JP2002230125A - Merchandise purchasing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To purchase merchandise corresponding to needs of a customer efficiently and in a short time regarding a merchandise purchasing method by which purchase information of the merchandise is quickly and widely obtained. SOLUTION: Merchandise information obtained by retrieving a supplier of the merchandise by a contribution member 15 is placed on a purchased merchandise BBS by inputting the information in a contribution member terminal 11 (steps 12, 14). Next, a store manager 17 browses the merchandise information placed on the purchased merchandise BBS (step 15) and decides the merchandise to attempt to purchase. In this case, the merchandise decided to be purchased is specified by using a terminal 12 for store manager and person in charge of retrieval of the merchandise (step 16). When the merchandise decided to be purchased is inputted, a fact that the store manager decides purchase is additionally displayed in the merchandise information placed on the purchased merchandise BBS (step 18). The purchased merchandise BBS is browsed by a buyer 32 and when the decision of purchase by the store manager 17 is additionally displayed in the merchandise information, a necessary adjustment processing is performed between the store manager 17 and the supplier 45 of the merchandise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for purchasing goods, and more particularly, to a method for purchasing goods which can quickly and widely obtain purchase information on goods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the diversification of life cycles and tastes, customer needs for products tend to be diversified. Specifically, they want to get new products as soon as possible, to get products that are hard to sell, and to get products with particularly high quality. Therefore, in order to increase sales and sales, it is important for retailers who sell products to purchase products that meet these customer needs. On the other hand, some products have a short life cycle, and the longer the procurement time, the lower the product value.

Conventionally, in order to purchase a product at a store (store) of the product, the needs of the customer are studied on a store-by-store basis, and a store manager or a product searcher directly contacts the manufacturer or the purchaser with a product that meets the needs. Going out and searching had been done.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method of purchasing goods, it has been difficult to efficiently purchase goods that meet customer needs in a short time. That is, there is a limit in researching and grasping customer needs performed on a store basis, and a great deal of cost and time are required to accurately grasp customer needs. Also, in the current product search, where there are countless products as in recent years, even if a store manager or a person in charge of product search goes directly to a manufacturer or a purchaser to search, the searchable range is narrow, and It is impossible to search for in a short time.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product purchasing method capable of efficiently purchasing products corresponding to customer needs in a short time.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by taking the following means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a merchandise management server having a message exchange means for posting merchandise information is connected to the merchandise management server via a communication network operated by a post member who is a general consumer. A post member terminal, a store manager terminal that is operated by a store manager that sells products and is connected to the product management server via a communication network, and a buyer that performs a purchase procedure of the products is operated and the product management server and the communication network A product purchase method for purchasing products using a buyer terminal connected via a PC, wherein the post member inputs product information obtained by searching for a product purchase source to the post member terminal. By doing so, a procedure for posting the product information on the message exchange means, and the message exchange When the store manager browses the product information posted in the above and determines a product to be purchased, a procedure for designating the product determined to be purchased using the store manager terminal, and determining a purchase from the store manager terminal When the purchased product is input, a procedure for additionally displaying that the store manager has decided to purchase the product information posted on the message exchange means of the product management server, and the buyer browses the message exchange means. And when the buyer recognizes that the store manager has decided to additionally purchase the product information, the buyer performs an adjustment process necessary for purchase between the store manager and the purchaser of the product. It is characterized by the following.

[0008] According to the above invention, the product information obtained by the posting member searching for the product supplier is posted on the message exchange means of the product management server by inputting the information to the posting member terminal. Since this product information is the product information searched by the posting member who is a general consumer, the needs of the consumers are stronger than the product information searched by the product searcher who is engaged in searching for products. This is the reflected information.

[0009] The product information posted on the message exchange means of the product management server is browsed by the store manager who purchases the product, and the store manager can use the product information posted on the message exchange means to find a product that matches the style of his / her store. Search for Then, when a product that matches the style of the store, that is, a product to be purchased is determined, the store manager specifies the product that has been purchased using the store manager terminal.

The product designation information is transmitted to the product management server, and the product information additionally displays that the store manager has decided to purchase. When the buyer views the message exchange means and recognizes that the store manager has additionally displayed that the purchase has been determined in the product information, the buyer makes the necessary adjustment processing between the store manager and the purchaser of the product. Perform

[0011] Therefore, the store manager can see the message exchange means to quickly know the product information with high customer needs searched by the posting member who is a general consumer, and immediately operate the store manager terminal on the spot. The purchase can be determined. In addition, the buyer enters between the store manager and the supplier and performs the adjustment process necessary for the purchase without the store manager directly going to the supplier.

[0012] As a result, the store manager can easily and early purchase products that have high customer needs and suit their stores from numerous sources in Japan and the world, thereby improving sales. it can. In addition, since it is possible to reduce the labor and cost required for searching for a product, it is possible to reduce the price of the product, and thereby to improve the sales.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for purchasing a product according to the first aspect, a product searcher who specializes in product search operates and is connected to the product management server via a communication network. Using the merchandise searcher terminal and inputting the purchased merchandise information obtained by the merchandise searcher searching for a merchandise supplier to the merchandise searcher terminal, the message exchange means performs the search. Characterized in that a procedure for posting the purchased product information is further provided.

According to the present invention, the product information searched by a product searcher who specializes in product search is also posted on the message exchange means of the product management server. The product information searched by the product search staff is the product information searched for by specialization, and is more reliable information than the product information searched by general consumers.

[0015] Therefore, the store manager browses the message exchanging means, and obtains both the product information with high customer needs searched by the posting member who is a general consumer and the highly reliable product information searched by specialization. , It is possible to purchase goods suitable for a particular store, and to expand the range of purchasing goods.

[0016]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system used in a method for purchasing goods according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this system is generally a post member terminal 1 operated by a product management center 10 and a post member 15.
1, a store manager and product searcher terminal 12 operated by a product searcher 16 and a store manager 17, a customer terminal 13 operated by a customer 18, and the like.

Here, the posting member 15 is a member registered with the merchandise management center 10 and searches for merchandise from the merchandise supplier 45 and develops and discovers merchandise that would be better sold. It is. The product supplier 45 is, for example, an online shop (for example, a shop developed on the Internet), an offline ship (for example, a shop that directly sells products), a maker (for example, a manufacturer of the product), and the like. . This posting member 15 is a general consumer, so
The discovered information on the product itself and information necessary for purchasing the product (hereinafter referred to as product information) are information that strongly reflects the needs of consumers. However, the product information pioneered and discovered by the posting member 15 is:
Since the information is provided by so-called amateurs, the reliability of the information may be poor.

The product search staff 16 is an expert who engages in product search contracted with the product management center 10. The person in charge of product search 16 searches for the product supplier 45 from the standpoint of an expert to develop and find products. The product information cultivated and discovered by the product search staff 16 is information by an expert, and thus the information is highly reliable. However, since it is an expert, there is a possibility that product information reflecting customer needs may not be searched.

The store manager 17 is a person who operates and manages a store (shop) for selling products. The shop in the present system is a virtual store built on the product management server 20 operated by the product management center 10, and the store manager 1
7 manages this virtual store. Therefore, the merchandise sold in the shop has an assortment reflecting the intention and style of the manager 17. Note that the virtual shop in the present embodiment is a shop in which a product catalog is directly transmitted to the customer 18 using electronic mail, unlike an Internet shop shop developed on the Internet as described later.
Further, there is a case where the above-mentioned merchandise search person 16 is exclusive to the shop managed and managed by the store manager 17.

The customer 18 purchases a product from the shop described above. The customer 18 may be the same as the posting member 15 described above.

Next, the system configuration of the present system will be described. The product management center 10 has a product management server 20. The product management server 20 includes a central processing unit 21, a transmission / reception device 22, a purchased product BBS.
It comprises a server 23, a BBS server 24 for inquiry, a mail server 25, various databases 26 to 29 (hereinafter, the database is abbreviated as DB), an input device 30, a display device 31, and the like. This product management server 2
0 is connected to each of the terminals 11 to 13 via the communication network. In this embodiment, an example in which the Internet 14 is used as a communication network will be described.

The central processing unit 21 is a product management server 2
0 to control the other devices 22 to 31 as a whole. The transmission / reception device 22 connects the central processing unit 21 to the Internet 14.
2, various data are transmitted and received between the terminals 11 to 13.

The purchased goods BBS server 23 is a server that manages an electronic bulletin board (purchased goods BBS) on which product information transmitted from the posting member 15 and the product search staff 16 is posted. Also, the BBS server for questions 24
Is a server that manages an electronic bulletin board (BBS for question) in which a question about a product is sent from the customer 18. The mail server 25 is a server used to transmit product catalog data of products sold in the shop to the customer terminal 13.

The input device 30 is, for example, a keyboard and is a device that performs input processing on the product management server 20. The display device 31 is, for example, a CRT, and is configured to be able to display the purchased BBS for inquiry and the BBS for inquiry. The input device 30 and the display device 31 are operated and browsed by a buyer 32 and a support staff 33 belonging to the product management center 10.

Here, the buyer 32 is a person who enters between the store manager 17 and the goods supplier 45 and performs an intermediary business concerning the purchase of goods, as will be described in detail later. Further, the support staff 33 is a person who answers the customer 18 together with the store manager 17 when a question is sent from the customer 18 regarding the product.

Of the various DBs, the member DB 26 stores various data (name, address, telephone number, member number, and member attributes, etc.) of the post member 15 and the customer 18 registered in the product management center 10. Is recorded in the database. The product catalog information DB 27 is a database that stores product catalog data distributed to the customer terminal 13 as described later. The product catalog data in the present embodiment is data including image data, moving image data, and audio data. In addition, point DB2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a database that stores points that are added when the posting member 15 searches for a product and when the customer 18 purchases a product. In addition, answer history D
B29 is a database that stores answer history data described below.

On the other hand, each of the terminals 11 to 13 is configured to perform communication processing with the product management server 20 via the Internet 14. These terminals 11 to 13
Are substantially the same, the configuration will be described using the customer terminal 13 as an example. The customer terminal 13 includes a processing device 35, a transmitting / receiving device 36, an input device 37, a display device 38, an output device 39, a storage device 40, and the like.

Various processing programs are stored in the storage device 40. The processing device 35 executes the processing programs to transmit the product information to the product management server 20 (the posting member terminal 11 and the store manager / product). Processing at the searcher terminal 12), display processing of the purchased product BBS (processing at the store manager and product searcher terminal 12),
Display process of BBS for question (store manager and product search staff terminal 1
2), product catalog data input processing (processing at the customer terminal 13), and a question product management server 2
For example, a process of transmitting to 0 (processing in the customer terminal 13) is performed. The processing device 35 is connected to another connected device 36.
To 40 are collectively controlled.

The processing device 35 is a device for connecting the processing device 35 to the Internet 14. Input device 37
Is a keyboard, for example, used for inputting various data. The display device 38 is, for example, a CRT,
The contents input from the input device 37 and various information transmitted from the product management server 20 are displayed. The output device 39 is, for example, a printer, and performs a printing process according to an instruction from the processing device 35.

The storage device 40 provided in the customer terminal 13 stores mail software 41 for browsing product catalog data, which will be described later, and stores a product catalog D.
B42 and an answer DB 43 are provided. Further, the input device 37 provided in the customer terminal 13 is provided with a CD-ROM device in addition to the above-mentioned keyboard.

In the present embodiment, an example is given in which the store manager and product search staff terminal 12 is operated by both the product search staff 16 and the store manager 17. This is because the product search staff 16
This is because the store manager 17 may be an employee of the shop operated and managed, and the system configuration is based on this assumption. Therefore, when the product search representative 16 is independent of the shop, a product search representative terminal operated by the product search representative 16 is newly required.

Next, a description will be given of a merchandise purchasing method carried out using the above system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a commodity purchasing method in this embodiment. Here, the purchase of a product means that the store manager 17 purchases a product to be sold in his / her shop from a product supplier 45.

In the merchandise purchasing method according to the present embodiment, the posting member 15 and the merchandise searcher 16 perform step 1 in FIG.
As shown by 0 and step 11 (the step is abbreviated as S in the figure), the user goes to the goods supplier 45 and directly searches for the goods with his own eyes. Specifically, when the product supplier 45 is an offline ship (store, etc.), the store is cultivated and a product that is likely to go to the store for sale and that is likely to have customer needs is searched. I do. If the product supplier 45 is an online shop (such as an Internet shop), the user accesses various sites to search for a product likely to have customer needs. Further, when the product supplier 45 is a manufacturer (manufacturer of the product, etc.), the user goes to a product exhibition hall, a showroom, or the like of the manufacturer to search for a product likely to have customer needs.

When a product that is considered to be good to sell as a product (hereinafter, this product is referred to as a search product) is searched, the product information of the search product (information on the search product itself and the search product is purchased). You need to get the information you need). Here, the information of the search product itself includes a photograph of the product, a comment on the search product of the posting member 15 and the product search staff 16 and the like. The information necessary for purchasing the search product includes information (phone number, address, e-mail address, etc.) for contacting the seller and manufacturer of the search product, the purchase price of the search product, the search product. Lineup information of the color and size.

The product information of the search product by the posting member 15 is information that strongly reflects the needs of the consumer side, but the reliability of the information may be inferior in some cases. As described above, the product information has high information reliability but may not sufficiently reflect customer needs.

The post member 15 and the product search staff 16
When the search product is searched as described above, the posting member terminal 1
1. The merchandise information of the searched merchandise is input through the store manager and merchandise search staff terminal 12. The input product information of the search product is transmitted to and received from the product management server 2 of the product management center 10 by the transmitting / receiving device 36 provided in each of the terminals 11 and 12.
0 (steps 12 and 13).

The central processing unit 21 of the product management server 20
When the product information is transmitted from the post member terminal 11 or the store manager and product search representative terminal 12, the purchased product BBS
Activate server 23 and purchase this product information for product B
Post on the BS (step 14). FIG. 6 shows an example of a product information screen posted on the purchased product BBS. As shown in the figure, all the product information (information on the search product itself and information necessary for purchasing the search product) is posted in the purchased product BBS.

The purchased product BBS is distributed to the store manager and product search staff member terminal 12. Therefore, store manager 17
By browsing the purchased product BBS displayed on the display device 38 of the store manager / product search representative terminal 12, the user can search for a product that matches the style of his / her store. At this time, the posting member 1 is added to the purchased product BBS as described above.
5 in addition to the product information of the searched product, and a product searcher 1
The product information searched by 6 is also posted. Therefore, the store manager 17 browses the purchased product BBS, and obtains both the product information with high customer needs searched by the posting member 15 as a general consumer and the highly reliable product information searched by specialization. , It is possible to purchase goods suitable for a particular store, and to expand the range of purchasing goods.

When a product suitable for the style of the store is found, that is, when the product to be purchased is determined, the store manager 17 uses the store manager and product search staff member terminal 12 to determine the product to be purchased. Is specified (step 16). The information for specifying the product (hereinafter referred to as product specification information) is transmitted to the product management server 20. When the product specification information is transmitted from the store manager / product search representative terminal 12, the central processing unit 21 of the product management server 20 activates the purchased product BBS server 23 and posts the product specification information on the purchased product BBS. (Step 1
8). FIG. 7 shows an example of a product information screen on which product designation information posted on the purchased product BBS is displayed.

On the other hand, the purchased product BBS is also displayed on the display device 31 provided in the product management center 10, and the buyer 32 belonging to the product management center 10 always has the purchased product BBS. (Step 17). Then, when an additional display indicating that the store manager 17 has decided to purchase is displayed on the purchased product BBS, the buyer 32 starts an intermediary process required for purchasing between the store manager 17 and the product supplier 45 of the product. Specifically, the buyer 32 negotiates the delivery of the product with the product supplier 45 (step 19), and negotiates the purchase with the store manager 17 (step 20). This mediation process is performed by the store manager 17.
This is performed until an agreement is made between the product and the product supplier 45.

According to the above-described method for purchasing goods, the store manager 17 can quickly find out information on goods with high customer needs searched by the posted member 15 as a general consumer by looking at the BBS for purchased goods. The purchase can be immediately determined by operating the store manager and product search representative terminal 12 on the spot. In addition, the buyer 32 enters between the store manager 17 and the product supplier 45 and performs necessary processing for purchasing without the store manager 17 going to the product supplier 45 directly.

As a result, the store manager 17 can easily and quickly purchase products that have high customer needs and suit his or her store from numerous product suppliers 45 present in Japan and the world. Sales can be improved. In addition, since it is possible to reduce manpower and costs required for product search, it is possible to reduce product prices,
This can also increase sales.

The goods purchased as described above are sold at stores operated and managed by the store manager 17. As described above, the shop in the present system is a virtual shop built on the product management server 20 operated by the product management center 10. The virtual shop is a shop in which a product catalog is directly transmitted to the customer 18 using an electronic mail (e-mail), unlike an existing Internet shop that is developed on the Internet.

Subsequently, the merchandise catalog data of the purchased merchandise is transferred from the merchandise management server 20 to the customer terminal 13.
A product catalog distribution system that distributes to a product catalog will be described.

The merchandise catalog distribution system uses the customer terminal 1
3 and a product management server 20. The customer terminal 13 is different from the other terminals 11 and 12 in that the mail software 41 is particularly stored in the storage device 40 and the product catalog DB 42 and the answer DB 43 are set. The mail server 25 and the product catalog information DB 27 mainly operate as a product catalog distribution system in the product management server 20.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process performed on the customer terminal 13 side when the product catalog data is distributed, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process performed on the product management server 20 when the product catalog data is distributed. is there. Hereinafter, processing performed on the customer terminal 13 side and the product management server 20 side when the product catalog data is distributed will be described.

In this embodiment, the process of distributing the product catalog data from the product management server 20 is started when the customer terminal 13 is connected to the e-mail server. The e-mail server referred to here does not refer to the mail server 25 provided in the product management server 20, but is an e-mail server of a provider contracted by the customer 18 (a server for reading ordinary e-mail).

The processor 35 constantly monitors whether or not the customer 18 has connected the customer terminal 13 to the electronic mail server (step 30). The determination as to whether or not the customer terminal 13 has been connected to the e-mail server can be made, for example, by detecting whether or not a dial-up IP connection has been made. If an affirmative determination (determination of connection to the e-mail server) is made in step 30, the process proceeds to step 31, in which the input device 37 activates the processing device 35 to access the product management server 20. . Specifically, the customer terminal 13 transmits a request signal to the product management server 20 requesting distribution of product catalog data.

On the other hand, the processing shown in FIG. 4 is configured to be started by access from the customer terminal 13. That is,
The central processing unit 21 of the product management server 20 is the customer terminal 1
3 is constantly monitored to determine whether a request signal has been transmitted. If it is determined that the request signal has been transmitted, step 41
The subsequent process of distributing the product catalog data is performed.

In step 41, the last access information of the customer terminal 13 is read from the member DB 26. As described above, the member DB 26 stores the post member 15 as described above.
In addition to storing various personal data of the customer 18, the date and time when the customer terminal 13 of the customer 18 previously accessed the product management server 20 (that is, the date and time when the product catalog data was previously delivered to the customer terminal 13) is stored. It has a configuration. In step 41, the date and time when the product catalog data was previously distributed to the customer terminal 13 is read from the member DB 26.

In the following step 42, the central processing unit 21
Is a new product catalog information DB 27 since the date and time when the customer terminal 13 accessed the product management server 20 last time.
Catalog data added to the product catalog information D
Extract from B27. At the same time, the response history data stored in the response history DB 29 is also extracted after the access date and time. Here, the answer history data is data for answering a question from the customer 18, and details thereof will be described later. Then, the updated catalog data and the answer history data extracted in step 42 are transmitted to the customer terminal 13 via the Internet 14 in step 43.
In the following description, the extracted product catalog data and response history data are collectively referred to as updated catalog data.

The processing of steps 41 to 43 is performed until all the updated catalog data has been transmitted (step 44). When the transmission of all the updated catalog data is completed, the product management server 20 shown in FIG.
The distribution processing of the updated catalog data performed by the side ends.

On the other hand, as described above, the product management server 20
When the update catalog data is sent from the client terminal 13, the processing device 35 of the customer terminal 13 returns to step 32 in FIG.
The update catalog data is read. Of the read updated catalog data, the product catalog data is stored in the product catalog DB 42 of the storage device 40, and the response history data is stored in the response DB 43.
In addition to this reading process, an erasing process is performed on old product catalog data before a predetermined period. Thereby, the product catalog data stored in the product catalog DB 42 is always new data.

The process of step 32 is performed until all the updated catalog data is read (step 33).
When the reading of all the updated catalog data is completed, the distribution processing of the updated catalog data performed by the customer terminal 13 shown in FIG. 3 ends.

According to the merchandise catalog distribution system according to the above-described embodiment, the merchandise management server 2 is sent by e-mail.
Since the updated catalog data (product catalog data) is distributed from 0 to the customer terminal 13, a shopping site search is unnecessary unlike shopping on the Internet. Further, since the transmitted updated catalog data is immediately stored in the product catalog DB 42, the communication between the customer terminal 13 and the product management server 20 is online only when an e-mail is received, and the product is searched offline while browsing the catalog. be able to.

That is, the personal terminal 13 is the product management server 2
Since the storage unit for storing the product catalog data distributed from 0 is stored, after storing the distributed product catalog data in the product catalog DB 42, the product catalog data can be viewed at any time offline. Therefore, the communication cost can be reduced as compared with Internet shopping where shopping is performed while online on the Internet.

In this product catalog distribution system,
When the customer 18 accesses the e-mail server, the personal terminal 13 automatically enters the merchandise management server 20 as described above.
And updates the product catalog data stored in the product catalog DB 42 by receiving the updated catalog data from the product management server 20. Therefore, the product catalog data stored in the product catalog DB 42 is updated every time the customer 18 accesses the e-mail server, and new data is always stored. Therefore, when the customer 18 searches for product catalog data, it is not necessary to update the data each time.
A product search can be performed based on the updated latest product catalog data.

Since the answer history data is also stored in the answer DB 43, it is possible to perform an accurate answer process for the customer 18 in an answer process for a question from the customer 18 described later.

Since the distribution of the e-mail is also carried out by packet data transfer, it is possible to receive the updated catalog data from the merchandise management server 20 even when the customer 18 is accessing the normal e-mail. Therefore,
Since the product catalog data is updated to the latest one while sending and receiving normal e-mails, the customer 18 can update the product catalog data without any operation without knowing. You will get a feeling of being.

On the other hand, the input device 37 of the customer terminal 13
It has a D-ROM device. For this reason, in addition to the product catalog data distributed by e-mail from the product management server 20, the product catalog data stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM can be stored in the product catalog DB. Therefore, product catalog DB
It is possible to give variety to the input of the product catalog data to the 42.

Next, a merchandise purchasing system in which the customer 18 actually looks at the merchandise catalog by looking at the merchandise catalog will be described.

When the customer 18 makes a purchase, the customer 1
8 displays the product catalog data stored in the product catalog DB 42, and examines the displayed product to determine whether to purchase it. As described above, the product catalog data in the present embodiment includes not only text data but also image data, moving image data, and audio data.
Therefore, mail software 41 for displaying product catalog data is stored in the customer terminal 13. The mail software 41 is provided when the customer 18 becomes a member of the product management center 10.

FIG. 5 shows a merchandise purchase process executed by the mail software 41 stored in the customer terminal 13. In step 50, when the mail software 41 is started by the customer 18, first, in step 51, the product catalog data is read from the product catalog DB 42 and displayed on the display device 38.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the merchandise catalog data displayed on the display device 38. As described above, in the present embodiment, the product catalog data is configured to include text data, image data, moving image data, and audio data. Further, the mail software 41 is configured to be able to reproduce this. For this reason, it is possible to express a product with a high sizzling feeling even though the product catalog data is distributed by e-mail, and it is possible to effectively appeal the customer 18 to the product.

The customer 18 determines whether or not to purchase a product by referring to the product catalog data displayed on the display device 38. At this time, the customer 18 may want to know items other than the content of the product catalog data regarding the product displayed on the display device 38. Thus, the customer 18
In a state where there is a question regarding the product, the customer 18 hesitates to purchase the product.

In this embodiment, when the customer 18 has a question in the product catalog data displayed on the display device 38 as described above, the system is provided for answering the question. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the lower part of the product catalog data displayed on the display device 38 indicates “for this product,
Do you have any question? ", An item for asking the customer 18 whether or not there is a question.

When the customer 18 selects "Yes" in the item for asking whether or not to have this question, the processing unit 35 displays a question input screen shown in FIG. 9, and the customer 18 inputs the contents of the question on this screen. If it is determined in step 52 that a question about the product has been input, the process proceeds to step 55.

In step 55, the processing unit 35 determines the contents of the question input by the customer 18, and searches the answer DB 43 of the storage device 40 for an answer. Answer DB4
Reference numeral 3 denotes answer data of a question that is likely to be made by the customer, and data of the contents that the store manager 17 and the support staff 33 have responded to the contents actually asked by the customer (to be described later). History data). The processor 35 searches the answer data and the answer history data for an answer to the question input by the customer 18.

In the following step 56, it is determined whether or not an answer to the question input by the customer 18 exists in the answer DB 43. When it is determined in step 56 that the answer to the question of the customer 18 exists in the answer DB 43, the answer searched in step 57 is displayed on the display device 38. FIG. 10 shows an example of the answer screen.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 56 that the answer to the question input by the customer 18 does not exist in the answer DB 43, that is, it is determined that the data stored in the customer terminal 13 cannot answer the question of the customer 18 In this case, the processing device 35 displays an image as shown in FIG. 11 on the display device 38, and asks the customer 18 whether or not to inquire the answer to the product management center 10. Customer 18
If you do n’t want to get an answer,
"No" is designated on the screen of FIG. Thus, the process returns to step 52.

On the other hand, if the customer 18 specifies "Yes" on the screen shown in FIG. 11, that is, if the customer 18 wants to inquire of the product management center 10 for an answer, the process proceeds to step 59, where transmission and reception are performed. Activate the device 36 and transmit the question input by the customer 18 to the product management server 20 via the Internet 14.

When the question content is transmitted from the customer terminal 13, the product management server 20 sends the question BBS server 24.
To drive the BBS for questions (BBS for questions from customers)
Post the contents of the question. The BBS for question is displayed on the store manager / merchandise search staff terminal 12 and the display device 31 of the merchandise management center 10.

The store manager 17 is a person who has selected the product in question and is familiar with the product. The support staff 33 manages products distributed from the product management center 10 to the customer terminals 13 and also has knowledge of the products.
In the present embodiment, a person who has knowledge of the product for which a question has been made in this way answers the question from the customer 18.

Specifically, when a question from the customer 18 is posted on the BBS for a question from the customer, the manager 17 or the support staff 33 who can answer the question responds to the question as shown in FIG. Store manager and product search staff terminal 12
Alternatively, the information is input to the input device 30 and the input
And a transmission process to the product management server 20.

The processing device 35 determines in step 61
It is determined whether or not there is a response from the product management server 20 (support staff 33) or the store manager and product search representative terminal 12 (store manager 17). If there is an answer, the answer transmitted in step 62 is displayed on the display device 38. As a result, the customer 18 who has input the question can be answered. When the processing in step 62 ends, the processing returns to step 52 again.

When the reply is transmitted from the merchandise management server 20 or the store manager and merchandise search staff terminal 12, the merchandise management server 20 stores the reply in the reply history DB 29 as reply history data. As mentioned above,
Since the answer history data is transmitted as updated catalog data to the customer terminal 13 and stored in the answer DB 43, if the same question is asked again, the answer is sent to the customer terminal 13 without inquiring the product management server 20. You can do it. Thereby, the labor of the store manager 17 and the support staff 33 can be reduced.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 52 that a question about the product has not been input, the process proceeds to step 53. In step 53, a process is performed to ask whether the customer 18 purchases the product displayed on the display device 38. This is performed using the screen shown in FIG.

If the customer 18 answers "No" to the question "Do you want to buy this product?" Displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 8, the process returns to step 51, and the process returns to step 51. The product catalog data relating to the product is read out and displayed, and the processing from step 52 onward is performed on the newly displayed product.

In step 53, in response to the question "Do you want to purchase this product?"
If the answer is "Yes", the process proceeds to step 54, and a process for purchasing the product is performed. In particular,
A product purchase screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display device 38, and the customer 18 inputs predetermined items. In the present embodiment, the product purchase information input by the customer 18 is transmitted to the product management server 20 by e-mail, and the product management center 10 performs a process for shipping the product to the customer 18.

As described above, according to the merchandise purchasing system according to the present embodiment, when the customer 18 has a question about the merchandise, he / she inputs the content of the question, and the customer terminal 13 answers the question. Therefore, the customer 18 does not need to directly inquire the question to the store or the like, and the question about the product is immediately resolved, so that the purchase of the product can be promptly determined. As a result, the customer can immediately obtain an answer to the question as described above, and the shop can reduce the labor for answering a number of questions that will be frequently asked. The question input by the customer 18 is the answer DB4
3 does not exist (that is, when the content of the question is advanced), the customer terminal 13 transmits the question to the product management server 20 and receives a response from a question answerer such as the store manager 17 or the support staff 33 that can answer. Ask for an answer. And
When there is an answer from this question answerer, this answer is transmitted to the customer terminal 13. Therefore, even if the question of the customer 18 is advanced, an answer to the question can be surely obtained.

As described above, even if the customer 18 is advanced, the person who can answer the question answers the question, so that the customer 18 can purchase the product with confidence. In addition, since the customer 18 and the question answerer can communicate directly with each other, shopping can be performed with the same feeling as when the customer 18 goes to the store.

In the above embodiment, the merchandise catalog data is data including all of text data, image data, moving image data, and audio data. However, the merchandise catalog data need not include all of these forms of data. Absent. In the form of the merchandise catalog data, it is important to select a form that allows the customer 18 to have a willingness to purchase merchandise.

In this embodiment, an example in which an electronic bulletin board is used as the message exchange means has been described. However, the message exchange means is not limited to the electronic bulletin board, and any system having the same function as the electronic bulletin board can be used. Alternatively, a configuration using another system may be adopted.

[0086]

According to the present invention as described above, the following various effects can be realized.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a store manager can easily and quickly purchase products having high customer needs and suiting his or her store from countless sources in Japan and the world. Thus, it is possible to improve the sales of the own store. Further, according to the above-mentioned commodity purchasing method, there is no need to provide a specialized searcher for searching for a commodity suitable for his / her store, which can contribute to a reduction in labor costs.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the store manager browses the message exchanging means and finds the product information with high customer needs searched by the posting member, which is a general consumer, and specialization. It is possible to purchase goods suitable for the own store from both highly reliable product information, and it is possible to expand the range of purchasing goods.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a commodity purchase procedure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of importing product catalog data performed by a customer terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting merchandise catalog data to a customer terminal performed by the merchandise management server.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of answering a question from a customer.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of an electronic bulletin board showing purchased goods.

7 is a diagram showing a screen on the electronic bulletin board shown in FIG. 6 in a state where a purchase decision by a store manager is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a product catalog screen displayed on a customer terminal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a question screen for asking a question for a product.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an answer screen for answering a question.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when there is no corresponding answer in the answer DB of the customer terminal.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of an electronic bulletin board showing a question from a customer.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a purchase screen on which a customer purchases a product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Merchandise Management Center 11 Contribution Member Terminal 12 Store Manager and Product Search Representative Terminal 13 Customer Terminal 14 Internet 15 Contribution Member 16 Product Search Representative 17 Store Manager 18 Customer 20 Product Management Server 21 Central Processing Unit 22 Transmission / Reception Device 23 BBS Server for Purchased Products 24 BBS server for questions 25 Mail server 26 Member DB 27 Product catalog information DB 28 Point DB 29 Answer history DB 30 Input device 31 Display device 32 Buyer 33 Support staff 35 Processing device 36 Transmitter / receiver 37 Input device 38 Display device 39 Output device 40 storage device 41 mail software 42 product catalog DB 43 answer DB 45 product supplier

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A product management server having a message exchange means for posting product information, a posting member terminal operated by a posting member as a general consumer and connected to the product management server via a communication network, A store manager terminal which is operated by a store manager who sells and is connected to the product management server via a communication network, and which is operated by a buyer who performs a purchase procedure of the product and is connected to the product management server via a communication network. A product purchasing method for purchasing products using a buyer terminal, wherein the posting member inputs product information obtained by searching for a product purchasing source into the posting member terminal, whereby the message A procedure for posting the product information on the exchange means; When the store manager browses and determines a product to be purchased, a procedure for specifying the product determined to be purchased using the store manager terminal, and a product determined to be purchased from the store manager terminal are input. By doing so, a procedure for additionally displaying that the store manager has decided to purchase in the product information posted on the message exchange means of the product management server, and the buyer browses the message exchange means, and the product information A step of, when the store manager recognizes that the additional display indicating that the purchase has been made is made, make the buyer perform an adjustment process necessary for purchase between the store manager and the purchaser of the product. How to buy. 2. The product purchasing method according to claim 1, wherein a product searcher who specializes in product search operates and uses a product searcher terminal connected to the product management server via a communication network. A step of posting the searched purchased product information in the message exchange means by inputting the purchased product information obtained by the product searcher searching for the product purchaser to the product searcher terminal; A product purchasing method, further comprising: