JP2007286701A - Electronic shopping mall system and computer device for electronic shopping mall system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily set an accurate keyword for retrieval to an article. <P>SOLUTION: An operating server device 100 constituting an electronic shopping mall is equipped with an article information storage section 140 where articles and article keywords for retrieving the articles are stored while made to correspond to each other. The operating server device 100 retrieves an article keyword matching a retrieval keyword sent from a user terminal, extracts the article to which the retrieved article keyword is made to correspond, and transmits it to the client device. When newly registering an article, the operating server device 100 acquires information showing how often a word relating to the article to be registered input to each store terminal is used for retrieval as to the word and its related word, and transmits the word and frequency to the store terminal 300. The operating server device 100 sets the selected word as an article keyword in the article information storage section 140 in response to selection by the store terminal 300. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic shopping mall system in which each store in an electronic shopping mall can easily attach a keyword for product search to a product handled by the store.

  Currently, a shopping mall system for operating an electronic shopping mall on the Internet has become widespread. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a user can easily order a product purchase via the Internet.

  The database of the shopping mall system stores product information related to products handled by each store opening in the electronic shopping mall. Based on the information stored in this database, the shopping mall system uses HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), etc. to introduce each store, and explain and purchase the products handled by each store. Is displayed on the user's computer. The shopping mall system can centrally manage many stores and products.

  When the user accesses the shopping mall system using a WWW (World Wide Web) browser installed on the computer, the shopping mall system displays a guide screen of the electronic shopping mall on the screen of the computer. This guidance screen includes an electronic shopping mall introduction, a product category list, a search keyword input field, and the like.

  The user can narrow down the products by following the categories from the large classification to the small classification.

  In addition, the user can narrow down the products by inputting keywords related to the desired products.

  Searching for the product by searching the full text of the product description (full text search) as a method of narrowing down the products by keyword, and registering multiple keywords in the product in advance and searching for this keyword (search word) It is known to do this.

  Although the full-text search has a high hit rate, there is a problem that the load on the server device that performs the search processing is large and a large amount of noise is included in the search result because the input keyword is compared with the full description text.

  On the other hand, in a method in which a search keyword (product keyword) is registered in advance for each product, and the product keyword is compared with the input search keyword, the load on the server can be reduced. However, depending on how the product keywords are registered, the hit rate may be drastically reduced, and further, desirable search results may not be obtained. In addition, people who register products in electronic malls and the like are often not proficient in selecting and registering product keywords.

From such a point of view, a system is desired that can apply a product keyword that is accurate to the viewpoint while adopting a search method with a low load on the server device that performs the search.
JP 2001-229171 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily set an accurate search keyword for a product to be exhibited in an electronic shopping mall or the like.

An electronic shopping mall system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:
A server device constituting an electronic shopping mall, a client device connected to the server device via a line network for searching for and purchasing goods, and an electronic shopping mall connected to the server device via a line network An electronic shopping mall system composed of a store terminal for registering items for sale,
The server device
Storage means for storing a product to be sold, a product keyword for searching for the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches the search keyword transmitted from the client device, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device;
Information indicating the word and the frequency with which the word is used for the search is acquired, transmitted to the store terminal as a keyword candidate to be assigned to the product, and in response to the selection at the store terminal, the selected word is Keyword setting means for registering in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product;
With
The client device is
Search means for transmitting a search keyword to the server device, receiving and outputting product information transmitted from the search processing means of the server device,
Purchase instruction means for instructing purchase of a product based on the information obtained by the search instruction means;
Consisting of
The store terminal
Product information sending means for sending product information to the server device and storing it in the storage means of the server device;
Keyword candidate output means for transmitting information about the product to the server device, receiving and outputting product search keyword candidates returned from the server device;
Keyword selection means for selecting any of the keyword candidates output by the keyword candidate output means and transmitting to the server device to register as a product keyword for product selection;
Comprising
It is characterized by that.

  For example, the merchandise information transmitting means of the store terminal transmits one or more words to the server device, and the keyword setting means of the server device and the related word related to the word transmitted from the merchandise information transmitting means Information indicating the frequency with which the word is used for search is acquired and transmitted to the store terminal as a keyword candidate to be assigned to the product, and the keyword candidate output means of the store terminal is transmitted from the keyword setting means of the server device Information indicating the related word and the frequency with which the related word is used for the search, and the keyword selection means of the store terminal selects one or more of the related words output by the keyword candidate output means And the keyword setting means of the server device is selected by the keyword selection means. It registers the associated word as a keyword for search of goods.

  For example, the search processing means of the server device counts the keywords used for the search and the number of searches, and the keyword setting means of the server device calculates the word and the word based on the count of the search processing means. Information indicating the frequency used for the search is acquired.

  For example, the keyword setting means of the server device acquires information indicating a word and the frequency with which the word is used for searching based on information from an external search engine.

A computer for an electronic shopping mall according to the second aspect of the present invention,
Storage means for storing a product, a product keyword for searching the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches a search keyword transmitted to a user terminal connected via a network, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device;
Information indicating one or a plurality of words and the frequency with which the words are used for the search is acquired based on information on the target product for which a search keyword is set, and the user terminal is assigned as a candidate product keyword to be assigned to the product. And a keyword setting means for registering the selected word in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product in response to selection at the user terminal;
Is provided.

A computer program according to the third aspect of the present invention provides:
Computer
Storage means for storing a product, a product keyword for searching the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches a search keyword transmitted to a user terminal connected via a network, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device,
Information indicating one or a plurality of words and the frequency with which the words are used for the search is acquired based on information on the target product for which a search keyword is set, and the user terminal is assigned as a candidate product keyword to be assigned to the product. A keyword setting means for transmitting and registering the selected word in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product in response to the selection at the user terminal;
To function as.

According to the present invention,
Information indicating a plurality of words and the frequency with which the words are used for the search is acquired, and as a product keyword candidate to be assigned to the product, selection is possible, and the selected word is used as the product keyword. Therefore, it is easy to register product keywords.

  An electronic shopping mall system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the shopping mall system 1 according to the present embodiment includes an operation server device 100, and a client device 200 and a store terminal 300 that are connected to the operation server device 100 via a network 400. In this figure, one client device 200 and one store terminal 300 are shown, but the number is not limited. The network 400 is typically the Internet, but may be another network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a dedicated line.

  The management server device 100 provides a shopping mall system, and as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the communication control unit 130, the product information storage unit 140, and the store information storage unit. 150 and a bus 190. The control unit 110, the storage unit 120, the communication control unit 130, the product information storage unit 140, and the store information storage unit 150 are connected to each other via a bus 190.

  The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls each unit based on an operation program stored in the storage unit 120.

  The storage unit 120 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a hard disk as work areas, and an OS (Operating System) for controlling the operation of the control unit 110, Stores application programs and the like. As an application program stored in the storage unit 120, for example, a program that writes, changes, and deletes data in the product information storage unit 140, and a data that is written, changed, and deleted in the store information storage unit 150 Search for product information storage unit 140 and store information storage unit 150 according to the program, keywords (search keywords) and conditions specified by the user, and search for products and stores that match the keywords and conditions, store introduction screen and search A WWW server program that generates a WWW page including the result and transmits it to the client apparatus 200 is included.

  The storage unit 120 stores a synonym dictionary 121. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the synonym dictionary 121 is a dictionary that stores a word and a similar or related word in association with each other.

  Further, the storage unit 120 stores a search keyword table 122 as shown in FIG. The search keyword table 122 stores a word (free keyword) input by the user for searching for a product and the number of times that the word has been input and the search has been executed in association with each other. From the contents of the search keyword table 122, it is possible to determine what words are frequently used by the user of the electronic shopping mall system during the search. When a user inputs a search keyword to perform some search and executes a search, if the search keyword is registered in the search keyword table 122, the corresponding search count is incremented by one, and the search keyword is stored in the search keyword table. If it is not registered in 122, the search keyword is added, and the corresponding number of searches is set to 1.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5A, the storage unit 120 arbitrarily selects a product category (hereinafter referred to as “common category”) used for classifying products by a classification method common to the entire electronic shopping mall. The data format is stored. This common category has a plurality of hierarchical structures such as a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy. The number of hierarchies can be set arbitrarily.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the storage unit 120 stores display order data that defines the order in which products are displayed when a plurality of products are searched in the search process. For example, data for setting product registration order (new order / old order), product number order (ascending order / descending order), price order (ascending order / descending order), delivery date order (ascending order / descending order) is stored. Yes. The storage unit 120 may store a flag indicating whether the data is valid or invalid in association with one display order data.

  The communication control unit 130 includes, for example, a communication device such as a NIC (Network Interface Card), and transmits and receives data between the management server device 100 and the client device 200 under the control of the control unit 110.

  The merchandise information storage unit 140 is composed of, for example, a hard disk device, and stores information on the merchandise handled by the store for each store opening in the electronic shopping mall. For example, the product information storage unit 140 stores a product information table 141 as shown in FIG. Each entry of the product information table 141 includes a product ID 210, a product name 220, a price 230, a shopping mall category name 240, a store category name 250, a product keyword 260, a product introduction 270, a product image 280, a registration date 290, and other information. Saved.

  The product ID 210 is identification information unique to all stores and all products that open in an electronic shopping mall. Therefore, when the store is the same but the product is different, or when the product is the same but the store is different, each product ID 210 is different. A store and a product can be identified from the product ID 210.

  The product name 220 is the name of the product. The price 230 is the unit price of the product. The shopping mall category name 240 is the category name of the product classified in the common category used in the entire electronic shopping mall. If the categories are hierarchized, the lowest subcategory name is set. The store category name 250 is the category name of the product classified by the category (hereinafter referred to as “store category”) uniquely set by each store. If the categories are hierarchized, the lowest subcategory name is set.

  The product keyword 260 is a word that is set in advance to search for the product, for example, a plurality of words that express the characteristics of the product. The product keyword 260 is specified by the registrant when registering the product. The management server device 100 includes a system that provides candidate product keywords for easily and accurately registering the product keyword 260. Details thereof will be described later.

  The product introduction 270 is a sentence such as a catch phrase that is introduced in order to increase purchase motivation for the product. The product image 280 is an arbitrary image such as a photograph of the product. The registration date 290 is information indicating the date when the product is registered in the electronic shopping mall, and the date is automatically added by the control unit 110. Note that the time registered in the electronic shopping mall may be stored instead of or in addition to the date.

  The store information storage unit 150 illustrated in FIG. 2 is configured with, for example, a hard disk device, and stores information regarding stores that are open in an electronic shopping mall. Specifically, the store information storage unit 150 stores a store information table 151 that stores information on each store that opens in an electronic shopping mall. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the store information table 151 stores store specifying data 310, store introduction screen data 320, category definition information 330, and display order information 340.

The store specifying data 310 is data for identifying a store such as a store name and a store ID.
The store introduction screen data 320 is data for introducing a store. For example, the store introduction screen data 320 is composed of an HTML document for introduction of each store and the like, and includes a copy, a logo mark, and the like showing the individuality of the store.
The category definition information 330 defines a store category structure unique to the store as illustrated in FIG. 5B in an arbitrary data format. The category definition information 330 can be arbitrarily modified by each store using a predetermined editor or the like.
In addition, the display information 340 is information that defines in what order the searched products are displayed, similar to the content shown in FIG.

  A client device 200 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal device used by a general user, and is composed of, for example, a general personal computer. The client device 200 is a device on which a predetermined software application such as a WWW browser for browsing or purchasing a product in an electronic shopping mall operates. The client device 200 may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants). The client device 200 has a function of instructing the operation server device 100 via a WWW browser and displaying data received from the operation server device 100. In this embodiment, a commonly used WWW browser is used, but a software application having other similar functions may be used.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the client device 200. The client device 200 includes an input unit 410, an output unit 420, a storage unit 430, a control unit 440, a communication control unit 450, and a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory) drive 460.
The input unit 410 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, receives data inputs and instruction inputs from these input devices, and inputs control signals corresponding to these to the control unit 440. The input unit 410 may include a removable external memory such as a flash memory.
The output unit 420 includes an output device such as a monitor and a speaker. Under the control of the control unit 440, the output unit 420 outputs a video such as a still image / moving image to the monitor and outputs sound to the speaker.

The storage unit 430 includes a hard disk, a RAM, and a ROM, and stores an OS executed by the control unit 440, a control program, various data, and the like.
The control unit 440 has a CPU and executes the OS and control program stored in the storage unit 430 to control the entire client device 200.
The communication control unit 450 includes a NIC or the like, and connects the client device 200 and the network 300.
The DVD-ROM drive 460 reads data from a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM and inputs the read data to the control unit 440. Note that the client device 200 may include a device that reads data from another recording medium.

  A store terminal 300 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal device used by a manager of a store participating in the electronic shopping mall system, and is composed of, for example, a general personal computer. The store terminal 300 is a device that operates a predetermined software application for maintaining product information in an electronic shopping mall such as a WWW browser. The store terminal 300 may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistants). The store terminal 300 has a function of instructing the operation server device 100 via a WWW browser and displaying data received from the operation server device 100. In this embodiment, a commonly used WWW browser is used, but a software application having other similar functions may be used. The physical configuration of the store terminal 300 is the same as that of the client device 200 shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the electronic shopping mall system 1 configured as described above will be described.
(Advance preparation in the management server device 100)
The management server device 100 prepares Web pages of each category in advance based on the common categories of the entire electronic shopping mall registered in the storage unit 120 and stores them in the storage unit 120.

  For example, the management server device 100 stores Web page data for displaying a Web page based on the common category shown in FIG. For example, FIG. 10A shows a product selection Web page that is first displayed on the monitor when the shopping mall system 1 is accessed. When “food” is selected in this common category, a subcategory is displayed as shown in FIG. When “beverage” is selected in this subcategory, a subcategory is further displayed as shown in FIG. When “alcohol” is selected in this subcategory, a further subcategory is displayed as shown in FIG. When “whiskey” is selected in this subcategory, the details of the product are displayed as shown in FIG. When the lowest category is selected, the products classified in the category are extracted, and the products are displayed in the display order as shown in FIG. Each Web page is provided with a search keyword input area for inputting a search keyword (search keyword) and a search button for instructing start of search. Note that these display screens are merely an example and can be arbitrarily changed.

(Product / store display processing)
Next, processing performed by the operation server device 100 when the user accesses the operation server device 100 from the client device 200 and browses and purchases a product will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12.

The client device 200 accesses the operation server device 100 in accordance with a user operation instruction on the WWW browser.
The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 accepts this access via the communication control unit 130, and uses the prepared electronic shopping mall top page data (for example, as shown in FIG. 10A) as a client. To device 200. The control unit 440 of the client device 200 receives the top page data via the communication control unit 450 and controls the output unit 420 to display the top page on the monitor.

  When the user operates an input device included in the input unit 410 of the client device 200 and any common category on the top page is selected, the control unit 440 displays the selected shopping mall category name and the category name. Information indicating that the information is based on the common category is notified to the operation server apparatus 100 by controlling the communication control unit 450.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 110 of the management server device 100 determines whether or not the shopping mall category name 240 has been selected (step S101). The control unit 110 determines based on whether information such as the selected shopping mall category name is received from the client device 200.

When it is determined that the shopping mall category name is not selected (step S101; NO), the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S103.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the shopping mall category name has been selected (step S101; YES), the control unit 110 controls the communication control unit 130 for Web page data corresponding to the selected shopping mall category name, and the client device. 200 (step S102). The control unit 440 of the client device 200 displays a web page on a monitor based on the web page data.

  Based on the common category of the electronic shopping mall, the user can further select an arbitrary subcategory when there is a subcategory. For example, a user who wants to purchase “malt whiskey” selects “food” on the page shown in FIG. 10A, selects “beverage” on the next page shown in FIG. On the next page shown in (c), select “alcohol”. Further, the user selects the category of “whiskey” that seems to be closest because the “malt whiskey” category does not exist on the next page shown in FIG.

When the shopping mall category name received in step S101 is the lowest-level category, the operation server device 100 determines the Web page data for the selected lowest-level category (that is, the category and its category). The product information table 141 is extracted by searching the product information table 141, and the Web page data rearranged in a predetermined display order is transmitted. Note that this page may be generated on the spot by, for example, CGI (Common Gateway Interface).
Here, the data transmitted from the management server device 100 is data generated without using the store category uniquely determined by each store.

  The user selects the product ID or product name of the desired product. The control unit 440 of the client device 200 controls the communication control unit 450 to transmit information indicating the selected product to the operation server device 100.

The control unit 110 determines whether or not a product is selected by the client device 200 (step S103). The control unit 110 makes a determination based on whether information indicating the selected product has been received.
If it is determined that the product is not selected (step S103; NO), the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S105.

  On the other hand, when it determines with the goods having been selected (step S103; YES), the control part 110 searches the goods information table 141 of the store which sells the selected goods. Then, the control unit 110 reads a product name, a price, a shopping mall category name, a store category name, a product introduction, and a product image associated with the notified product. In addition, the control unit 110 accesses the store information storage unit 150, stores the store introduction screen data 320 (such as a copy or logo mark indicating the store personality) stored in the store information table 151, and the category definition information 330 for each store. Is read. Furthermore, the control part 110 produces | generates the web page data of the store introduction containing the information regarding the selected goods, and information unique to the store, and transmits it to the client device 200 (step S104). The control unit 440 of the client device 200 displays a store introduction Web page based on the received Web page data.

  For example, FIG. 13A is an example of a store introduction Web page displayed on the monitor based on the Web page data transmitted in step S104. As shown in the figure, this Web page includes a store introduction display area 710, a store category display area 720 corresponding to the product, a store-specific store category system display area 730, a product photo display area 740, and a product introduction. A display area 750, a product purchase button 760, and a search button 770 are displayed. The data displayed on this web page is not limited to these.

  Next, when the store category display area 720 is selected on the store introduction Web page (FIG. 13A), the control unit 440 of the client device 200 notifies the management server that the store category display area 720 has been selected. Notify the device 100.

The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 determines whether or not the store category display area 720 has been selected (step S105).
When it is determined that the store category display area 720 is not selected (step S105; NO), the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S107.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the store category display area 720 has been selected (step S105; YES), the control unit 110 generates Web page data based on the store category definition information 330 stored in the store information table 151, It transmits to the client apparatus 200 (step S106). For example, the control unit 440 of the client device 200 receives the web page data and displays a category selection web page as shown in FIG. 13B on the monitor. When the category displayed in the selected store category display area 720 is the lowest category, the control unit 110 accesses the product information storage unit 140, searches for product information of the store, and searches for the category. A product classified into the category is extracted and Web page data is generated and transmitted.

  The Web page data transmitted here is data for displaying the product information using a store category uniquely set by the store.

  When receiving the web page data, the control unit 440 of the client device 200 displays a product selection web page on the monitor based on the web page data. For example, the control unit 440 displays a product selection Web page as shown in FIG. The user can select an arbitrary category on the category selection Web page, and can select an arbitrary product classified into the category on the product selection Web page.

  Next, when the user selects a store on the product selection Web page illustrated in FIG. 10E, the control unit 440 of the client device 200 notifies the operation server device 100 that the store has been selected.

The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 determines whether or not a store has been selected (step S107).
When it is determined that the store is not selected (step S107; NO), the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S109.
On the other hand, if it is determined that a store has been selected (step S107; YES), the control unit 110 creates store introduction Web page data for the selected store and transmits it to the client device 200 (step S108). This store introduction Web page includes store introductions, store-specific store categories, and the like. For example, the content is the same as the store introduction Web page as shown in FIG. However, in this case, since a specific product is not selected, the product photo display area 740 and the product introduction display area 750 may be omitted.

  Next, when the user inputs a keyword in the search keyword input field on each Web page and presses the search button, the control unit 440 of the client device 200 causes the information specifying the type of the Web page, the search keyword, the search The instruction is transmitted to the management server device 100.

  The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 receives these pieces of information and determines whether or not a search instruction using a common page used in the entire electronic shopping mall as shown in FIGS. (Step S109).

  When it is determined that the search instruction uses the common page of the electronic shopping mall (step S109; YES), the control unit 110 is registered in all products of all stores stored in the product information storage unit 140. A product is extracted based on the product keyword and the received search keyword. That is, the product keyword registered in the product information storage unit 140 is searched for a keyword that matches the search keyword, and the product associated with the detected product keyword is extracted. Furthermore, the control unit 110 generates data for displaying a list of searched products as illustrated in FIG. 14A by rearranging in a predetermined display order, and transmits the data to the client device 200 (step). S110). The client device 200 displays this. Each product listed is linked to a store page that introduces the product, and when the user selects the product, it is detected in step S103, and a Web page as shown in FIG. 13A is displayed. .

Next, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the search keyword input by the user this time is registered in the search keyword table 122 shown in FIG. 4 (step S113).
If registered (step S113; Yes), the number of searches is incremented by 1 (step S114). On the other hand, if not registered (step S113; No), the search keyword input this time is added to the search keyword table 122, and the number of searches is set to 1 (step S115).

  When it is determined in step S109 that the search instruction does not use the common page of the electronic shopping mall (step S109; NO), the control unit 110 displays store pages as shown in FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (c). It is determined whether or not the search is used (step S111).

  When it is determined that the search instruction is not a search using the store page (step S111; NO), the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S116.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the search instruction uses the store page (step S111; YES), the control unit 110 is based on the product keyword stored in the product information storage unit 140 and the received search keyword. To extract products. That is, a search is made for a product keyword that is registered in the product information storage unit 140 and assigned to the product of the store, and matches the search keyword, and a product associated with the detected product keyword is extracted. . Further, the control unit 110 rearranges them in a predetermined display order, generates data for displaying a list of searched products as shown in FIG. 14B, and transmits the data to the client device 200 (step S112). ). The client device 200 displays this. Each product listed is linked to a store page that introduces the product, and when the user selects the product, it is detected in step S103, and a Web page as shown in FIG. 13A is displayed. .

  Next, the control part 110 performs the process of step S113-S115, and updates the search keyword table 122. FIG.

  Next, when the user presses the purchase button 760 on the store introduction Web page as shown in FIG. 13A or a product list screen, the control unit 440 of the client device 200 includes information for specifying the product to be purchased, A notification that the purchase button 760 has been pressed is transmitted to the management server device 100.

  When the information cannot be received, the control unit 110 of the management server device 100 determines that the product purchase process is not performed (step S116; NO), and the control unit 110 proceeds to the process of step S118.

  On the other hand, when receiving the information, the control unit 110 of the management server apparatus 100 determines that the product purchase process is to be performed (step S116; YES), and the control unit 110 executes the selected product purchase process. (Step S117). The purchase processing method and the billing method are arbitrary. For example, known techniques such as so-called shopping cart display processing, user authentication processing, payment processing using a credit card, and payment processing using electronic money are executed in combination.

  Next, when the user makes another instruction input such as cancellation of a product, the control unit 440 of the client apparatus 200 transmits an instruction signal corresponding to the instruction input to the management server apparatus 100.

The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 receives this instruction signal and determines whether there is any other instruction input (step S118).
When it is determined that there is no other instruction input (step S118; NO), the control unit 110 ends the product / store display process.
On the other hand, when it is determined that there is another instruction input (step 118; YES), the control unit 110 performs a process according to the instruction input (step 119), and ends the product / store display process.

(Product registration)
Next, a procedure for the person in charge of the store to register a product to be sold will be described.
When a store person in charge registers a new product for sale, the store name, price, shopping mall category, store category, product keyword, product introduction, product image,. . . Are registered in the merchandise information table 141 of the store.
This work will be described.

The person in charge of each store operates the store terminal 300 to transmit information necessary for access such as an ID (identification information) and a password to the management server device 100, for example. The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 performs an authentication process based on the received ID and password. If the authentication is successful, a maintenance screen is transmitted to the store terminal 300.
The person in charge selects new registration of a product on this maintenance screen. The store terminal 300 notifies the operation server device 100 of this operation.
In response to the notification, the control unit 110 of the management server device 100 starts a new registration process shown in FIG. 15, and newly registers a Web for newly registering a product name, a price, a shopping mall category, a store category, and the like. The page is transmitted to the store terminal 300.

  The person in charge of the store inputs a product name, a price, a shopping mall category, a store category, and the like on this newly registered Web web page, and transmits a transmission button. The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 additionally registers the transmitted information transmitted and received from the store terminal in the product information table 141 of the store specified by the ID (step S201).

Subsequently, the process proceeds to a process of registering product keywords for searching for products (step S202). Details of the product keyword registration process are shown in FIG.
First, the control unit 110 of the management server device 100 transmits a Web page for inputting a keyword to the store terminal 200 as exemplified in FIG. 17A, for example, and the store terminal 200 displays this (Step). S301).

  If the person in charge of the store has previously decided the product keyword to be assigned, the person in charge of the store inputs an appropriate product keyword in the text box and presses the confirm button. In response to this button operation (step S302; confirmation), the control unit 440 of the store terminal 300 transmits the product keyword input in the text box to the operation server device 100. The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 registers the received product keyword in the product keyword registration field of the product information table 141 (step S303).

  On the other hand, if the merchandise keyword to be assigned is not decided or is not known well, the store manager inputs several appropriate words in the text box on the keyword registration screen shown in FIG. Press (step S302; advice). In response to this button operation (step S302; advice), the control unit of the store terminal 300 transmits the word input in the text box to the operation server device 100 as a candidate for the product keyword. The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 refers to the synonym dictionary, extracts the received keyword candidates, their synonyms, and related words, and further refers to the search number table to obtain the number of searches for each word. . That is, it is determined how much the general user has searched for the word input by the store clerk and the synonyms and related words of the word using these words as search keywords (step S304). Next, each word and the number of searches are sorted in descending order of the number of searches. In this way, the control unit 110 generates a list of words and the number of searches, adds a check box to generate a selection screen as shown in FIG. 17B (step S304), and the store terminal 300 (Step S305).

  The store terminal 300 displays this list and presents it to the store staff. This list shows how much a general person uses for a plurality of words inputted by a user with an approximate feeling and related words. In general, if a word located at the top of this list is used, the hit rate of the product increases. Therefore, the store person in charge checks the check box of the word that is higher in the list and that seems to be able to express this product relatively, and clicks the “select and confirm” button.

  In response to the click of the selection confirmation button (step S306; Yes), the control unit 440 of the store terminal 300 transmits the word selected with the check to the management server device 100 as a search keyword. The control unit 110 of the management server device 100 additionally registers the received keyword as a product keyword of the product in the keyword registration field of the product information table 141 (step S307).

  On the other hand, when the reset button is pressed on the screen of FIG. 17A (step S302; reset), the contents input in the text box are reset, and the process returns to step S301.

  Also, when the “return” button is pressed while the screen of FIG. 17B is displayed, the process returns to step S301 to return to the state of inputting a keyword or its candidate.

  According to such a configuration, a person who has the ability to set an accurate product keyword can directly select and set the product keyword himself / herself. On the other hand, a person who cannot directly set an accurate product keyword inputs several words that seem to be related and presses the advice button. Thus, a candidate group of product keywords that are expected to have a high hit rate from the management server device 100 is advised. Then, an appropriate product keyword can be selected relatively easily by the person in charge selecting an arbitrary one from among them.

Subsequently, the control unit 110 of the management server device 100 executes a process of registering a product introduction sentence (step S203), and subsequently executes a process of registering a product image (step S204).
Thereafter, necessary processing is executed and product registration is completed.

(Product / Category update process)
The operator of the shopping mall system can change and change the products and categories as appropriate. The operator operates an input / output device (not shown) connected to the operation server device 100, and acquires information necessary for access such as an ID (identification information) and a password in advance. The storage unit 120 stores these IDs and passwords in association with each other. The control unit 110 determines whether the input ID or password matches the ID or password stored in the storage unit 120. If they match, the product or common category is allowed to be updated. That is, the control unit 110 permits the change of the common category in FIG. 5A, the display order data in FIG. 6, the product information table 141 in FIG. 7, and the store information table 151 in FIG. To do. The operator modifies each content using the input device as necessary. The control unit 110 stores the corrected data in the storage unit 120.

Further, the store manager / employee can change or delete the product, category, and product keyword of the store.
For example, the store manager uses the store terminal 300 to perform a certain authentication process and is approved, and then uses the editing program or the like to store the store category in FIG. 5B and the product information table 141 in FIG. The portion related to the own store, the portion related to the own store in the store information table 151 of FIG. 8, and the like can be changed / deleted.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the search range by the keyword input by the user is limited to the product keyword. Therefore, compared with the case where the entire description of the product is the search target, the search range can be suppressed, the search can be speeded up, and the burden on the operation server device 100 can be suppressed. Further, the merchandise keyword can be easily and accurately registered simply by referring to the number of searches from the keyword candidates proposed by the operation server device 100 based on the word input by the person in charge of the store.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible.

  In the above embodiment, a store that opens a store in an electronic shopping mall sells products, but what is sold need not be limited to products. For example, it is possible to sell services such as “Futon Washing Cleaning Service”.

  In the above embodiment, the operation server device 100 itself counts the number of searches in units of words and presents product keyword candidates, but means for obtaining the number of searches for each word is arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, one or a plurality of search engines 500 existing on the network 400 determine the number of searches for each word, and the operation server device 100 determines the word (candidate) input by the user and its related words. The search engine 500 may be queried for the number of searches, and a list of product keyword candidates may be generated based on information obtained from the search engine 500.

Further, the method of selecting candidate product keywords proposed by the system is limited to the method of selecting using a check box, and the selection method is arbitrary.
Some candidates may be selected and other words may be input and registered as product keywords.

  In the above configuration, the synonym dictionary 121 is referred to, and a plurality of words input by the user and their synonyms / synonyms and related words are used as product keyword candidates. This synonym dictionary 121 is not limited to a synonym dictionary in a linguistic sense, and is preferably designed on the basis of similarities regarding distribution and products.

  The store person in charge is not limited to the example of inputting a word. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, when a plurality of keywords are registered in a category of each hierarchy and a product category is selected, the keyword corresponding to the category is selected. A candidate group may be automatically extracted, and if necessary, the number of searches including its synonyms and related words may be obtained and presented to the shop staff as candidate product keywords.

  The data structure of various data can be arbitrarily changed. For example, the data stored in the store information storage unit 150 may be text data, moving image data, still image data, audio data, or the like, or a combination thereof.

The web pages shown in FIGS. 10 and 13 are examples, and the actual display form is arbitrary.
For example, in FIG. 13A, the store category system display area 730 and the search button 770 need not be displayed. In this case, in the process of step S104, the control unit 110 may generate Web page data that does not display the unique store category system display area 730 or the search button 770 for the store. Further, in FIG. 13A, the product keyword may also be displayed. In this case, in the process of step S104, the control unit 110 further reads out the product keyword 260 from the product information table 141 to generate Web page data, and places the product keyword 260 in an appropriate place on the screen of FIG. Display it.

  The operation server device 100 and the client device 200 according to the present invention can be realized using a normal computer system, not a dedicated system. For example, by storing a program for performing the above-described operation on a computer-readable recording medium (flexible disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) and installing the program on the computer, You may comprise so that the above-mentioned process may be performed. Alternatively, the operation server device 100 and the client device 200 may be configured by storing this program in a storage included in a server device on a communication network such as the Internet and downloading the program by a normal computer system.

  Further, when the above-described function is realized by sharing of the OS and the application or by cooperation between the OS and the application, only the application part may be stored in a recording medium or storage. It is also possible to superimpose a program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, this program may be posted on a bulletin board system (Bulletin Board System) on a communication network, and this program may be distributed via the network. The program may be started and executed in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS, so that the above-described processing can be executed.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of a shopping mall system. It is a figure which shows the structure of a management server apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the synonym dictionary stored in a memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the search keyword table stored in a memory | storage part. (A) It is a figure which shows the example of the classification | category by the common category set to the whole shopping mall. (B) It is a figure which shows the example of the store category classification | category which the store which participates in a shopping mall set uniquely. It is an example of the data which shows the display order at the time of rearranging and displaying goods. It is a figure which shows the example of the structure of the merchandise information table preserve | saved at a merchandise information storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the structure of the shop information table preserve | saved at a shop information preservation | save part. It is a figure which shows the structure of a client apparatus and a shop terminal. (A)-(e) is an example of the screen which displays goods and a category based on the classification | category by the common category of the whole shopping mall. It is a flowchart of merchandise / store display processing. It is a continuation of the flowchart of a product / store display process. It is an example of the screen which displays goods and a category based on classification by the store category uniquely set by the store. It is an example of the screen which displays the search result of goods, (a) is an example of a search result for all stores, (b) is an example of a search result for specific stores. It is a flowchart of a product registration process. It is a flowchart of a keyword registration process. It is a figure which shows the example of a keyword setting screen, (a) is a keyword input screen, (b) is an example of a keyword selection screen. It is a figure which shows the structure of other embodiment of the electronic mall system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example which set the keyword candidate to each category.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic Shopping Mall System 100 Management Server Device 110 Control Unit 120 Storage Unit 130 Communication Control Unit 140 Product Information Storage Unit 141 Product Information Table 150 Store Information Storage Unit 151 Store Information Table 190 Bus 200 Client Device 210 Product ID
220 Product name 230 Price 240 Shopping mall category name 250 Store category name 260 Product keyword 270 Product introduction 280 Product image 290 Registration date 300 Store terminal 400 Network

Claims (6)

A server device constituting an electronic shopping mall, a client device connected to the server device via a line network for searching for and purchasing goods, and an electronic shopping mall connected to the server device via a line network An electronic shopping mall system composed of a store terminal for registering items for sale,
The server device
Storage means for storing a product to be sold, a product keyword for searching for the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches the search keyword transmitted from the client device, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device;
Information indicating the word and the frequency with which the word is used for the search is acquired, transmitted to the store terminal as a keyword candidate to be assigned to the product, and in response to the selection at the store terminal, the selected word is Keyword setting means for registering in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product;
With
The client device is
Search means for transmitting a search keyword to the server device, receiving and outputting the product information transmitted from the search processing means of the server device,
Purchase instruction means for instructing purchase of a product based on the information obtained by the search instruction means;
Consisting of
The store terminal
Product information sending means for sending product information to the server device and storing it in the storage means of the server device;
Keyword candidate output means for transmitting information about the product to the server device, receiving and outputting product search keyword candidates returned from the server device;
Keyword selection means for selecting any of the keyword candidates output by the keyword candidate output means and transmitting to the server device to register as a product keyword for product selection;
Comprising
An electronic shopping mall system characterized by this. The product information transmitting means of the store terminal transmits one or more words to the server device,
The keyword setting unit of the server device acquires information indicating a related word related to the word transmitted from the product information transmitting unit and a frequency with which the related word is used for a search, and stores it as a keyword candidate to be assigned to the product. Send it to your device,
The keyword candidate output means of the store terminal outputs information indicating the related word transmitted from the keyword setting means of the server device and the frequency with which the related word is used for search,
The keyword selection unit of the store terminal selects one or a plurality of related words output by the keyword candidate output unit, and transmits the selected word to the server device.
The keyword setting means of the server device registers the related word selected by the keyword selecting means as a keyword for searching for products.
The electronic shopping mall system according to claim 1. The search processing means of the server device totals the keywords used for the search and the number of searches,
The keyword setting unit of the server device acquires information indicating a word and a frequency with which the word is used for a search based on the aggregation of the search processing unit.
The electronic shopping mall system according to claim 1 or 2. The keyword setting means of the server device acquires information indicating a word and a frequency with which the word is used for searching based on information from an external search engine.
The electronic shopping mall system according to claim 1, 2, or 3. A computer system constituting an electronic shopping mall,
Storage means for storing a product, a product keyword for searching for the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches a search keyword transmitted to a user terminal connected via a network, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device;
Information indicating one or a plurality of words and the frequency with which the words are used for the search is acquired based on information on the target product for which a search keyword is set, and the user terminal is assigned as a candidate product keyword to be assigned to the product. And a keyword setting means for registering the selected word in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product in response to selection at the user terminal;
A computer system comprising: Computer
Storage means for storing a product, a product keyword for searching the product, and information about the product in association with each other;
Search processing means for searching for a product keyword that matches a search keyword transmitted to a user terminal connected via a network, and transmitting information related to the product associated with the searched product keyword to the client device,
Information indicating one or a plurality of words and the frequency with which the words are used for the search is acquired based on information on the target product for which a search keyword is set, and the user terminal is assigned as a candidate product keyword to be assigned to the product. A keyword setting means for transmitting and registering the selected word in the storage means as a product keyword corresponding to the product in response to the selection at the user terminal;
Computer program to function as.

Images