JP2007133461A - Sales support system, sales support apparatus, sales support method and sales support program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sales support system for supporting salesclerks' service behavior that enables salesclerks to know customers' detailed needs in real time. <P>SOLUTION: Customer terminals 10 carried by customers visiting a store record shopping process behavior (merchandise to be purchased and position), and a sales support server 30 collects the information in real time. The sales support server 30 sends the customers' shopping process behavior to salesclerk terminals 20 of salesclerks in the store, and the salesclerk terminals 20 display the customers' current position and shopping status. The salesclerks can view the information to offer appropriate service matching the customers' needs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for supporting customer service in an actual store, and in particular, a sales support system that supports appropriate customer service activities of a customer by presenting the customer's real-time shopping progress to the customer. , A sales support apparatus, a sales support method, and a sales support program.

  In an actual store such as a department store, it is necessary for the store clerk to serve customers appropriately in order for the customer to visit the store many times. If the clerk's customer service is appropriate, the customer will be satisfied and come back to the store many times. However, the customer service that is optimal for each customer is different, and it is difficult for the store clerk to determine what customer service to which customer. Therefore, there is a demand for a system that supports the sales behavior of the store clerk so that the store clerk can provide the best customer service for each customer.

  Conventionally, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1 as a technique for supporting sales behavior of a salesclerk in an actual store. The technology described in Patent Document 1 reads the reception information stored in the membership card (IC card) possessed by the customer who has visited the store with a reader, and in accordance with the read reception information, the customer's registered in advance. Information (information such as customer service preferences, past purchase history, etc.) is notified to the store clerk's terminal. The clerk can check the customer's information on the terminal and serve customers that match the customer.

  In addition, there is a technique described in Patent Document 2 as a technique for supporting the purchase behavior of the customer in the actual store, not the customer service of the store clerk. In the technology described in Patent Document 2, product information and purchase behavior rule information are provided to a customer by a cart terminal provided in a shopping cart. For example, when a customer often purchases a rinse together when purchasing shampoo, a purchase behavior rule of “buy shampoo and rinse as a set” is created for the customer. When the customer puts the shampoo into the shopping cart, the customer is prompted to purchase the rinse by displaying “Is Rinse Also Needed?” On the cart terminal according to the purchase behavior rule.

  However, the technology described in Patent Document 2 is not intended to support the customer service of the store clerk, but is a technology that supports the purchase of the customer alone, and it is considered to support the sales behavior of the store clerk. Absent.

  In addition, there is a technology for supporting sales by presenting information necessary for sales (for example, see Patent Document 3). In Patent Literature 3, when a salesman negotiates with a customer, in addition to customer attribute information such as the customer's address, name, and telephone number, information necessary for sales, such as the customer's negotiation history and recommended products, etc. Is described on the terminal.

However, the technique described in Patent Document 3 is a technique that can be used only when the customer is specified in advance. In an actual store where an unspecified number of customers gather, It is not a technique that can be used to determine whether it is better to contact the person.
JP 2002-63334 A JP 2002-133515 A JP 2001-5862 A

  Even if the conventional technology that supports sales behavior of a salesclerk in an actual store as described in Patent Document 1 above is used, in order for a salesclerk to serve customers more appropriately for each customer, the following three major measures are still required. There is a problem.

  The first problem is that the store clerk cannot grasp real-time customer needs. The customer's past purchase history often differs from the current needs, and just referring to the past purchase history does not necessarily reveal the customer's current needs. For example, the customer's needs change each time they visit, such as visiting the store to buy gifts for friends last time and visiting this time to buy their own items. It is not possible to accurately grasp customer needs by itself. Further, since there is no past purchase history for a customer who visits the store for the first time, unless the customer's needs can be known in real time, the store clerk cannot make an optimal customer service to the customer.

  The second problem is that the store clerk cannot grasp the detailed needs of customers. Before deciding on a product to purchase, the customer is wondering which of the multiple candidates to choose, so he or she can walk around the same store for a long time, or let go of the product that has always been in hand at the very end. I often go home. The sales clerk only knows what the customer finally purchased from the purchase history as used in the prior art. Each customer should have detailed needs such as “This color is good, but the material is good and the budget is about this”. Such detailed needs are based on the progress of shopping. Appear in However, such information is not recorded and cannot be referenced.

  The third problem is that only one-to-one correspondence with a specific customer is considered. In a sales place in an actual store, there may be multiple customers at the same time in the sales floor. In such a case, the store clerk does not know from which customer the customer should be given priority, and may eventually miss the customer.

  In the above-mentioned conventional technology, it is considered to provide customer service support by focusing on each customer, but it is not considered how to provide customer service support when there are multiple customers on the sales floor. . Therefore, when there are a plurality of customers in the sales floor, the store clerk cannot know exactly which customer should preferentially serve customers, and therefore cannot effectively go around.

  The present invention supports the store clerk so that the above problems can be solved, the detailed needs of the customer can be known in real time, and even when there are multiple customers, the customer can be effectively served. The purpose is to provide technology.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, the sales support server that manages the sales support system acquires the customer's detailed needs at that time in real time from the customer terminal that records the customer's shopping progress behavior, and further acquires it. The collected information is gathered in real time and notified to the clerk terminal in real time. Thereby, the store clerk can know the detailed needs of the customer at that time in real time at the store clerk terminal.

  In addition, the sales support server acquires not only the product information as the shopping progress behavior from the customer terminal that the customer carries while visiting the store, but also acquires the location information of the customer terminal. These are collected in real time by the sales support server and notified to the clerk terminal in real time. The salesclerk terminal displays a list of current customer / clerk positions and situations in the sales floor as a map, and when one customer is selected, the customer's real-time shopping content is displayed. The store clerk can look at the information in advance and serve customers appropriately according to the customer's needs.

  Furthermore, in addition to the current shopping behavior of the customer, customer assistance information (recommended points for the product, other recommended products, etc.) according to the content of the shopping behavior and the customer profile is presented to the clerk terminal, Can be used as customer service know-how to provide appropriate customer service.

  Specifically, the present invention is a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal. The customer terminal is configured to input product progress information including product information determined to be purchased by the customer or product information selected as a purchase candidate, and means for displaying the input progress information of the shopping on a display device. Means for transmitting the input shopping progress information to the sales support device, wherein the sales support device receives the shopping progress information transmitted by the customer terminal and the received shopping progress for each customer. Means for storing information in a storage device, and means for transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal, wherein the clerk terminal is transmitted by the sales support device. It means for receiving the progress information of the shopping for each customer has, characterized in that it comprises means for displaying the progress information of the shopping for each customer received the display device.

  As a result, the store clerk knows the detailed needs of the customer at that time in real time and can take an appropriate response to the customer.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the sales support device detects the position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal, and the detected customer terminal. Means for storing location information in a storage device, and means for transmitting location information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the store clerk terminal, wherein the store clerk terminal receives each customer transmitted by the sales support device It is characterized by comprising means for receiving the terminal position information and means for mapping the received position information of each customer terminal and displaying it on a display device.

  By displaying the customer location information mapped on the clerk terminal, the clerk can know which customer is taking what kind of shopping behavior, and appropriate customer service is possible.

  In the present invention, the customer terminal comprises means for inputting instruction information as to whether or not to disclose the shopping progress information to a store clerk, and means for transmitting the input instruction information to the sales support device, The sales support device has a means for receiving the instruction information transmitted by the customer terminal, a means for storing the received instruction information in a storage device, and the customer only when the instruction information is instructed to be disclosed. You may make it provide the means to transmit the progress information of the shopping of a terminal to the said shop assistant terminal.

  In this way, a customer who does not want to be served by a store clerk can notify the store in advance and can use the customer terminal as a shopping memo.

  Still further, in the present invention, the customer terminal inputs means for inputting description information or word-of-mouth information request information included in the shopping progress information, and means for transmitting the input request information to the sales support device. And means for displaying the description information or the word-of-mouth information on the product received from the sales support device on a display device, the sales support device storing the product information storage means for storing the description information or the word-of-mouth information about each product, Means for receiving the request information transmitted by the customer terminal; means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the product designated by the received request information; and means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the read product Means for transmitting to the customer terminal.

  In this way, the customer can use the customer terminal as an inquiry terminal for product information, and can use it for product selection and purchase determination.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the means for displaying the shopping progress information at the customer terminal displays the product information determined to be purchased and the product information selected as a purchase candidate in different display frames on the display screen. , Each product information may be displayed as an icon.

  In this way, the customer can display a list of products to be purchased on the customer terminal in an easy-to-understand manner, and can appropriately select the products to be finally purchased. In addition, it is possible to notify the clerk terminal of a product that is confused about purchasing.

  In the present invention, the sales support device includes customer information storage means for storing profile information of each customer or history information of past purchases or customer service, and product information storage means for storing product information recommended for the customer. And means for receiving a request for customer information or recommended product information from the store clerk terminal; and reading customer information or recommended product information requested from the store clerk terminal from the customer information storage unit or the product information storage unit; Means for transmitting to the store clerk terminal, the store clerk terminal transmits to the sales support device a request for customer information or recommended product information of a specific customer in the store, and from the sales support device A means for displaying the received customer information or recommended product information on a display device may be provided. In this way, the store clerk will be able to receive a more appropriate reception for the customer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire and analyze the progress information (products, detailed needs, actions at the sales floor, etc.) of each customer at that time in real time, and notify the store clerk. Since this information is information that the customer himself / herself intends to notify the store clerk, it has the same effect as talking directly to the store clerk.

  In addition, by displaying a list of the current location and status of each customer on the floor using color coding or balloons, even if there are multiple customers on the same floor, it is possible to see at a glance from which customer to contact. .

  As described above, according to the present invention, an effect more suited to an actual sales site can be obtained than in the prior art. The store clerk can accurately understand which customer needs (or does not need) which customer service and the needs of the real-time customer, and can serve customers appropriately. In addition, since it does not depend only on past sales history, it can also handle new customers. As a result, sales results and customer satisfaction are both improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Prior to explaining the configuration of the sales support system according to the present embodiment, an outline of a specific service image realized by the sales support system according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a usage image of the sales support system of the present embodiment. The customer records shopping progress information (detailed needs such as merchandise, favorite points, and lost) on the customer terminal 10. Also, select whether or not to notify the store clerk of the recorded contents. These pieces of information are sent to the sales support server 30 together with information indicating the current position of the customer, and are managed by the sales support server 30.

  The salesclerk terminal 20 sends information indicating the current position of the salesclerk to the sales support server 30. Further, the sales assistant server 30 receives a salesclerk area map that allows the salesclerks and customers in the sales floor and the current status to be understood at a glance, and displays them. When the store clerk clicks the customer icon on the store clerk area map, shopping progress information recorded by the customer is displayed on the store clerk terminal 20. By looking at the displayed information, the store clerk can know the customer's real-time detailed needs, and can appropriately serve the customer. After the customer service, the clerk inputs the customer service information to the clerk terminal 20 and transmits it to the sales support server 30.

  Explain customer behavior. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the customer performs “hand-held shopping” in which an actual product can be viewed and selected but the selected product need not be carried around. The customer carries the customer terminal 10 and performs shopping while creating a My Catalog as a virtual shopping cart. Instead of empty-handed shopping, it is also possible to carry the actual product while shopping. In this case, for example, the customer may use a shopping cart with the customer terminal 10 attached, and when the product is put in the cart, the product is automatically registered in the My Catalog.

  The customer terminal 10 is a terminal used by the customer in the store. As the customer terminal 10, for example, a small terminal such as a PDA or a dedicated terminal in the store such as a tablet terminal attached to a shopping cart is used. The in-store dedicated terminal can be used as a dedicated client that communicates with the sales support server 30. Further, a dedicated web page may be accessed by a browser of the customer terminal 10. In this case, not only the in-store dedicated terminal but also the customer's mobile phone can be used as the customer terminal 10.

  While moving, the customer terminal 10 notifies the sales support server 30 of its own location in the store in real time. The position notification means may be anything as long as it can notify the sales support server 30 of its position, for example, using RFID.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the sales support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The sales support system includes a customer terminal 10, a clerk terminal 20, and a sales support server 30. Here, it is assumed that one sales support server 30 is installed in one store, and an example in which a plurality of customer terminals 10 and salesclerk terminals 20 exist in one store will be described. Further, it is assumed that wireless communication is performed between the sales support server 30 and the customer terminal 10 or the clerk terminal 20.

  The customer terminal 10 is a terminal used by the customer in the store. The customer terminal 10 includes a network function unit 101, an action input unit 102, a screen display unit 103, a position transmission unit 104, and a product registration unit 105.

  The network function unit 101 is means for communicating with the sales support server 30. The action input unit 102 is means for acquiring a customer action for the customer terminal 10. As the action input unit 102, a touch panel, a pointing device, and other various input devices and sensors can be used. The screen display unit 103 is a means for performing screen display. The position transmitter 104 is, for example, an RFID, and is a means for notifying the position of the customer terminal 10 in the store. The merchandise registration unit 105 is a means for registering merchandise in the My Catalog, for example, by reading a merchandise tag.

  The salesclerk terminal 20 is a terminal used by the salesclerk in the store. The store clerk receives support at the store clerk terminal 20 for optimal customer service for each customer. The salesclerk terminal 20 includes a network function unit 201, an action input unit 202, a screen display unit 203, and a position transmission unit 204.

  The network function unit 201 is a means for communicating with the sales support server 30. The action input unit 202 is a means for acquiring a store clerk action for the store clerk terminal 20. Various input devices can be used as the action input unit 202. The screen display unit 203 is a means for performing screen display. The position transmission unit 204 is, for example, an RFID and is a means for notifying the position of the clerk terminal 20 in the store.

  The sales support server 30 centrally manages information on customers, salesclerks, products, etc., and provides support for product purchases by customers and customer service by salesclerks. The sales support server 30 includes a network function unit 301, a user authentication unit 302, a dedicated page information creation unit 303, a screen creation unit 304, a location authentication unit 305, a location / person map creation unit 306, a customer service timing calculation unit 307, and a search unit 308. , Product recommendation unit 309, sales talk recommendation unit 310, customer service information totaling unit 311, customer database (hereinafter abbreviated as DB) 321, store clerk DB 322, customer my catalog table storage unit 323, store clerk my catalog table storage unit 324 , Entire map DB 325, rule DB 326, product DB 327, and action history DB 328.

  The network function unit 301 is means for communicating with the customer terminal 10 and the salesclerk terminal 20. The user authentication unit 302 is a means for performing user authentication of customers and salesclerks. The dedicated page information creation unit 303 is a means for creating and editing a customer my catalog. The screen creation unit 304 is a means for creating a screen displayed on the customer terminal 10 and the clerk terminal 20. The position authentication unit 305 is a means for acquiring the positions of the customer terminal 10 and the clerk terminal 20. The position / person map creation unit 306 is a means for creating and updating a clerk area map. The customer service timing calculation unit 307 is a means for prioritizing and timing customer service. The retrieval unit 308 is a means for retrieving each data. The product recommendation unit 309 is a means for extracting recommended products for customers. The sales talk recommendation unit 310 is a means for extracting an appropriate sales talk to the customer in the current situation. The customer service information totaling unit 311 is a means for updating each data with information obtained at the time of customer service.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of each DB / storage unit. Each DB or storage unit (321 to 328) manages one or more tables, respectively.

  The customer DB 321 is a database that stores customer profile information, customer product purchase record information, and the like. As shown in FIG. 3A, the customer DB 321 manages tables such as a customer profile table 331 and a shopping status table 332.

  The store clerk DB 322 is a database that stores store clerk profile information and the like. The clerk DB 322 manages a table such as a clerk profile table 333 as shown in FIG.

  The customer my catalog table storage unit 323 is a means for temporarily recording information related to the customer's my catalog. As shown in FIG. 3C, the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 manages the terminal usage status table 334 and the shopping table 335 for each customer. Each table is created for each customer at the time of user authentication of the customer (such as when visiting a store), and the contents are updated as needed during shopping.

  The store clerk my catalog table storage unit 324 is a means for temporarily recording information about the store clerk's my catalog. As shown in FIG. 3D, the clerk my catalog table storage unit 324 manages a table such as the customer table 337 within the assigned area for each clerk. The table is created for each clerk at the time of user authentication of the clerk (when leaving the office, opening a store, etc.), and the contents are updated as needed during work.

  The entire map DB 325 is a database that stores the location information and the like of customers and store clerk of the entire store. The overall map DB 325 manages tables such as an overall map table 338 as shown in FIG.

  The rule DB 326 is a database that stores rule information and the like for the store clerk to perform optimal customer service. The rule DB 326 manages tables such as a customer service priority rule table 340 and a customer service timing rule table 341 as shown in FIG.

  The product DB 327 is a database that stores detailed information on products, comment information on products, and the like. The product DB 327 manages tables such as a product information table 342 and a word-of-mouth information table 343 as shown in FIG.

  The action history DB 328 is a database that stores log information of actions by customers and salesclerks. The action history DB 328 manages a table such as an action history table 344 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the customer DB. 4A shows an example of the customer profile table 331, and FIG. 4B shows an example of the shopping status table 332.

  The customer profile table 331 includes a customer number. (Number), login ID, password, name, gender, age, and favorite color. A customer who performs shopping using the customer terminal 10 performs customer registration (member registration) in advance. Information registered by customer registration is recorded in the customer profile table 331.

  The shopping status table 332 includes a customer number. , Last year usage amount, monthly usage amount, average usage amount per time, number of visits per year, number of visits per month, average customer service effect, average shopping time, last visit date, etc. In the shopping status table 332, past purchase records of each customer are recorded. The shopping status table 332 is used to refer to customer profiles, determine customer priority, and timing. In addition, the customer No. in the shopping status table 332 is displayed. Is the customer number in the customer profile table 331. Corresponding to

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the clerk DB. The clerk profile table 333 has a clerk No. , Login ID, password, name, gender, age, working years, field of expertise, etc. A store clerk who uses the store clerk terminal 10 for customer service performs store clerk registration in advance. Information registered by the clerk registration is recorded in the clerk profile table 333. Here, the clerk No. of the clerk profile table 333 is displayed. And customer No. in the customer profile table 331. Are designed not to overlap each other.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the customer my catalog table storage unit. 6A shows an example of the terminal usage status table 334, and FIG. 6B shows an example of the shopping table 335.

  The terminal usage status table 334 includes information such as a disclosure flag, a purchase decision total amount, a registered product total amount, a current stay time, a store clerk call flag, and a service completion flag. As for the public flag, “1” indicates that the My Catalog is open, and “0” indicates that the My Catalog is not open. In the clerk call flag, “1” indicates a call. In the service completion flag, “1” indicates service completion.

  The shopping table 335 includes a shopping No. , Product No. , Price, purchase, status, and other information. In FIG. The item in the state of the product with "2" is "being lost (color, 3)", but this is "I'm wondering which product to buy with" No. 3 "in different colors "It is shown that. In addition, shopping No. The item of the state of the product with “4” is “combination (5)”, which indicates the customer's desire to “purchase in combination with the product with the shopping number“ 5 ””. . It should be noted that the product number of the shopping table 335 is displayed. Is a product number in a product information table 342 described later. Corresponding to

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the clerk My catalog table storage unit. The in-area customer table 337 is in charge no. , Customer No. , Location information, priority, timing, status, and other information. The customer number in the customer table 337 in the area in charge is shown. Is the customer number in the customer profile table 331. Corresponding to Further, the position information of the customer table 337 within the assigned area corresponds to the position information of the entire map table 338 described later.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the entire map DB. The entire map table 338 includes a customer number. / Clerk No. , And position information. It should be noted that the customer number in the overall map table 338 is displayed. / Clerk No. Is the customer number in the customer profile table 331. Or, a clerk No. in the clerk profile table 333. Corresponding to

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the rule DB. FIG. 9A shows an example of the customer service priority rule table 340, and FIG. 9B shows an example of the customer service timing rule table 341.

  The customer service priority rule table 340 includes a priority rule No. , Information such as priority conditions. In accordance with the customer service priority rule table 340, the priority item of the customer table 337 in the assigned area is determined.

  The customer service timing rule table 341 includes a timing rule No. , Conditions, colors, and other information. According to the customer service timing rule table 341, the item of the timing in the customer table 337 in the assigned area is determined.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed in the product DB. 10A shows an example of the product information table 342, and FIG. 10B shows an example of the word-of-mouth information table 343.

  The product information table 342 includes a product No. , Category, model number, product name, brand, price, color, size development, size, and assumed purchase layer. At least products that are sold in stores are registered in advance. Information registered by product registration is recorded in the product information table 342.

  The review information table 343 has a review number. , Product No. , Customer No. , And comments. In addition, the product number of the word-of-mouth information table 343 is displayed. Is the product number in the product information table 342. Corresponding to In addition, the customer number of the word-of-mouth information table 343 is displayed. Is the customer number in the customer profile table 331. Corresponding to

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table managed by the action history DB. The action history table 344 includes a log No. Customer No. / Clerk No. , Store No. , Event No. , Event contents, date and other information. In addition, the customer No. in the action history table 344 is displayed. / Clerk No. Is the customer number in the customer profile table 331. Or, a clerk No. in the clerk profile table 333. Corresponding to An event is an event that must be processed by the sales support server 30 mainly caused by an action of a customer or a store clerk.

  The action history table 344 may be created for each store and integrated for multiple stores by night batch processing, etc., or the history may be reconfigured and used by purpose, such as by customer, by event, or by event. Details are omitted here.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart of customer behavior. A customer having the customer terminal 10 first performs user authentication using a login ID and a password (step S10). The customer terminal 10 causes the sales support server 30 to perform user authentication by transmitting the login ID and password input by the customer to the sales support server 30. At this time, instead of allowing the customer to input the login ID and password, the customer card in which the customer's login ID is recorded in advance is inserted into the customer terminal 10 and the login ID is obtained from the customer card inserted into the customer terminal 10. Alternatively, biometric authentication such as fingerprint authentication may be used instead of the password. When the user authentication is successful, the customer catalog 10 displays a my catalog screen.

  The customer selects at the customer terminal 10 whether to open the My Catalog (can be notified to the store clerk) or not (cannot be notified to the store clerk) (step S11). Public / private is not selected every time the customer visits the store, but a default state may be selected in advance at the time of customer registration. In addition, switching between public / non-public of My Catalog can be performed at any time.

  If the customer chooses not to disclose, the store clerk cannot know the status of the customer's My Catalog, so the customer will not receive customer service unless the store clerk is called. At this time, the My Catalog of the customer terminal 10 becomes a convenient shopping memo for the customer to assist in making a decision on purchasing the product.

  The customer walks by looking at each product in the store, and if there is a product that is of interest, the customer registers the product in the My Catalog (step S12). As a product registration method, the QR code of the product is read with the camera attached to the customer terminal 10, the barcode of the product is read with the barcode reader attached to the customer terminal 10, and the product is read with the RFID reader attached to the customer terminal 10. Various methods are conceivable, such as reading an RFID tag and inputting the product number of the product with the numeric keypad of the customer terminal 10. Any method can be used as long as the product to be registered in the customer terminal 10 is specified. Good. For example, in the method using RFID, a product can be automatically registered by putting the product in a shopping cart.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a My Catalog screen in which products are registered. The My Catalog screen 400 includes a candidate BOX 401, a decision BOX 402, a public / private switch button 403, a store clerk call button 404, a lost button 405, a combination button 406, a recommended information button 407, a shopping browsing button 408, a product search button 409, An accounting button 410 is provided. In the My Catalog screen 400 of FIG. 13, since the My Catalog is open as shown in the upper right corner of the screen, the open / close switch button 403 is “Private”.

  When a customer registers a product in the My Catalog, the product is displayed on the My Catalog screen 400. In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the following description, it is assumed that the product for which product registration has been performed is set to be registered in the candidate BOX 401 first, but the product for which product registration has been performed. May be registered in the decision box 402 first. If the initial registration destination of the product is the decision BOX 402, it is possible to induce the customer's impulse purchase psychologically.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when a customer selects a product on the My Catalog screen 400 using a touch panel or other input device, a menu can be opened. This menu allows you to view product information such as material, size, and price of each product, and word-of-mouth information related to each product. In the comment input on the menu, a comment for the product can be input. In addition, the product can be deleted from the My Catalog by selecting Delete from the menu.

  There are various methods for collecting word-of-mouth information. For example, a customer review site is set up, and after a certain period of time after purchase, an email is sent to the customer to guide the review site, points are given to the customer who has entered the review information, and a privilege that allows the user to use the point as a shopping ticket at a later date. For example, a method of actively collecting word-of-mouth information can be considered. The collected word-of-mouth information is organized and edited and registered in the word-of-mouth information table 343 by the sales support server 30.

  The customer edits the My Catalog on the My Catalog screen 400, determines a product to be purchased, and adds detailed information (Step S13). On the My Catalog screen 400, the customer manages the registered products separately for purchase decision (decision box 402) and thinking (candidate box 401). Movement between both BOXes is possible by dragging and dropping an icon.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a My Catalog screen in which purchase of some products is determined. In the My Catalog screen 400 of FIG. 13, the customer who has decided to purchase shoes moves the shoe icon of the candidate BOX 401 to the decision BOX 402 by drag and drop. At this time, the my catalog screen 400 is as shown in FIG. The total amount of commodities determined to be purchased is displayed in the lower part of the determination BOX 402.

  In addition, on the My Catalog screen 400, you can enter your favorite points of the registered product with a comment, “This product and this product are lost in color” (being lost), “This product and this product If you want to use a product as a set (combination), you can group the products on the My Catalog screen 400. Such an editing operation of the My Catalog is performed on the My Catalog screen 400 by selecting a click menu, inputting directly, pressing a button, or the like. The contents of the edited my catalog are notified to the sales support server 30 in real time and managed by the sales support server 30.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a My Catalog screen in which some products are grouped. When the customer presses the confusing button 405 on the My Catalog screen 400 in FIG. 14 and selects two different color coat icons of the candidate BOX 401, two colors are displayed on the My Catalog screen 400 as shown in FIG. Different coats are grouped. When a color is selected from the menu, a message indicating that the user is at a loss due to a different color is displayed. The combinations can also be grouped by pressing the combination button 406 in the same manner. In the my catalog screen 400 of FIG. 15, a comment is input to the shoe icon of the decision box 402.

  If the customer has selected to publish my catalog, the customer may receive customer service while walking in the store while registering products in my catalog (step S14). It is also possible to positively request customer service from the store clerk calling button 404.

  When all the products to be purchased are determined, the customer presses the accounting button 410 and performs accounting (step S15). The account may be paid by card or cash at the exit. Finally, the customer collects the actually purchased products at the exit of the store (step S16) and leaves the store.

  This concludes the explanation of customer behavior in stores using the sales support system. For example, when the recommended information button 407 is pressed by a customer, recommended information for the customer may be displayed. When the shopping browsing button 408 is pressed by the customer, a list of products registered so far may be displayed. When the product search button 409 is pressed by the customer, a product search by a keyword, a category, or the like may be performed, and a guidance map to the sales floor of the searched product may be displayed.

  In this way, by enhancing the functions of the customer terminal 10, it is possible to provide support for a comfortable shopping even for customers who do not want to receive customer clerk or who cannot receive sufficient clerk support due to congestion in the store. Can receive.

  By providing a means to save the customer-created My Catalog, the customer can refer to the history of the My Catalog created by himself / herself from a dedicated Web page even outside the store, and online shopping can be performed from there. It may be. In addition, after-sales service such as e-mail from the store to the customer when a product that was once selected but not purchased becomes a sale, or when a related product or recommended product is newly received. Is possible.

  Next, the clerk behavior will be described. Similarly to the customer terminal 10, the salesclerk terminal 20 notifies the sales support server 30 of its own location in the store in real time while moving. The position notification means may be anything as long as it can notify the sales support server 30 of its position, for example, using RFID.

  FIG. 16 is a behavior flowchart of the store clerk. The clerk holds the clerk terminal 20 at the time of work, and performs user authentication using a login ID and a password (step S20). The clerk terminal 20 transmits the login ID and password input by the clerk to the sales support server 30 to cause the sales support server 30 to perform user authentication. At this time, instead of allowing the clerk to input the login ID and password, the employee ID card in which the clerk's login ID is recorded in advance is inserted into the clerk terminal 20, and the login ID is input from the employee ID card inserted into the clerk terminal 20. It may be obtained or biometric authentication such as fingerprint authentication may be used instead of a password. If the user authentication is successful, the clerk area map screen is displayed on the clerk terminal 20.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a clerk area map screen. On the clerk area map screen 500, the position of the customer and the position of the clerk in the sales floor within the range of customer service from the current position of the clerk are displayed as icons. The clerk area map is distributed from the sales support server 30 in real time.

  In the clerk area map screen 500, the customer icons (circles in the figure) are color-coded so that the customer service timing can be seen at a glance. In the clerk area map screen 500 shown in FIG. 17, for example, a customer with good customer service timing is indicated by a “red” icon, and a customer with poor customer service timing is indicated by a “blue” icon. Customers who have not opened their catalog are indicated by the “ash” icon, and basically don't need customer service. A customer who is ready to serve immediately, such as pressing the clerk call button 404 on the customer terminal 10, may blink the icon. In addition, as shown in the clerk area map screen 500 of FIG. 17, the priority of customer service may be numbered (the number in the customer icon in the figure). Further, if a balloon is displayed from the icon and the main state of the customer, which is a criterion for determining timing and priority order, is displayed there, the store clerk can make a more optimal customer service determination.

  The timing of customer service and the priority of customer service are automatically determined according to the rules determined in advance by the store. The store side sets conditions in advance in the customer service priority rule table 340 and the customer service timing rule table 341. The sales support server 30 checks the tables such as the terminal usage status table 334 and the shopping table 335 for each customer, so that each condition set in the customer service priority rule table 340 and the customer service timing rule table 341 is satisfied. To determine customer service timing and customer service priority.

  Conditions that can be set include, for example, conditions related to the status of the customer's My Catalog, such as being confused about the selection of purchased products, the total price of the products that have been decided to be purchased, There are conditions relating to the usage status of the customer terminal 10 such as pressing a button, conditions relating to the customer profile such as high past customer service effects, and previous customer service. In addition, even if the customer has not entered the information “being lost” in My Catalog, it can be determined that something has been lost if the user walks around the same store for a long time. The condition may be set so as to increase the priority of existing customers. Such silent behavior of customers can be an important criterion.

  The store clerk browses the detailed information of the customer (step S21). The store clerk selects one customer who seems to need customer service in consideration of the color of the customer icon on the store clerk area map, the content of balloons, the priority order, and the like, and clicks the customer icon. The screen of the clerk terminal 20 transitions from the clerk area map screen 500 to a customer-specific page screen on which the detailed information of the selected customer is presented.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a customer-dedicated page screen (catalog). When the catalog tag 603 is selected on the customer-specific page screen 600, the store clerk can see the contents of the customer's My Catalog. By browsing the customer's My Catalog, the store clerk can know the detailed needs of the customer in real time. Similar to the customer's My Catalog screen 400, product information can also be confirmed by clicking a product on this screen. In addition, although there is no stock of this size in the main store, it is possible to check inventory information such as arrival tomorrow because it is in another store.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a customer-specific page screen (recommended). When the recommended tag 604 is selected on the customer-specific page screen 600, useful points such as recommended points that serve as sales talks for products registered by the customer in the My Catalog and recommended products that are different from registered products are presented. The The sales support server 30 performs real-time processing according to rules predetermined on the store side based on information on products registered in the current My Catalog, customer profile information, and past shopping history (purchased products, favorite points, etc.). Sales talks and recommended products are selected.

  Here, instead of extracting sales talks and recommended products according to rules determined in advance by the store, a lot of actual cases are accumulated and general recommendation methods such as content-based filtering and collaborative filtering (reference: http://www.ai-gakkai.or.jp/jsai/whatsai/AItopics2.html) may be used to extract sales talks and recommended products. For example, for example, the customer profile table 331, the shopping status table 332, and the merchandise are calculated by calculating various statistical information such as average shopping time and usage amount at an appropriate timing, for example, when the customer has finished accounting and finished shopping. This is done by writing and accumulating data in the information table 342, the review information table 343, the action history table 344, and the like.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a customer-dedicated page screen (profile). When the profile tag 605 is selected on the customer-specific page screen 600, the profile information of the customer is displayed on the screen. The customer profile information displayed on the customer-specific page screen 600 is, for example,
1) Contents at the time of prior customer registration, such as age, occupation, birthday, etc.
2) Customer preference information obtained from the history of customer service and shopping so far, such as favorite colors and brands,
3) Statistical information calculated from past customer shopping behavior, such as annual / monthly purchase amount, average shopping time, customer service effect,
It is information such as. These pieces of information are mainly recorded in the customer profile table 331 and the shopping status table 332 stored in the customer DB 321 of the sales support server 30.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a customer-dedicated page screen (purchasing / customer service history). When the purchase / customer service history tag 606 is selected on the customer-specific page screen 600, a purchase history of a product or the like previously purchased by the customer and a customer service history such as who has previously served the customer are displayed on the screen. By referring to this screen, the store clerk can give advice in consideration of the balance with the products that the customer already has, for example, when giving advice to customers who are lost between products. In addition, on this screen, it is possible to refer to history for each shopping, refer to history for each product category, and search by keyword (for example, “court”). It is also possible to detect products that have been picked up in the past but have not yet been purchased from the history of the customer's progress behavior, etc., and display them to the store clerk for another push.

  Thus, the customer-specific page screen 600 can be switched by clicking a tab. In addition, on the customer-dedicated page screen 600, when the return to map button 601 is pressed, the clerk area map screen 500 can be returned.

  The store clerk confirms necessary information in advance on the customer-specific page screen 600 for the customer who is going to serve the customer, and then contacts the customer (step S22). At this time, the clerk terminal 20 may be used during customer service, such as confirming detailed information inquired by the customer, or displaying moving image content for customer service. After the customer service, the store clerk records information about the customer service just performed (step S23).

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a customer service information transmission screen. When the customer service end button 602 is pressed on the customer dedicated page screen 600, a customer service information transmission screen 700 is displayed. On this customer service information transmission screen 700, the store clerk is broadcasted on TV today, with sales talks with good customer response, new customer information obtained during customer service (customer preferences, etc.), and new information about products (comments such as comfort). Customer / entertainer possession / trends around, etc.), customer service information such as customer questionnaires prepared by the store is easily recorded by item check and direct input. By pressing the send button 701, the customer service information is transmitted to the sales support server 30, and one customer service process is completed.

  In the sales support server 30, the recorded customer service information is totaled in real time, and thereafter immediately reflected in related information (customer status and recommended information) displayed on the clerk terminal 20. Unlike conventional batch processing, information can be immediately shared among all store clerk and used for the next customer service.

  Location information and information on My Catalog being edited may be managed individually at the store server, but customer shopping history and statistical information that can also be used for marketing are managed at the headquarters server. . As a result, the store clerk can handle any store where the customer goes, and the know-how among the store clerk can be shared at all store levels. Also, in response to trends such as “broadcast on TV yesterday,” the head office can respond quickly by changing sales strategies in the morning and afternoon.

  Next, each process in the customer terminal 10, the salesclerk terminal 20, and the sales support server 30 of the present embodiment will be described. First, processing in the customer terminal 10 will be described.

  FIG. 23 is a user authentication processing flowchart by the customer terminal. In the customer terminal 10, when the action input unit 102 acquires user authentication information such as a login ID and a password (step S100), the network function unit 101 transmits the acquired user authentication information to the sales support server 30 (step S101). ). When the network function unit 101 receives the authentication result from the sales support server 30 (step S102), the screen display unit 103 displays the received authentication result on the screen (step S103). If the authentication is successful (step S104), the process is terminated, and if the authentication fails (step S104), the process returns to step S100 to acquire the user authentication information again.

  The user authentication information may be acquired by customer input or may be acquired from a customer card inserted into the customer terminal 10. As for the display of the authentication result in step S103 on the customer terminal 10, the My Catalog screen 400 is displayed when the authentication is successful, and a screen prompting re-input of the user authentication information is displayed when the authentication is unsuccessful.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart of position notification processing by the customer terminal. Here, an example in which the customer terminal 10 periodically acquires position information and transmits the acquired position information to the sales support server 30 will be described. In addition, when the store side detects the position of the customer terminal 10 from information transmitted by the position transmission unit 104 of the customer terminal 10 when passing through a specific place, for example, when using an RFID tag, the customer terminal 10 Does not need to perform position notification processing.

  When the customer terminal 10 acquires the position information of the current position in the store (step S110), the network function unit 101 uses the acquired position information as the customer number. At the same time, it is transmitted to the sales support server 30 as position authentication information (step S111).

  FIG. 25 is an action process flowchart of the customer terminal. In the customer terminal 10, when the action input unit 102 acquires some action (step S120), if the acquired action is “end” (step S121), the network function unit 101 sends an end signal to the sales support server 30. The message is transmitted (step S122), and the customer terminal 10 turns off the power (step S123).

  If the acquired action is not “end” (step S121), the network function unit 101 transmits the acquired action content to the sales support server 30 (step S124). When the network function unit 101 receives screen information from the sales support server 30 (step S125), the screen display unit 103 displays the received screen (step S126).

Examples of actions performed by the action process at the customer terminal 10 include the following.
・ Product registration / Reference of registered product information (product information, word-of-mouth information, etc.)
・ Edit my catalog (switch purchase decision / candidate / deletion of each product, “I am at a loss with these two”, “I am at a loss with color”, “I like favorite points”, etc.)
・ Switching between opening and closing of my catalog ・ Display of recommended information ・ Display of shopping history ・ Product search ・ Accounting (end)
When processing such as the above-described action, user authentication, and position notification is performed in the customer terminal 10, the sales support server 30 records the log in the action history table 344 of the action history DB 328.

  Next, processing in the clerk terminal 20 will be described. Since the user authentication process, the position notification process, and the action process in the clerk terminal 20 are almost the same as those in the customer terminal 10, detailed description is omitted. 23 to 25, the network function unit 101 is the network function unit 201, the action input unit 102 is the action input unit 202, the screen display unit 103 is the screen display unit 203, and the position transmission unit 104 is the position. What is necessary is just to consider replacing with the transmission part 204.

  In the user authentication processing flowchart of FIG. 23, the display of the authentication result in step S103 on the clerk terminal 20 displays the clerk area map screen 500 if the authentication is successful, and prompts the user authentication information to be re-input if the authentication fails. A screen is displayed.

Examples of actions that are performed by action processing at the clerk terminal 20 include the following.
・ Customer selection (viewing specific customer information: select the customer icon on the clerk's area map)
・ Browsing of customer information (returns to general map without customer service)
・ End of customer service ・ View detailed product information ・ Display recommended information ・ Display / search customer shopping history ・ Search products ・ Send customer service information At the clerk terminal 20, the above actions, user authentication, location notification, etc. When done, the sales support server 30 records the log in the action history table 344 of the action history DB 328.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart of standby processing by the store clerk terminal. In the clerk terminal 20, when the network function unit 201 receives the screen information of the clerk area map screen 500 from the sales support server 30 (step S130), the screen display unit 203 displays the received clerk area map screen 500 (step S131). Even if the store clerk does not take any action, the store map at that time (the store clerk area map of the store clerk) is automatically displayed on the store clerk terminal 20.

  Next, processing in the sales support server 30 will be described.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart of user authentication processing by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, the network function unit 301 receives user authentication information such as a login ID and a password from the customer terminal 10 or the clerk terminal 20 (step S140). The user authentication unit 302 performs user authentication by collating the received user authentication information with the customer profile table 331 of the customer DB 321 or the clerk profile table 333 of the clerk DB 322 (step S141).

  If authentication has failed (step S142), the screen creation unit 304 creates an authentication failure screen (user authentication information re-input request screen) (step S143), and the network function unit 301 creates the created authentication failure. The screen information of the screen is transmitted to the corresponding customer terminal 10 or salesclerk terminal 20 (step S144).

  If the authentication is successful (step S142), the dedicated page information creation unit 303 creates a customer my catalog or a clerk my catalog (step S145). Here, the creation of the customer my catalog is to create the terminal usage status table 334 and the shopping table 335 of the authenticated customer temporarily in the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 (for example, only during the shopping). Say. Also, the creation of the clerk My Catalog means that the authenticated clerk's in-area customer table 337 is temporarily created in the clerk My Catalog table storage unit 324 (for example, only during the working day).

  The screen creation unit 304 creates a screen based on the contents of the created customer My Catalog (terminal usage status table 334 of the customer, shopping table 335) or salesclerk My Catalog (customer table 337 in the salesclerk's responsible area). Then (step S146), the network function unit 301 transmits the created screen information to the corresponding customer terminal 10 or salesclerk terminal 20 (step S147). Here, the screen created in step S146 is the My Catalog screen 400 when the user authentication is customer authentication, and the salesclerk area map screen 500 when the user authentication is salesclerk authentication.

  FIG. 28 is a flowchart of position authentication processing by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, when the network function unit 301 receives the location authentication information (customer No. or store clerk No. and location information) from the customer terminal 10 or the store clerk terminal 20 (step S150), the location authentication unit 305 receives the location authentication information. The location authentication information is registered in the overall map table 338 of the overall map DB 325 (step S151).

  FIG. 29 is a flowchart of product registration processing by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, the network function unit 301 receives a product number from the customer terminal 10. When receiving the product registration information such as (step S160), the search unit 308 searches the product information table 342 of the product DB 327 (step S161), and acquires the information of the corresponding product.

  The dedicated page information creation unit 303 updates the terminal usage status table 334 and the shopping table 335 of the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 based on the search result (step S162). Here, for example, the total amount of registered products in the terminal usage status table 334 is rewritten, or a record of registered products is added to the shopping table 335.

  The screen creation unit 304 creates a my catalog screen 400 based on each table in the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 in a state where a new product is added (step S163), and the network function unit 301 creates the created my catalog screen 400. The screen information of the catalog screen 400 is transmitted to the corresponding customer terminal 10 (step S164).

  When the customer terminal 10 reads the tag of the product with the attached product registration device (RFID reader, barcode reader, camera, etc.), the image of the product is displayed in the default area (this embodiment) In the form, it is added to the candidate BOX 401). In this way, there is no need to have a special screen for product registration, just by adding an image of the product registered in the My Catalog screen 400. Also, when a product tag is read, a confirmation screen such as “Are you sure you want to use this product?” May be displayed.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart of my catalog editing processing by the sales support server. This process is performed when adding a detailed need such as registration of “being lost” from a customer or when requesting a status change such as public / private.

  In the sales support server 30, when the network function unit 301 receives update information such as addition or change from the customer terminal 10 (step S170), the dedicated page information creation unit 303 displays the terminal usage status table in the customer my catalog table storage unit 323. 334, the shopping table 335 is updated (step S171). Here, for example, the item of the disclosure flag in the terminal usage status table 334 is rewritten (set to “1” for disclosure and set to “0” for disclosure), or the purchase item in the shopping table 335. (Item of whether the product is registered in candidate BOX 401 or decision BOX 402), state item is rewritten.

  The screen creation unit 304 creates a my catalog screen 400 based on each table in the updated customer my catalog table storage unit 323 (step S172), and the network function unit 301 creates the created my catalog screen 400. Is transmitted to the corresponding customer terminal 10 (step S173).

  FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the entire map and the clerk area map. Based on the current position of the store clerk in the store, a map obtained by cutting out the customer service range of the store clerk from the overall map 800 is referred to as a store clerk area map 801. The customer service priority order and customer service timing are combined with this, and displayed on each salesclerk terminal 20 as a salesclerk area map screen 500. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the store clerk area map is created periodically. In addition, it may be created temporarily when a special event occurs, such as when a customer calls a store clerk.

  FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a salesclerk area map creation process by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, the position / person map creation unit 306 extracts customer information (customer No., position information, etc.) within a certain range from the position of a specific store clerk from the overall map table 338 of the overall map DB 325. In step S180, the customer table 337 in the assigned area of the store clerk my catalog table storage unit 324 is updated with the extracted information (step S181).

  In step S181, if there is a customer record for which information has not been extracted from the entire map table 338 in the customer table 337 in the assigned area, it is deleted. In addition, for the customer from whom information is newly extracted, a new record is added to the customer table 337 in the assigned area.

  The customer service timing calculation unit 307 refers to each table according to the priority condition of the customer service priority rule table 340 of the rule DB 326, and sets the customer service priority for each customer in the customer table 337 in the assigned area (prioritization processing: step) S182). Further, the customer service timing calculation unit 307 refers to each table according to the conditions of the customer service timing rule table 341 of the rule DB 326, and sets customer service timing for each customer in the customer table 337 in the assigned area (timing process: step S183). .

  Information obtained at the time of searching each table in steps S182 and S183 is recorded in the item of status in the customer table 337 in the area in charge. For example, if the shopping table 335 has “being lost”, the information is recorded, and if the average customer service effect in the shopping situation table 332 is low, “customer service effect: low” is recorded. The information recorded in the status item of the customer table in the responsible area 337 is displayed in the balloon of the clerk area map screen 500.

  The screen creation unit 304 creates the clerk area map screen 500 based on the customer table 337 in the assigned area of the clerk my catalog table storage unit 324 (step S184). The network function unit 301 transmits the screen information of the created clerk area map screen 500 to the corresponding clerk terminal 20 (step S185).

  FIG. 33 is a flowchart of prioritization processing by the sales support server. The order of priority of service is set in the service priority rule table 340 of the rule DB 326 in accordance with the store strategy.

  In the sales support server 30, the customer service timing calculation unit 307 confirms the disclosure flag of the terminal usage status table 334 for the customers recorded in the customer table 337 in the assigned area of the store clerk my catalog table storage unit 324, and does not disclose my catalog. "-1" is set as the priority for the customer (step S190). Here, the priority “−1” indicates that the customer service is unnecessary. Note that if there is no other customer to whom priority is already assigned when step S190 is completed, the customer service area in-area table 337 may be updated by expanding the range of the customer service area.

  The service timing calculation unit 307 extracts priority conditions from the service priority rule table 340 of the rule DB 326 (step S191). With reference to the table corresponding to the extracted priority condition (step S192), the customers recorded in the customer table in the area in charge 337 (except for the customer who has not opened my catalog) are sorted according to the extracted priority condition ( Step S193). In the order of the sorted customers, the priority is set in the priority item of the customer table 337 in the assigned area (step S194).

  For example, if the priority condition set in the customer service priority rule table 340 is “in order of the amount used last year,” the customers recorded in the customer table in the area in charge 337 (excluding customers who have not opened my catalog) , The items of last year's usage amount in the shopping status table 332 of the customer DB 321 are referred to, and the customers are sorted in descending order of last year's usage amount.

  For example, if the priority condition set in the customer service priority rule table 340 is “in order of the total amount of registered products currently registered in My Catalog”, the customer (My With regard to items other than customers whose catalogs are not disclosed), the customers are sorted in descending order of the total registered merchandise by referring to the item of total registered merchandise in the terminal usage status table 334 of the customer my catalog table storage unit 323.

  In addition, a plurality of priority conditions may be set simultaneously, such as “priority is given to the customer who is calling the store clerk, and priority is given in descending order of the amount used last year”. At this time, for example, in the customer service priority rule table 340, the priority rule No. If the priority of the young priority condition is high, the priority rule No. A priority condition “priority is given to the customer who is calling the clerk” is set to “1”, and the priority rule No. “2” should be set with a priority condition of “in order of highest usage in last year”.

  FIG. 34 is a flowchart of timing processing by the sales support server. The timing process for customer service is performed in parallel with the prioritization process. It is set according to the strategy on the store side what kind of state of the customer is the timing of customer service. In the present embodiment, the customer service timing is expressed by the color of the customer icon on the clerk area map screen 500. For example, a customer with good customer service timing such as “calling clerk” or “being lost” is set to “red”, and a customer who does not need customer service is basically For example, “ash” is set for other customers, and “blue” is set for the other customers who have poor customer service timing.

  In the sales support server 30, the customer service timing calculation unit 307 acquires each condition from the customer service timing rule table 341 of the rule DB 326 (step S200). A table corresponding to each acquired condition is referred to (step S201), and the satisfied condition is confirmed for each customer recorded in the customer table 337 within the assigned area (step S202). For each customer, a color corresponding to the satisfied condition is acquired from the customer service timing rule table 341 (step S203), and the acquired color is set as a timing item in the customer table 337 in the assigned area (step S204).

  In step S201, for example, if the acquired condition is “calling clerk” or “My catalog is private”, the disclosure flag of the terminal usage status table 334 of the customer My Catalog table storage unit 323, the clerk call Refer to the flag item. If the acquired condition is “being lost”, the item of the state of the shopping table 335 in the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 may be referred to.

  FIG. 35 is a flowchart of information inquiry processing by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, when the network function unit 301 receives a request for information inquiry from the customer terminal 10 or the clerk terminal 20 (step S210), the search unit 308 searches the information for which the information inquiry request has been received from the corresponding table. (Step S211). The screen creation unit 304 creates a screen based on the inquiry result (step S212), and the network function unit 301 transmits the screen information of the created screen to the corresponding customer terminal 10 or salesclerk terminal 20 (step S213). ).

  Here, the table to be searched in step S213 is, for example, the action history table 344 of the action history DB 328 in the case of history inquiry, and the product information table 342 of the product DB 327 in the case of product information inquiry. In the case of customer profile inquiry, the customer profile table 331 of the customer DB 321 is used. In the case of customer selection by a store clerk, the shopping table 335 of the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 is used.

  FIG. 36 is a flowchart of recommended information generation processing by the sales support server. In the sales support server 30, when the network function unit 301 receives a recommendation information request from the customer terminal 10 or the clerk terminal 20 (step S220), the product recommendation unit 309 extracts recommended products (step S221), and the sales talk recommendation unit. 310 extracts the sales talk by referring to the past accumulated information, the total information, the word-of-mouth information table 343 of the product DB 327, etc. for the extracted recommended product and the registered product of the corresponding customer's My Catalog (step S222). The screen creation unit 304 creates a screen using the extracted recommended product and sales talk as recommended information (step S223). The network function unit 301 transmits the screen information of the created screen to the corresponding customer terminal 10 or the clerk terminal 20 (step S224).

  Here, there are various methods for extracting recommended products. Hereinafter, an example of a method for extracting three types of recommended products will be described.

  FIG. 37 is a rule-based recommended product extraction process flowchart by the sales support server. This method is based on pre-determined recommendation rules such as “Recommend lipsticks for new products for women in their 20s” and “Recommend clogs for those who bought yukata”. This is a method for extracting recommended products. The predetermined recommendation rules may be stored in the rule DB 326 in a table form, for example.

  In the sales support server 30, the product recommendation unit 309 acquires a recommendation rule predetermined on the store side (step S230), and refers to a corresponding table for each acquired recommendation rule (step S231). For example, referring to the customer profile table 331 of the customer DB 321 for the recommendation rule “Recommend a lipstick of a new product for women in their 20s”, the recommendation rule “Recommend clogs to those who bought yukata” Refers to the shopping table 335 of the customer my catalog table storage unit 323.

  If the conditions of the recommendation rule (“woman in 20s”, “person who bought a yukata”, etc.) are satisfied (step S232), the product recommended by the recommendation rule is set as the recommended product (step S233). Here, if the product recommended by the recommendation rule is abstractly expressed as “new product lipstick”, for example, the corresponding product is searched from the product information table 342 of the product DB 327 to recommend the product. You may recommend as If the customer has already purchased a product recommended by the recommendation rule with reference to the customer's past shopping history, it is not recommended as a recommended product.

  FIG. 38 is a flowchart of content-based recommended product extraction processing by the sales support server. This method is a method for recommending a product having characteristics similar to those of the product registered in the customer's My Catalog. For example, for customers who have registered many products for women young career groups, products that have not yet been registered for women young career groups are recommended.

  In the sales support server 30, the product recommendation unit 309 extracts the product registered in the customer's My Catalog from the shopping table 335 of the customer My Catalog table storage unit 323 (Step S240), and the product information of the extracted product is the product. Obtained from the product information table 342 of the DB 327 (step S241). The similarity between the acquired product information and the product information of other products in the product information table 342 of the product DB 327 is calculated (step S242), and the product with the highest similarity is set as the recommended product (step S243). If the customer's past shopping history is referred to and it is found that the customer has already purchased the product with the highest similarity, the product with the next highest similarity is set as the recommended product.

  FIG. 39 is a flowchart of recommended product extraction processing for collaborative filtering by the sales support server. This method is a method of calculating the similarity of registered products in the My Catalog between customers and recommending products registered or purchased by those who have registered similar products in the My Catalog.

  In the sales support server 30, the product recommendation unit 309 extracts the registered product of the customer's My Catalog from the shopping table 335 of the customer My Catalog table storage unit 323 (Step S250), The similarity is calculated (step S251). A registered product (or purchased product) of another customer with the highest similarity is set as a recommended product (step S252). In addition, referring to the customer's past shopping history, if the customer has already purchased a registered product of the other customer with the highest degree of similarity, the registered product of the other customer with the next highest degree of similarity is recommended. Let it be a product.

  As described above, in the explanation of the extraction method of the three types of recommended products, the extraction of the recommended products has been described mainly on the registered products in the customer's My Catalog. For example, other items such as the customer's past shopping history and the action history table 344 are described. Recommended products may be extracted based on information.

  FIG. 40 is a flowchart of the customer service information addition process by the sales support server. The customer service information is transmitted from the clerk terminal 20 at the end of the customer service. In the sales support server 30, when the network function unit 301 receives customer service information from the clerk terminal 20 (step S260), the customer service information totaling unit 311 uses the terminal usage status of the customer my catalog table storage unit 323 according to the received customer service information. The table 334 and the word-of-mouth information table 343 of the product DB 327 are updated (step S261). For the terminal usage status table 334, the service completion flag is set to “1”. Further, for the word-of-mouth information table 343, a new word-of-mouth information record obtained from the customer is added.

  Each processing according to the embodiment described above can be realized by a computer and a software program, and the program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or provided through a network.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in this embodiment, the sales support server 30 creates a screen to be displayed on the customer terminal 10 and the clerk terminal 20, but the sales support server 30 provides information necessary for screen creation to the customer terminal 10 and the clerk terminal 20 And a screen to be displayed on the customer terminal 10 and the clerk terminal 20 may be created. As the customer terminal 10, a small information device such as a PDA or a mobile phone can be used. It is also possible to use these together with a customer card such as an IC card or a magnetic card.

The features of the present embodiment are listed as follows.
(Appendix 1)
A sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal,
The customer terminal is
Means for inputting product information that the customer has decided to purchase or information about the purchase that includes the product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for displaying the input shopping progress information on a display device;
Means for transmitting the progress information of the input shopping to the sales support device,
The sales support device includes:
Means for receiving shopping progress information transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
Means for transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The clerk terminal is
Means for receiving shopping progress information for each customer transmitted by the sales support device;
A sales support system comprising: means for displaying received shopping progress information for each customer on a display device.
(Appendix 2)
In the sales support system described in Appendix 1,
Furthermore, the sales support device includes:
Means for detecting position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
Means for transmitting the location information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The clerk terminal is
Means for receiving location information of each customer terminal transmitted by the sales support device;
A sales support system comprising: means for mapping the received location information of each customer terminal and displaying the map on a display device.
(Appendix 3)
In the sales support system described in appendix 1 or appendix 2,
Furthermore, the customer terminal
Means for inputting instruction information as to whether or not to disclose the shopping progress information to a store clerk;
Means for transmitting the input instruction information to the sales support device,
The sales support device includes:
Means for receiving instruction information transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing received instruction information in a storage device;
A sales support system, comprising: means for transmitting, to the store clerk terminal, shopping progress information of the customer terminal only when the instruction information instructs to publish.
(Appendix 4)
In the sales support system described in appendix 1, appendix 2 or appendix 3,
Furthermore, the customer terminal
Means for inputting product description information or review information request information included in the shopping progress information;
Means for transmitting the input request information to the sales support device;
Means for displaying the description information or the word-of-mouth information of the product received from the sales support device on a display device,
The sales support device includes:
Product information storage means storing explanatory information or word-of-mouth information about each product;
Means for receiving request information transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the product specified in the received request information from the product information storage means;
A sales support system comprising: means for transmitting the read description information or word-of-mouth information of the product to the customer terminal.
(Appendix 5)
In the sales support system according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 4,
Means for displaying the progress information of shopping at the customer terminal,
A sales support system that displays product information that has been decided to be purchased and product information that has been selected as a purchase candidate in different display frames on the display screen, and displays each product information as an icon.
(Appendix 6)
In the sales support system according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 5,
Furthermore, the sales support device includes:
Customer information storage means for storing each customer's profile information or past purchase or customer service history information;
Product information storage means for storing product information recommended to customers;
Means for receiving a request for customer information or recommended product information from the clerk terminal;
Means for reading customer information or recommended product information requested from the clerk terminal from the customer information storage means or the product information storage means, and transmitting the information to the clerk terminal;
The clerk terminal is
Means for transmitting a request for customer information or recommended product information of a specific customer in the store to the sales support device;
A sales support system comprising: means for displaying customer information or recommended product information received from the sales support device on a display device.
(Appendix 7)
A sales support device in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal,
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, shopping progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
A sales support device, comprising: means for transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal.
(Appendix 8)
In the sales support device according to appendix 7,
Furthermore, means for detecting the position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
A sales support apparatus comprising: means for transmitting position information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal.
(Appendix 9)
In the sales support device according to appendix 7 or appendix 8,
And means for receiving from the customer terminal instruction information as to whether or not to disclose the shopping progress information to a store clerk,
Means for storing received instruction information in a storage device;
A sales support apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to the store clerk terminal, shopping progress information of the customer terminal only when the instruction information instructs to publish.
(Appendix 10)
In the sales support device according to appendix 7, appendix 8 or appendix 9,
Product information storage means storing explanatory information or word-of-mouth information about each product;
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, request information for product description information or word-of-mouth information included in the shopping progress information;
Means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the product specified in the received request information from the product information storage means;
A sales support apparatus comprising: means for transmitting the read product description information or word-of-mouth information to the customer terminal.
(Appendix 11)
In the sales support device according to any one of appendix 7 to appendix 10,
Customer information storage means for storing each customer's profile information or past purchase or customer service history information;
Product information storage means for storing product information recommended to customers;
Means for receiving a request for customer information or recommended product information from the clerk terminal;
A sales support apparatus comprising: means for reading customer information or recommended product information requested from the store clerk terminal from the customer information storage unit or the product information storage unit, and transmitting the information to the store clerk terminal.
(Appendix 12)
A sales support method in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a clerk terminal possessed by a clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the clerk terminal,
The customer terminal inputs product progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
The customer terminal displaying the input shopping progress information on a display device;
The customer terminal sending the input shopping progress information to the sales support device;
The sales support device receiving shopping progress information transmitted by the customer terminal;
The sales support device storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
The sales support device transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The store clerk terminal receiving the shopping progress information for each customer transmitted by the sales support device;
The sales assistant method includes the step of displaying the received shopping progress information for each customer on a display device.
(Appendix 13)
A computer for executing a sales support device in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal. A sales support program,
Said computer,
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, shopping progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
As means for transmitting the shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.
(Appendix 14)
In the sales support program described in Appendix 13,
Further, the computer
Means for detecting position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
As means for transmitting the location information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.
(Appendix 15)
In the sales support program described in appendix 13 or appendix 14,
Further, the computer
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, instruction information as to whether or not to disclose the shopping progress information to a store clerk;
Means for storing received instruction information in a storage device;
Only when the instruction information instructs to publish, as means for transmitting the shopping progress information of the customer terminal to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.
(Appendix 16)
In the sales support program described in appendix 13, appendix 14 or appendix 15,
Further, the computer
Product information storage means storing explanatory information or word-of-mouth information about each product;
Means for receiving from the customer terminal request information for product description information or word-of-mouth information included in the shopping progress information;
Means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the product specified in the received request information from the product information storage means;
As means for transmitting the read product description information or word-of-mouth information to the customer terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.
(Appendix 17)
In the sales support program according to any one of appendix 13 to appendix 16,
Further, the computer
Customer information storage means for storing each customer's profile information or past purchase or customer service history information;
Product information storage means for storing product information recommended to customers;
Means for receiving a request for customer information or recommended product information from the clerk terminal;
As means for reading customer information or recommended product information requested from the clerk terminal from the customer information storage means or the product information storage means, and transmitting it to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.

It is a figure which shows the utilization image of the sales assistance system of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the sales assistance system by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of each DB / storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by customer DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by salesclerk DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by the customer my catalog table memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by the salesclerk my catalog table memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by whole map DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by rule DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by goods DB. It is a figure which shows the example of the table managed by action history DB. It is a customer's action flowchart. It is a figure which shows the example of the my catalog screen in which goods were registered. It is a figure which shows the example of my catalog screen by which some goods were decided to purchase. It is a figure which shows the example of my catalog screen on which some goods were grouped. It is a behavior flowchart of a salesclerk. It is a figure which shows the example of a salesclerk area map screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a customer exclusive page screen (catalog). It is a figure which shows the example of a customer exclusive page screen (recommendation). It is a figure which shows the example of a customer exclusive page screen (profile). It is a figure which shows the example of a customer exclusive page screen (purchasing / customer service history). It is a figure which shows the example of a customer service information transmission screen. It is a user authentication processing flowchart by a customer terminal. It is a position notification process flowchart by a customer terminal. It is an action processing flowchart by a customer terminal. It is a waiting process flowchart by a salesclerk terminal. It is a user authentication processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is a position authentication processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is a product registration processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is a my catalog edit process flowchart by a sales support server. It is a figure explaining the relationship between a whole map and a salesclerk area map. It is a salesclerk area map creation processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is a prioritization process flowchart by a sales support server. It is a timing processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is an information inquiry processing flowchart by a sales support server. It is a recommendation information generation process flowchart by a sales support server. It is a rule-based recommended product extraction process flowchart by a sales support server. It is a content-based recommended product extraction process flowchart by a sales support server. It is a recommendation merchandise extraction processing flowchart of collaborative filtering by a sales support server. It is a customer service information addition process flowchart by a sales support server.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Customer terminal 101 Network function part 102 Action input part 103 Screen display part 104 Position transmission part 105 Product registration part 20 Salesclerk terminal 201 Network function part 202 Action input part 203 Screen display part 204 Position transmission part 30 Sales support server 301 Network function part 302 User authentication unit 303 Dedicated page information creation unit 304 Screen creation unit 305 Location authentication unit 306 Location / person map creation unit 307 Customer service timing calculation unit 308 Search unit 309 Product recommendation unit 310 Sales talk recommendation unit 311 Customer service information totaling unit 321 Customer DB
322 Clerk DB
323 Customer My Catalog Table Storage Unit 324 Clerk My Catalog Table Storage Unit 325 Overall Map DB
326 Rule DB
327 Product DB
328 Action history DB
331 Customer profile table 332 Shopping status table 333 Clerk profile table 334 Terminal usage status table 335 Shopping table 337 Customer table in charge area 338 Overall map table 340 Customer service priority rule table 341 Customer service timing rule table 342 Product information table 343 Review information table 344 Action history table

Claims (10)

A sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal,
The customer terminal is
Means for inputting product information that the customer has decided to purchase or information about the purchase that includes the product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for displaying the input shopping progress information on a display device;
Means for transmitting the progress information of the input shopping to the sales support device,
The sales support device includes:
Means for receiving shopping progress information transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
Means for transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The clerk terminal is
Means for receiving shopping progress information for each customer transmitted by the sales support device;
A sales support system comprising: means for displaying received shopping progress information for each customer on a display device. The sales support system according to claim 1,
Furthermore, the sales support device includes:
Means for detecting position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
Means for transmitting the location information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The clerk terminal is
Means for receiving location information of each customer terminal transmitted by the sales support device;
A sales support system comprising: means for mapping the received location information of each customer terminal and displaying the map on a display device. A sales support device in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal,
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, shopping progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
A sales support device, comprising: means for transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal. The sales support device according to claim 3,
Furthermore, means for detecting the position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
A sales support apparatus comprising: means for transmitting position information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal. A sales support method in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a clerk terminal possessed by a clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the clerk terminal,
The customer terminal inputs product progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
The customer terminal displaying the input shopping progress information on a display device;
The customer terminal sending the input shopping progress information to the sales support device;
The sales support device receiving shopping progress information transmitted by the customer terminal;
The sales support device storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
The sales support device transmitting shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal;
The store clerk terminal receiving the shopping progress information for each customer transmitted by the sales support device;
The sales assistant method includes the step of displaying the received shopping progress information for each customer on a display device. A computer for executing a sales support device in a sales support system comprising a customer terminal possessed by a customer, a store clerk terminal possessed by a store clerk, and a sales support device having a communication function with the customer terminal and the store clerk terminal. A sales support program,
Said computer,
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, shopping progress information including product information that the customer has decided to purchase or product information selected as a purchase candidate;
Means for storing the received shopping progress information for each customer in a storage device;
As means for transmitting the shopping progress information for each customer stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function. In the sales support program according to claim 6,
Further, the computer
Means for detecting position information of the customer terminal in the store by a notification from the customer terminal or a signal transmitted by the customer terminal;
Means for storing the detected location information of the customer terminal in a storage device;
As means for transmitting the location information of each customer terminal stored in the storage device to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function. In the sales support program according to claim 6 or claim 7,
Further, the computer
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, instruction information as to whether or not to disclose the shopping progress information to a store clerk;
Means for storing received instruction information in a storage device;
Only when the instruction information instructs to publish, as means for transmitting the shopping progress information of the customer terminal to the clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function. In the sales support program according to claim 6, claim 7 or claim 8,
Further, the computer
Product information storage means storing explanatory information or word-of-mouth information about each product;
Means for receiving, from the customer terminal, product description information or word-of-mouth information request information included in the shopping progress information;
Means for reading out the description information or word-of-mouth information of the product specified in the received request information from the product information storage means;
As means for transmitting the read product description information or word-of-mouth information to the customer terminal,
Sales support program to make it function. In the sales support program according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
Further, the computer
Customer information storage means for storing each customer's profile information or past purchase or customer service history information;
Product information storage means for storing product information recommended to customers;
Means for receiving a request for customer information or recommended product information from the clerk terminal;
As the means for reading customer information or recommended product information requested from the store clerk terminal from the customer information storage means or the product information storage means, and transmitting it to the store clerk terminal,
Sales support program to make it function.

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