JP2007334718A - Point trading service system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of reducing the increase of debt by points of a large-scale dealer and increasing purchases by point utilization in a middle-scale dealer by enabling a customer to effectively reutilize the points of a dealer for a different dealer even between different point systems wherein the value of the point is different and customer information is not shared. <P>SOLUTION: A point trading server unit 22 comprises a point trading conversion table 221a wherein a conversion rate when trading points for the respective dealers is set, and an item correspondence relation table 221b wherein the item correspondence relation of the customer information between the dealers is set. When trade is instructed, the number of points of a trade destination is calculated on the basis of the table 221a and the customer information is converted on the basis of the table 221b. The calculated number of the points of the trade destination and the customer information are sent to a trade destination dealer server unit and the trade is executed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for realizing a point service, and more particularly, to a system for providing a service for trading customer owned points to other points on a network.

  In the past, various distributors have adopted point services for the purpose of customer retention. This service issues points according to the customer's purchase amount, etc. in processing such as product purchase, and when it reaches a predetermined point, it is exchanged for cash vouchers or prizes, or when the customer next purchases the product. It is a service that discounts according to the accumulated points.

  By providing the point service as described above, there is an advantage that the customer can obtain various services by continuously using the same seller. On the other hand, the seller who issued the points has the advantage that the sales increase as the customer becomes a repeater and purchases the product continuously.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system of a merchant that generally provides point services. This system includes store systems such as a store A system 13, a store B system 14, and a store C system 15, and a dealer server device 12. Reference numeral 11 denotes a network for connecting the devices. Each store system 13-15 is provided with a POS terminal (13a etc.), respectively. The dealer server device 12 includes an online sales device 12a and a point management device 12b. The point management device 12b stores and manages customer registration information 12b-1 and customer-owned points 12b-2 for each customer. When a customer purchases a product at each store A to C or online sales, the purchase information is sent from each store system 13 to 15 or the online sales device 12a to the point management device 12b. The point management device 12b calculates points by multiplying the purchase price by a predetermined ratio and adds the points to the customer's possession points 12b-2. When a customer purchases a product using points, the used amount is subtracted from the possession points 12b-2.

In Patent Document 1 below, when a customer purchases a product at a certain store in a point-based shopping system in which a real store or a virtual shopping street on the Internet is a participating store, a certain percentage is multiplied to the payment price. A system is disclosed in which the requested points are given to the customer, and when the customer purchases a product at another store, the points can be applied as part of the payment price.
JP 2002-24667 A

  However, since the points to be issued are recorded as the liability of the seller, the debt due to the points accumulates year by year, which is one of the factors that puts pressure on management in large-scale sellers.

  In addition, medium-sized dealers can provide customers with point services by introducing advanced information systems, but they cannot provide customers with services that can use points effectively. The number of repeaters has not increased and the number of new customers has decreased, making it a wasteful system investment.

  According to the system described in Patent Document 1, points accumulated based on purchase results at a certain store can be used at other stores. However, the customer pays the actual payment price after adjusting the amount of points used to the person in charge of all stores, and the value of points is common to all stores. Therefore, the customer cannot exchange points between point systems of different stores with different point values. Moreover, since it is a system of the type in which the person in charge oversees the points of all stores, it is assumed that customer information is previously provided in common at all stores. Therefore, when a customer purchases a product at one store and tries to use it at another store, if the customer's customer information is not in the store system of the customer, the points can be exchanged. Can not.

  The purpose of the present invention is to enable a customer to effectively reuse a merchant's points with another merchant, even between separate point systems that differ in the value of the points and do not share customer information. The object is to provide a point trading service system that can reduce the increase in debt due to points of large-scale dealers and increase purchases by using points at medium-sized dealers.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, point trading is set in which point conversion is permitted / denied from a trader to a trader and a point conversion ratio is set. A conversion table, and an item correspondence table in which item correspondence between customer information of a trader's seller and customer information of a trader's seller is set, and is provided directly from the customer terminal device or from the trader's seller server device When a display request for a trade destination is issued via, first the trader who can trade based on the point trading conversion table and the number of points of the customer after the trade are obtained and sent to the customer terminal device. Display. Since the customer inputs the number of points to be traded with the trading destination seller who actually trades, by receiving this information, the number of points specified for trading is converted by the conversion rate of the point trading conversion table. Find the number of trading points. In addition, based on the item correspondence table, the customer information of the trade source seller is converted into the customer information of the trade destination seller. A point trade request including customer information of the trade destination dealer and the number of trade destination points is transmitted to the trade destination dealer server device, and the customer information and the point number are registered in the trade destination dealer server device. Further, an approval notification is transmitted to the trade source dealer server device, and the number of trade source points for which the trade was made is subtracted from the number of points owned by the customer of the trade source seller server device.

  In the point trading service system according to the present invention, the customer information related to the customer's personal information is not stored, and the customer's personal information stored in the trade source dealer server device is transferred to the trade destination seller server device. good. As a result, it is possible to trade points by ensuring security without managing customer's personal information in the system, and there is no need to improve processing equipment due to the addition of dealers. It is possible to provide high service.

  The present invention enables a customer to effectively reuse a merchant's points with another merchant, even between separate point systems that differ in point value and do not share customer information. Accordingly, there is an effect of increasing the willingness to purchase at the seller because the customer does not accumulate the debt by actively using the points, and the customer can reuse the points at other sellers. As a result, an increase in debt due to points of large-scale dealers can be reduced, and this can lead to an increase in purchases due to the use of points by medium-sized dealers.

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

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a point trading service system to which the present invention is applied. In the point trading service system shown in FIG. 2, a point trading server device 22, a dealer server device 23, and a customer terminal device 24 are connected via a communication network 21.

  The point trading server device 22 includes an information storage unit 221, an external communication unit 222, a transmission / reception unit 223 with an external device, and a processing unit 224. The information storage means 221 includes a point trading conversion table 221a for storing a conversion rate used when trading points between a trade source and a trade destination, and customer information for exchanging information between each seller. And an item correspondence table 221b for storing the correspondence of items.

  The point trading conversion table 221a is an area for storing a point trade rate between two or more vendors. Here, the “trade rate” is an index for specifying a conversion rate when converting a trade source point to a trade destination point. The trade rate stores a conversion rate determined by agreement between the respective sellers.

  The item association table 221b is an area for storing information for associating with a prescribed item because when the customer information of the seller is transmitted / received, the form stored is different for each seller. For example, the customer name, postal code, address, telephone number, etc. are set for the information sent and received by the seller.

  The dealer server device 23 includes a point management device 231, an external communication unit 232, a transmission / reception unit 233 to / from the point trading server device 22, a display unit 234 that displays information received from the point trading server device 22, and a processing unit 235. Is provided. The point management device 231 stores customer registration information 231a and customer-owned points 232b. Each of these may be an independent file, a database, or the like.

  The customer terminal device 24 is a terminal such as a customer's PC that owns the points, and can be connected to the seller server device 23 via the communication network 21. The customer terminal device 24 may be a portable terminal or a pocket-type terminal device as long as it can be authenticated by the member information registered in the dealer server device 23. The customer terminal device 24 includes a storage unit 241, an external communication unit 242, and a processing unit 243. The storage unit 241 stores usage information 241a of the customer.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a point trade processing procedure in the system of FIG. The column of the customer terminal device 3a shows processing executed by the processing means 243 of the customer terminal device 24 in FIG. The column of the point trading server device 3c shows processing executed by the processing means 224 of the point trading server device 22 in FIG. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that at least two dealer server devices 23 are connected, ie, a trading source device 23 and a trading destination device 23. The column of the trade source distributor server device 3b in FIG. 3 shows the processing executed by the processing means 235 of the trade source seller server device 23. The column of the trade destination dealer server device 3d shows the processing executed by the processing means 235 of the trade destination dealer server device 23.

  The customer terminal device 3a accesses the trade source dealer server device 3b based on the customer's instruction operation (step 31). In response to the access, the trader / distributor server device 3b transmits a login menu (step 32). The customer terminal device 3a displays the login menu, and the customer inputs an ID and a password for logging in on the menu. The customer terminal device 3a transmits the input ID and password to the trader distributor server device 3b (step 33). The trade source dealer server device 3b receives the ID and password transmitted from the customer terminal device 3a, performs authentication processing (step 35), and transmits error information to the customer terminal device 3a when authentication fails. (Step 34) When the authentication is successful, a customer information display screen including registration information of the customer is transmitted to the customer terminal device 3a (Step 36). The customer information display screen is a screen that displays the customer ID, name, postal code, address, telephone number, possession point, and the like, and is a screen on which the customer can change or delete registration information.

  When the customer terminal device 3a receives the error (step 34), the customer terminal device 3a returns to step 33 and starts again from the input of the ID and password. When the customer terminal device 3a receives the customer information display screen, the customer terminal device 3a displays the screen and accepts a trade destination display instruction operation by the customer (step 37). This trade destination display instruction is an instruction requesting display of the trade destination in order to trade the points owned by the customer. The customer terminal device 3a transmits this trade destination display instruction to the trade source dealer server device 3b. The trader distributor server device 3b receives the customer registration information 231a, customer ownership points 231b, and self-seller information of the customer stored in the storage device 231 of the seller server device (trader side) 23 in FIG. , To the point trading server device 3c (step 38).

  The point trading server device 3c refers to the point trading conversion table 221a in FIG. 2 based on the customer-owned points 231b and the trading source vendor information transmitted from the trading source vendor server device 3b. The pre-seller and the trade destination point are transmitted to the trade source dealer server device 3b (step 39). The options for conversion to trading destination points are calculated based on the conversion rate set in the point trading conversion table 221a of FIG.

  The conversion to the trading point will be specifically described. FIG. 4A is an example of the point trading conversion table 221a of FIG. In this table 221a, a conversion rate is set when the points of each trade source dealer are traded to the points of each trade destination seller. For example, the conversion rate when trading points from A credit to B department store is set to 80%, and the conversion rate when trading points from A credit to C Airlines is set to 200%. When refusing to become a trading destination, the conversion rate is not set as in the case of A credit ("-" is described in the figure).

  FIG. 4B shows a conversion example when trading customer points based on the point trading conversion table 221a of FIG. Suppose that D customer had 5,000 points for A credit, 0 points for B department store, and 0 points for C Airlines before trading points. At this time, if all the points you own are traded to A credit (in this case, if you do not trade rather than trade), it will be 5,000 points, and if you trade to B credit, you own A Credit points 5,000 multiplied by 80% will be 4,000 points, and if you trade to C Airlines, you will have 10,000 points for A credit points 5,000 multiplied by 200% to 10,000 points.

  In addition, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 4B, before E customer trades points, A credit points are 10,000 points, B department store points are 1,000 points, C airline points are 20, Suppose you own 000 points. At this time, when all the owned points are traded to A credit, according to the point trading conversion table 221a of FIG. 4A, it is permitted to convert B department store and C airline points into A credit points. As a result, even after conversion, the points after trading for A credits will remain at the 10,000 points originally owned. If you want to trade all your points to B Credit, you can get A Credit Point 10,000 multiplied by 80%, 8,000 points, B Department Store's original points 1,000, and C Airlines 15,000 points multiplied by 75% is added to 20,000 points, and the point after trade to B department store is 24,000. If you want to trade all of your points to C Airlines, you can get 20,000 points by multiplying A credit points 10,000 by 200%, and B department store points 1,000 by 150%. The points and 20,000 points of C Airlines originally owned are added, and the point after trade to C Airlines is 41,500.

  Although FIG. 4A shows an example in which A credit is refused to be a trading destination, trading may be individually prohibited for a combination of a trading source and a trading destination.

  Returning to FIG. 3 again, the trade destination seller server device 3b that receives the trade destination point and the trade destination point that can be traded transmitted from the point trading server device 3c transmits the received information to the customer terminal device 3a. (Step 40). The customer refers to the received trading destinations and the number of points after each trading, and inputs the trading destination and the number of points to actually trade. The customer terminal device 3a transmits a request for a trade confirmation request including the input trade destination and the number of points to the trade source dealer server device 3b (step 41). The trade source dealer server apparatus 3b transmits a request for a trade confirmation request including the trade destination and the number of points to the point trading server apparatus 3c (step 42). The point trading server device 3c determines whether or not points can be traded from the designated trading source to the trading destination, and if possible, the number of points after trading converted from the designated number of pre-trade points. If it is determined with reference to the trading conversion table 221a and a trade is possible, a point trade request including a trade source, customer information, and the number of points after trade is transmitted to the trader server device 3d (step 43). ).

  Here, the correspondence of customer information will be described. Customer information generally differs in the content and format of items stored for each seller. Therefore, an item correspondence table (221b in FIG. 2) as shown in FIG. 5 is prepared, and the customer information of the trade source and the customer information of the trade destination are associated with each other using this table. Specifically, for example, when trading from the A credit company to the B department store, the point trading server device 3c generates an item of the name of the customer information of the B department store from the last name and first name of the customer information registered in the A credit. , The date of birth of the customer information of the B department store is generated from the date of birth of the customer information registered in the A credit, and the mail of the customer information of the B department store is generated from the postal code of the customer information registered in the A credit. Generate the item of the number, generate the item of the customer information address of the B department store from the prefecture, city, street, and apartment name of the customer information registered in A credit, and register it in A credit From the contact information of the existing customer information, a telephone number item of the customer information of the B department store is generated. Thus, in step 43, customer information of the traded seller is generated. And transmits to the server device 3d to.

  The trade destination server device 3d receives the point trade request including the trade source, customer information, and the number of points after trade, and registers the customer information and the point information (step 44). As described above, since the customer information is converted into the item contents and data format used in the trade destination dealer server device 3d, the server device 3d can process the customer information as it is. If the customer information of the customer has already been registered, it is used. In that case, the number of post-trade points sent is added to the number of points owned by the registered customer. After the above processing, the trade destination server device 3d notifies the point trading server device 3c of approval (step 45).

  The point trading server device 3c receives the notification of approval from the trade destination seller server device 3d, and transmits the approval to the trade source seller server device 3b (step 46). The trade source dealer server device 3b subtracts the number of points before the trade (the number of points designated by the customer in step 41) from the number of points owned by the customer and calculates the number of points owned by the customer after the trade (points). It may be notified from the trading server device 3c) and transmitted to the customer terminal device 3a (step 47). The customer terminal device 3a displays information such as the contents of the trade and the number of possessed points after the trade to allow the customer to confirm (step 48).

  In the above embodiment, the customer terminal device has been described as communicating with the point trading server device via the trader's distributor server device. However, the customer terminal device may directly communicate with the point trading server device. Is possible.

It is the schematic of the system of the dealer who provides point service. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the point trading service system to which this invention is applied. It is the flowchart which showed the process accompanying the trade of a point. It is a block diagram of the information stored in the memory | storage means of a point trading server apparatus, and is the table of the point trading conversion rate stored in a point trading storage area, and a conversion example. It is a block diagram of the information stored in the memory | storage means of a point trading server apparatus, and is a table of customer information item corresponding | compatible relationship of each seller stored in a point trading storage area.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Wide area network, 12 ... Seller server apparatus, 12a ... Online sales apparatus, 12b ... Point management apparatus, 13, 14, 15 ... Store system, 21 ... Communication network, 22 ... Point trading server apparatus, 221 ... Point trading database 23 ... dealer server device, 231 ... point management device, 24 ... customer terminal device.

Claims (1)

A point trading service system for trading points of one seller owned by a customer to points of another seller,
A customer terminal device operated by the customer and a communication means for the seller to communicate with the seller server device for managing customer information and customer ownership points via the network;
Point trading conversion table that sets the conversion rate of points when permitting / disallowing point trading from the trading source seller to the trading destination seller, and the customer information of the trading source seller and the trading destination seller Storage means for storing an item correspondence table in which item correspondence with customer information is set;
Means for receiving a display request for a trade destination of a point transmitted directly from the customer terminal device or via a trader distributor server device;
In response to the received trade destination display request, the number of points of the trade destination seller who can trade based on the point trading conversion table and the customer after the trade is directly or via the trade source dealer server device, Means for transmitting to the customer terminal device;
Received a trade confirmation request request including customer information, a trade destination seller, and the number of trade source points to be traded, transmitted from the customer terminal device directly or via a trade source dealer server device. Means to
In accordance with the received trade confirmation request, means for obtaining the number of trade destination points by converting the number of trade source points designated to be traded at the conversion rate of the point trading conversion table;
Based on the item correspondence table, means for converting the customer information of the trade source seller into the customer information of the trade destination seller;
Means for transmitting a point trade request including customer information of the trade destination dealer and the number of trade destination points to the trade destination dealer server device, and registering the customer information and the number of points in the trade destination dealer server device; ,
Means for receiving an approval notification transmitted from the trade destination server device indicating that the registration of the customer information and the number of points has been executed;
Means for transmitting the approval notification to a trade source dealer server device, and subtracting the number of trade source points of the trade from the number of points owned by the customer of the trade source seller server device. Point trading service system.

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