JP7632732B2 - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the utilization of receipt data.

Technology has been developed that issues receipt information (electronic receipt) showing the details of a purchase when a product is purchased. Technology that utilizes this receipt information has also been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that allows group members to keep track of each other's purchases by posting electronic receipts on a social networking service (SNS).

JP 2014-194744 A

In the system of Cited Document 1, the only way to use an electronic receipt posted on an SNS is for group members to view the contents of the electronic receipt. The inventor has discovered a technique for further utilizing receipt information through the publication of receipt information. One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a new technique for utilizing receipt information through the publication of receipt information.

The information processing device of the present invention has 1) an acquisition means for acquiring receipt information from a user, and 2) a determination means for determining a reward to be granted to the user based on a correspondence table in which the frequency of sharing the receipt information is associated with a reward.

The information processing method of the present invention is executed by a computer. The information processing method includes: 1) an acquisition step of acquiring receipt information from a user; and 2) a determination step of determining a reward to be granted to the user based on a correspondence table in which the frequency of sharing the receipt information is associated with a reward.

The program of the present invention causes a computer to execute: 1) an acquisition step of acquiring receipt information from a user; and 2) a determination step of determining a privilege to be granted to the user based on a correspondence table in which the frequency of sharing the receipt information is associated with a privilege.
and a program for causing a computer to execute: 1) a sending step of sending receipt information of a user to a server; and 2) a display step of displaying a benefit for the user that is determined based on a correspondence table in which the frequency at which receipt information is made public corresponds to a benefit.

The present invention provides a new technology that utilizes receipt information by making it public.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a receipt sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a receipt sharing system. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer for implementing a receipt sharing system. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the receipt sharing system of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process for generating additional information in more detail. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a flow of obtaining and using additional information. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for selecting information to be made public in the information sharing service. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hyperlink to a product page embedded in receipt information. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of information about the same product extracted from multiple pieces of receipt information being displayed on a second user terminal. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a case in which additional information is generated by a shopping site management server; 11 is a diagram illustrating a case in which additional information is generated in a first user terminal. 11 is a diagram illustrating a case in which additional information is generated by a shared service management server; 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of how receipt information is viewed on a second user terminal in a case where coupon information is included in additional information. FIG.

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, in each block diagram, unless otherwise specified, each block represents a functional configuration rather than a hardware configuration.

[Embodiment 1]
＜Overview＞
Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a receipt sharing system according to this embodiment. Note that Fig. 1 is an example for making it easier to understand the receipt sharing system 2000, and the functions of the receipt sharing system 2000 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 1.

The receipt sharing system 2000 is a system that realizes the sharing of receipt information 10 in the information sharing service 50. The receipt information 10 is data that indicates information about a purchased product. Here, a user who provides the receipt information 10 to the information sharing service 50 is referred to as a first user 20. When the first user 20 purchases a product, receipt information 10 is generated as a result. For example, the first user 20 purchases a product using a terminal such as a smartphone, and obtains the receipt information 10 on that terminal. Hereinafter, the terminal used by the first user 20 is referred to as a first user terminal 22.

The information sharing service 50 is a service that allows multiple users to share information via a network. For example, the information sharing service 50 is any of a variety of services that are classified as SNS. The information sharing service 50 is managed by a shared service management server. The shared service management server is a server machine that realizes the information sharing service 50. Users can access the shared service management server from a terminal such as a smartphone and use the information sharing service 50.

The first user 20 provides receipt information 10 to the information sharing service 50. The information sharing service 50 makes the receipt information 10 provided by the first user 20 available to other users. In this way, the receipt information 10 is shared by users who use the information sharing service 50. The other users can view the receipt information 10 by accessing the sharing service management server using their terminals.

Note that "disclosure of information" in the information sharing service 50 means making the information accessible to users other than the user who provided the information. However, receipt information 10 does not necessarily need to be disclosed to all users who use the information sharing service 50, but may be disclosed only to some of the users who use the information sharing service 50 (for example, users who are associated (for example, friends) with the first user 20 in the information sharing service 50). Also, the entire contents of receipt information 10 do not necessarily need to be disclosed, as long as information about at least one product included in receipt information 10 is disclosed.

In the information sharing service 50, the receipt information 10 is made public along with additional information 40. The additional information 40 1) can be used by users other than the first user 20 when purchasing the product shown in the receipt information 10, and 2) includes identification information of the first user 20. For example, the additional information 40 is link information that represents a link to a web page (hereinafter, product page) where the product shown in the receipt information 10 can be purchased, or coupon information that allows a discount on the product, etc. to be received.

A user who uses the information sharing service 50 can use the additional information 40 published together with the receipt information 10 to purchase the product shown in the receipt information 10. Here, the user who purchases the product using the additional information 40 is called the second user 30. In addition, the terminal used by the second user 30 is called the second user terminal 32.

For example, suppose the additional information 40 is link information. In this case, the second user 30 uses the second user terminal 32 to obtain the link information along with the receipt information 10. The second user 30 then purchases the product by accessing the product page from the second user terminal 32 using the link information.

As another example, the additional information 40 may be coupon information. In this case, the second user 30 uses the second user terminal 32 to obtain the coupon information together with the receipt information 10. The second user 30 then uses the obtained coupon information at a store, shopping site, or the like.

When the second user 30 uses the additional information 40 in this way to purchase a product, the first user 20 receives some kind of benefit (affiliation, discount, etc.) in association with the purchase. The second user 30 can also receive benefits such as discounts by using the coupon information.

By offering a special benefit to the first user 20, a user who has purchased a product can be given an incentive to make the receipt information 10 public on the information sharing service 50. This encourages users who have purchased a product to proactively make the receipt information 10 public on the information sharing service 50. And by proactively publishing the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50, sales of the product shown in the receipt information 10 will increase.

On the other hand, by providing a special benefit to the second user, it is possible to provide an incentive to users of the information sharing service 50 to purchase products based on the receipt information 10 published on the information sharing service 50. This can improve sales of the products shown in the receipt information 10.

To realize the above-mentioned service, for example, the receipt sharing system 2000 operates as follows. First, the receipt sharing system 2000 acquires receipt information 10 related to the product purchased by the first user 20. The receipt sharing system 2000 then generates additional information 40 related to the receipt information 10. The receipt sharing system 2000 makes the acquired receipt information 10, together with the additional information 40 generated for the receipt information 10, public on an information sharing service 50 used by multiple users, including the first user 20.

<Action and effect>
According to the receipt sharing system 2000 of this embodiment, a first user 20 publishes receipt information 10 and additional information 40 on the information sharing service 50, and a second user 30 who views the receipt information 10 published on the information sharing service 50 can use the additional information 40 published together with the receipt information 10 for shopping. In this way, the receipt sharing system 2000 provides a new technology for utilizing receipt information 10 through the publication of the receipt information 10.

For example, if the additional information 40 is link information, when the second user 30 views the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50 and wants the product shown in the receipt information 10, the second user 30 can easily purchase the product. Therefore, by publishing the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50, an environment can be created in which the second user 30 can easily purchase products. This can improve product sales, etc.

If the additional information 40 is coupon information, it is expected that the second user 30 who views the receipt information 10 and obtains the coupon information will proactively use the coupon information to purchase products. Therefore, by publishing the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50, an environment in which the second user 30 proactively purchases products can be created. This can then lead to increased product sales, etc.

Furthermore, by including the identification information of the first user 20 in the additional information 40, it is possible to know which user published the receipt information 10 and the purchase of the product made by the second user 30 using the additional information 40. Therefore, it is possible to easily grant a reward to the first user 20 who published the receipt information 10 (i.e., the first user 20 who contributed to the purchase of the product by the second user 30). And by granting a reward to the first user 20 in this way, it is possible to give an incentive to the first user 20 for publishing the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50, so it is possible to create an environment in which the first user 20 actively publishes the receipt information 10 and, ultimately, an environment in which the second user 30 purchases many products.

The following provides further details about this embodiment.

<Example of functional configuration>
2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the receipt sharing system 2000. The receipt sharing system 2000 has an acquisition unit 2020, a generation unit 2040, and a publication processing unit 2060. The acquisition unit 2020 acquires receipt information 10 related to items purchased by the first user 20. The generation unit 2040 generates additional information 40 related to the acquired receipt information 10. The publication processing unit 2060 makes the receipt information 10 and the additional information 40 public on the information sharing service 50.

<Example of Hardware Configuration of Receipt Sharing System 2000>
Each functional component of the receipt sharing system 2000 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 explanation is given of the case where each functional component of the receipt sharing system 2000 is realized by a combination of hardware and software.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a computer 1000 for implementing the receipt sharing system 2000. The computer 1000 is any computer. For example, the computer 1000 is a stationary computer such as a personal computer (PC) or a server machine. In addition, the computer 1000 is a portable computer such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The computer 1000 may be a dedicated computer designed to implement the receipt sharing system 2000, or may be a general-purpose computer.

The computer 1000 has a bus 1020, a processor 1040, a memory 1060, a storage device 1080, an input/output interface 1100, and a network interface 1120. The bus 1020 is a data transmission path through which the processor 1040, the memory 1060, the storage device 1080, the input/output interface 1100, and the network interface 1120 transmit and receive data to each other. However, the method of connecting the processor 1040 and the like to each other is not limited to a bus connection.

The processor 1040 is a processor of various types, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The memory 1060 is a main storage device realized using a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The storage device 1080 is an auxiliary storage device realized using a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a memory card, or a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like.

The input/output interface 1100 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 to an input/output device. For example, an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a display device are connected to the input/output interface 1100.

The network interface 1120 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 to a communication network. This communication network is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The method for connecting the network interface 1120 to the communication network may be a wireless connection or a wired connection.

The storage device 1080 stores program modules that realize each functional component of the receipt sharing system 2000. The processor 1040 reads each of these program modules into the memory 1060 and executes them to realize the function corresponding to each program module.

For example, the receipt sharing system 2000 is realized by a first user terminal 22. In this case, the first user terminal 22 acquires receipt information 10 and generates additional information 40, and transmits the receipt information 10 and additional information 40 to a sharing service management server that manages the information sharing service 50, thereby making the receipt information 10 and additional information 40 public on the information sharing service 50. Here, existing technology can be used as a method for transmitting information to a server that manages an information sharing service such as an SNS in a specified manner so that the information is made public among users who use the information sharing service.

For another example, the receipt sharing system 2000 is realized by a server (hereinafter, shopping site management server) that manages a shopping site that can be accessed using link information. The shopping management site server also acquires receipt information 10 and generates additional information 40, and transmits the receipt information 10 and additional information 40 to a shared service management server that manages the information sharing service 50, thereby making the receipt information 10 and additional information 40 publicly available on the information sharing service 50.

For another example, the receipt sharing system 2000 is realized by a sharing service management server that manages the information sharing service 50. In this case, the first user terminal 22 acquires receipt information 10, generates additional information 40, and publishes the receipt information 10 and the additional information 40 on the information sharing service 50.

The receipt sharing system 2000 may be realized using multiple computers.

<Processing flow>
4 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the receipt sharing system 2000 of embodiment 1. The acquisition unit 2020 acquires receipt information 10 related to the products purchased by the first user 20 (S102). The generation unit 2040 generates additional information 40 related to the acquired receipt information 10 (S104). The publication processing unit 2060 publishes the receipt information 10 and the additional information 40 on the information sharing service 50 (S106).

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating in more detail the flow of generating additional information. In Figure 5, steps that represent the same processes as in Figure 4 are given the same reference numerals as in Figure 4. Receipt information 10 relating to the product purchased by the first user 20 is acquired (S102). Information (products, items, etc.) to be made public on the information sharing service 50 is specified (S202). Information necessary for generating additional information 40 is acquired (S204). For example, as described below, in order to include link information in the additional information 40, it is necessary to acquire information indicating the address of the product page. Identification information of the first user 20 is acquired (S206). Additional information is generated using the information acquired in S204 and the identification information of the first user 20 acquired in S206 (S104).

If there is no additional information to be generated for the product or item selected in S202, no additional information is generated. For example, in a case where link information is generated as additional information 40, if only products that cannot be purchased on the shopping site are selected, no link information is generated. Also, in a case where coupon information is generated only when information about a specific product or item is made public, if the specific product or item is not selected, no coupon information is generated.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of acquiring and using additional information. The published receipt information 10 is acquired (displayed) (S302). The published additional information 40 is acquired together with the receipt information 10 acquired in S302 (S304). The flow from S306 onwards differs depending on whether the additional information 40 used is link information or coupon information.

When link information is to be used, the link information is selected (S306). A product page corresponding to the selected link information is displayed (S308). The product is purchased on the product page (S310). A benefit is given to the first user 20 (S312).

When the coupon information is used, the product is purchased using the coupon information (S314). A benefit is given to the first user 20 (S316).

<Acquisition of receipt information 10: S102>
The first user 20 acquires receipt information 10 relating to the products purchased (S102). There are various methods for the acquisition unit 2020 to acquire the receipt information 10. For example, the acquisition unit 2020 acquires the receipt information 10 by receiving the receipt information 10 transmitted from the first user terminal 22.

The receipt information 10 issued to the first user 20 may be managed by a device other than the first user terminal 22. For example, the receipt information 10 may be managed by a server that provides a website so that the first user 20 can view the receipt information 10 on the website. In this case, the acquisition unit 2020 may acquire the receipt information 10 from this server or the like.

<<Designation of Information to be Disclosed: S202>>
The first user 20 may select information to be made public on the information sharing service 50 from the information included in the receipt information 10. For example, the first user 20 selects products to be made public on the information sharing service 50 from the products shown in the receipt information 10. In other words, the first user 20 prevents some of the products shown in the information sharing service 50 from being made public on the information sharing service 50.

For example, the first user 20 selects items to be made public on the information sharing service 50 from among multiple items (such as product name, purchase quantity, and purchase amount) shown in the receipt information 10. In other words, some of the items shown on the information sharing service 50 are not made public on the information sharing service 50.

Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for selecting information to be made public on the information sharing service 50. This selection screen is displayed on the display device of the first user terminal 22 when the process for making receipt information 10 public on the information sharing service 50 is performed on the first user terminal 22.

The selection screen 70 displays the contents of the receipt information 10. The selection screen 70 also includes an input interface 72 for selecting the products to be made public, and an input interface 74 for selecting the items to be made public. The user operates the input interfaces 72 and 74 to select the products and items to be made public.

For example, in the example of FIG. 7, information with a check mark is information to be made public. In other words, the product name and price for product A and product C are made public. Note that in this example, it is assumed that the product name must be made public, and the input interface 72 is not displayed for the product name item.

After the first user 20 has finished selecting the products and items to be made public, he or she performs an input operation on the button marked "Public." This causes the receipt information 10 to be sent to the shared service management server.

The shared service management server may acquire receipt information 10 that contains only the information to be made public (receipt information 10 from which information not to be made public has been deleted or masked), or may acquire receipt information 10 along with information specifying the products and items to be made public. In the latter case, the shared service management server will make only the products and items specified to be made public from the acquired receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50. For example, the shared service management server will perform a process on the acquired receipt information 10 to delete or mask the products and items not specified to be made public, and will make the processed receipt information 10 public on the information sharing service 50.

In this way, by making it unnecessary for some products or items to be made public on the information sharing service 50, it is possible to realize the sharing of receipt information 10 while respecting the privacy of users.

<Generation of Additional Information 40: S104, S204, S206>
The generating unit 2040 generates additional information 40 for the receipt information 10. Various information can be generated as the additional information 40. Specific examples of the additional information 40 will be described below.

<<Example 1: Link information>>
For example, the additional information 40 is link information for a product page of the product shown in the receipt information 10. The link information is, for example, a hyperlink. By using this link information, a request for the product page can be sent to the server of the shopping site that provides the product page of the product shown in the receipt information 10 (the shopping site management server described above). The link information of the product page also includes identification information of the first user terminal 22. Note that an existing method of adding parameters to a hyperlink can be used as a technique for including additional information in the link information so that the additional information can be sent to the server.

Here, to generate link information for the product page, it is necessary to know the address (URL) of the product page. For this purpose, for example, information that associates a product with the address of its product page is prepared in advance. This information is called address information. The generation unit 2040 identifies the address of the product page for each product by acquiring address information for each product shown in the receipt information 10 (S204). For example, the product information is prepared so that it can be acquired from a shopping site management server.

Note that multiple products may share part of their product page addresses. For example, for multiple products sold on the same website, the protocol name and domain name portion of the product page addresses (e.g., http://abcxyz.co.jp) may be common. In this case, the address information may indicate only the portion of the product page address that is not common to the products (the portion unique to each product).

When link information for a product page and receipt information 10 are made public on the information sharing service 50, it is preferable to embed the link information for the product page in the receipt information 10. For example, in the receipt information 10, the portion showing the product name is replaced with a hyperlink to the product page for that product. Alternatively, for example, a link to the product page may be added next to the product name in the receipt information 10.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hyperlink to a product page embedded in receipt information 10. In the receipt information 10 in Figure 8, the character string representing the product name is a hyperlink to the product page of that product. Therefore, when an input operation is performed on the character string representing the product name on the second user terminal 32 that has viewed this receipt information 10, the product page of the product with that product name is displayed on a browser or the like. For example, in the example in Figure 8, "Product C" has been tapped. Therefore, in response to this tapping operation, the product page for Product C is displayed.

Here, the second user terminal 32 is not limited to viewing information for each receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50. For example, multiple receipt information 10 that have something in common may be viewed all at once, or common information may be extracted from multiple receipt information 10 and viewed. In the former case, for example, the information sharing service 50 may display multiple receipt information 10 published by the same first user 20 together, or display receipt information 10 published within a specified period (for example, within the past week) together. Here, the commonalities that group the multiple receipt information 10 together are specified, for example, from the second user terminal 32. Specifically, when the second user 30 inputs commonalities (search conditions) for the receipt information 10 that he or she wishes to view all at once into the second user terminal 32, the multiple receipt information 10 that have the input commonalities are displayed all at once.

When common information is extracted from multiple receipt information 10 and made viewable, for example, information about the same product is extracted from multiple receipt information 10, and the extracted information is made viewable on the second user terminal 32.

Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information about the same product extracted from multiple receipt information 10 being displayed on the second user terminal 32. In this example, the second user 30 searches for information about product A on the information sharing service 50. As a result, information about product A is extracted from the receipt information 10 that each of user 1, user 2, and user 3 has published on the information sharing service 50, and is displayed on the second user terminal 32.

In addition to the receipt information 10, additional information 40 is also displayed on the second user terminal 32. Specifically, address information for the product page is acquired, and the product page can be viewed by selecting the product name. In addition, since the receipt information 10 of user 3 is made public together with the coupon information, a download link 34 for the coupon information is displayed.

The conditions for the information to be extracted from the multiple receipt information pieces 10 (e.g., product names, etc.) are specified from the second user terminal 32, similar to the common points that group the multiple receipt information pieces 10 described above. Specifically, when the second user 30 inputs the information (search conditions) that he or she wishes to view into the second user terminal 32, multiple receipt information pieces 10 that contain the input information are identified, and the information extracted from each of the identified receipt information pieces 10 can be viewed.

<<Example 2: Coupon information>>
For example, the additional information 40 is coupon information that represents a coupon that can be used when purchasing the product shown in the receipt information 10. For example, the coupon information is associated with the product and represents a coupon that allows a discount on the corresponding product, or a coupon that represents a coupon that allows specific points or a gift to be received in response to purchasing the corresponding product. However, the coupon information does not necessarily need to be associated with the product. For example, the additional information 40 for the receipt information 10 may be a single coupon information that can be used at the store where the product represented by the receipt information 10 was purchased. This coupon information can be a coupon that realizes various benefits, such as a discount on the total amount of shopping, a discount on a specific product such as a product currently on a campaign, or the presentation of specific points or a gift.

The generating unit 2040 acquires coupon information from a specific device or the like based on the disclosed receipt information 10, and includes the acquired coupon information in the additional information 40. For example, the specific device or the like is a shopping site management server or a management server that manages products in a store (such as a server that realizes a POS system). Also, rather than including the coupon information itself in the additional information 40, link information for a web page from which the coupon information can be downloaded (i.e., a download link) may be included in the additional information 40.

The coupon information is preferably coded into various codes such as a barcode or a QR code (registered trademark). This makes it easier to use the coupon information. For example, the coded coupon information can be displayed on the display device of the second user terminal 32 and read by a code reader provided in a POS terminal or the like, thereby realizing a discount using the coupon information.

The coupon information also includes the identification information of the first user 20. For example, the coupon information is generated as information that combines (links, etc.) information indicating the details of the discount with the identification information of the first user 20, and this coupon information is coded. In this way, by decoding this code, the information indicating the details of the discount and the identification information of the first user 20 can be obtained. For example, the coded coupon information can be displayed on the display device of the second user terminal 32 and read by a code reader provided on a POS terminal or the like, thereby easily realizing both the realization of the discount and obtaining the identification information of the first user 20.

<<Apparatus for generating additional information 40>>
The additional information 40 can be generated by various devices. Below, examples of devices that generate the additional information 40 will be described.

<<<<Example 1>>>
For example, the additional information 40 is generated by a shopping site management server. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case in which the additional information 40 is generated by the shopping site management server. In this case, the first user terminal 22 sends receipt information 10 to the shopping site management server 60. The shopping site management server 60 generates additional information 40 for the acquired receipt information 10. The shopping site management server 60 then sends the receipt information 10 and the additional information 40 to the shared service management server 80.

<<<<Example 2>>>
Alternatively, for example, the additional information 40 may be generated by the first user terminal 22. Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a case in which the additional information 40 is generated by the first user terminal 22. In this case, the first user terminal 22 obtains information (such as address information) required to generate the additional information 40 from the shopping site management server 60, and generates the additional information 40. The generated additional information 40 is then sent to the shared service management server 80 together with the receipt information 10.

<<<<Example 3>>>
Alternatively, for example, the additional information 40 may be generated by the shared service management server 80. Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating a case in which the additional information 40 is generated by the shared service management server 80. In this case, the first user terminal 22 sends receipt information 10 to the shared service management server 80. The shared service management server 80 obtains information (such as address information) necessary for generating the additional information 40 from the shopping site management server 60 and generates the additional information 40.

In the cases of Examples 1 and 3, the receipt information 10 may also be sent from a device other than the first user terminal 22. For example, as described above, the receipt information 10 may be managed on a website. In this case, for example, the website may allow the first user terminal 22 to perform an input operation to specify that the receipt information 10 being viewed should be made public on the information sharing service 50. When this input operation is performed, the server providing the website sends the receipt information 10 to the device that generates the additional information 40.

Note that, in order to generate the additional information 40, identification information of the first user 20 is required in addition to the receipt information 10. For example, the device that generates the additional information 40 acquires the identification information of the first user 20 along with the receipt information 10 (S206).

<Acquisition of receipt information 10, etc. by second user 30: S302 onward>
The second user 30 uses the information sharing service 50 via the second user terminal 32 to obtain the receipt information 10 made public by the first user 20 (S302). The information sharing service 50 is accessed, for example, via a browser or a dedicated application for accessing the information sharing service 50. Below, a more specific description will be given of both the case where the additional information 40 includes link information and the case where the additional information 40 includes coupon information.

<<Cases where link information is included in additional information 40>>
In this case, by viewing the receipt information 10 on the second user terminal 32, link information is also acquired (S304). The second user 30 uses the link information to view the product page of the product (S306, S308). For example, as illustrated using FIG. 8, when the receipt information 10 is viewed on the information sharing service 50, the product name is a hyperlink to the product page of the product having that product name. Then, the second user 30 performs a predetermined operation (e.g., a tap operation) on the product name of the product to be purchased on the second user terminal 32. As a result, a request is sent from the second user terminal 32 to the shopping site management server 60 that provides the product page of the product having that product name, requesting transmission of the product page. As a result, the second user terminal 32 receives the product page from the shopping site management server 60. Then, the product page is displayed on the second user terminal 32.

Here, the request includes the identification information of the first user 20. Therefore, the shopping site management server 60 can understand that the request for the product page was made via the receipt information 10 provided by the first user 20.

When a product is purchased on the second user terminal 32 via the product page displayed as described above (S310), the shopping site management server 60 performs a process of granting a reward to the first user 20 using the identification information of the first user 20 acquired along with the request (S312). The reward for the first user 20 can be various things such as money, coupons, or prizes. Note that the specific technique for granting these rewards to users can be an existing technique used in affiliate marketing, etc. Note that the reward may be granted not only to the first user 20, but also to the second user terminal 32 that purchased the product.

Here, the process of granting the benefit to the first user 20 may be performed by a device other than the shopping site management server 60. For example, the benefit to the first user 20 is granted by a server managed by the manufacturer of the purchased product. In this case, the shopping site management server 60 transmits the identification information of the purchased product, the identification information of the first user 20, and the identification information of the second user 30 who purchased the product to the manufacturer's server. The manufacturer's server uses the acquired information to grant the benefit to the first user 20 and the second user 30.

<<Case in which the additional information 40 is coupon information>>
In this case, the second user 30 uses the second user terminal 32 to obtain the coupon information published together with the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50 (S304). For example, when the second user terminal 32 uses the information sharing service 50, a link for downloading the coupon information published as additional information 40 is displayed on the second user terminal 32. The second user 30 can download the coupon information by performing an operation on the second user terminal 32 to select this download link.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of viewing receipt information 10 on the second user terminal 32 when coupon information is included in the additional information 40. In this example, the receipt information 10 contains the character string "Download coupon." The second user 30 performs an input operation (such as a tap operation) in response to this character string displayed on the second user terminal 32. As a result, the second user terminal 32 obtains the coupon information from the shared service management server 80.

The second user 30 can use the coupon information when shopping at a store associated with the receipt information 10 published by the first user 20 (S314). The store associated with the receipt information 10 is, for example, the store where the first user 20 purchased the product shown in the receipt information 10, or a store associated with that store. Note that the store referred to here is not limited to a physical store, but may be a virtual store on the Internet (i.e., a shopping site). A store associated with a certain store is, for example, an affiliated store of that store, or a shopping site provided by the operating company of that store.

For example, when a product is purchased in a physical store by communicating (e.g., NFC (Near field communication)) between the second user terminal 32 and a POS terminal of the store, the second user terminal 32 transmits the above-mentioned coupon information to the POS terminal. In this way, the second user 30 can receive a benefit (such as a discount) corresponding to the coupon information. In another example, when the coupon information is coded as a barcode or the like, the second user 30 causes the display device of the second user terminal 32 to display the code. Then, the second user 30 or a store clerk causes the POS terminal to read the code. In this way, the second user 30 can receive a benefit corresponding to the coupon information.

Here, the coupon information acquired by the POS terminal includes the identification information of the first user 20. Therefore, the POS terminal or the like may further execute a process to grant a benefit to the first user 20 (S316). For example, the POS terminal or the like transmits the identification information of the first user 20 to a server (e.g., a server of the product manufacturer or a management server of the POS system) that performs a process to grant a benefit to the first user 20. In response to receiving the identification information of the first user 20 from the POS terminal, this server grants the benefit to the first user 20.

<About the benefits>
The value of the privilege given in response to the disclosure of receipt information 10 may be the same in all cases, or may differ from case to case. Here, the value of the privilege refers to the amount of money, the amount of discount obtained by a coupon, the value of a gift to be given, etc. When the value of the privilege is varied, for example, the value of the privilege is determined by an index value (hereinafter, influence index value) that indicates the influence of the first user 20 who disclosed the receipt information 10 on the information sharing service 50.

The influence index value is determined, for example, by the number of users who have a predetermined relationship with the first user 20 in the information sharing service 50 (such as users who are friends with the first user 20 or followers of the first user 20), the number of users who have taken a predetermined action (such as adding a "like" or "like" or writing a comment) on the information published by the first user 20 on the information sharing service 50, or the frequency with which the first user 20 publishes information on the information sharing service 50. Note that the number of users who have taken a predetermined action on the information published by the first user 20 on the information sharing service 50 may be determined as a statistical value (such as an average value) of the number of times the above action has been taken on each piece of information that the first user 20 has published on the information sharing service 50, or may be determined as a statistical value of the number of times the above action has been taken on only a portion of the information (for example, only the publication of receipt information 10).

The value of the privilege is determined so as to have a positive correlation with the influence index value described above. In other words, the larger the influence index value, the higher the value of the privilege. For example, a monotonically non-decreasing function is defined that takes the influence index value as input and outputs the value of the privilege. The value of the privilege is then determined by inputting the influence index value of the first user 20 who made the receipt information 10 public into this function. Alternatively, for example, multiple ranges of influence index values may be set, and a correspondence table may be prepared in which privileges of different values are associated with each range. In this case, the privilege given to the first user 20 will be a privilege that is associated with a range that includes the influence index value that represents the magnitude of the influence of the first user 20.

Here, it is assumed that the functional configuration unit that grants the privileges (hereinafter, the privilege granting unit) is realized by a device other than the shared service management server 80. In this case, for example, the privilege granting unit performs processing such as crawling on the information sharing service 50 to grasp the disclosure of information by the first user 20 and the behavior of other users in response to that disclosure, and calculates an influence index value. Note that existing technology can be used as the technology for collecting information that is disclosed on the network by processing such as crawling.

For another example, the privilege granting unit may obtain the influence index calculated by the shared service management server 80 from the shared service management server 80. In the shared service management server 80, the disclosure of information by the first user 20 and the actions of other users in response to that disclosure can be obtained, for example, from a database in which the history of user actions taken in the information sharing service 50 is recorded. Therefore, the shared service management server 80 can easily calculate the influence index value of the first user 20. Even when the privilege granting unit is realized by the shared service management server 80, the influence index value calculated in this manner is used.

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

For example, in the above embodiment, the additional information 40 includes the identification information of the first user 20. However, the additional information 40 does not have to include the identification information of the first user 20. In this case, the bonus granting unit identifies the identification information of the first user 20 to which the bonus should be granted by a method other than obtaining it from the additional information 40. For example, the second user 30 inputs the identification information of the first user 20 when making a purchase using the additional information 40. The bonus granting unit grants the bonus to the first user 20 identified by the identification information input by the second user 30.

A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
1. An acquisition unit that acquires receipt information regarding a product purchased by a first user who uses an information sharing service;
an additional information generating unit that generates additional information that can be used by a second user who uses the information sharing service when purchasing a product indicated in the receipt information;
a publishing processing unit that publishes the receipt information and the additional information on the information sharing service.
2. The receipt sharing system according to 1., wherein the additional information includes link information indicating a link to a page where the product shown in the receipt information can be purchased.
3. The receipt sharing system according to 1., wherein the additional information includes coupon information that can be used when purchasing the product shown in the receipt information, or when purchasing a product at the store where the product shown in the receipt information was purchased or at another store associated with the store.
4. The receipt sharing system according to any one of 1 to 3, further comprising a reward provision unit that provides a reward to the first user when a product is purchased using the additional information.
5. The receipt sharing system according to 4., wherein the privilege granting unit obtains an influence index value representing the magnitude of influence of the first user in the information sharing service, and determines a privilege to be granted to the first user based on the influence index value.
6. The receipt sharing system according to 5., wherein the influence index value is calculated based on the number of users who have a predetermined relationship with the first user in the information sharing service, the number of users who have performed a predetermined action on information published by the first user, or the frequency with which the first user publishes information in the information sharing service.
7. The additional information includes identification information of the first user;
7. The receipt sharing system according to 5. or 6., wherein the benefit granting unit grants a benefit to the first user identified by identification information indicated in the additional information.

8. A computer-implemented control method comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring receipt information regarding a product purchased by a first user who uses the information sharing service;
an additional information generating step of generating additional information that can be used by a second user who uses the information sharing service when purchasing a product indicated in the receipt information;
and a publishing processing step of publishing the receipt information and the additional information on the information sharing service.
9. The control method according to 8., wherein the additional information includes link information indicating a link to a page where the product shown in the receipt information can be purchased.
10. The control method according to 8., wherein the additional information includes coupon information that can be used when purchasing a product shown in the receipt information, or when purchasing a product at a store where the product shown in the receipt information was purchased or at another store associated with the store.
11. The control method according to any one of 8. to 10., further comprising a benefit providing step of providing a benefit to the first user when a product is purchased using the additional information.
12. The control method according to 11., wherein in the privilege granting step, an influence index value representing a magnitude of influence of the first user in the information sharing service is acquired, and a privilege to be granted to the first user is determined based on the influence index value.
13. The control method according to 12., wherein the influence index value is calculated based on the number of users who have a predetermined relationship with the first user in the information sharing service, the number of users who have performed a predetermined action on information published by the first user, or the frequency with which the first user publishes information in the information sharing service.
14. The additional information includes identification information of the first user,
14. The control method according to 12. or 13., wherein in the benefit providing step, a benefit is provided to the first user identified by identification information indicated in the additional information.

15. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method described in any one of 8. to 14.

10 Receipt information 20 First user 22 First user terminal 30 Second user 32 Second user terminal 34 Download link 40 Additional information 50 Information sharing service 60 Shopping site management server 70 Selection screen 72 Input interface 74 Input interface 80 Shared service management server 1000 Computer 1020 Bus 1040 Processor 1060 Memory 1080 Storage device 1100 Input/output interface 1120 Network interface 2000 Receipt sharing system 2020 Acquisition unit 2040 Generation unit 2060 Publication processing unit

Claims (17)

An acquisition means for acquiring receipt information from a user;
and a determination means for determining a benefit to be given to the user based on a frequency at which the user shares the receipt information and a correspondence table in which the frequency and benefits are associated with each other. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a sharing means for sharing the receipt information. In the correspondence table,
The receipt information is shared at a plurality of frequencies,
The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of frequencies are associated with respective benefits having different values. the determining means determines an influence index value for each of the users based on a frequency of sharing the receipt information, and determines a privilege to be granted to the user based on the influence index value.
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The determining means further determines an influence index value based on the number of users having a predetermined relationship with the user.
The information processing device according to claim 4. The determining means further determines an influence index value based on the number of users who have performed a predetermined action on the receipt information shared by the user.
6. The information processing device according to claim 4 or 5. The determination means determines a value of the privilege to be given to the user to be higher as the receipt information is shared more frequently.
7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The reward includes at least one of money, a coupon, and a prize.
8. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The acquiring means acquires the receipt information from the user's terminal.
9. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The receipt information further includes a generating unit that generates additional information that can be used by other users when they purchase the product indicated in the receipt information.
10. The information processing device according to claim 1. the additional information includes link information representing a link to a page where the product shown in the receipt information can be purchased;
The information processing device according to claim 10. The additional information includes coupon information that can be used when purchasing a product shown in the receipt information, or when purchasing a product at a store where the product shown in the receipt information was purchased or at another store related to the store.
The information processing device according to claim 10 or 11. a reward provision unit that provides a reward to the user when a product is purchased using the additional information;
13. The information processing device according to claim 10. The additional information includes identification information of the user,
The privilege granting unit grants a privilege to the user identified by the identification information indicated in the additional information.
The information processing device according to claim 13. 1. A computer-implemented information processing method, comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring receipt information from a user;
A determination step of determining a reward to be granted to the user based on a frequency at which the user shares the receipt information and a correspondence table in which the frequency and rewards are associated with each other ;
An information processing method comprising the steps of: On the computer,
An acquisition step of acquiring receipt information from a user;
A determination step of determining a reward to be granted to the user based on a frequency at which the user shares the receipt information and a correspondence table in which the frequency and rewards are associated with each other ;
A program that executes the following. On the computer,
a sending step of sending the user's receipt information to a server;
a display step of displaying a frequency at which the user shared the receipt information and a reward for the user, the reward being determined based on a correspondence table in which the frequency and the reward are associated with each other;
A program to execute.

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