JPH09251468A - Commodity retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a commodity retrieval system where a consumer can easily retrieve his desired commodities, prices and service. SOLUTION: A commodity retrieval system 1 is connected to a commodity management system 5 installed at every store 4 via a circuit 3 and also connected to a consumer terminal 8 via a personal computer network 6. A receiving means 11 automatically receives the commodity information from the system 5 with fixed timing. A data processing means 12 arranges the received commodity information in each type of commodities. for example, according to the user needs. A data transmitting means 13 offers the commodity information that undergone the data processing to the consumers in response to the request of a user 8 received via the network 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a consumer (user).
In addition, the present invention relates to a product search system that provides product information such as a store name, price, and service for a product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a consumer wants to purchase a product, he / she decides at which shop to purchase the product in consideration of the price of the product, after-sales service after the product is purchased, and service such as product safety. . In the past, product information such as product prices and services had to be obtained from advertisements, word-of-mouth, etc., or searched for on their own.

[0003]

There is a limit to the product information that can be obtained by the above-mentioned conventional method, and the consumer cannot purchase the product after obtaining sufficient product information. That is, there has been no means for consumers to obtain product information easily and reliably. An object of the present invention is to provide a product search system that allows consumers to easily search for a desired product, price or service.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the system of the present invention is connected to a product management system installed in each store via a line, and is connected to a consumer terminal via a personal computer network. Connected. The system of the present invention comprises a receiving means, a processing means, and a sending means.

The receiving means automatically receives the product information from the product management system installed in each store at a fixed timing. The data processing means uses the received product information as
For example, data processing is performed to meet user needs, such as arranging products in the order of price for each type. When there is a request from the user through the personal computer network, the means for transmitting the data provides the consumer with the product information that has been processed according to the request.

According to the product search system, the user can obtain the product information via the personal computer network and easily determine in which shop the product of the desired price or service can be purchased. You can In addition, in each store, the product information is automatically sent from the product management system at a fixed timing, so the seller can provide the latest product information to the system without extra effort, and You can advertise.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The product search system of the present invention is PO
An example of incorporating product information into the S system and disclosing product information using the Internet will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a product search system. The product search system 1 of this example is installed in the host 2 of the POS system. This host 2 is connected to the PO via line 3.
The POS system 5 in the S system introduction store 4 is connected. Although a plurality of stores 4 and a POS system 5 are connected to the line 3, only one is shown in the figure for simplifying the description. Further, the POS system 5 includes a manual input terminal 7.

An Internet line 6 is connected to the product search system 1. A consumer terminal 8 (personal computer) is connected to the Internet line 6. The product search system 1 includes a receiving unit 11, a processing unit 12, a sending unit 13, and a file 14, and is connected to a manual input terminal 15. The functions of the units 1 to 14 will be described below. Regarding the operation of the system of FIG. 1, the data flow of FIG. 2 and FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of.

The POS system 5 is a widely used product management system. The POS system 5 transmits managed product information (product name, price, store name, etc.) to the host at a certain timing, and the receiving unit 11 of the product search system 1 collects the information (step S1). As for this timing, a time when the system load and line load are low, such as the first morning or night, is preferable. Note that host 2
It is also possible to issue a request to send merchandise information from each merchandise search system 1 to each POS system 5.

In the product search system 1, the product information received by the receiving unit 11 is stored in the file 14 (step S
2). In the processing unit 12, the product information stored in the file 14 is sorted according to the types of products and sorted in order of lowest price (step S3). The product search system 1 publishes the processed information on the Internet 6 (step S4). When accessed by the consumer, the product information regarding the desired product is selected from the sorted data stored in the file 14 and transmitted to the consumer terminal 8 via the Internet 6 (step S5).

The consumer can decide the purchase of the product by referring to the received product information when purchasing the product. At this time, if the sorting in the price order in step S3 is performed, it is possible to provide information that meets the needs of the user. The processing according to the user needs is not limited to the price order. Here, if the seller has a mechanism for purchasing a product by using mail order or the like from the Internet, by using it, he / she can purchase the product that the consumer wants while staying at home. it can.

This system has the following advantages for the seller. The seller can automatically send the latest product information to the product search system by the POS system. As a result, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of constantly advertising the product with the latest information without extra effort. In addition, the seller sets an inexpensive fixed price when competing with the price of the product, and when competing with the added value, posting the added value in the product information, etc. You can do it in a timely manner. The input of the added value can be input in the POS system 5 in advance or can be input from the input terminal 7.

Further, when this example is adopted, a small amount of new capital investment is required at a store where a POS system is introduced. Further, a store to which a product management system such as a POS system has not been introduced can input product information from the input terminal 15 of the host 2. Alternatively, the product search system can be installed at the same time as the introduction of the POS system.

The seller of the product can check the number of times of access on the Internet and make a sales forecast based on the number of accesses, which enables efficient management. On the other hand, this system
The consumer has the following advantages. Consumers can also obtain information on products they do not know, such as things that window shopping cannot find. Further, it is possible to select a product at home without extra care for a store clerk as in the case of selecting a product at a store.

(Other Embodiments) In the example described above, only the merchandise retrieval system 1 side processes the merchandise information, but the user side may also process the merchandise information. An example thereof will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The POS system 5 transmits the product information to the host at a certain timing, and the receiving unit 11 collects the product information (step S11). The receiving unit 11 stores the received product information in the file 14 (step S12). The processed information is disclosed on the Internet 6 (step S1)
3).

The consumer accesses the product search system 1 through the Internet 6 (step S14),
A conditional expression to be searched is input (step S15). In the product search system 1, the processing means 12 sorts the product information in the file 14 according to the conditions of the consumer (step S
16) The processed product information is sent to the consumer, and the consumer refers to the sorted product information (step S1).
7).

According to this example, the consumer can obtain not only the product information prepared by the product search system but also the processed data desired by the consumer. In the example described above, the POS system is used as the product management system, but the product search system of the present invention can be applied to other computer-based product management systems.

In addition to the Internet line 6, FA
You can also use X lines and telephone lines. This allows users who do not have access to the internet to fax.
Alternatively, the consumer base can be expanded by providing information by telephone or the like.

[0019]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a product search system which allows a consumer to easily find a desired product, price or service.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of one form of a product search system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data flow in the system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the operation of the system of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Merchandise search system 2 ... Host 3 ... Line 4 ... Store 5 ... POS system 6 ... Internet 7 ... Input terminal 11 ... Receiving part 12 ... Processing part 13 ... Sending part 14 ... File 15 ... Input terminal

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A means for receiving product information from a product management system of each store through the line, a means for processing the received product information according to user needs, and a personal computer network, A product search system comprising means for transmitting data via a personal computer network in response to a user request.