KR20020034812A - Online coupon management system and the same method for servicing online coupons - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system and a method for the on-line coupon management providing a coupon capable of using on on-line are provided to make a user use the coupon on on-line by providing the coupon on on-line and off-line. CONSTITUTION: The system for the on-line coupon management comprises a coupon branch server(200) noticing an on-line coupon assigning a serial number provided from a coupon management server on the Internet site, an on-line shopping mall(300) supporting the use of the on-line coupon in order to make a payment by applying the on-line coupon acquired by the user, and the coupon management server(400). The coupon management server comprises a DB part(493) storing a coupon branch code, a goods code and the serial number, a serial number generator(410) transferring the coupon to the branch after giving the serial number to the coupon and storing the serial number by linking to the branch and goods code in the DB part, a serial number certification part(450) deciding a duplication of the serial number, and a coupon payment amount calculation part(470) calculating the payment amount by applying the discount amount of the coupon.

Description

Online coupon management system and method for providing coupons that can be used online {ONLINE COUPON MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE SAME METHOD FOR SERVICING ONLINE COUPONS}

The present invention relates to coupons provided online and offline, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing an internet coupon that can be used online.

A typical coupon method is to provide a reward such as a discount rate, an application period, and the like, and provide a reward to a user who owns the coupon. The coupon can be classified into an offline coupon method and an online coupon method according to a method of providing a coupon.

The offline coupon method distributes the coupons to consumers as advertisement flyers or printed materials, and the discount is carried out when a consumer having a coupon visits a corresponding company and makes a purchase. To this end, the company bears the cost of printing the coupons and distributes the coupons randomly regardless of the purchase intention of the consumer, which is inefficient, and there is a problem that there are regional limitations due to the offline nature of the coupon distribution.

In the online coupon method, a coupon of a company is posted on an Internet site, and a desired consumer outputs the published coupon through a print medium, and when the customer visits the company and presents the printed coupon when making a payment, the company provides a reward. In a way. Unlike the offline coupon method, the online coupon method has no cost burden due to the coupon printing of the company side, and there is an advantage that the coupon is distributed without regional restrictions.

However, in the case of the conventional online coupon method, it is cumbersome to use the coupon because the consumer has to print the coupon posted online, have the printed coupon and visit the company directly.

Both the offline coupon method and the online coupon method differ in the method of providing a coupon, but in the method of using the provided coupon, all are proceeding offline, so that a user having a coupon can use the coupon in order to use the coupon. You have to take the hassle of having to visit it yourself. In other words, in the case of the online coupon method, the regional limitation of coupon distribution is overcome, but the regional limitation of coupon use is still not overcome.

There is a patent (public number 2000-0054134) which proposes a method of recognizing a coupon online through the serial number by assigning a serial number to the coupon, but the proposed method is issued by printing and printing a coupon with a serial number. As a reverse coupon method that analyzes the advertising effect of coupons distributed offline, by distributing to the user, and visiting the branch directly on the offline site, acquiring coupons, and then entering and using a serial number online. In addition, in order to use a coupon, a situation in which a user has to directly visit an offline branch. In addition, there is a problem such as a cost burden due to issuance of coupons, which is a problem of offline coupons.

As described above, various coupon schemes have been proposed to solve the problems of the conventional coupon, but online coupons for which the user acquires the coupon online and the coupon acquired online cannot be used online have been proposed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, the object of the present invention to provide an online and offline coupons, and to provide an online coupon management system and method that allows users to use the provided coupons online. do.

Another object of the present invention is to settle by the distributor who distributed the coupons used for payment, to distribute the profits according to the advertising effect of the coupons by distributing the profits of coupon use at a certain rate to the coupon dealers who posted the used coupons online. To provide an online coupon management system and method for managing a coupon agency.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an entire system including a management server according to the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a system operation process between a coupon agency server and a coupon management server when a customer acquires an online coupon in the system according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a system operation process between an online shopping mall and a coupon management server when a customer uses a coupon online.

* Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100: terminal 200: coupon agency server

300: online shopping mall 400: coupon management server

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an online coupon management system for providing coupons for use online, comprising: a separate coupon agency server for posting an online coupon on the Internet site to which the serial number provided by the coupon management server; An online shopping mall that supports the use of an online coupon so that a user can apply the acquired online coupon; 1) a coupon store code, a product code, and a database unit is stored in association with a non-overlapping serial number; and 2) when a serial number request signal for an online coupon is received from the coupon agency server, a non-overlapping serial number is received. Generate and give to the coupon and send to the coupon agency server, serial number generation unit to store the database in association with the serial number and coupon agency code, the product code, and 3) payment information and serial number of the coupon from the online shopping mall Is transmitted together, the serial number by comparing the serial number of the database unit determines whether the serial number is duplicated, and the serial number authentication unit to determine whether the coupon corresponding to the serial number is available, and 4) the discount amount of the coupon if the coupon is available It includes a coupon management server having a coupon payment amount calculation unit for calculating the payment amount by applying.

The coupon management server performs a comprehensive management of coupon transactions between a plurality of coupon agency server and a plurality of online shopping malls.

The present invention provides a coupon agency server for posting coupons online; An online shopping mall; In an online coupon management system including a coupon management server, when an online coupon request signal is transmitted from the coupon agency to the coupon management server, the coupon management server generates and transmits a serial number, and generates the serial number and the corresponding coupon. Storing the agency code and the product code in association; When the payment information and the serial number are transmitted from the online shopping mall, the coupon management server determines whether the transmitted serial number is duplicated, verifies whether the coupon corresponding to the serial number can be used, and distributes the authenticated coupon. Distinguishing codes; In the case of an authenticated coupon, the coupon management server provides an online coupon management method including calculating and providing a settlement amount by applying a discount amount of the coupon.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating components of an entire system including a management server according to the present invention.

Online coupon management system that is a system according to the present invention, as shown in Figure 1, a terminal 100 including a web browser that supports the Internet connection, and is responsible for the transmission and reception of information on the Internet; When operating a site on the Internet, posting a coupon on the site, when the user requests a coupon by connecting through the terminal 100, the coupon management server 400 to query the serial number of the coupon, the serial Coupon agency server 200 for providing a number to the terminal; An online shopping mall 300 that sells goods or services online, permits the use of coupons according to the present invention, receives a serial number, transmits it with payment information, and accepts the use of coupons; Receive a serial number query of the coupon input from the coupon agency server to generate a non-overlapping serial number, and transmit to the coupon agency server, the coupon agency code, the product code and the serial number is stored in association with the online, Receives the serial number and payment information sent from the shopping mall, checks whether the coupon is duplicated based on the serial number, determines whether the coupon can be used according to the stored coupon information, determines whether to approve the coupon, and transmits it to the online shopping mall. To store coupons separately, and to approve the use of coupons, a coupon management server 400 for calculating a payment amount to which the coupon discount amount is applied is provided.

The terminal 100 is a various means including a computer that supports wired and wireless Internet, the system according to the present invention provides an interface for the user to use the service by connecting to the coupon server or online shopping mall.

The coupon agency server 200 is a general server that operates a site on the Internet, the system according to the present invention means a coupon advertising site that enters into a contract with a coupon issuer server and publishes the coupon of the publisher on the site Also included is a coupon issuer server that issues coupons online and publishes their coupons. In order to increase the publicity effect due to the distribution of coupons, a coupon issuer generally contracts with a plurality of coupon agency servers.

The online shopping mall 300 is configured as a general shopping mall that sells goods or provides a paid service online. The system according to the present invention is characterized in that a user can use a coupon when making a payment online. When the user selects to use the coupon, the online shopping mall requests input of a serial number given to the coupon, the payment information including the payment amount of the transaction selected by the user, and the input serial number to the coupon management server 400. By transmitting a request for approval of the use of the coupon, although it may be configured as the same system as the coupon management server, it is preferable that one coupon management server manages a plurality of online shopping malls.

The online shopping mall 300 may use a method of directly processing a payment service or a method in which a payment company processes a partnership with a separate payment company, and the present invention is not limited to this payment method.

The coupon management server 400 may be composed of the infrastructure (infrastructure) related to communication and knowledge that is commonly used to those skilled in the art, such as business logic (business logic) in charge of data processing required for the job. That is, the coupon management server and the database server for managing the access of the data implemented with ordinary knowledge; Web server, a program that sends and receives data on the Internet, FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL) server that has a standard protocol for exchanging files on the Internet, a domain name server storing address data of each server, and mail transmission and reception management It may include a mail server to provide a mail service.

Coupon management server 400 according to the present invention and the database server 490 for managing the access of the data for the serial number; When the serial number request signal for the online coupon is received, a serial number that is not duplicated is generated and assigned to the coupon, and a serial number generation unit for storing the database unit in association with the assigned serial number, coupon agency code, and product code ( 410; A serial number authentication unit 430 for determining whether the serial number is duplicated by comparing the serial number of the database unit when payment information and a serial number of the coupon are received online; A coupon authentication unit 450 for determining whether a coupon corresponding to the authenticated serial number is available and distinguishing an agency code; If the coupon is available, the coupon payment amount calculator 470 calculates a payment amount by applying the discount amount of the coupon.

The database server 490 includes a database unit 493, which is a storage unit for storing data, and a DBMS (DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: database system) that records or accesses data in the database unit and performs operations such as input, modification, and deletion. Include. The DBMS 491 may be implemented with common knowledge in this field, such as a SQL (STRUCTURED QUERY LANGUAGE) system.

The database unit 493 may be a relational database which is a table-type database that can be easily accessed and reconstructed in various ways. In an embodiment according to the present invention, a coupon agency code, a product type, and an application period are provided. And a coupon DB 495 for storing coupon information such as a product code including a discounted amount, and a serial number DB 497 for storing information on a serial number corresponding to the coupon.

The discount method of the coupon includes a method of discounting a certain percentage (%) of the total payment amount, and a method of discounting a predetermined amount irrespective of the payment amount. The serial number is a kind of coupon ID that allows the coupon management server 400 to recognize a corresponding coupon online. The serial number DB 497 is used to prevent duplicate use of coupons acquired online and offline. Preferably includes use check information for checking whether the serial number is used.

The serial number generation unit 410 generates a serial number for the coupon at the request of the coupon agency server, the serial number is not duplicated with the serial number stored in the database unit, the user who receives the serial number It is desirable to generate random numbers randomly (RADOM) so that the serial number of the coupon cannot be predicted. The serial number generation unit transmits the generated serial number to the coupon agency server 200 and stores the serial number DB 497 in association with the assigned serial number and the corresponding coupon.

The serial number authentication unit 430, if information on the serial number is input from the online shopping mall, whether the input serial number exists in the serial number DB (497), whether the existing serial number is duplicated through the use check information You can verify that the serial number is an available number.

The coupon authentication unit 450 receives payment information including a payment amount, a product type, a payment date, etc. of a transaction from the online shopping mall 300, and provides coupon information corresponding to the input serial number of the coupon DB 495. By calling from, the coupon information and payment information is compared to authenticate the use of the coupon. In other words, through the coupon information such as product code, it is determined whether the same company, the same product, the application period as the payment information. In the case of a coupon that has passed the application period, it is preferable to delete the coupon information stored in the coupon DB 495.

The coupon settlement amount calculator 470 calculates a coupon settlement amount to which the discount amount of the corresponding coupon stored in the coupon DB 495 is applied. This can be implemented by a simple algorithm commonly used in this field, but can be performed in the online shopping mall 300, the task of coupon management is preferably in charge of the coupon management server (400).

In the case of coupons used for payment, the serial number usage information is checked to prevent duplication of serial numbers. On the other hand, by distinguishing the dealer code of the coupon used, to provide a reward reflecting the actual use of the coupon distributed from the coupon agency server. This is to provide more profits to the dealers with high coupon use than the agents with relatively low coupon use.

2 and 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the system according to the present invention, first Figure 2 is an operation process between the coupon agency server 200 and the coupon management server 400 when the user is provided with an online coupon It is a flow chart showing.

First, the coupon agency server 200 is connected to the coupon management server, enter the coupon information, such as coupon provider, product type, application period, discount amount according to the form provided by the coupon management server 400, the coupon The management server stores the coupon information including the agency code and the product code in the coupon DB (495) (S10).

When the user requests to be provided with an online coupon by accessing the coupon agency server 200 (S12), the coupon agency server queries the coupon management server 400 for a serial number corresponding to the coupon selected by the user, and manages the coupon. The serial number generation unit 410 of the server generates a serial number which is not duplicated and transmits it to the coupon agency server 200, and stores the serial number in association with the corresponding coupon in the serial number DB 497 (S14).

Generates a serial number for the coupon, and provides a real time serial number request signal from the coupon agency server 200 to the coupon management server every time a user requests an online coupon in a manner that is provided to the user, the coupon management server 400 Although a method of generating a serial number every time a request is provided and providing the coupon to the coupon server, the coupon management server 400 generates a plurality of serial numbers before the user's request, and assigns the coupon to the coupon of the coupon server. Thus, when the user requests, the coupon agency server 200 may use a method of selecting one of the serial number assigned to the coupon agency server 200 and providing it to the user without transmitting and receiving information to the coupon management server.

In order to use the coupons acquired online and offline on-line by the user, it is desirable to provide a message indicating that the serial number must be entered in the online shopping mall to which the coupon can be applied.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the online shopping mall 300 and the coupon management server 400 when the user uses the coupon online. 3 is also applicable to a case in which a serial numbered coupon, for example, a coupon with a serial number is given off-line by another method that does not follow the serial number generation processor of the coupon of FIG. 2.

When the user accesses the online shopping mall 300 to generate a transaction and selects to use the coupon in order to make a payment (S20), the online shopping mall manages the coupon for the serial number and payment information according to the user's transaction. Send to server 400.

When the user makes a payment online, if the user does not choose to use the coupon acquired online, another service irrelevant to the present invention is used (S22).

Coupon management server 400 receives the serial number and payment information from the online shopping mall (S24), the serial number authentication unit 430 determines whether or not the duplicated input serial number to determine whether it is available. (S26) If the input serial number has already been used, and if the use check information of the serial number DB 497 is indicated, the service unavailable message is transmitted.

When the input serial number is authenticated, the coupon authentication unit 450 of the coupon management server may compare the coupon information corresponding to the serial number with the payment information transmitted from the online shopping mall and determine whether the coupon can be used. S30) If the use of the coupon is not approved, transmit a service unavailable message. (S28)

If the use of the coupon is approved, the coupon payment amount calculation unit 470 of the coupon management server applies the discount amount of the corresponding coupon stored in the coupon DB 495 to the payment amount of the payment information input from the online shopping mall and applies the coupon. In this case, the payment amount is calculated and provided to the online shopping mall 300. (S32)

It is preferable to classify the used coupons by agency code and provide a reward reflecting the actual use of the coupons distributed from the coupon agency server.

In the above embodiment, the case where the coupon agency server 200, the online shopping mall 300, and the coupon management server 400 is independently present, but can be implemented as one system that performs all the roles of each system. Of course it is. In particular, by integrating the online shopping mall and the coupon management server, it is possible to provide a paid service to apply the coupon, and to manage the coupon in one system.

Although the preferred embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, this is merely an example, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention through the appended claims. There will be.

Conventional offline or online system for providing a coupon is a hassle that the user has to visit a particular point on the offline in order to use the coupon, the present invention allows the user to use the coupon obtained online and offline on-line, The user can easily use the coupon without printing the coupon or having the printed coupon, thereby providing an effect of increasing the coupon utilization.

The coupon issuer does not have to pay printing costs to issue coupons, and because coupon-related tasks are automatically processed online without checking the coupons presented by users visiting offline, the coupons do not interfere with the coupons. In addition, the number of payment customers using the coupon is increased, the effect of increasing the awareness of the coupon issuing companies, smooth customer attraction, increased coupon advertising effect.

In the case of an online shopping mall, an online coupon is applied to secure an online payment customer who wants to receive a discount through the coupon, and the awareness of the shopping mall is increased, thereby enabling the shopping mall to be activated. In addition, by paying the coupons used for payment among the coupons distributed at the coupon agency, by distributing the profits according to the actual coupon use amount, it can be an efficient coupon distribution that is directly linked to the increase in promotion effect and diligent sales due to the increase of coupon distribution destination By doing so, there is an advantage to increase the general consumer's loyalty to the use of coupons.

Claims (3)

The online coupon management system A terminal including a web browser supporting an Internet connection and responsible for transmitting and receiving information on the Internet; If you operate a site on the Internet, post a coupon on the Internet site, and the user requests a coupon by accessing it through the terminal, query the serial number of the coupon to the coupon management server and provide the received serial number to the terminal. Coupon agency server; An online shopping mall that sells goods or services online, permits the use of online coupons, receives a serial number from a terminal, transmits the payment information to a coupon management server together with payment information, and accepts the use of coupons; Receive a serial number query of the coupon input from the coupon agency server, generates a serial number that is not duplicated and transmits to the coupon agency server, and stores the association code of the coupon, product code, and the serial number assigned to the coupon Receiving the serial number and payment information transmitted from the online shopping mall, checking whether the coupon is duplicated based on the serial number, determining whether the coupon can be used according to the stored coupon information, and determining whether to approve the coupon. Coupon management server that calculates the payment amount applied to the coupon discount amount when sending to, and approves the use of the coupon Online coupon management system comprising a. According to claim 1, wherein the coupon management server A database unit serving as information about the coupon and the serial number; Receiving a serial number request signal for the online coupon, generating a serial number that is not duplicated and giving the coupon, and a serial number generation unit for storing the database unit in association with the assigned serial number and the coupon; When the payment information and the serial number of the coupon are received online, the serial number stored in the database is compared to determine whether the serial number is duplicated, whether the coupon corresponding to the serial number is available, and classified by the distributed coupon agency. Serial number authentication unit for storing the; Coupon payment amount calculation unit that calculates the payment amount by applying the discount amount of the coupon when the coupon is available Online coupon management system comprising a. A coupon agency server for supplying coupons online or offline; An online shopping mall; In the online coupon management system comprising a coupon management server, If the online coupon request signal is sent from the coupon agency to the coupon management server, the coupon management server generates and transmits a serial number, the generated serial number, the corresponding coupon agency code and the product code is stored in association and, Receiving a coupon with a serial number if the user is offline; When the payment information and the serial number of the online or offline coupon are transmitted from the online shopping mall, the coupon management server determines whether the transmitted serial number is duplicated, and verifies whether the coupon corresponding to the serial number can be used and authenticated. Identifying a distributor code for distributing the coupon; In the case of an authenticated coupon, the coupon management server calculates and provides a payment amount by applying a discount amount of the coupon. Online coupon management method comprising a.