EP0885425B1 - Method and device for promoting sales of goods or services - Google Patents

Description

Modern sales methods use many techniques based on the powerful tools that provides progress in the humanities (in particular psychology and sociology) assisted by mathematics applied. We know that economic activity involves significant effort to identify the buyer, approach him, seduce him, interest him in a product and finally imperceptibly bring him to buy. The large distribution is a phenomenon that accompanied unrestrained urbanization and it is in this industry that sales efforts have been the taller. This resulted in a growing practice general marketing. The latter gives priority to the request and proceeds from a logic which starts from the market: the operator of a large area no longer imposes itself to produce and sell what has been produced, but to obey consumer demand, to which, now, we adapt the production and distribution. In particular the presentation is no longer passive but active and it uses all the techniques of merchandising that make the product more attractive. These techniques include setting up the store, shelves, the composition of the shelf, the enhancement of products. They allow, to have access to a better profitability for each product, and aim essential sales optimization. The scope of the present invention is therefore mainly merchandising. The latter has the characteristic of guiding the sale of goods essential (food, clothing, hygiene, etc.) towards self-service sale.

Without being limited to self-service, the present invention main purpose is to increase the attractiveness of a product and facilitate the act of purchase. It is well known that the purchase of a product is the consequence of a decision which is a compromise between the search for a certain level of quality and that of a lowest matching price. These two elements that play antagonistic way have an effect that is properly synthesized in the expression "value for money". The quality of a good or essential product is often limited by imperatives of mass production and this quality therefore presents significant statistical fluctuations that not allow to master control techniques. For the same quality, lowering the price is a strategy very old commercial that takes many forms. Whether it's called reduction or rebate, the decrease in price allows to dispose of surpluses, to increase the attractiveness of a place of sale, to publicize a product by "launching" it to a lower price than the final price. This launch also lasts as long as necessary for the product to be renamed.

The present invention has for non-exclusive object a device implementing a method of promoting a product (good or service) by the announcement of a purchase discount granted on condition that the consumer is the holder of a coupon which gives him authorization to pay the right to discount for the item or product in question. The invention meets a need inherent in this sales promotion process by issuing discount coupons. The device is essentially an electronic system allowing the announcement of the discount and issue of a coupon through which the consumer may, when leaving ("check out") the point of sale ( large-scale store or large-scale retail location) to pay said discount.

The present invention relates to a method and a device for issuing and distributing coupons reduction for the promotion of products in large distribution areas. It also includes the program and the distribution of all types of coupons that allow a person with the coupon to avail themselves of the property of the latter to satisfy a regulation or condition of realization of an event or action desired by this person. The event in question can be a reduction for tickets access, private or public parking sticker, badge identification, purchase of a meal ticket, etc.

• Entre le moment où le coupon est lu, découpé, et rangé en attendant. le jour des achats et le moment où la décision d'acheter est prise, un trop long temps s'écoule. Les coupons sont oubliés, perdus, ou simplement, le consommateur a eu un temps de réflexion qui dévalorise le caractère alléchant de l'offre faite.
• Quand ces coupons sont présentés aux rayons mêmes où se trouvent les produits, il y a un gaspillage des coupons par des manipulations des clients, le suivi n'est pas simple et la visibilité n'est pas suffisante.

In the following, the words "customer or consumer" and "coupon" will be understood with the following meaning: the "customer" is the person who makes his purchases in the store where the discount sale is made; "coupon" is a piece of paper which is distributed by a system and which entitles the holder to certain advantages. The processes for distributing discount coupons to promote the sale of products in large retail outlets are based on the printing of coupons in all-box newspapers. These newspapers are deposited, in general before the weekends or around the big festivals, in the mailboxes of the inhabitants of a region whose extent depends on the size of the large area. Mixed with other papers of the same kind (advertisements, political or electoral propaganda invitations of all kinds) the advertising newspapers containing coupons are read with more or less attention. The consequence of this is that the success of coupon promotions is quite mixed. We also consider that the return rate of coupons which are distributed by current means (by carriers and at late hours) and which are present on usual media such as newspapers, all boxes and others, is very low. We thought we found two reasons for this:

• Between the moment when the coupon is read, cut out, and put away while waiting. the day of purchases and the moment when the decision to buy is made, too long a time elapses. The coupons are forgotten, lost, or simply, the consumer has had a time of reflection which devalues the tantalizing nature of the offer made.
• When these coupons are presented on the very shelves where the products are located, there is a waste of coupons through customer manipulation, follow-up is not simple and visibility is not sufficient.

In addition to these two well-known drawbacks of supermarket managers and advertising men, the authors of the present invention felt that there were instead of taking into account the slowness and the complication administrative related to the implementation of distributed coupons at the customer's home. Between the moment the deposit in a mailbox is made and the one where the account suppliers of the discount company is credited, well things may have happened. The journal may have been lost before do not cut the coupon. This one, once cut, could to be lost. In some cases, after being cut with scissors, the coupon must be completed by the customer and it is sometimes a brake on the purchase decision. At the cash desk, in the middle consumers in general in a hurry to finish their shopping, the customer must find his package of coupons, the give to the cashier who must sort the coupons. In end of promotional campaign, the services of the issuing firm of coupons are required to list coupons returned, to total it (in number and in francs), to each type of product, to issue a credit note for the total amount. When we realize that some 9000 types of coupons may have been issued for a short period, that some 700 manufacturers or industrialists can intervene in these coupon discount transactions, we will understand the importance of having a physical flow and excellent administrative to avoid loss of point of sale performance. The present invention presents therefore a perfectly integrated commercial promotion process to the general management of a large area, it avoids the use of subcontracting to collect, count, total the amounts of the reduction coupons, this cost reduction operating without additional staff with the only tacit help from the consumer who has no difficulty in correctly enter data into the devices of the computer system of the establishment.

These fairly numerous disadvantages of the coupon sales promotion made necessary the discovery and development of means of implementation different, whose common purpose is, in general, to be able avoid the payment of a company or persons ensuring the tour and deposit in mailboxes. In the automation of sales and purchasing operations in department stores, we can cite the document P.C.T. 8810467 A (LUCERO J L) which describes a device for taking order after checking a credit card. The system includes a panel with switches sensitive to touch.

US-A-4982346 (EXPERTEL COMMUNICATIONS) described on the other hand, a device used in the context of advertising campaigns and commercial promotion. Distribution of coupons, taking orders and announcing by poster on a touch screen is carried out at the point of sale. If this guy advantage of reducing promotion costs advertising, on the other hand, it is extremely heavy to take operating burden because it uses few, specialized people who often have the responsibility for too large a fleet of equipment. The present invention aims to make the operation practical operation of such systems and less impersonal commercially because taking command is not done by a dialogue with a machine, but by customer's decision, and by non-automatic payment to a checkout.

In document WO-A-85/01373 (ELECTRONIC ADVERTISING), we claims an extremely complicated system of distributing coupons by a computer system in which the decision relating to the issue of coupons per impression and the number of these coupons issued, is taken on site. The system is interactive, with video screen, menu of choice of articles, this very sophisticated IT allowing very centralized point of sale.

Document WO-A-88/05578 (THE SAVING SPOT, LTD) discloses a device for commercial promotion of goods and services with IT means include a console with a display panel of numerous images allowing to realize, by capacitive effect of the hand of a consumer touching the poster, the choice of a information obtained in this way by tactile means and usable subsequently, and printing a document such as a reduction coupon or other, attached to the choice made.

The processes mentioned above have great inertia in their administrative functioning and, in terms of the sociology of trade relations, pushing too far the automation of human relations during the act of purchase.

The object of the present invention is to remedy the disadvantages of the systems mentioned above by allowing track, physically and countably, the coupons, from their issue until credit notes are sent to suppliers corresponding to the sale of the articles which were the subject a promotion of discounts, while allowing the presence of personal and asking consumers only minimal interventions on the computer system, which is of very easy to use.

The invention therefore provides a method and a device for the commercial promotion of goods and services in order to identify the buyer, approach him, seduce him, interest him in a product and finally lead him to buy by approach techniques using computer systems fitted in one or in kiosks, the said kiosk or kiosks comprising at least one console accompanied by one or two display panels with numerous images making it possible to produce, by capacitive effect from the hand of a consumer touching the poster, the choice of information obtained in this way by tactile means. According to the invention, this information can be used later, and it allows the printing of a document such as a commercial reduction coupon or a message printed with information and / or the emission of a voice or sound message, attached to the choice made. Compared to known systems, the invention allows the use of a poster which is a large image consisting of a set of 2 ⁿ evocative drawings of large format and very easily substitutable each by others, of equal size, or of a dimension multiple of that of the smallest format, the substitution of display drawings being accompanied by a rearrangement of the computer parameters inherent in the choice made. Furthermore, the processing of the information obtained by tactile means according to the invention allows not only the printing but also the correct accounting of the reductions or other advantages when the consumer leaves and when publishing the turnover. daily.

In the context of the present invention, the method is materialized by a system built around a panel large, tactile and backlit display example, of the order of one square meter. Coupons can be printed by an associated graphic printer, possibly to a reader of track, chip or barcode cards. The touch panel is backlit to attract the attention of customers, and its front side carries the images promotional products. The customer obtains a coupon just by touching the product image on the panel, no pressure being necessary. The printer produces a coupon with the image of the product, the value of the reduction, the validity interval and an identification barcode. The barcode is automatically processed at checkout. The readers can can be used for identification users or products, thanks to loyalty cards, or other. Other information can be put on the ticket or other types of promotion can be organized on the basis of this machine which we can define as a kiosk general promotion of the store. Compared to systems known above, the device according to the present The invention has the decisive advantages which are listed below:

Integrated management of different sales programs is much easier.

We can more easily follow the operations thanks to automation of counting the number of coupons distributed and revenues, the possible identification of users, a possible direct connection with the cash register system or through the development of statistics.

The coupons are distributed in the store, i.e. instead of making the purchasing decision. possibly a call system placed on the gondolas to highlight the promotional products by coupons.

The present invention provides a method and a promotion mechanism for the distribution of coupons and for the complete automation of administrative procedures downstream of the act of purchase. The invention therefore presents a device for implementing computerized promotion in which a connected touch panel is used to a P.C. for purposes of information processing for purposes promotional. The touch panel is made of a series of parallel layers in sheets one of which is a sheet of display paper and the other a sheet of polymeric substance electrically conductive on the surface and transparent, or made of paper with electrically conductive resin. The device therefore comprises a panel lighting and this lighting is carried out from the rear of the panel with a system of lamps and / or tubes fluorescent lights placed at an optimal distance avoiding panel heating. The panel touch has multiple layers in sheets, one of which removable sheet, while the boxes present on said sheet can be easily changed and / or grouped, the change of said boxes being transmitted easily, by any classic way, in particular by data / parameter diskette the IT unit governing the execution processing of the promotion process.

• La figure 1 est une illustration de la borne-périphérique formant éventuellement une sorte de kiosque et étant partie intégrante du système informatique, dans le cas où la borne occupe une position centrale dans la surface de vente et où 32 cases sont prévues pour représenter les produits sur lesquels une promotion est faite.
• La figure 2 représente une variante de la borne ci-dessus dans le cas d'une très grande surface.
• La figure 3 est une borne de moindre grandeur utilisée localement dans un département bien défini d'une très grande surface de vente .
• La figure 4 est une illustration du mécanisme de couplage entre le doigt de l'utilisateur-client et la surface de la matière électroconductrice polymère conducteur organique faisant partie intégrante du panneau d'affichage.
• La figure 5 est un schéma blocs du fonctionnement du dispositif permettant la présentation des réductions et l'émission de coupons à l'aide d'une borne et d'un tableau d'affichage selon la présente invention.
• La figure 6 est une illustration du type de coupon que le dispositif selon l'invention imprime après un toucher du panneau
• La figure 7 illustre les circuits électriques nécessaires pour capter; encoder, acheminer l'information créée par voie tactile.
• La figure 8 montre le raccordement série ( 13) au p.c. et la manière très simple dont les données électroniques relatives à un changement d'affichage sont chargées dans le P.C.

Other objects, advantages and particularities of the present invention will be given by way of illustration and without limitation on the basis of the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is an illustration of the peripheral terminal possibly forming a kind of kiosk and being an integral part of the computer system, in the case where the terminal occupies a central position in the sales area and where 32 boxes are provided to represent the products on which a promotion is made.
• FIG. 2 represents a variant of the above terminal in the case of a very large area.
• Figure 3 is a smaller terminal used locally in a well-defined department of a very large sales area.
• FIG. 4 is an illustration of the coupling mechanism between the finger of the user-client and the surface of the organic conductive polymer electrically conductive material forming an integral part of the display panel.
• FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the operation of the device allowing the presentation of the reductions and the emission of coupons using a terminal and a display board according to the present invention.
• Figure 6 is an illustration of the type of coupon that the device according to the invention prints after touching the panel
• Figure 7 illustrates the electrical circuits required to pick up; encode, route the information created by touch.
• Figure 8 shows the serial connection (13) to the PC and the very simple way in which the electronic data relating to a display change is loaded into the PC.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the device. It consists of a display panel (1) usable by touch and a printer (2), a track or microcircuit card reader (3), a display assembly (4) serving user assistance, a microcomputer (PC) for system management (5), a clock (6) and accessories bearing indications, announcements or call pictures (4 ).
The PC is housed in the lower left side of the console. By a key actuating the lock (16), one has access to the PC for the refreshment of the data during the change of the paper of bulletin board on the panel (1). The panel is made to be tactile and it is therefore made with a frame and a transparent front where we will put a translucent image. The lighting behind this facade allows great visibility of the translucent image. The lighting is done by "neon" tubes easily accessible from the back of the panel. The transparent front carries the touch-sensitive detection devices (by capacitive effect). Typically, the division of the panel will be done in order to have, in practice a maximum of thirty-two boxes (n = 5), because experience has shown that the attention of the consumer can only be truly grabbed to the extent that the messages there are not too many visuals who request it. Given that many people who are department store customers are senior citizens whose ability to concentrate is sometimes reduced, if there are a large number of items on promotion, we preferably make a central panel in a single copy, the different boxes of which reference to promotion panels located in other less central departments of the sales area. The size of the keys is variable and can be manufactured according to the needs of promoters. The display board and the associated touch screen in fact constitute an assembly which serves as an interface for the microcomputer (5).

It is well known to demystify the use of a IT equipment by designing interfaces users who are very simple and attractive. In addition, for give ease of use to an interface fast and efficient, we use interactive devices that bring intuition into play. Touchscreens count among the best interfaces from this point of view. Their use in environments where may possibly being present dust and dirt is highly recommendable because of their great robustness. Therefore, the invention is relates to a touch screen behind a set of images or separate posters, generally adjacent, and forming a grid or rectangular network. The images drawn on a table form a whole with the touch screen and its accessories. Associated with the image, a pressure exerted on the screen creates readable information that can be transmitted to a small computer system that stores and stores it processes to obtain the desired final information. Five mechanisms can be brought into play in type sensors tactile: resistance, capacity, properties acoustics, optical properties, mechanical strength. The choice of one of these mechanisms essentially depends on the audience who will use the material. The touch screens on the market are sold in association with an actuator ("driver") slaved to coded capture and transmission software the information captured on the screen. The actuator is not not necessarily immediately adaptable to the system available to you. For the application that does the object of the present invention, we chose sensors capacitive due to their resistance to degradation possible committed by the public. The fact that the layers on the back of the poster ensures the physical protection of the capacitive detection device.

Figure 5 is an illustration of a compound material several layers, the whole of which (1,2,3,4,5) makes it possible to perform the "validation" function of the various posters 1 to 32 (Figure 1). This validation is used later in a computer operating chain, the first and perhaps the most important link achieves the impression of the reduction coupon corresponding to the image touched by the client's finger. In the same figure, we see that the rays luminous (arrows, fig. 4) meet the back of the face display and successively cross a sheet of holding plexiglass (5), a polymer sheet (4) transparent and conductive on the surface, a synthetic material diffusing light, like a transparent opaline plexiglass or (3) optionally a paper coated with an electrically conductive resin , the interchangeable printed poster (2), a plexiglass (1) analogous to the first (5) to ensure the protection against vandalism. As can be seen from the figure the approaching hand varies the electric field local.

This variation is very minimal and is the source of many problems for the correct application of Tactile encoding techniques. It is important that the answer of each individual box can be infallibly recognized. The different boxes are therefore successively interrogated. The information that is captured, at the origin, is an alteration of the frequency of oscillation of the internal circuit of each box. In the example of Figure 1 the poster has a set of 32 images along the 2 vertical sides of the display quadrilateral, 2 ^n-2 printed circuit boards are stored, connected in parallel along these sides. In the case of FIG. 1, n is equal to 5 and there are a total of 8 printed circuit boards distributed on the left and on the right with respect to the center line of the display board. Each brochure is associated with 4 images from the bulletin board. These four images have, placed one next to the other, a total area of A4. The identification of the plates and the one-to-one correspondence established between the various individual A4 / 4 surface images is done using notations similar to those used in mathematical theory of matrices. The exploration of interrogation of the display board is therefore done by starting with the upper rectangle A4 on the left and in this one by the index image (1,1) and so on ... Each of the brochures left and right have identical functions and they contain a multiplexer, an oscillator, a frequency / voltage converter and a converter for digitizing the voltage signals obtained.
These various functions of the wafers (1g, 2g, 3g, 4g) and (1d, 2d, 3d, 4d) are summarized in Figure 7 where we will observe that the microprocessor (CPU) aggregates the information on the states of the boxes of the display panel, and transmits them via a serial connection to the addresses provided in the PC microcomputer housed in the side of the terminal.

In fact, it should be understood that the console and its attached elements are peripherals of the P.C. display board allows data to be entered by the customers by using attractive material visible from afar and child employment; the printer that gives the coupon or whatever another sign resulting from the touch of the image, is a output device of the P.C. The latter can keep in memory all data shuffled during an interval of defined time and, connected in network, it can address these data stored in a central system or another P.C. master, who will give a global view of transactions, will all administrative and financial operations essential for the proper management of the voucher system reduction. Peripheral equipment capable of operating in conjunction with the system is a sound equipment which would for example periodically repeat the "jingle" of a brand or any other attractive message. We therefore understand that the process according to the invention allows better usability also supporting the optimization of the operation of the sales area as already mentioned above.

Compared to known systems, when promotional discounts are over, the manipulations of are extremely simple: manipulation of a sheet of paper and data entry in the P.C. to using a floppy disk 15 (fig. 8). Just replace the display sheet (2, figure 4), revealing the old one leaf . To establish, on the IT level, the new one-to-one correspondence to be established so that the information printed for the product in box (i, j) is actually that relating to the product drawn on the newly image placed in box (i, j) when replacing the poster, it just encode the data on a floppy disk 15 and enter into the P.C. through the reading slot 14 of the P.C. very easily understands that this encoding mode allows a lot of flexibility for the presentation of images: we can obviously group for example 4 small images to form a more large A4 format image that we want to focus on attention. For the panel (1) shown in Figure 1, we easily understand that we can represent between 1 and 32 maximum images with all the precision and flexibility wanted in display and encoding operations such as described above. At the operational level, in a store, the process according to the invention is remarkably flexible and does not requires no special expertise from the performers. The encoding of the new data on the display board is will do, for example, by the department manager and the introduction / diskette 15 will be read by the manager linear.

Information relating to the choice made by a consumer having been captured and transmitted to the P.C., it is printed by a paper strip printing system which are edited by the reception slot (2) where they exit after have been cut to size by a device chisel not accessible to the public and located upstream of the drop gutter of the printed coupon.

It will be readily understood that the example of console given in FIG. 14 is non-limiting and that consoles similar to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be adopted in many cases. You can arrange a large space by installing a large central kiosk in which are arranged a large double panel such as that of the figure and a panel of smaller size for the radius of immediately neighboring goods. The consoles relating to highly demanded goods and, therefore, decentralized, may be multiple, of various heights and have a conformation as ergonomic and attractive as possible.
The coupon printed on the console (vertical part) therefore falls into the opening (2, Figure 1) and has the appearance shown in Figure 6. We see, in a conventional manner, that on this small document edited by l PC printer, the identification of the product that you plan to buy, the reduction in national currency or in percentage and other data identifiable by the bar code and which are useful during further processing at the level are included. from the cash register and at the end of the day.

Of course, the present invention is in no way way, limited to the embodiment described above and based, for example, in the accompanying drawings, but it is at otherwise likely many variations and modifications accessible to those skilled in the art, without leaving the field of the invention as defined in the claims which follow.

Claims (4)

1. A device for promoting sales of goods or services by identifying, approaching and luring buyers, arousing their interest in a product and finnally selling them the product by means of presentation techniques using a computerized system arranged in one or more stands that comprises at least one console combined with one or two display panels (1) for displaying a number of pictures, whereby the touch-sensitive display responds to the capacitive effect of the consumer's hand so that the consumer may select information for later use in the form of a printed document such as a money-off-coupon or the like related to the selected product, the display (2) comprising a large picture conisisting of a set of 2 power n large format descriptive indicia that may readily be replaced with others having the same size or a size equal to a multiple of the smallest format, in such a way that, when display indicia are replaced, the computer parameters related to the selection are rearranged accordingly and the touch-input data is processed both to provide said printed document and to ensure proper accounting of the discounts and others advantages that the consumer has used at the point of sales, as well as to compile the daily sales figure.
2. A device according to claim 1 wherein a touch-sensitive display panel (1) is connectd to a P.C. for data processing purposes in order to promote sales characterized in that the touch-sensitive display panel (1) is made of a series of layers similar to parrallel sheets (1,2,3,4,5), one of those sheets being a paper sheet (2) and the other being a polymer sheet or a paper sheet coated with electroluminescent resin
3. A device according to claim 2 wherein the touch-sensitive display panel (1) is illuminated characterized in that a network of lamps and/or fluorescent tubes illuminates the back side of the panel (1) and is located at an optimal distance to prevent overheathing of the display panel.
4. A device according to claims 2 or 3 characterized in that one sheet can be replaced and in that this sheet is in fact the paper sheet, whereby routinely exchanging the paper sheet gives rise to alteration of information, those data changes being transmitted, by all classical means, such as diskette (15) load of data/parameters, in order to up-date the memories of the E.D.P. unit of the device according to claim1.

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