FR2849237A1 - Data processing method for e-commerce, involves transmitting information having data representative of collected information to user on predetermined date, and enabling recipient to select item using information - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves inputting information about an item from a terminal user to a distant information server. Data for the item is collected by a distant server. The server transmits the information having data representative of the collected information to the user, and the data is transmitted on a predetermined date. The recipient of the data is enabled to select the item using the information.

Description

FLEXIBLE SUBSCRIPTION PROCESS.

  The present invention relates to a flexible subscription method. It applies, in particular, to electronic commerce and to subscriptions to weekly, bimonthly, monthly, bimonthly magazines and other periodical magazines.

  There are differences of interest that exist today between the publishers of monthly magazines and their readers. Indeed, an editor would have every interest in having all of his customers subscribers; this would enable him to know each month the exact number of units to be produced. In addition, advertising-related income represents a significant share of publishers' income and the number of subscriptions is the basis of income 10 from both readers and advertisers To encourage their readers to subscribe, they are ready to give them a large discount. In number sales, the proportion of unsold products is very high.

  The reader, on the other hand, would prefer to have the flexibility to choose his magazines each month, according to his interests and the subjects treated. But today, the only flexible solution is to buy them from distributors, at a high price. Let us illustrate his frustration with the following example: "Each month, I have time to read about four monthly and my interests can relate to a dozen distinct titles. On the one hand, the subscription does not interest me, because I I do not have the means to subscribe to all the subscriptions and the 20 themes covered by all these titles will not necessarily interest me every month.

  On the other hand, I don't want to pay each magazine at a high price, by buying it at retail.

  Therefore, I read far less than I would like "This problem illustrates a potential shortfall for publishers.

  The present invention intends to respond to this problem.

  To this end, the present invention relates, according to a first aspect, to an information processing method comprising: a step of supplying, from a user terminal intended for a remote information server, information comprising at least one email address; a step of collecting, by a server remote from the user terminal, data relating to at least one article; on a predetermined date, a content transmission step, during which the remote server transmits to said user, information having a content representative of the information collected; a step of selecting articles, during which the recipient of said content can select articles, if at least one article is selected, a step of transmitting information representative of said selection.

  Thanks to these provisions, the advantages of subscribing to several periodic publications and the free purchase of magazines on newsstands are combined (low price and home delivery for the first; flexibility of choice for the second) and their disadvantages are reduced. The present invention can be implemented on any telecommunications network, for example, the Internet, fixed or mobile telephone network, Minitel (registered trademark) and network of personal assistants.

  In the publishing field, the implementation of the invention thus makes it possible to sell magazines to individuals, repeatedly and regularly, and constitutes a new sales channel for publishers. Thus, the subscriber can be Deliver magazines to their homes that they can choose each month, while benefiting from a price reduction. Publishers will also gain by increasing their sales and reducing unsold newsstands.

  In other fields, including the sale of products, services or information, the present invention makes it possible to offer the user, information collected, possibly according to criteria that he defines beforehand in order to offer him these products, services or information The user can thus reduce the number of unwanted e-mails (in English "spam") that he receives when, for each site that may interest him, he is obliged, to stay informed, to accept to receive all emails offered by merchant sites.

  It is observed that the predetermined date may depend on various factors such as the completion of the collection step, the availability of items.

  According to particular characteristics, during the content transmission step, the information server transmits an electronic message to said electronic address, electronic message comprising a link leading to an information site, the content of which is accessible to the user is representative of the information collected.

  Thanks to these provisions, the user accesses the offer very easily: by clicking on the link.

  According to particular characteristics, the method as succinctly described above comprises, in addition, a payment step on a payment site.

  Thanks to these provisions, payment for ordered items can be made independently of third-party remote servers.

  According to particular characteristics, the content transmission step is repeated on predetermined periodic dates. Thanks to these provisions, periodic offers can be made to the user.

  According to particular characteristics, the collection operation involves the transmission of information, by remote third-party servers. Thanks to these provisions, the information site receives information from the remote third-party servers.

  According to particular characteristics, during the supply step, the user selects centers of interest and / or suppliers and, during the item selection step, the content accessible to the user of said site. information is representative of each center of interest and / or supplier selected by the user during the supply stage. Thanks to these provisions, the offer is personalized.

  According to particular characteristics, the method as succinctly described above comprises a step of determining the price to be paid by the user, a price which depends on the number of articles selected by the user. Thanks to these provisions, the user is prompted to acquire items through the flexible subscription system.

  According to particular characteristics, during the content transmission step, the information server transmits an electronic message to said electronic address, an electronic message comprising content representative of the information collected. Thanks to these provisions, the user does There is no need to go to a site to have the content which is likely to interest it.

  Other advantages, aims and characteristics of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 represents a network of computer systems suitable for implementing the method which is the subject of the present invention and FIG. 2 represents a flowchart for implementing an embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention.

  Throughout the description, the term “system” is used to mean all of the functions for implementing the present invention and “article”, which can be supplied by third parties, for example magazines, information, material objects or services.

  FIG. 1 shows a computer user terminal 10, a telephone user terminal 11, a computer network 15, a telephone network 16, an information server 20 hosting an information site 21 and having a synthesis system voice and modulated signal recognition (known as DTMF for Dual Tone Modulation Frequency) and / or voice recognition 30, remote third-party servers 25 and 30 and a payment server 35.

  The computer user terminal 10 is, for example, a personal computer of known type, or a personal assistant The telephone user terminal 11 is, for example, a fixed or mobile telephone, possibly provided with computer functions The computer network 15 is, for example , the Internet network The telephone network 16 connects 35 the fixed or mobile telephone sets The information server 20 and the information site 21 are suitable for implementing the method which is the subject of the present invention, in interaction with the remote third party servers 25 and 30 The payment server 35 is, for example, a banking site. As a variant, at least two of the servers 20, 25 and 30 are combined.

  It can be seen in FIG. 2 that, during a step 102, the user accesses an information site hosted by an information server. The user registers for the flexible subscription service and provides at least an electronic address, for example a telephone number or, preferably, an electronic mail address.

  It is observed that the name, first name and address of the user are preferably provided by him with the means of payment, during step 102. Optionally, during a step 104, the user chooses centers of interest or subjects which interest him, suppliers of articles which he prefers, a number of articles which he thinks or undertakes to acquire at regular maturity, and provides payment data (for example bank card number and expiry date).

  Optionally, during a step 106, the user defines an order for articles which will be supplied to him by default, that is to say if he does not make any other selection, as indicated below. .

  During a step 108, the information server collects information on available items According to a first embodiment of step 108, the information server waits to receive said information from servers of suppliers of items. According to a second embodiment, on a date agreed in advance, the information server interrogates each article supplier server to receive said information. On a predetermined date, for example at substantially equal time intervals, during a step 110, the information server sends the user an electronic message to inform him of the availability of the information presenting the articles. If the electronic address is an electronic mail address, the electronic message is an electronic mail, which preferably includes a hypertext link to an information site hosted by the information server. If the electronic address is a number mobile phone, the electronic message is preferably an alphanumeric message, for example a short message (known as SMS acronym of the English words "short message system" for short message system) or an audible message, for example generated by a text-to-speech device It is observed that the predetermined date may depend on factors such as the date of completion of step 108, or a date, provisional or not, of availability of the items offered.

  According to a first variant, the electronic message includes information on the articles likely to interest the user. In this case, during step 110, the information server 20 transmits an electronic message to the electronic address of the user, electronic message comprising a content representative of the information collected According to a second variant, the user is invited to receive this information by replying to the electronic message (click on a hypertext link or call back of the telephone number which issued the electronic message), during an optional step 112 For example, the client accesses the information site and sees the magazine summaries and / or summaries of articles from these magazines Preferably, the information accessed by the user is representative of choices he has made previously, of interests or subjects or of suppliers of articles.

  During a step 114, the user makes a selection of articles which he wishes to receive Then, during a step 116, the user triggers the payment of the articles which he has selected or the selection by default Alternatively, it provides information on means of payment during this operation 116 Alternatively, if the user does not make any selection before the date of dispatch of the articles or if he chooses his selection by default, the items which he has selected by default are invoiced to him (possibly with an automatic debit from his bank account) and sent to him.

  Preferably, during a price determination step 115, the information server determines a price to be paid by the user which depends on the number of articles which he selects. For example, a percentage reduction applied to the sum of the unit prices of the articles is increasing as a function of the number of articles. For example, the determination of the price takes account of the following variables, coming from a database kept by the information server: the cost price of the number, the subscription sales prices, the number of items purchased, and possibly other variables During a step 118, the information server addresses to the server of each supplier or distributor of at least one selected item , the contact details of the user and the details of his order We observe that the supplier here is not necessarily the same entity as that which supplied the information on the article and which produced it; indeed, as a variant, the information server does not communicate the coordinates of the customers to the suppliers, but only to the distributors who send the articles. As a variant, the information concerning the selection of each user is transmitted to a distributor who collects the articles ordered. by the user before sending them, in order to save on shipping costs. The system then returns to steps 108 and following or the connection of another user and returns to step 102.

  During an optional step 120, the user interrupts the flexible subscription service, for example by requesting a regular supply of an article (for example each issue of a magazine), or by asking not to receive any more article from the flexible subscription service.

  The system uses a means of payment provided by the user only once for several deliveries and the user is assigned a service user name and a password (chosen by himself or by the information server ) that he can enter each time he is invited to select articles and / or to trigger a payment, when he wishes to modify his personal data As a variant, the user is recognized by the use of dynamic links and / or cookies (identification file stored on the user's terminal).

  At any time, the user can modify the data concerning him, in particular, his e-mail address, his centers of interest and the suppliers who interest him.

  At any time, the system can analyze and provide the data it collects during its operation to provide statistics, customer profiles for each article, correlations between the selected articles. According to variant embodiments, the site of information hosted by the information server comprises links with the servers of the item suppliers, called "remote third party" servers. According to other alternative embodiments, the information site hosted by the information server includes information Additional information on articles (subjects, authors, suppliers, specifications, summaries, etc.) Thus, the user can complete his knowledge of the article before ordering it. Preferably, any communication of personal or confidential information is protected by a method of secure communication (for example under SSL protocol for Secure Socket Layer, in the case of Internet communication).

  Preferably, the information site includes a means of searching for articles, suppliers, centers of interest or subject so that the user can easily find out about the articles likely to interest him. Preferably also, the Information server automatically sends an information letter ("newsletter") to users who have accepted it, suggesting articles, depending on the interests of each recipient.

  Preferably, when accessing the information site, the user can query it to find out the status of an order being processed (during manufacture, part shipment, arrival shipment, expected delay) The necessary information circulate between the distributor or distributor or router of the articles, if there are any, and the information server.

  Preferably, the system performs, during a step 122, an estimation of the number of units that the publishers will sell each month by using the method which is the subject of the present invention. In the particular case of the sale of press titles , the calculation will consist in statistically establishing the number of XYZ titles that will be sold each month, from the following variables: the number of subscribers who have chosen XYZ from their pool (remember that the word "pool" designates a reserve in which we can draw the resources that interest the user), the number of titles in each pool, the number of magazines sent to each subscriber, if XYZ is a default choice (more likely to be chosen), and finally the historical data which will be able to reinforce the precision of the calculation This one will be likely to call upon statistical tools and / or Artificial intelligence.

  The approximate number of articles or titles sold is very important because it will allow publishers to establish a compromise between the certainty of the number of prints to be made for the classic subscription and the uncertainty linked to forecasts of newsstand sales. An example of the use of a particular embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention, applied to the flexible subscription to magazines, is described below.

  Ms. X has time to read four magazines per month, but her interests are in ten different titles. Neither wanting to subscribe to ten magazines, nor buying her 15 four magazines at full price in newsstands, she therefore decides to subscribe to the system by registering on the system's information site, according to these three steps: 1 She chooses the number of magazines she wants to receive each month: four.

  2 She specifically chooses all the magazine titles that are likely to interest her; they are ten: magl, mag 2, mag 3, mag 4, mag 5, mag 6, mag 7, mag 8, mag 9 20 and magl O She specifies four, which will constitute her default selection.

  3 She fills in the fields relating to her contact details, chooses her username and password, and indicates the monthly payment method (for example: direct debit via RIB or payment by bank card).

  From now on, Madame X will receive a monthly email containing a link to the information site. Once identified as a subscriber (username and password or automatically, if she wishes), she chooses as follows :

  1 She reads the summaries of the ten titles.

  2 She chooses to receive mag 2, mag 5, mag 6 and mag 9, because she subscribes to four 30 magazines, but could choose more if she wanted.

  3 The amount of her monthly invoice is then immediately calculated, based on the actual prices of the various titles, as well as the ratio between the number of magazines she has chosen to always receive (four) and the number of titles from which she chooses always (ten) She validates her choice; his selection will be sent to him shortly.

  To simplify the process, the default selection whose price appears on the monthly message will be sent to her if Madame X does not have the time or the desire to carry out the process herself.

  Thus, the system allows a reader of periodic magazines to subscribe to a minimum number of magazines, knowing that he can choose the precise numbers before each publication, from a set of titles that he defined at the time of subscribe The subscriber chooses, at each period, the titles which will be sent to him by post, by portage, or in digital form from a list of summaries which has been communicated to him by the information site. committed to subscribe to a minimum number of issues per period, but there is not necessarily a maximum number; we can specify that the minimum number can influence the price: the higher it is, the higher the rebate compared to the unit price Conversely, the rebate decreases as the pool grows. 10 The interaction between the user and the system is done through various means of communication, according to individual preferences: a Internet The subscription consists of accepting the general conditions of sale by clicking on a button at the bottom of the page, to fill in fields with his personal details, in particular e-mail address and to select a user name and password.

  Then a choice is made of the magazines which will constitute the subscriber's "pool", by selecting from all the titles offered by the service: the user searches for the titles which interest him, by theme or keywords, and clicks on a button to add each selected title to the "pool" Then, the user chooses the minimum number of numbers that will be received per period The above two steps can be done in any chronological order At this stage, an indicator of price reduction is calculated in real time and displayed on the page; The user sees the reduction grow at the same time as this minimum number He can also remove titles from his "pool", to obtain the same effect Finally, the user informs, in a secure manner, the fields relating to payment by card 25 bank or RIB, valid and thus becomes a new subscriber.

  At each period and after receiving a message containing a link to the information site, the subscriber connects to the service by typing his user name and password. The service tells him if the choice has already been made. for this period and invites him to do / redo it by showing him the list of summaries of his pool; next to each summary 30 is a selection button allowing him to choose the corresponding title Once the minimum number of titles has been reached, the total price is displayed and is constantly recalculated according to changes and additions; The user then validates his selection which will be sent to him by separate or partially grouped numbers when possible (if several magazines come from the same publisher or their publishers use the same router and if they are published at the same time) The account of the user is withdrawn either immediately or when all of its magazines for the period have been shipped.

  Optionally, the user can choose fewer magazines than the minimum he had chosen, in exchange for compensation in the following periods If the subscriber does not make these compensations, the system can automatically lower him the minimum, in exchange for a price increase In variants, either the user chooses what he has agreed to buy, or he decreases the number of items he undertakes to buy, in his preferences, in which case the rebate is automatically recalculated downwards. b Telephone Similar in its different phases to Internet mode, this embodiment offers the same service thanks to a "voice robot" system, partially calling on speech recognition.

  The subscription consists of accepting the general conditions of sale by typing the requested acceptance key or by saying "I accept", to spell out your personal details, as well as a user name and secret number. of the 15 magazines that will constitute the subscriber's pool, by selecting from all the titles offered by the service: the user searches for the titles that interest him, by theme, using the keys on his phone, or by spelled keywords; a voice will ask him to press a key to add each selected title to the pool Then, the user chooses the minimum number of numbers that will be received per period, by tapping the keys At this point, 20 a price reduction indicator is calculated in real time and indicated by a synthetic voice; the user hears the reduction grow at the same time as this minimum number Finally, the user types, in a secure manner, the figures necessary for payment by bank card or by direct debit, or undertakes to send a bank identity statement ("RIB"), and thus becomes a new subscriber.

  At each period, the subscriber receives a call asking him if he is ready to make his choice; if it is not or if the system comes across an answering machine or a third party, please call a Green number later. If it is ready, it spells its user name and types its secret number. The service tells him if the choice has already been made for this period and invites him to do it / redo by reading the list of summaries of his pool and allowing him to choose the corresponding title by pressing a key Once the minimum number of titles reached, the total price is given by synthetic voice and is constantly recalculated according to changes and additions; The user then validates his selection by following the menu instructions and it will be sent to him as described above (on the Internet).

  Optionally, when the system detects that a user is still choosing the same article / title, he offers to subscribe to this article to receive it, at an advantageous price, every period, that is to say within the framework of 'a classic subscription.

Claims (7)

  1 Information processing method comprising: a supply step (102, 104, 106), from a user terminal (10, 11) intended for a remote information server (20), of information comprising at least E-mail; a step of collecting (108), by a server remote from the user terminal, data relating to at least one article; on a predetermined date, a content transmission step (110, 112), during which the remote server transmits to said user, information having a content representative of the information collected; an item selection step (114), during which the recipient of said content can select items, if at least one item is selected, an information transmission step 15 representative of said selection (118) .   2 Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, during the content transmission step (110, 112), the remote information server (20) transmits an electronic message to said electronic address, electronic message comprising a link to an information site whose content accessible to the user is representative of the information collected.   3 Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a payment step (116) on a payment site (35).   4 Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the content transmission step (110, 112) is repeated on predetermined periodic dates.   Method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the collection operation (108) comprises the transmission of information, by remote third-party servers (25, 30).   6 Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, during the supply step (102), the user selects centers of interest and / or suppliers and, during the 'step of selecting articles (114), the content accessible to the user of said information site is representative of each center of interest and / or supplier selected by the user during the supply step.   7 Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a step of determining the price to be paid by the user (115), a price which depends on the number of articles selected by the user . 1 he   8 Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, during the content transmission step (1 10, 1 12), the remote information server (20) transmits an electronic message to said electronic address, electronic message comprising a content representative of the information collected.