer demographic information as described below. When each customer carries a predetermined storage device and the attribute information of the customer is stored in this storage device, the attribute information is read from the storage device carried by the customer visiting the display place. Customer base information can be obtained through recording. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a reader 2 for reading information stored in a storage device carried by a customer is arranged near the display place, for example, an accounting place or an entrance / exit facing the display place. In addition, the reader 2 and the computer 1 are connected via an electric communication line. The storage device carried by the customer is, for example, a card mounted with an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag, a mobile phone terminal, or a magnetic card. The reader 2 is an RFID reader, a magnetic card reader, or the like that wirelessly communicates with an RFID tag and reads information stored in the RFID tag.

  A procedure of processing executed by the computer 1 according to the program will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The computer 1 acquires the attribute information of the customer who visited the display place (step S1). That is, when a customer visits a display place (more specifically, a place where the reader 2 is disposed), the attribute information stored in the storage device carried by the customer is read through the reader 2. . Then, based on the read customer attribute information, it is determined which customer segment the customer belongs to (step S2), and information indicating the customer segment of the customer and the time when the customer visited the display place The information (hour / minute and day of the week as well as information on external conditions such as weather if necessary) is stored in the database as a record (step S3). The classification condition for determining the customer segment from the attribute information in step S2 can be arbitrarily set. Moreover, it does not prevent that the attribute information itself directly points to the customer segment of the customer. The above steps S1 to S3 are executed each time a new customer visits the display place. A record stored in the database is illustrated in FIG.

  Thus, it is possible to obtain customer layer information for each time zone from the accumulation of records stored in the database. That is, for example, if the number of customers who visited the display place every hour is totaled, the number of customers who are dominant (the number of customers who became the most, the number of customers who have more people, or the number of people) Can be found). In addition, it is possible to acquire a dominant customer segment for each day of the week, and further to acquire a dominant customer segment for each external condition such as weather.

§2-3
The customer's attribute information may not be stored in the storage device carried by the customer. In this aspect, the attribute information of each customer is stored in advance in the database in association with the identification information for identifying each person, and the identification information for identifying the customer is stored in advance in the storage device carried by the customer. .

  A procedure of processing executed by the computer 1 according to the program will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The computer 1 acquires the identification information of the customer who visited the display place (step S4). That is, when the customer visits the display place, the identification information is read from the storage device carried by the customer. Next, the database is searched using the identification information as a key, and the attribute information of the customer is acquired (step S5). Then, based on the acquired customer attribute information, it is determined which customer segment the customer belongs to (step S6), and information indicating the customer segment of the customer and the time when the customer visited the display place Is stored in the database as a record (step S7). The above steps S4 to S5 are executed each time a new customer visits the display place. As described above, the customer base information for each time zone can be obtained from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§2-4
If the store staff, managers, etc., for example, enter information on the gender and approximate age of visitors to the POS system via a register etc. It is possible to obtain customer demographic information for each time zone. In this aspect, the attribute information of the customer who visited the display place (more specifically, the accounting place where the register is arranged) and the information related to the time when the customer visited the display place are recorded in the POS system. ing.

  In accordance with the program, the computer 1 communicates with the POS system to acquire attribute information of individual customers who have visited the display place and information relating to the time when the customer has visited the display place. Then, the customer base is determined on the basis of the attribute information for each customer, and information indicating the customer base of the customer and information relating to the point in time when the customer visits the display place are stored as records in the database. As described above, the customer base information for each time zone can be obtained from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§2-5
When the correlation between the customer segment and the best-selling product (article) purchased by the customer segment is strong, the customer segment for each time period can be estimated from the sales information recorded in the POS system. In this aspect, the POS system includes sales information, that is, information on a product purchased by a customer, and information on a time when the customer purchases and pays for the product (can be regarded as a time when the customer visits a display place). It is recorded.

  The computer 1 communicates with the POS system according to the program and acquires sales information. Based on the acquired sales information, it is determined for each customer who purchased the product which customer the customer belongs to, and the information indicating the customer's customer base and the point in time when the customer visits the display place. Information is stored in the database as a record. As described above, the customer base information for each time zone can be obtained from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§2-6
It is also possible to take a picture of a customer who visits a display place with a camera sensor, and to analyze the photographed image to estimate attributes such as the gender, rough age, and occupation of the customer, and thereby to estimate the customer base of the customer. . In this aspect, a camera sensor for photographing a customer who visits the display place is disposed in the vicinity of the display place, for example, at a billing place or an entrance facing the display place, and the camera sensor and the computer 1 are connected to an electric communication line. Keep connected through.

  The computer 1 acquires a photographed image of a customer who has visited the display place according to the program. That is, when a customer visits a display place (more specifically, a place where a camera sensor is provided), the customer is photographed. Then, the customer's photographed image is analyzed to estimate which customer segment the customer belongs to, and information indicating the customer segment of the customer and information relating to the point in time when the customer visits the display place are recorded. As a database. As described above, the customer base information for each time zone can be obtained from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§3
In addition, in order to select in which area Q in the display place it is preferable to place various articles, the customer who visited the display place pays attention to the area Q in the display place. It is necessary to detect whether or not. In this section, the attention area detection means 103, which is one of the components of the promotion support system, will be described in detail. The attention area detection means 103 detects an area Q where a customer who visits the display place for each time zone is paying attention. For the detection of the area Q that the customer is paying attention to, the following plural modes are conceivable.

§3-1
If a wireless tag, that is, an RFID tag attached to each article placed in each area Q in the display place, and a reader 4 for wireless communication with the wireless tag existing in each area Q in the display place, It is possible to detect the area Q that the customer is paying attention to. That is, by detecting the fact that the communication between the wireless tag and the reader 4 is not established, the frequency at which the articles placed in each area Q are picked up by the customer's hand is counted. It is detected whether it is attracting attention. In this aspect, as shown in FIG. 10, a reader 4, that is, an RFID reader for wirelessly communicating with a wireless tag attached to an article and reading information stored in the wireless tag is arranged at a display place, and the reader 4 and the computer 1 are connected via an electric communication line. In particular, the reader 4 can be mounted on an article display fixture 3 having one or more areas Q for placing articles. The fixture main body of the fixture 3 for displaying items can take various forms such as a shelf, a table, a wagon, a rack, a showcase, a mesh stand that can hook an article via a hook or a wire.

  A procedure of processing executed by the computer 1 according to the program will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The computer 1 repeatedly tries wireless communication with a wireless tag attached to each article arranged in each area Q of the display place via the reader 4 at a predetermined cycle (step S8). When the wireless communication with a certain wireless tag is interrupted (step S9), in other words, when the fact that an article is taken out of the area Q by the customer's hand is detected, the area where the article is arranged It is determined where Q is Q (step S10), and after that, information indicating the area Q in which the article is placed and information regarding the time when the article is taken out of the area Q (time) Minutes and days of the week as well as information on external conditions such as weather if necessary) are stored as records in the database (step S11). The records stored in the database are illustrated in FIG.

  In step S10, if a reader 4 is provided for each area Q in the display place, it can be determined from which area Q by determining which reader 4 has lost wireless communication with the wireless tag. It can be judged whether the article has been taken out. In other words, a situation is assumed in which a reader 4 is not provided for each area Q. In that case, a logic for determining from which area Q the article has been taken out is necessary. For example, for each article, a different identifier is assigned to each area Q in which the article is arranged, and the identifier is stored in a wireless tag attached to each article. By determining whether the wireless communication with the tag has been interrupted, it is possible to determine from which area Q the article has been taken out.

  Thus, it is possible to know the area Q focused on every time zone from the accumulation of records stored in the database. That is, for example, if the number of times items are taken out from each area Q every hour is counted, the area Q (the number of items taken out is the largest) where attention is focused on every hour unit. Area Q, area Q in which the number of items taken out is greater, or area Q) in which the number of items taken out exceeds a predetermined threshold. Further, it is possible to know the area Q that is focused on every day of the week, or to know the area Q focused on every external condition such as weather.

§3-2
If a sensor device that can directly sense the movement of the customer reaching each area Q at the display place is used, the area Q attracting the attention of the customer can be detected regardless of the RFID. In this aspect, instead of the reader 4 for each area Q, a sensor device that senses a motion of a customer trying to put out a hand toward the area Q is arranged, and the sensor device and the computer 1 are arranged. Connect via telecommunications line. The sensor device is, for example, a mechanical switch that senses the fact that a customer touches each area Q or an article placed in each area Q, or a customer on an article placed in each area Q or each area Q. An infrared sensor, a camera sensor, or the like that senses the fact that the user's finger is approaching. In particular, the sensor device can be mounted on an article display fixture 3 for arranging articles.

  A procedure of processing executed by the computer 1 according to the program will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. When the computer 1 senses, via the sensor device, a certain area Q in the display place or the fact that the customer has reached a product placed in the area Q (step S12), this is the area Q. (Step S13), and thereafter, information indicating the area Q and information relating to the time when the article is taken out of the area Q are stored as records in the database (step S14). As described above, it is possible to know the area Q that is focused on every time zone from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§3-3
A variety of similar products (articles) are displayed over a certain range, such as stationery, personal computers 1, mobile phone terminals, home appliances, etc., and the arrangement of each product is fixed. If it is, it is possible to detect the area Q focused by the customer with reference to the sales information recorded by the POS system. That is, it is assumed that the quality difference, performance difference and price difference are small among the displayed products, and it is assumed that the arrangement position has a considerable influence on the customer's selectivity. In this aspect, the POS system includes sales information, that is, information on the product purchased by the customer and information on the time when the customer purchases and pays the product (can be regarded as the time when the customer visits the display place). It is recorded.

  The computer 1 communicates with the POS system according to the program and acquires sales information. Then, based on the acquired sales information, it is determined where the customer has purchased the product arranged in the area Q, in other words, where the customer has focused on the area Q. The information indicating the area Q and the information related to the time when the customer visited the display place are stored in the database as records. As described above, it is possible to know the area Q that is focused on every time zone from the accumulation of records stored in the database.

§4
In addition, in order to select in which area Q in the display place it is preferable to arrange various articles, it is necessary to specify which articles are to be promoted to customers. In this section, the promotion information acquisition means 101, which is one of the components of this promotion support system, will be described in detail. The promotion information acquisition unit 101 acquires promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each customer group of customers who visit the display place or for each time zone. Regarding the acquisition of the promotion information, the following plural modes are conceivable.

§4-1
In principle, store staff, managers, etc. decide which items to promote to customers. Therefore, usually, artificially set promotion information is stored in advance in the database, and the promotion information can be read from the database when necessary. FIG. 14 illustrates promotion information stored in the database. In the illustrated example, for each customer segment, an article to be promoted for a customer in the customer segment is defined. However, it does not prevent the promotion information from defining items to be promoted for each time slot.

§4-2
If promotion information is not stored in the database in advance, it is necessary to dynamically acquire promotion information as described below. If you already have customer demographic information about a customer base that visits many display locations at different times of the day, you can refer to the sales information recorded by the POS system and find out the products (articles) that are popular with each customer base. is there. Even if customer segment information is not obtained, it is possible to know the best selling products for each time period by referring to the sales information recorded by the POS system. In this aspect, the hot selling product is regarded as a product to be promoted, and the promotion information is acquired.

  The computer 1 communicates with the POS system according to the program and acquires sales information. And the goods used as the best seller are judged for every time slot | zone. In addition, when it is possible to acquire customer demographic information related to a dominant customer demographic for each time period, customer demographic information is acquired. In addition, by comparing the best-selling products for each time zone with the dominant customer base for each time zone, information on the products that are popular for each customer base, that is, promotion information can be obtained.

§5
In this promotion support system, based on the above-described promotion information, customer demographic information, and the detection result of the area Q that the customer who has visited the display place focuses on, it is preferable to place the article in which area Q. The determination result is output as instruction information. In this section, the instruction information output unit 104, which is one of the components of the promotion support system, will be described in detail.

  If all of the promotion information that prescribes goods to be promoted for each customer segment, customer segment information that shows the dominant customer segment for each time zone, and the detection results of the area Q that attracts customers' attention for each time zone, It is possible to generate and output instruction information for instructing for each time zone where the article should be placed in which area Q.

  Even without acquiring customer demographic information (without investigating the dominant customer demographics at each time zone), promotion information that defines articles to be promoted at each time zone, and areas that attract customers' attention at each time zone If the detection result of Q is used as a material, it is also possible to generate and output instruction information for instructing which article should be placed in which area Q for each time zone.

  In addition, if the customer base information indicating the dominant customer base for each time zone and the detection result of the zone Q that attracts the customer's attention for each time zone are used as materials, the time zone Q effective for placing the article is set as the time. Instruction information for instructing each band can be generated and output. However, at this time, what to place is not a place to know the promotion support system, but it is left to the judgment of the store staff, managers, and the like.

  Regarding the output of the instruction information, the following plural modes are conceivable.

§5-1
When the article is manually placed in a required area Q at the display place or the placement is changed, the instruction information is output in a manner appealing to the audiovisual of the person responsible for the display of the article. That is, the computer 1 generates instruction information according to a program and displays the instruction information on the screen of the display e or outputs a hard copy via a printer. The instruction information is illustrated in FIG. When an LED display device, a liquid crystal display, or the like is assembled in the article display fixture 3 or the like, the computer 1 may control them to display and output instruction information. Further, when lighting or the like is arranged in each area Q of the display place, the computer 1 controls lighting or the like for each time zone corresponding to the contents of the instruction information, and turns on / off the lighting. Or the area Q suitable for display of goods can be pointed out by changing the illumination light quantity and the light color. In addition, it is conceivable that an article to be displayed is indicated by the illumination light quantity or light color at that time.

§5-2
When a transfer device having a function of transferring an article is driven to place the article in a required area Q at the display place or the arrangement is changed, a control signal for driving and controlling the transfer apparatus is provided as instruction information. Output. The transfer device is, for example, a turntable 5 on which an article can be placed, a gondola 6 that can hold an article, and a lift for putting the article in and out of each section Q of an article display shelf, as shown in FIG. Is assumed. That is, the computer 1 generates instruction information according to the program, inputs the instruction information to the transfer device for each time zone, controls it, and transfers the article to the required area Q (defined in the instruction information). Realize the optimal display arrangement of goods.

  Generally, the transfer device includes an actuator (motor) that outputs a driving force for transferring an article and a control circuit that controls the actuator, and the computer 1 inputs a control signal that is instruction information to the control circuit. This drives the actuator. Taking the turntable 5 or gondola 6 as an example, the computer 1 drives an actuator that rotates the turntable 5 etc. to change the direction (or phase) of the turntable 5 etc., and turntable 5 etc. The article placed on the is transferred to the required area Q. However, it is known in advance which part of the turntable 5 or the like is placed, and the information is stored in the control circuit of the transfer device or the computer 1 (the main memory b or the auxiliary storage device c). It needs to be remembered. It should be noted that it does not prevent the transfer device from being equipped with means for knowing what the transfer device is trying to transfer, such as a bar code reader, a two-dimensional code reader, or an RFID reader.

  According to the present embodiment, when displaying various articles at a display place, the system for selecting which area Q in the display place is arranged for each customer layer of customers visiting the display place Promotion information acquisition means 101 for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted, customer demographic information acquisition means 102 for acquiring customer demographic information relating to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display places for each time period, and display for each time period Area-of-interest detection means 103 for detecting an area Q focused by a customer who has visited the place, promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means 101, customer demographic information acquired by the customer demographic information acquisition means 102, and , Based on the area Q focused on every time zone detected by the area-of-interest detection means 103, Since the promotion support system comprising the instruction information output means 104 that outputs the instruction information for instructing whether to place the article in the area Q is constructed, it is possible to objectively determine where the article should be arranged in the area Q. It will be possible to investigate and select. And the display arrangement of articles can be optimized, and business opportunities can be expanded or opportunity loss can be reduced.

  Promotion information acquisition means 101 for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each time zone, and attention area detection means for detecting the area Q that the customer who has visited the display place focuses on every time zone. 103, the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means 101, and the area Q focused on every time zone detected by the area-of-interest detection means 103. In the case of the promotion support system including the instruction information output means 104 that outputs the instruction information for instructing whether or not to arrange, it is not necessary to investigate the customer base of customers who visit the display place every time zone.

  Further, when it is left to the store staff, managers, etc. to decide which items should be promoted, it is not necessary to acquire promotion information. Therefore, the customer information acquisition means 102 for acquiring customer demographic information, which is information relating to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display places in each time zone, and the area Q where the customers who visited the display places in each time zone are paying attention. Including the attention area detection means 103 for detecting the customer area information, the customer layer information acquired by the customer area information acquisition means 102, and the information regarding the area Q to be focused on for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means 103 What is necessary is just to be a promotion support system provided with the instruction information output means 104 which outputs information.

  If the instruction information output means 104 outputs the instruction information in a manner that appeals to the audiovisual sense of the person responsible for the display of the article, for example, the staff or manager of the store, it is preferable to display the article manually. Can help.

  If the instruction information output means 104 outputs, as the instruction information, a control signal for driving and controlling a transfer device having a function of transferring an article and placing it in a required area Q, the transfer device is driven. As a result, the display arrangement of articles can be optimized, which contributes to labor saving.

  A reader 2 that reads information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each individual customer is provided as an element, and the customer layer information acquisition means 102 is provided from a predetermined storage device carried by the customer visiting the display place. If the customer demographic information regarding the customer demographics of customers who frequently visit the display place is acquired by reading the customer's attribute information, the dominant customer demographic can be effectively investigated by time.

  A reader 2 that reads information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each individual customer is provided as an element, and the customer layer information acquisition means 102 is provided from a predetermined storage device carried by the customer visiting the display place. A customer group related to a customer group who visits a display place every time period by reading identification information for identifying the customer and searching and referring to the attribute information of the customer registered in the database in advance using the identification information as a key The same applies to obtaining information.

  The wireless tag attached to each article and the reader 4 for wireless communication with the wireless tag existing in each area Q of the display place are included as elements, and the attention area detection means 103 includes these wireless tags, By detecting the fact that communication with the leader 4 is not established, the frequency at which the articles placed in each area Q are picked up by the customer is counted, and which area Q is focused on. If this is detected, it is possible to objectively verify the arrangement effective for professionally moving the article to the customer.

  A sensor device that is arranged for each area Q and senses a motion of the customer to put out a hand toward the area Q is provided as an element, and the attention area detection means 103 is provided for each area Q. In the case where it is determined that the area Q is focused on by counting the frequency at which the item is sent out, the preparation work for attaching the wireless tag to each article becomes unnecessary.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above. Various modifications can be made to the specific configuration of each part, processing procedure, and the like without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The structure explanatory view of the present invention. The structure explanatory view of the present invention. The structure explanatory view of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware resource which the computer in one Embodiment of this invention comprises. The figure which illustrates customer demographic information. The figure which shows the leader arrange | positioned in the display place vicinity. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which a computer performs. The figure which illustrates the record regarding the customer who visited the display place. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which a computer performs. The figure which shows the fixture and reader for goods display arrange | positioned in the display place. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which a computer performs. The figure which illustrates the record of the detection result of the area which the individual customer who visited the display place paid attention to. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which a computer performs. The figure which illustrates promotion information. The figure which illustrates instruction information. The figure which shows the transfer apparatus arrange | positioned in the display place.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Promotion information acquisition means 102 ... Customer demographic information acquisition means 103 ... Area of interest detection means 104 ... Instruction information output means

Claims (14)

A system for selecting which article is to be placed in the display place when various articles are displayed at the display place,
Promotion information acquisition means for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each customer group of customers visiting the display place;
Customer demographic information acquisition means for acquiring customer demographic information relating to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display locations in each time zone;
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area focused on by customers who visit the display place every time period,
Based on the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means, the customer demographic information acquired by the customer demographic information acquisition means, and the focused area for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means, A promotion support system comprising instruction information output means for outputting instruction information for instructing in which area. A system for selecting which area to place in the display place when the article is displayed at the display place,
Promotion information acquisition means for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each time period;
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area focused on by customers who visit the display place every time period,
An instruction for instructing which article to place in which area based on the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means and the area focused on for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means A promotion support system comprising instruction information output means for outputting information. A system for selecting where in the display place the article is to be placed when the article is displayed at the display place,
Customer demographic information acquisition means for acquiring customer demographic information, which is information relating to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display places in each time zone;
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area focused on by customers who visit the display place every time period,
Instruction information output means for outputting instruction information including information related to the customer area information acquired by the customer area information acquisition means and the area to be focused on for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means; Become a promotion support system. The promotion support system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the instruction information output means outputs the instruction information in a manner appealing to the audiovisual of the person responsible for the display of the article. The promotion support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the instruction information output means outputs a control signal for driving and controlling a transfer device having a function of transferring an article and placing it in a required area as the instruction information. A reader for reading out information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each customer is provided as an element,
The customer demographic information acquisition means obtains customer demographic information relating to the customer demographics of customers who frequently visit the display location by reading out attribute information of the customer from a predetermined storage device carried by the customer visiting the display location. The promotion support system according to claim 1 or 3. A reader for reading out information stored in a predetermined storage device carried by each customer is provided as an element,
The customer demographic information acquisition means reads identification information for identifying the customer from a predetermined storage device carried by the customer who has visited the display place, and uses the identification information as a key for the customer attributes registered in advance in the database The promotion support system according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the customer support information on the customer base of customers who frequently visit the display place for each time zone is obtained by searching and referring to the information. The wireless tag attached to each item and a reader for wireless communication with the wireless tag existing in each area of the display place are provided as elements.
The area-of-interest detection means counts the frequency at which articles placed in each area are picked up by the customer through sensing the fact that the communication between the wireless tag and the reader is not established, so The promotion support system according to claim 1, wherein it is detected whether or not attention is focused on. A sensor device that is arranged for each area and senses a motion of a customer trying to put out a hand toward the area is provided as an element.
The area-of-interest detecting means detects where an area is focused on by counting the frequency with which a customer puts a hand in each area. 7. The promotion support system according to 7. What is used for constructing the promotion support system according to claim 1,
Promotion information acquisition means for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each customer group of customers visiting the display place,
Customer demographic information acquisition means for acquiring customer demographic information related to the customer demographics who visit many display locations in each time zone,
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area where a customer who has visited a display place for each time zone is focusing attention, and
Based on the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means, the customer demographic information acquired by the customer demographic information acquisition means, and the focused area for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means, the required time zone Program for functioning as instruction information output means for outputting instruction information for instructing which article to arrange in which area. It is used for constructing the promotion support system according to claim 2, and the computer is
Promotion information acquisition means for acquiring promotion information that defines articles to be promoted for each time period,
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area where a customer who has visited a display place for each time zone is focusing attention, and
An instruction for instructing which article to place in which area based on the promotion information acquired by the promotion information acquisition means and the area focused on for each time zone detected by the attention area detection means A program that functions as instruction information output means for outputting information. It is used for constructing the promotion support system according to claim 3, and the computer is
Customer demographic information acquisition means for acquiring customer demographic information that is information relating to the customer demographics of customers who visit many display places in each time zone,
Area-of-interest detection means for detecting an area where a customer who has visited a display place for each time zone is focusing attention, and
A program that functions as instruction information output means for outputting customer information acquired by the customer information acquisition means and instruction information including information relating to a region of interest focused on every time zone detected by the attention area detection means. It is used for constructing the promotion support system according to claim 8,
A fixture body capable of displaying articles;
An article display fixture comprising a wireless tag attached to an article displayed on the fixture main body and a reader for wireless communication. It is used for constructing the promotion support system according to claim 9,
A fixture body capable of displaying articles;
An article display fixture comprising: a sensor device for sensing an operation of a customer trying to pick up an article displayed on the fixture main body.

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