JP2003331024A - Empty-handed shopping system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for doing shopping on the cashless basis as weighing up actual merchandise without carrying a shopping basket, without pushing a cart and without line up at a cashier at an actual shop such as a department store, a supermarket and a shopping center of a retail business and a home delivery service arrives when a customer comes home with hands empty. <P>SOLUTION: Processes from order to home delivery are systematized by enabling order by image recognition by inputting a merchandise identification code for POS (point of sale) and transmitting a merchandise image by a code reading function and a camera function attached to a portable information terminal and easily aligning this empty-handed shopping system with a POS sale management system and a member information management system operated by the actual shop. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a POS system in the online shopping and retail industries using the Internet using mobile phones and portable information terminals. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventional online shopping on the Internet is a form of catalog sales in which the contents of a product are posted on a screen or a paper medium and an order is placed. A user cannot define the actual product. I had to place an order and was anxious to place an order. [0003] The conventional online shopping store form by the Internet is a specialty store type in which sales items are limited, and handles a wide variety of products including fresh foods and daily necessities such as department stores and supermarket shopping centers. It was unsuitable for ordering all products in a business format. [0004] In conventional online shopping via the Internet, the Internet shopping system and the POS system at the actual store are constructed and operated as independent systems without system cooperation, and are sold separately at the store and at the Internet. The same number of products and sales prices cannot be managed in the same manner, and it is difficult to unify sales history information. [0005] Shopping is inherently enjoyable, so select a store based on its atmosphere and mood, select products displayed in the store, touch it, try on it, compare it, and value it. The product can be found more economically, and the user can feel the satisfaction of the product. However, I went to a supermarket, department store, shopping center, put a shopping basket in a crowded store, pushed a cart, left and right, waited side by side at a cash register, packed it again in shopping bags and cardboard, brought back bulky luggage to my home, tired time If you lose money, shopping will be very painful and labor-intensive, and every time you buy food, daily consumables, daily necessities, etc. will be a heavy burden for housewives with children, working housewives, elderly people, and the physically handicapped. It has become. On the other hand, online shopping by Internet shopping is a form of catalog sales in which the contents of a product are guessed from product images and product descriptions posted on a screen and a paper medium, and a user can purchase limited products. Even if you can order the product without being able to determine the product, and you can cool off, there is a sense of anxiety, and you want to select what you want from a diverse and abundant product group.For ordering fresh food, daily consumables, household goods, etc. It was not suitable. An object of the present invention is to make an order on the Internet by a simple operation on the spot, without going through a cash register, at the store price, without having to go through a cash register at the store price, looking at the product displayed in the actual store, touching it, trying it on, and determining the product. The goal is to provide the convenience of receiving a courier service when returning home without any cash. [0008] For consumers, in addition to store take-home shopping at physical stores, the user can use three types of shopping styles: empty-hand shopping at stores and Internet shopping using the system from home. -It is an object of the present invention to provide a degree of freedom that can be arbitrarily selected according to a place and convenience, and to provide the same product with the same quality, the same price, and the same service in any of these shopping modes. [0009] Retail industry companies have already invested heavily in building POS systems and customer management systems in operating real stores, and these existing systems are effectively used to create new value-added services. The task is to provide FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the configuration of the present system. The POS system and the member management system in this figure refer to an existing system or a separately constructed system operated at an actual store, and a means that enables combined and integrated operation of over-the-counter sales at the actual store and Internet ordering by system cooperation, In addition, it is a means for easily realizing the construction of the present system. As means for product identification, an image of a product code and / or a bar code and / or an electronic tag and / or an image of an actual product and / or an image of a product guide panel attached to the product is applied. I do. As a result, all the products displayed at the actual store can be ordered. As a means for inputting an order, a product code is input by key input and / or by a bar code reader and / or an IC tag reader attached to a mobile phone / portable information terminal to obtain a product identification code. [0013] In a mobile phone / portable information terminal having a camera / video function, an image obtained by photographing the actual product and / or the product information panel is input, and the image is recognized by a server device and converted into a product identification code. Means for placing an order. In the online mode, which can be connected to the Internet, a means for confirming an order is obtained by logging in to the server apparatus of the present system from a mobile phone / portable information terminal and communicating with the Internet for each order. As an ordering means in an environment where radio waves do not reach such as underground sales floors, there is also an order in an offline mode in which an e-mail message listing a product identification code and a quantity is edited and transmitted collectively by e-mail. Make it possible. The server device which has received the product identification code accesses the product database in system cooperation with an existing or separately constructed POS system operated in the actual store.
The product name and sales price corresponding to the product identification code are searched, and the order confirmation is returned. By sharing the POS system operated at the actual store also in Internet ordering, it is a means to enable ordering of all products displayed at the store at the same price as the store price. When the order is confirmed, the user is authenticated by a personal identification number or the like, and the order is confirmed. The server device processes orders and sales in cooperation with the POS system.
From the OS system side, this system can be easily constructed by processing it as an order input from one of the POS register terminals. [0018] In the retail industry, many companies already carry out payments and preferential services at cash registers using member cards, and in cooperation with this member management system, information such as member numbers, personal identification numbers, payment methods, home delivery addresses, and the like are provided. A means for sharing and performing personal authentication, settlement processing and home delivery processing in this system. By linking the POS system and the member management system operated in the actual store with the system, the sales history information management can be integrated and combined with the store sales in the actual store and the Internet order, and the information can be used as marketing information. And means that can be provided as an information service. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an order processing in an offline mode using a bar code. In using this service, the portable telephone / portable information terminal is set in a mail text input mode, and first inputs a "member number". The user determines the product while shopping at the actual store, and inputs a bar code as a "product code" with a reading device when ordering. When ordering the same product a plurality of times, leave blank and enter the quantity. The input of a product code enables a continuous order of a plurality of products at random. When the mail text of the order data has been created, a mail is transmitted to the server device of the present system. The server apparatus authenticates the service member and the Internet mail address registered in advance based on the “member number”,
In cooperation with the S system, a "product name" and "price" are searched from the product database from the product code of the order data to edit the order confirmation. The order confirmation is sent back to the mobile phone of the mail sender to be notified. After confirming the order form, the user adds a "personal identification number" to the order form and returns it to the server again. The server device cooperates with the member management system to authenticate the user by matching the Internet mail address in this mail communication in addition to the "member number" and the "password", and completes the order via the Internet. Shall be done. Thereafter, the server device performs the settlement process and the product delivery process in cooperation with the member management system. The present invention provides a user with a means for ordering on the spot while deciding products at a physical store, and providing a portable telephone /
If you have only a portable information terminal, you can provide the convenience of shopping without having to leave your hands. In shopping at an actual store, the user is released from the hassle and time loss of holding a shopping basket, pushing a cart, moving right and left, and waiting at the cash register and waiting again at the cash register to repack bulky heavy luggage to take home. This is an effective shopping tool for mothers with children, working housewives, the elderly and the disabled. The user can choose from three types of shopping styles, that is, hand-held shopping at the store, hand-free shopping at the store using the present system, and Internet shopping using the present system from home. The degree of freedom and convenience that can be arbitrarily selected according to circumstances can be obtained. In any of these shopping modes, the same product can be purchased with the same quality and the same price, and point services, special sales, special treatments, and the like are covered by the same service.
By integrating and managing information such as purchase details, it is possible to obtain information services such as analyzing the frequency and cycle of purchase history and receiving the next shopping guide. For the retail industry company, the synergistic sales effect can be obtained by combining the order through the Internet in addition to the conventional over-the-counter sales at the actual store. In the retail industry, a membership card service for sales / inventory management and customer enrollment using a POS register has already spread, and this system can be easily constructed by cooperating with a POS system and a member management system. . As the use of empty-hand shopping progresses, the sales floor layout at the actual store and the space efficiency near the cash register stand can be improved, and the number of cashiers and the cost of shopping bags can be reduced. By integrating and unifying the history information of Internet sales by over-the-counter sales and empty-handed shopping at actual stores, it is possible to grasp the purchasing status of daily necessities by users,
For example, it is possible to provide information services such as purchase history information, its classification / analysis information, comparison information for the previous month / previous year, product production / production area / recall information, recipe / cooking method, caution / warning information, etc. It is possible to create new customer service and marketing using the Internet, such as creating a next shopping schedule list based on the frequency and cycle of the history, adding special sale information, and accepting repeat orders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flowchart of processing of a hand-free shopping system. FIG. 2 is an example of an order process in an offline mode using a barcode.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) G07G 1/12 321 G07G 1/12 321L

Claims (1)

[Claim 1] Cashless shopping without placing a shopping basket, pushing a cart, arranging at a cash register, and arranging actual products at actual stores in the retail industry such as department stores, supermarkets, shopping centers, etc. A means of ordering all products displayed at stores in physical stores using mobile phones and personal digital assistants that have an Internet mode, with the aim of implementing a system that allows home delivery to arrive when you return home empty-handed. Means for ordering a product code attached to the product by key input and / or bar code input to a bar code reader and / or electronic tag by IC tag input to an IC tag code reader; and a mobile phone having a camera / video function. The mobile information terminal captures images of the actual product and / or the product information panel and recognizes the product by image recognition. A means for converting to another code to place an order, a means for mobile phones and personal digital assistants to enter orders in offline mode in places where radio waves are not available, such as underground floors, in addition to online mode with the Internet, and orders accepted In the server device, the existing POS operated at the actual store or another POS
A system that cooperates with the system to sell and manage the same product at the same store at the same quality and at the same price and processes the order, and a settlement process that cooperates with the existing or separate member management system operated at the real store And a means for performing home delivery processing, and means for managing sales history information by combining and merging in-store sales at an actual store and Internet ordering.