Promotion product display method and system thereof

Abstract

A method for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is performed by a computing device and may include the steps of: obtaining a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotional area; checking, for each of the plurality of products, the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; obtaining a product that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers among the plurality of products; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotional area instead of the product that is out of stock based on promotional information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product that is out of stock is displayed.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and system for displaying promotional products, and more specifically, to a method for displaying other products currently on promotion based on promotion information corresponding to the inventory of a fulfillment center associated with a user, instead of promotional products that are out of stock. Background Technology

[0002] Online commerce applications display various promotional slots to customers, primarily featuring popular items, discount products, new releases, or recommended products within specific categories. However, some promotional slots are currently being wasted due to out-of-stock items, which not only detracts from the customer experience but also leads to lost sales opportunities. Therefore, a method is required to provide tangible benefits to customers by replacing slots wasted on high-visibility promotional banners due to sold-out products with other discounted items. Prior art literature

[0003] Published Patent Application No. 10-2019-0130222 (Date of publication: Nov. 22, 2019) The problem to be solved

[0004] The technical problem to be solved through the embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a method for displaying other products currently on promotion based on promotion information corresponding to the inventory of a fulfillment center associated with the user, instead of promotional products that are out of stock.

[0005] In addition, the technical problem to be solved through the embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a method for determining another product to display instead of a promotional product that is out of stock, based on a promotion period, a discount rate, or a disposal period. means of solving the problem

[0006] A method for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is performed by a computing device and may include the steps of: obtaining a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotional area; checking, for each of the plurality of products, the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; obtaining a product that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers among the plurality of products; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotional area instead of the product that is out of stock based on promotional information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product that is out of stock is displayed.

[0007] In one embodiment, the step of determining substitute products to be displayed in the promotion area may include the step of obtaining a list of promotional stock among the available stock based on the promotion information, and the step of determining as substitute products a number of products equal to the number of sold-out products among the products included in the stock list.

[0008] In one embodiment, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of the imminent end of the promotion period, and the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the step of displaying the replacement products may include the step of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0009] In one embodiment, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of highest discount rate, and the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the step of displaying the replacement products may include the step of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0010] In one embodiment, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of approaching disposal deadline, and the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the step of displaying the replacement products may include the step of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0011] A promotional product display system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processor and a memory for storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor may perform the following operations: acquiring a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotional area; checking for each of the plurality of products a stock status in one or more fulfillment centers associated with a user's location; acquiring a stock-out product among the plurality of products that is in a stock status in all of the one or more fulfillment centers; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotional area instead of the stock-out product based on promotional information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the stock-out product is displayed.

[0012] In one embodiment, the operation of determining substitute products to be displayed in the promotion area may include the operation of obtaining a list of promotional stock among the available stock based on the promotion information, and the operation of determining as substitute products a number of products equal to the number of sold-out products among the products included in the stock list.

[0013] In one embodiment, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of the imminent end of the promotion period, and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying the replacement products may include the operation of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0014] In one embodiment, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of highest discount rate, and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying the replacement products may include the operation of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0015] In one embodiment, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of approaching disposal deadline, and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying the replacement products may include the operation of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0016] A computer program according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may be combined with a computing device and stored in a computer-readable recording medium to execute the steps of: acquiring a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotion area; checking, for each of the plurality of products, the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; acquiring a product among the plurality of products that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the product in the promotion area based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product in the promotion area is displayed. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a shopping service providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows that a sold-out product is displayed in the promotion area of ​​a product list page according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 shows that alternative products are displayed in place of out-of-stock products in the promotion area of ​​Figure 2. FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates the process of checking the out-of-stock status at a fulfillment center according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining the out-of-stock product, and displaying a replacement product. FIG. 5 is a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a method for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the steps for determining alternative products to be displayed in the promotion area of ​​Figure 5. Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in Figure 6 as substitute products. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in FIG. 6 as substitute products. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in FIG. 6 as substitute products. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computing device for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0018] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below but may be implemented in various different forms. The embodiments are provided merely to make the present disclosure complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.

[0019] It should be noted that when assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same components are given the same reference numeral whenever possible, even if they are shown in different drawings. Furthermore, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known components or functions could obscure the essence of the present disclosure, such detailed description is omitted.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) may be used in a meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Furthermore, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly and specifically defined otherwise. The terms used herein are for describing embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. In this specification, the singular form includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text.

[0021] Additionally, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc., may be used to describe the components of the present disclosure. These terms are intended only to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components is not limited by the terms. Where it is stated that a component is "connected," "coupled," or "joined" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or joined to the other component, but that another component may also be "connected," "coupled," or "joined" between each component.

[0022] As used in the specification, "comprises" and / or "comprising" do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, actions, and / or elements to the mentioned components, steps, actions, and / or elements.

[0023] In this specification, a fulfillment center (FC) is a type of logistics center that fulfills consumer orders immediately upon receipt and enables carriers to pick up shipments. Operations for managing inventory within a fulfillment center may include ordering goods and securing ordered goods. Specifically, one or more fulfillment centers may correspond to a delivery camp located at the address of a user of a shopping service according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a shopping service providing system (10) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1, the shopping service providing system (10) may include a user terminal (100) and a service server (200).

[0025] A user terminal (100) may be a computing device used by a user to receive shopping services from a service server (200). As illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 1, the user terminal (100) may include a smartphone (100a), a desktop (100b), a laptop (100c), etc. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the user terminal (100) may be implemented as any device. In the following, any user terminal (e.g., 100a) or all user terminals (e.g., 100a to 100c) collectively will be denoted by reference numeral 100. The user terminal (100) may be referred to as a 'client terminal', a 'buyer / purchaser terminal', a 'consumer terminal', etc.

[0026] The service server (200) may refer to a computing device / system that provides shopping services. For example, the service server (200) may refer to a device / system that provides an online shopping site (e.g., a shopping mall server). The service server (200) may provide shopping services for registered products.

[0027] Meanwhile, in the present disclosure, the service server (200) providing a specific page or a specific component to a user may mean rendering the page or component on the screen of the user terminal (100) (e.g., the screen of a web browser or application running on the user terminal (100)). Accordingly, in the following specification, rendering a specific page or a specific component will be understood as displaying the corresponding specific page or specific component on the screen of the user terminal (100).

[0028] More specifically, the service server (200) can render a product list page on the screen of the user terminal (100). For example, the product list page may be rendered to display products corresponding to a search term entered by the user. At this time, the service server (200) can render a promotion area on the product list page. The promotion area may include a plurality of slots for displaying products currently on promotion.

[0029] The service server (200) can acquire multiple products displayed in each of the multiple slots of the promotion area, and for each of the multiple products, can check the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location. For example, if there are three fulfillment centers associated with the user's location, a product that is out of stock at all three fulfillment centers may be considered an out-of-stock product. The service server (200) can acquire products that are out of stock at all fulfillment centers associated with the user's location (hereinafter referred to as out-of-stock products) in this manner.

[0030] Since out-of-stock products do not perform the function of inducing user purchases even when displayed in the promotion area, it is inefficient for out-of-stock products to occupy slots in the promotion area. Therefore, the service server (200) can determine alternative products to be displayed instead of out-of-stock products currently displayed in the promotion area. Specifically, the service server (200) can determine alternative products to be displayed in the promotion area instead of out-of-stock products based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of one or more fulfillment centers.

[0031] The service server (200) can obtain a list of inventory items currently on promotion among the available inventory of the fulfillment center based on promotion information, and can determine as replacement products an amount equal to the number of out-of-stock items among the products included in the inventory list. Below, we will examine embodiments for determining replacement products.

[0032] In some embodiments, the service server (200) may sort products included in the inventory list that are currently being promoted in order of the imminent end of the promotion period. Then, the service server (200) may determine that the number of products equal to the number of sold-out products in the inventory list are replacement products, in the order sorted based on the end of the promotion period.

[0033] In some other embodiments, the service server (200) can sort the products included in the inventory list that are currently being promoted in order of the highest discount rate of the promotion. Then, the service server (200) can determine the number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products in the inventory list sorted by the discount rate.

[0034] In another embodiment, the service server (200) may sort products included in the inventory list that are in promotion in order of their expiration date. Then, the service server (200) may determine that products equal to the number of out-of-stock items in the inventory list are replacement products, in the order sorted by expiration date. This may be applied primarily to fresh products. This is because, in the case of fresh products, if the expiration date passes, the product cannot be sold, and thus, since the discount rate is set higher in order of expiration date, it is advantageous to expose them in the promotion area to encourage quick purchases.

[0035] As in the embodiment of the present disclosure, when a product whose promotion period is about to end or whose disposal date is about to expire is exposed in the promotion area as a replacement product, the frequency of the promotion period or disposal date passing without being sold to users is reduced, thereby maximizing the profit in product sales. After the replacement product is determined in this way, the service server (200) can display the replacement product in the slot among the multiple slots where the out-of-stock product is displayed. Specifically, the service server (200) can display the replacement product determined in sorting order (i.e., sorted based on the end of the promotion period, discount rate, or disposal date) in the slot corresponding to the out-of-stock product among the multiple slots. For example, if the out-of-stock product is displayed in three slots among the slots in the promotion area, three replacement products can also be determined. At this time, displaying the replacement product in sorting order means that three replacement products are displayed in sorting order in the first slot, the second slot, and the third slot of the three slots, respectively.

[0036] The operation of the service server (200) checking for out-of-stock products can be performed at pre-set intervals (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.). Accordingly, the operation of determining a replacement product after checking for out-of-stock products can also be performed at pre-set intervals.

[0037] The service server (200) may be implemented with at least one computing device. For example, all functions of the service server (200) may be implemented in a single computing device, or the first function of the service server (200) may be implemented in a first computing device and the second function may be implemented in a second computing device. Alternatively, specific functions of the service server (200) may be implemented in multiple computing devices. For example, the computing device may include all types of devices equipped with computation means and communication means.

[0038] The user terminal (100) can also perform various operations / functions to provide the shopping service described above. For example, the shopping service of the service server (200) can be provided through a web browser or application of the user terminal (100). For instance, the user terminal (100) can check whether a product out of stock is displayed in a promotion area on a product list page in conjunction with the service server (200), determine a replacement product to be displayed instead of the product out of stock, and display the determined replacement product in the slot where the product out of stock is displayed.

[0039] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the user terminal (100) and the service server (200) can communicate through a network. For example, the network can be implemented as any type of wired or wireless network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a mobile radio communication network, or Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet).

[0040] Up to this point, with reference to FIG. 1, a shopping service provided by a user terminal (100) and a service server (200) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure has been described in a schematic manner. Hereinafter, a method for providing a shopping service according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described through a specific user interface displayed on the user terminal (100). For example, the user interface may be a screen displayed on an application running on the user terminal (100) or on a web browser.

[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates a product out of stock displayed in a promotion area (21) of a product list page (20) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, a promotion area (21) is shown on the product list page (20), and the promotion area (21) may include a plurality of slots for displaying products that are currently on promotion (e.g., time-limited discount). As the user operates the promotion area (21) (e.g., swiping or scrolling to the right or left), other products currently on promotion may be displayed. Alternatively, other products currently on promotion may be displayed as time elapses. Meanwhile, the promotion product (fish cake) included in the slot (22) of FIG. 2 corresponds to a product out of stock (23) that is currently out of stock. Since the role of a promotion to induce purchase cannot be performed when a product out of stock (23) occupies the slot (22), it must be replaced and displayed as a substitute product. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows that a substitute product is displayed in place of a sold-out product in the promotion area (21) of FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3, chicken for spicy chicken stew is displayed as a substitute product (24) in the slot (22) of the promotion area (21). In this way, by displaying a substitute product (24) that is not sold out and is currently being promoted in the slot (22) where a sold-out product (23 in FIG. 2) was displayed, the role of a promotion to induce purchase can be performed. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the substitute product (24) can be determined from among the products currently being promoted in the available inventory of the fulfillment center at the location associated with the user, based on the end of the promotion period, the discount rate, or the disposal deadline.

[0043] FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates a process of checking the out-of-stock status at a fulfillment center according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, acquiring out-of-stock products, and displaying replacement products. As shown in FIG. 4, let us assume that there are 100 slots in a promotion area. It can be checked whether the products included in each of the 100 slots of the promotion area are out of stock at one or more fulfillment centers (FC #1, FC #2, FC #3) associated with the user's location (specifically, a camp located at the user's address). Referring to FIG. 4, it is shown that in FC #1, the products included in slot 1 and slots 5 through 100 are out of stock; in FC #2, the products included in slots 3 through 6 and slot 100 are out of stock; and in FC #3, the products included in slots 5 through 6 and slot 100 are out of stock.

[0044] Here, the products (products 5, 6, and 100) included in slots 5, 6, and 100, which are out of stock in FC #1, FC #2, and FC #3, can be determined as the final out-of-stock products. The reason a product is determined to be out of stock only when it is out of stock at all fulfillment centers is that delivery is possible from all fulfillment centers. Since out-of-stock products can be restocked within a day, the process shown in Fig. 4 must always be performed from the beginning, and the final out-of-stock products must be verified whenever a user uses the shopping service. Once a substitute product to be displayed instead of products 5, 6, and 100 included in slots 5, 6, and 100 is determined, the products included in slots 5, 6, and 100 can be changed to 5', 6', and 100' and displayed. As such, by changing the promotion area to an updated promotion area according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user can always receive the latest promotion information, and by ensuring that out-of-stock products are not displayed in the promotion area of ​​the shopping service, the effectiveness of the promotion area for promoting purchases can be guaranteed.

[0045] FIG. 5 is a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a method for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For reference, FIGS. 5 and FIGS. 6 to 9, which will be described later, illustrate steps / operations of a method for displaying promotional products performed at a user terminal (100). Therefore, in the following descriptions, if the subject of a specific step / operation is omitted, it can be understood as being performed at the user terminal (100). However, in an actual environment, some functions / operations of the user terminal (100) may be implemented on the service server (200) side, and some functions / operations of the service server (200) may be implemented on the user terminal (100) side. That is, the subject performing a specific step / operation may vary depending on the implementation method.

[0046] In step S100, multiple products displayed in each of the multiple slots of the promotion area may be obtained. In step S200, for each of the multiple products, the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location may be confirmed. In step S300, among the multiple products, out-of-stock products that are out of stock at all of one or more fulfillment centers may be obtained. In step S400, a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the out-of-stock product may be determined based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of one or more fulfillment centers. Then, in step S500, the substitute product may be displayed in the slot among the multiple slots where the out-of-stock product is displayed. Embodiments related to steps S400 to S500 are described below.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the step (S400) of determining substitute products to be displayed in the promotion area of ​​FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, in step S410, a list of inventory items currently being promoted among available inventory can be obtained based on promotion information. Then, in step S420, an amount of products equal to the number of out-of-stock items among the products included in the inventory list can be determined as substitute products. Embodiments related to step S410 will be described below with reference to FIG. 7 to 9.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the step (S410) of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in FIG. 6 as replacement products. Referring to FIG. 7, in step S411, products included in the inventory list may be sorted in order of the imminent end of the promotion period, and in step S412, a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products may be determined as replacement products in the sorted order from the inventory list. Then, in step S511, replacement products may be displayed in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among a plurality of slots.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the step (S410) of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in FIG. 6 as replacement products. Referring to FIG. 8, in step S413, products included in the inventory list may be sorted in order of highest discount rate, and in step S414, a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list may be determined as replacement products in sorted order. Then, similar to FIG. 7, in step S511, replacement products may be displayed in sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among a plurality of slots.

[0050] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of the step (S410) of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in FIG. 6 as replacement products. Referring to FIG. 9, in step S415, products included in the inventory list may be sorted in order of their impending disposal date, and in step S416, a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list may be determined as replacement products in sorted order. Then, similar to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, in step S511, replacement products may be displayed in sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots.

[0051] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computing device (500) for displaying promotional products according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 10, a computing device (500) may include one or more processors (510), a bus (530), a communication interface (540), a memory (520) for loading a computer program executed by the processor (510), and a storage (550) for storing a computer program (560). However, FIG. 10 illustrates only the components related to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs will understand that other general-purpose components may be included in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 10. That is, the computing device (500) may include various additional components in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 10. Furthermore, depending on the case, the computing device (500) may be configured in a form in which some of the components illustrated in FIG. 10 are omitted. Hereinafter, each component of the computing device (500) will be described.

[0053] The processor (510) can control the overall operation of each component of the computing device (500). The processor (510) may be configured to include at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processor Unit), MCU (Micro Controller Unit), GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), or any form of processor well known in the art of the present disclosure. Additionally, the processor (510) may perform operations for at least one application or program for executing operations / methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device (500) may have one or more processors.

[0054] Next, the memory (520) may store various data, commands and / or information. The memory (520) may load a computer program (560) from the storage (550) to execute an operation / method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The memory (520) may be implemented as a volatile memory such as RAM, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0055] Next, the bus (530) can provide communication functions between components of the computing device (500). The bus (530) can be implemented as various types of buses, such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus.

[0056] Next, the communication interface (540) may support wired and wireless internet communication of the computing device (500). Additionally, the communication interface (540) may support various communication methods other than internet communication. To this end, the communication interface (540) may be configured to include a communication module well known in the art of the present disclosure.

[0057] Next, the storage (550) may store one or more computer programs (560) non-temporarily. The storage (550) may be configured to include non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a removable disk, or any form of computer-readable recording medium well known in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0058] Next, the computer program (560) may include one or more instructions that cause the processor (510) to perform an operation / method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure when loaded into memory (520). That is, the processor (510) may perform an operation / method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure by executing one or more loaded instructions.

[0059] For example, the computer program (560) may include instructions to perform the following actions: acquiring a plurality of products displayed in each of the plurality of slots in a promotion area; checking for each of the plurality of products that they are out of stock at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; acquiring a product that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers among the plurality of products; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the product that is out of stock based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product that is out of stock is displayed.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the effectiveness of the promotion area for promoting purchases can be ensured by not displaying out-of-stock products in the promotion area. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in determining alternative products to be displayed in place of out-of-stock products in the promotion area, various factors such as available inventory at a fulfillment center associated with the user's location and promotion information corresponding to that available inventory are considered, so promotion information more suitable for the user can be displayed in the promotion area, and substantial benefits can be provided to the user. Moreover, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, products with an imminent promotion period or an imminent expiration date are displayed in the promotion area as alternative products instead of out-of-stock products, thereby increasing the purchase conversion rate of products with an imminent promotion period or an imminent expiration date, and consequently maximizing profits.

[0061] Various embodiments of the present disclosure and effects according to the embodiments have been described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 10. The effects according to the technical concept of the present disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description below.

[0062] In the foregoing, although all components constituting an embodiment of the present disclosure have been described as being combined or operating together, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to such embodiments. That is, within the scope of the purpose of the present disclosure, all components may be selectively combined and operated in one or more ways.

[0063] Although operations are depicted in a specific order in the drawings, it should not be understood that the operations must be executed in the specific order depicted or in a sequential order, or that all depicted operations must be executed to obtain the desired result. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Furthermore, the separation of various configurations in the embodiments described above should not be understood as a necessary separation, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

[0064] Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure may be implemented in other specific forms without altering its technical concept or essential features. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical concepts within the equivalent scope shall be interpreted as being included within the scope of rights of the present disclosure. Explanation of the symbols

[0065] 10: Shopping Service Provision System 100, 100a, 100b, 100c: User terminal 200: Service Server 20: Product List Page 21: Promotion Area 22: Slot 23: Sold Out 24: Alternative products S100, S200, S300, S400, S410, S411, S412, S413, S414, S415, S416, S420, S500, S510: Step 500: Computing device 510: Processor 520: Memory 530: BUS 540: Communication interface 550: Storage 560: Computer program

Claims

Claim 1 A method for displaying promotional products performed by a computing device, comprising: acquiring a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotion area; checking, for each of the plurality of products, the out-of-stock status at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; acquiring a product among the plurality of products that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the product in the promotion area based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product in the promotion area is displayed. Claim 2 A method for displaying promotional products according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining substitute products to be displayed in the promotion area comprises: a step of obtaining a list of promotional stock among the available stock based on the promotion information; and a step of determining as substitute products a number of products equal to the number of sold-out products among the products included in the stock list. Claim 3 In claim 2, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products comprises: a step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of imminent end of the promotion period; and a step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorting order as replacement products, and the step of displaying replacement products comprises a step of displaying replacement products in the sorting order in the slot corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots, a method for displaying promotion products. Claim 4 In claim 2, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products comprises: a step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of highest discount rate; and a step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorting order as replacement products, and the step of displaying the replacement products comprises a step of displaying the replacement products in the sorting order in the slot corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots. Claim 5 In claim 2, the step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products comprises: a step of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of imminent disposal date; and a step of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the step of displaying the replacement products comprises a step of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots, a method for displaying promotional products. Claim 6 A promotional product display system comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs the following operations: acquiring a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots of a promotion area; checking the out-of-stock status of each of the plurality of products at one or more fulfillment centers associated with the user's location; acquiring a product that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers among the plurality of products; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the product that is out of stock based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product that is out of stock is displayed. Claim 7 In claim 6, the operation of determining substitute products to be displayed in the promotion area comprises: the operation of obtaining a list of inventory currently being promoted among the available inventory based on the promotion information; and the operation of determining as substitute products a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products among the products included in the inventory list. Claim 8 In claim 7, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes: the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of the imminent end of the promotion period; and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorting order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying replacement products includes the operation of displaying replacement products in the sorting order in the slot corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots, a promotion product display system. Claim 9 In claim 7, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes: the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of highest discount rate; and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorting order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying replacement products includes the operation of displaying replacement products in the sorting order in the slot corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots, a promotion product display system. Claim 10 In claim 7, the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products as replacement products includes: the operation of sorting products included in the inventory list in order of imminent disposal date; and the operation of determining a number of products equal to the number of out-of-stock products in the inventory list in the sorted order as replacement products, and the operation of displaying the replacement products includes the operation of displaying the replacement products in the sorted order in the slots corresponding to the out-of-stock products among the plurality of slots, a promotion product display system. Claim 11 A computer program stored on a computer-readable recording medium to execute the steps of: acquiring a plurality of products to be displayed in each of a plurality of slots in a promotion area, combined with a computing device; checking for each of the plurality of products that they are out of stock at one or more fulfillment centers associated with a user's location; acquiring a product that is out of stock at all of the one or more fulfillment centers among the plurality of products; determining a substitute product to be displayed in the promotion area instead of the product that is out of stock based on promotion information corresponding to the available inventory of the one or more fulfillment centers; and displaying the substitute product in the slot among the plurality of slots where the product that is out of stock is displayed.

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