JP2018097586A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase a use rate of a privilege even in the case where users who have different types of privileges to be frequently used coexist.SOLUTION: A user related information acquisition part 301 acquires a use history of a coupon as user related information. A privilege switching determination part 304 determines whether to switch a type of a privilege to be provided to a target user from a coupon to a point. The privilege switching determination part 304 selects the coupon as the privilege to be provided to the target user when a use result of the coupon indicated by the acquired use history of the coupon does not satisfy a switching condition, and selects the point as the privilege to be provided to the target user when the use result satisfies the switching condition. A privilege information generation part 305 generates privilege information indicating the coupon or the point selected by the determination. A privilege information output part 306 outputs the generated privilege information to a user terminal 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for providing a privilege to a user.

  There is a technique for providing a privilege to a user. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for analyzing a member attribute and purchase history and issuing a coupon that is determined to be valid for each member.

JP 2003-30749 A

Some users often use coupons, while others frequently use points. Regardless of which type of user, the higher the benefit usage rate, the higher the customer-sending effect, which is desirable.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to increase the use rate of a privilege even when users with different types of privilege that are frequently used are mixed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an acquisition unit that acquires related information about a user, a first privilege that provides value to the user based on the acquired related information, and value to the user. A selection unit that selects any one of the second privileges different from the first privilege that is provided, and a generation unit that generates privilege information indicating any of the selected privileges An information processing apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs the generated privilege information.

Further, the first privilege and the second privilege provide a value called price discount, and the first privilege uses a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of first privileges. The type of privilege that cannot be used, and the second privilege may be a type of privilege that can be used by summing up a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of second benefits.
Furthermore, the acquisition unit acquires the usage history of the first privilege of the user as the related information, and the selection unit determines in advance the usage record of the first privilege indicated by the acquired related information. When the satisfied condition is satisfied, the second privilege may be selected.

The selection unit may determine that the condition is satisfied when the usage record of the user is lower than a predetermined standard or lower than the use record of another user.
Further, the second privilege has a wider range of products for which the privilege can be used than the first privilege, the acquisition unit acquires a purchase history of the product as the related information, and the selection unit The second privilege may be selected when the degree of bias of the product purchased by the user is smaller than a predetermined standard or smaller than the degree of bias of another user.

In addition, the acquisition unit acquires information representing a category of a product that the user is interested in as the related information, and the selection unit purchases the first product in the category represented by the acquired related information. If the privilege is not available, the second privilege may be selected.
Further, the second privilege can be accumulated and used together, and the acquisition unit acquires information indicating the amount of the second privilege accumulated by the user as the related information. In the case where the amount of the second privilege acquired for the user to whom the privilege is granted is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard or the amount of the second privilege of another user, You may select a privilege.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the use rate of a privilege even when users with different types of privilege that are frequently used are present.

The figure showing the whole structure of the privilege provision system which concerns on 1st Example. The figure showing the hardware constitutions of a shop terminal, a point management server apparatus, and a privilege information server apparatus The figure showing the hardware constitutions of the user terminal The figure showing the functional composition which a privilege offer system realizes A figure showing an example of a product / coupon table A figure showing an example of a store / coupon table A figure showing an example of a store / point table The figure showing the example of the privilege information displayed The figure showing an example of the operation | movement procedure of each apparatus in an accumulation | storage process The figure showing an example of the operation | movement procedure of each apparatus in privilege provision processing The figure showing the functional structure which the privilege provision system of 2nd Example implement | achieves. The figure showing the functional structure which the privilege provision system of 3rd Example implement | achieves. A figure showing an example of a product category table The figure showing the functional structure which the privilege provision system of 4th Example implement | achieves. The figure showing the functional structure which the privilege information server apparatus of a modification implement | achieves

[1] First Example FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a privilege providing system 1 according to a first example. The privilege providing system 1 is a system for promoting a user's visit by providing a user with a privilege that can be used when purchasing a product and that provides value to the user. Products for which benefits can be used include goods provided in the form of goods (daily necessities, food, beverages, clothing, etc.) and goods provided in the form of services (transportation, lodging, dining out, contents, etc.) Both are included. A present Example demonstrates the case where a coupon and a point are provided as a privilege to a user.

  Coupons and points mainly provide the user with the value of product price discounts. For example, if it is a coupon, the specified condition such as 500 yen discount or 30% off is discounted, and if it is a point, the price is reduced by the point designated by the user. In addition, if you use coupons, certain products may be offered free of charge, or the grade of the product may be upgraded, and if you use points, the points you earn and the products may be exchanged for free. It can be said that the price is discounted until the product is free or the difference of the grade is discounted.

  Thus, the coupon and the point are both benefits in which the value of the privilege is expressed by the discount price. However, the coupon cannot be used as one large discount price by summing up the plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of coupons. In other words, discount prices cannot be accumulated with coupons. On the other hand, the points can be used by accumulating a plurality of points provided at different occasions. That is, the points can be used by adding a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of points to one large discount price. As described above, the coupons and points have different usage methods and different types of benefits. The coupon is an example of the “first privilege” of the present invention, and the point is an example of the “second privilege” of the present invention.

  The privilege providing system 1 includes a network 2, a store terminal 10, a point management server device 20, a privilege information server device 30, and a user terminal 40. The network 2 is a communication system including a mobile communication network and the Internet, and mediates exchange of data between devices accessing the own system. The store terminal 10, the point management server device 20, and the privilege information server device 30 are accessing the network 2 by wired communication, and the user terminal 40 is accessing by wireless communication. Access to the network 2 may be either wired communication or wireless communication.

  The store terminal 10 is an information processing apparatus that is installed in a store and performs processing related to product purchases at the store and benefits used at that time. When the user uses the privilege at the store, the store terminal 10 accumulates information indicating which user has used which privilege as the use history of the privilege, and stores the accumulated use history in the privilege information server device 30. provide.

  The point management server device 20 is an information processing device that performs processing for managing points provided as benefits. The point management server device 20 stores points stored for each user. The points are used, for example, in electronic payment by an electronic payment system (not shown). The point management server device 20 responds to an inquiry about the user's points from the electronic settlement system, and reflects the increase or decrease of points when points are given and used.

  The privilege information server device 30 is an information processing device that performs processing related to a privilege such as determining the content of the privilege to be provided to the user, generating privilege information indicating the determined privilege, and outputting the generated privilege information. When the privilege is a point, the privilege information server device 30 outputs privilege information indicating the granted point to the point management server device 20, and when the privilege is a coupon, the privilege information indicating the granted coupon is output. Output to the user terminal 40.

  The user terminal 40 is a terminal device such as a smartphone used by the user, and performs a process of displaying privilege information indicating a coupon output from the privilege information server device 30 on the own device. By presenting the privilege information displayed on the user terminal 40 to the store clerk at the time of product purchase, the user can use the privilege (such as a discount on the product price) indicated by the privilege information.

  FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of the store terminal 10, the point management server device 20, and the privilege information server device 30. Each of these devices is a computer that includes a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication device 14, an input device 15, an output device 16, and a bus 17. Note that the term “apparatus” here can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. Each device may include one or a plurality of devices, or some of the devices may not be included.

  The processor 11 controls the entire computer by operating an operating system, for example. The processor 11 may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, a register, and the like. Further, the processor 11 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, and the like from the storage 13 and / or the communication device 14 to the memory 12, and executes various processes according to these.

  The number of processors 11 that execute various processes may be one, two or more, and the two or more processors 11 may execute various processes simultaneously or sequentially. Further, the processor 11 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunication line.

  The memory 12 is a computer-readable recording medium, and includes, for example, at least one of ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. May be. The memory 12 may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 12 can store the above-described program (program code), software module, data, and the like.

  The storage 13 is a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disc drive, a flexible disc, a magneto-optical disc (eg, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu- ray (registered trademark) disk, smart card, flash memory (for example, card, stick, key drive), floppy (registered trademark) disk, magnetic strip, and the like. The storage 13 may be called an auxiliary storage device. The above-described storage medium may be, for example, a database including the memory 12 and / or the storage 13, a server, or other suitable medium.

  The communication device 14 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via a wired and / or wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The input device 15 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts an input from the outside.

  The output device 16 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, or the like) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 15 and the output device 16 may have an integrated configuration (for example, a touch screen). The devices such as the processor 11 and the memory 12 are accessible to each other via a bus 17 for communicating information. The bus 17 may be composed of a single bus or may be composed of different buses between devices.

  In addition, the store terminal 10 and the privilege information server device 30 include a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). ) Etc., and a part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 11 may be implemented by at least one of these hardware.

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 is a computer having a processor 41, a memory 42, a storage 43, a communication device 44, an input device 45, an output device 46, a positioning device 47, and a bus 48. The processor 41 to the output device 46 and the bus 48 are hardware common to the devices of the same name shown in FIG. The positioning device 47 has a sensor for measuring its own position using a signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, and supplies position data representing the measured position by latitude and longitude to the processor 41.

The functions described below are realized by the processor of each device provided in the privilege providing system 1 executing a program to control each unit.
FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system 1. The store terminal 10 includes a settlement processing unit 101, a coupon usage history transmission unit 102, and a product purchase notification unit 103.

  The point management server device 20 includes a point management unit 201. The privilege information server device 30 includes a user-related information acquisition unit 301, a user-related information storage unit 302, a privilege processing start instruction unit 303, a privilege switching determination unit 304, a privilege information generation unit 305, and a privilege information output unit 306. With. The user terminal 40 includes a privilege information display unit 401 and a position information transmission unit 402.

  The settlement processing unit 101 of the store terminal 10 performs a settlement process associated with the purchase of a product by the user. When a privilege is used at the time of product purchase, the settlement processing unit 101 performs a settlement process reflecting the utilized privilege. In the case of a coupon, a settlement process is performed as follows. First, the privilege information display unit 401 of the user terminal 40 displays privilege information indicating a coupon transmitted from the privilege information server device 30 as described later.

  The privilege information is information indicating, for example, a discount price of a product that is the content of the privilege and a privilege ID (Identification) associated with the content of the privilege. When the store clerk inputs the privilege ID to the store terminal 10, the settlement processing unit 101 refers to a list (stored in the own device or an external device) that associates the privilege ID with the content of the privilege, and is input. The settlement process is performed by reflecting the content of the privilege associated with the privilege ID, that is, the discount price.

  In the case of points, settlement processing is performed as follows. First, when payment is made using a credit card, an electronic money card, a point card, a smart phone having an electronic payment function or the like equipped with a user ID holding means, the payment processing unit 101 is read from the holding means. Inquiry data indicating that the user ID and the user point indicated by the user ID are inquired are transmitted to the point management server device 20.

  The point management unit 201 of the point management server device 20 manages the points accumulated for each user. The point management unit 201 stores points accumulated for the user in association with the user ID of the user. When the point management unit 201 receives the transmitted inquiry data, the point management unit 201 transmits the accumulated point data indicating the points stored in association with the user ID indicated by the inquiry data to the store terminal 10.

  The settlement processing unit 101 displays the accumulated points indicated by the transmitted accumulated point data. When the user designates the number of points below the displayed accumulated points and the store clerk inputs it, the settlement processing unit 101 performs settlement processing reflecting the inputted number of points, that is, the discount price. As described above, when the coupon is used, the settlement process reflecting the discount price indicated by the coupon is performed, and when the point is used, the settlement process reflecting the discount price specified by the user in the range of the accumulated points is performed. Done.

  In the present embodiment, when the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment process reflecting the coupon as described above, as the coupon usage history, the user ID of the user who used the coupon, the discount price by the coupon, and the coupon usage date and time Are supplied to the coupon usage history transmission unit 102. The coupon usage history transmission unit 102 transmits the coupon usage history supplied from the settlement processing unit 101 to the privilege information server device 30.

  The user-related information acquisition unit 301 of the privilege information server device 30 acquires user-related information that is information related to a user registered as a target for which a privilege is provided in the privilege providing system 1. The user related information acquisition unit 301 is an example of the “acquisition unit” in the present invention. In this embodiment, the user related information acquisition unit 301 acquires the coupon use history transmitted from the store terminal 10 as user related information related to the user who uses the coupon.

  The user related information acquisition unit 301 supplies the acquired coupon usage history to the user related information storage unit 302. The transmission of the coupon usage history by the coupon usage history transmission unit 102 and the acquisition of the coupon usage history by the user related information acquisition unit 301 are repeated each time the user uses the coupon. The user related information accumulating unit 302 accumulates user related information (coupon use history in this embodiment) that is repeatedly acquired by the user related information acquiring unit 301.

  The product purchase notification unit 103 of the store terminal 10 notifies the privilege information server device 30 that the user has purchased the product at the store. When the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment process, the payment processing unit 101 supplies the user ID of the user who purchased the product, the product ID of the purchased product, and the purchase price of the product to the product purchase notification unit 103. The product purchase notification unit 103 performs this notification by transmitting product purchase data indicating each supplied information to the privilege information server device 30.

  The privilege processing start instruction unit 303 of the privilege information server device 30 instructs the user to start the privilege processing that provides the privilege. Below, two types of triggers (triggers) for starting the privilege process will be described. The first trigger is that the user purchases a product for which a privilege is to be granted. The privilege processing start instruction unit 303 receives the product purchase data transmitted from the store terminal 10, and the first trigger occurs when the product with the product ID indicated by the product purchase data is a privilege grant target. Judge.

  When this determination is made, the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 supplies information necessary for the privilege processing to each unit and instructs the start of the privilege processing. In this embodiment, the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 supplies the privilege switching determination unit 304 and the privilege information output unit 306 with the user ID of the target user to be provided with the privilege, and supplies the privilege information generation unit 305 with the product purchase data. While supplying, it instructs the respective units to start privilege processing.

  The second trigger is that the user approaches a store that provides a privilege to the store visitor. The position information transmission unit 402 of the user terminal 40 possessed by the user transmits position information indicating the position of the own device to the privilege information server device 30 together with the user ID of the user who uses the own device. The position information transmission unit 402 repeatedly transmits the position information and the user ID, for example, at a predetermined time interval (every 5 seconds or the like). The privilege information server device 30 stores a store location table in which store location information and store names are associated with each other.

  The privilege process start instructing unit 303 grants a privilege when the distance between the position indicated by the transmitted position information and the position of the store included in the store position table is less than the threshold. It is determined that the store is approaching, that is, the second trigger has occurred. When this determination is made, the privilege process start instructing unit 303 supplies the privilege switching determination unit 304 and the privilege information output unit 306 with the user ID of the target user to be provided with the privilege, and the user approaches the privilege information generation unit 305. Supply the store name of each store and instruct the respective units to start the privilege processing.

  In the present embodiment, the first candidate for the privilege provided to the user is a coupon, and the second candidate is determined as a point. Basically, a coupon is provided, but only when a specific condition is satisfied. Shall be provided. When the privilege switching determination unit 304 is supplied with the user ID from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines whether or not to switch the type of privilege that provides the user with the user ID as the target user from the coupon to the point.

  The privilege switching determination unit 304 reads the usage history of the coupon of the target user stored in the user related information storage unit 302, and when the usage record of the coupon indicated by the read usage history satisfies a predetermined switching condition, It is determined that the benefits are switched to points. In this embodiment, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that the switching condition is satisfied when the usage record of the coupon of the target user is lower than the usage record of the coupon of another user.

  For example, the representative value (average value, median, trimmed average or midpoint of the number of coupons used per month) as the usage results of other users' coupons, for example. Value). Moreover, the utilization track record of the specific user who knows that the track record of the use of coupons among all other users is moderate at least may be used. In short, it is only necessary to use a usage record as a threshold for determining whether the target user frequently uses the coupon or not to use the coupon among all users as a usage record of the coupons of other users.

  As described above, the privilege switching determination unit 304, when the coupon usage record indicated by the user-related information (coupon usage history in this embodiment) acquired by the user-related information acquisition unit 301 does not satisfy the switching condition, When a coupon is selected as a privilege to be provided to the target user and the usage record satisfies the switching condition, a point is selected as the privilege to be provided to the target user. The privilege switching determination unit 304 is an example of the “selection unit” in the present invention, and the “switching condition” is an example of the “condition” in the present invention. The privilege switching determination unit 304 supplies the determination result to the privilege information generation unit 305.

  The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information indicating a privilege (a privilege of either a coupon or a point) selected based on the switching determination result by the privilege switching determination unit 304. The privilege information generation unit 305 is an example of the “generation unit” in the present invention. The privilege information generation unit 305 is a case where the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that the privilege is not switched, that is, a case where a coupon is selected, and a user who has purchased the product is a target user who provides the privilege. For example, the privilege information is generated using a product / coupon table in which the purchased product and the content of the coupon are associated with each other.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a product / coupon table. In the example of FIG. 5, the content of the coupon “domestic beef 30% off” is associated with the purchased product “food”. Similarly, the contents of coupons “shampoo 500 yen discount” and “cleaning ticket offer” are associated with purchased products “daily necessities” and “clothing”, respectively. The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information representing the content of the coupon associated with the product with the product ID indicated by the product purchase data supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 in the product / coupon table.

  The product / coupon table may be stored in the own device (privilege information server device 30) for the privilege information generation unit 305, or may be stored in an external device. In short, the privilege information generation unit 305 may be stored in a storage unit that can be used with reference to the table. The same applies to information such as other tables and lists used by each function.

Moreover, when the coupon information is selected and the user who has approached the store is the target user of the privilege provision, the privilege information generation unit 305 associates the store name with the content of the coupon, for example. The privilege information is generated using the store / coupon table.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a store / coupon table. In the example of FIG. 6, “Fast food store α”, “Bentoya β”, “Bookstore γ”, “hamburger 100 yen discount”, “one tea service”, “20% off from the second book” "Is associated with the content of the coupon. The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information indicating the content of a coupon associated with the store name supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 (the store name of the store where the target user approaches) in the store / coupon table. To do.

  When the privilege information generation unit 305 determines that the privilege is to be switched, that is, when a point is selected and the user who has purchased the product is the target user of the privilege provision, the privilege processing start instruction unit A value obtained by multiplying the purchase price indicated by the product purchase data supplied from 303 by the determined ratio is calculated as a point, and privilege information indicating the calculated point is generated.

In addition, when the privilege information generation unit 305 determines that the privilege is to be switched, that is, when a point is selected and a user who has approached the store is a target user for providing the privilege, for example, the store The privilege information is generated using a store / point table in which names and points to be given are associated with each other.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a store / point table. In the example of FIG. 7, store names “Fast Food Restaurant α”, “Bentoya β”, and “Bookstore γ” are added to “50 (effective period 1 month)”, “100 (effective period 1 month)”, “100 ( The point “effective period 6 months)” is associated. In this example, the valid period is also associated with the points.

  The privilege information generation unit 305 includes a point associated with the store name (store name of the store where the target user approaches) supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 in the store / point table, and the validity period of the point. The privilege information indicating is generated. As described above, the privilege information may be information indicating a privilege use condition (in this example, an effective period). In addition, the privilege information generation unit 305 provides the user privilege information for transmitting the provided privilege (coupon and points) to the user, and the privilege provided to the device that manages the privilege (the point management server device 20 in this embodiment). Two types of privilege information, ie, device privilege information for transmitting information, are generated.

  The privilege information generation unit 305 generates user privilege information in a text or image format that can be read by the user. On the other hand, the device privilege information only needs to be read by the point management server device 20, and thus is generated in a text format or a binary format. To do. Moreover, the privilege information generation part 305 produces | generates the information which shows the user ID of a target user and the provision date of a point as apparatus privilege information in addition to the point and effective period mentioned above so that the point of a target user can be managed. As described above, the user privilege information and the device privilege information may have different contents even if the privilege type is the same. The privilege information generation unit 305 supplies the privilege information generated as described above to the privilege information output unit 306.

  The privilege information output unit 306 outputs the privilege information generated by the privilege information generation unit 305 to a destination for providing the user with the privilege indicated by the privilege information. The privilege information output unit 306 is an example of the “output unit” in the present invention. For the above-described user privilege information, the privilege information output unit 306 associates, for example, the user ID of the target user of the privilege and the destination of the target user, regardless of whether the type of privilege is a coupon or a point. Is output to the destination associated with the user ID of the target user supplied from the privilege processing start instructing unit 303 in the destination table.

The destination of the target user is represented by, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the user terminal 40, a user e-mail address, a user SNS (Social Networking Service) account, and the like. The privilege information output for these destinations is received by the privilege information display unit 401 of the user terminal 40 and displayed as described above.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the displayed privilege information. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the privilege information display unit 401 displays the privilege information A1 and A2 on the output device 46 that is a display unit of the device itself.

  The privilege information A1 is the user privilege information expressed in the texts “Coupons were provided because they approached the lunch box β” and “One tea service”, and the privilege information A2 is “approaching the lunch box β” Therefore, the user privilege information is expressed by the text “100 points (valid period 1 month)”. Similarly, even if the user is close to the bento restaurant β, the user terminal 40 of the user whose coupon usage record does not satisfy the switching condition (the coupon usage record is higher than other users) is a privilege. Information A1 is displayed, and privilege information A2 is displayed on the user terminal 40 of a user whose coupon usage record satisfies the switching condition (the coupon usage record is lower than other users).

  The privilege information output unit 306 outputs the above-described device privilege information (privilege information indicating points in the present embodiment) to the point management server device 20. When receiving the device privilege information, the point management unit 201 of the point management server device 20 stores the user ID, the point, the grant date / time, and the validity period indicated by the received device privilege information in association with each other. In addition, the point management unit 201 cancels the association with the user ID so that the points whose validity period has passed since the date of grant are not included in the accumulated points. As described above, the privilege information output unit 306 outputs the privilege information, so that the user is notified that the privilege has been provided and the privilege can be used.

Each device included in the privilege providing system 1 performs an accumulation process for accumulating user-related information and a privilege provision process for providing a privilege to the user based on the above configuration.
FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the accumulation process. This operation procedure is started when a user purchases a product using a coupon at a store (that is, this operation procedure is not started when purchasing a product using points). First, the store terminal 10 (payment processing unit 101) performs a purchase payment process using a coupon by a user (step S11).

  Next, the shop terminal 10 (coupon usage history transmission unit 102) transmits the coupon usage history used in the settlement process to the privilege information server device 30 (step S12). The privilege information server device 30 (user related information acquisition unit 301) acquires a coupon usage history as user related information that is information about the user (step S13). And the privilege information server apparatus 30 (user relevant information storage part 302) accumulate | stores the coupon utilization log | history (user relevant information of a present Example) acquired by step S13 (step S14). By repeating this operation procedure, the user's coupon use history is accumulated.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the privilege providing process. In the example of FIG. 10, the operation procedure is started when the user purchases a privilege-targeted product at a store. First, the store terminal 10 (payment processing unit 101) performs a payment process when the user purchases a product (step S21). In the case of this purchase, a privilege (coupon or point) may or may not be used.

  Next, the store terminal 10 (product purchase notification unit 103) notifies the privilege information server device 30 that the user has purchased a product at the store (step S22). The privilege information server device 30 (privilege processing start instruction unit 303) determines whether or not the notified product is a privilege grant target (step S31), and determines that the product is not a grant target (NO). End the operating procedure. When it is determined that the privilege information server device 30 (privilege processing start instruction unit 303) is the grant target (YES), the privilege information server device 30 (privilege processing start instruction unit 303) instructs the start of the privilege processing for each function included in the own device (step S32).

  Next, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege switching determination unit 304) determines whether or not to switch the type of privilege provided to the target user from a coupon to a point (step S33). If it judges that it does not switch at Step S33, privilege information server device 30 (privilege information generation part 305) will generate privilege information which shows the coupon selected by this judgment (Step S41). Next, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information output unit 306) outputs the generated privilege information to the user terminal 40 (step S42). User terminal 40 (privilege information display part 401) displays the outputted privilege information (Step S43). Here, the operation procedure in the case where the coupon is provided ends, and the provided coupon can be used.

  When it is determined in step S33 that the privilege type is switched to points, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information generation unit 305) displays privilege information indicating points selected by this determination (in the case of points, user privilege information and device privileges). Information) is generated (step S51). Next, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information output unit 306) outputs the generated privilege information (user privilege information) to the user terminal 40 (step S52). User terminal 40 (privilege information display part 401) displays the outputted privilege information (Step S53).

  Further, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information output unit 306) outputs the generated privilege information (device privilege information) to the point management server device 20 (step S54). The point management server device 20 (point management unit 201) stores the received device privilege information (step S55). Here, the operation procedure in the case where points are provided ends, and the provided points can be used.

  When there are a user with many use results and a few users among the users, the former is a type that often uses coupons, and the latter is a type that does not use coupons much. If the coupon is provided to the former, it is easy to use, but even if the coupon is provided to the latter, the possibility that the coupon will not be used is higher than that of the former. If the latter is a user who uses points more often than coupons, the benefits offered to the user by switching from coupons to points as in this embodiment, compared to providing only coupons. Can increase the utilization rate.

  Thus, according to the present Example, even if users with different types of benefits that are frequently used are mixed, the benefit utilization rate can be increased. In this embodiment, a coupon usage history is acquired as the user-related information. Thereby, it can be judged from user related information whether the target user of a privilege is a type which often uses a coupon.

  Moreover, in a present Example, the use switching of a privilege is judged by comparing the utilization result of a target user and the coupon of another user. For example, when comparing the use results of coupons with a predetermined standard, it may happen that, in an extreme case, coupons are provided to all members or points are provided to all members. In the present embodiment, by comparing the usage results of the users, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the types of privileges granted as such are extremely biased.

  In addition, there is a merit in the method of comparing the coupon usage record with a predetermined standard. In this method, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that the switching condition is satisfied when the usage record of the coupon of the target user is below a predetermined standard. As this criterion, for example, a usage record that is less than a usage record that can be said to be a good use of coupons objectively is determined.

  In the method of comparison with other users, no matter how often the target user uses coupons, if other users use coupons more than that, the usage results are relatively low. Points will be provided. On the other hand, if it is a method of setting a standard, for example, by setting the above-mentioned standard, it is more reliable for a user who frequently uses the coupon without being influenced by the usage results of other users. Can be provided.

[2] Second Embodiment Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. In the first example, the coupon usage history is acquired as user-related information. In the second example, the purchase history of products is acquired as user-related information. Further, in the second embodiment, the coupon is not limited as much as the coupon is available as compared to the case where the coupon is often limited as shown in the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6. That is, a privilege is selected in consideration of the fact that the range of products that can be used for points is wider than coupons.

  FIG. 11 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system 1a of the second embodiment. The privilege providing system 1a includes a store terminal 10a. The store terminal 10a includes a product purchase history transmission unit 104 instead of the coupon use history transmission unit 102 shown in FIG. The product purchase history transmission unit 104 transmits the purchase history when the user purchases the product at the store to the privilege information server device 30. When the settlement processing unit 101 performs the settlement process, it supplies the product purchase history transmission unit 104 with the user ID of the user who purchased the product, the product ID of the purchased product, and the purchase date and time. The product purchase history transmission unit 104 transmits each piece of supplied information to the privilege information server device 30 as a product purchase history.

  In the present embodiment, the user related information acquisition unit 301 of the privilege information server device 30 acquires the purchase history of the product transmitted from the store terminal 10 as user related information related to the user who purchased the product. The acquired purchase history of the product is stored by the user related information storage unit 302. The privilege switching determination unit 304 reads the purchase history of the target user's product stored in the user-related information storage unit 302, and if the degree of purchase product bias indicated by the read purchase history satisfies the switching condition, Determine to switch to points.

  The degree of purchase product bias, that is, the degree of purchase product bias, increases as the number of purchases, the number of purchases, the purchase frequency, the purchase amount, or the purchase price of a particular product increases as compared to other products. . Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the degree of bias of purchased products increases as the number of purchases increases.

  For example, the privilege switching determination unit 304 extracts, from the product IDs indicated by the purchase history, products having a purchase date and time determined in the past (such as the past year), and purchases the same number of products for each extracted product ID. Count as the number of times The privilege switching determination unit 304 calculates the variance value using the set of counted numbers as a population, and if the calculated variance is less than the threshold, the degree of bias of the purchased product satisfies the switching condition. to decide.

  If only a specific product is purchased many times, the variation in the number for each product ID increases, and the calculated variance increases. On the other hand, the smaller the calculated variance is, the more all items are purchased. When the variance is less than the threshold value, that is, when the degree of bias of the purchased products of the target user is smaller than a predetermined standard, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines the range of products that can be used more than the coupon. It is determined that the benefit is switched from the coupon to the point as a point with a wider point is easier to use.

  When the coupon and the points are compared, the range of products that the points can use is wider as described above. For this reason, users who have a small degree of bias in purchased products, that is, users who purchase various types of products evenly, can use the benefits regardless of which products they purchase. There is a high possibility that the user prefers points compared to users with a large degree of bias. In this embodiment, since points are provided to users whose purchase products are less biased than the standard, for example, as compared to the case where coupons are uniformly provided to all users, The utilization rate can be improved.

  In addition, the value of the privilege given when purchasing the goods of the same amount is small in many cases instead of the point where the range of the goods which can be used is wide compared with the coupon. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide points to any user, and depending on the user, a coupon having a large privilege value may be preferred. In particular, in the case of a user who does not have the convenience that points are more convenient than a coupon, such as the above-mentioned user (a user with a small degree of bias of purchased products), the possibility that the user prefers the coupon is higher than that of the user.

  In a present Example, since a coupon is provided to the user who has high possibility of liking a coupon like that, for example, compared with the case where a point is provided uniformly, the utilization rate of such a user's privilege is also improved. be able to. Further, in this embodiment, since the privilege is selected based on the purchase history of the user, even if there is no mechanism for acquiring the coupon usage history as in the first embodiment, switching from the coupon to the point is performed. be able to.

  Note that the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that when the variance of the target user is smaller than the variance of the other users, that is, when the bias degree of the purchased products of the target user is smaller than the bias degree of the purchased products of the other users. In addition, it may be determined that the privilege is switched from the coupon to the point. Thereby, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the types of privilege to be given are extremely biased. On the other hand, when a predetermined standard is used as described above, it is possible to provide a privilege that is more likely to be preferred without being influenced by the degree of bias of other users' purchased products.

[3] Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with a focus on differences from the above embodiments. In the third embodiment, unlike the above-described embodiments, the privilege is selected in consideration of the user's preference for the product.

  FIG. 12 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system 1b of the third embodiment. The privilege providing system 1b includes a store terminal 10a illustrated in FIG. 11, a privilege information server device 30b, and a user terminal 40b. The privilege information server device 30b includes a product category specifying unit 307 in addition to the units shown in FIG. The user terminal 40b includes a search information transmission unit 403 and a browsing site information transmission unit 404 in addition to the units illustrated in FIG.

  The search information transmission unit 403 transmits search information indicating a keyword searched by the user to the privilege information server device 30. When the user performs a search on the Internet or SNS, the search information transmission unit 403 generates search information indicating the keyword used in the search and the user ID of the user of the own device, and transmits the search information to the privilege information server device 30. To do.

  The browsing site information transmission unit 404 transmits browsing site information indicating a site browsed by the user to the privilege information server device 30. The browsing site information transmission unit 404 generates, as browsing site information, information indicating the site name and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the website accessed by the own device and the user ID of the user of the own device, for example, as a privilege information server To device 30. Further, the product purchase history transmission unit 104 of the store terminal 10a transmits the product purchase history to the privilege information server device 30 as described in the second embodiment.

  The user related information acquisition unit 301 of the privilege information server device 30 acquires the transmitted search information, browsing site information, and product purchase history as user related information. The user searches for what he is interested in and browses a site containing articles he is interested in. In addition, the user purchases a product that he is interested in. That is, all of the user related information is information indicating a field in which the user is interested. The acquired user related information is stored in the user related information storage unit 302.

The product category specifying unit 307 specifies the category of the product that the user is interested in based on the user related information acquired by the user related information acquiring unit 301. The product category specifying unit 307 performs this specification using, for example, a product category table in which user-related information and product categories are associated with each other.
FIG. 13 shows an example of a product category table. In FIG. 13A, the search keyword is associated with the product category, in FIG. 13B, the browsing site is associated with the product category, and in FIG. 13C, the purchase history is associated with the product category. ing.

  In the example of FIG. 13, the product categories “food”, “daily necessities”, and “clothing” are used. For example, the product category “food” is changed to “fresh food”, “processed food”, and “retort”. More detailed product categories such as “food” may be used. The product category specifying unit 307 reads out the user related information of the target user stored in the user related information storage unit 302, and the target user is interested in the product category associated with the read out user related information in the product category table. Is identified as a category of products with The product category specifying unit 307 supplies the specified product category to the privilege switching determination unit 304.

  The privilege switching determination unit 304 determines to switch the privilege to a point when the coupon is not available for purchase of the product category specified by the product category specifying unit 307, that is, the category of the target user's interest. The privilege switching determination unit 304 is, for example, a case where the target user purchases a product of the category “food” and the content of the coupon is determined using the product / coupon table shown in FIG. When the category is specified, since the coupon “30% off domestic beef” provided in this case is not available for purchase of “daily necessities” products, it is determined to switch the benefits to points.

  Compared to coupons that can be used to purchase products of a category that the user is interested in, coupons that are not so have a lower utilization rate. In this embodiment, when a coupon is selected as a privilege, the latter is offered to the target user. By providing a point instead of a coupon, the benefit is used compared to the case where the coupon is uniformly provided. The rate can be improved.

[4] Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with a focus on differences from the above embodiments. As described above, unlike a coupon, a point can be used by storing (accumulating) a plurality of points provided a plurality of times. Therefore, the user who likes points tends to be eager to accumulate points. In the fourth embodiment, a privilege is selected in consideration of the amount of points accumulated by the user (accumulated points).

  FIG. 14 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system 1c of the fourth embodiment. The privilege providing system 1c includes a store terminal 10c and a privilege information server device 30c. The store terminal 10c includes a target user notification unit 105 instead of the coupon usage history transmission unit 102 illustrated in FIG. The privilege information server device 30c includes units other than the user-related information storage unit 302 illustrated in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, when the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment processing, the user ID of the user who purchased the product, that is, the user ID of the privilege granting target user is supplied to the target user notification unit 105. The target user notification unit 105 transmits the supplied user ID to the privilege information server device 30c, thereby notifying the privilege information server device 30c of the target user indicated by the user ID. Upon receiving the transmitted user ID, the user related information acquisition unit 301 of the privilege information server device 30c transmits inquiry data for inquiring accumulated points stored in association with the user ID to the point management server device 20. .

  The point management unit 201 of the point management server device 20 transmits accumulated point data indicating accumulated points stored in association with the user ID indicated by the received inquiry data to the privilege information server device 30c. The user related information acquisition unit 301 acquires the received accumulated point data, that is, information indicating the amount of points accumulated by the target user (that is, accumulated points) as user related information. The user related information acquisition unit 301 supplies the acquired user related information to the privilege switching determination unit 304.

  The privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that the privilege is switched from a coupon to a point when the accumulated points acquired by the user-related information acquisition unit 301 for the privilege grant target user are equal to or more than a predetermined standard. As this reference, for example, a value obtained by multiplying the average value of points given by one purchase by X (X is a value of about 2 to 10 for example) is used. In this case, points are provided to users who have accumulated without using accumulated points until approximately X points are granted, and coupons are provided to users who use accumulated points earlier than that. Will be provided.

  The privilege switching determination unit 304 may determine that the privilege is switched from a coupon to a point when the accumulated points acquired for the target user are equal to or greater than the accumulated points acquired for other users. In any case, in this embodiment, points are provided instead of coupons for users who are interested in accumulating points. Thereby, the utilization rate of a privilege can be improved compared with the case where a coupon is provided uniformly.

[5] Modifications Each of the above-described embodiments is merely an example of the present invention, and may be modified as follows. Moreover, you may implement combining each Example and each modification as needed.

[5-1] Selecting a privilege In each example, the first candidate for the privilege provided to the user is a coupon and the second candidate is determined as a point. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.
FIG. 15 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege information server device 30d of this modification. The privilege information server device 30d includes a privilege type selection unit 308 instead of the privilege switching determination unit 304 shown in FIG.

  The privilege type selection unit 308 selects either a coupon or a point as a privilege to be provided to the target user based on the user related information acquired by the user related information acquisition unit 301. The privilege type selection unit 308 is an example of the “selection unit” in the present invention. For example, the privilege type selection unit 308 selects a coupon when the usage record of the coupon of the target user satisfies the coupon selection condition, and selects a point when the coupon selection condition is not satisfied.

  As a coupon selection condition, for example, a condition that is satisfied when the usage record of a target user's coupon is lower than the usage record of another user's coupon is used, similar to the switching condition described in the first embodiment. Alternatively, a condition that is satisfied when the usage record of the coupon of the target user is lower than a predetermined standard may be used.

  In addition, using the purchase history of the target user described in the second embodiment, the search information, browsing site information, or accumulated points of the target user described in the third embodiment as user related information, the same as the switching condition in each embodiment It may be determined whether the selection condition is satisfied. In any case, similarly to each embodiment, even when users with different types of privileges that are frequently used are mixed, the usage rate of the privileges can be increased.

[5-2] Type of privilege The type of privilege provided to the user is not limited to coupons and points. For example, gift certificates, gift certificates, discount tickets, invitation tickets (tickets invited to amusement parks and movies for free), mileage, novelties (free souvenirs) and product upgrades (airplane seats, hotel rooms, etc. upgrades) ) Etc. may be provided. Any of these benefits may be used as an example of the “first privilege” and the “second privilege” of the present invention.

  For example, user-related information indicating the use result of the invitation ticket (corresponding to the use result of the coupon in the first embodiment) is acquired with the invitation ticket as the “first privilege” and the gift certificate as the “second privilege”. Shall. In that case, the privilege type selection unit 308 shown in FIG. 15 selects a gift voucher when the usage record of the invitation voucher is lower than a predetermined standard, and selects an invitation voucher otherwise.

  In addition, these privileges include, for example, a privilege that discounts the price of a product that the target user intends to purchase, or a privilege that provides a product that the target user does not intend to purchase for free (for example, an invitation ticket, a novelty) , Upgrades), all of which can be said to be a privilege that provides the value of a price discount (a free offer is also a discount that reduces the price of an item that should be provided for a fee to zero). Among them, gift coupons, gift certificates and mileage are benefits that can be used as a single large discount price by summing a plurality of discount prices indicated by a plurality of benefits, like points. It may be used as an example of “second privilege”.

  In that case, for example, contrary to the above example, the gift voucher is “first privilege” and the invitation voucher is “second privilege”, and the accumulated amount of gift vouchers (corresponding to the accumulated points in the fourth embodiment) It is assumed that user-related information indicating is acquired. Then, the privilege type selection unit 308 selects a gift voucher when the accumulated amount of gift vouchers is equal to or more than a predetermined standard, and selects an invitation voucher otherwise. In any case, the type of privilege that the target user is likely to use is selected, and the usage rate of the privilege can be increased as compared with the case where only one privilege is provided.

  Also, the form of provision of benefits is not limited to the above. The privilege may be provided to the user in the form of paper (for example, coupon, gift certificate, discount ticket, etc.) or may be provided in the form of electronic data (electronic coupon, mileage, etc.). In the case of electronic data, the privilege information is output to the user terminal and the store terminal as in the embodiment, but in the case of paper, the privilege information is output to, for example, the system of the business operator that prints the paper. Just do it.

[5-3] Apparatus for Implementing Each Unit The apparatus for realizing each unit illustrated in FIG. 4 and the like is not limited to the above-described apparatus. For example, the store terminal or privilege information server device may include the point management unit 201 included in the point management server device. Moreover, another information processing apparatus may be provided with a part of function with which a privilege information server apparatus is provided. In short, it is only necessary that the devices provided in the privilege providing system as a whole realize the units shown in FIG.

[5-4] Category of the Invention The present invention is an information processing system such as a privilege providing system including these devices in addition to information processing devices such as store terminals, point management server devices, privilege information server devices, and user terminals. Can also be seen. In addition, the present invention can be understood as an information processing method for realizing processing performed by each device, or as a program for causing a computer that controls each device to function. This program may be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disk in which it is stored, or may be provided in the form of being downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet, installed and made available for use. May be.

[5-5] Processing Procedures, etc. The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, and the like of each embodiment described in this specification may be changed in order as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present the elements of the various steps in an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[5-6] Handling of input / output information etc. The input / output information etc. may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or may be managed by a management table. Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or additionally written. The output information or the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

[5-7] Software Software, regardless of whether it is called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or another name, is an instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, program code, program , Subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc. should be interpreted broadly.

  Also, software, instructions, etc. may be transmitted / received via a transmission medium. For example, software may use websites, servers, or other devices using wired technology such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and / or wireless technology such as infrared, wireless and microwave. When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[5-8] Information, Signals The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, commands, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description are voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these May be represented by a combination of

[5-9] System, Network As used herein, the terms “system” and “network” are used interchangeably.

[5-10] Meaning of “based on” As used herein, the term “based on” does not mean “based only on,” unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” means both “based only on” and “based at least on.”

[5-11] “and”, “or”
In the present specification, for a configuration that can be implemented by either “A and B” or “A or B”, a configuration described in one expression may be used as a configuration described in the other expression. For example, when “A and B” is described, it may be used as “A or B” as long as it is feasible without inconsistency with other descriptions.

[5-12] Variations of Aspect, etc. Each embodiment described in the present specification may be used alone, in combination, or may be switched according to execution. In addition, notification of predetermined information (for example, notification of being “X”) is not limited to explicitly performed, but is performed implicitly (for example, notification of the predetermined information is not performed). Also good.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the scope of claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for illustrative purposes and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Benefit provision system, 2 ... Network, 10 ... Store terminal, 101 ... Settlement processing part, 102 ... Coupon use history transmission part, 103 ... Merchandise purchase notification part, 104 ... Merchandise purchase history transmission part, 105 ... Target user notification part , 20 ... Point management server apparatus, 201 ... Point management section, 30 ... Bonus information server apparatus, 301 ... User related information acquisition section, 302 ... User related information storage section, 303 ... Bonus processing start instruction section, 304 ... Bonus switching determination 305 ... Privilege information generation unit, 306 ... Privilege information output unit, 307 ... Product category identification unit, 308 ... Privilege type selection unit, 40 ... User terminal, 401 ... Privilege information display unit, 402 ... Position information transmission unit, 403 ... Search information transmission unit, 404 ... Browsing site information transmission unit.

Claims (7)

An acquisition unit for acquiring related information about the user;
One of a first privilege that provides value to the user based on the acquired related information and a second privilege that provides value to the user and is different in type from the first privilege A selection section for selecting a privilege,
A generating unit that generates privilege information indicating any of the selected privileges;
An information processing apparatus comprising: an output unit that outputs the generated privilege information. The first privilege and the second privilege provide a value of price discount,
The first privilege is a type of privilege that cannot be used by summing a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of first privileges,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second privilege is a type of privilege that can be used by summing a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of second privileges. The acquisition unit acquires a use history of the first privilege of the user as the related information,
3. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the second privilege when a usage record of the first privilege indicated by the acquired related information satisfies a predetermined condition. apparatus. The information processing according to claim 3, wherein the selection unit determines that the condition is satisfied when the usage record of the user is lower than a predetermined standard or lower than the usage record of another user. apparatus. The second privilege has a wider range of products for which the privilege can be used than the first privilege,
The acquisition unit acquires a purchase history of a product as the related information,
The said selection part selects the said 2nd privilege, when the degree of the bias of the goods which the said user purchases is smaller than the defined standard, or is smaller than the said degree of the bias of the other user. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The acquisition unit acquires information representing a category of a product that the user is interested in as the related information,
The said selection part selects the said 2nd privilege, when the said 1st privilege is not available for the purchase of the goods of the category which the acquired said related information represents. Information processing device. The second privilege can be accumulated and used together,
The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the amount of the second privilege accumulated by the user as the related information,
In a case where the amount of the second privilege acquired for the user to whom the privilege is granted is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard or the amount of the second privilege of another user, the selection unit is the second The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a privilege is selected.

Images