JP2002342640A - Method and device for introducing merchandise - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently introduce merchandise. SOLUTION: A customer recognition device 2 for recognizing the entrance and exit of a customer 11 by radio communication with a customer terminal 1 is arranged at the entrance of a store, and tag devices 4a to 4c for detecting the approach and contact of the customer to/with merchandise, the staying time of the customer, etc., are respectively connected to respective pieces of merchandise A to C. A service providing server 3 collects result detected by the customer recognition device 2 and the tag device 4 as customer history information, extracts merchandise information defining detailed levels of contents and recommendation information defining merchandise to be introduced from information about merchandise stored in advance on the basis of the history information and transmits the merchandise information and the recommendation information to the customer terminal 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product introduction method and apparatus for introducing information about a product to a customer, and more particularly to a technique for introducing information considered to be of interest and useful to the customer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, advertisement of a product has been performed by distributing information on the product to an unspecified number of users via the Internet or the like. The contents of the information distributed here are general and general because they are intended for unspecified majority.

[0003]

However, when such general and general-purpose information is distributed as described above, information about a product that the user is not particularly interested in is also distributed, and the function as an advertisement is performed. In many cases could not be fulfilled. In addition, the user may be inconvenienced by distributing a large amount of unnecessary information.

On the other hand, if information considered to be useful according to the degree of interest in a product (hereinafter referred to as "degree of interest") can be delivered to a customer who is purchasing the product, an efficient advertisement will be obtained. It is also considered convenient for customers.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a product introduction method and apparatus capable of efficiently introducing products.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a first product introduction method according to the present invention provides information for introducing a product to a customer terminal possessed by a customer who has entered a store. A product introduction method to be transmitted, which is an entry / exit recognition process for recognizing a customer entering / leaving a store, and a history information collection process for collecting history information indicating a history of a selection action when the customer selects a product in the store. A product information extraction process of extracting product information that defines a level of detail for each customer based on the history information from information on products stored in advance,
And a product information transmission process of transmitting the extracted product information to the customer terminal of the customer.

According to the present invention, merchandise information for which a level of detail is determined is extracted based on history information indicating a history of merchandise selection activities by a customer, and transmitted to a customer terminal of the customer. Thus, the customer can obtain appropriate information according to the interest in the product, and can efficiently introduce the product.

[0008] As a service provider and a product manufacturer, it is possible to effectively distribute advertisements and promote sales of products.

This product introduction method is a recommended information extracting process for extracting recommended information defining products to be introduced to a customer based on history information of the customer and other customers from information stored in advance on the product. And a recommended information transmission process of transmitting the extracted recommended information to the customer terminal of the customer,
Is performed.

According to the present invention, recommendation information defining a product to be introduced to a customer is extracted based on history information of the customer and other customers, and transmitted to a customer terminal of the customer. Thus, other products can be efficiently introduced to the customer.

In the present product introduction method, the entry / exit recognition processing is characterized by recognizing an entry / exit of a customer by reading a management number of the customer terminal through wireless communication with the customer terminal.

In the present invention, by reading the management number of the customer terminal through wireless communication with the customer terminal, it is possible to easily and quickly recognize the entry and exit when the customer enters and exits the store. .

[0013] In the product introduction method, the history information collecting process includes a detection process for detecting at least a customer approaching the product, a contact with the product, and a staying time at the location where the product is arranged. And storing the information as information.

In the present invention, the customer's approach to the product,
By detecting contact with the product and the length of stay at the location where the product is located and storing it as history information, it is possible to grasp the degree of interest of the customer in the product.

In the product introduction method, the product information extraction processing is characterized in that a degree of interest of the customer for the product is determined based on the history information, and a level of detail of the product information is determined according to the degree of interest. And

According to the present invention, the level of detail of the product information to be transmitted to the customer is determined in accordance with the degree of interest of the customer in the product, so that the product in which the customer is interested is more detailed. Information can be transmitted.

In this product introduction method, the recommendation information extracting process includes the step of selecting a product selected by another customer who has a history of selecting the same product as the product selected by the customer. Are characterized as products to be introduced in descending order of

According to the present invention, other products selected by another customer who has a history of selecting the same product as the product selected by the customer are introduced as items which are introduced in descending order of selection frequency. By doing so, many other customers who have similar selection behavior are introduced to the customer as recommendation information about other products of interest.

A product introduction device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a product introduction device for transmitting information for introducing a product to a customer terminal possessed by a customer who has entered a store. Entry / exit recognition means for recognizing entry / exit of the product, storage means for pre-stored information about the product, and history information collection means for collecting history information indicating the history of selection behavior when the customer selects a product in the store; Merchandise information extracting means for extracting merchandise information having a level of detail for each customer based on the history information from merchandise information stored in the storage means, and extracting the extracted merchandise information to the customer And a product information transmitting means for transmitting to the terminal.

This product introduction device determines a product to be introduced to a customer based on history information of the customer and other customers from information on the product stored in the storage means and information on the product stored in advance. Recommended information extracting means for extracting the recommended information, and recommended information transmitting means for transmitting the extracted recommended information to the customer terminal of the customer.

In this product introduction device, the entry / exit recognition means recognizes the entry / exit of the customer by reading the management number of the customer terminal through wireless communication with the customer terminal.

In the product introduction device, the history information collecting means includes a tag device for detecting at least a customer's approach to the product, a contact with the product, and a staying time at the location where the product is arranged, and a result of the detection by the tag device. And history information storage means for storing the information as history information.

In the product introduction device, the product information extracting means determines a level of interest of the customer for the product based on the history information, and determines a level of detail of the product information according to the degree of interest. And

[0024] In the present product introduction device, the recommended information extracting means includes a selection frequency for another product which has been selected by another customer having a history of selecting the same product as the product selected by the customer. Are characterized as products to be introduced in descending order of

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a product introduction device according to one embodiment. The product introduction device in the figure is
Customer recognition device 2 for recognizing customer entry / exit at store entrance / exit
A tag device 4a to 4c connected to each of the products A to C displayed in the store via a code, and a service providing server 3 connected to the customer recognition device 2 and the tag devices 4a to 4c by cable. , And is managed and operated by the service provider 13. Each product A, B,
C is, for example, video decks A, B, and C.

The customer recognition device 2 is used when the customer 11
When the user arrives at the entrance / exit of the store with possession of the customer, the entrance / exit of the customer is recognized by wireless communication with the customer terminal 1. This wireless communication is realized by, for example, infrared communication, Bluetooth, or the like.

The customer terminal 1 is a communication terminal that the customer 11 can carry on a daily basis, and is a so-called mobile phone, PHS, PD
A (Personal Digital Assistants) and the like.

The tag devices 4a to 4c are devices each having a communication module and a vibration detection sensor. The communication module transmits and receives information to and from the customer terminal 1 by infrared communication, and transmits and receives information to and from the service providing server 3 via a cable.

In the infrared communication, information cannot be transmitted or received unless the distance between the tag device 4 and the customer terminal 1 is 10 cm to 20 cm, and the customer approaches the product by detecting whether or not transmission and reception are possible. Detect what you have done. The vibration detection sensor detects that the customer is in contact with the product.

The service providing server 3 uses an external network to collect information on commodities in advance. The fact that the customer approached or contacted the product is collected from the tag device 4 as history information when the customer selects the product. Then, based on this history information, product information defining the level of detail of the product is extracted for each customer, and information on products considered to be recommended to the customer (hereinafter referred to as “recommended information”). ) Is extracted, and the extracted product information and recommended information are distributed to the customer terminal 1 of the customer.

Next, a process when the customer recognition device 2 recognizes a customer entry / exit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a signal flow in the configuration diagram of the product introduction device, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a sequence thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the service providing server 3
Is a storage unit for storing information about the customer (customer information 31), information about the product (product information 32), and information about the history of the selection behavior when selecting the product of the customer (history information 33). The control unit 34 performs processing such as storage control and extraction of product information and recommended information based on history information.

First, when the customer 11 has the customer terminal 1 and enters the store from the entrance / exit, the customer recognition device 2 performs processing for recognizing the customer terminal 1. At this time, the customer recognition device 2 checks whether the management number has already been assigned to the customer terminal 1 (d1).

When the customer enters the store for the first time, since the management number is not assigned to the customer terminal 1, the customer terminal 1 notifies the customer recognition device 2 to that effect (d2).

The customer recognition device 2 requests the management number to be assigned to the customer terminal 1 from the service providing server 3 (d3).

The service providing server 3 extracts an unused unique management number from the customer information 31 as shown in FIG. 6 (d4) and transmits it to the customer recognition device 2 (d5). The customer recognition device 2 transmits the management number to the customer terminal 1 (d6).

After receiving the management number, the customer terminal 1
This management number is stored, and a confirmation signal is transmitted to the customer recognition device 2 (d7).

The customer recognition device 2 informs the service providing server 3 that the customer 1 has entered the store by this confirmation signal.
Is notified (d8).

The service providing server 3 confirms that the customer has entered the store by this notification, registers the customer's management number in the customer information, and registers the time at that time in the history information (d9).

On the other hand, when the customer 11 goes out of the store, the customer recognition device 2 recognizes that the customer has opened the store by wireless communication with the customer terminal 1, and the service providing server 3
Notify to

The service providing server 3 confirms that the customer has opened a store based on this notification, and registers the time at that time in the history information.

When the customer enters the store for the second time or later, the customer terminal 1 stores the information when the customer terminal 1 was previously allocated in response to the confirmation of the management number from the customer recognition device 2 (d11). The management number is notified to the customer recognition device 2 (d12).

The customer recognition device 2 notifies the service providing server 3 that the customer has entered the store (d13). The service providing server 3 confirms that the customer has entered the store by this notification, and registers the time at that time in the history information (d
9).

Next, a description will be given of a process for extracting and transmitting merchandise information and recommended information based on history information of a customer. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a signal flow in the configuration diagram of the product introduction device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a sequence thereof.

After the customer recognition device 2 recognizes that the customer 11 has entered the store, when the customer 11 approaches or contacts the product A, the tag device 4a requests the management number from the customer terminal 1 (d21). .

The customer terminal 1 stores the management number in the tag device 4a.
(D22).

The tag device 4a requests the service providing server 3 for product information on the product A and recommendation information for the customer 11 (d23).

The service providing server 3 converts the product A from the product information 32 based on the history information by a method described later.
And the recommendation information for the customer 11 are extracted, and the time when the customer approaches or contacts the product is registered in the history information 33 (d24), and the extracted product information and recommendation information are transmitted to the tag device 4a. Yes (d2
5).

When it is recognized by the tag device 4a that the customer has left the product, the time is registered in the history information 33, and the staying time of the customer near the product is registered. Here, the term “stay” refers to a state in which a customer approaches or contacts a product.

The tag device 4a transmits the received product information and recommended information to the customer terminal 1 (d26), and the customer terminal 1 receives these information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structures of customer information 31, product information 32, and history information 33. The data structure of the customer information 31 has a structure indicating a correspondence between a management number and a use flag indicating whether the management number is in use or unused.

The data structure of the product information 32 includes a product name, a product tag, a price, simple features, brochure level information (brochure information), and detailed information. As shown in FIG. 7, the product name, price, simple features, and pamphlet information are collected from the product manufacturer 14 in advance. The detailed information is the specifications of the product, the usage status and impressions of the user who purchased the product, and the like, and is collected from the product manufacturer 14 or the Internet.

The information collected in this way is classified according to the level of detail of the contents. That is, price and simple features are classified as interest level 1, brochure information showing general content is classified as interest level 2, detailed information is classified as interest level 3, and the level of detailing the content of the product information. And the degree of interest correspond to each other.

The data structure of the history information 33 includes, as its items, a management number, a product tag, entry / exit of a customer to a store, presence / absence of contact with a product, time spent near a product, presence / absence of purchase, entry / exit and contact. -It has a structure that has a start time when a stay is started.

Next, a detailed process for extracting the merchandise information and the recommended information will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In step S1, if the tag device 4 recognizes that the customer has approached the product, the process proceeds to step S2.
Then, the service providing server 3 sets a flag for transmitting information classified into the degree of interest 1, that is, a product name, a product price, and a simple feature.

In step S3, when the tag device 4 recognizes that the customer is staying at the place where the product is located,
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the stay time is 15 seconds or more. If it is longer than 15 seconds, in step S5,
A flag for transmitting information classified into the degree of interest 2, that is, pamphlet information is set.

In step S6, when the tag device 4 recognizes that the customer has contacted the product, in step S7,
It is determined whether the number of contacts is two or more. If the number of contacts is less than two, in step S8, a flag for transmitting information classified into the degree of interest 2 is set. If the number of times of contact is two or more, in step S9, a flag for transmitting information classified into the degree of interest 3, that is, detailed information on the product, is set.

In the service providing server 3, based on the history information 33, the customer, product, number of contacts, stay time,
It is assumed that a list including the latest access start time as an item is created in advance.

In step S10, the service providing server 3
Extracts the product information based on the degree of interest, and transmits the product information to the customer terminal 1 via the tag device 4. The extraction of the merchandise information is performed, for example, when the flag of the interest level 1 is set, the merchandise information 3 is extracted.
It is assumed that only the price and simple features are extracted from No. 3 and, if the flag of interest level 2 is set, pamphlet information is also extracted in addition to this. If the interest level 3 flag is set, further detailed information is also extracted. By using the degree of interest in this way, it is possible to extract product information based on history information. All the extracted information is transmitted.

In step S11, the service providing server 3
Extracts the recommendation information by using the history information of the customer's merchandise selection up to the present when the interest level is 2 or more, and transmits the recommended information to the customer terminal 1 via the tag device 4.

Next, a detailed process for extracting recommended information will be described with reference to FIG.

Based on the history information of the customer A, a product group covering the products selected by the customer A is grasped. By using the history information of other customers, a customer group covering other customers having a selection or purchase history for the same product as the product included in this product group is grasped. On the basis of the history information of each customer included in this customer group, a list is created in which the customers are arranged in order of the number of times of contact with the product, the staying time, and the like, which are closer to those of the customer A.

For a certain number of customers from the top of the list, based on the history information,
The selection behavior such as stay time is grasped, and a list of recommended introduction product groups in which the products are arranged in descending order of selection frequency is created. At this time, for products such as seasonal goods, the service provider 1
3 may create a recommended introduction product group list only for products that are arbitrarily set in consideration of the time of introduction.

The list of recommended recommended product groups is shown in FIG.
It can be said that this is equivalent to a list in which the products that are interested by other customers who have performed a selection action similar to the above are products in which the products are arranged in descending order of the interest. It is thought that it is interesting for.

For example, the top 10 items are extracted from the list of recommended introduction product groups as recommended information and transmitted to the customer A.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, based on the history information 33, product information having a level of detail defined in consideration of the customer's interest in the product is extracted, and the extracted product information is used as the customer information. By transmitting the information to the customer terminal 1, the customer can obtain appropriate information according to the interest in the product, and can efficiently introduce the product.

The service provider 13 and the product manufacturer 1
As a fourth, effective advertisement distribution and sales promotion of a product can be achieved.

According to this embodiment, when extracting product information, the degree of interest of the customer in the product is grasped based on the history information, and the level of detail of the product information is determined in accordance with the degree of interest. By doing so, it is possible to introduce more detailed information on products of interest to customers.

According to the present embodiment, recommendation information defining a product to be introduced to the customer is extracted based on the history information of the customer and other customers, and transmitted to the customer terminal of the customer. Thus, other products can be efficiently introduced to the customer.

According to the present embodiment, when the recommended information is extracted, another customer who has a history of selecting the same product as the product selected by the customer is selected from other products that have been selected. By deciding products to be introduced in order of frequency, it is possible to introduce, as recommended information, to other customers many other customers who have similar selection behaviors are interested.

According to this embodiment, the management number of the customer terminal 1 is read by the customer recognition device 2 through wireless communication with the customer terminal 1, so that the customer can enter and exit the store easily and quickly. The entry and exit can be recognized.

According to the present embodiment, the tag device 4 detects the approach of the customer to the product, the contact with the product, the stay time at the location of the product, and the like, and the service providing server 3 stores the history information. By doing so, it is possible to grasp the degree of interest of the customer for the product.

[Application to Another Embodiment] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the overall system configuration when the product introduction device in the above embodiment is applied to a secondary market.
As described in the above embodiment, the service providing server 3 distributes product information and recommended information to the customer terminal 1 as advertisements.
Receives an advertisement fee from the product manufacturer 14 that manufactures the product.

Further, since the service providing server 3 can grasp the purchase situation and the selection behavior of the product by the customer, by providing such information to the product manufacturer 14, the information providing fee is paid as the price. To receive it. The product manufacturer 14 can use such information for market analysis and the like.

[0077]

As described above, according to the merchandise introduction method and apparatus of the present invention, merchandise information in which the level of detail is determined based on history information indicating the history of merchandise selection activities by customers. By extracting and transmitting the information to the customer terminal of the customer, the customer can obtain appropriate information according to the interest in the product, and can efficiently introduce the product.

As a service provider and a product maker, advertisement distribution and sales promotion of a product can be effectively performed. In addition, by knowing the customer's purchase status and selection behavior, it is possible to predict customer selection behavior,
It can be used to create ideas when developing the next trend product.

According to the merchandise introduction method and apparatus according to the present invention, recommended information defining merchandise to be introduced to the customer is extracted based on the history information of the customer and other customers, and the recommended information is extracted to the customer terminal of the customer. By transmitting, other products can be efficiently introduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a product introduction device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a signal flow when a customer recognition device recognizes a customer entering / leaving.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a sequence when a customer recognition device recognizes a customer entering / leaving.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a signal flow when transmitting product information and recommendation information to a customer terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a sequence when transmitting product information and recommended information to a customer terminal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing respective data structures of customer information, product information, and history information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a process of collecting product information.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of extracting merchandise information and recommended information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a succeeding process of extracting merchandise information and recommended information.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing details of recommended information extraction processing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an overall system configuration to which a product introduction device is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Customer Terminal 2 Customer Recognition Device 3 Service Providing Server 4a, 4b, 4c Tag Device 11 Customer 13 Service Provider 14 Product Manufacturer 31 Customer Information 32 Product Information 33 History Information

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A product introduction method for transmitting information for introducing a product to a customer terminal possessed by a customer who has entered a store, comprising: an entry / exit recognition process for recognizing a customer entering / leaving a store; A history information collection process for collecting history information indicating a history of selection actions when a customer selects a product in a store, and a level of detailing for each customer based on the history information from information on products stored in advance. A product information extracting process for extracting product information defining the following, and a product information transmitting process for transmitting the extracted product information to a customer terminal of the customer. 2. From information on a product stored in advance,
A recommendation information extraction process for extracting recommendation information that defines a product to be introduced to the customer based on the history information of the customer and other customers, and a process of transmitting the extracted recommendation information to the customer terminal of the customer. 2. The product introduction method according to claim 1, wherein a recommendation information transmission process is performed. 3. The product introduction method according to claim 1, wherein the entry / exit recognition processing recognizes the entry / exit of the customer by reading a management number of the customer terminal through wireless communication with the customer terminal. 4. The history information collection process includes a detection process of detecting at least a customer approaching a product, a contact with a product, and a staying time at a location where the product is arranged, and storing a result of the detection as history information. The product introduction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the storage processing is performed. 5. The product information extracting process according to claim 1, wherein a degree of customer interest in the product is determined based on the history information, and a level of detail of the product information is determined according to the degree of interest. The product introduction method according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. The recommended information extracting process is to introduce, in descending order of selection frequency, other products selected by another customer who has a history of selecting the same product as that selected by the customer in the order of selection frequency. The product introduction method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the product introduction method is defined as a product to be purchased. 7. A merchandise introduction device for transmitting information for introducing merchandise to a customer terminal possessed by a customer who has entered a store, comprising: an entrance / exit recognition means for recognizing a customer entering / leaving a store; Storage means for storing information on the product in advance; history information collection means for collecting history information indicating a history of selection behavior when the customer selects a product in the store; Merchandise information extracting means for extracting merchandise information in which the level of detail is determined for each customer based on the history information from the information; merchandise information transmitting means for transmitting the extracted merchandise information to the customer terminal of the customer; Product introduction device characterized by having. 8. A recommendation information extracting unit for extracting recommendation information defining a product to be introduced to a customer based on history information of the customer and other customers from information on the product stored in the storage unit. The product introduction device according to claim 7, further comprising: a recommended information transmitting unit configured to transmit the extracted recommended information to a customer terminal of the customer. 9. The merchandise introduction device according to claim 7, wherein the entry / exit recognition means recognizes the entry / exit of the customer by reading a management number of the customer terminal through wireless communication with the customer terminal. 10. The history information collecting means includes at least a tag device for detecting a customer's approach to a product, a contact with the product, and a stay time at a location where the product is arranged, and a detection result by the tag device as history information. The product introduction device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising: history information storage means for storing. 11. The product information extracting means determines a level of interest of the customer for the product based on the history information, and determines a level of detail of the product information in accordance with the degree of interest. The product introduction device according to any one of 7 to 10. 12. The recommended information extracting means introduces other products selected by another customer who has a history of selecting the same product as the product selected by the customer in descending order of selection frequency. The product introduction device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the product introduction device is determined as a product to be purchased.