JP7586161B2 - Information processing system, product recommendation method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology that supports product sales operations in stores.

In order to increase product sales, stores may notify customers of information about products they handle. For example, the following Patent Documents 1 to 5 disclose examples of technology for notifying customers of product information.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an information processing system extracts products whose sales deadline is approaching, transmits product information of the extracted products to customers who have previously purchased the same product as the extracted product, and executes a bonus granting process when the customer purchases the extracted product. The following Patent Document 2 discloses a technology in which, based on product identification information read by a portable scanner terminal installed near the product display shelf, information on the corresponding product is presented to the customer. The following Patent Document 3 discloses a technology in which, based on conditions such as the increase or decrease in the actual sales amount relative to the planned sales amount within a specified discount monitoring interval and the change in sales speed, a price (discount price) at which a specified quantity of products can be sold within a specified discount monitoring interval is calculated and presented to the customer. The following Patent Document 4 discloses a technology in which a product information presentation device installed in a shopping cart reads product identification information and displays product information associated with the product identification information and a related product list on a display unit. In addition, the following Patent Document 5 discloses a technology that reads the individual ID of a product from an ID tag attached to the product, and determines and presents a discount rate for the product based on the expiration date information of the product identified by the individual ID.

JP 2012-032904 A JP 2005-174035 A JP 2009-176193 A JP 2004-258928 A JP 2004-185377 A

When notifying customers of product information, it is desirable to reduce communication volume by limiting unnecessary notifications.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems. One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a technology that reduces communication volume by suppressing unnecessary notifications when providing product information to customers.

According to the present invention,
An identification information acquisition means for acquiring customer identification information;
A product information acquisition means for acquiring information on a product to be settled;
an output means for outputting, before the payment of the item to be paid for, recommended item information determined based on the item purchase history information of the customer associated with the identification information of the customer acquired by the acquisition means;
An information processing system is provided.

According to the present invention,
The computer
Obtain customer identification information,
Obtain information about the product to be checked out,
outputting recommended product information determined based on product purchase history information of the customer associated with the customer identification information acquired by the acquisition means before the payment of the product to be paid for;
A product recommendation method is provided, the method including:

According to the present invention,
A program is provided that causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned product recommendation method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce communication volume by suppressing unnecessary notifications when providing product information to customers.

The above objects, as well as other objects, features and advantages, will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments described below and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to a first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a process executed by the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related product database. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of information processing devices according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram conceptually showing a functional configuration of an information processing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of how products in a shopping basket are recognized. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process executed by an information processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process executed by an information processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram conceptually showing a functional configuration of an information processing device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to a third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process executed by an information processing apparatus according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram used to explain a specific operation of the information processing device according to the third embodiment.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. In all drawings, similar components are given similar reference numerals and descriptions are omitted where appropriate. In addition, unless otherwise specified, in each block diagram, each block represents a functional configuration, not a hardware configuration.

[First embodiment]
[Functional configuration]
1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing device 10 according to a first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a customer recognition unit 110, a purchase history acquisition unit 120, a recommended product information acquisition unit 130, and a notification unit 140.

The customer recognition unit 110 recognizes customers in the store. The customer recognition unit 110 can recognize customers in the store based on, for example, the results of analyzing images generated by cameras installed in various places in the store, the results of reading various cards by a card reading device in the store, and the results of obtaining location information of customers' mobile devices by a relay device in the store.

The purchase history acquisition unit 120 acquires information indicating the product purchase history of customers in the store recognized by the customer recognition unit 110 (hereinafter referred to as "product purchase history information"). The product purchase history information includes at least product identification information of products previously purchased by the customer (hereinafter referred to as "purchased products"). The product purchase history information may be information indicating all past product purchase history, or may be information indicating product purchase history for a predetermined period of the past (e.g., the past month, the past year, etc.). The product purchase history information is stored, for example, in the information processing device 10 or an external device (not shown) communicatively connected to the information processing device 10 in association with customer information identifying each customer. The purchase history acquisition unit 120 can acquire product purchase history information corresponding to the customer identification information by using the customer identification information of the customer recognized by the customer recognition unit 110.

The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares the product purchase history information acquired by the purchase history acquisition unit 120 with a recommended product list prepared in advance by the store. Here, the recommended product list includes at least product identification information of recommended products (products that the store wants customers to purchase). The recommended product list is stored, for example, in the information processing device 10 or an external device (not shown) connected to the information processing device 10 so as to be able to communicate with the information processing device 10. The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 selects a recommended product from the recommended product list based on the result of the comparison between the product purchase history information and the recommended product list, and acquires product information of the selected recommended product (hereinafter, referred to as "recommended product information"). The recommended product information is stored, for example, in the information processing device 10 or an external device connected to the information processing device 10 so as to be able to communicate with the information processing device 10 in association with the product identification information of the product. Note that bonus information may be further associated with the recommended product information. The bonus information is information indicating a bonus (for example, a discount, a discount, points for a point service, etc.) that is applied when the recommended product is purchased. When bonus information is associated with the recommended product information, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 acquires the recommended product information and the bonus information as a set.

The notification unit 140 notifies the customer recognized by the customer recognition unit 110 of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) acquired by the recommended product information acquisition unit 130. As an example, the notification unit 140 transmits the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) acquired by the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 to each customer's mobile terminal or a display device provided on a shopping basket or cart used by the customer. As another example, the notification unit 140 may use a projector to project the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) acquired by the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 onto a wall, floor, or the like near the customer.

[Hardware configuration]
Each functional component of the information processing device 10 may be realized by hardware that realizes each functional component (e.g., a hardwired electronic circuit, etc.), or may be realized by a combination of hardware and software (e.g., a combination of an electronic circuit and a program that controls it, etc.). Below, a further description will be given of the case where each functional component of the information processing device 10 is realized by a combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the first embodiment. The information processing device 10 has a bus 1002, a processor 1004, a memory 1006, a storage device 1008, an input/output interface 1010, and a network interface 1012.

The bus 1002 is a data transmission path through which the processor 1004, memory 1006, storage device 1008, input/output interface 1010, and network interface 1012 transmit and receive data to each other. However, the method of connecting the processor 1004 and other components to each other is not limited to a bus connection.

The processor 1004 is a processor realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

Memory 1006 is a main storage device realized by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like.

The storage device 1008 is an auxiliary storage device realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, a read only memory (ROM), or the like. The storage device 1008 stores program modules that realize each function of the information processing device 10 (customer recognition unit 110, purchase history acquisition unit 120, recommended product information acquisition unit 130, notification unit 140, etc.). The processor 1004 reads each of these program modules into the memory 1006 and executes them to realize each function corresponding to the program module. The storage device 1008 may store the card reading result (customer identification information) by the card reading device 20 installed at the entrance of the store, etc. The storage device 1008 may also store still images or videos generated by the imaging devices 30 installed at various places in the store. The storage device 1008 may also store the position detection result of the customer's mobile terminal 50 by the relay device 40 installed at various places in the store. The storage device 1008 may also store product purchase history information for each customer.

The input/output interface 1010 is an interface for connecting the information processing device 10 to an input/output device. For example, input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and output devices such as a display device are connected to the input/output interface 1010.

The network interface 1012 is an interface for connecting the information processing device 10 to a network. This network is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The network interface 1012 may connect to the network wirelessly or by wire. The information processing device 10 can communicate with the card reading device 20, the imaging device 30, and the relay device 40 arranged at various locations in the store via the network interface 1012. The customer recognition unit 110 can acquire the reading result of the card reading device 20, the image generated by the imaging device 30, or the position detection result of the mobile terminal 50 by the relay device 40 via the network interface 1012. In addition, the notification unit 140 can communicate with the mobile terminal 50 owned by each customer via the network interface 1012.

Note that the hardware configuration in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the example in FIG. 2.

[Example of operation]
The flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 according to the first embodiment.

First, the customer recognition unit 110 recognizes customers in the store (S110). Below, we will provide some specific examples of how the customer recognition unit 110 recognizes customers in the store.

As an example, the customer recognition unit 110 can recognize customers present in a store by using the results of reading a card that contains information that can identify the customer, such as a membership card issued by the store. The customer recognition unit 110 reads customer identification information stored on the store's membership card, for example, via a card reading device 20 installed at the store's entrance. The customer recognition unit 110 then stores the customer identification information read from the card in a storage area of the information processing device 10, such as memory 1006. This allows customers in the store to be recognized.

The customer recognition unit 110 can also recognize that a customer has left the store based on a notification indicating that the membership card has been read again at the time the customer leaves the store. For example, the customer recognition unit 110 acquires customer identification information stored on the card via a card reading device 20 installed at the checkout location or near the exit. The customer recognition unit 110 then identifies customer identification information identical to the acquired customer identification information from among the customer identification information stored in memory 1006 or the like. The customer recognition unit 110 then logically or physically deletes the identified customer identification information. This recognizes that the customer has left the store.

As another example, the customer recognition unit 110 may recognize customers present in the store by analyzing images of the customers when they visit the store or move around the store. The images of the customers are generated, for example, by the imaging device 30 installed in various places in the store. The customer recognition unit 110 can acquire images of customers in the store by communicating with the imaging device 30 installed in the store or a server device (not shown) equipped with a storage device that temporarily stores images captured by the imaging device 30. The customer recognition unit 110 then uses various person identification algorithms to identify the customer from the image of the customer in the store. Note that "identifying a customer" here refers to identifying and acquiring identification information (customer identification information) assigned to each customer from the image recognition results. The customer recognition unit 110 then stores the acquired customer identification information in a storage area of the information processing device 10, such as the memory 1006. This allows customers in the store to be recognized.

The customer recognition unit 110 can also recognize that a customer has left the store, for example, based on the analysis results of images from an imaging device 30 installed near the exit. For example, the customer recognition unit 110 may analyze images from an imaging device 30 installed near the entrance and obtain results indicating that a customer who has already been recognized has left the store. In this case, the customer recognition unit 110 logically or physically deletes the customer identification information corresponding to the customer who has left the store from the customer identification information stored in memory 1006, etc. This recognizes that the customer has left the store.

As another example, the customer recognition unit 110 can recognize customers in a store by using GPS information of a mobile terminal 50 (e.g., a smartphone, etc.) owned by the customer. For example, first, a relay device 40 installed in the store acquires GPS information of the mobile terminal 50 owned by each customer. At this time, the relay device 40 installed in the store acquires the GPS information of the mobile terminal 50 in association with the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 50. Then, the customer recognition unit 110 acquires the GPS information of the mobile terminal 50 and the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 50 via the relay device 40 installed in the store. In this case, a customer information database (not shown) in which the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 50 and the customer identification information are associated is prepared in advance, and the customer recognition unit 110 searches the above-mentioned customer information database using the terminal identification information of each mobile terminal 50 acquired by the relay device 40 in the store. As a result, the customer recognition unit 110 can acquire customer identification information corresponding to the terminal identification information. The customer recognition unit 110 then stores the acquired customer identification information in a storage area of the information processing device 10, such as the memory 1006. This allows customers in the store to be recognized.

The customer recognition unit 110 can also recognize that a customer has left the store based on the GPS information of the mobile device described above. For example, suppose that the customer recognition unit 110 is unable to acquire GPS information from the mobile device for a predetermined period of time or acquires GPS information indicating a location outside the store. In this case, the customer recognition unit 110 logically or physically deletes the customer identification information corresponding to the customer from the customer identification information stored in the memory 1006, etc. The customer recognition unit 110 can use the terminal identification information acquired together with the GPS information of the mobile device to determine the customer identification information to be deleted. This allows the customer to recognize that they have left the store.

Returning to FIG. 3, when a customer is recognized by the customer recognition unit 110, the purchase history acquisition unit 120 acquires product purchase history information corresponding to the customer recognized by the customer recognition unit 110 (S104), for example, as follows. First, the purchase history acquisition unit 120 reads out the customer identification information stored in the memory 1006 or the like by the customer recognition unit 110. Then, based on the read customer identification information, the purchase history acquisition unit 120 acquires the product purchase history information associated with that customer identification information. Here, the product purchase history information of each customer is associated with the customer identification information for each customer and stored, for example, in the storage device 1008.

Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares the purchase history information acquired by the purchase history acquisition unit 120 with the recommended product list (S106). Here, the recommended product list is stored, for example, in the storage device 1008. Then, based on the result of the comparison process in S106, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 acquires recommended product information (or recommendation information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer (S108), for example, as follows:

As an example, when a recommended product included in the recommended product list matches a purchased product included in the product purchase history information (i.e., when the recommended product is the same as a product previously purchased by the customer), the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 acquires recommended product information for the recommended product. In this case, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 identifies a recommended product whose product identification information matches any of the purchased products included in the product purchase history information from among the recommended products included in the recommended product list. Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 acquires recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) based on the product identification information of the identified recommended product. Note that the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 may be configured to acquire recommended product information when a predetermined period of time (for example, if the recommended product is a consumable product, the average period of time it takes to use up the product) has elapsed since the customer last purchased the same product as the recommended product.

As another example, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 may acquire recommended product information for a recommended product in a recommended product list when a product previously purchased by a customer corresponds to a related product of the recommended product.

For example, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 searches a related product database (not shown) that defines related products using the product identification information included in the product purchase history information, and identifies products related to the product previously purchased by the customer. Here, the related product database defines related products, for example, by associating product identification information with each other (e.g., FIG. 4). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a related product database. The related product database illustrated in FIG. 4 stores product identification information of multiple products in association with each other for each group of related products (related group ID). The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 can acquire product identification information of related products corresponding to the product indicated by the product identification information included in the product purchase history information, using the related product database illustrated in FIG. 4. Then, when product identification information that matches the acquired product identification information of the related product is included in the recommended product list, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 can acquire recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) using the product identification information.

For example, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 may identify related products of a product previously purchased by the customer based on the similarity of attribute information of each product. In this case, the attribute information of the product is associated with the product identification information and stored, for example, in the storage device 1008. The attribute information includes information of various categories, such as product characteristics (smell, taste, color, size, etc.), manufacturer, and use (food, kitchenware, etc.). The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares attribute information that can be acquired from the product identification information included in the product purchase history information with attribute information that can be acquired from the product information included in the recommended product list. Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 calculates a score indicating the degree of similarity according to the number of commonalities of the attribute information. Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 identifies a recommended product whose calculated score is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as a related product of the product previously purchased by the customer. Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 can acquire recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) using the product identification information of the identified recommended product.

The notification unit 140 notifies the customer of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) acquired by the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 as described above (S110). As an example, the notification unit 140 reads out the terminal identification information associated with the customer identification information of the customer recognized in S102 from a customer information database (not shown). Then, based on the read out terminal identification information, the notification unit 140 specifies the destination information of the mobile terminal 50 to which the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) should be notified. Then, the notification unit 140 uses the specified destination information to transmit the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) to the target mobile terminal 50.

As described above, in this embodiment, first, when a customer is recognized in a store, the product purchase history information of the customer is acquired. Then, the acquired product purchase history information is compared with the recommended product list prepared by the store. This makes it possible to determine whether or not a recommended product related to a product previously purchased by the customer is included in the recommended product list. Then, the product information of the recommended product selected based on the comparison result between the product purchase history of the customer and the recommended product list is notified to the customer. Here, if a product previously purchased by a certain customer is related to a recommended product included in the recommended product list, the recommended product is likely to be purchased by the customer. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the transmission of unnecessary notifications that are unlikely to lead to an increase in product sales. In addition, the notification by the information processing device 10 of this embodiment is expected to have the effect of increasing sales of the recommended products included in the recommended product list. In addition, in this embodiment, if various benefits are given to the selected recommended product, benefit information indicating the benefit is further notified to the customer. This makes it possible to further increase the effect of increasing sales of the recommended products included in the recommended product list.

[Second embodiment]
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the information processing device 10 in the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the information processing device 10 is attached to a shopping basket 60 used by a customer. Although not shown, the information processing device 10 may be attached to a shopping cart used by a customer.

[Functional configuration]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a functional configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment further includes a product recognition unit 150. The product recognition unit 150 recognizes products in a shopping basket 60 (or a shopping cart) for a customer. The product recognition unit 150 can recognize products using, for example, a barcode reader or an image scanner. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when a customer puts a product in the shopping basket 60, the product in the basket is recognized by holding the product over the product recognition unit 150 of the information processing device 10. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic example of how a product in the shopping basket 60 is recognized. In addition, the product recognition unit 150 may be configured to have a camera (not shown) that includes the inside of the shopping basket 60 in its imaging range, and to recognize the product in the shopping basket 60 by analyzing an image generated by the camera.

In this embodiment, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 narrows down the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer from among the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) acquired based on the product purchase history information, based on the products recognized by the product recognition unit 150.

The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 may also acquire recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) to be notified to the customer by comparing the recognition results of the product recognition unit 150 with the recommended product list, without using product purchase history information.

In addition, in this embodiment, the customer recognition unit 110 further includes a function for reading a membership card and a function for performing short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 50. Based on the result of reading the membership card and the result of communication with the mobile terminal 50, the customer recognition unit 110 can obtain customer identification information that identifies the customer using the shopping basket 60 (or shopping cart) to which the information processing device 10 is attached.

[Hardware configuration]
8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device 10 according to the second embodiment. The hardware configuration of this embodiment is similar to the hardware configuration of the first embodiment, except for the following points.

The storage device 1008 of this embodiment further stores program modules that realize the functions of the above-mentioned product recognition unit 150, recommended product information acquisition unit 130, and customer recognition unit 110. The processor 1004 loads each of these program modules into the memory 1006 and executes them, thereby realizing the functions of the above-mentioned product recognition unit 150, recommended product information acquisition unit 130, and customer recognition unit 110.

8, the input/output interface 1010 is connected to the card reading device 20, the imaging device 30, and the scanner 70. The imaging device 30 and the scanner 70 can be used to recognize products in the shopping basket 60. For example, the product recognition unit 150 can recognize products in the shopping basket 60 based on the analysis results of the image generated by the imaging device 30 and the reading results by the scanner 70. The card reading device 20 can be used to identify the customer using the shopping basket 60 to which the information processing device 10 is attached. For example, the customer recognition unit 110 can identify the customer using the shopping basket 60 by acquiring the customer identification information read from the card by the card reading device 20. In this case, the network interface 1012 plays a role similar to that of the relay device 40 in the first embodiment.

In addition, in FIG. 8, the network interface 1012 supports various short-range wireless communication standards. The customer recognition unit 110 performs short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 50 via the network interface 1012, and acquires terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 50, etc. The customer recognition unit 110 can refer to a customer information database (not shown) using the acquired terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 50 to acquire customer identification information of the customer using the shopping basket 60.

[Example of operation]
The flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. Figs. 9 and 10 are flowcharts illustrating an example of the flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 according to the second embodiment. The flowchart in Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a processing flow in which recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) acquired based on a comparison result between product purchase history information and a recommended product list is narrowed down by using products recognized by the product recognition unit 150. The flowchart in Fig. 10 illustrates an example of a processing flow in which recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) to be notified to a customer is acquired based on a comparison result between a product recognized by the product recognition unit 150 and a recommended product list without using product purchase history information.

First, we will explain the process flow in Figure 9.

The customer recognition unit 110 recognizes the customer using the shopping basket 60 (S202). For example, the customer recognition unit 110 can obtain customer identification information read from the membership card by the card reading device 20 as the customer identification information of the customer using the shopping basket 60. Also, for example, the customer recognition unit 110 can obtain the customer identification information of the customer using the shopping basket 60 based on the result of short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 50 via the network interface 1012.

Then, the purchase history acquisition unit 120 acquires product purchase history information of the customer recognized by the customer recognition unit 110 (S204). Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares the product purchase history information acquired by the purchase history acquisition unit 120 with the recommended product list to acquire recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) (S206, S208). The processes of S204 to S208 are the same as the processes of S104 to S108 in FIG. 3.

Next, the product recognition unit 150 recognizes the products in the shopping basket 60 (S210). The product recognition unit 150 can recognize the products in the shopping basket 60, for example, based on the result of reading the products by the scanner 70 or the result of analyzing the product images generated by the imaging device 30. Specifically, the product recognition unit 150 acquires product identification information of the products in the shopping basket 60 based on the result of reading the products by the scanner 70 or the result of analyzing the product images generated by the imaging device 30.

Next, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 narrows down the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired in the process of S208 based on the product recognized by the product recognition unit 150 (S212). For example, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 searches a related product database (not shown) using the product identification information of the product recognized by the product recognition unit 150 to identify products related to the product in the shopping basket 60. Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 selects the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) of the identified related product from the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired in the process of S208. Here, if the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) of the identified related product has not been acquired in the process of S208, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 does not need to narrow down the information as described above.

Next, the notification unit 140 notifies the customer of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) narrowed down in the process of S212 (S214). The process of S214 is the same as the process of S110 in FIG. 3.

Next, we will explain the process flow shown in Figure 10.

The customer recognition unit 110 recognizes the customer who is using the shopping cart (S302). The process of S302 is the same as the process of S202 in FIG. 9.

Next, the product recognition unit 150 recognizes the products in the shopping basket 60 (S304). The process of S304 is similar to the process of S210 in FIG. 9.

Next, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares the product recognized by the product recognition unit 150 with the recommended product list (S306). Then, based on the result of comparing the product recognized by the product recognition unit 150 with the recommended product list, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 acquires recommended product information (or recommendation information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer (S308). In this case, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 uses "product identification information of the product recognized by the product recognition unit 150" instead of "product purchase history information" in the processes of S106 and S108 in FIG. 3. This allows the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 to acquire recommended product information (or recommendation information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer in the same manner as the process described using FIG. 3.

Next, the notification unit 140 notifies the customer of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired in the process of S308 (S310). The process of S310 is the same as the process of S110 in FIG. 3.

In addition, in this embodiment, if the information processing device 10 has a display device, or if a display device is provided in the shopping basket 60 or the like in addition to the information processing device 10, the notification unit 140 may notify the recommended product information (recommended product information and bonus information) using the display device. As an example, the notification unit 140 can cause the display device to display bonus information (e.g., information about discounts when the product is bundled with other products) according to the product placed in the shopping basket 60 (recognized by the product recognition unit 150).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the same actions and effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired using the product purchase history information is narrowed down based on the products in the shopping basket 60. This makes it possible to select appropriate recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) according to the product that the customer is currently planning to purchase, and notify the customer of this.

[Third embodiment]
This embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that it further includes a configuration for narrowing down recommended product information (or recommended product information and special offer information) to be notified to a customer based on location information of the customer.

[Functional configuration]
Fig. 11 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing device 10 according to the third embodiment. As shown in Fig. 11, the information processing device 10 of this embodiment further includes a customer location acquisition unit 160. Note that the configuration illustrated in Fig. 11 is based on the configuration of the first embodiment, but may further include the configuration described in the second embodiment.

The customer location acquisition unit 160 acquires customer location information. The customer location information is information that indicates the location of the customer within the store. As one example, the customer location acquisition unit 160 can acquire the location information of the relay device 40 that has communicated with the mobile terminal 50 as the customer location information. As another example, the customer location acquisition unit 160 can acquire customer location information based on the installation position or imaging range of the imaging device 30 that generated the most recent image in which the customer was recognized.

The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 of this embodiment further uses the above-mentioned customer location information to narrow down the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer from among the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) acquired based on the product purchase history information. As an example, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 can select the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) of recommended products displayed within a predetermined range from the position indicated by the customer location information as the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) to be notified to the customer.

[Hardware configuration]
12 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing device 10 according to a third embodiment. The hardware configuration of this embodiment is similar to the hardware configurations of the above-described embodiments, except for the following points.

The storage device 1008 of this embodiment further stores program modules that realize the functions of the customer position acquisition unit 160 and the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 described above. The processor 1004 loads each of these program modules into the memory 1006 and executes them, thereby realizing the functions of the customer position acquisition unit 160 and the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 described above.

In the example of FIG. 12, the network interface 1012 is connected to a projection device 80 and a display device 90. The projection device 80 can project various images onto the floor or walls of a store in response to an output instruction from the information processing device 10. The display device 90 is a device that displays various information, such as digital signage. The projection device 80 and the display device 90 are provided in various locations in the store. In this embodiment, the notification unit 140 uses the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) acquired by the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 to generate a video output signal for the projection device 80 and drawing data for the display device 90. The notification unit 140 then transmits the generated video output signal and drawing data to the projection device 80 or the display device 90. The projection device 80 and the display device 90 can present the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) to the customer based on the output from the notification unit 140.

[Example of operation]
The flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the information processing device 10 according to the third embodiment.

First, the customer recognition unit 110 recognizes customers in the store (S402). Then, the purchase history acquisition unit 120 acquires product purchase information of the recognized customers (S404). Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 compares the product purchase history information acquired by the purchase history acquisition unit 120 with the recommended product list, and acquires recommended product information (or recommended product information and bonus information) based on the comparison result. The processes of S402 to S408 are the same as the processes of S102 to S108 in FIG. 3.

Then, the customer location acquisition unit 160 acquires customer location information (S410). As one example, the customer location acquisition unit 160 can acquire, as the customer location information, information indicating the location of the relay device 40 that most recently communicated with the customer's mobile terminal 50. As another example, the customer location acquisition unit 160 can acquire, as the customer location information, information indicating the installation location or imaging range of the imaging device 30 that generated the most recent image in which the customer was recognized. Information indicating the locations of these relay devices 40 and imaging devices 30 is pre-stored in, for example, the storage device 1008.

Then, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 narrows down the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired in the processing of S408 based on the customer location information acquired by the customer location acquisition unit 160 (S412).

Then, the notification unit 140 notifies the customer of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired in the process of S412 (S414). The process of S414 is the same as the process of S110 in FIG. 3.

A specific example of the operation of the information processing device 10 according to the third embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a diagram used to explain the specific operation of the information processing device 10 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 shows a map of the interior of a store as seen from above. In the example of FIG. 14, three product display shelves are arranged in the store. The circle in the figure represents the position of customer C in the store, which is indicated by the customer position information acquired in the processing of S410. Also, the shaded areas X, Y, and Z in the figure respectively represent the display positions of the recommended products corresponding to the recommended product information acquired in the processing of S408. Note that the display positions of the products are stored in advance in the storage device 1008 or the like in association with the product identification information of the products.

In the example of FIG. 14, of recommended products X, Y, and Z, recommended product Y is located closest to customer C. The recommended product information acquisition unit 130 determines that recommended product Y is closest to customer C using the customer position information of customer C acquired by the customer position acquisition unit 160 and information indicating the display positions of recommended products X, Y, and Z. Then, based on this determination result, the recommended product information acquisition unit 130 selects the recommended product information (recommended product information or special offer information) of recommended product Y from the recommended product information (recommended product information or special offer information) of each of recommended products X, Y, and Z.

Then, the notification unit 140 notifies the customer C of the recommended product information (recommended product information or special offer information) of the selected recommended product Y. As an example, the notification unit 140 can transmit the recommended product information (recommended product information or special offer information) of the recommended product Y to the mobile terminal 50 owned by the customer C. As another example, the notification unit 140 identifies the projection device 80 or the display device 90 installed in the closest position based on the customer position information of the customer C or the display position information of the recommended product Y. Here, the installation position information of the projection device 80 and the display device 90 is stored, for example, in the storage device 1008. Then, the notification unit 140 generates output data to be used by at least one of the projection device 80 or the display device 90, and outputs it to at least one of the projection device 80 or the display device 90. The projection device 80 or 09 can present the recommended product information (recommended product information and special offer information) to the customer C based on the output from the notification unit 140. For example, the projection device 80 can project an image notifying the customer C of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) onto a floor or wall near the customer C. The display device 90 can also display an image notifying the customer C of the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the special offer information) on its own display unit.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the same actions and effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the recommended product information (or the recommended product information and the bonus information) acquired using the product purchase history information is narrowed down based on the location indicated by the customer location information. This makes it possible to give priority to notifying the customer of information about recommended products that are located in a location that is likely to be convenient for the customer, taking into account the customer's current location. This is expected to have the effect of increasing the probability that the customer will pick up the notified recommended product.

The above describes the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but these are merely examples of the present invention, and various configurations other than those described above can also be adopted.

For example, the information processing device 10 may further include a bonus information setting unit (not shown) that sets the content of bonus information to be associated with a recommended product according to the product's expiration date (such as a best-before date), inventory amount, statistical sales trends, the degree of achievement of the sales quota for the day, and the like. The bonus information setting unit operates, for example, as follows. As an example, when the remaining time until the expiration date of a recommended product becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the bonus information setting unit automatically associates the recommended product with bonus information. If the sales situation of the recommended product is not good (sales volume per unit time has not increased) after a predetermined time has elapsed since the bonus information was associated, the bonus information setting unit resets the bonus information according to, for example, a predetermined rule. This rule is, for example, a rule that the shorter the remaining time, the stronger the bonus (the higher the discount rate, discount amount, or number of points granted). The bonus information setting unit can also associate bonus information with recommended information in a similar manner when inventory amount, sales trends, or the degree of achievement of the sales quota is used.

For example, the notification unit 140 may present different bonus information to each customer depending on the total price of the products to be purchased. For example, when the same recommended product information and bonus information are acquired for different customers, the notification unit 140 may preferentially notify the recommended product information and bonus information to customers who have a large total price for the products they plan to purchase. Furthermore, in addition to (or instead of) the total price of the products to be purchased, the notification unit 140 may preferentially notify bonus information to customers with a large purchase history based on the customer's past purchase history (product purchase amount).

For example, the notification unit 140 may obtain information about a product registered as a payment target, and notify the customer of bonus information corresponding to the product (such as information about a discount when the product is bundled with other products). In this case, the notification unit 140 can obtain information about the product registered as a payment target by communicating with the cash register terminal when the product is paid for. In this case, the notification unit 140 can notify the bonus information to the customer's mobile terminal 50 as well as the display device of the cash register terminal.

In addition, in the multiple flow charts used in the above explanation, multiple steps (processing) are described in order, but the order of execution of the steps performed in each embodiment is not limited to the order described. In each embodiment, the order of the illustrated steps can be changed to the extent that does not cause any problems in terms of content. In addition, each of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined to the extent that the content is not contradictory.

A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
1.
A customer recognition means for recognizing customers in the store;
a purchase history acquisition means for acquiring product purchase history information of the customer recognized by the customer recognition means;
a recommended product information acquiring means for acquiring recommended product information based on a comparison result between the product purchase history information and a recommended product list prepared in advance by the store;
a notification means for notifying the customer of the recommended product information acquired by the recommended product information acquisition means;
An information processing device comprising:
2.
The information processing device is provided in a shopping basket or cart for a customer,
The information processing device further includes a product recognition means for recognizing products in the shopping basket or cart for the customer,
the recommended product information acquisition means narrows down the recommended product information to be notified to the customer from the acquired recommended product information based on the product recognized by the product recognition means;
1. The information processing device according to claim 1.
3.
The store further includes a customer position acquisition unit for acquiring customer position information indicating a position of the customer within the store,
the recommended product information acquiring means further uses the customer location information acquired by the customer location acquiring means to narrow down the recommended product information to be notified to the customer from the acquired recommended product information;
1. The information processing device according to 1. or 2.
4.
The recommended product information acquiring means further acquires bonus information associated with the recommended product information,
The notification means notifies the customer of the recommended product information and the special offer information.
1. The information processing device according to any one of 1. to 3.
5.
The computer
Recognize customers in the store
Acquire product purchase history information of the customer;
acquiring recommended product information based on a comparison result between the product purchase history information and a recommended product list prepared in advance by the store;
notifying the customer of the acquired recommended product information;
A product recommendation method comprising:
6.
the computer is mounted in a customer shopping basket or cart;
The computer:
Recognizing items in a shopping basket or cart for the customer;
narrowing down recommended product information to be notified to the customer from the acquired recommended product information based on the recognized products;
5. The product recommendation method according to 5., further comprising:
7.
The computer,
acquiring customer location information indicating a location of the customer within the store;
further using the acquired customer location information to narrow down recommended product information to be notified to the customer from among the acquired recommended product information;
The product recommendation method according to 5. or 6., further comprising:
8.
The computer,
Further, bonus information associated with the recommended product information is acquired;
notifying the customer of the recommended product information and the special offer information;
5. The product recommendation method according to any one of 5. to 7.
9.
A program for causing a computer to execute the product recommendation method according to any one of 5. to 8.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-245493, filed December 21, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

Claims (8)

An identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of customers of the store;
A product information acquisition means for acquiring information on a product to be settled;
an output means for, before the settlement of the item to be settled, reading out item purchase history information of the customer associated with the customer identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition means from a storage means which stores the identification information and the item purchase history information in association with each other for each customer, acquiring recommended item information from a comparison result between a previously prepared recommended item list and the read item purchase history information, and further narrowing down and outputting the recommended item information based on the information of the item to be settled acquired by the item information acquisition means;
An information processing system comprising: It stores attribute information for each product,
The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the output means compares the attribute information of the product to be settled with the attribute information of products included in the recommended product list, calculates a score indicating the degree of similarity depending on the number of commonalities in the attribute information, and outputs as the recommended product information products whose calculated score is equal to or above a predetermined threshold value. The information processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the attribute information includes information indicating a manufacturer of the product. 4. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the output means outputs, as the recommended product information, a product of the same manufacturer as a product previously purchased by the customer, but of a different type. 5. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquiring means, the product information acquiring means, and the output means are provided in a cart used by the customer. 6. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquiring means, the merchandise information acquiring means, and the output means are provided in a shopping basket used by the customer. The computer
Obtaining the identity of a customer of the store;
Obtain information about the product to be checked out,
A product recommendation method including: before payment of the product to be paid for, reading out product purchase history information of the customer associated with the acquired customer identification information from a storage means which stores the identification information and the product purchase history information in association with each other for each customer; obtaining recommended product information from a comparison result between a previously prepared recommended product list and the read-out product purchase history information; and further narrowing down and outputting the recommended product information based on the acquired information of the product to be paid for. A program for causing a computer to execute the product recommendation method according to claim 7 .

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