JP7483977B1 - Information providing device, information providing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an information providing device, information providing method, and program capable of making useful suggestions regarding coupon issuance to affiliated stores of an electronic payment service. [Solution] The information providing device includes a determination unit that determines whether an affiliated store that uses an electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a predetermined condition, and a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides the affiliated store with proposal information regarding electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service via an interface for affiliated stores. [Selected Figure] Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information providing device, an information providing method, and a program.

Conventionally, a coupon management system that provides coupons to users has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-227953 A

Such coupons are also offered, for example, by electronic payment services. By issuing coupons, affiliated stores of electronic payment services can increase sales and customer numbers. However, with conventional technology, it was sometimes impossible to provide affiliated stores with useful suggestions regarding issuing coupons.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information providing device, information providing method, and program that can make useful suggestions regarding coupon issuance to affiliated stores of electronic payment services.

One aspect of the present invention is an information providing device that includes a determination unit that determines whether a member store that uses an electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a predetermined condition, and a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the member store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides the member store with proposal information regarding electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service via a member store interface.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing device, an information providing method, and a program that can provide useful suggestions regarding coupon issuance to affiliated stores of an electronic payment service.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of coupon information 178. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a method for obtaining and using a coupon by a user terminal device 10. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of external organization information 180. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of suggested information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information on an external benefit provided by an external institution. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of suggested information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information on an external benefit provided by an external institution. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of suggested information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information related to benefits provided by the electronic payment service. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of proposal information provided by a proposal unit 144 based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the proposal information provided by the proposal unit 144 based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the information providing device, the information providing method, and the program of the present invention will be described. The application program and the payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment app. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. The store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in real space, but may also include a virtual store for electronic commerce. The virtual store may also include a store provided by an entity other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for a purchase at the virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, the store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at the store is mainly performed between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be performed between the user and the store.

[Electronic payment service]
1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment app 20, which operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to users. The payment app 20 is installed in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store, and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

The second store terminal device 70 is used by an affiliated store or an administrator (manager) of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. An interface 72 for affiliated stores runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface 72 for affiliated stores may be an app for affiliated stores or a browser. The interface 72 for affiliated stores accepts the creation and setting of coupons by the manager, and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image equivalent to a store code image and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case the payment information is sent from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the affiliated store server. In the following explanation, no distinction is made between these two, and it is assumed that the payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns for electronic payment: pattern 1 and pattern 2.

In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 10 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is the domain of the electronic payment service to which information capable of identifying the store is added, and is associated with the affiliated store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and store name information (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that the store code image 60 may contain not only the store URL but also information on the payment amount. In this case, the step of the user inputting the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information is included in the first payment information and transmitted to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, when the payment app 20 is started, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when the automatic update timing (for example, every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment app 20 (S13). The payment app 20 displays a code image such as a QR code or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using an optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

Note that electronic payment may be made using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuance of a one-time code may be omitted in the store scan, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[Payment server]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. The information management unit 140 further includes, as its functional units, a determination unit 142 and a proposal unit 144. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

The storage unit 170 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, affiliated store/shop information 176, coupon information 178, and external institution information 180.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

The payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a web server function, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The payment content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs by the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100. The payment content providing unit 120 also provides information (content) for displaying various screens for creating coupons, which will be described later, to the second store terminal device 70 (member store interface 72).

The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.

5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the registration information of a user. The user information 172 is, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, as well as information associated with an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a deferred payment setting, a deferred payment limit, a deferred payment usage amount, a deferred payment available amount, a payment method setting, a bank account, a credit card number, a follow-up affiliated store, an acquired coupon, a charge history information, and a payment history information. The user URL is used for a remittance process between users. When registering for a new electronic payment service, it is necessary to register a telephone number and a password. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). Similarly, the email address, and the name, address, and date of birth are information that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that is set by the user by transferring money to the account in advance. The means of transfer include transfer from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated company (bank) and transfer from a registered bank account. The deferred payment setting is information indicating whether or not the setting for enabling electronic payment by deferred payment has been completed, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed." The deferred payment limit is the limit of deferred payment that can be used each month, the deferred payment usage amount is the amount of deferred payment that has already been used in the current month, and the available deferred payment amount is the amount of deferred payment that can be used in the current month, which is calculated by subtracting the deferred payment usage amount from the deferred payment limit. In the figure, only one deferred payment limit is shown, but in reality, there is also a daily upper limit, and the lower of these may be set as the deferred payment limit. Further details of deferred payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance or payment by deferred payment at that time. The bank account and credit card number are information on a bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user transferring funds to the electronic payment service in advance to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information that shows the details of payments made by the user for each payment (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.). Followed affiliated stores, earned coupons, and earned points will be described later.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. Affiliated store/store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store ID is associated with an affiliated store name, category, and sales amount (described above), and a third table 176C in which a store ID is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, affiliated store/store information 176 may also include information such as the affiliated store or store category, store location, and payment pattern.

The information management unit 140 manages the user information 172, the affiliated store/store information 176, and the coupon information 178 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, etc. for the user information 172, the affiliated store/store information 176, and the coupon information 178.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of coupon information 178. Coupon information 178 is information showing a list of coupons generated by an affiliated store or a store manager (operator). Coupon information 178 is information in which, for example, coupon numbers are associated with information such as start and end dates of use, coupon contents, and application conditions. In addition to the above, coupon information 178 may also include information such as the announcement date (or announcement period/posting date, posting period), budget, coupon cover image, title, and description. External organization information 180 will be described later.

[Electronic Payment]
When payment information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For a user whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance", the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales. The item value of the affiliated store's sales is not itself used as electronic money, for example, and an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment for users whose "setting information" is set to "deferred payment" as follows. Deferred payment is set separately from "credit payment" in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor and allows electronic payment that is not dependent on the charge balance within the deferred payment limit. In order to receive the deferred payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used for deferred payment is settled on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debiting from a bank account, for one month's worth. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs provisional payment by adding the payment amount to the deferred payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available deferred payment amount, and when the closing date comes, it performs processing to debit the payment for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above. In addition, if the payment amount exceeds the available deferred payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

[Earning and using coupons]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a method of obtaining and using a coupon by the user terminal device 10. The screen on the left side of FIG. 8 represents a screen displayed on the user terminal device 10 by, for example, a user accessing a dedicated page of an affiliated store of an electronic payment service via the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10. The affiliated store dedicated page includes, for example, an area A1 in which overview information of the affiliated store is displayed, a button B1 for following the affiliated store, and an area A2 in which detailed information of the affiliated store is displayed switchably by tabs. When the user presses the follow button B1, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the follow button B1 has been pressed to the payment server 100 together with the user's identification information (for example, account ID), and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the affiliated store (for example, affiliated store ID) in the "followed affiliated store" of the user information 172. As a result, for example, every time the affiliated store updates the content of the affiliated store dedicated page, the payment server 100 notifies the user via the payment application 20 of a notification indicating that the content of the affiliated store dedicated page has been updated. In other words, when a user follows an affiliated store, this indicates a high level of interest in the affiliated store by that user.

In FIG. 8, for example, when the user taps on "Coupon," a tab included in area A6, coupons that the user can currently use for electronic payment at the store are displayed. When the user, for example, presses button B2 to follow a member store and acquire a coupon, the payment application 20 sends information indicating that the acquire button B2 has been pressed together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID) to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the member store (e.g., member store ID) in "Followed member store" of the user information 172, and stores the identification information of the coupon acquired by the user (e.g., coupon number) in "Acquired coupon."

After the user acquires a coupon, when the user terminal device 10 executes the electronic payment described above, the payment processing unit 130 judges whether the electronic payment matches the application conditions of the coupon acquired by the user, and if it is judged that the electronic payment matches the application conditions of the coupon, the payment application 20 grants the user a benefit according to the coupon content. After that, the payment application 20 displays, as a payment completion screen, an area A3 displaying the payment store, an area A4 displaying the payment amount, and an area A5 displaying the granted benefit. As an example, FIG. 8 shows a case where 25 yen points are granted for a payment of 500 yen in response to the user acquiring a 5% off coupon. In this case, the information management unit 140 adds 25 yen worth of points to the "acquired points" of the user information 172. If the acquired points have a positive value, the payment processing unit 130 preferentially subtracts the acquired points from the payment amount in the user's next electronic payment, and subtracts the remaining amount from the charge balance or the available amount for deferred payment. Alternatively, the coupon may be deducted directly from the payment amount on the day, without being added as points that can be used for payment.

[Coupon creation process]
An affiliated store or a store manager (creator) can generate a coupon for an electronic payment service via the affiliated store interface 72. The creator operates the affiliated store interface 72 to display an interface screen for coupon creation on the display unit of the second store terminal device 70. The creator can create a coupon by inputting information for coupon creation into the interface screen displayed on the display unit. At this time, the creator determines a cover image, which is a background image of the coupon, and inputs coupon information such as a title, a text, a use start date, a use end date, coupon contents, application conditions, a notice date (or notice period/posting date, posting period), and a budget via the interface screen. When the creator creates a coupon and presses, for example, a confirmation button displayed on the affiliated store interface 72, the second store terminal device 70 transmits the coupon information input by the creator to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the received coupon information in the storage unit 170 as coupon information 178.

[Coupon Creation Promotion Process]
In this way, the affiliated store or store manager creates a coupon via the affiliated store interface 72, and the electronic payment user can receive benefits from the affiliated store or store by acquiring and using the coupon. However, in the conventional technology, the affiliated store or store manager has to decide the timing of creating the coupon based on his/her own judgment, and the burden of coupon creation can be heavy. As a result, depending on the affiliated store, coupons may not be created at the appropriate time, even though creating a coupon would attract customers and increase profits for the store.

In light of the above circumstances, the determination unit 142 determines whether or not each affiliated store satisfies the predetermined conditions at a predetermined control cycle (e.g., each day), and if it is determined that a certain affiliated store satisfies the predetermined conditions, the proposal unit 144 provides the affiliated store with proposal information regarding the creation of coupons via the affiliated store interface 72.

As an example, the determination unit 142 refers to the external institution information 180 and determines that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition when an external institution other than the electronic payment service provides an external benefit that is related to the affiliated store and valid for a predetermined period. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the external institution information 180. The external institution information 180 is, for example, information in which information such as a benefit period, benefit content, and application conditions is associated with an external institution (identifier). The external institution information 180 in FIG. 9 indicates that an external institution, City A, cooperates with an electronic payment service to apply a 10% discount to electronic payments in City A during the benefit period. In this case, the determination unit 142 determines that an affiliated store having a store in City A is related to the external benefit. In this embodiment, the external benefit means a benefit such as a discount or return that is granted to an electronic payment that satisfies a predetermined condition (in the case of FIG. 9, as an example, an electronic payment of one yen or more in City A) without requiring an active acquisition action (i.e., follow-up) by the user, unlike a coupon. Alternatively, the external benefit may be a benefit that requires an active acquisition action by the user. An external benefit is an example of a "benefit" within the scope of the claims.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of suggested information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information on external benefits provided by an external institution. In Figure 10, the member store interface 72 displays an area A6 representing a member store and its account that has logged in to the member store interface 72, an area A7 representing a menu that can be operated via the member store interface 72, and an area A8 displaying information about an item selected from the menu A7. Figure 10 shows an example in which the suggestion unit 144 displays suggested information on the member store interface 72 of a member store that has been determined to satisfy a predetermined condition based on the external institution information 180 in Figure 9.

As shown in FIG. 10, the suggestion unit 144 displays information on the member store interface 72 notifying the member store that the external benefit provided by the external organization for a specified period is also applicable to the member store. This allows the member store or store manager to recognize that there is a possibility of increasing customer attraction by taking advantage of the synergistic effect of issuing a coupon at their own store (in other words, by allowing users to use the external benefit of the external organization and the coupon of their own store in combination). In particular, as described above, in this embodiment, the external benefit does not require active acquisition behavior by the user, so the suggestion unit 144 may appeal to the member store interface 72 that such combined use does not require the user's effort and is likely to produce a synergistic effect. The member store or store manager who has been notified of the suggestion information, for example, presses the coupon creation button B3 to proceed to the coupon creation process described above.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing another example of suggested information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information related to an external benefit provided by an external institution. Like Figure 10, Figure 11 shows an example in which the suggestion unit 144 displays suggested information on the member store interface 72 of a member store that has been determined to satisfy a predetermined condition based on the external institution information 180 of Figure 9. As shown in Figure 11, the suggestion unit 144 refers to the external institution information 180 to obtain the benefit period provided by the external institution, and displays the number of days remaining until the end of the benefit period on the member store interface 72. This makes the member store or store manager aware that the period in which they can take advantage of the synergistic effect of issuing coupons at their own store is decreasing moment by moment, and can encourage them to create coupons.

Figures 10 and 11 show suggested information notified when an external institution other than the electronic payment service provides an external benefit related to the affiliated store. In addition, the suggestion unit 144 may display suggested information on the affiliated store interface 72 when the electronic payment service provides a benefit related to the affiliated store.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of proposed information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on information related to benefits offered by an electronic payment service. Figure 12 shows a situation in which an electronic payment service offers a benefit of a discount on electronic payments made at stores in the "cafe" category. In this case, the determination unit 142 refers to the affiliated store/store information 176 and determines that an affiliated store in the "cafe" category is related to the benefit, and the suggestion unit 144 causes the affiliated store interface 72 to display information notifying that the store of the affiliated store is also eligible for the benefit offered by the electronic payment service. This allows the affiliated store or store manager to recognize the possibility of increasing customer attraction by taking advantage of the synergistic effect of issuing coupons at their own stores as well.

The suggestion unit 144 may display the suggestion information on the member store interface 72 not only when the electronic payment service provides a special benefit that brings a direct economic benefit, but also when the electronic payment service brings an indirect economic benefit to the member store (for example, the display of a special feature page that increases exposure). For example, when the electronic payment service displays a special feature page for cafes on the top page of the payment app 20, the suggestion unit 144 may display suggestion information on the member store interface 72 of the member store listed on the special feature page, indicating that a synergistic effect with increased exposure can be achieved by issuing a coupon at the store.

Furthermore, as another example, the determination unit 142 may determine whether or not the affiliated store satisfies a specified condition defined based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons by the affiliated store, and if the specified condition is satisfied, the suggestion unit 144 may provide suggested information regarding the creation of a coupon based on the statistical information.

13 is a diagram showing an example of the proposed information provided by the suggestion unit 144 based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons. For example, the information management unit 140 associates the timing when the affiliated store issued a coupon in the past with the change in the number of users following the affiliated store before and after that, and stores the association information in the storage unit 170. The determination unit 142 determines, as a predetermined condition, whether the number of users following the affiliated store has increased before and after the timing when the affiliated store issued a coupon in the past. If the determination unit 142 determines that the number of users following the affiliated store has increased, the suggestion unit 144 may display information indicating that the number of users following the affiliated store has increased as a result of the affiliated store having issued a coupon in the past, on the affiliated store interface 72. The number of users following the affiliated store is an example of an "index value indicating the degree of interest in the affiliated store" in the claims.

For example, the information management unit 140 may store in the memory unit 170, as statistical information, the timing when the affiliated store issued a coupon in the past and the change in the number of electronic payments at the affiliated store before and after that, in association with each other, and the determination unit 142 may determine, as a predetermined condition, whether the number of electronic payments at the affiliated store has increased before and after the timing when the affiliated store issued a coupon in the past. Furthermore, for example, the information management unit 140 may store in the memory unit 170, as statistical information, the period since the affiliated store last issued a coupon, and the determination unit 142 may determine, as a predetermined condition, whether the period has exceeded a threshold value (for example, one month).

Furthermore, as another example, the determination unit 142 may determine whether a specified condition is satisfied based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons by other affiliated stores belonging to the same category as the affiliated store, and if the specified condition is satisfied, the suggestion unit 144 may provide suggested information regarding the creation of a coupon based on the statistical information.

14 is a diagram showing another example of the proposed information provided by the proposal unit 144 based on statistical information regarding the provision of coupons. For example, the information management unit 140 calculates the ratio of other member stores that offer coupons to the total number of other member stores belonging to the same category as the member store, and stores the calculated ratio in the storage unit 170 as statistical information. The determination unit 142 determines whether the calculated ratio satisfies a predetermined criterion as a predetermined condition, and the proposal unit 144 may display proposed information regarding the creation of coupons on the member store interface 72 when the determination unit 142 determines that the calculated ratio satisfies the predetermined criterion. Here, multiple patterns of the predetermined criterion may be prepared. For example, when the calculated ratio satisfies a criterion of 20% or less, proposed information that encourages differentiation from other stores, such as "Stand out from other stores in the same industry!" shown in FIG. 14, may be displayed. Conversely, when the calculated ratio satisfies a criterion of 80% or more, proposed information that encourages other stores to follow suit, such as "Popular with other stores in the same industry!" may be displayed.

Although the above embodiment has been described as promoting the issuance of coupons by affiliated stores, the promotion of issuance is not limited to coupons, and the present invention can be applied more generally to promoting the issuance of electronic marketing content. The electronic marketing content may be an electronic stamp card, an electronic flyer service, or a prepaid card. In this case, too, the determination unit 142 determines whether the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined conditions, and when the determination unit 142 determines that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined conditions, the proposal unit 144 can provide the affiliated store with proposal information regarding the electronic marketing content via the interface for the affiliated store.

According to the embodiment described above, it is determined whether a member store that uses an electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a predetermined condition, and if it is determined that the member store satisfies the predetermined condition, the member store is provided with proposal information regarding electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service via a member store interface. This makes it possible to make useful proposals regarding the issuance of coupons to member stores of the electronic payment service.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10 User terminal device 20 Payment application 70 Second store terminal device 72 Member store interface 100 Payment server 120 Payment content providing unit 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information management unit 142 Determination unit 144 Proposal unit 178 Coupon information 180 External organization information

Claims (12)

a determination unit that determines whether or not a member store that uses the electronic payment service as a provider of a product or service satisfies a predetermined condition;
a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides, via an interface for the affiliated store, the affiliated store with proposal information that proposes the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
The predetermined condition is that the determination unit refers to information about an external institution other than the electronic payment service stored in the storage unit and determines that the external institution is related to the affiliated store and is providing a valid benefit for a predetermined period of time.
Information providing device. a determination unit that determines whether or not a member store that uses the electronic payment service as a provider of a product or service satisfies a predetermined condition;
a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides, via an interface for the affiliated store, the affiliated store with proposal information that proposes the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is that the determination unit determines that the number of electronic payments has increased before and after a time point by referring to information stored in a storage unit regarding the timing of the past publication of the electronic marketing content and the change in the number of electronic payments at the affiliated store before and after the timing.
Information providing device. a determination unit that determines whether or not a member store that uses the electronic payment service as a provider of a product or service satisfies a predetermined condition;
a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides, via an interface for the affiliated store, the affiliated store with proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition being that the determination unit refers to information indicating a ratio of other affiliated stores that provide the electronic marketing content to the total number of other affiliated stores that belong to the same category as the affiliated store, the information being stored in a storage unit, and determines that the ratio is equal to or greater than a threshold;
Information providing device. a determination unit that determines whether or not a member store that uses the electronic payment service as a provider of a product or service satisfies a predetermined condition;
a proposal unit that, when it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, provides, via an interface for the affiliated store, the affiliated store with proposal information that proposes the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is that the determination unit refers to information stored in a storage unit that indicates the elapsed time since the affiliated store last published the electronic marketing content, and determines that the elapsed time is equal to or greater than a threshold value;
Information providing device. The computer
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies certain conditions;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, providing the affiliated store, via an interface for the affiliated store, with proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
The predetermined condition is to determine, by referring to information about an external institution other than the electronic payment service stored in a storage unit, that the external institution is providing a special benefit that is related to the affiliated store and is valid for a predetermined period of time.
How to provide information. On the computer,
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a prescribed condition;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, the method causes the affiliated store to provide, via an interface for the affiliated store, proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
The predetermined condition is to determine, by referring to information about an external institution other than the electronic payment service stored in a storage unit, that the external institution is providing a special benefit that is related to the affiliated store and is valid for a predetermined period of time.
program. The computer
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies certain conditions;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, providing the affiliated store, via an interface for the affiliated store, with proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to determine that the number of electronic payments has increased before and after a time point by referring to information stored in a storage unit regarding the timing of the past publication of the electronic marketing content and the change in the number of electronic payments at the affiliated store before and after the time point;
How to provide information. On the computer,
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a prescribed condition;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, the method causes the affiliated store to provide, via an interface for the affiliated store, proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to determine that the number of electronic payments has increased before and after a time point by referring to information stored in a storage unit regarding the timing of the past publication of the electronic marketing content and the change in the number of electronic payments at the affiliated store before and after the time point;
program. The computer
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies certain conditions;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, providing the affiliated store, via an interface for the affiliated store, with proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to refer to information stored in a storage unit indicating a ratio of other affiliated stores that provide the electronic marketing content to a total number of other affiliated stores that belong to the same category as the affiliated store, and to determine that the ratio is equal to or greater than a threshold value;
How to provide information. On the computer,
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a prescribed condition;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, the method causes the affiliated store to provide, via an interface for the affiliated store, proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to refer to information stored in a storage unit indicating a ratio of other affiliated stores that provide the electronic marketing content to a total number of other affiliated stores that belong to the same category as the affiliated store, and to determine that the ratio is equal to or greater than a threshold value;
program. The computer
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies certain conditions;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, providing the affiliated store, via an interface for the affiliated store, with proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to refer to information stored in a storage unit indicating the period of time since the affiliated store last issued the electronic marketing content, and to determine that the period of time is equal to or greater than a threshold value;
How to provide information. On the computer,
Determine whether a merchant using the electronic payment service as a provider of goods or services satisfies a prescribed condition;
When it is determined that the affiliated store satisfies the predetermined condition, the method causes the affiliated store to provide, via an interface for the affiliated store, proposal information proposing the act of issuing electronic marketing content to be provided to users of the electronic payment service;
the predetermined condition is to refer to information stored in a storage unit indicating the period of time since the affiliated store last issued the electronic marketing content, and to determine that the period of time is equal to or greater than a threshold value;
program.

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