JP5119085B2 - Joint purchase support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing technique, and more particularly to a joint purchase support apparatus that supports joint purchase by a plurality of users.

  Currently, electronic commerce is actively performed, and a website (hereinafter also referred to as “joint purchase site” as appropriate) that provides a joint purchase service for products by a plurality of users is established. In this joint purchase site, the product purchase amount of each user is added together, and products are ordered collectively from the seller. Since the seller can sell the products together to some extent, the selling price is reduced. As a result, the unit price of the product is reduced, and each user can obtain the product at a relatively low cost.

In the following Patent Document 1, a joint purchase system that exchanges information in real time between users who jointly purchase products is disclosed.
JP 2007-249557 A

  In order to reduce the unit price of a product by joint purchase, the total amount of purchase amounts of a plurality of users may be required to be a predetermined amount or more. Therefore, in order to realize joint purchase, it is necessary to form an agreement for joint purchase among a plurality of users.

  In Patent Literature 1, a plurality of users who execute joint purchase need to be associated in advance. Moreover, although the technique to add a new user to joint purchase is shown, the technique for discovering the new user is not disclosed.

  However, when the total purchase amount is less than a predetermined amount, the user who desires joint purchase has to find another user who performs the joint purchase together. The present inventor considered that when a user desires joint purchase, the realization of joint purchase can be supported by prompting another user who can participate in the joint purchase in real time.

  The present invention is an invention completed based on the above-mentioned attention of the present inventor, and its main object is to provide a technique for supporting the realization of joint purchase by a plurality of users.

  In order to solve the above problems, a joint purchase support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an apparatus that supports joint purchase by a plurality of users, and is effective until a user who logs in to the self apparatus logs out. An ID issuing unit that issues a session ID, a session ID issued to the user as session information, a session information table that holds the session information as valid while the session ID is valid, and a predetermined product When data indicating that joint purchase is desired is received from the first user, referring to valid session information in the session information table, a search unit that identifies the second user who is logged in to the own device; A notification unit that notifies a second user of a message that prompts the user to jointly purchase the product.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between an apparatus, a method, a system, a program, a recording medium storing the program, and the like are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, realization of joint purchase by a plurality of users can be supported.

  The outline of the embodiment of the present invention will be described before the configuration thereof is described. In this embodiment, a joint purchase support system that supports the realization of joint purchase by a plurality of users is proposed. In this joint purchase support system, cooperation between a user who desires joint purchase (hereinafter also referred to as a “joint purchase request user” as appropriate) and another user who executes the joint purchase together is supported. In particular, when a user who wishes to purchase jointly wishes to purchase jointly, another user who can participate in the joint purchase in real time (hereinafter also referred to as “joint purchase candidate user” as appropriate) is identified, Encourage participation in the joint purchase.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a joint purchase support system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The joint purchase support system 100 includes an A user terminal 10 a, a B user terminal 10 b, and a C user terminal 10 c, which are collectively referred to as a user terminal 10, an electronic commerce device 20, and a joint purchase support device 30. The user terminal 10 and the electronic commerce apparatus 20 are connected to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 via known communication means such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the Internet.

  The user terminal 10 is a general PC terminal operated by a user, is equipped with a web browser, acquires a web page of a joint purchase site from the joint purchase support apparatus 30, and displays the web page on a display device. Further, the user terminal 10 detects user input data related to joint purchase and transmits the input data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30.

  The electronic commerce apparatus 20 is installed in the company that sells the product, receives data for requesting purchase of the product (hereinafter also referred to as “purchase request data” as appropriate) from the joint purchase support device 30, and the product. Execute the sales process. The electronic commerce apparatus 20 is configured to reduce the unit price of a specific product when there is a sales amount of a predetermined number or more. For example, when the sales amount of the product “α pencil” is “50” or more, the unit price of the α pencil is set to be reduced from “50 yen” to “40 yen”. Therefore, when “45” α pencils are sold, the selling price is “2250 yen”, but when “50” pencils are sold, the selling price is “2000 yen”. .

  The joint purchase support apparatus 30 has a general web server function, opens a joint purchase site on the Internet, and provides a joint purchase service to the user terminal 10. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 provides the requesting user terminal 10 with the web page requested for acquisition from the user terminal 10. Further, the joint purchase support apparatus 30 transmits purchase request data for the product designated as the purchase target from the user terminal 10 to the electronic commerce apparatus 20. Further, when there is a request for joint purchase from a plurality of user terminals 10 for a specific product, the joint purchase support apparatus 30 totals the purchase amount of each of the plurality of user terminals 10 and purchase request data integrated for the product. Is transmitted to the electronic commerce apparatus 20.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the joint purchase support apparatus 30 of FIG. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 includes a data holding unit 40 and a data processing unit 50. The data holding unit 40 is a data storage area secured in a predetermined storage device, and the data processing unit 50 executes various data processing related to the joint purchase service. In addition, since the function of a web server is a well-known technique, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Each block shown in the block diagram of the present specification can be realized in terms of hardware by an element such as a CPU of a computer or a mechanical device, and in terms of software, it can be realized by a computer program or the like. The functional block realized by those cooperation is drawn. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software, and is not limited to any of these.

  The data holding unit 40 includes a product information table 42 and a session information table 44. The product information table 42 and the session information table 44 may be tables in an RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management System) installed in the joint purchase support apparatus 30.

  The merchandise information table 42 holds information related to merchandise to be purchased jointly (hereinafter also referred to as “joint purchase target merchandise” as appropriate). FIG. 3 shows the structure of the product information table 42 of FIG. The product name column 70 is an area for storing identification information of a product to be jointly purchased. The joint purchase lower limit amount column 72 is an area in which a purchase quantity required at the minimum when the product is jointly purchased is stored. The purchase quantity is typically set to a sales quantity that is a condition for reducing the sales unit price of the product in the electronic commerce apparatus 20.

  The related operation column 74 in FIG. 3 is an area in which the operation content by the user terminal 10 for the web page provided by the joint purchase support apparatus 30 is stored. In particular, the operation content associated with the joint purchase target product (hereinafter also referred to as “related operation” as appropriate) is stored. In this related operation, an operation that is assumed to be highly likely to be performed by a user who thinks that the product in the product name column 70 may be jointly purchased is set. For example, the related operation “refer to the α pencil introduction page” indicates that a web page introducing the product “α pencil” is provided to the user terminal 10. Further, for example, the related operation “purchase α pencil” indicates that the purchase operation of “α pencil” is executed on a web page for purchasing a product. Note that “β pencil” in the figure is a product belonging to the same product category “pencil” as “α pencil” and is positioned as a product related to “α pencil”. Returning to FIG.

  The session information table 44 holds session information in which a session ID issued to the user terminal 10 logged in to the joint purchase site is associated with a web page operation result by the user terminal 10. FIG. 4 shows the structure of the session information table 44 of FIG. The session ID column 80 is an area for storing a session ID issued to the user terminal 10. The operation content column 82 is an area in which the content of the web page operation executed on the user terminal 10 is stored. The parameter field 84 stores parameter information indicating attributes relating to web page operations, for example, the number of purchases when jointly purchasing α pencils, the number of cancellations when canceling the purchase of α pencils, and the like. Note that (a), (b), (c), and (d) in FIG. 4 will be described later. Returning to FIG.

  The data processing unit 50 includes a login processing unit 52, an ID issuing unit 54, a page providing unit 56, an updating unit 58, a purchase executing unit 60, a search unit 62, a user information providing unit 64, and an attribute value setting. A section 66 and a notification section 68 are included.

  The login processing unit 52 receives a login request to the joint purchase site from the user terminal 10 and transmits a login authentication web page to the user terminal 10. When the login processing unit 52 succeeds in the login authentication of the user terminal 10, the login processing unit 52 notifies the success to the ID issuing unit 54 described later. The login processing unit 52 detects that the user terminal 10 has logged out, and notifies the ID issuing unit 54 of the logout.

  When the login processing unit 52 is notified of the successful login authentication for the user terminal 10, the ID issuing unit 54 issues a new session ID to the user terminal 10, and the session ID is stored in a session ID holding table (not shown). Store the records. Further, when the log-out processing unit 52 is notified of logout of the user terminal 10, the ID issuing unit 54 invalidates the session ID that has been issued to the user terminal 10. That is, the session ID issued by the ID issuing unit 54 is temporarily valid and has a time limit. In order to invalidate the session ID, for example, a record of the session ID in a session ID holding table (not shown) may be deleted, and a flag indicating invalidity may be set in the record. At this time, the ID issuing unit 54 notifies the updating unit 58 described later of the invalid session ID.

  The page providing unit 56 receives a page acquisition request in which a web page address, typically a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is designated, from the user terminal 10 and transmits the web page to the user terminal 10. Moreover, when the input data in the user terminal 10 is included in the page acquisition request, the page providing unit 56 processes the input data according to a method defined in the web page.

  Specifically, the page providing unit 56 provides the user terminal 10 with a web page that introduces a product. Further, a web page for a product purchase operation is provided to the user terminal 10 and data indicating that joint purchase is transmitted from the user terminal 10 (hereinafter also referred to as “joint purchase request data” as appropriate) is received. . The joint purchase request data includes numerical data indicating the quantity that the user terminal 10 purchases the joint purchase target product. The page providing unit 56 notifies the updating unit 58 (to be described later) of the operation content of the user terminal 10 with respect to the web page, typically the web page reference operation and the product purchase operation.

  Further, when receiving the joint purchase request data, the page providing unit 56 refers to the session information table 44, and sums the purchase amount of the plurality of user terminals 10 for the joint purchase target product (hereinafter referred to as “joint purchase amount” as appropriate). (Also referred to as) is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit. When the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount, the purchase execution unit 60 is notified of the joint purchase target product and the joint purchase amount. When the joint purchase amount is less than the joint purchase lower limit amount, the search unit 62 is notified of the joint purchase target product.

  When the operation content of the user terminal 10 for the web page is notified from the page providing unit 56, the update unit 58 stores the session ID issued to the user terminal 10 and the operation content in the session information table 44 as session information. . Further, when the invalidated session ID is notified from the ID issuing unit 54, the update unit 58 invalidates the session information including the session ID among the session information held in the session information table 44. For example, the session information may be deleted from the session information table 44, and a flag indicating invalidity may be set for the session information. As described above, since the session ID has a time limit and is temporarily valid, the session information also has a time limit.

  When the purchase execution unit 60 is notified of the joint purchase target product and the joint purchase amount from the page providing unit 56, the purchase execution unit 60 sends purchase request data indicating that the joint purchase target product is purchased by the joint purchase amount to the electronic commerce apparatus 20. Send.

  When the joint purchase target product is notified from the page providing unit 56, the search unit 62 refers to the product information table 42 and identifies an operation associated with the related operation of the joint purchase target product. The search unit 62 refers to the valid session information in the session information table 44 and selects a user who is logged in to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 other than the joint purchase requesting user and who has performed the related operation of the joint purchase target product. Specify as a joint purchase candidate user. The user information providing unit 64 transmits information related to the joint purchase candidate user specified by the search unit 62, for example, user attribute information such as a user name and related operation, to the user terminal 10 of the user who desires joint purchase.

  The attribute value setting unit 66 receives, from the user terminal 10 of the user who desires joint purchase, a message that prompts the joint purchase of the joint purchase target product in which a specific joint purchase candidate user is designated. The attribute value setting unit 66 refers to the session information table 44, specifies the purchase amount of the user who desires joint purchase, and purchases a value obtained by subtracting the purchase amount from the joint purchase lower limit amount to the designated joint purchase candidate user. It is determined as the purchase consultation amount, which is the amount to be consulted. The attribute value setting unit 66 sets the determined purchase consultation amount in the message data. The notification unit 68 transmits a message in which the purchase consultation amount is set in the attribute value setting unit 66 to the user terminal 10 of the purchase candidate user designated by the joint purchase requesting user.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the joint purchase support apparatus 30. The page providing unit 56 of the joint purchase support apparatus 30 receives the joint purchase request data from the user terminal 10 of the joint purchase requesting user (S10). The page providing unit 56 refers to the session information table 44 and identifies the joint purchase amount by one or more users who desire joint purchase. When the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount (Y in S12), the purchase execution unit 60 transmits purchase request data to the electronic commerce apparatus 20 (S14). When the joint purchase amount is less than the joint purchase lower limit amount (N in S12), the search unit 62 refers to the session information table 44 to identify the joint purchase candidate user (S16). The user information provision part 64 transmits the information regarding a joint purchase candidate user to the user terminal 10 of a joint purchase wishing user (S18). The attribute value setting unit 66 acquires a message prompting joint purchase from the user terminal 10 of the user who desires joint purchase (S20), and sets the purchase consultation amount in the message (S22). The notification unit 68 transmits the message to the user terminal 10 of the joint purchase candidate user designated by the user who desires joint purchase (S24).

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, the operation of the joint purchase support apparatus 30 will be further described. It is assumed that session IDs “A001”, “B002”, and “C003” are issued to the A user terminal 10a, the B user terminal 10b, and the C user terminal 10c, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the joint purchase target product is “α pencil” and the joint purchase lower limit amount is “50”.

  FIG. 4A shows session information when a message is transmitted to the user who refers to the joint purchase target product. The B user terminal 10b referred to a web page introducing the α pencil (record 110). The A user terminal 10a transmits 30 pieces of α-pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of the user A being 30 (record 112). The joint purchase support apparatus 30 refers to the record 110, specifies the B user terminal 10b as a joint purchase candidate user, and notifies the A user terminal 10a. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 that has acquired the message prompting the joint purchase of the α pencil from the A user terminal 10a sets the purchase consultation amount 20 in the message and notifies the B user terminal 10b. The B user terminal 10b transmits 20 pieces of alpha pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with a purchase quantity of 20 (record 114). The joint purchase support device 30 detects that the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount, and transmits α pencil purchase request data to the electronic commerce device 20.

  FIG. 4B shows session information when a message is transmitted to the user who refers to the related product of the joint purchase target product. The B user terminal 10b referred to a web page introducing a β pencil related to the α pencil (record 120). The A user terminal 10a transmits the α pencil purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of the user A being 20 (record 122). The joint purchase support apparatus 30 refers to the record 120, specifies the B user terminal 10b as a joint purchase candidate user, and notifies the A user terminal 10a. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 that has acquired the message prompting the joint purchase of the α pencil from the A user terminal 10a sets 30 purchase consultation amounts in the message and notifies the B user terminal 10b. The B user terminal 10b transmits the α-pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of 30 as its own (record 124). The joint purchase support device 30 detects that the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount, and transmits α pencil purchase request data to the electronic commerce device 20.

  (C) of FIG. 4 has shown the session information in the case of transmitting a message to the user who purchased the joint purchase target product alone. The C user terminal 10c accesses the web page for purchasing the α pencil, and transmits the purchase request data alone to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity set to 10 (record 130). The A user terminal 10a transmits 30 pieces of α-pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of the user A being 30 (record 132). The joint purchase support apparatus 30 refers to the record 130, specifies the C user terminal 10c as a joint purchase candidate user, and notifies the A user terminal 10a. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 that has acquired the message prompting the joint purchase of the α pencil from the A user terminal 10a sets the purchase consultation amount 20 in the message and notifies the C user terminal 10c. The C user terminal 10c first accesses a web page for canceling the purchase of the α pencil, and cancels the single purchase of the α pencil (record 134). Subsequently, the C user terminal 10c transmits 20 pieces of α-pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with a purchase quantity of 20 (record 136). The joint purchase support device 30 detects that the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount, and transmits α pencil purchase request data to the electronic commerce device 20.

  FIG. 4D shows session information when a message is transmitted to a user who has purchased a related product for the joint purchase target product alone. The C user terminal 10c accesses the web page for purchasing the β pencil, and transmits the purchase request data alone to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity set to 10 (record 140). The A user terminal 10a transmits 30 pieces of α pencil pencil purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of the user A being 30 (record 142). The joint purchase support apparatus 30 refers to the record 140, specifies the C user terminal 10c as a joint purchase candidate user, and notifies the A user terminal 10a. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 that has acquired the message prompting the joint purchase of the α pencil from the A user terminal 10a sets the purchase consultation amount 20 in the message and notifies the C user terminal 10c. First, the C user terminal 10c accesses a web page for canceling the purchase of the β pencil, and cancels the single purchase of the β pencil (record 144). Subsequently, the C user terminal 10c transmits 20 pieces of alpha pencil joint purchase request data to the joint purchase support apparatus 30 with the purchase quantity of itself being 20 (record 146). The joint purchase support device 30 detects that the joint purchase amount is equal to or greater than the joint purchase lower limit amount, and transmits α pencil purchase request data to the electronic commerce device 20.

  According to this joint purchase support system 100, when a user who desires joint purchase desires joint purchase, another user who is logged in to the joint purchase site is identified as a joint purchase candidate user, and the joint purchase candidate user goes to joint purchase. A message prompting participation is notified. Since other users who can participate in the joint purchase in real time are identified as the joint purchase candidate users, the joint purchase candidate users can easily participate in the joint purchase and promote the realization of the joint purchase. Moreover, it becomes easy to realize the joint purchase in a short time after the user who desires joint purchase desires the joint purchase.

Moreover, according to the joint purchase support system 100, the user who performed predetermined operation with respect to the web page linked | related with the joint purchase object goods is specified as a joint purchase candidate user.
Thereby, since a user who is interested in the joint purchase target product, in other words, a user who has a relatively high purchase accuracy of the joint purchase target product is specified as the joint purchase candidate user, the realization of joint purchase can be promoted.

  The web page associated with the joint purchase target product includes not only a web page describing the joint purchase target product itself but also a web page describing the related product of the joint purchase target product. In addition, the predetermined operation includes, for example, a reference and a product purchase operation. In other words, in order to identify joint purchase candidate users by determining web page operations that are likely to be performed by users who are interested in joint purchase target products based on company knowledge and experiments Can be weighted. In other words, a user with a relatively high purchase accuracy of a joint purchase target product can be identified as a joint purchase candidate user.

  Furthermore, according to the joint purchase support system 100, information regarding the joint purchase candidate user is provided to the joint purchase requesting user, and the joint purchase requesting user notifies the joint purchase candidate user with a message prompting participation in the joint purchase. Can be set. Thereby, the user who desires joint purchase can flexibly set the message content based on the information of the joint purchase candidate user.

  Furthermore, according to the joint purchase support system 100, the purchase consultation amount is automatically set in the message prompting the joint purchase candidate user to participate in the joint purchase. Thereby, while reducing the burden by the user who desires joint purchase setting the purchase consultation amount, the mistake can be eliminated. Moreover, the decision making of the joint purchase candidate user can be supported by presenting the purchase consultation amount to the joint purchase candidate user.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there. A modification is shown below.

  A modification will be described. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 according to the embodiment once provided information regarding the joint purchase candidate user to the joint purchase desire user, and the joint purchase desire user set a message for the joint purchase candidate user. As a modification, when the search unit 62 of the joint purchase support apparatus 30 specifies a joint purchase candidate user, the notification unit 68 sends a message preset in the joint purchase support apparatus 30 to one or more joint purchase candidate users. Broadcast transmission may be performed. In addition, it is preferable that the purchase consultation amount for the joint purchase candidate user is set in the message in the attribute value setting unit 66. According to this modification, it is possible to reduce the burden of message setting for the user who desires joint purchase, and it is possible to shorten the time from when the user who desires joint purchase desires joint purchase to when the user is notified of the message.

  Another modification will be described. The joint purchase support apparatus 30 according to the embodiment automatically identifies the joint purchase candidate user when receiving the joint purchase request data transmitted from the joint purchase desire user. As a modified example, when an explicit search request for searching for a joint purchase candidate user is received from a joint purchase requesting user, the joint purchase candidate user is identified and information on the joint purchase candidate user is jointly purchased. It may be provided to a desired user. In this case, a search button for executing the search request may be displayed on the web page provided to the user terminal 10. According to this modification, it is possible to search for a joint purchase candidate user reflecting the search intention of the user who desires joint purchase. For example, when a user who wishes to purchase jointly knows in advance that another user will participate in the joint purchase, it is possible not to search for a candidate user for joint purchase, and it is easy to reduce the processing load in the joint purchase support apparatus 30. .

  Still another modification will be described. The attribute value setting unit 66 in the joint purchase support apparatus 30 of the embodiment sets the purchase consultation amount in the message to the joint purchase candidate user. The purchase consultation amount in the embodiment is a difference amount obtained by subtracting the purchase amount by the user who desires joint purchase from the joint purchase lower limit amount. As a modification, when there are a plurality of joint purchase candidate users, a numerical value obtained by apportioning the difference amount by the number of joint purchase candidate users may be set as the purchase consultation amount. According to this modification, the purchase consultation amount per joint purchase candidate user is reduced, and the realization of joint purchase can be promoted.

  In addition to the purchase consultation amount, the attribute value setting unit 66 may set other numerical values indicating attributes related to joint purchase in the message. For example, when the total purchase amount in joint purchase is a condition for establishment of joint purchase, the purchase amount in joint purchase for consulting with a joint purchase candidate user may be set in the message. The purchase amount to be consulted may be a difference amount obtained by subtracting the purchase amount of the user who desires joint purchase from the purchase amount necessary for joint purchase, or may be an amount obtained by dividing the difference amount by the number of joint purchase candidate users. Furthermore, the attribute value setting unit 66 may set a time limit for determining whether to perform joint purchase or a time until the time limit to the message.

  Still another modification will be described. The product information table 42 of the embodiment holds one value as the joint purchase lower limit amount. As a modification, a plurality of joint purchase lower limit amounts may be held in accordance with the discount setting in the electronic commerce apparatus 20. For example, regarding the α pencil, the first joint purchase lower limit amount may be set to “50”, and the second joint purchase lower limit amount may be set to “100”. Further, the joint purchase support apparatus 30 may allow the user who desires joint purchase to select either the first or second joint purchase lower limit amount. In the determination of whether or not joint purchase is possible in the page providing unit 56 and the purchase consultation amount setting in the attribute value setting unit 66, when the joint purchase amount is less than the first joint purchase lower limit amount, the first joint purchase lower limit amount is used as a reference. When the joint purchase amount is not less than the first joint purchase lower limit amount and less than the second joint purchase lower limit amount, the second joint purchase lower limit amount may be used as a reference.

  Still another modification will be described. In the embodiment, the products having the same product category are exemplified as the related products of the joint purchase target product. This related product may include a product that is assumed to be related to the joint purchase target product from various viewpoints. For example, it may be a product with a similar product name, a product with the same distributor, a product with a difference in sales unit price within a predetermined range, or a product that is assumed to be similar based on company knowledge and social conventions. Moreover, in the joint purchase support apparatus 30, the user's purchase history is recorded, and the user who has purchased the first product tends to purchase a second product different from the first product by a known statistical process. Information may be derived in advance. In this case, when the first product is a joint purchase target product, the second product may be the related product. Further, trend information may be derived based on the reference history of the web page instead of the purchase record.

  Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present invention. The new embodiment generated by the combination has the effects of the combined embodiment and the modified examples.

  It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be fulfilled by the constituent elements recited in the claims are realized by a single function block or a combination of the functional blocks shown in the embodiments and modifications.

  The “session ID” in the claims means data issued to the user terminal so that the joint purchase support apparatus identifies a session with the user terminal. Therefore, it is not limited to a character string or a numerical string indicating an identification number, and includes various types of data. The session ID is held on the user's terminal side and is typically stored in a browser cookie. When the bidder's terminal reconnects to the information providing apparatus, the session ID is notified to the information providing apparatus.

  The term “page” in the claims means electronic data provided from the joint purchase support apparatus to the user terminal in one unit of communication between the joint purchase support apparatus and the user terminal. Typically, it is a group of electronic data provided by the joint purchase support apparatus as a response to a request from the user's terminal, and this electronic data includes data to be displayed on the user's terminal. This “page” includes, for example, a web page provided from a web server to a web client. The data format of “page” is not limited, and may be plain text or file data in a predetermined format such as an XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language) file.

  Further, “user operation on a page” in claims includes acquisition of a page, reference, transmission of data to a specific page, and the like without limitation. For example, it includes operations by various methods such as the GET method and POST method in HTTP.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the joint purchase assistance system which is embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the joint purchase assistance apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the merchandise information table of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the session information table of FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the joint purchase support apparatus 30.

Explanation of symbols

  10 user terminals, 20 electronic commerce devices, 30 joint purchase support devices, 40 data holding units, 42 product information tables, 44 session information tables, 50 data processing units, 52 login processing units, 54 ID issuing units, 56 page providing units, 58 update section, 60 purchase execution section, 62 search section, 64 user information provision section, 66 attribute value setting section, 68 notification section, 70 product name column, 72 joint purchase lower limit amount column, 74 related operation column, 80 session ID column 82 Operation content column, 84 Parameter column, 100 Joint purchase support system.

Claims (7)

A device that supports joint purchase by multiple users,
An ID issuing unit that issues a valid session ID until the user logs out to the user who logs in to the device;
A session information table that stores the session ID issued to the user as session information, and holds the session information as valid while the session ID is valid;
When data indicating the desire to jointly purchase a predetermined product is received from the first user, the second user who is logged in to the own device is identified with reference to valid session information in the session information table A search section to
A notification unit for notifying the second user of a message prompting joint purchase of the product;
A page providing unit that provides a logged-in user with a page electronically describing information associated with the product to be jointly purchased;
Equipped with a,
In the session information table, information in which a user session ID is associated with a user operation content on the page is stored as the session information.
The search unit refers to valid session information in the session information table when data indicating that joint purchase is desired from the first user is received for the product to be jointly purchased. You are logged in, and group purchasing support apparatus characterized that you identify the second user performs a predetermined operation on the page. The page providing unit provides the user with a page on which the contents of the product to be jointly purchased are described,
The search unit refers to the valid session information, and identifies a user who is logged in to the device and obtains a page describing the contents of the product as the second user. The joint purchase support apparatus according to claim 1 . The page providing unit provides a user with a page describing the contents of another product that is assumed to be related to the product to be jointly purchased,
The search unit refers to the valid session information, and identifies a user who is logged in to the device and obtains a page describing the contents of the other product as the second user. The joint purchase support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A user information providing unit that provides the first user with information related to the second user specified in the search unit;
The notification unit joint purchase according to the first accepted from the user, either 3 a message prompting the joint purchase of the product from claim 1, characterized in that notifies the second user Support device. The message includes numerical data indicating attributes related to the group purchase of the product,
The notification unit notifies the second user of a message in which numerical data determined according to numerical data designated by the first user regarding the joint purchase of the product is set as numerical data indicating the attribute. The joint purchase support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The message includes, as numerical data indicating the attribute, a purchase consultation amount that is an amount of consultation with the second user regarding purchase of the product,
The notification unit sends a message in which numerical data determined according to a value obtained by subtracting the purchase amount of the first user from a purchase amount necessary for joint purchase of the product is set as the purchase consultation amount. The joint purchase support apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the user is notified. A computer program for controlling a device that supports joint purchase by a plurality of users,
A function of issuing a valid session ID until logging out for a user who has logged into the device;
A function for storing a session ID issued to a user in a predetermined storage device as session information, and holding the session information in the storage device as valid while the session ID is valid;
A second user who is logged in to the device with reference to valid session information stored in the storage device when data indicating that the user wishes to jointly purchase a predetermined product is received from the first user With the ability to identify
A function of notifying the second user of a message prompting the joint purchase of the product;
The ability to provide a logged-in user with a page that electronically contains information associated with the product being jointly purchased;
Is realized in the device ,
In the session information, a user session ID and a user operation content on the page are recorded in association with each other,
The function to specify, when data indicating that joint purchase is desired for the product subject to joint purchase is received from the first user, with reference to valid session information held in the storage device, A computer program for specifying a second user who is logged in to the device and has performed a predetermined operation on the page .

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