JP6853029B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

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

There is a technology that provides benefits to users. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for analyzing a member's attributes and purchase history and issuing a coupon that is determined to be valid for each member.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-30749

Some users often use coupons, while others often use points. For both types of users, the higher the utilization rate of benefits, the higher the effect of sending customers, which is desirable.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to increase the utilization rate of benefits even if users with different types of benefits 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 for selecting one of the second benefits provided and different from the first benefit, and a generation unit for generating privilege information indicating the selected one of the benefits. Provided is an information processing device including an output unit for outputting the generated privilege information.

Further, the first privilege and the second privilege provide the value of a price discount, and the first privilege is used by summing up a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of the first privilege. It is a 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 the second privilege.
Further, 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. The second privilege may be selected if the specified conditions are met.

In addition, the selection unit may determine that the condition is satisfied when the usage record of the user is below the defined standard or below the usage 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 the purchase history of the product as the related information, and the selection unit obtains the above-mentioned selection unit. If the degree of bias of the goods purchased by the user is less than the defined standard or less than the degree of the bias of other users, the second privilege may be selected.

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

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the utilization rate of benefits even if users with different types of benefits that are frequently used are mixed.

Diagram showing the overall configuration of the privilege providing system according to the first embodiment Diagram showing the hardware configuration of the store terminal, point management server device, and privilege information server device Diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal Diagram showing the functional configuration realized by the privilege provision system Diagram showing an example of product / coupon table Diagram showing an example of a store / coupon table Diagram showing an example of a store / point table Diagram showing an example of the displayed privilege information The figure which shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the accumulation process Diagram showing an example of the operation procedure of each device in the privilege provision process Diagram showing the functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system of the second embodiment The figure which shows the functional structure realized by the privilege provision system of 3rd Example Diagram showing an example of a product category table The figure which shows the functional structure realized by the privilege provision system of 4th Example A diagram showing the functional configuration realized by the privilege information server device of the modified example.

[1] First Example FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the privilege providing system 1 according to the first embodiment. The privilege providing system 1 is a system for encouraging a user to visit a store by providing the user with a privilege that can be used when purchasing a product and provides value to the user. Products for which benefits are available include those offered in the form of goods (daily necessities, food, beverages, clothing, etc.) and those offered in the form of services (transportation, accommodation, eating out, content, etc.). Both are included. In this embodiment, a case where coupons and points are provided as benefits to the user will be described.

Coupons and points primarily provide users with the value of discounting commodity prices. For example, if it is a coupon, a discount of 500 yen or 30% off is given under specified conditions, and if it is a point, a discount for points specified by the user is given. In addition, if it is a coupon, a specific product may be offered free of charge or the grade of the product may be upgraded, and if it is a point, the accumulated points may be exchanged for the product for free. It can be said that the product is discounted until it becomes free, or the difference between the upgraded grades is discounted.

In this way, both the coupon and the point are benefits in which the magnitude of the value of the benefit is represented by the magnitude of 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, points can be used by accumulating a plurality of points provided at different occasions. That is, the points can be used as one large discount price by summing the plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of points. In this way, coupons and points are used differently from each other, and the types of benefits are different. The coupon is an example of the "first privilege" of the present invention, and the points are 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, the Internet, and the like, and mediates the exchange of data between devices that access the own system. The store terminal 10, the point management server device 20, and the privilege information server device 30 access the network 2 by wired communication, and the user terminal 40 accesses by wireless communication. The access to the network 2 may be either wired communication or wireless communication.

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

The point management server device 20 is an information processing device that performs a process of managing points provided as a privilege. The point management server device 20 stores the accumulated points 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 inquiries about the user's points from the electronic payment system, and reflects the increase or decrease of points when the points are given or used.

The privilege information server device 30 is an information processing device that determines the content of the privilege to be provided to the user, generates privilege information indicating the determined privilege, and outputs the generated privilege information. When the privilege is a point, the privilege information server device 30 outputs privilege information indicating the granted points 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 the privilege information indicating the 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 clerk at the time of purchasing the product, the user can use the privilege (discount of the product price, etc.) indicated by the privilege information.

FIG. 2 shows the 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 including 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. The word "device" here can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. Further, each device may be included one or more, or some devices may not be included.

The processor 11 operates, for example, an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 11 may be composed of a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral device, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like. Further, the processor 11 reads a program (program code), a software module, data, and the like from the storage 13 and / or the communication device 14 into 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 two or more processors 11 may execute various processes simultaneously or sequentially. Further, the processor 11 may be mounted on 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 is composed of at least one such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). May be done. The memory 12 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 12 can store the above-mentioned program (program code), software module, data, and the like.

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

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, a communication module, or the like. The input device 15 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives an input from the outside.

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

Further, the store terminal 10 and the privilege information server device 30 include a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP: Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). ) Etc. may be included, and a part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 11 may be implemented on at least one of these hardware.

FIG. 3 shows the hardware configuration of the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 is a computer including 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 each device of the same name shown in FIG. The positioning device 47 has a sensor that measures its own position using a signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, and supplies position data representing the measured position in latitude and longitude to the processor 41.

The functions described below are realized by the processor of each device included in the privilege providing system 1 executing a program to control each part.
FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration realized by the privilege providing system 1. The store terminal 10 includes a payment 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. And. The user terminal 40 includes a privilege information display unit 401 and a position information transmission unit 402.

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

The privilege information is, for example, information indicating a discount price of a product which 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 payment processing unit 101 refers to the list (stored in the own device or the external device) in which the privilege ID and the content of the privilege are associated with each other and inputs the privilege ID. 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, the settlement process is performed as follows. First, when payment is made using a credit card, an electronic money card, a point card, a smartphone having an electronic payment function, or the like provided with a user ID holding means, the payment processing unit 101 is read from the holding means. The user ID and the inquiry data indicating that the user's point indicated by the user ID is to be 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, it transmits the cumulative 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 specifies the number of points equal to or less than the displayed cumulative points and the clerk inputs it, the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment processing reflecting the input number of points, that is, the discount price. As described above, when the coupon is used, the payment process that reflects the discount price indicated by the coupon is performed, and when the points are used, the payment process that reflects the discount price specified by the user within the range of accumulated points is performed. Will be done.

In this embodiment, when the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment processing reflecting the coupon as described above, the user ID of the user who used the coupon, the discount price by the coupon, and the date and time when the coupon is used are recorded as the coupon usage history. To the coupon usage history transmission unit 102. The coupon usage history transmission unit 102 transmits the coupon usage history supplied from the payment 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 which is information about a user registered as a target for which the privilege is provided in the privilege providing system 1. The user-related information acquisition unit 301 is an example of the "acquisition unit" of the present invention. In this embodiment, the user-related information acquisition unit 301 acquires the coupon usage history transmitted from the store terminal 10 as user-related information regarding the user who has used the coupon.

The user-related information acquisition unit 301 supplies the acquired coupon usage history to the user-related information storage unit 302. The coupon usage history transmission unit 102 transmits the coupon usage history and the user-related information acquisition unit 301 acquires the coupon usage history repeatedly every time the user uses the coupon. The user-related information storage unit 302 stores user-related information (coupon usage history in this embodiment) that is repeatedly acquired by the user-related information acquisition 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 process is performed, 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 the product purchase data indicating each of the 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 start of privilege processing for providing the privilege to the user. In the following, two types of triggers for starting privilege processing will be described. The first trigger is that the user purchases a product for which the privilege is to be granted. The privilege processing start instruction unit 303 receives the product purchase data transmitted from the store terminal 10, and when the product with the product ID indicated by the product purchase data is the target for granting the privilege, the first trigger occurs. Judge.

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

The second trigger is that the user approaches the store that is giving the visitor a privilege. The position information transmission unit 402 of the user terminal 40 possessed by the user transmits the 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 at, for example, a predetermined time interval (every 5 seconds, etc.). The privilege information server device 30 stores a store position table in which the store position information and the store name are associated with each other.

The privilege processing start instruction unit 303 gives 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 value. It is determined that the store is approached, that is, the second trigger has occurred. When this determination is made, the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 supplies the user ID of the target user to be provided with the privilege to the privilege switching determination unit 304 and the privilege information output unit 306, and the user approaches the privilege information generation unit 305. In addition to supplying the store names of the stores, instruct each part of them to start the privilege processing.

In this embodiment, the first candidate for the privilege provided to the user is determined to be a coupon and the second candidate is determined to be points. Basically, a coupon is provided, but points are provided only when specific conditions are met. Is determined to be provided. When the user ID is supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines whether or not to switch the type of privilege for providing the user with the user ID as the target user from the coupon to the point.

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

As the usage record of coupons of other users, for example, a representative value representing the characteristics of the distribution of the usage record of coupons of all other users (average value, median value, pruning average, or midpoint of the number of times the coupon is used per month). Value etc.) is used. In addition, the usage record of a specific user who is known to have a moderate number of coupon usage records among all other users may be used. In short, the usage record, which is a threshold value when the target user determines whether the target user frequently uses the coupon or not, may be used as the usage record of the coupon of another user.

As described above, the privilege switching determination unit 304 determines that 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. If a coupon is selected as a privilege to be provided to the target user and the usage record satisfies the switching condition, it means that the 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" of the present invention, and the "switching condition" is an example of the "condition" of the present invention. The privilege switching determination unit 304 supplies the above determination result to the privilege information generation unit 305.

The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information indicating the privilege (one of the coupon and the 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" of the present invention. When the privilege information generation unit 305 determines that the privilege is not switched by the privilege switching determination unit 304, that is, when the coupon is selected and the user who purchased the product is the target user for providing the privilege. Generates privilege information using, for example, 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 purchased product "food" is associated with the content of the coupon "30% off domestic beef". Similarly, the purchased products "daily necessities" and "clothing" are associated with the contents of the coupons "shampoo 500 yen discount" and "cleaning ticket provision", respectively. The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information representing the contents 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 its 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 means that can be used by referring to the table. This also applies to information such as other tables and lists used by each function.

Further, when the coupon is selected and the user who approaches the store is the target user for providing the privilege, the privilege information generation unit 305 associates the store name with the content of the coupon, for example. Generate privilege information 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", "bento shop β", "bookstore γ", "hamburger 100 yen discount", "one tea service", "20% off from the second book" The contents of the coupon are associated with each other. The privilege information generation unit 305 generates privilege information indicating the contents of the coupon associated with the store name (store name of the store approached by the target user) supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 in the store / coupon table. To do.

The privilege information generation unit 305 is a privilege processing start instruction unit when it is determined to switch the privilege, that is, when points are selected and the user who purchased the product is the target user for providing the privilege. A value obtained by multiplying the purchase price indicated by the product purchase data supplied from 303 by a determined ratio is calculated as points, and privilege information indicating the calculated points is generated.

Further, when the privilege information generation unit 305 determines that the privilege is to be switched, that is, when the points are selected and the user who approaches the store is the target user for providing the privilege, for example, the store. Bonus information is generated using the store / point table that associates the name with the points to be given.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a store / point table. In the example of FIG. 7, the store names "fast food store α", "lunch box store β", and "bookstore γ" are "50 (validity period 1 month)", "100 (validity period 1 month)", and "100 (validity period 1 month)". The point "validity period 6 months)" is associated. In this example, the validity period is also associated with the points.

The privilege information generation unit 305 includes points associated with the store name (store name of the store approached by the target user) supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 in the store / point table, and the validity period of the points. Generate privilege information indicating. As described above, the privilege information may be information indicating the usage conditions of the privilege (valid period in this example). In addition, the privilege information generation unit 305 provides user privilege information for transmitting the provided privilege (coupon and points) to the user, and the privilege provided to the device for managing the privilege (point management server device 20 in this embodiment). Two types of privilege information, that is, device privilege information for communicating the above, are generated.

The privilege information generation unit 305 generates the user privilege information in a text or image format that can be read by the user, while the device privilege information is generated in a text format, a binary format, or the like as long as the point management server device 20 can read it. To do. Further, the privilege information generation unit 305 generates information indicating the user ID of the target user and the date and time of granting the points as device privilege information in addition to the points and the validity period described above so that the points of the target user can be managed. As described above, the user privilege information and the device privilege information may have different contents even if the type of privilege 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 privilege indicated by the privilege information to the user. The privilege information output unit 306 is an example of the "output unit" of the present invention. Regarding the user privilege information described above, the privilege information output unit 306 is a destination table in which, for example, the user ID of the target user of the privilege and the destination of the target user are associated with each other regardless of whether the type of the privilege is a coupon or a point. Is used to output to the destination associated with the user ID of the target user supplied from the privilege processing start instruction unit 303 in the destination table.

The destination of the target user is represented by, for example, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the user terminal 40, the e-mail address of the user, the account of the SNS (Social Networking Service) of the user, or the like. The privilege information output to 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. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the privilege information display unit 401 displays the privilege information A1 and A2 on the output device 46 which is the display means of the own device.

The privilege information A1 is the user privilege information expressed by the texts "a coupon was provided because the lunch box shop β was approached" and "one tea service", and the privilege information A2 is "approaching the lunch box shop β". This is the user privilege information expressed in the texts "Because the points were provided" and "100 points (valid for one month)". Similarly, even if the user approaches the bento shop β, the user terminal 40 of the user whose coupon usage record does not meet the switching condition (the coupon usage record is higher than that of other users) is a privilege. The information A1 is displayed, and the privilege information A2 is displayed on the user terminal 40 of the user whose coupon usage record satisfies the switching condition (the coupon usage record is lower than that of other users).

Further, the privilege information output unit 306 outputs the above-mentioned device privilege information (privilege information indicating points in this embodiment) to the point management server device 20. When the point management unit 201 of the point management server device 20 receives the device privilege information, the point management unit 201 stores the user ID, points, grant date and time, and validity period indicated by the received device privilege information in association with each other. Further, the point management unit 201 prevents the points whose validity period has passed from the grant date and time from being included in the accumulated points by canceling the association with the user ID. As described above, when the privilege information output unit 306 outputs the privilege information, the user is informed that the privilege has been provided, and the privilege can be used.

Based on the above configuration, each device included in the privilege providing system 1 performs a storage process for accumulating user-related information and a privilege providing process for providing a privilege to the user.
FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation procedure of each device in the storage process. This operation procedure is started when the 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 payment processing for purchases using coupons by the user (step S11).

Next, the store terminal 10 (coupon usage history transmission unit 102) transmits the usage history of the coupon used in the payment process to the privilege information server device 30 (step S12). The privilege information server device 30 (user-related information acquisition unit 301) acquires the coupon usage history as user-related information that is information about the user (step S13). Then, the privilege information server device 30 (user-related information storage unit 302) accumulates the coupon usage history (user-related information of this embodiment) acquired in step S13 (step S14). By repeating this operation procedure, the user's coupon usage 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 the product subject to the privilege at the store. First, the store terminal 10 (payment processing unit 101) performs payment processing when the user purchases a product (step S21). Benefits (coupons or points) may or may not be used at the time of this purchase.

Next, the store terminal 10 (product purchase notification unit 103) notifies the privilege information server device 30 that the user has purchased the 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 if it is determined that it is not a grant target (NO), this is performed. End the operation procedure. When the privilege information server device 30 (privilege processing start instruction unit 303) determines that the grant target (YES), the privilege information server device 30 (step S32) instructs each function provided in the own device to start the privilege processing.

Next, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege switching determination unit 304) determines whether or not to switch the type of privilege to be provided to the target user from the coupon to the point (step S33). If it is determined not to switch in step S33, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information generation unit 305) generates privilege information indicating the coupon selected by this determination (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). The user terminal 40 (privilege information display unit 401) displays the output privilege information (step S43). Here, the operation procedure when the coupon is provided is completed, and the provided coupon can be used.

When it is determined in step S33 that the type of privilege is switched to points, the privilege information server device 30 (privilege information generation unit 305) determines the privilege information indicating the points selected by this determination (in the case of points, the user privilege information and the device privilege). 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). The user terminal 40 (privilege information display unit 401) displays the output 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). At this point, the operation procedure when points are provided ends, and the provided points can be used.

When some users have a lot of coupon usage records and some users have few coupon usage records, the former is a type that often uses coupons, and the latter is a type that does not use coupons very much. If you provide a coupon to the former, it will be easier for you to use it, but even if you provide a coupon to the latter, there is a higher possibility that it will not be used, so it will be a factor to lower the utilization rate of benefits. If the latter is a user who uses points more often than coupons, by switching from coupons to points and providing benefits to that user as in this example, benefits will be compared to the case where only coupons are provided. Utilization rate can be increased.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the utilization rate of the benefits even if users having different types of frequently used benefits are mixed. Further, in this embodiment, the coupon usage history is acquired as the user-related information. As a result, it is possible to determine from the user-related information whether or not the target user of the privilege is the type who frequently uses the coupon.

Further, in this embodiment, the switching of benefits is determined by comparing the coupon usage records of the target user and other users. For example, when comparing the usage record of coupons with a set standard, in the extreme, it is possible that coupons are offered to everyone or points are offered to everyone. In this embodiment, by comparing the usage records of the users, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the types of benefits granted in this way are extremely biased.

There is also a merit in the method of comparing the usage record of coupons with a set 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 lower than the predetermined standard. As this standard, for example, a usage record that is less than the usage record that can be said to be frequently used for coupons is set.

In the method of comparing with other users, no matter how often the target user uses the coupon, if the other user uses more coupons, the usage record is relatively small. 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, the coupon can be more reliably used for the user who frequently uses the coupon without being influenced by the usage record of other users. Can be provided.

[2] Second Example The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the coupon usage history is acquired as user-related information, but in the second embodiment, the product purchase history is acquired as user-related information. Further, in the second embodiment, the coupons are often limited in the products that can be used as in the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6, whereas the points are that the products that can be used are not as limited as the coupons. In other words, benefits are selected in consideration of the fact that points can be used for a wider range of products 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 usage 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 payment process is performed, 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 date and time to the product purchase history transmission unit 104. The product purchase history transmission unit 104 transmits each of the supplied information to the privilege information server device 30 as a product purchase history.

In this 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 about the user who purchased the product. The purchase history of the acquired product is accumulated by the user-related information storage unit 302. The privilege switching determination unit 304 reads the purchase history of the target user's products stored in the user-related information storage unit 302, and when the degree of bias of the purchased products indicated by the read purchase history satisfies the switching condition, the privilege switching determination unit 304 provides the privilege. Decide to switch to points.

The degree of bias of purchased products, that is, the degree of bias of purchased products, increases as the number of purchases, the number of purchases, the frequency of purchases, the purchase amount, the purchase price, etc. of a specific product are larger than those of other products. .. In the following, a case where the degree of bias of purchased products increases as the number of purchases increases will be described.

For example, the privilege switching determination unit 304 extracts the product IDs indicated by the purchase history for a period (past one year, etc.) for which the purchase date and time is determined in the past, and purchases the same number of products for each extracted product ID. Count as the number of times you have done. The privilege switching determination unit 304 calculates the value of the variance using the set of the counted numbers as the population, and when the calculated variance is less than the threshold value, 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 of products for each product ID becomes large, and the calculated variance becomes large. On the contrary, the smaller the calculated variance, the more evenly all the products are purchased. The privilege switching determination unit 304 indicates that 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 the defined standard, such a target user can use the range of products rather than the coupon. Assuming that points with a wider range are easier to use, it is decided to switch the benefits from coupons to points.

Comparing coupons and points, as mentioned above, points have a wider range of products that can be used. Therefore, 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 product they purchase, which is more convenient for points. There is a high possibility that points will be preferred to users with a large degree of bias. In this embodiment, points are provided to users whose degree of bias of purchased products is smaller than the standard, so that the benefits of such users are compared to the case where coupons are uniformly provided to all users, for example. The utilization rate can be improved.

Compared to coupons, points have a wider range of products that can be used, but in many cases, the value of benefits given when purchasing products of the same amount is small. Therefore, it is not always necessary to provide points to all users, and some users may prefer coupons with a high value of benefits. In particular, a user who does not have a situation in which points are more convenient than a coupon, such as the above-mentioned user (a user with a small degree of bias of purchased products), is more likely to prefer a coupon than the above-mentioned user.

In this embodiment, since the coupon is provided to the user who is likely to prefer the coupon, the utilization rate of the privilege of such a user is also improved as compared with the case where the points are uniformly provided, for example. be able to. Further, in this embodiment, since the privilege is selected based on the purchase history of the user, the coupon is switched to points even if there is no mechanism for acquiring the coupon usage history as in the first embodiment. be able to.

In the privilege switching determination unit 304, when the variance of the target user is smaller than the variance of the other user, that is, when the degree of bias of the purchased product of the target user is smaller than the degree of bias of the purchased product by the other user. In addition, you may decide to switch the benefits from coupons to points. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the types of benefits to be granted are extremely biased as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, when the predetermined criteria as described above are used, it is possible to provide the privilege that is more likely to be preferred without being influenced by the degree of bias of the purchased products of other users.

[3] Third Example The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below focusing on the differences from each of the above examples. In the third embodiment, unlike each of the above embodiments, the privilege is selected in consideration of the user's product preference.

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 shown 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 shown in FIG.

The search information transmission unit 403 transmits search information indicating the keyword searched by the user to the privilege information server device 30. When the user searches on the Internet, SNS, or the like, 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 the browsing site information indicating the site browsed by the user to the privilege information server device 30. The browsing site information transmission unit 404 generates, for example, 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 as browsing site information, and is a privilege information server. It is transmitted to the 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. Users search for what they are interested in and browse sites that contain articles that they are interested in. In addition, the user purchases a product that he / she is interested in. That is, all of these user-related information are information indicating fields of interest to the user. These acquired user-related information are accumulated by the user-related information storage unit 302.

The product category specifying unit 307 identifies the category of the product that the user is interested in based on the user-related information acquired by the user-related information acquisition unit 301. The product category identification unit 307 performs this identification 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. 13 (a), the search keyword and the product category are associated, in FIG. 13 (b), the browsing site and the product category are associated, and in FIG. 13 (c), the purchase history and the product category are associated. ing.

In the example of FIG. 13, the product categories of "food", "daily necessities", and "clothing" are used. For example, the product category of "food" is referred to as "fresh food", "processed food", and "retort". It may be a more detailed product category such as "food". The product category specifying unit 307 reads 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 user-related information in the product category table. Identify 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 that the privilege is switched to points when the coupon is not available for the purchase of the product category specified by the product category identification unit 307, that is, the product of the category that the target user is interested in. The privilege switching determination unit 304 is, for example, a case where the target user purchases a product in the "food" category and the content of the coupon is determined using the product / coupon table shown in FIG. 5, and the product called "daily necessities". When the category is specified, the coupon "30% off domestic beef" provided in this case is not available for purchasing the "daily necessities" product, so the decision is made to switch the privilege to points.

Coupons that are not available for purchase of products in the category that the user is interested in have a lower utilization rate. In this embodiment, when the latter coupon is provided to the target user when a coupon is selected as a benefit, points are provided instead of the coupon, so that the benefit can be used as compared with the case where the coupon is uniformly provided. The rate can be improved.

[4] Fourth Example The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below focusing on the differences from each of the above examples. As described above, unlike coupons, points can be used by accumulating (accumulating) a plurality of points provided multiple times. Therefore, users who like points tend to be enthusiastic about accumulating points. In the fourth embodiment, the privilege is selected in consideration of the amount of points (cumulative points) accumulated by the user in this way.

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 shown in FIG. The privilege information server device 30c includes each unit other than the user-related information storage unit 302 shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, when the payment processing unit 101 performs the payment processing, the user ID of the user who purchased the product, that is, the target user for granting the privilege is supplied to the target user notification unit 105. The target user notification unit 105 notifies the privilege information server device 30c of the target user indicated by the user ID by transmitting the supplied user ID to the privilege information server device 30c. When the user-related information acquisition unit 301 of the privilege information server device 30c receives the transmitted user ID, it transmits inquiry data for inquiring the 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 the cumulative point data indicating the 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 cumulative 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 the coupon to the point when the cumulative points acquired by the user-related information acquisition unit 301 for the user to be granted the privilege are equal to or more than the predetermined standard. As this standard, for example, a value obtained by multiplying the average value of points given by one purchase by X (X is a value of, for example, about 2 to 10) is used. In this case, points will be provided to users who have accumulated points without using accumulated points until approximately X points have been awarded, and coupons will be given to users who use accumulated points earlier than that. Will be provided.

The privilege switching determination unit 304 may determine to switch the privilege from the coupon to the points when the accumulated points acquired for the target user are equal to or greater than the accumulated points acquired for the other user. In either case, in this embodiment, points are provided instead of coupons to users who are highly interested in accumulating points. As a result, the utilization rate of the benefits can be improved as compared with the case where the coupons are uniformly provided.

[5] Modification Examples Each of the above-described examples is merely an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and may be modified as follows. Moreover, each Example and each modification may be carried out in combination as necessary.

[5-1] Selecting a privilege In each embodiment, the first candidate for the privilege provided to the user is determined to be a coupon and the second candidate is determined to be a point, but the present invention is not limited to this.
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 points 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” of the present invention. For example, the privilege type selection unit 308 selects a coupon when the coupon usage record of the target user satisfies the coupon selection condition, and selects points when the coupon selection condition is not satisfied.

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

Further, the purchase history of the target user described in the second embodiment, the search information of the target user described in the third embodiment, the browsing site information, or the accumulated points are used as the user-related information in the same manner as the switching conditions in each embodiment. It may be determined whether or not the selection condition is satisfied. In either case, as in each embodiment, the utilization rate of the benefits can be increased even if users with different types of frequently used benefits are mixed.

[5-2] Types of benefits The types of benefits provided to users are not limited to coupons and points. For example, gift certificates, gift certificates, discount tickets, invitation tickets (tickets to invite to amusement parks and movies for free), mileage, novelties (free souvenirs) and product upgrades (airplane seats and hotel room upgrades, etc.) ) And other types of benefits may be provided. Any of these benefits may be used as an example of the "first benefit" and the "second benefit" of the present invention.

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

In addition, these benefits are, for example, a benefit of discounting the price of a product that the target user is trying to purchase, or a benefit of providing a product that the target user is not trying to purchase free of charge for sales promotion (for example, invitation ticket, novelty). , Upgrade), but all of them can be said to be a privilege that provides the value of a price discount (it can be said that the free offer is also a discount that reduces the price of the item that should be provided for a fee to 0). Among them, gift certificates, gift certificates and mileage are benefits that can be used by summing up a plurality of discount prices indicated by a plurality of benefits into one large discount price, as in the case of 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 regarded as the "first privilege" and the invitation voucher is regarded as the "second privilege", and the accumulated amount of the gift voucher (corresponding to the accumulated points in the fourth embodiment). User-related information indicating the above shall be acquired. Then, the privilege type selection unit 308 selects the gift voucher when the accumulated amount of the gift voucher is equal to or more than the predetermined standard, and selects the invitation voucher when it is not. In either case, the type of privilege that the target user is more likely to use is selected, and the utilization rate of the privilege can be increased as compared with the case where only one of the benefits is provided.

Further, the form of providing benefits is not limited to the above. Benefits may be provided to users in the form of paper (eg, coupons, gift certificates, discount coupons, etc.) or in the form of electronic data (electronic coupons, 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 the system of the business operator that prints the paper, for example. Just do it.

[5-3] Device for Realizing Each Part The device for realizing each part shown in FIG. 4 and the like is not limited to the above-mentioned device. For example, the store terminal or the privilege information server device may include the point management unit 201 included in the point management server device. Further, another information processing device may have some of the functions provided by the privilege information server device. In short, it suffices that the device provided in the privilege providing system realizes each part shown in FIG. 4 and the like as a whole.

[5-4] Category of Invention The present invention relates to an information processing device such as a store terminal, a point management server device, a privilege information server device, and a user terminal, and an information processing system such as a privilege providing system including these devices. Can also be captured as. Further, the present invention can be regarded as an information processing method for realizing the processing performed by each device, and also as a program for operating a computer that controls each device. This program may be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disk that stores it, or may be provided in the form of being downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet and installed and made available. May be done.

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

[5-6] Handling of input / output information and the like The input and output information and the like 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 added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

[5-7] Software Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by any other 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 broadly interpreted.

Further, software, instructions, and the like may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, the software uses 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 to websites, servers, or other When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium.

[5-8] Information, Signals The information, signals and the like described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques. For example, data, instructions, 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. It may be represented by a combination of.

[5-9] Systems, Networks The terms "system" and "network" as used herein are used interchangeably.

[5-10] Meaning of "based on" The term "based on" as used herein does not mean "based on" unless otherwise stated. In other words, the statement "based on" means both "based only" and "at least based on".

[5-11] "and", "or"
In the present specification, for configurations that can be implemented by either "A and B" or "A or B", the configuration described in one expression may be used as the configuration described in the other expression. For example, when "A and B" are described, they may be used as "A or B" as long as they are not inconsistent with other descriptions and can be implemented.

[5-12] Variations of Aspects, etc. Each of the examples described in the present specification may be used alone, in combination, or switched with execution. Further, the notification of predetermined information (for example, the notification of "being X") is not limited to the explicit one, but is performed implicitly (for example, the notification of the predetermined information is not performed). May be good.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the examples described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of exemplification and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

1 ... privilege provision system, 2 ... network, 10 ... store terminal, 101 ... payment processing unit, 102 ... coupon usage history transmission unit, 103 ... product purchase notification unit, 104 ... product purchase history transmission unit, 105 ... target user notification unit , 20 ... Point management server device, 201 ... Point management unit, 30 ... Bonus information server device, 301 ... User-related information acquisition unit, 302 ... User-related information storage unit, 303 ... Bonus processing start instruction unit, 304 ... Bonus switching judgment Department, 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 ... location information transmission unit, 403 … Search information transmission unit, 404… Browsing site information transmission unit.

Claims (6)

An acquisition unit that acquires related information about the user,
One of a first privilege that provides value to the user and a second privilege that provides value to the user and is different from the first privilege based on the acquired related information. Selection section to select the benefits of
A generator that generates privilege information indicating any of the selected benefits, and a generator.
With an output unit that outputs the generated privilege information
With
The second benefit has a wider range of products for which the benefit can be used than the first benefit.
The acquisition unit acquires the purchase history of the product as the related information.
The selection unit, the case where the user is less than the degree of the deviation of the user the degree of deviation of the reference small or other than defined in the item to purchase, select the second award
Information processing apparatus. An acquisition unit that acquires related information about the user,
One of a first privilege that provides value to the user and a second privilege that provides value to the user and is different from the first privilege based on the acquired related information. Selection section to select the benefits of
A generator that generates privilege information indicating any of the selected benefits, and a generator.
With an output unit that outputs the generated privilege information
With
The second benefit is accumulated and can be used collectively.
The acquisition unit acquires information indicating the amount of the second privilege accumulated by the user as the related information.
When the amount of the second privilege acquired for the user to be granted the privilege is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard or equal to or greater than the amount of the second privilege of another user, the selection unit may obtain the second privilege. select a privilege
Information processing apparatus. The first and second benefits offer the value of a price discount.
The first privilege is a type of privilege that cannot be used by summing up the plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of the first privilege.
The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the second privilege is a type of privilege that can be used by summing up a plurality of discount prices indicated by the plurality of the second privilege. The acquisition unit acquires the usage history of the first privilege of the user as the related information.
The selection unit selects any one of claims 1 to 3 when the usage record of the first privilege indicated by the acquired related information satisfies a predetermined condition. The information processing device described in. The information processing according to claim 4 , wherein the selection unit determines that the condition is satisfied when the usage record of the user is lower than the defined standard or lower than the usage record of another user. apparatus. The acquisition unit acquires information representing a category of products that the user is interested in as the related information.
The selection unit is described in any one of claims 1 to 5 for selecting the second privilege when the first privilege is not available for the purchase of the product of the category represented by the acquired related information. Information processing equipment.

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