JP7093529B1 - Benefit management device and privilege management method that grants benefits according to the purchase of products at a price that exceeds the actual price - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a privilege management device and a privilege management method suitable for suppressing a decrease in brand value caused by a decrease in the actual price of a product. SOLUTION: In a privilege management server 10 corresponding to a privilege management device, a voucher in which a condition regarding a purchase price of the target product (for example, a retail price desired by a manufacturer) is specified for a customer who purchases a predetermined product is provided. When a ticket is issued to the customer terminal 20 and the customer purchases the target product at the cash register terminal 30 using the voucher, the price specified for the voucher and the actual price (actual at the over-the-counter sales price, online shop, etc.) calculated by the retailer server 40 are calculated. Receive points or excess money corresponding to the difference in the retail price), and give the customer a coupon such as a product purchase ticket as a privilege according to the balance of the points or excess money managed for each customer. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention is a privilege management device and a privilege for granting a privilege such as a coupon according to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price as a countermeasure against a decrease in brand value caused by a decrease in the actual price of the product. It is about the management method.

With the intensification of sales competition due to sluggish personal consumption, retail stores frequently issue special sale sales and discount coupons in order to promote the sale of products. As a result, there have been some cases where the over-the-counter sales price of products has fallen, and the retail prices desired by manufacturers have fallen significantly, and manufacturers who provide products are concerned about a decline in brand value. ing. This situation is not limited to sales at real retail stores, but there is fierce price competition in online shops that sell products on the Internet, and the brand value caused by the decline in the actual price of products How to deal with the decline is a common concern among manufacturers.

If the over-the-counter sales price of a product continues to decline due to the implementation of a special sale sale or the issuance of discount coupons, the customer who purchased the product at an early stage purchased the same product at a higher price than the customer who purchased it later. Therefore, there is a problem that a feeling of unfairness arises. For such a problem, an invention relating to a product sales system or the like for returning to the purchaser the difference from the selling price that has fallen after the purchase of the product is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-183570 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-094360

The inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are effective in eliminating the unfairness caused among purchasers due to the decline in the over-the-counter selling price of the product, but suppress the decline in the over-the-counter selling price of the product itself. It does not have an effect on. In other words, although it is effective in eliminating the negative factor that the customer has purchased the product and lost it to the brand image of the product, the actual price such as the over-the-counter sales price has fallen and the product is sold. It is not a countermeasure against the decline in brand value, which gives the image of "things that can be bought cheaply".

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and by granting a privilege such as a coupon according to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price such as an over-the-counter selling price, the product can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a privilege management device and a privilege management method suitable for suppressing a decrease in brand value caused by a decline in the actual price.

In the present invention, a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of the target product (for example, the retail price desired by the manufacturer) is specified is issued to a customer who purchases a predetermined product, and the price purchased using the voucher is used. The points or excesses corresponding to the difference between the actual prices (over-the-counter sales prices and actual sales prices in online shops, etc.) are aggregated for each customer to manage the balance, and the benefits are decided to be given to the customers according to the balance. It was configured. By giving customers benefits other than direct discounts, the amount actually paid by the customer using the voucher will maintain the conditions specified for the voucher, even if the actual price of the product has fallen. , It is effective in alleviating the image of price decline and suppressing the decline in brand value.

The content of the privilege to be granted to the customer in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has some merit for the customer. For example, if a privilege such as the provision of a product purchase voucher or a sample product equivalent to an amount exceeding the total amount of the difference accumulated as the balance of points etc. is given, the customer purchases the target product under the conditions specified in advance. It can be expected to be an incentive to use vouchers.

In the first invention described below, the points or excesses corresponding to the difference between the price purchased using the voucher and the actual price such as the over-the-counter sales price are the sales management system of the retail store selling the product, the EC server, etc. It is calculated by the external system of the above and transmitted to the privilege management device according to the present invention. In the second invention, the points or excess money corresponding to the difference between the price purchased using the voucher and the actual price such as the over-the-counter sales price are calculated by the privilege management device according to the present invention.

The first invention for solving the problem according to the present application is a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price, and is predetermined to an information terminal operated by a customer. It is generated by a transmission means for transmitting voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a product are specified, and by purchasing the product at a price exceeding the actual price of the product using the voucher. Receiving means for receiving information on points or excesses corresponding to the difference between the price and the actual price, and points or excesses owned by each customer, which is a total of points or excesses received by the receiving means for each customer. A privilege characterized by comprising a storage means for storing information regarding a gold balance and a determination means for determining a privilege to be given to a customer according to the balance of points or excess money stored in the storage means. It is a management device.

The first invention can also be characterized in that the point or excess money for which the receiving means receives information is determined from the difference between the purchase price specified for the voucher and the prevailing price.

The first invention can also be characterized in that the point or excess money for which the receiving means receives information is determined from the amount added to the prevailing price at the time of purchase designated for the voucher.

The second invention for solving the problem according to the present application is a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price, and is predetermined to an information terminal operated by a customer. A transmission means for transmitting voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a product are specified, and a receiving means for receiving purchase information for which the product was purchased using the voucher including the actual price of the product. And, using the purchase information received by the receiving means, the points or excesses corresponding to the difference between the price and the actual price generated by purchasing the product at a price exceeding the actual price are calculated. A calculation means, a storage means for storing information on the balance of points or excess money held by each customer, which is a total of points or excess money calculated by the calculation means for each customer, and points stored in the storage means. Alternatively, the privilege management device is provided with a determination means for determining the privilege to be given to the customer according to the balance of the excess money.

The second invention can also be characterized in that the points or excess money calculated by the calculation means are determined from the difference between the purchase price designated for the voucher and the prevailing price.

The second invention can also be characterized in that the points or excess money calculated by the calculation means are calculated from the amount to be added to the prevailing price at the time of purchase designated for the voucher.

The present invention can also be specified as an invention relating to a privilege management method executed by the privilege management device according to the present invention.

The privilege management method corresponding to the first invention is a privilege management method executed by a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price, and the privilege management device. However, a transmission step of transmitting voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a predetermined product are specified to an information terminal operated by the customer, and the privilege management device using the voucher to perform the product. The reception step of receiving information about the points or excess money corresponding to the difference between the price and the prevailing price generated by purchasing the product at a price exceeding the prevailing price of the above, and the privilege management device receiving the above. According to the balance of points or excess money stored in the storage means that stores the information about the balance of points or excess money held by each customer, which is the total of the points or excess money received in the step for each customer. It is a privilege management method characterized by having a determination step for determining a privilege to be granted.

The privilege management method corresponding to the second invention is a privilege management method executed by a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price, and the privilege management device. However, the transmission step of transmitting the voucher information for issuing the voucher for which the condition regarding the purchase price of the predetermined product is specified to the information terminal operated by the customer, and the privilege management device include the actual price of the product. The receiving step of receiving the purchase information on which the product was purchased using the voucher, and the privilege management device using the purchase information received in the receiving step to purchase the product at a price exceeding the actual price. The calculation step for calculating the points or excesses corresponding to the difference between the price and the actual price, and the privilege management device aggregates the points or excesses calculated in the calculation step for each customer. It has a determination step of determining the benefits granted to the customer according to the balance of points or excess money stored in the storage means for storing the information about the balance of points or excess money held by each customer. It is a privilege management method characterized by this.

The privilege management method corresponding to the first invention and the second invention relates to a privilege management method executed by each configuration of the privilege management device corresponding to the first invention and the second invention as described above. It can also be specified as an invention.

According to the present invention, the purchase price of a customer who purchases a target product using a voucher is maintained at a price specified in advance according to the conditions specified for the voucher, or a price obtained by adding a certain amount to the actual price. Therefore, even if the actual price at retail stores or online shops has fallen, it is possible to expect the effect of alleviating the image of the price fall and suppressing the decline in the brand value of the target product.

In addition, it is possible to enclose customers who purchase the target product in advance by issuing a voucher, and to expect the effect of making it easier to make a sales forecast of the target product. Further, since the customer using the voucher issued by the present invention purchases the target product at a price according to the conditions specified by the manufacturer, it is assumed that the customer group has high loyalty to the brand related to the target product. Therefore, it is considered to be effective in retaining customers with high brand loyalty.

It is a figure which shows an example of the outline of embodiment of the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of information in 1st Embodiment of the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of information in the 2nd Embodiment of the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the structure in 1st Embodiment of the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the voucher information stored in the voucher information storage unit 12 in the privilege management apparatus server 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored in the point information storage unit 42 of the retailer server 40 shown in FIG. 4 and transmitted to the privilege management server 10. It is a figure which shows an example of the information about the point balance stored in the point information storage unit 14 in the privilege management apparatus server 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the coupon information stored in the coupon information storage unit 13 in the privilege management apparatus server 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the information about the coupon set in association with the customer information stored in the customer information storage unit 11 in the privilege management apparatus server 10 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the processing flow which the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention output a voucher to a customer terminal. In the present invention, it is a flowchart which shows the process flow which records the sales information of the product purchased by the retail store using a voucher. It is a flowchart which shows the process flow which sets the coupon issued to the customer according to the point balance by the privilege management apparatus which concerns on this invention.

The embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The following description exemplifies the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown here. In the following, an example of applying the present invention to the sale of a product in a retail store will be described, but the subject of the present invention is not limited to the sale of a product in a real store, and online sales on the Internet. It is also possible to target.

In addition, in the following explanation, points corresponding to the difference between the price under the conditions specified for the voucher generated when the customer purchases the target product using the voucher and the actual price of the target product are accumulated, and the balance is accumulated. Although it is assumed that the balance is managed for each customer, the unit of the balance managed for each customer is not limited to points, and for example, the balance may be managed for each customer with the generated difference as an excess.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the sale of a product at a retail store as an example of an embodiment of the privilege management device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the privilege management server 10 corresponds to the privilege management device according to the present invention.

A customer who has registered as a member of a point service, etc. in a retail chain logs in to the website of the retail chain with an app or browser on a smartphone, or visits a store in the retail chain and installs the KIOSK in the store. When the privilege management server 10 is accessed from the customer terminal 20, which is an information terminal operated by the customer such as a smartphone or a KIOSK terminal, and a predetermined operation is performed by causing the terminal to read the membership card, the customer terminal 20 is concerned. A screen for selecting vouchers that can be issued to customers is displayed.

The voucher that can be issued here is specified with the target product of the voucher and the conditions regarding the purchase price. For example, the retail price desired by the manufacturer for the target product is specified in the condition regarding the purchase price, and the customer can purchase the target product at the retail price specified in the voucher. If the actual price of the target product, such as the over-the-counter sales price or the sales price at the online shop, drops with respect to the retail price, the customer using the voucher will purchase the target product at a price higher than the actual price. However, in the present invention, the point corresponding to the difference between the purchase price and the actual price or the balance of the excess money is managed for each customer, and the customer is provided with benefits such as a coupon that allows the customer to purchase a product that exceeds the actual price and exceeds the amount paid. With the grant as an incentive, it is possible to sell the target product at a price that exceeds the actual price such as the retail price desired by the manufacturer.

When the customer operates the customer terminal 20 to select the voucher to be issued, the privilege management server 10 sends the information necessary for issuing the voucher to the customer terminal 20, and if it is a smartphone, an electronic medium displaying a two-dimensional code or the like. If the voucher is a KIOSK terminal, a voucher such as a paper medium on which a two-dimensional code or the like is printed is issued to the customer terminal 20. The customer presents the voucher issued at the cashier counter in the store and purchases the target product.

At the cash register terminal 30, the person in charge reads the information such as the two-dimensional code displayed on the voucher, confirms that the purchased product matches the target product of the voucher, and the price of the target product is based on the conditions specified for the voucher. Sell at. In the retailer server 40 that receives the sales information of the target product from the cash register terminal 30, the points corresponding to the difference between the sold price and the actual price (over-the-counter sales price) under the conditions specified in the voucher (may be super-charged). Is as described above.), And the information regarding the calculated points is transmitted to the privilege management server 10 at a predetermined timing. The calculation process of such points may be executed on the privilege management server 10 side.

The privilege management server 10 manages the balance of points generated by purchasing products using vouchers for each customer, and if the balance meets a predetermined condition, it is more advantageous than the amount paid by the customer in excess of the actual price. A coupon with specified conditions (for example, a product purchase voucher that can be applied to the purchase price of a product that exceeds the actual price and is paid in excess of the actual price) is set in the customer information of the corresponding customer. The set coupon can be issued to the customer terminal 20 at the timing when the customer accesses the privilege management server 10 from the customer terminal 20 by logging in to the website or having the KIOSK terminal in the store read the membership card. It is in a state of being.

When the present invention is applied to online sales, network terminals such as smartphones, PCs (personal computers), and tablet terminals are used as customer terminals 20, and the function of the cash register terminal 30 in FIG. 1 is these network terminals. Will be replaced by. The function of the retailer server 40 is replaced with the Web server that manages the online shop, and the selling price of the target product in the online shop is used as the actual price, and the points corresponding to the difference from the price specified for the voucher are calculated, and the privilege is obtained. Similarly, on the management server 10, coupons are set according to the balance of points.

2 and 3 show the flow of information from voucher ticketing to coupon issuance in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a first embodiment in which points are calculated by a retailer server 40, and FIG. 3 is a privilege management server. Corresponds to the second embodiment in which points are calculated at 10. FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the privilege management server 10 corresponding to the privilege management device according to the present invention in the first embodiment by a functional block.

In FIG. 4, the privilege management server 10 corresponds to the privilege management device according to the present invention. The privilege management server 10 is a server computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and is provided with an auxiliary storage device such as a CPU, a main memory, and an HDD. In the privilege management server 10, a program stored in the auxiliary storage device is read into the main memory, and a predetermined function is realized by executing arithmetic processing on the CPU.

The physical configuration of the computer constituting the privilege management server 10 is not particularly limited, and the same computer is provided with functions other than the management of the point balance and the issuance of vouchers and coupons in the present invention. You may. Further, each function required for the present invention may be physically realized by one computer, or may be realized by a plurality of computers in cooperation with each other.

The voucher ticketing unit 15, the coupon issuing unit 16, the point information receiving unit 17, and the coupon setting unit 18 of the privilege management server 10 are all functionally specified and are stored in an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD. A program corresponding to the function of each part is read into the main memory, and the CPU executes arithmetic processing to realize the function corresponding to each part.

A predetermined storage area of an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD is allocated to the customer information storage unit 11, the voucher information storage unit 12, the coupon information storage unit 13, and the point information storage unit 14 of the privilege management server 10. These storage areas do not have to be physically provided in one computer, but may be provided in a plurality of computers such as a computer constituting a database server.

The customer terminal 20 is a network terminal that can be connected to a network such as the Internet, and an information terminal operated by the customer such as a smartphone or tablet terminal owned by the customer or a KIOSK terminal installed in a retail store is used. The configuration is not particularly limited as long as it is a network terminal capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the privilege management server 10.

The cash register terminal 30 is installed at a cash register counter in a retail store, and predetermined data is transmitted / received to / from the retailer server 40. The retailer server 40 is a server computer connected to a network such as the Internet and capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the privilege management server 10, and is provided with auxiliary storage devices such as a CPU, main memory, and HDD. In the retailer server 40, a program stored in the auxiliary storage device is read into the main memory, and a predetermined function is realized by executing arithmetic processing in the CPU. The physical configuration of the computers constituting the retailer server 40 is not particularly limited, and functions other than the present invention may be provided in the same computer, and a plurality of computers may cooperate with each other. It is the same as the privilege management server 10 that it may be done.

The point calculation unit 41 and the point information transmission unit 43 of the retailer server 40 are both functionally specified, and the program corresponding to the function of each unit stored in the auxiliary storage device such as the HDD is the main memory. The function corresponding to each part is realized by being read out by the CPU and executing the arithmetic processing by the CPU. A predetermined storage area of an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD is allocated to the point information storage unit 42.

Based on the above configuration, the flow of information from voucher ticketing to coupon issuance in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5-12.

A customer who is a member of a point service or the like provided by a certain retail chain connects from the customer terminal 20 to the privilege management server 10 via a network such as the Internet. If the customer terminal 20 is a smartphone, the customer ID such as the membership number is input on a predetermined screen. If the customer terminal 20 is a KIOSK terminal installed in a store of a retail chain, the customer ID such as the membership number is displayed from the membership card or the screen of the smartphone. Is read by the KIOSK terminal, so that the customer ID is transmitted from the customer terminal 20 to the privilege management server 10.

Here, the privilege management server 10 executes the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. When the customer ID is received from the customer terminal 20 (S01), it is determined whether the received customer ID is valid, and if an authentication key such as a password is requested, it matches the authentication key registered in advance by the customer. The customer is authenticated by confirmation (S02), and if the customer cannot be authenticated (S02 is No), error processing is performed.

When the customer is authenticated (S02 is Yes), the voucher ticketing unit 15 is activated and confirms whether there is a voucher that can be issued to the customer (S03). The method of selecting the voucher that can be issued is not particularly limited. For example, the voucher information storage unit 12 is searched and the voucher corresponding to the customer attribute information stored in the customer information storage unit 11 is selected. Alternatively, the voucher of the product or the like that the retailer wants to promote sales may be uniformly selected for any customer.

FIG. 5 shows an example of information about the voucher stored in the voucher information storage unit 12. For each voucher code that identifies the voucher, the JAN code and product name that identify the target product that can be purchased using the voucher, the issuance period and validity period of the voucher, the purchase price of the target product that can be purchased using the voucher, and the voucher In addition to including the purchase quantity of the target product that can be purchased (unlimited purchase is possible if the purchase quantity is not specified), the voucher that can be issued is flagged as valid, and information such as the issuance period and valid flag is set. After confirmation, a voucher that can be issued is selected.

If there is no voucher that can be issued (S03 is No), a predetermined screen that does not include information about the voucher is generated and transmitted to the customer terminal 20 (S07), but if there is a voucher that can be issued (S03 is). Yes), a predetermined screen including information about the voucher that can be selected by the customer, read from the voucher information storage unit 12, is generated and transmitted to the customer terminal 20 (S04). The processing flow after screen transmission in S07 is not particularly limited.

Subsequently, when it is accepted that any voucher is selected in the customer terminal 20 (S05 is Yes), the voucher information necessary for issuing the ticket of the selected voucher is transmitted to the customer terminal 20 (S06). As shown in FIG. 2, the voucher information transmitted to the customer terminal 20 includes conditions (purchase conditions) regarding the purchase price of the target product that can be purchased using the voucher, a JAN code that identifies the target product, and valid voucher. Contains information about the period. The processing flow after the voucher information is transmitted in S06 and the processing flow when the voucher selection is not accepted during a predetermined period (S05 is No) are not particularly limited.

The condition regarding the purchase price of the target product specified as the purchase condition included in the voucher information may be set to the retail price desired by the manufacturer of the target product (so-called "manufacturer's desired retail price"). Instead of setting a fixed amount, an amount to be added to the actual price such as the over-the-counter selling price at the time of sale (for example, "over-the-counter selling price + 50 yen") may be specified. In any case, here, conditions regarding the purchase price of the target product for maintaining a certain level assumed by the manufacturer are specified as purchase conditions so that the brand image of the target product is not damaged. As described above, the purchase conditions specified here are set to the conditions desired by the manufacturer of each target product.

The customer terminal 20 that has received the voucher information issues a voucher to be presented at the time of purchasing the target product. If the customer terminal 20 is a smartphone, a voucher of an electronic medium on which a two-dimensional code or the like is displayed is issued, and if the customer terminal 20 is a KIOSK terminal, a voucher of a paper medium or the like on which the two-dimensional code or the like is printed is issued to the customer terminal 20. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the identification code such as the two-dimensional code is a condition regarding the purchase price of the target product that can be purchased using the voucher, which is included in the voucher information received from the privilege management server 10. (Purchase conditions), JAN code that identifies the target product, and information on the validity period of the voucher are embedded.

When a customer purchases a target product at a retail store, he / she presents a membership card such as a point card or a smartphone application and a voucher issued at the cashier counter in the store together with the product to be purchased. When the person in charge of the cash register makes a payment, the cash register terminal 30 and the retailer server 40 execute the process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The cash register terminal 30 reads the customer ID displayed on the membership card (or stored in a storage medium such as an IC chip) (S11), and displays the JAN code as a barcode on the package of the product to be purchased. Is read (S12). Further, the identification code such as the two-dimensional code displayed on the voucher is read (S13), and the cash register terminal 30 or the retailer server 40 can purchase the target product using the voucher from the read identification code such as the two-dimensional code. The condition regarding the purchase price (purchase condition), the validity period of the voucher, and the JAN code that identifies the target product are specified (S14).

At the cash register terminal 30 or the retailer server 40, the voucher is not within the valid period (S15 is No), or the JAN code of the product to be purchased and the JAN code of the target product specified from the voucher do not match (S16 is No). ) Is confirmed, the voucher is not applied and error processing is performed (for example, it is assumed that the person in charge of the cash register terminal 30 confirms the customer's intention to purchase at the retail price). When it is confirmed that the conditions of (S15 and S16 are Yes), the settlement processing of the sales price of the target product is performed at the price determined by the purchase conditions specified from the voucher (S17).

Subsequently, the point calculation unit 41 of the retailer server 40 determines based on the purchase conditions specified from the voucher, which is generated by purchasing the target product at a price exceeding the actual price (over-the-counter sales price) by using the voucher. The points corresponding to the difference between the purchased purchase price and the actual price are calculated (S18).

For example, if the purchase price is specified as 500 yen in the purchase conditions specified for the voucher and the actual price is 400 yen, points corresponding to the difference of 100 yen are calculated. If 1 yen = 1 point, 100 points will be generated, and if 100 yen = 1 point, 1 point will be generated, but the ratio and rules such as round-up / devaluation are not particularly limited. .. Instead of converting the difference into points in this way, the calculated difference may be used as the excess amount and adopted as the target of balance management described later.

The sales information of the target product including the calculated points is written in the point information storage unit 42 of the retailer server 40 (S19). This sales information may be stored including information on points in general sales information used for sales information management on the retailer server 40, but only information on points necessary for carrying out the present invention is pointed. The information storage unit 42 may temporarily store the information and delete the information at a predetermined timing after transmission to the privilege management server 10.

FIG. 6 shows an example of sales information including point information stored in the point information storage unit 42 of the retailer server 40, and shows the selling price specified from the voucher actually sold to the customer. The points generated are calculated from the difference from the actual price at the store (over-the-counter sales price). In this example, points are calculated with 1 yen = 1 point, but if there are a plurality of sold quantities, the generated points will also be calculated by multiplying the difference in unit price by the quantity.

The point information stored in the point information storage unit 42 of the retailer server 40 is transmitted to the privilege management server 10 by activating the point information transmission unit 43 at a predetermined timing. As shown in FIG. 2, the information transmitted here includes a customer ID such as a member number that identifies the customer in which points have been generated, and the quantity of points newly generated since the previous transmission. The timing at which the point information transmission unit 43 is activated is not particularly limited, but for example, the point information may be transmitted by a batch process that is activated at a predetermined time every business day.

In the privilege management server 10 that has received the point information from the retailer server 40, the point information receiving unit 17 is activated and predetermined information is written in the point information storage unit 14. The point information storage unit 14 may store sales information of the sales unit of the target product including the generated points as illustrated in FIG. 6, but at least information on the balance of points held by each customer may be stored. Stored.

FIG. 7 shows an example of information regarding the balance of points held by each customer stored in the point information storage unit 14. Since the purchase conditions on which the points are calculated are usually determined by the manufacturer of each target product, it is preferable that the balance of points held by the customer is also managed for each manufacturer. If multiple manufacturers jointly operate vouchers and coupons, each group consists of multiple manufacturers, if the retail chain is led, each customer regardless of manufacturer, or if the manufacturer has multiple brands You may manage the balance of points for each brand even within the same manufacturer.

The newly generated points identified by the point information received from the retailer server 40 are added to the point balance of the customer corresponding to the manufacturer of the target product in which the points are generated. The point balance may be deducted depending on the use of points associated with the issuance of coupons or the passage of a predetermined deadline from the occurrence of the coupon, but the rules for using points and subtracting the balance due to the passage of the deadline are not particularly limited.

In the retailer server 40, the coupon setting unit 18 is activated at a predetermined timing, and the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is executed. Check the balance of points for each manufacturer owned by each customer stored in the point information storage unit 14 (S21), and issue each coupon set in the coupon information stored in the coupon information storage unit 13. It is determined whether or not the predetermined threshold value that can be exceeded is exceeded (S22).

FIG. 8 shows an example of coupon information stored in the coupon information storage unit 13. For example, the balance of 1,000 points corresponding to the amount exceeding the actual price = 1,000 yen has been reached. For customers, a product purchase voucher that allows you to purchase the manufacturer's product of the target product for 1,200 yen is set as a coupon, and the customer will receive more benefits than the amount paid, so it will be an incentive to use the voucher. At the same time, it will be an effective means for manufacturers to secure future sales of the target products and retain customers. The content of the coupon is not particularly limited, and in addition to the product purchase ticket that allows the product to be purchased, for example, an exchange ticket for a sample of a new product of the manufacturer of the target product may be adopted.

When it is determined that the customer's point balance exceeds the coupon issuance threshold (S22 is Yes) and a coupon that can be issued to the customer is specified (S23), the coupon is stored in the customer information storage unit 11. A newly issued coupon is set in association with the customer information of the customer (S24). FIG. 9 shows an example of information regarding a coupon set in association with customer information stored in the customer information storage unit 11.

The handling of the point balance held by the customer after the coupon is set is not particularly limited, and the points corresponding to the set coupon may be deducted from the balance, or the balance even after the coupon is set. For example, the operation may be such that the status of the customer is managed according to the accumulated balance.

After the coupon is set, when the customer accesses the privilege management server 10 from the customer terminal 20 such as a smartphone or KIOSK terminal in the same manner as when the voucher is issued, the customer is authenticated by the customer ID at a predetermined timing. The coupon issuing unit 16 is activated to confirm the information regarding the coupon set by designating the customer illustrated in FIG. If the customer has a coupon set, the information necessary for issuing the coupon is read from the coupon information storage unit 13 and transmitted to the customer terminal 20 to output the coupon.

The procedure for issuing a coupon is not limited to the example shown here, and for example, a coupon that can be issued may be transmitted to a customer's smartphone or the like in real time.

The above is the flow of information from voucher ticketing to coupon issuance in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, but in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, points (or excess money) The calculation is performed on the privilege management server 10 instead of the retailer server 40. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the retailer server 40 to the privilege management server 10 have a voucher code for identifying the customer ID and voucher, which is necessary for calculating points and adding them to the customer's balance (this). The purchase information specified in the purchase conditions can be specified), the actual price (over-the-counter sales price), the purchase quantity, and other purchase information are transmitted. If the purchase condition of the voucher specifies the amount to be added to the actual price instead of the specific amount that can purchase the target product, the difference from the actual price can be specified from the voucher code, so the actual price is not included. It may be that.

In the second embodiment, the function corresponding to the point calculation unit 41 in FIG. 4 is provided in the privilege management server 10, and the point information transmission unit 43 is not the information about the generated points but the product necessary for calculating the points. Purchase information will be sent. Such purchase information is received by the point information receiving unit 17, and the newly generated points calculated by the privilege management server 10 from the received purchase information are reflected in the balance of points stored in the point information storage unit 14. To.

The first and second embodiments described above have been described on the premise that the target product of the voucher is purchased at a retail store, but as described above, the present invention sells online on the Internet. It is also possible to target it.

When targeting online sales, information about vouchers read by the cash register terminal 30 can be obtained from a customer terminal 20 such as a smartphone or PC to a Web server such as an online shop corresponding to the retailer server 40 via a network such as the Internet. Information about points (or excess money) sent to (EC server) and calculated by the Web server, or purchase information required to calculate points (or excess money) by the privilege management server 10 is privileged from the Web server. It is transmitted to the management server 10. The information may be directly transmitted from the customer terminal 20 to the privilege management server 10 without going through a Web server such as an online shop.

10 Benefit management server 11 Customer information storage unit 12 Voucher information storage unit 13 Coupon information storage unit 14 Point information storage unit 15 Voucher ticketing unit 16 Coupon issuing unit 17 Point information receiving unit 18 Coupon setting unit 20 Customer terminal 30 Cash register terminal 40 Retailer Server 41 Point calculation unit 42 Point information storage unit 43 Point information transmission unit

Claims (4)

It is a privilege management device for granting benefits to the purchase of products at a price that exceeds the actual price.
A transmission means for transmitting voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a predetermined product are specified to an information terminal operated by a customer, and
The difference between the purchase price specified for the voucher and the prevailing price, or the purchase specified for the voucher, which is generated by purchasing the product at a price exceeding the prevailing price of the product using the voucher. Receiving means for receiving information about points or excesses , determined from the amount added to the prevailing price ,
A storage means for storing information on the balance of points or excess money held by each customer, which is a total of points or excess money received by the receiving means for each customer.
A determination means for determining the benefits to be given to the customer according to the balance of points or excess money stored in the storage means.
A privilege management device characterized by being equipped with. It is a privilege management device for granting benefits to the purchase of products at a price that exceeds the actual price.
A transmission means for transmitting voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a predetermined product are specified to an information terminal operated by a customer, and
A receiving means for receiving purchase information on which the product was purchased using the voucher including the actual price of the product.
The difference between the purchase price specified for the voucher and the actual price generated by purchasing the product at a price exceeding the actual price using the purchase information received by the receiving means, or designated for the voucher. A calculation means for calculating points or excess money , which is determined from the amount added to the actual price at the time of purchase .
A storage means for storing information on the balance of points or excess money held by each customer, which is a total of points or excess money calculated by the calculation means for each customer.
A determination means for determining the benefits to be given to the customer according to the balance of points or excess money stored in the storage means.
A privilege management device characterized by being equipped with. It is a privilege management method executed by a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price.
A transmission step in which the privilege management device transmits voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a predetermined product are specified to an information terminal operated by the customer.
The difference between the purchase price specified for the voucher and the prevailing price, or the voucher generated by the privilege management device purchasing the merchandise at a price exceeding the prevailing price of the voucher using the voucher. A receiving step to receive information about points or excesses , determined from the amount added to the prevailing price at the time of the specified purchase .
The points or excess money stored in the storage means for storing the information regarding the balance of the points or excess money held by each customer, which the privilege management device aggregates the points or excess money received in the reception step for each customer. The decision step to determine the benefits given to the customer according to the balance of
A privilege management method characterized by having. It is a privilege management method executed by a privilege management device for granting a privilege to the purchase of a product at a price exceeding the actual price.
A transmission step in which the privilege management device transmits voucher information for issuing a voucher for which conditions regarding the purchase price of a predetermined product are specified to an information terminal operated by the customer.
A reception step in which the privilege management device receives purchase information on which the product was purchased using the voucher including the actual price of the product.
The difference between the purchase price specified for the voucher and the prevailing price generated by the privilege management device purchasing the product at a price exceeding the prevailing price using the purchase information received in the receiving step. , Or a calculation step to calculate points or excess, which is determined from the amount added to the prevailing price at the time of purchase specified in the voucher .
The point or excess stored in the storage means for storing the information regarding the balance of the points or excess money held by each customer, in which the privilege management device aggregates the points or excess money calculated in the calculation step for each customer. A decision step that determines the benefits given to the customer according to the gold balance,
A privilege management method characterized by having.

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