WO2019102664A1 - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an information processing device (10) comprising: a first acquisition part (110) for acquiring first merchandise identification information for identifying an item of merchandise which has either been returned after purchase or for which a purchase has been cancelled, in association with return site information indicating a site within a storefront whereat the item of merchandise has been returned; a second acquisition part (120) for acquiring customer identification information about a customer waiting for the return or the purchase cancellation of a desired item of merchandise, in association with second merchandise identification information for identifying the desired item of merchandise; and a notification part (130) for transmitting notification information including the return site information associated with the first merchandise identification information to (a) terminal(s) associated with either the entirety or part of the customer identification information associated with the second merchandise identification information equivalent to the first merchandise identification information.

Description

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

The present invention relates to support technology for product sales operations.

Popular products that many people want are often sold out and not available. Customers who really want a product that has been sold out may wait for the product to be cancelled.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for notifying a customer who wants to purchase a product that a cancellation of the product has occurred, when a cancellation occurs for a product sold out through online shopping.

JP 2005-339314 A

In a real store, for example, when notifying only that a product has been canceled, as in the technology of Patent Document 1 described above, the customer does not know the whereabouts of the product. Therefore, the customer must go around the store looking for the product. And, depending on the customer, they may not like the trouble of searching for a product. In that case, the store misses the sales opportunity of the product.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a technique for increasing the purchase opportunity of canceled or returned goods in a real store.

According to the invention
A first acquisition unit that acquires a first item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store in association with each other;
A second acquisition unit that associates and acquires customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired item and second item identification information identifying the desired item;
The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Notification means for transmitting notification information including location information;
An information processing apparatus is provided.

According to the invention
At least one computer,
First item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store are correlated and acquired.
Customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired product and second product identification information identifying the desired product are acquired in association with each other;
The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Send notification information including location information,
An information processing method including the above is provided.

According to the invention
A program is provided that causes at least one computer to execute the above information processing method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the purchase opportunity of a canceled or returned product in an actual store.

The objects described above, and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments described below and the following drawings associated therewith.

It is a block diagram which shows notionally the function composition of the information processor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the information processor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows roughly a flow of processing of an information processor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information which mutually matches and memorize | stores customer identification information and the address information of a portable terminal in a table format. It is a figure which shows the flow of temporary settlement registration typically. It is a figure which shows an example of the information registered by provisional settlement registration processing. It is a figure which shows typically the flow of this settlement registration. It is a figure which shows the flow of cancellation registration typically. It is a figure which shows an example of goods return information managed on a database. It is a figure showing typically the flow of returned goods registration. It is a figure showing typically the flow of cancellation / return awaiting registration. FIG. 18 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus in the third embodiment, and is a view showing an example of information registered in the cancellation / return registration process. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the information processor concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the information processing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows notionally the function composition of the information processor concerning a 4th embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of a 1st returned goods determination part and a moneys calculation part. It is a figure which illustrates the table which manages the information which shows the settlement completion time of each goods. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of a 2nd returned goods determination part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings. In all the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be appropriately omitted. Further, in each block diagram, each block represents a configuration of a function unit, not a configuration of a hardware unit, unless otherwise described.

First Embodiment
[Functional configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a first acquisition unit 110, a second acquisition unit 120, and a notification unit 130.

The first acquisition unit 110 associates and acquires product identification information for identifying a product that has been canceled or returned, and return place information indicating a place where the product is returned in the store. The second acquisition unit 120 associates and acquires customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired product and product identification information identifying the desired product. In the following description, in order to distinguish between the product identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110 and the product identification information acquired by the second acquisition unit 120, the former is referred to as “first product identification information”. And the latter may be described as “second product identification information”. The notification unit 130 associates the first item identification information with a terminal corresponding to part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information. Send notification information including return location information. Here, “the first item identification information and the second item identification information are equal” means that the item identified by the first item identification information is the same item as the item identified by the second item identification information. Means to be.

[Hardware configuration]
Each functional component of the information processing apparatus 10 may be realized by hardware (for example, a hard-wired electronic circuit or the like) that realizes each functional component, or a combination of hardware and software (for example: It may be realized by a combination of an electronic circuit and a program for controlling it. Hereinafter, the case where each functional configuration unit of the information processing apparatus 10 is realized by a combination of hardware and software will be further described.

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

A bus 1002 is a data transmission path for the processor 1004, the memory 1006, the storage device 1008, the input / output interface 1010, and the network interface 1012 to mutually transmit and receive data. However, the method of connecting the processors 1004 and the like to one another is not limited to the bus connection.

The processor 1004 is a processor realized by a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU).

The 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 for realizing the respective functions (the first acquisition unit 110, the second acquisition unit 120, the notification unit 130, and the like) of the information processing apparatus 10. The processor 1004 implements each function corresponding to the program module by reading the program module into the memory 1006 and executing the program module.

The input / output interface 1010 is an interface for connecting the information processing apparatus 10 and 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 apparatus 10 to a network. This network is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The method of connecting the network interface 1012 to the network may be wireless connection or wired connection. The information processing apparatus 10 can communicate with the portable terminal 20 owned by each customer via the network interface 1012. The mobile terminal 20 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The customer can perform temporary settlement registration, cancellation registration, return registration, and cancellation / return await registration using a dedicated application or the like installed on the mobile terminal 20.

The hardware configuration of FIG. 2 is merely an example, and the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the example of FIG.

[Schematic flow of processing]
A schematic flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart schematically showing the flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

The first acquisition unit 110 acquires product return information (S102). Here, the product return information means information including identification information (first product identification information) of the canceled or returned product and return place information indicating a place where the product is returned.

In addition, the second acquisition unit 120 acquires product waiting information (S104). Here, the item waiting information means information including customer identification information of a customer waiting for a certain item to be canceled or returned and identification information (second item identification information) of the item.

Then, the notification unit 130 determines whether or not there is commodity return information and commodity waiting information having mutually identical commodity identification information (S106). The notification unit 130 compares the first item identification information included in the item return information with the second item identification information included in the item waiting information, thereby identifying items for which item return information and item waiting information are equal to each other. It can be determined whether or not it has information.

When there is product return information and product waiting information having mutually identical product identification information (S106: YES), the notification unit 130 generates notification information using the return place information included in the product return information (S108). . Then, based on the customer identification information included in the product waiting information, the notification unit 130 reads out the address information of the portable terminal 20 of the customer identified by the customer identification information (S110). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the address information of the mobile terminal 20 of each customer is stored in the memory 1006, the storage device 1008 or the like in association with the customer identification information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information in which the customer identification information and the address information of the portable terminal 20 are associated with each other in a table format and stored. The notification unit 130 can specify the address information of the portable terminal 20 corresponding to each customer identification information with reference to the table illustrated in FIG. 4. In addition, each information memorize | stored in the table illustrated in FIG. 4 can be collected from a customer, for example, when performing member registration of a shop. Then, the notification unit 130 transmits the notification information generated in the process of S108 to the target portable terminal 20 using the address information read out in the process of S110 (S112).

On the other hand, when the product return information and the product waiting information having the same product identification information do not exist (S106: NO), the above process is not performed. In this case, if the first acquisition unit 110 acquires new product return information or the second acquisition unit 120 acquires new product waiting information, product return information and a product having product identification information equal to each other It is again determined whether or not there is waiting information.

As described above, according to the notification information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a person who wishes to purchase the product can know that the sold product has been canceled or returned. Further, the above-mentioned notification information includes information indicating the return place of the product in the store. Therefore, the customer who has received the notification information can easily grasp "in which place in the store the product has been returned." This eliminates the trouble of searching for a desired product in the store, reducing the possibility of giving up the customer's purchase of the product. As a result, it can be expected to increase sales opportunities for products in actual stores.

Second Embodiment
In the present embodiment, the flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described in more detail. In the present embodiment, the flow of processing will be described divided into the following steps.
-Temporary settlement registration step-Final settlement registration step-Cancel registration step-Return registration step-Cancel / Return registration registration step

The information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has the same functional configuration (example: FIG. 1) and the same hardware configuration (example: FIG. 2) as the first embodiment.

<Flow of provisional settlement registration>
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of temporary settlement registration. Here, with provisional payment registration, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires information indicating that the customer has secured a certain product (for example, the product has been placed in a shopping cart), and the information processing apparatus 10 specifies that information. It means holding in the storage area of

First, the customer takes out the target product 40 from the product shelf 30 in which various products are displayed, and places the product 40 in his / her shopping cart ((1) in the figure). Then, the customer activates an application for code reading or the like on the portable terminal 20 and holds the code symbol 42 attached to the product 40 over the portable terminal 20. Although not shown, the customer may hold the code symbol 32 attached to the product shelf 30 over the portable terminal 20. The code symbol 42 or the code symbol 32 is, for example, a barcode in which a product ID (Identifier) for identifying each product is encoded. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 42 or the code symbol 32 to acquire the product identification information of the product 40 ((2) in the figure). The portable terminal 20 may display a list of products handled in the store on a screen, and may obtain the product identification information of the product 40 by causing the customer to select the product 40 on the list.

And the portable terminal 20 displays the screen 21 as shown, for example to (3) of FIG. 5 using the information of the acquired goods. The customer confirms the product to be provisionally settled on the screen 21 and presses the provisional settlement button 212. The portable terminal 20 transmits a provisional settlement registration instruction to the information processing apparatus 10 in response to the depression of the provisional settlement button 212 ((4) in the figure). The temporary settlement registration instruction at least includes the commodity identification information acquired in (2) in the figure.

The information processing apparatus 10 performs temporary settlement registration processing using the information received from the portable terminal 20 ((5) in the figure). For example, the information processing apparatus 10 stores, for each customer, information on a product for which temporary settlement registration has been performed in a predetermined database (for example, FIG. 6). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the provisional settlement registration process. In the example of FIG. 6, the information is managed for each customer in a form in which the information indicating the item information and the information indicating the item settlement status (temporary settlement / full settlement) are associated with the customer identification information. When the provisional settlement registration process is completed, a notification to that effect is transmitted from the information processing device 10 to the portable terminal 20. In response to the notification of completion from the information processing apparatus 10, for example, the portable terminal 20 displays a screen 22 notifying that the provisional settlement registration process is completed ((6) in the figure).

In addition, the portable terminal 20 may record the flow of (1) described above as a moving image and transmit it to the information processing apparatus 10. In this case, by analyzing the moving image sent from the mobile terminal 20, the information processing apparatus 10 can specify the product (the product put in the shopping cart) for which the temporary settlement has been performed.

<Flow of main settlement registration>
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of the main settlement registration. Here, with the main settlement registration, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires information indicating that the settlement of the payment for the product secured (provisional settlement registration) by the customer is completed, and the information is stored in a predetermined storage area. It means to do.

First, the customer brings the product secured in the product basket (previously registered for payment) to the place of a manned or unmanned payment terminal 50, and pays for the product price ((1) in the figure). When payment of the product price is completed, the settlement terminal 50 transmits a settlement completion notification to the information processing apparatus 10. The payment completion notification includes customer identification information identifying each customer.

The information processing apparatus 10 performs the main settlement registration process using the information received from the settlement terminal 50 ((2) in the figure). As an example, the information processing apparatus 10 performs the following process. First, the information processing apparatus 10 uses the customer identification information included in the payment completion notification acquired from the payment terminal 50 to change the payment status to “main registration” from the table illustrated in FIG. Identify Then, the information processing apparatus 10 updates the settlement status of the identified record to “main registration” (example: second line of the table in FIG. 6).

<Flow of cancellation registration>
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cancellation registration. Here, cancellation registration means that the information processing apparatus 10 acquires information indicating that the customer has canceled the purchase of the product after temporary settlement registration before the main settlement, and the information processing apparatus 10 stores the information in a predetermined manner. It means holding in the area.

First, the customer returns the product 40 put in the shopping cart to a predetermined return area ((1) in the figure). The area for return is, for example, an area on the product shelf where the product was originally displayed, or a common area provided for placing a canceled product regardless of the type of the product. In addition, in FIG. 8, the example which returns goods to the area of a goods shelf is shown. At this time, the customer activates an application for code reading or the like on the mobile terminal 20 and holds the code symbol 32 attached to the product shelf 30 over the mobile terminal 20. Although not shown, the customer may hold the code symbol 42 attached to the product 40 over the portable terminal 20. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 32 or the code symbol 42 to obtain the product identification information of the product 40 ((2) in the figure). The portable terminal 20 may display a list of products handled in the store on a screen, and may obtain the product identification information of the product 40 by causing the customer to select the product 40 on the list.

Furthermore, the customer holds over the portable terminal 20 the code symbol 34 for return location information acquisition attached to the product shelf 30. The code symbol 34 for obtaining return place information is, for example, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional code symbol encoded with information indicating the return place. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 34 to obtain return place information ((3) in the figure).

When the product identification information and the return place information are acquired, the portable terminal 20 generates a screen 23 for confirming the product to be canceled. The customer confirms the cancellation target product via such a screen 23 ((4) in the figure). If there is no problem in the display content of the screen 23, the customer presses the OK button 232. In response to the pressing of the OK button 232, the portable terminal 20 transmits a product cancellation registration instruction to the information processing apparatus 10 ((5) in the figure). The commodity cancellation registration instruction includes at least the commodity identification information acquired in (2) and the return place information acquired in (3) in the drawing.

The information processing apparatus 10 performs cancellation registration processing using the information received from the mobile terminal 20. Specifically, the information processing apparatus 10 registers information (product return information) including product identification information and return place information acquired from the mobile terminal 20 in the database ((6) in the figure). In addition, the process which acquires goods return information from the portable terminal 20 is corresponded to the process of S102 of the above-mentioned FIG. The information processing apparatus 10 stores, for example, product return information acquired from the portable terminal 20 in a predetermined database (example: FIG. 9). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of product return information managed on the database. In the example of FIG. 9, an example is shown in which product identification information for identifying a product and return place information indicating a return place for the product are stored in a mutually associated state. When the cancellation registration process is completed, a notification to that effect is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10 to the portable terminal 20. In response to the notification of completion from the information processing apparatus 10, for example, the portable terminal 20 displays a screen 24 notifying that the cancellation registration process is completed ((7) in the figure).

Note that, instead of the process (3) in the figure, the portable terminal 20 may generate an image of a place where the product is returned using an attached camera function, and transmit the image to the information processing apparatus 10. In this case, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) further has a function of specifying a return place of the product by analyzing the image transmitted from the mobile terminal 20. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 (the first acquisition unit 110) may specify a return location of the product by extracting a reference (for example, a mark unique to the area, etc.) that can specify the location included in the image. it can. Further, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) may be configured to be able to specify a return place of a product from an input image, using an image analysis engine constructed by machine learning.

In addition, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) further acquires information (settlement status information) indicating whether the settlement of the product 40 is completed, and indicates a return place corresponding to the settlement status information. The information may be configured to be acquired as return place information. In this case, for example, the portable terminal 20 further transmits the customer identification information to the information processing apparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) is returned by referring to the table illustrated in FIG. 6 based on the combination of the product identification information acquired in the process of (2) in the figure and the customer information. It is possible to obtain payment status information of the selected product. In the flow of return registration, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) acquires settlement status information of “1: temporary settlement”, and a location corresponding to the status information of “1: provisional settlement” (for example, common Information indicating the area) can be acquired as return place information.

<Flow of return registration>
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of return registration. Here, with return registration, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires information indicating that the customer has returned the product after the main settlement (that is, the product for which payment has been made) to the store, and the information is stored in a predetermined storage area. Means to hold on.

First, the customer returns the product 40 after the main settlement to a predetermined return area 60 ((1) in the figure). The return area 60 is provided at one corner of the store, for example, as an area dedicated to goods for which the main settlement has already been completed. At this time, the customer activates an application for reading a code or the like on the mobile terminal 20 and holds the code symbol 42 attached to the product 40 over the mobile terminal 20. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 42 and acquires the product identification information of the product 40 ((2) in the figure). The portable terminal 20 may display a list of products handled in the store on a screen, and may obtain the product identification information of the product 40 by causing the customer to select the product 40 on the list.

Furthermore, the customer holds the code symbol 62 for return place information acquisition attached to the return area 60 over the portable terminal 20. The code symbol 62 for obtaining return place information is, for example, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional code symbol encoded with information indicating a return place. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 62 and acquires return place information ((3) in the figure).

When the product identification information and the return place information are acquired, the portable terminal 20 generates a screen 25 for confirming a product to be returned. The customer confirms the goods to be returned through the screen 25 ((4) in the figure). If there is no problem in the display content of the screen 25, the customer presses the OK button 252. The portable terminal 20 transmits a return product registration instruction to the information processing apparatus 10 in response to the pressing of the OK button 252 ((5) in the figure). The returned goods registration instruction includes at least the product identification information acquired in (2) in the figure and the return place information acquired in (3).

The information processing apparatus 10 performs cancellation registration processing using the information received from the mobile terminal 20. Specifically, the information processing apparatus 10 registers information (product return information) including product identification information and return place information acquired from the mobile terminal 20 in the database ((6) in the figure). In addition, the process which acquires goods return information from the portable terminal 20 is corresponded to the process of S102 of the above-mentioned FIG. The information processing apparatus 10 stores, for example, product return information acquired from the portable terminal 20 in a predetermined database (example: FIG. 9). When the return registration process is completed, a notification to that effect is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 10 to the portable terminal 20. In response to the notification of completion from the information processing apparatus 10, the portable terminal 20 displays, for example, the screen 26 notifying that the return registration process is completed ((7) in the drawing).

Note that, instead of the process (3) in the figure, the portable terminal 20 may generate an image of a place where the product is returned using an attached camera function, and transmit the image to the information processing apparatus 10. In this case, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) further has a function of specifying a return place of the product by analyzing the image transmitted from the mobile terminal 20. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 (the first acquisition unit 110) may specify a return location of the product by extracting a reference (for example, a mark unique to the area, etc.) that can specify the location included in the image. it can. Further, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) may be configured to be able to specify a return place of a product from an input image, using an image analysis engine constructed by machine learning.

In addition, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) further acquires information (settlement status information) indicating whether the settlement of the product 40 is completed, and indicates a return place corresponding to the settlement status information. The information may be configured to be acquired as return place information. In this case, for example, the portable terminal 20 further transmits the customer identification information to the information processing apparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) is returned by referring to the table illustrated in FIG. 6 based on the combination of the product identification information acquired in the process of (2) in the figure and the customer information. It is possible to obtain payment status information of the selected product. In the flow of return registration, the information processing apparatus 10 (first acquisition unit 110) acquires settlement status information of “2: main settlement”, and a location (return area 60) corresponding to the status information of “2: main settlement”. Information indicating) can be acquired as return place information.

<Flow of registration for cancellation / return waiting>
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cancellation / return registration. Here, cancellation / return waiting registration means that the information processing apparatus 10 acquires, from the customer, information indicating that the customer is willing to wait for cancellation or return of the currently out-of-stock item, and the information is specified. It means holding in the storage area of

First, the customer activates an application for code reading or the like on the portable terminal 20 and holds the code symbol 32 assigned to the product shelf 30 over the portable terminal 20. The portable terminal 20 analyzes the code symbol 42 or the code symbol 32 to obtain the product identification information of the product 40 ((1) in the figure). The portable terminal 20 may display a list of products handled in the store on a screen, and may obtain the product identification information of the product 40 by causing the customer to select the product 40 on the list. Then, the portable terminal 20 transmits an instruction (a condition confirmation instruction) for confirming the condition of the acquired product to the information processing apparatus 10 ((2) in the figure). The status confirmation instruction includes the product identification information acquired in the process (1) in the figure.

The information processing apparatus 10 accesses a table (example: FIG. 6) on the database using the commodity identification information included in the situation confirmation instruction, and confirms the situation of the target commodity ((3) in the figure). Then, the information processing apparatus 10 transmits the confirmation result to the portable terminal 20.

When the portable terminal 20 receives the status confirmation result of the target product from the information processing apparatus 10, the portable terminal 20 displays a screen 27 indicating the confirmation result ((4) in the figure). The customer confirms the status of the desired product on this screen 27 and presses the cancel / return waiting button 272 when waiting for cancellation or return. In response to the pressing of the cancellation / return waiting button 272, the portable terminal 20 transmits a cancellation / return waiting registration instruction to the information processing apparatus 10 ((5) in the figure). This cancellation / return-to-return registration instruction includes at least the product identification information acquired in (2) in the figure, and the customer identification information (for example, the customer ID, the address information of the portable terminal 20, etc.) for identifying the customer.

The information processing apparatus 10 performs cancellation / return awaiting registration processing using the information received from the portable terminal 20 ((6) in the figure). For example, the information processing apparatus 10 stores information (cancellation / return awaiting information) including product identification information and customer identification information acquired from the portable terminal 20 in a predetermined database (for example, FIG. 12). The product identification information acquired here corresponds to the “second product identification information” described in the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of information registered in the cancellation / return-to-return registration process. The table illustrated in FIG. 12 manages customer identification information and product identification information of a target product in association with each other. When the cancellation / return registration waiting process is completed, a notification to that effect is sent from the information processing apparatus 10 to the portable terminal 20. In response to the notification of completion from the information processing apparatus 10, for example, the portable terminal 20 displays a screen 28 notifying that the cancellation / return registration process has been completed ((7) in the figure).

In addition, the portable terminal 20 may record the flow of (1) described above as a moving image and transmit it to the information processing apparatus 10. In this case, by analyzing the moving image sent from the mobile terminal 20, the information processing apparatus 10 can specify the product (the product put in the shopping cart) for which the temporary settlement has been performed.

<Flow of Notification Unit 130 Sending Notification Information>
The notification information from the notification unit 130 may be transmitted at the timing when the product return information is acquired in the flow shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 10 or at the timing when the cancellation / return awaiting information is acquired in the flow shown in FIG.

First, notification information is notified at the timing when the notification unit 130 acquires product return information including product identification information (first product identification information) of a canceled or returned product and return place information indicating the return place of the product. The flow of transmission will be described. First, in response to the first acquisition unit 110 acquiring the first item identification information and the return place information from the portable terminal 20, the notification unit 130 acquires the second information acquired by the second acquisition unit 120 by then. Reference is made to storage means (eg, the database of FIG. 11) for storing product identification information and customer identification information. The notification unit 130 searches, for example, the database in FIG. 11 based on the first item identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110, and the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information corresponds. Identify attached customer identification information. The notification unit 130 searches, for example, a table as illustrated in FIG. 4 using the specified customer identification information, and acquires address information of the portable terminal 20 owned by the customer identified by the customer identification information. Then, the notification unit 130 transmits notification information including return place information to the target portable terminal 20 using the acquired address information.

Next, the flow of the notification unit 130 transmitting the notification information at the timing when the cancellation / return awaiting information is acquired will be described. First, in response to the second acquisition unit 120 acquiring the second item identification information and the customer identification information from the portable terminal 20, the notification unit 130 obtains the first item acquired by the first acquisition unit 110 so far. Reference is made to storage means (eg, the database of FIG. 8 or 10) for storing identification information and return place information. The notification unit 130 searches, for example, the database in FIG. 8 or 10 based on the second item identification information acquired by the second acquisition unit 120, and determines the first item identification equal to the second item identification information. Read out the return place information associated with the information. Further, the notification unit 130 searches the table shown in FIG. 4, for example, using the customer identification information acquired by the second acquisition unit 120, and the portable terminal 20 owned by the customer identified by the customer identification information. Get address information of Then, the notification unit 130 transmits, to the target mobile terminal 20, notification information including return place information read based on the second item identification information.

Third Embodiment
If more than one customer sends notification information to all customers in a situation where they want to purchase a canceled or returned product, most of the customers can not finally get the product, but rather the customer. Dissatisfaction may increase. The information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment further includes a configuration for specifying a customer to be sent with priority given to notification information based on the position of the customer in the store.

[Functional configuration]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment further includes a customer position acquisition unit 140 in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

The customer position acquisition unit 140 acquires customer position information. The customer position information is information indicating the position of each customer in the store. The customer position acquisition unit 140 can acquire, for example, position information of each customer in the shop using the technology of in-store GPS (Global Positioning System). Further, the customer position acquisition unit 140 may acquire the position information of each customer, for example, by analyzing an image obtained from a surveillance camera in the store. In this case, the customer position acquisition unit 140 can acquire the position information of each customer based on the installation position and the imaging range of the monitoring camera that is the generation source of the image in which each customer is recognized.

The notification unit 130 of this embodiment uses the customer position information acquired by the customer position acquisition unit 140 when specifying a terminal that transmits the notification information. Specifically, based on the customer position information acquired by the customer position acquisition unit 140, the notification unit 130 identifies the customer closest to the position indicated by the return place information. Then, the notification unit 130 transmits notification information including return place information indicating a return place of the product to the terminal corresponding to the specified customer identification information of the customer.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the information processing device 10 is further connected to the terminal detection device 70 via the network interface 1012. The terminal detection device 70 can communicate with the portable terminal 20 in the store using, for example, a Beacon signal or the like, and can generate information indicating a rough position of a customer who owns the portable terminal 20. The information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can communicate with the terminal detection apparatus 70 to obtain customer position information indicating the position of each customer in the store.

[Flow of processing]
A flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described using FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment. The process of FIG. 14 is performed following the process of S108 of FIG.

First, the customer position acquisition unit 140 reads out the customer position information acquired from the terminal detection device 70 or the like (S202). The notification unit 130 identifies the customer closest to the return place of the product indicated by the return place information included in the notification information, based on the position of each customer indicated by the customer position information (S204). Here, the notification unit 130 makes “the customer closest to the return place of the product” among the customers waiting for the cancellation or the return of the product indicated by the first product identification information. Then, the notification unit 130 searches the table illustrated in FIG. 4 using the specified customer identification information of the customer, and reads out the address information of the portable terminal 20 owned by the customer (S206). Then, the notification unit 130 transmits the notification information generated in the process of S108 to the target portable terminal 20 using the address information read out in the process of S206 (S112).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the notification information is preferentially transmitted to the customer closest to the return place of the product. The closer the product is to the product, the less effort the customer will have to get the product. Therefore, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, by notifying that a product has been returned by a certain customer, it is possible to increase the possibility that another customer will purchase the product.

Note that the notification unit 130 may select the transmission destination of the notification information based on an index other than “the position of the customer”. For example, at the time of notifying the notification information, the notification unit 130 is ordered in the order of high purchase price of goods, in order of high customer visit frequency, or simply based on an index such as cancellation / return registration order. The destination of the notification information can be selected.

Fourth Embodiment
The present embodiment has the same configuration as each of the above-described embodiments except for the following points.

[Functional configuration]
FIG. 15 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment further includes a first returned goods determination unit 150, an amount calculation unit 160, and a second returned goods determination unit 170. FIG. 15 shows an example based on the configuration of the first embodiment. The information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may further include the configuration described in the third embodiment.

The first returned goods determination unit 150 determines whether or not to permit the returned goods of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110. . For example, in the case of products such as food products for which the expiration date or the expiration date is set, there is a possibility that the expiration date approaches soon after a certain amount of time has passed from the settlement completion time. Such products are subject to disposal as soon as they are sold, so there is a high risk of accepting returns. The first returned goods determination unit 150 determines whether or not to accept the returned goods based on the elapsed time from the settlement in order to avoid the acceptance of the returned goods of such goods. In addition, the first returned goods determination unit 150 may be configured to execute the above-described processing only for the products whose value changes depending on the elapsed time, such as food, etc., or uniformly for all the products. It may be configured to perform the process.

The money amount calculation unit 160 calculates the refund amount for the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110. As described above, the product such as food may change in value as the product depending on the elapsed time. Specifically, a product whose shelf life or expiration date is close is likely to be rejected by the customer, and has a low value as a product. Therefore, the amount calculation unit 160 calculates the amount of money to be refunded for the return of the product (the value of the product at the time of return) according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement. In addition, the first returned goods determination unit 150 may be configured to execute the above-described processing only for the products whose value changes depending on the elapsed time, such as food, etc., or uniformly for all the products. It may be configured to perform the process.

The second returned goods determination unit 170 acquires information (hereinafter, also referred to as “store identification information”) indicating a sales store of the product indicated by the first product identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110, and the store identification If the information indicates the own store, the return of the product is permitted. In the return of goods, a customer may request the return of goods purchased in another store, accidentally or maliciously. If such a return request is received, the store will incur a loss. Therefore, the second returned goods determination unit 170 specifies the store that has sold the returned product using the store identification information, and permits the return of the product only when the specified store is the own store.

[Hardware configuration]
The information processing apparatus 10 in the present embodiment has the same hardware configuration (example: FIG. 2) as that of the first embodiment. The storage device 1008 of the present embodiment further stores program modules for realizing the functions of the first returned goods determination unit 150, the money amount calculation unit 160, and the second returned goods determination unit 170 described above. The processor 1004 according to the present embodiment reads each program module into the memory 1006 and executes the program module to realize each function corresponding to the program module.

[Flow of processing]
Hereinafter, the flow of processing of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Processing of First Return Determination Unit 150 and Amount Calculation Unit 160>
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the first returned goods determination unit 150 and the amount calculation unit 160.

First, the information processing apparatus 10 acquires information (registration date and time information) indicating the date and time when the main settlement registration process described with reference to FIG. 7 is completed, and for example, the predetermined information such as the storage device 1008 in a format as illustrated in FIG. It stores in the storage area of (S302). FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a table that manages information indicating completion of payment of each product. The table illustrated in FIG. 17 stores product identification information of each product for which main payment registration has been completed and registration date and time information indicating the date and time when main payment registration has been completed, in association with customer identification information.

Thereafter, if the customer attempts to return the product as described with reference to FIG. 10, whether the first returned goods determination unit 150 permits the return of the product depending on the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product It is determined whether or not.

As an example, the first returned goods determination unit 150 operates as follows. First, the first returned goods determination unit 150 calculates an elapsed time from the completion of payment (S304). For example, the first returned goods determination unit 150 acquires the product identification information acquired in (2) of FIG. 10 and the terminal identification information of the portable terminal 20 from the portable terminal 20. Then, the first returned goods determination unit 150 specifies the customer identification information from the terminal identification information of the portable terminal 20 using the table as shown in FIG. 4. Then, the first returned goods determination unit 150 uses the customer identification information specified as described above and the commodity identification information acquired by the first acquisition unit 110 to refer to a table as shown in FIG. Read out information (registration date information) indicating the date when the main settlement registration of the target product is completed. The first returned goods determination unit 150 calculates the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the goods to be returned based on the read registration date and time information and the current time.

Then, the first returned goods determination unit 150 determines whether or not the calculated elapsed time from the settlement completion exceeds a predetermined threshold (S306). The predetermined threshold to be compared with the elapsed time from the completion of the payment is stored in advance in, for example, the memory 1006 or the storage device 1008. The predetermined threshold may be a different value for each product or may be the same value for all the products.

Here, if the calculated elapsed time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (S306: NO), the first returned goods determination unit 150 permits the returned goods of the product (S308). In this case, in response to the return being permitted in the process of the second return determination unit 170 described later, the information processing apparatus 10 executes the return registration process by the return registration instruction received in (5) of FIG. On the other hand, when the calculated elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold (S306: YES), the first returned goods determination unit 150 does not permit the returned goods of the product (S310). In this case, the information processing apparatus 10 notifies the portable terminal 20 that the return product registration instruction accepted in (5) of FIG. 10 can not be received, and ends the processing.

In the return registration process, the amount calculation unit 160 calculates the refund amount for the return of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement (S308). For example, the money amount calculation unit 160 refers to a table that defines the subtraction value of the price in association with the elapsed time, and specifies the subtraction value of the price corresponding to the calculated elapsed time. Then, the money amount calculation unit 160 calculates a refund amount by subtracting the subtraction value from the price of the product to be returned. The amount calculation unit 160 may notify the portable terminal 20 of the calculated repayment amount. The customer can check the refund amount on the mobile terminal 20 and decide whether to return the product.

Further, the money amount calculation unit 160 may analyze the image of the product to be returned, check the presence or absence of a scratch on the product, and calculate the refund amount of the product. For example, by analyzing the image, the amount calculating unit 160 can recognize the condition (such as the area of the flaw and the depth of the flaw) of the product to be returned and determine the subtraction value of the price according to the result. .

<Processing of Second Return Goods Judgment Unit 170>
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the process flow of the second returned goods determination unit 170.

As described with reference to FIG. 10, when the customer attempts to return the product, the second returned goods determination unit 170 acquires store identification information for identifying a sales store of the product to be returned (S402). For example, the second returned goods determination unit 170 can acquire shop identification information as follows. First, the second returned goods determination unit 170 acquires an image of the returned goods via the mobile terminal 20. Then, the second returned goods judgment unit 170 analyzes the image of the goods to be returned, and marks (for example, a tag or a seal embedded with information for each shop) given to the goods when the main settlement is completed. To detect Then, the second returned goods determination unit 170 acquires, based on the detected mark for each store, store identification information indicating a product that has sold the product to be returned. In addition, the second returned goods determination unit 170 may acquire the image of the receipt issued at the time of the main settlement registration from the portable terminal 20, and acquire the store identification information by analyzing the description items of the receipt.

Then, based on the shop identification information acquired in the process of S402, the second returned goods determination unit 170 determines whether or not the goods to be returned are the goods purchased in the own shop (S404). If the item to be returned is the item purchased at the own store (S404: YES), the second return determination unit 170 permits the return of the item (S408). In this case, the information processing apparatus 10 executes the return goods registration process according to the return goods registration instruction received in (5) of FIG. 10 in response to the return being permitted in the process of the first return goods determination unit 150 described above. On the other hand, if the product to be returned is not the product purchased at the own store (S404: NO), the second returned goods determination unit 170 carries out the portable notification that the returned goods registration instruction accepted in (5) of FIG. It notifies the terminal 20 and ends the process (S406).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the risk that the store may suffer when accepting a return of goods.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are only examples of the present invention, and various configurations other than the above can be adopted.

In addition, although the plurality of steps (processes) are described in order in the plurality of flowcharts used in the above description, the execution order of the steps performed in each embodiment is not limited to the described order. In each embodiment, the order of the illustrated steps can be changed within the scope of the content. Moreover, the above-mentioned each embodiment can be combined within the range in which the contents do not contradict each other.

Some or all of the above embodiments may be described as in the following appendices, but is not limited to the following.
1.
A first acquisition unit that acquires a first item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store in association with each other;
A second acquisition unit that associates and acquires customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired item and second item identification information identifying the desired item;
The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Notification means for transmitting notification information including location information;
An information processing apparatus comprising:
2.
The notification unit is configured to acquire the second item identification information acquired by the second acquisition unit and the customer in response to the first acquisition unit acquiring the first item identification information and the return place information. The customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information is specified with reference to storage means for storing the identification information.
1. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.
3.
And customer position acquisition means for acquiring customer position information indicating the position of each customer,
The notification means specifies a customer closest to the position indicated by the return place information based on the customer position information acquired by the customer position acquisition means, and the terminal corresponding to the customer identification information of the specified customer is selected. Send notification information,
1. Or 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.
4.
The second acquisition unit acquires the customer identification information and the second item identification information in association with each other from a portable terminal owned by a customer.
1. To 3. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
5.
The first acquisition means further acquires settlement status information indicating whether or not settlement of a product indicated by the first product identification information is completed, and information indicating a product return location corresponding to the settlement status information Acquire as said return place information,
1. To 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
6.
The first acquisition means specifies the return place of the product by analyzing the image of the product return place.
1. To 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
7.
According to an elapsed time from the completion of settlement of the item indicated by the first item identification information, the apparatus further comprises a first return determination means for determining whether or not the return of the item is permitted.
1. To 6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
8.
It further comprises an amount calculating means for calculating a refund amount for the return of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information.
1. To 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
9.
Store identification information for identifying a store where the item of merchandise indicated by the first item identification information is acquired, and second return determination means for permitting the return of the item when the store identification information indicates the own store is further provided.
1. To 8. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above.
10.
At least one computer,
First item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store are correlated and acquired.
Customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired product and second product identification information identifying the desired product are acquired in association with each other;
The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Send notification information including location information,
Information processing method including:
11.
The computer
With reference to the storage means for storing the second item identification information and the customer identification information in response to the acquisition of the first item identification information and the return place information, the first item identification information Identifying the customer identification information associated with the same second product identification information;
10. further including The information processing method described in.
12.
The computer
Get customer location information that indicates the location of each customer,
The customer closest to the position indicated by the return place information is specified based on the customer position information, and the notification information is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the customer identification information of the specified customer.
10. further including Or 11. The information processing method described in.
13.
The computer
The customer identification information and the second item identification information are acquired in association with each other from a portable terminal owned by the customer.
10. further including To 12. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
14.
The computer
The settlement status information indicating whether the settlement of the product indicated by the first item identification information is completed is further acquired, and the information indicating the commodity return place corresponding to the settlement status information is acquired as the return place information. ,
10. further including To 13. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
15.
The computer
Identify the return location of the product by analyzing the image of the product return location,
10. further including To 13. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
16.
The computer
It is determined whether or not to permit the return of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information.
10. further including To 15. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
17.
The computer
According to the elapsed time from the completion of settlement of the item indicated by the first item identification information, a refund amount for the return of the item is calculated.
10. further including To 16. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
18.
The computer
Store identification information for identifying a sales store of the product indicated by the first item identification information is acquired, and the return of the product is permitted if the store identification information indicates the own store.
10. further including To 17. The information processing method according to any one of the above.
19.
10. at least one computer To 18. The program which performs the information processing method as described in any one.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-223893 filed on Nov. 21, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

Claims (19)

1. A first acquisition unit that acquires a first item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store in association with each other;
   A second acquisition unit that associates and acquires customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired item and second item identification information identifying the desired item;
   The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Notification means for transmitting notification information including location information;
   An information processing apparatus comprising:
2. The notification unit is configured to acquire the second item identification information acquired by the second acquisition unit and the customer in response to the first acquisition unit acquiring the first item identification information and the return place information. The customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information is specified with reference to storage means for storing the identification information.
   An information processing apparatus according to claim 1.
3. And customer position acquisition means for acquiring customer position information indicating the position of each customer,
   The notification means specifies a customer closest to the position indicated by the return place information based on the customer position information acquired by the customer position acquisition means, and the terminal corresponding to the customer identification information of the specified customer is selected. Send notification information,
   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.
4. The second acquisition unit acquires the customer identification information and the second item identification information in association with each other from a portable terminal owned by a customer.
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. The first acquisition means further acquires settlement status information indicating whether or not settlement of a product indicated by the first product identification information is completed, and information indicating a product return location corresponding to the settlement status information Acquire as said return place information,
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. The first acquisition means specifies the return place of the product by analyzing the image of the product return place.
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
7. According to an elapsed time from the completion of settlement of the item indicated by the first item identification information, the apparatus further comprises a first return determination means for determining whether or not the return of the item is permitted.
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
8. It further comprises an amount calculating means for calculating a refund amount for the return of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information.
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
9. Store identification information for identifying a store where the item of merchandise indicated by the first item identification information is acquired, and second return determination means for permitting the return of the item when the store identification information indicates the own store is further provided.
   The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
10. At least one computer,
    First item identification information identifying a canceled or returned item, and return place information indicating a place where the item is returned in the store are correlated and acquired.
    Customer identification information of a customer waiting for cancellation or return of a desired product and second product identification information identifying the desired product are acquired in association with each other;
    The terminal corresponding to a part or all of the customer identification information associated with the second item identification information equal to the first item identification information, the return associated with the first item identification information Send notification information including location information,
    Information processing method including:
11. The computer
    With reference to the storage means for storing the second item identification information and the customer identification information in response to the acquisition of the first item identification information and the return place information, the first item identification information Identifying the customer identification information associated with the same second product identification information;
    The information processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:
12. The computer
    Get customer location information that indicates the location of each customer,
    The customer closest to the position indicated by the return place information is specified based on the customer position information, and the notification information is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the customer identification information of the specified customer.
    The information processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:
13. The computer
    The customer identification information and the second item identification information are acquired in association with each other from a portable terminal owned by the customer.
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising:
14. The computer
    The settlement status information indicating whether the settlement of the product indicated by the first item identification information is completed is further acquired, and the information indicating the commodity return place corresponding to the settlement status information is acquired as the return place information. ,
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising:
15. The computer
    Identify the return location of the product by analyzing the image of the product return location,
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising:
16. The computer
    It is determined whether or not to permit the return of the product according to the elapsed time from the completion of the settlement of the product indicated by the first product identification information.
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, further comprising:
17. The computer
    According to the elapsed time from the completion of settlement of the item indicated by the first item identification information, a refund amount for the return of the item is calculated.
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, further comprising:
18. The computer
    Store identification information for identifying a sales store of the product indicated by the first item identification information is acquired, and the return of the product is permitted if the store identification information indicates the own store.
    The information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, further comprising:
19. A program that causes at least one computer to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

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