WO2018216399A1

WO2018216399A1 - Purchase history management system and purchase history management method

Info

Publication number: WO2018216399A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/015758
Authority: WO
Inventors: 足立　秀人; 賢一松田
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2017-05-22
Filing date: 2018-04-16
Publication date: 2018-11-29

Abstract

Provided is a purchase history management system comprising a purchase history management server and an information terminal device. The purchase history management server stores purchase history data of a product purchased at a store by a customer, in association with first product identification information. The information terminal device stores second product identification information. The first product identification information may be uniquely associated with the second product identification information. The purchase history data is non-customer-identifying information, whereby individual customers cannot be personally identified.

Description

Shopping history management system and shopping history management method

This disclosure relates to a system and method for recording and managing products purchased by customers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for recording products purchased by customers in daily life and referring to the recorded information as required by the customers.

Electronic receipts that send receipt data to mobile terminals (cell phones, smartphones, etc.) held by customers instead of receipts printed on paper pieces issued at point-of-sale (POS) points of sale (POS) ,Are known. By using the electronic receipt, there is an advantage that the consumables of the receipt printer including the printing roll paper can be reduced for the store side, and there is an advantage that the receipt data can be easily managed for the customer. A system has been proposed in which this advantage is further developed so that a customer can manage the inventory of purchased items and calculate food loss (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, an example in which a service for not only a customer but also a store is provided by a receipt management system is also disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Special table 2016-162201 Special table 2016-128954 gazette

The shopping history management system of the present disclosure has a shopping history management server and an information terminal device.

The shopping history management server stores shopping history data of products purchased by the customer at the store in association with the first product identification information.

The information terminal device stores the second product identification information.

The first product identification information and the second product identification information can be uniquely associated.

Shopping history data is customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual.

The shopping history management method of the present disclosure is:
Storing the shopping history data of the product purchased by the customer in the store in the shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information;
Storing the second product identification information uniquely associated with the first product identification information in the information terminal device held by the customer;
Have
The shopping history data is non-customer information that cannot identify a customer as an individual.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a shopping recognition system that is a part of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view of a wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for recognizing a shopping operation of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a wristband having a customer wireless tag of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a wristband having a customer wireless tag of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a store illustrating the shopping flow line of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for recognizing an illegal operation of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating the incidental information of the wireless tag corresponding to the shopping behavior (normal operation) of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating the incidental information of the wireless tag corresponding to the shopping behavior (unauthorized operation) of the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping history management system according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for recognizing the shopping operation of the shopping history management system according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping history management system according to the second modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the shopping history management system according to the second embodiment.

In the configurations described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, after individual customers are identified, consumption behavior (shopping history) is recorded in the purchased product management server or receipt management system. Patent Document 1 states that “the storage unit 33 includes a member master 33a in which member information regarding each member is registered. The member information includes a member ID, a member's name, age, It includes information such as the family structure, etc. Here, the family structure is the number of family members, the age of the family, the type of pet being kept, etc. ". Further, Patent Document 2 states that “The member management unit 11 registers purchasers and sellers who are users of the service as members and manages member information. The member management unit 11 manages purchasing information as information to be managed. The customer ID, the seller ID, the communication address of the receipt issuing system 2, etc. ".

That is, in these systems, the customer's personal information and shopping history are stored in a relational relationship in the database. Even if security measures such as encryption are taken, there is no guarantee that information leakage to a third party will never occur. Even if there is no information leakage, information such as “when, where and what the identifiable individual bought” is in a cylinder-out state for the organization operating the server. This "when, where and what you bought" is extremely sophisticated personal sensitive information, and there is a great potential for customers' anxiety about having this institution.

This disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned reasons, and while taking advantage of the ability to record products purchased by customers and refer to them as needed, sensitive information such as `` who, when, where and what '' was purchased. A shopping history management system that is not owned by one institution can be provided.

(Embodiment 1)
(1) Overview The shopping history management system according to the present embodiment records products purchased by customers at retail stores such as convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, drug stores, home appliance mass retailers, home centers, and the like. This system can refer to the information. However, the function of the shopping history management system is not limited to referring to the shopping history, and performs many functions associated therewith. The data managed by the shopping history management system may include the product expiration date and post-mortem additional information in addition to the purchased product name, price, number, date and time of purchase, shop date, etc. Good. The post-product additional information is information on the product updated by an event that occurs after the customer purchases the product, and is, for example, “product collection notification”. For food, daily necessities, durable consumer goods, etc., “Notice of product recovery” mainly due to quality problems corresponds to post-mortem additional information.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an overall configuration of a shopping history management system 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a shopping recognition system 200 that is a part of the shopping history management system 100 according to the first embodiment. However, the configuration described below is merely an example of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiment. Other than this embodiment, various modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea according to the present disclosure.

The shopping history management system 100 of this embodiment is operated in cooperation with the shopping recognition system 200. The shopping history management system 100 is used after the purchase recognition and purchase registration of the customer by the shopping recognition system 200 is performed. As a result of the customer making a purchase using the shopping recognition system 200, the store POS server 101 stores the product identification code of the product purchased by the customer in association with the customer identification information stored in the customer wireless tag 102. . The customer wireless tag 102 is fixed to, for example, a wristband 103 that is wound around the wrist while the customer is making a purchase. The shopping recognition system 200 will be described in detail in (2.1) Shopping recognition system.

The self-accounting machine 104 is communicably connected to the store POS server 101 via an in-store LAN (local Area Network) 105. When the customer holds the customer wireless tag 102 over the self-checkout machine 104, the following three operations are performed. In the first operation, the wireless reader / writer built in the self-checkout machine 104 reads the customer identification information stored in the customer wireless tag 102 and acquires information about the product purchased by the customer from the store POS server 101. The customer confirms the amount displayed on the display 106 of the self-checkout machine 104 and pays with cash or a credit card, debit card, prepaid card or the like.

The second operation is that the self-checkout machine 104 instructs the store POS server 101 to transmit information from the store POS server 101 to the shopping history management server 108. Here, the shopping history management server 108 is communicably connected to the store POS server 101 by a WAN (Wide Area Network) 107. The information to be transmitted is a product identification code related to the current purchase and shopping history data of the product (purchased product name, price, number, date and time of purchase, store, etc.). The store POS server 101 stores the received merchandise identification code and merchandise shopping history data in the first database 109. The product identification code stored in the first database 109 is hereinafter referred to as first product identification information. Here, in the present embodiment, information transmitted from the store POS server 101 to the shopping history management server 108 is customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual. Specifically, customer non-specific information is information that does not include information that can identify a customer as an individual. Examples of information that can identify a customer as an individual include name, address, telephone number, credit card information, and my number.

The third operation is that the self-checkout machine 104 transmits a product identification code to the information terminal device 110 (smart phone or the like) held by the customer. This transmission can also be realized by mail transmission from the self-accounting machine 104 itself or via the store POS server 101. However, it is desirable that the shopping history management program installed in the information terminal device 110 is transmitted as data that can be directly used by the short-range wireless communication 111 or the like. That is, the product identification code is stored in the information terminal device 110 as the second database 112 managed by the shopping history management program. The product identification code stored in the second database 112 is hereinafter referred to as second product identification information. The second product identification information is stored in association with, for example, a registration date (purchase date).

When the above operations are completed, the customer can refer to the information of the product purchased by the customer by the shopping history management program. The shopping history management program is an application program stored in the information terminal device 110 and executed by the arithmetic processing device included in the information terminal device 110. The shopping history management program transmits the second product identification information (list thereof) to the shopping history management server 108, and the shopping history management server 108 indicates that “the first product identification information matches the second product identification information. The first database 109 is searched under the condition “and the extracted shopping history data is returned. The basic functions of the shopping history management program are an automatic search that is automatically executed when the program is started and a manual search that is executed by a customer operation.

When the customer starts the shopping history management program, all the second product identification information stored in the second database 112 is transmitted to the shopping history management server 108 as an automatic search. “When the first product identification information and the second product identification information match, for example, information indicating that“ product collection notification ”is“ present ”as shopping history data, or the time until the expiration date is below a certain value Information is returned to the information terminal device 110. In response to this, the shopping history management program notifies the customer 113. In the manual search, the customer selects (tap) “food expiry date management” from the menu icon. As a result, the screen transitions to an input screen for “purchase date (after the month and day)”, “purchase store”, “food type”, and the like. When the customer inputs only the necessary items and presses the “Search” button, the shopping history management program queries the shopping history management server, and “expiration date”, “purchase date”, “purchase store”, “food type” "Is displayed.

(2) Details Hereinafter, the shopping history management system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

(2.1) Shopping Recognition System FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a shopping recognition system 200 that is a part of the shopping history management system 100 according to the first embodiment. In the shopping recognition system 200, purchase registration is not performed at the cash register, but is temporarily performed when the customer 201 (only the arm portion is shown in FIG. 2) picks up the product 203 (here, an apple) from the product shelf 202. Purchase registration is performed. A product wireless tag 204 is attached to each product lined up on the product shelf 202. The product wireless tag 204 is desirably a passive tag (a wireless tag that does not use a battery and operates using radio waves from a wireless reader / writer as a power source). Passive tags are defined in, for example, F-term 3E142GA04 “Attach an antenna to a semiconductor chip of about 2 mm square and enable non-contact access. It is attached to products, parts, packaging, etc. and used for logistics management. . " The product wireless tag 204 stores a product identification code. On the other hand, the customer 201 carries the customer wireless tag 102. In the present embodiment, the customer wireless tag 102 is fixed to a wristband 103 wound around the wrist by the customer 201. The customer wireless tag 102 may be an active tag (a wireless tag that incorporates a battery and periodically transmits data regardless of reading from the wireless reader / writer). And cheaper. With passive tags, the cost burden on the store side is small even if a sufficient number of wristbands 103 are provided for the number of customers expected to visit the store. The customer wireless tag 102 is for uniquely identifying a customer during the period from product purchase registration to account settlement. If different customer identification numbers are stored in a plurality of customer wireless tags 102 prepared in advance by the store, customers who are coming to the store at the same time can be identified. In this embodiment, this customer identification number is customer identification information.

The product identification code stored in the product wireless tag 204 and the customer identification information stored in the customer wireless tag 102 are read by the radio wave 206 emitted from the wireless reader / writer 205. In this embodiment, the wireless reader / writer 205 is incorporated in an electronic shelf label 207 that displays product information. Note that the installation location of the wireless reader / writer 205 is not limited to the above, and is provided on the front wall 208, the partition frame 209, the bottom surface 210, the ceiling surface (the back side of the bottom surface 210) or the side wall surface (not shown) of the product shelf. It may be installed. The details of the flow in which the wireless reader / writer 205 reads the information of the product wireless tag 204 and the customer wireless tag 102 will be described in (2.2) Wireless reader / writer. The main point is that the customer picks up the product 203 from the product shelf 202. In this series of operations, reading from both wireless tags is performed as a unit. Here, if reading is performed in the order of (1) reading only the customer wireless tag 102 and (2) simultaneous reading of the customer wireless tag 102 and the product wireless tag 204, the customer picks up the product 203 from the product shelf 202. It is judged that On the other hand, if reading is performed in the order of (1) simultaneous reading of the customer wireless tag 102 and the product wireless tag 204, and (2) reading only the customer wireless tag 102, it is determined that the customer has returned the product 203 to the product shelf 202. The

The merchandise identification code and the customer identification information read by the wireless reader / writer 205 are combined with information about whether the customer has taken a series of actions, that is, whether the product is taken from the merchandise shelf 202 or returned to the merchandise shelf 202, and stores the POS server. 101. An electronic shelf label 207 having a wireless reader / writer 205 and a store POS server 101 are communicably connected via a wired or wireless store LAN 105. At the stage of purchasing, that is, when the customer 201 finishes selecting the purchased product, the store POS server 101 determines that the product 203 that the customer 201 has picked up from the product shelf 202 and has not returned to the product shelf 202 has been purchased. And calculate the total amount. The determination that the purchasing has ended is made, for example, when the customer 201 starts the checkout with the self-checkout machine 104 shown in FIG.

(2.2) Wireless Reader / Writer First, the configuration and operation of the wireless reader / writer, which is a hardware feature of the shopping history management system of the present embodiment, will be described. FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view of a wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping recognition system of the present embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping recognition system of the present embodiment. 3A further expands the wireless reader / writer 205 of FIG. 2 and schematically shows the spread 301 of the radio wave 206 radiated by the wireless reader / writer 205 in the air. The radio wave 206 radiated from the wireless reader / writer 205 generally has directivity. And the directivity becomes stronger as the frequency of the radio wave used increases. When the customer wireless tag 102 or the product wireless tag 204 is within the range 301 of the radio wave radiated by the wireless reader / writer 205, the wireless tag returns a response, and the wireless reader / writer 205 stores the information stored in the wireless tag. Can be read. In addition, when there are a plurality of wireless tags in the detection range, a technique for distinguishing and reading these is called anti-collision, which is a widely known technique (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Accordingly, when the customer wireless tag 102 or the product wireless tag 204 is within the range 301 of the radio wave radiated by the wireless reader / writer 205, even if the customer wireless tag 102 exists alone, Even when both the tag 102 and the product wireless tag 204 exist, the wireless reader / writer 205 can read information (customer identification information or product identification code) held by each wireless tag.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3A cut from the near side in the depth direction. In the present embodiment, the antenna (not shown) of the wireless reader / writer 205 is designed so that the spread 301 in the air of the radio wave emitted by the wireless reader / writer 205 faces obliquely upward from the front of the electronic shelf label 207 facing the customer. ing. In this case, a flowchart for recognizing the shopping operation of the customer is shown in FIG. In the operating state, the wireless reader / writer 205 waits for a response from the wireless tag. Here, when the customer 201 reaches the product shelf 202, the customer wireless tag 102 enters the range 301 of the radio wave radiated by the wireless reader / writer 205 in the air, and the wireless reader / writer 205 receives the signal from the customer wireless tag 102. A response is received (block 401 in FIG. 4). Thereafter, the wireless reader / writer 205 determines whether or not the responses from the product wireless tag 204 have been received simultaneously (decision block 402 in FIG. 4). When the customer 201 reaches for the product, the customer 201 does not hold the product at the stage of reaching out, so the decision block 402 determines No and the product flag is set to 0 (false). Set (block 404 in FIG. 4). On the other hand, when the customer 201 wants to return the product once picked up, since the product is held in the hand, it is judged Yes in the decision block 402, and the product flag is set to 1 (true) (FIG. 4 block 403).

Next, when the customer 201 who picked up the product retracts the hand from the product shelf 202, the customer wireless tag 102 again enters the reception range of the wireless reader / writer 205 (block 405 in FIG. 4). Thereafter, the wireless reader / writer 205 determines again whether or not the responses from the product wireless tag 204 are simultaneously received (decision block 406 in FIG. 4). Regardless of whether the determination in the determination block 406 is Yes or No, the process proceeds to the determination block 407 or the determination block 408 for determining whether the flag with goods is 0 or 1. With this two-stage decision block, recognition results of four kinds of customer shopping operations are obtained. In other words, “Acquire product” in block 409, “Return product” in block 410, “Return product and acquire another product” in block 411, “Retracted with just reaching out” in block 412 It is. If any one of “acquire product” in block 409, “return product” in block 410, or “return product and obtain another product” in block 411 is determined, the read product identification code and customer The identification information is transmitted from the electronic shelf label 207 incorporating the wireless reader / writer 205 to the store POS server 101. At this time, information indicating whether the product 203 has been picked up from the product shelf 202 or returned to the product shelf 202 is also transmitted to the store POS server 101 and stored therein.

The electronic shelf label 207 that is communicably connected to the store POS server 101 via a wired or wireless in-store LAN 105 not only transmits the read product identification code and customer identification information to the store POS server 101 but also the original electronic Also serves as a shelf label. That is, in addition to the basic product information such as the product name and product price, the appeal point of the product (such as “use of domestic beef”) and special sale information (such as “closed product, 5 discount from normal price”) can also be displayed. . The electronic shelf label 207 and the store POS server 101 can be connected to not only a wired connection using a normal LAN cable or a wireless LAN such as WiFi, but also a PLC (Power Line Communication) using both a power cable and a LAN cable. : Power line communication) or USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable may be used. Further, if a large number of electronic shelf label fixing sockets that also serve as USB connectors are provided in the product shelf 202, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the position of the electronic shelf label 207 due to a change in the shelf allocation of the product.

(2.3) Customer Wireless Tag FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the first wristband 501 having the customer wireless tag 102. FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a second wristband 502 having a customer wireless tag 102. The first wristband 501 shown in FIG. 5A is made of a fiber material having a hollow cylindrical shape and stretchability. The second wristband 502 shown in FIG. 5B has a hollow cylindrical shape with a part cut away, and is made of a flexible resin material. The customer wireless tag 102 is embedded in any wristband. In the present embodiment, the customer wireless tag 102 is a passive tag similar to the product wireless tag 204. The first wristband 501 or the second wristband 502 may be worn directly on the bare wrist by the customer, or may be wrapped around the cuffs of clothes. In this embodiment, a plurality of customer wireless tags 102 provided in the store store different customer identification numbers, and after the customer who visited the store buys in the store, the customer is uniquely identified until the account settlement is completed. To do. In this embodiment, the first wristband 501 and the second wristband 502 are collectively referred to as the wristband 103.

Next, the flow of shopping using the wristband 103 having the customer wireless tag 102 will be described. FIG. 6 is a store plan view showing the normal shopping flow of customers. When the customer 602 enters the store from the entrance 601 of the store 600, it is notified that “Please take a wristband.” And the wristband 103 is taken from the wristband stocker 603. This notification is performed, for example, by automatic sound reproduced from a speaker built in the wristband stocker 603. When the wristband 103 is taken, the automatic voice alerts “Please take the product with the wristband attached hand”. The customer 602 picks up the merchandise from the first merchandise shelf 604 and the second merchandise shelf 605 in the store 600 and puts them in a bag that the customer 602 owns and carries. (2.2) When the customer wireless tag 102 and the product wireless tag 204 are correctly recognized by the procedure described in the wireless reader / writer, "Thank you for your purchase." This notification is performed, for example, by automatic sound reproduced from a speaker built in the electronic shelf label 207.

After this, the customer proceeds to the self-checkout machine 104 and again holds the wristband 103 with the customer wireless tag 102 attached thereto. The operation of the self-settlement machine at this time will be described in (2.5) Self-settlement machine. After the account settlement, the customer 602 is informed from the self-accounting machine 104 that “please return the wristband to the place where it was originally”, passes through the security gate 606 while wearing the wristband 103, and the wristband stocker 603. Return the wristband. The provision of the wristband stocker 603 outside the crime prevention gate 606 is a configuration requirement for preventing customer fraud (shoplifting) in the present embodiment, but (2.4.2) crime prevention gate. The details of fraud prevention in

(2.4) Customer Fraud Prevention Preventing customer fraud (shoplifting) is an important issue in store management. This section describes how to prevent customer fraud in two stages: the stage where the customer picks up the goods from the merchandise shelf and the stage where the customer finishes the account settlement and goes out of the store through the security gate.

(2.4.1) Prevention of fraud in merchandise shelves In the flowchart for recognizing the shopping operation shown in FIG. Injustice to take is assumed. In addition to such intentional fraud, it may be assumed that the merchandise 203 is picked up by a hand that does not carelessly attach the wristband 103, or the customer wireless tag 102 is not well detected by the wireless reader / writer 205. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for recognizing these illegal operations. When the wireless reader / writer 205 receives the response of the product wireless tag 204 without the response of the customer wireless tag 102 as shown in the block 701, the process proceeds to block 702, and the customer touches “touch the wristband on the electronic shelf label. "Is notified by automatic voice. Thereafter, if the customer wireless tag 102 is correctly recognized, a determination of “Yes” is made at decision block 703, and the process proceeds to block 403 or block 407 in FIG. 4 as in block 704. On the other hand, if the customer wireless tag 102 is not recognized correctly and the answer is No in the decision block 703, the customer is automatically voiced to inform the customer that an attendant will come. Please wait on the spot (block 705). Is notified that the customer cannot be recognized (block 706). Notification to the store clerk is performed, for example, by displaying on a notification panel around the cash register where the store clerk is resident or by notification to a business terminal carried by the store clerk.

In some cases, the customer knows in advance a blind spot zone where the wireless reader / writer 205 cannot detect the response of the product wireless tag 204 as a deliberate misoperation by the customer that is not detected in the above steps, and the product 203 is picked up through this blind spot zone. Conceivable. In order to prevent such illegal operation, it is important to design the antenna of the wireless reader / writer 205 so that the blind spot zone becomes as small as possible. If the method described in the next section is used, further measures can be taken. is there.

(2.4.2) Fraud Prevention at Crime Prevention Gate FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing supplementary information of a wireless tag corresponding to shopping behavior. The additional information of the wireless tag mentioned here is information newly stored corresponding to the shopping behavior of the customer in addition to the identification information originally stored in the product wireless tag 204 or the customer wireless tag 102. This incidental information may be written as data in the product wireless tag 204 or the customer wireless tag 102 itself by the wireless reader / writer 205, or linked to the product identification code or customer identification information of the product wireless tag 204 or the customer wireless tag 102. The stored data may be stored in the store POS server 101.

FIG. 8A shows a change in incidental information when a customer performs a normal shopping operation. (2.3) As described with reference to FIG. 6 for the customer wireless tag, when the customer 602 enters the store through the entrance 601 of the store 600, “Please take a wristband” is notified, and the wristband stocker 603 makes a list. Take the band 103. At this time, as shown by A1 in FIG. 8A, the customer 602 does not have a product with the product wireless tag 204 attached, and the customer wireless tag 102 attached to the wristband 103 has additional information indicating that there is no purchased product. It is remembered. Thereafter, the customer passes through the security gate 606. However, if the customer does not hold the unregistered product (condition 1) and the customer holds the registered product, the customer wireless tag 102 is used. Can pass through the security gate 606 only when the two conditions (condition 2) are purchased and settled at the same time are satisfied.

[Customers who have just received the wristband satisfy the condition 1 and the condition 2 and therefore can pass through the security gate 606.] Next, as shown in A2, when the customer 602 picks up the product 203 in a form that is correctly read by the wireless reader / writer 205 on the product shelf 604, the customer 602 purchases the product wireless tag 204 of the product 203 that the customer 602 picks up. The registered supplementary information is stored, and the customer wireless tag 102 stores supplementary information on unsettled purchase merchandise. Since the condition 2 is not satisfied in this state, the customer is prohibited from passing through the security gate 606. Here, in order to prohibit passage, in addition to the means that a road stop bar or the like physically blocks the progress of the customer 602, a loud speaker sound that echoes in the store notifies "Do not take out unpaid items." Alternatively, it may be a means for notifying a store clerk through a notification panel or a business terminal.

Next, as shown by A3 in FIG. 8A, when the product 203 that the customer 602 has picked up is returned to the product shelf 604, the customer 602 does not have the product 203 with the product wireless tag 204 attached thereto, The incidental information of the attached customer wireless tag 102 is reset without the purchased product. If the customer 602 did not buy anything, this state is maintained, so that the customer 602 can pass through the security gate 606. Further, when the customer 602 who bought the product performs account settlement with the self-accounting machine 104, the incidental information stored in the customer wireless tag 102 is already settled for the purchased product as shown in A4. Therefore, the condition 1 and the condition 2 are satisfied, and the customer can pass through the security gate 606.

Furthermore, A5 is an operation for a companion of a customer 602 who makes a purchase. In general, it is considered that such a companion does not take the wristband 103, and since the conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied, the person may pass through the security gate 606 as it is. However, since it is also assumed that the customer 602 who wants to purchase has forgotten to take the wristband 103, even if he / she notifies the security gate 606 again that “the customer who is shopping please take the wristband”. Good.

On the other hand, FIG. 8B shows a change in incidental information when a customer performs an illegal shopping operation. B1 is a case where the product 203 is picked up from the product shelf 604 so that the customer 602 is not detected by the wireless reader / writer 205. In this case, the incidental information of the customer wireless tag 102 remains without purchased merchandise, but the incidental information of the merchandise wireless tag 204 also remains unregistered for purchase. Therefore, if the customer 602 tries to pass through the security gate 606 as it is, the condition 1 is not satisfied and the passage of the security gate 606 is prohibited. B <b> 2 is a case where the customer wants to leave the store without paying the account with the self-checkout machine 104. In this case, since the condition 2 is not satisfied, the passage through the security gate 606 is still prohibited.

Further, B3 is a case where the customer picks up from the product shelf 604 so that only some (high price) products are not detected by the wireless reader / writer 205, and performs a regular shopping operation for the remaining products. In this case, since it is detected that the customer 602 has a product that is not registered for purchase, passage through the security gate 606 is prohibited. B4 is a case where the wristband 103 is left in the store after the customer performs purchase registration by the wireless reader / writer 205. In this case, since the incidental information cannot be read from the customer wireless tag 102, the condition 2 is not satisfied and the passage through the security gate 606 is prohibited.

As mentioned above, it has been exemplified that this embodiment can respond (prevent) to typical customer fraudulent operations, but the countermeasures against customer fraud prevention are not limited to these, and fraud prevention and crime prevention in product shelves. It is possible to implement various combinations of fraud prevention at the gate.

(2.5) Self-adjustment machine Although the operation of the self-adjustment machine 104 has been described in (1) Outline, the details will be described again in this section with reference to FIG. When the customer holds the customer wireless tag 102 over the self-checkout machine 104, the following three operations are performed. In the first operation, the wireless reader / writer built in the self-checkout machine 104 reads the customer identification information stored in the customer wireless tag 102, and sends the corresponding product identification code (purchased by the customer) from the store POS server. get. The store POS server 101 also stores price information corresponding to the product identification code, and the self-checkout machine 104 notifies the customer of the payment amount. This notification is performed by displaying the amount of money on the display 106 of the self-accounting machine 104, for example. The customer pays with cash or a credit card, debit card, prepaid card or the like.

The second operation is that the self-checkout machine 104 instructs the store POS server 101 to transmit information from the store POS server 101 to the shopping history management server 108. Here, the shopping history management server 108 is communicably connected to the store POS server 101 by the WAN 107. The information to be transmitted includes the product identification code (first product identification information) of the purchased product and the purchase history data such as the purchased product name, price, number, purchase date and time, store associated with the first product identification information. These pieces of information are stored in the first database 109. Further, the expiration date of the product may be stored in the first database 109 in association with the first product identification information. The expiration date may be stored as data in the product wireless tag 204 itself, or may be obtained by inquiring the manufacturer's server using the product identification code.

Here, I will explain the product identification code again. It is assumed that the first product identification information and the second product identification information in the present embodiment are the product identification codes themselves stored in the product wireless tag 204. In clothing and the like, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wireless tag is attached to a product to uniquely identify the product. In the RFID wireless tag, not only the type of product such as a barcode is specified, but individual product management can be realized by assigning an identification code to each product. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced the concept of deploying this individual product management function to food and using it for expiration date management (see Non-Patent Document 2). That is, the situation that the expiration date of many foods can be determined by the wireless tag is not realized at the time of filing this application, but it is realized early. The expiry date management function in the present embodiment is based on the premise that the expiry date of food can be determined by the RFID wireless tag, but other functions can be performed independently of this.

Note that the data stored in the product wireless tag 204 itself and the data that can be obtained by inquiring a server such as a manufacturer using the product identification code are not limited to the expiration date. Examples of data that can be obtained other than the expiration date include manufacturer information and distribution history information. That is, the shopping history data includes information other than the product identification code read directly from the product wireless tag 204 or information obtained indirectly based on the product identification code read from the product wireless tag 204. It may be stored in the database 109.

In the present embodiment, the information transmitted from the store POS server 101 to the shopping history management server 108 is customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual. The personal identification information stored in the customer wireless tag 102 in the present embodiment is for identifying the customer regarding the current purchase, and is not information for identifying the customer as an individual. However, for example, when a customer uses a credit card, debit card, prepaid card or the like for payment at the self-checkout machine 104, personal identification information associated therewith may be acquired by the store POS server 101. Also in this case, information for identifying an individual is not transmitted from the store POS server 101 to the shopping history management server 108. This is a point that can be strongly appealed when publicizing the shopping history management system itself to customers (general consumers).

The third operation is that the self-checkout machine 104 transmits a product identification code to the information terminal device 110 (smart phone or the like) held by the customer. A shopping history management program is installed in the information terminal device 110 in advance, and the information terminal device 110 communicates with the self-checkout machine 104 by short-range wireless communication or the like in accordance with a command from the shopping history management program. The product identification code received here is stored in the second database 112 managed by the shopping history management program as second product identification information. The second product identification information is stored in association with, for example, a registration date (purchase date).

(2.6) Shopping history management server and shopping history management program As described above, the shopping history management server 108 is communicably connected by the store POS server 101 and the WAN 107. There are various aspects of the place and its operation. The installation history of the shopping history management server 108 may be, for example, a head office company that supervises affiliated stores, or may be an operating company jointly invested by a plurality of headquarter companies. Furthermore, a third-party organization independent of the company that manages these stores may be established. Further, they may be installed on-premises in the buildings of these companies or institutions, or may be provided as cloud services.

The shopping history management server 108 stores the first product identification information received from the store POS server 101 and the purchase history data associated with the first product identification information, the price, the number, the purchase date and time, the store, etc. in the first database. 109 is stored. Further, information other than the product identification code read directly from the product wireless tag 204 or information obtained indirectly based on the product identification code read from the product wireless tag 204 is stored in the first database 109. May be. This is, for example, a product expiration date, a manufacturer, or a distribution history. Further, in association with the first product identification information, information on the product updated by the event that occurs after the customer purchases the product may be additionally recorded when the event occurs. The information regarding the updated product is, for example, “product collection notification”. In each case of food, daily necessities, durable consumer goods, etc., there may be a “product collection notice” mainly due to quality problems, but customers (general consumers) often do not notice it. Occur.

When the customer activates the shopping history management program, all the second product identification information stored in the second database 112 is transmitted to the shopping history management server 108 as an automatic search. “If the first product identification information and the second product identification information match, the shopping history data to be notified to the customer is extracted. The shopping history data to be notified to the customer is, for example,“ Notice of product collection ”. Is “Yes” information, and “Time to expiration” is “Less than a certain value”. In response to this, the shopping history management program notifies the customer 113. This notification is made on the display screen of the information terminal device 110, “△△ bought on XX on XX days is subject to product collection.” Or “△△ bought on XX on XX days. Is expired by tomorrow. "Is displayed and a notification sound is sounded or a similar announcement is made by automatic voice. However, the method is not limited to these methods as long as the customer can recognize correctly.

When the automatic search of the shopping history management program is finished, a menu screen for the customer to perform input operations is displayed. The menu icon on the menu screen includes, for example, “Food Expiration Date Management”, and when this is selected (tapped), the screen transitions to “Purchase Date (after the month and day)”, “Purchase Store”, “Food Store” Input screen such as “Type”. When the customer inputs only the necessary items and presses the “Search” button, the shopping history management program displays a list of second product identification information whose “registration date” is after the “purchase date” and the condition of the product for which data is to be acquired. (Conditions such as “Buy Shop” and “Food Type”) and shopping history data you want to obtain (in this case, “Date of Purchase”, “Purchase Store”, “Type of Food”, etc. in addition to “Expiration Date”) Send to shopping history management server. When the second product identification information matches the first product identification information, the shopping history management server performs a database search including the product condition and returns the requested shopping history data. Based on the reply information, the shopping history management program displays a list of “expiration date”, “purchase date”, “purchase store”, “food type”, and the like.

Also, in the “Electronic Household Account” menu, “Year / Year” is entered, and the desired item is selected from the options such as “By Date / By Item / By Store”. The shopping history management program extracts a list of second identification information whose “registration date” is “○ year ○ month”, inquires the shopping history management server, and displays, for example, the purchase amount for each item. In addition, the “Delete old data” menu is provided, and either “Food only / Other than durable consumer goods / All” is selected and the “Purchase date (before the month ○ day)” is entered, so that the second Data in the database 112 may be selectively deleted. Not limited to these, the program developer can freely design the menu displayed in the shopping history management program.

(2.7) Customer Behavior Analysis It will be described that the shopping history management system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is useful not only for the customer side but also for a store or a company that operates the store. Individual transaction information by different customers accumulated in the store POS server 101 is sequentially transmitted to the shopping history management server 108 for each transaction. The shopping history management server 108 collects and analyzes detailed data for each individual transaction collected from affiliated stores as big data, and generates information useful for store management. However, the shopping history management server 108 is unique to the present embodiment that cannot be obtained by the conventional POS system. For example, there is the following analysis.

(2.7.1) Customer's hesitation behavior According to this embodiment, as described in (2.2) Wireless reader / writer, “Get product”, “Return product”, “Return product” from the product shelf Four types of customer behavior, “acquire another product” and “just retracted” are transmitted to the store POS server 101 together with the product identification information. At this time, the time when this event occurs is also stored in the store POS server 101. Further, the information stored in the store POS server 101 is transmitted to the shopping history management server 108 as described above. In general, in the POS system, product data is not simply described in a list but hierarchically divided into product groups. The customer behavior data aggregated in the shopping history management server 108 for each product group is analyzed across a plurality of stores.

For example, weighting actions such as “returning a product”, “returning a product and obtaining another product”, or “just reaching out and withdrawing” and summing up by product group may cause customers to be confused about product selection. Many product groups are clarified. There are various reasons why a particular customer may take this action for a particular product, but statistically a large number of customers are confused by the fact that the best-selling products that customers want are available. It is determined that there is no selling item in the product group in the first place. If the former, the headquarters that supervises the affiliated stores will be an opportunity to review the assortment of goods at each store, and the latter will be an opportunity to consider marketing strategies to create a hot selling product in the product group.

On the other hand, it is possible to estimate the time required until the customer decides to purchase the product from the shopping behavior of the customer immediately before “acquiring the product”. In other words, the customer bought the product immediately without hesitation if he calculated the time it took to purchase the product after taking a purchase operation on another product shelf immediately before taking into account the travel time between both product shelves. Becomes clear. If it is statistically found that a large number of customers are buying immediately, the product is determined to be a popular item. If such a product is out of stock, the customer is disappointed with the store and may be the reason for the store losing future sales opportunities, suggesting that it always stores stock.

(2.7.2) Prediction of Unauthorized Behavior of Customer As an additional customer behavior analysis, in addition to the normal shopping operation of the customer shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 8B, B1 or B3 fraudulent goods and merchandise shelves, fraudulent times, and if B3, regular purchased merchandise and shoplifted merchandise can be acquired as data. If these data are statistically compared between the stores, it can be used not only to prevent a specific shoplifting action at a specific store but also to make a shop that is difficult to shoplift. Further, by summing up the buying-around behavior of shoplifted customers, it is possible to extract the characteristics of shoplifter behavior patterns and predict shoplifting from customer behavior. If such a prediction can be made, it is possible to directly photograph the shoplifting site with a security camera, and it is possible to obtain not only shoplifting situation evidence obtained by this embodiment but also direct evidence.

(2.7.3) Shopping behavior according to the expiration date Generally, customers tend to buy products that have a limited expiration date (long period until the expiration date) among the products on the shelf. This contributes to food loss. In order to avoid this, it has been proposed that the above-mentioned “Declaration of 100 billion convenience store electronic tags” be sold at a discounted price when the expiration date is early. According to the shopping history management system 100 of the present embodiment, it is possible to dynamically grasp the effect of such discount sales, and it is possible to find out what kind of discount is effective. In other words, it is effective for reducing food waste loss if a customer buys a product with an early expiration date by the discount, but the dark discount causes a loss on the store side. Therefore, it is very important for the store management to decide the discount timing and the discount range that the customer thinks to buy the one with an early expiration date. In the present embodiment, the selling price and the expiration date are recorded for each purchase behavior of the customer, and the confusing behavior at that time can be grasped using the data of the shopping history management server 108. Therefore, highly effective analysis can be easily performed.

What is important in the analyzes of (2.7.1) to (2.7.3) above is information about what shopping behavior a single customer took, and who is that customer? Note that there is no need to specify whether there is.

(2.8) Operation of Shopping History Management System Here, the operating organization of the shopping history management system is mentioned. The installation entity of the shopping history management server 108 may be, for example, a headquarter company that supervises affiliated stores. Alternatively, it may be an operating company jointly invested by a plurality of headquarters companies. Alternatively, it may be a third party organization independent of the company that manages the store. Basically, the installation subject of the shopping history management server 108 is an operating organization of the shopping history management system. The management organization of the shopping history management system develops and distributes a shopping history management program, defines a communication protocol with the store POS server 101, the self-checkout machine 104, etc., and enables data communication with the shopping history management server 108. .

For example, the following model can be considered for the profit of such a shopping history management system operating organization. The management organization distributes the shopping history management program to customers (general consumers) free of charge. If the customer has a program free of charge and has a household account book function, an expiration date management function, and a product collection notification function, it can be a clear motivation to use the program. On the other hand, the operating organization sells the analysis result of the customer's lost behavior, the customer's illegal behavior prediction, the shopping behavior according to the expiration date, or the customer shopping behavior big data as the basis of such analysis to the enterprise. In addition, a product collection and notification service is provided to product sales companies for a fee.

In the business model as described above, as the number of users of the program increases, the data sold to the company will be enhanced. This increases the number of participating stores and improves customer convenience. As a result, it is important to create a virtuous cycle (scale benefit) in which the number of users of the program increases. However, since this circulation is in the “chicken-egg relationship”, it may not work at all. One possible solution is to start the operation of the shopping history management system as a customer service at a single store. When such an attempt is started at a plurality of affiliated stores, there is a possibility that a nationwide (or the whole world) unified shopping history management system operating organization may be established as a result of the merger and acquisition that seeks profits of scale.

Also, as another approach, it is conceivable to operate a shopping history management system led by a public institution to reduce food loss. In this case, it is conceivable that the company is motivated to connect the store POS server 101 and the self-checkout machine 104 to the shopping history management server 108 by providing data for the company free of charge.

Regardless of which approach is taken, the customer (general consumer) has a shopping management history system that does not store information about when, where, and what the identifiable individual has bought. This is an extremely important point in installing the shopping history management program in its own information terminal device.

(3) Effect As described above, the shopping history management system 100 according to the present embodiment stores the shopping history data of the product 203 purchased by the customer 602 at the store 600 in association with the first product identification information. It has a server 108. Further, the shopping history management system 100 includes an information terminal device 110 owned by a customer that stores the second product identification information. The first product identification information and the second product identification information can be uniquely associated, and the shopping history data is customer non-specific information that cannot identify the customer 602 as an individual. With such a configuration, an individual cannot be specified only from the first database 109 stored in the shopping history management server 108. That is, a specific individual does not have personal sensitive information such as “when, where, and what he / she bought” in one institution. On the other hand, the second database 112 of the information terminal device 110 owned by the customer records second product identification information of products that the customer has purchased in the past. Then, the shopping history data stored in the first database 109 of the shopping history management server 108 is referred to as necessary.

In addition, the shopping history management system 100 further includes a shopping history management program executed by the arithmetic processing device included in the information terminal device 110. The shopping history management program communicates with the shopping history management server 108 and can refer to the shopping history data stored in the shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information corresponding to the second product identification information. By using the shopping history management program, the customer 602 can easily refer to the information on the products that the customer has purchased in the past.

The first product identification information and the second product identification information may be a product identification code read from the product wireless tag 204 attached to the product. An RFID wireless tag can uniquely identify a product by an individual product, and is highly versatile when linked with other databases.

The shopping history data stored in the shopping history management server 108 is indirectly obtained based on information other than the product identification code read directly from the product wireless tag 204 or the product identification code read from the product wireless tag 204. Information may be included. Such information is, for example, the expiration date of the product, the manufacturer, and the distribution history. If the shopping history management server stores the expiration date associated with the first product identification information, the expiration date can be notified by the shopping history management program. In addition, if the manufacturer is known, the customer 602 can easily make an inquiry about the product.

The shopping history data stored in the shopping history management server 108 may include information on the product updated by an event that occurs after the customer 602 has purchased the product 203. This is, for example, “product collection notification”, and the customer 602 can reliably recognize “product collection notification”.

The first product identification information and the second product identification information may be a product identification code read from the product wireless tag 204 attached to the product. In this case, the shopping history management system 100 uses a customer wireless tag 102 that stores customer identification information for identifying the customer 602 carried by the customer 602, a product wireless tag 204, and a customer wireless tag 102. A wireless reader / writer 205 that reads information may be further included. The reading of the product identification code from the product wireless tag 204 and the reading of the customer identification information from the customer wireless tag 102 may be performed in a series of operations by the customer 201 handling the product 203. By this reading, it can be determined that the customer 201 has picked up the product 203 from the product shelf 202. The hardware used in the above configuration is inexpensive for the product wireless tag 204, the customer wireless tag 102, and the wireless reader / writer 205. For example, if the product wireless tag 204 and the customer wireless tag 102 are passive tags, they are still about 10 to 20 yen each, and further price reduction is expected in the future. The wireless reader / writer 205 also has a reader / writer function of one thousand yen, which is expected to further reduce the price.

If the customer wireless tag 102 is installed on the wristband that the customer 201 wraps around the wrist, the trouble of carrying the customer 201 when buying around is saved. Further, when the customer 201 reaches the product shelf 202, the wireless reader / writer 205 can surely read from the customer wireless tag 102. Furthermore, the accuracy of reading by the wireless reader / writer 205 can be improved by attaching the wireless reader / writer 205 to the product shelf.

Furthermore, the shopping recognition system 200 of the shopping history management system 100 may have a store POS server 101 that stores transaction information of products in the store 600. The product identification code and customer identification information read by the wireless reader / writer 205 are stored in the store POS server 101 as purchase information or purchase cancellation information on the product 203 by the customer 201. As a result, transaction information after the customer 201 finishes buying can be acquired from the store POS server 101. Further, the fact that the product 203 has been read by the wireless reader / writer 205 can be stored in the store POS server 101 as product supplementary information associated with the product identification code and customer supplementary information associated with the customer identification information. Thereby, it is possible to determine the legitimacy (not shoplifted) of the purchase behavior of the product 203 by the customer 201.

The store POS server 101 is connected to the shopping history management server 108 via a network. The store POS server 101 transmits, to the shopping history management server 108, customer non-specific information that cannot identify the customer 201 as an individual in the transaction information stored in the store POS server 101. As a result, the effect that the individual cannot be specified only from the first database 109 stored in the shopping history management server 108 can be ensured. Further, although the individual is not specified, information on “what shopping behavior a certain customer has taken” is accumulated in the shopping history management server 108, so that the customer's lost behavior, the customer's fraud behavior prediction, the expiry date It is possible to analyze shopping behavior according to the situation.

(4) Modifications Modifications of Embodiment 1 are listed below.

(Modification 1)
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping recognition system, which is a modification of FIG. 3B. In this modification, the electronic shelf label 901 has a first wireless reader / writer 902 and a second wireless reader / writer 903. The spread of the first radio wave 904 emitted from the first wireless reader / writer 902 in the air faces obliquely upward from the customer-facing front of the electronic shelf label 901 as in FIG. 3B. On the other hand, the second wireless reader / writer 903 emits the second radio wave 905, and its spread in the air covers the entire product 907 on the product shelf 906. FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for recognizing the shopping operation of the customer in this modification. As in block 1001, the second radio wave 905 of the second wireless reader / writer 903 recognizes all the products 907 by the response from the product wireless tag 908 in the operating state. On the other hand, the first radio wave 904 of the first wireless reader / writer 902 is waiting for a response from the customer wireless tag 909. Here, when the customer tries to reach the product shelf 906, the customer wireless tag 909 enters the range of the first radio wave 904 radiated by the first wireless reader / writer 902, and the first wireless reader / writer 902 A response from the customer wireless tag 909 is received (block 1002). Thereafter, it waits again until the first wireless reader / writer 902 receives a response from the customer wireless tag 909 (block 1003). This second response reception is the timing when the customer withdraws his hand from the product shelf 906.

After the customer withdraws his hand from the merchandise shelf 906, the response from the merchandise wireless tag 908 is confirmed in decision blocks 1004, 1005 and 1006, and it is judged whether or not the merchandise 907 has decreased or increased. Corresponding to the four combinations of Yes and No in the determination blocks 1004, 1005, and 1006, recognition results of four types of shopping operations of customers are obtained. That is, the block 1007 “get the product”, the block 1008 “return the product”, the block 1009 “return the product and get another product”, and the block 1010 “reach and retract” It is. If any one of “obtain product” in block 1007, “return product” in block 1008, and “return product and obtain another product” in block 1009 is determined, the read product identification code and customer The identification information is transmitted from the electronic shelf label 901 to the store POS server 101. At this time, information indicating whether the product has been picked up from the shelf or returned to the shelf is also transmitted to the store POS server 101 and stored therein.

In this modified example, when the wireless reader / writer 902 does not recognize the customer wireless tag 909 and there is an increase or decrease in the product in the product shelf 906, it is described in “(2.4.1) Fraud prevention in product shelf”. In the same manner as above, the customer is informed by an automatic voice, "A clerk will come. Please wait on the spot." In the customer's shopping motion recognition according to this modification, the increase / decrease of the product 907 in the product shelf 906 is directly monitored. Therefore, the accuracy of determining whether the customer has picked up the product from the product shelf 906 or returned to the product shelf 906 is further increased.

(Modification 2)
FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wireless reader / writer unit of the shopping recognition system, which is a further modification of the first modification shown in FIG. In this modification, the electronic shelf label 1101 has a wireless reader / writer 1102. The spread of the radio wave 1103 radiated by the wireless reader / writer 1102 covers the entire product 1105 on the product shelf 1104 and spreads upward. In this modified example, as in the modified example 1, the radio wave 1103 of the wireless reader / writer 1102 recognizes all the products 1105 by the response from the product wireless tag 1106 in the operating state. The radio wave 1103 of the wireless reader / writer 1102 also waits for a response from the customer wireless tag 1107. Here, when the customer tries to reach the product shelf 1104, the customer wireless tag 1107 enters the range of the radio wave 1103 emitted by the wireless reader / writer 1102, and the wireless reader / writer 1102 receives the response from the customer wireless tag 1107. To do.

In this modified example, the reading of the product wireless tag and the reading of the customer wireless tag, which were performed using the two wireless reader / writers in the modified example 1, are performed by one wireless reader / writer 1102. The point that reading is performed by one wireless reader / writer is the same as in the first embodiment, but the radiation direction of radio waves is different from that in the first embodiment, and the entire product 1105 on the product shelf 1104 is covered. . Thereby, since the modification 2 directly monitors the increase / decrease of the product 1105 in the product shelf 1104, the accuracy of determining whether the customer picks up the product from the product shelf 1104 or returns it to the product shelf 1104 This has the effect of the first modification in which the height is further increased. Furthermore, the modification 2 also has the effect of the first embodiment that only one wireless reader / writer is required.

(Modification 3)
Although not particularly illustrated, this is another modification of Modification 1, in which the second wireless reader / writer is not built in the electronic shelf label but is provided on the ceiling surface of the commodity shelf. According to this modification, there is an effect that it becomes easy to individually identify and receive responses from individual product electronic tags attached to the products arranged on the product shelf.

(Embodiment 2)
(1) Overall Configuration FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of the shopping history management system according to the second embodiment. The feature of the shopping history management system 1200 according to the present embodiment in comparison with the first embodiment is that the shopping tag management system 1200 shown in FIG. 2 does not use the RFID tag recognition device 1202 connected to the self-checkout machine 1201. The product wireless tag 1203 is read. The wireless tag recognition device 1202 is provided with a wireless reader / writer 1204, and reads the product wireless tag 1203 of the product 1205 placed in the wireless tag recognition device 1202. A customer (not shown) makes a purchase while putting the product 1205 in the shopping bag 1206. At the stage where all purchases of the product 1205 are completed, the customer puts a shopping bag 1206 containing the product 1205 in the wireless tag recognition device 1202 placed beside the self-checkout machine 1201. Then, for example, by pressing a settlement start button displayed as an icon on the display 1207 of the self-settlement machine 1201, reading of the product wireless tag 1203 by the wireless reader / writer 1204 is started.

In this embodiment, the product 1205 purchased by the customer is registered in the self-checkout machine 1201 at the same time as the product wireless tag 1203 is read by the wireless reader / writer 1204. Therefore, the customer wireless tag 102 used in the shopping recognition system 200 of Embodiment 1 is not necessary. The product identification code read from the product wireless tag 1203 by the wireless tag recognition device 1202 is stored in the self-checkout machine 1201, and then the following three operations are performed.

In the first operation, the self-accounting machine 1201 inquires of the store POS server 1209 that is communicably connected via the in-store LAN 1208 about the price information corresponding to the stored product identification code. To inform you of the payment amount. This notification is performed, for example, by displaying the amount of money on the display 1207 of the self-accounting machine 1201. The customer pays with cash or a credit card, debit card, prepaid card or the like.

The second operation is that the self-checkout machine 1201 instructs the store POS server 1209 to transmit information from the store POS server 1209 to the shopping history management server 1211. The shopping history management server 1211 is communicably connected to the store POS server 1209 by the WAN 1210. The information to be transmitted is a product identification code related to the current purchase and shopping history data of the product (purchased product name, price, number, date and time of purchase, store, etc.). The shopping history management server 1211 stores the received product identification code and product shopping history data in the first database 1212. The product identification code stored in the first database 1212 is hereinafter referred to as first product identification information. Here, as an important requirement in the present disclosure, there is a restriction that information transmitted from the store POS server 1209 to the shopping history management server 1211 is non-customer information that cannot identify a customer as an individual.

The third operation is that the self-checkout machine 1201 transmits a product identification code to the information terminal device 1213 (smartphone or the like) held by the customer. This transmission can also be realized by sending a mail from the self-accounting machine 1201 itself or via the store POS server 1209. However, it is desirable that the shopping history management program installed in the information terminal device 1213 is transmitted as data that can be directly used by the short-range wireless communication 1214 or the like. That is, the product identification code is stored in the information terminal device 1213 as the second database 1215 managed by the shopping history management program. The product identification code stored in the second database 1215 is hereinafter referred to as second product identification information. The second product identification information is stored in association with, for example, a registration date (purchase date).

As is clear from the above description, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the method for reading the product wireless tag 1203, and other configurations, operations, and effects are basically the same as those in the first embodiment. is there. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to construct a system that covers the entire store 600 like the shopping recognition system 200 in the first embodiment. Therefore, it becomes possible to reduce the price of the entire system. In addition, regarding the first embodiment, the household account book function, the expiration date management function, and the product collection notification function disclosed in “(2.6) Shopping history management server and shopping history management program” can be similarly implemented in this embodiment. is there. However, in the present embodiment, there is no action of saving the behavior when the customer makes a purchase around with the time, so the function described in “(2.7) Customer behavior analysis” is restricted.

(2) Effect As described above, the shopping history management system 1200 according to the present embodiment stores the shopping history management server 1211 that stores the shopping history data of the product 1205 purchased by the customer in the store in association with the first product identification information. Have Further, the shopping history management system 1200 includes an information terminal device 1213 held by the customer that stores the second product identification information. The first product identification information and the second product identification information can be uniquely associated, and the shopping history data is customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual. By adopting such a configuration, an individual cannot be specified only from the first database 1212 stored in the shopping history management server 1211. That is, a specific individual does not have personal sensitive information such as “when, where, and what he / she bought” in one institution. On the other hand, the second database 1215 of the information terminal device 1213 held by the customer records second product identification information of products that the customer has purchased in the past. And the shopping history data preserve | saved in the 1st database 1212 of the shopping history management server 1211 are referred as needed.

Further, in the shopping history management system 1200 of this embodiment, the product wireless tag 1203 is read by the wireless tag recognition device 1202 connected to the self-checkout machine 1201. Therefore, there is no need to construct a system for the entire store 600 such as the shopping recognition system 200 in the first embodiment. Therefore, the price of the entire system can be reduced.

As described above, the shopping history management system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a shopping history management server that stores shopping history data of products purchased by a customer in a store in association with the first product identification information; The customer has an information terminal device that stores the product identification information. The first product identification information and the second product identification information can be uniquely associated, and the shopping history data is customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual.

A shopping history management system according to a second aspect further includes, in the first aspect, an arithmetic processing device included in the information terminal device, and a shopping history management program stored in the information terminal device and executed by the arithmetic processing device. Have. The shopping history management program communicates with the shopping history management server and refers to the shopping history data stored in the shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information corresponding to the second product identification information.

In the shopping history management system of the third aspect, in the first aspect, the first commodity identification information and the second commodity identification information are commodity identification codes read from commodity wireless tags attached to the commodity.

In the shopping history management system according to the fourth aspect, in the third aspect, the shopping history data is based on information other than the product identification code read directly from the product wireless tag, or the product identification code read from the product wireless tag. Information obtained indirectly.

In the shopping history management system of the fifth aspect, in the first aspect, the shopping history data includes information on the product updated by an event that occurs after the customer purchases the product.

In the sixth mode, in the third mode, the customer identification tag and the customer identification information are read from the customer radio tag that stores the customer identification information for identifying the customer carried by the customer, and the merchandise radio tag and the customer radio tag. A wireless reader / writer; Reading of the product identification code from the product wireless tag and reading of the customer identification information from the customer wireless tag are performed in a series of operations by the customer who handles the specific product.

The seventh form is the wristband that the customer wireless tag wraps around the wrist in the sixth form.

In the eighth mode, the wireless reader / writer is attached to a product shelf on which products are displayed.

9th form further has store POS server which memorize | stores the transaction information of the goods of a store in 6th form. The product identification code and customer identification information read by the wireless reader / writer are transmitted to the store POS server as product purchase information by the customer and stored in the store POS server.

The tenth mode is the ninth mode, in which the store POS server is connected to the shopping history management server via a network. The store POS server transmits customer non-specific information that cannot identify a customer as an individual to the shopping history management server in the transaction information stored in the store POS server.

The shopping history management method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a step of storing shopping history data of a product purchased by a customer at a store in a shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information, and a first product identification. Storing the second product identification information uniquely associated with the information in the information terminal device held by the customer. The shopping history data is non-customer information that cannot identify a customer as an individual.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to record a product purchased by a customer and refer to it as necessary without holding personal sensitive information in one organization.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Shopping history management system 101 Store POS server 102 Customer wireless tag 103 Wristband 104 Self-accounting machine 106 Display 108 Shopping history management server 109 Database 110 Information terminal device 111 Short-range wireless communication 112 Database 113 Information 200 Shopping recognition system 201 Customer 202 Goods Shelf 203 Commodity 204 Commodity wireless tag 205 Radio reader / writer 206 Radio wave 207 Electronic shelf label 208 Front wall 209 Frame 210 Bottom surface 501 First wristband 502 Second wristband 600 Store 601 Entrance 602 Customer 603 Wristband stocker 604 Commodity shelf 605 Product shelf 606 Security gate 901 Electronic shelf label 902 Wireless reader / writer 903 Wireless reader / writer 904 Electric wave 905 Electric wave 906 Product shelf 907 Product 908 Product wireless tag 909 Customer wireless tag 1000 Convenience store electronic tag 1101 Electronic shelf label 1102 Wireless reader / writer 1103 Radio wave 1104 Product shelf 1105 Product 1106 Product wireless tag 1107 Customer wireless tag 1200 Shopping history management system 1201 Self-checkout machine 1202 Wireless tag recognition device 1203 Commodity wireless tag 1204 Wireless reader / writer 1205 Commodity 1206 Plastic bag 1207 Display 1209 Server 1211 Shopping history management server 1212 Database 1213 Information terminal device 1214 Short-range wireless communication 1215 Database

Claims

A shopping history management server for storing shopping history data of products purchased by the customer in the store in association with the first product identification information;
An information terminal device storing second product identification information,
The first product identification information and the second product identification information can be uniquely associated,
The shopping history data is non-customer information that cannot identify the customer as an individual.
An arithmetic processing unit included in the information terminal device;
A shopping history management program stored in the information terminal device and executed by the arithmetic processing device,
According to the shopping history management program, the information terminal device communicates with the shopping history management server and stores it in the shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information corresponding to the second product identification information. The shopping history management system according to claim 1, wherein the shopping history data is referred to.
The shopping history management system according to claim 1, wherein the first product identification information and the second product identification information are product identification codes read from a product wireless tag attached to the product.
The shopping history data includes information other than the product identification code read directly from the product wireless tag or information obtained indirectly based on the product identification code read from the product wireless tag. 3. The shopping history management system according to 3.
The shopping history management system according to claim 1, wherein the shopping history data includes information on the product updated by an event that occurs after the customer purchases the product.
A customer wireless tag for storing customer identification information for identifying the customer carried by the customer;
A wireless reader / writer that reads the product identification code from the product wireless tag and reads the customer identification information from the customer wireless tag;
Further comprising
The reading of the product identification code from the product wireless tag and the reading of the customer identification information from the customer wireless tag are performed in a series of operations by the customer handling the product. Shopping history management system.
The shopping history management system according to claim 6, wherein the customer wireless tag is installed in a wristband.
The shopping history management system according to claim 6, wherein the wireless reader / writer is attached to a commodity shelf on which the commodity is displayed.
A store POS server for storing transaction information of the product of the store;
The product identification code and the customer identification information read by the wireless reader / writer are transmitted to the store POS server as purchase information of the product by the customer and stored in the store POS server. Shopping history management system.
The store POS server is connected to the shopping history management server via a network,
The shopping history management according to claim 9, wherein the store POS server transmits, to the shopping history management server, customer non-specific information that cannot identify the customer as an individual in the transaction information stored in the store POS server. system.
Storing the shopping history data of the product purchased by the customer in the store in the shopping history management server in association with the first product identification information;
Storing the second product identification information uniquely associated with the first product identification information in an information terminal device held by the customer;
With
The shopping history data is shopping non-specific information in which the customer cannot be identified as an individual.