Information processor, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processor that grasps commodity storage information about a commodity before consumption for each user.SOLUTION: An information processor of one embodiment includes: an acquisition unit that acquires information including a commodity type, an expiration date, and quantity of a commodity before consumption as commodity storage information for each user; an aggregation unit that aggregates, on the basis of the commodity storage information for each user acquired by the acquisition unit and address information of the users, from among the commodity storage information of the users who live within a prescribed range from a store that sells the commodity, quantity of the commodity for each expiration date and the number of users storing the commodity; and an output control unit that outputs a result aggregated by the aggregation unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems intended to appropriately determine product order quantities have been proposed in the retail industry. For example, an order quantity calculation system has been described that includes a demand quantity calculation period calculation unit that sets a demand quantity calculation period taking lead time into consideration, a planned inventory calculation unit that calculates planned inventory at the end of the demand quantity calculation period based on shipping records (or sales records), arrival records, and planned arrival quantities, a safety stock calculation unit that calculates safety stock during the demand quantity calculation period based on past shipping (sales) records, a total demand calculation unit that predicts the total demand during the demand quantity calculation period for each product based on past shipping (sales) records, an order point calculation unit that sets the sum of the safety stock and the total demand as the order point, and an order quantity calculation unit that sets the order quantity as the result of subtracting the planned inventory from the order point (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition to the above-mentioned systems, there is also a system that creates a model by machine learning past sales record data related to day of the week, weather, temperature, etc., and calculates the order quantity using the model. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-015140 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, all of the above systems are based solely on past data and have the problem of low accuracy.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to grasp product storage information regarding products before consumption for each user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that includes an acquisition unit that acquires, for each user, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of a product before consumption as product storage information; a counting unit that compiles, based on the product storage information for each user acquired by the acquisition unit and the user's address information, the quantity of the product for each expiration date and the number of users storing the product from the product storage information of users who live within a specified range of a store selling the product; and an output control unit that outputs the results compiled by the counting unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, product storage information regarding products before consumption can be obtained for each user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a store user database. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a user storage database. [Figure 4] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transitions of a store application on a user terminal. [Figure 5] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transitions of a store application on a user terminal. [Figure 7] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transition of a storage application of a user terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a storage application on a user terminal. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of screen transition of a storage application of a user terminal. [Figure 11] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of aggregated data. [Figure 14] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 15] 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device of the product storage system according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 16] 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a product storage system according to an embodiment. [Figure 17] 1 is a sequence chart showing the operation of a product storage system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In the present disclosure, the "product type" of a product is information that specifies the product type, variety, category, etc. A category, which will be described later, is an example of a product type. In this disclosure, the "expiration date" of a product is information indicating whether the product can be used, enjoyed, or consumed by a user. Examples of expiration dates include a use-by date, a best-before date, a consumption date, and a quality assurance date. In this disclosure, "quantity of product" refers to any amount that allows the contents of the product to be quantitatively grasped, and is not limited to numbers such as 1 or 2, but also includes values ​​indicating the amount of liquid such as 300 ml, and values ​​indicating the percentage of the original amount of the product such as 1 / 2 (one-half), 2 / 3 (two-thirds), and 60%. In this disclosure, "product storage information" refers to information about products stored by a user at home.

[0010] In one embodiment of the product storage system, information about products stored at home by a user is managed by, for example, a user terminal carried by the user. The product to be stored is not limited, but may be any product associated with the expiration date and stored by the user at home. Typical products to be stored include food, beverages, seasonings, etc. purchased by the user at a retail store. The embodiments described below are not limited to the drawings described by the brief description of the drawings.

[0011] A first aspect of the present invention is an information processing device including an acquisition unit, a counting unit, and an output control unit. The acquisition unit acquires, for each user, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of pre-consumed products as product storage information. The aggregation unit aggregates the product storage information for users living within a specified range of a store selling the products, including the quantity of the product for each expiration date and the number of users storing the product, based on the product storage information for each user acquired by the acquisition unit and the user's address information. The output control unit outputs the results aggregated by the aggregation unit. Here, "consumption" of a product means a state in which a user has consumed all of the product in question and is no longer storing the product. Therefore, if even a portion of the product remains unconsumed, the product is considered "pre-consumed." When the expiration date of a product stored by a user living within a specified range from the store approaches, there is a high possibility that the user will visit the store to purchase a new product. Therefore, the output result of the aggregation unit visualizes the potential demand for products within the specified range from the store. Therefore, based on the output result of the aggregation unit, the store can grasp product storage information regarding unconsumed products for each user. Here, the reason why users living within a specified range from the store are targeted for aggregation is because, from the store's perspective, it can accurately visualize the potential demand for products for users who are likely to visit the store, and this can be used to accurately link product ordering and purchasing.

[0012] A second aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the first aspect, in which the output control unit outputs, to a user terminal of a user living within a predetermined range, bonus information that requires the purchase of a product when the quantity of the product per expiration date obtained by the counting unit satisfies a predetermined condition. By providing the bonus information to the user, the user can be encouraged to visit the store. Here, the "bonus information" is not limited and may be any information that is useful to the user. For example, bonus information may include coupons that can be used to purchase products at the store.

[0013] A third aspect of the present invention is an information processing device according to the first or second aspect, in which the output control unit outputs, to user terminals of users living within a predetermined range, bonus information that is conditional on purchasing a product when the number of users storing the product for each expiration date obtained by the counting unit satisfies a predetermined condition. As a result, since one customer may purchase two or more products, if the number of users is large, bonuses can be awarded to encourage active store visits, leading to increased sales of the product.

[0014] A fourth aspect of the present invention is an information processing device according to any one of the first to third aspects, including a reception unit that receives a request for a reservation to purchase a product from a user terminal for each user, and a product ordering unit that places an order for the product to be delivered to the store based on the request from each user terminal. This allows the user to make the reservation for the purchase of the product themselves, thereby more reliably encouraging the user to visit the store. When a request for a reservation to purchase a product is received from a user, the reward information that is conditional on the purchase of the product may be made more advantageous to the user than the reward information provided when the request is not received. This motivates the user to actively make the request, increasing the likelihood that the user will visit the store. The reward information may also include a reception unit that receives a request for a reservation to purchase a product.

[0015] A fifth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the fourth aspect, wherein the product ordering unit orders a set number of products according to the number of product requests received by the reception unit, thereby ensuring that customers who visit the store can purchase the products.

[0016] A sixth aspect of the present invention is the information processing device of the fourth aspect, in which the product ordering unit adjusts the product order quantity in accordance with the ratio of the number of requests received by the reception unit to the number of customers of the store, or the ratio of the number of requests received by the reception unit to the average number of products sold per day at the store. By adjusting the product order quantity in this way, the accuracy of the product order quantity is improved.

[0017] In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the output control unit is the information processing device of any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the output control unit outputs information indicating dishes using the product as an ingredient to the user terminal of the user, thereby promoting consumption of products approaching their expiration date, thereby improving convenience for the user.

[0018] The acquisition unit acquires, as product storage information, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of products purchased by a user at a store, and may also acquire, as product storage information, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of products input to the user's user terminal, thereby enabling the store to obtain information about products purchased by the user outside the store. The acquisition unit may acquire, as product storage information, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of the product purchased by the user at each of a plurality of stores, thereby eliminating the need for the user to input information corresponding to the product purchased at a store other than the specific store into a user terminal and transmit it to an information processing device.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The system configuration of a product storage system 1 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The product storage system 1 is configured to manage information about products purchased by a user at a store R or the like and stored at home. While food products are given as an example of a product, the product is not limited to food products and can be any product with a use-by date (an example of an expiration date), such as seasonings. In this embodiment, the store R is a retailer such as a supermarket that handles food products with use-by dates. The product storage system 1 is configured to enable a user to complete a cashierless payment at the store R, for example. Cashierless refers to a system in which payment is made via a user terminal or the like carried by the user without going through the store's POS register.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, a product storage system 1 according to one embodiment includes a user terminal 3 carried by a user CT who makes a purchase at, for example, a store R, a store terminal 4, a store server 5, a payment agent server 7, and a storage server 8. The user CT can manage information related to products purchased at store R using the user terminal 3, etc. The product storage system 1 is configured so that the user terminal 3, the store terminal 4, and the server group can communicate via a network NW. The network NW is not limited to, but may be, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

[0021] The store server 5 is provided to realize cashierless payment, POS registers, etc. in the store R used by the user. The store server 5 can communicate with the payment agent server 7, and by requesting payment processing from the payment agent server 7, supports the user's payment for goods using cashierless payment, POS registers, etc.

[0022] A store application corresponding to, for example, store R is installed on the user terminal 3 possessed by the user CT. The store application communicates with the store server 5 of store R, for example, to perform a cashier-less payment at store R. In a cashier-less payment, data is exchanged between the store server 5, the user terminal 3, and the payment agency server 7. In a payment using a POS register, data is exchanged between the store server 5, a POS register in the store (not shown), and the payment agency server 7. A storage application for managing information about products purchased by the user is installed on the user terminal 3. The storage application communicates with the storage server 8 to manage information about products purchased by the user.

[0023] The storage server 8 is capable of communicating with the user terminal 3 and the store server 5. The storage server 8 acquires information about products for which payment has been made by users, for example, from the store server 5, and manages storage data (described later) as product storage information for each user. The storage server 8 performs ordering processing, for example, according to the number of products stored by expiration date before consumption by the user. The storage server 8 also distributes benefit information to users according to the number of products stored by expiration date before consumption. The storage server 8 provides the stored data to users via the user terminal 3, for example, in response to a request from a storage application. The storage server 8 updates the stored data in response to a request from the storage application, for example. The storage server 8 aggregates the stored data for each user and sends the aggregated data to the store terminal 4, allowing store staff to check the user's stored data. In the following description and drawings, the store application and the storage application may be abbreviated as "store application" and "storage application", respectively, as appropriate.

[0024] The store server 5 stores a store user database, an example of which is shown in Fig. 2. Each record in the user database shown in Fig. 2 contains values ​​in the fields "User ID," "Group ID," "User Name," "Address or Postal Code," and "Payment Method." Here, the value in the "User ID" field is identification information assigned to a user of store R. The value of the "Group ID" field is an ID assigned in common to multiple users. In a typical example, a single group ID is assigned to multiple users who share household income, such as family members, upon request from the users. For example, if a parent user who is already registered in the store app user database newly registers a child user, the parent user and the child user are assigned the same group ID. The values ​​in the "User Name" and "Address" fields are obtained based on the user's operational input when the user installs the store application on the user terminal 3, and are recorded in the user database. The value in the "Payment Method" field is obtained based on the user's operational input when the user installs the store application on the user terminal 3, or at any time after installation, and is recorded or updated in the user database. The value of the "payment method" field is data necessary for making payment for the product to the user, such as credit card number information and / or information related to electronic money (prepaid number, etc.). The value of the "payment method" field is provided to the payment agent server 7 when the user corresponding to the user ID makes a payment.

[0025] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of a user-storage database. The user-storage database shows product data stored on a per-user or per-group basis. The user-storage database is stored on the storage server 8. The user-storage database is managed for each user ID or group ID. In addition to including address data corresponding to the user ID or group ID, each record corresponding to the user ID or group ID includes values ​​for fields such as "category," "product," "quantity," and "expiration date." In the user-storage database, product data corresponding to two or more users belonging to the same household is aggregated as product data corresponding to one group ID.

[0026] The user-stored database is created based on, for example, the details of the products purchased by the user at store R (purchase data, described below) acquired from the store server 5. One record in the user-stored database is, for example, data on the products purchased by the user at store R (payment completed). The user-storage database reflects the execution results of the user's storage application. Records contained in the user-storage database may contain data on products purchased by the user at a store other than store R. When a user purchases a product at store R, the value of the "product" field in the user-storage database in Figure 3 corresponds to the product code of a specific product, such as "Pork F" or "Tomato A." In contrast, when a user purchases a product at a store other than store R and enters information about that product in the storage application, the value of the "product" field in the user-storage database will be a value that indicates a general product name, such as "Milk," rather than a specific product code.

[0027] In addition, when a user inputs information about a product purchased at a store other than store R into the storage application, the storage application or storage server 8 may determine the corresponding category (an example of a product type) based on the input product information, and reflect the determined category value in the value of the "Category" field in the user storage database. Hereinafter, data for each user ID or group ID in the user storage database will be referred to as "stored data."

[0028] Next, a method for using the store application of the user terminal 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of screen transitions of the store application of the user terminal 3. Fig. 5 is a sequence chart showing the processing of the store application of the user terminal 3. By running the store application, users can check the prices of each product in the store and make payment for the products they select. Screens G1 to G3 in Figure 4 show how to use the store application when a user checks product prices and adds products to their shopping cart.

[0029] When a user launches the store application on the user terminal 3, the imaging function of the user terminal 3 is activated, and the captured image is displayed in the window w1, as shown in screen G1 in FIG. 4. On screen G1, the window w1 contains an image of the product P, in which the user has picked up the product P from a store shelf and the code information C1 displayed on the product P is visible. When the code information C1 of the product P is displayed in the window w1 (i.e., the user performs a scanning operation), the store application reads (scans) the code information C1 (step S2 in FIG. 5). When multiple pieces of code information are displayed in the window w1, the imaging function of the user terminal 3 preferably includes a function to display a scan area 100 in the window w1 so that the desired code information can be reliably read. In this case, of the multiple pieces of code information in the window w1, only the code information C1 displayed in the scan area 100 is read.

[0030] For example, the code information C1 includes the product code and expiration date information (expiration date information) of the corresponding product P. The code format of the code information C1 is not important as long as it includes the product code and expiration date information, but if it is a barcode (one-dimensional code), for example, CODE128 such as GS1-128 can be used. CODE128 can convert all 128 ASCII characters into barcodes, so it can be configured to include the product code and expiration date information.

[0031] In order to affix labels including GS1-128 to each product in a store, labels may be affixed automatically in bulk using an affixing robot or the like at a logistics center, or a weighing label including GS1-128 may be affixed when prepared foods and other items are produced in the store. This allows a label printed with GS1-128, which includes expiration date information, to be affixed even to products that have a code (such as JAN13) printed on them that does not include expiration date information.

[0032] When the code information C1 is read, the store application sends an inquiry request to the store server 5 for the price of the product P offered to the user, including the product code and expiration date information included in the code information C1 (step S4 in FIG. 5). When the store server 5 receives the price inquiry, it determines the price (offer price) of the product by referring to a price reduction database (not shown) (step S7), and sends price data including information on the regular price and offer price of the product P to the store application (step S10). The price reduction database includes information on the price reduction rate corresponding to the product code and / or expiration date information for each product. In addition, information on the regular price for each product is recorded in a price database (not shown). The store application receives and displays the price data from the store server 5 (step S12).

[0033] For example, referring to Figure 4, window w2 of screen G2 displayed in step S12 includes the product name corresponding to the product code ("Yogurt B 500ml"), the regular price ("300 yen"), the offer price ("250 yen"), and the expiration date ("September 13, 2022"). On screen G2, the user can view the information contained in window w2 and choose whether or not to add product P to their wish list (basket). To add product P to their wish list, the user operates button b1 ("Add to basket") displayed on screen G2 (step S14: YES in FIG. 5), which displays screen G3 and notifies the user that product P has been added to their wish list (window w3). In this case, the user places the picked-up product P into the actual basket or shopping cart at the store. In response to the operation of button b1, the user terminal 3 updates the wish list by adding information about the target product to the wish list (step S16).

[0034] Next, a method of using a store application when paying for goods using the store application of the user terminal 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of screen transitions in the store application of the user terminal 3. Fig. 7 is a sequence chart showing the processing of the store application of the user terminal 3.

[0035] After the user checks the offered price of a product and adds it to their wish list (i.e., after repeatedly displaying screens G1 to G3 in FIG. 4), if they wish to make a payment, they operate button b2 ("View Cart") on screen G4 to display screen G5, which includes the wish list BL. The wish list BL includes a list of products added up to that point (product name, quantity, and price of each product) and the total price. If the user decides not to purchase a particular product from the wish list BL because it is over budget, for example, they can delete that product from the wish list BL.

[0036] When the wish list BL is finalized on screen G5, the user operates button b3 (payment button) (step S20 in FIG. 7), which causes the store application to make a payment request including the wish list to the store server 5 (step S22). Upon receiving the payment request from the store application, the store server 5 reads the user name and payment method data from the user database, and sends a payment request including the read user name and payment method data and the payment amount (total amount of the wish list) to the payment agent server 7 (step S24). The payment agent server 7 performs payment processing based on the data provided by the store server 5 (step S26), and upon completion of the payment processing, sends a payment completion notification to the store server 5 (step S28).

[0037] When the payment is completed, the store server 5 issues a new payment ID (step S30) and sends a payment completion notice corresponding to the payment request of step S22 to the store application (step S34). This payment completion notice includes the payment ID issued in step S30. The store application creates a payment completion code, which is a two-dimensional code including the payment ID included in the received payment completion notice (step S36), and displays it on the user terminal 3 (step S38). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a screen G6 including code information C2 as the payment completion code is displayed. The payment completion code indicates that the payment for the product has been completed, and includes a payment ID (described later) that identifies the payment. Here, a two-dimensional code is shown as an example of the payment completion code, but a barcode or the like may also be used.

[0038] The payment completion code shown on screen G6 is used, for example, to notify the store or store staff that payment for the items in the basket has been completed. For example, the store may be configured so that the customer can exit by showing the payment completion code to the store staff, or a gate may be opened to allow the customer to exit the store by having a designated device in the store read the payment completion code. In this case, the customer does not have to wait in line at the cash register, and the store's cashier staff does not have to pay for the items, which is beneficial to both the customer and the store.

[0039] The store server 5 transmits the purchase data to the storage server 8 (step S35). The purchase data includes information about the product for which the user has completed payment, such as the product code, the product quantity, and the expiration date. For example, the purchase data may include information managed in association with the code information C1 described above (for example, information written on the product label attached to the product). Upon receiving the purchase data from the store server 5, the storage server 8 creates and updates a user storage database (FIG. 3) for each user using the purchase data (step S40). Note that while FIG. 7 is a sequence chart for when payment for a product is completed without a cashier, if payment for a product is made using a POS register or the like, the storage server 8 obtains purchase data for each user from the POS register according to the user ID and creates and updates the user storage database.

[0040] The storage server 8 creates and updates a user storage database using the purchase data, thereby acquiring and managing storage data (an example of product storage information before consumption) for each user, as shown in Fig. 3. Acquiring the purchase data by the storage server 8 in step S35 is an example of acquiring product storage information for the user.

[0041] Next, a method for using the storage application will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition from the home screen of the storage application of the user terminal 3. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of screen of the storage application of the user terminal 3. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition when inputting a product in the storage application of the user terminal 3.

[0042] Screen G10 in FIG. 8 is a home screen displayed after a user logs in to the storage application. This home screen includes a button b11 for viewing the contents of storage of unconsumed products stored at the user's home, for example, and a button b12 for viewing coupons available at the store. When button b11 is pressed, screen G11 is displayed, which includes a list of products stored by the user. When button b12 is pressed, screen G12 is displayed, which includes coupons available at the store, if any. The example screen G12 shows that two coupons, cp1 and cp2, are available at store R, for example.

[0043] Screen G11 in Fig. 8 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 9. Screen G11 includes the user's stored data 101. To display the stored data 101, the storage application acquires the stored data corresponding to the user from the storage server 8 that holds the user storage database (Fig. 3). When a user to whom a group ID has been assigned executes the storage application, the stored data corresponding to the group ID is displayed. The storage data 101 includes data for each item, such as "category," "product," "quantity," and "expiration date." Note that the association between products and categories may be performed in the store management application. In the storage data 101, "quantity" indicates the remaining quantity of the product stored by the user. A pull-down menu bx1 is provided for the quantity corresponding to each product, and the user can change the quantity by operating the pull-down menu bx1 according to the amount of product consumed by the user.

[0044] The "quantity" value of the product can also be obtained automatically, rather than being input by the user. For example, the storage application may acquire an image of the product in conjunction with the imaging function of the user terminal 3, and obtain the "quantity" value of the product by estimating the product information and the product weight based on the acquired image. AI technology can also be used to estimate the product weight. Alternatively, a wireless tag with a weight sensor may be embedded near the bottom of the product to acquire the "quantity" of the product. In this case, the storage application acquires the "quantity" of the product by receiving the weight data of the product via wireless communication with the wireless tag. The type of wireless tag is not limited, and may be, for example, an energy-harvesting tag that converts radio waves in a wide range of different frequency bands into energy.

[0045] For products for which the user has completed payment at store R (Fig. 1) without a cashier, the user storage database is updated based on the purchase data as explained with reference to Fig. 7, and this is reflected in the user's stored data. If the user purchases a product at a store other than store R, the user can also update the stored data by entering information about the product into the storage application.

[0046] FIG. 10 shows an example of screen transitions when a user enters information about a product purchased at another store in the storage application. The procedure for entering product information will be described with reference to FIG. 10. First, operating the product input button b13 on screen G11 displays screen G13 for entering data for the "product," "quantity," and "expiration date" fields. Screen G13 provides pull-down menus bx2, bx3, and bx4 for "product," "quantity," and "expiration date," respectively, and the user can select appropriate data by operating pull-down menu bx1. Screen G14 shows an example of entering data for a 1000ml bottle of milk with an expiration date of August 25, 2022. Operating the OK button after entering data on screen G14 causes additional data 102 to be included in storage data 101, as shown on screen G15. In addition, the storage application may work in conjunction with the imaging function of the user terminal 3 to acquire an image of the product label, and automatically enter data for each of the items "Product", "Quantity", and "Expiration Date" based on the code information and text information contained in the acquired label image.

[0047] Next, the operation of the product storage system 1 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, when the storage application of the user terminal 3 is launched (step S50), the storage application makes a data request to the storage server 8 to acquire storage data (step S52). Based on the data request, the storage server 8 reads storage data corresponding to the user of the storage application from the user storage database and transmits the data to the storage application (step S54). When the storage application receives a request to display storage contents from the user (step S56: YES), it displays the storage data received in step S54 (step S58). The request to display storage contents in step S56 corresponds to the operation of button b11 in FIG. 8, and the example of storage data displayed in step S58 corresponds to screen G11 in FIG. 8.

[0048] When the storage data held by the storage application is updated by the user changing the quantity of products included in the storage data or entering new products on the storage application (step S60: YES), the updated storage data is sent to the storage server 8 (step S62). The storage server 8 updates the user storage database based on the received storage data (step S64). The storage server 8 acquiring the storage data in step S62 is an example of acquiring the product storage information of the user.

[0049] Next, the tallying process executed in the storage server 8 will be described with reference to Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. Fig. 12 is a sequence chart showing the tallying process performed in the product storage system 1 of one embodiment. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the tallying data obtained by the tallying process. The aggregation process is a process of aggregating data for each product stored by users who live within a specified range (for example, 1 km) from the store. By performing the aggregation process, the remaining quantity of each product by expiration date stored by users who live within the specified range from the store can be determined, making it possible to accurately grasp the potential demand for the product at the store.

[0050] The operation of the product storage system 1 when the storage server 8 performs the tallying process will be described below with reference to the sequence chart in Figure 12. In Figure 12, when the time to tally arrives (step S70: YES), the storage server 8 executes the tallying process (step S72). The timing of tallying can be set arbitrarily by the store staff, for example, at a predetermined time before the store opens or after it closes. The tallying process includes the following steps. (a) A process of identifying the user ID or group ID corresponding to a user who lives within a specified range of the store by referring to the user storage database. (b) Extracting stored data corresponding to the specified user ID or group ID (c) Classifying the extracted stored data by product type, then by expiration date, and tallying the number of products

[0051] An example of the data structure of the aggregated data is shown in Fig. 13. Each record of the aggregated data shown in Fig. 13 includes values ​​for the fields "product type," "expiration date," "remaining quantity," and "number of customers." The product type here indicates a type of product that is a smaller classification than the category (e.g., "beverage") in the user-stored database (Fig. 3), and is identified from the product value in the stored data, etc. For example, in both cases where the product value in the stored data is a value corresponding to a product code such as Milk A or Milk K, or where the value is the character string "Milk" entered by the user, the value of the product type will be "Milk." The value of the "Best Before Date" field is set to, for example, a predetermined number of dates based on the current time. In FIG. 13, for example, the date on which the aggregated data in FIG. 13 was created is August 25, 2022, and records corresponding to three expiration dates, including the current date, have been created. The "predetermined number" here can be set arbitrarily and can also be changed for each product type.

[0052] Returning to the description of Fig. 12, when the tallying process is completed, the storage server 8 updates the tally data obtained in the previous tallying process with the tally data obtained in step S72 (step S74). Next, the storage server 8 determines whether the aggregated data obtained in step S72 satisfies the coupon issuance conditions (step S76). That is, in one embodiment, if the quantity of the product for each expiration date based on the aggregated data satisfies the predetermined coupon issuance conditions, the storage server 8 issues a coupon (an example of benefit information) that is conditional on the purchase of the product.

[0053] Although the coupon issuing conditions are not limited, in one embodiment, the coupon issuing condition is that "the quantity of products with each expiration date in the aggregated data meets a predetermined condition." For example, the coupon issuing condition is that "the quantity of products with an expiration date of the current date in the aggregated data is equal to or exceeds a predetermined value," or "the quantity of products with an expiration date within a predetermined number of days (e.g., two or three days) including the current date in the aggregated data is equal to or exceeds a predetermined value." Issuing a coupon when it is believed that a large number of products with an approaching expiration date are stored in a household can encourage customers to visit the store.

[0054] In one embodiment, the coupon issuance condition is that "the quantity of products by expiration date in the aggregated data or the number of users (customers) storing products by expiration date meets a predetermined condition." Examples of conditions that must be met by the number of users storing products by expiration date include "the number of users (customers) storing products whose expiration date is the current date in the aggregated data is equal to or greater than a predetermined value" and "the number of users (customers) storing products whose expiration date will arrive within a predetermined number of days (e.g., two or three days) including the current date in the aggregated data is equal to or greater than a predetermined value." Because a single customer may purchase two or more products for their family, if the aggregated data contains a large number of customers, coupons can be issued to encourage more customers to visit the store, which can lead to increased sales of the product.

[0055] If the coupon issuance conditions are met, the storage server 8 records the coupon data including the coupon contents (for example, as shown in coupon cp1 in Figure 8, information such as the product name (large sausage), the benefits (20 yen off), and the coupon expiration date (until August 27, 2022)) (step S78). After recording the coupon, a request to acquire the coupon is sent to the storage server 8 by operating button b12 in Fig. 8 in the storage application of the user terminal 3 (step S80). The storage server 8 reads the coupon data recorded in step S78 and sends (distributes) it to the storage application (step S82). Upon receiving the coupon data, the storage application displays the coupon corresponding to the received coupon data, as shown on screen G12 in Fig. 8 (step S84).

[0056] 12, the storage server 8 transmits the coupon data to the storage application in response to a coupon request from the storage application, but this is not limited to this. The storage server 8 may also send a push notification of the coupon data to the storage application.

[0057] The coupon data may be distributed to all users registered in the store user database, or to all users who are the basis of the counting process in step S72 (i.e., users living within a specified range from the store). Alternatively, the coupon data may be distributed only to users who are storing products that are close to their expiration date. The coupon data may also be distributed to users who are storing products within a specified number of their expiration date.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 12, the store terminal 4 requests the storage server 8 to display the aggregated data at a desired timing (step S86). Upon receiving the display request, the storage server 8 transmits the latest aggregated data at that time to the store terminal 4 (step S88). The store terminal 4 displays the received aggregated data (step S90). Based on the displayed aggregated data (Fig. 13), the store staff operating the store terminal 4 can understand the storage status of each product in the homes of users living within a specified range of the store, and can therefore make an accurate ordering plan for the products.

[0059] In one embodiment, users may be allowed to use reservation coupons. A reservation coupon is a type of coupon that a user declares (reserves) in advance to use. While issuing regular coupons to users can also encourage users to visit a store, with reservation coupons, users declare that they will use the coupon, which is expected to more reliably encourage users to visit a store. Compared to regular coupons (e.g., coupon cp1 in FIG. 8), reservation coupons can increase the likelihood that users will visit a store by offering benefits that are more advantageous to users (e.g., double the points that can be used in a store, or a further discount than with a regular coupon), which can lead to more accurate product ordering. It should be noted that coupon expiration dates may be set for the coupons cp1 and cp2 in Fig. 8. The reservation-type coupon cp2 may be declared by a user to be used on a specified date in advance.

[0060] Coupon cp2 in Figure 8 is an example of a reservation-type coupon. Coupon cp2 shown in Figure 8 is provided with a button b121 that allows the user to reserve the use of the coupon. Below, with reference to the sequence chart in Figure 14, we will explain the operation of product storage system 1 when a user uses a reservation-type coupon.

[0061] For example, when the user operates button b121 ("Reserve use") corresponding to coupon cp2 on screen G12, the storage application of the user terminal 3 sends a request to reserve use of coupon cp2 (coupon reservation request) to the storage server 8 (step S91). Upon receiving the coupon reservation request, the storage server 8 records the user ID of the storage application that sent the coupon reservation request and the coupon data corresponding to the coupon reservation request, and sends coupon data indicating that a reservation has been made to the storage application (step S93). Although not shown, upon receiving the coupon data indicating that a reservation has been made, the storage application displays text indicating that the coupon cp2 on screen G12 is "reserved," for example. When it is time to order the product corresponding to the coupon (step S94: YES), the storage server 8 counts up the number of user IDs (number of coupon reservations) recorded up to that point (step S95) and performs product ordering processing so that the target product will be available in the store (step S96).

[0062] In one embodiment, in the product ordering process of step S96, the storage server 8 orders a number of products set according to the reservation number of the coupon. In one embodiment, the products are ordered so that the order quantity of the products is greater than the reservation number of the coupon. This makes it possible to predict the purchase of products covered by the coupon by users who visit the store using the reservation-type coupon.

[0063] In one embodiment, in the product ordering process of step S96, the storage server 8 adjusts the product order quantity according to the ratio of the number of coupon reservations to the number of store users, or the ratio of the number of coupon reservations to the average number of products sold per day at the store. For example, a large ratio of the number of coupon reservations to the number of store users means that many users will visit the store in search of products, so the product order quantity is adjusted to be larger than usual. A large ratio of the number of coupon reservations to the average number of products sold per day at the store means that there is higher demand for the product than usual, so the product order quantity is adjusted to be larger than usual. Adjusting the product order quantity in this way increases the accuracy of the product order quantity.

[0064] Next, the configuration of each device in the product storage system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the functional block diagram in Fig. 15. As shown in Fig. 15, the user terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage 32, an operation input unit 33, a display unit 34, an imaging unit 35, a code reader 36, and a communication unit 37. The control unit 31 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire user terminal 3. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 31 loads and executes store application and storage application programs recorded in the storage 32, and displays the execution results on the display unit 34. The storage 32 is a non-volatile memory, such as a solid state drive (SSD) such as a flash memory. The storage 32 stores store application and storage application programs, as well as data, files, and the like created by executing the store application and storage application.

[0065] The operation input unit 33 is, for example, a touch panel type input device provided on the display panel of the user terminal 3. The operation input unit 33 receives operation input from the user on the display panel, and outputs the received operation input to the store application or the storage application. The display unit 34 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays the execution results of the store application and the storage application. The display unit 34 also displays the digital image signal generated by the imaging unit 35. The imaging unit 35 has, for example, an optical lens and an imaging element (image sensor) that converts incident light from the optical lens into an electrical signal, and sequentially generates digital images and outputs them to the display unit 34.

[0066] The code reader 36 analyzes the code information included in the image signal generated by the imaging unit 35, and extracts (acquires) data from the code information (for example, product information such as a product code and expiration date information). The communication unit 37 is a communication interface for communicating with the store server 5 and the storage server 8. The communication protocol is not limited, but is, for example, HTTPS.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 15, the store terminal 4 includes a control unit 41, a storage 42, an operation input unit 43, a display unit 44, and a communication unit 45. The control unit 41 is mainly configured with a microprocessor and controls the entire store terminal 4. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 41 causes the display unit 44 to display the execution results of a web browser. The storage 42 is a non-volatile memory, for example, an SSD such as a flash memory. The storage 42 stores, for example, the aggregated data acquired from the storage server 8. The operation input unit 43 is, for example, a keyboard or a pointing device. The display unit 44 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays the aggregated data acquired from the storage server 8. The communication unit 45 communicates with the storage server 8 using, for example, HTTPS.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 15, the store server 5 includes a control unit 51, a storage 52, and a communication unit 53. The control unit 51 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire store server 5. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 51 loads and executes a server program recorded in the storage 52. Storage 52 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores the server program as well as a store user database (store user DB; see FIG. 2). Storage 52 stores, for example, purchase data for each user using cashierless and POS registers (see FIG. 9). The store user database is accessed by control unit 51 as needed when the server program is executed. Although not shown, the storage 52 stores data on the offered price of each product sold in the store. The offered price data is referenced by the control unit 51 when a price inquiry is received from a user's store application. The communication unit 53 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 3, the payment agency server 7, and the storage server 8. For example, the control unit 51 transmits the purchase data stored in the storage 52 to the storage server 8 via the communication unit 53.

[0069] By executing the server program, the control unit 51 realizes the functions of a price information providing unit 511 and a payment processing unit 512. The price information providing unit 511 is a function that provides information including the offered price of a product to the store application of the user terminal 3. For example, the information included in the screens G2 and G3 in FIG. The payment processing unit 512 has a function of working with the payment agent server 7 to process payments for products included in the wish list in response to an operation instruction (i.e., a payment request) of the payment button obtained from the user terminal 3. The payment processing unit 512 reads out data on the user name and payment method from the store user database and provides it to the payment agent server 7.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 15, the storage server 8 includes a control unit 81, a storage 82, and a communication unit 83. The control unit 81 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire storage server 8. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 81 loads and executes a server program recorded in the storage . The storage 82 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD, and stores the server program as well as a user-stored database (user-stored DB; see FIG. 3). The user-stored database is accessed by the control unit 81 as needed when the server program is executed. The communication unit 83 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 3, the store terminal 4, and the store server 5.

[0071] The control unit 81 functions as a data acquisition unit 811, a counting unit 812, an output control unit 813, a reception unit 814, and a product ordering unit 815 by the microprocessor executing the server program. As shown in Fig. 11, the data acquisition unit 811 acquires information including the category, expiration date, and quantity of a product before consumption for each user as storage data (an example of product storage information). The data acquisition unit 811 acquires the storage data for each user (an example of product storage information) by receiving purchase data from the store server 5 (step S35 in Fig. 7) and receiving storage data from the storage application of the user terminal 3 (step S62 in Fig. 11). Note that the method of acquiring the storage data is not limited to this, and as described above, the storage data can also be acquired by the storage application acquiring an image of the product in conjunction with the imaging function of the user terminal 3, or by receiving product weight data from a wireless tag with a weight sensor embedded near the bottom of the product.

[0072] The counting unit 812 generates counted data (FIG. 13) by counting the quantity of each product by expiration date and the number of users who store the product from the stored data of users who live within a predetermined range from the store that sells the product, based on the stored data for each user acquired by the data acquisition unit 811 and the user's address information, as shown in FIG. 12. The counting unit 812 may change the predetermined range from the store to be counted depending on the product, expiration date, etc. The control unit 81 can create and transmit coupon data to users registered in the store user database based on the aggregated data.

[0073] The output control unit 813 outputs the aggregation data, which is the result of aggregation by the aggregation unit 812, to the shop terminal 4, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the reception unit 814 receives a request for a reservation to purchase a product (coupon reservation request in FIG. 14) from the storage application of the user terminal 3 for each user. 14, the product ordering unit 815 performs product ordering processing so that products will arrive at the store in response to a coupon reservation request from the storage application of each user terminal 3. The product ordering processing is a process of sending an order request including information on the product code and order quantity of the product to be ordered to a product ordering system (not shown). At this time, the order quantity of the product included in the order request is set to at least exceed the number of coupon requests.

[0074] As described above, in the product storage system 1 of this embodiment, the storage server 8 acquires storage data for each user, including the category, expiration date, and quantity of unconsumed products, from the store server 5 and the user terminal 3. The storage server 8 aggregates the quantity of each product by expiration date and the number of users (customers) storing the products from the storage data of users living within a predetermined range of the store, and outputs the aggregation results to the store terminal 4. When the expiration date of products stored by users living within a predetermined range of the store approaches, there is a high possibility that the users will visit the store to purchase new products. Therefore, the aggregation results visualize the potential demand for products within a predetermined range of the store. Therefore, the store can accurately determine the quantity of products to order based on the aggregation results.

[0075] In the product storage system 1 of this embodiment, the quantity of products stored by users living within a specified range of the store is visualized according to their expiration date, and the order quantity of products can be determined accurately, making it possible to build a system for reducing food waste throughout the entire supply chain. In addition, by adjusting the specified range from the store when tallying, it is possible to set a commercial area for a product, which can be used for production planning at factories that deliver products to stores in a specific commercial area (for example, the Kanto region).

[0076] In one embodiment, a machine learning model that estimates the optimal product order quantity may be generated by learning from data that combines the quantity of products by expiration date (the quantity of products stored by the user) and the order quantity of the product determined based on that quantity.

[0077] The user storage database contains expiration date information for each product stored by the user. In one embodiment, the storage server 8 may suggest recipes that can be prepared using one or more products with an upcoming expiration date. For example, the storage server 8 stores a recipe database that indicates the correspondence between one or more products and recipes that use the one or more products as ingredients. The control unit 81 of the storage server 8 references the storage data of the target user to identify one or more products with an upcoming expiration date, determines recipes that can be prepared using some or all of the identified one or more products by referring to the recipe database, and notifies the target user's storage application. In other words, the control unit 81, functioning as an output control unit, outputs information indicating the items of recipes that use the products as ingredients to the user terminal 3. This promotes the consumption of products with an upcoming expiration date, thereby reducing food waste and improving user convenience. The storage application may be configured to allow the user to order one or more products required for the determined menu from the restaurant if the user does not own any of the products.

[0078] When proposing a menu, the menu may be one that is identified based on the user's past purchase history, a slightly modified version of a menu that is identified based on the user's past purchase history, or a menu of a completely different genre from a menu that is identified based on the user's past purchase history.If the storage application has a function for registering products to which the user has allergies, it is recommended to propose a menu that does not include the product to which the user has allergies.

[0079] In the system configuration shown in Fig. 1, for example, the user storage database in the storage server 8 is updated based on purchase data for a product for which payment has been completed by a user at store R using a cashierless system or a POS register. If the user purchases a product at a store other than store R, the user can input information about the product into the storage application, and the user storage database in the storage server 8 will be updated based on the input data.

[0080] In one embodiment, the storage server 8 may acquire purchase data from each of multiple stores used by the user and update the user storage database. Figure 16 shows the system configuration of a product storage system 1A according to one embodiment. In the product storage system 1A shown in Figure 16, the storage server 8 has a user storage database and is capable of communicating with store servers 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, ... corresponding to multiple stores.

[0081] FIG. 17 shows a sequence chart illustrating the processing of the store application of the user terminal 3 in the product storage system 1A shown in FIG. 16. Referring to FIG. 17, each of the store servers 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 transmits purchase data to the storage server 8 each time a payment process (not shown) is performed (steps S100a, 100b, and 100c). The payment process includes the series of steps S20 to S30 in FIG. 7. Each time the storage server 8 receives purchase data from the store servers 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3, it updates the user storage database using the received purchase data (steps S102a, 102b, and 102c). Therefore, products paid for by the same user at multiple stores are managed in a unified manner in the user storage database of the storage server 8. The purchase data received by the storage server 8 includes a user ID that is the same as or corresponds to a user ID managed in the user storage database of the storage server 8. The storage server 8 creates and updates the user storage database based on the user ID.

[0082] The storage application transmits a data request for acquiring data from the storage server 8 based on, for example, a predetermined operation by the user (step S104). Upon receiving the data request, the storage server 8 reads out the storage data corresponding to the requesting user ID and transmits it to the storage application (step S106). The storage application displays the received storage data (step S108).

[0083] In product storage system 1A, purchase data including user IDs is sent from store servers 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, ... corresponding to multiple stores to storage server 8, and is managed centrally as user storage data in a user storage database. In other words, this system is configured so that storage information does not depend on a specific store. Therefore, users can check the product storage contents at their home by viewing one storage data for products purchased at any store, eliminating the need for the user to enter the data of purchased products themselves, which is highly convenient for managing product storage when a user uses multiple stores.

[0084] In the above-described embodiment and variations, at least some of the functions of the store server 5 and storage server 8 may be realized by software on the user terminal 3, or at least some of the functions of the user terminal 3 may be realized by software on the store server 5 and storage server 8. Furthermore, the functions of the user terminal 3 and the functions of the store server 5 and storage server 8 may be distributed among the user terminal 3 and the store server 5 and storage server 8 as necessary. The functions executed by the store server 5 and storage server 8 may be distributed and executed by multiple devices.

[0085] The information processing system of the present invention can also be applied to cases where products are purchased online or by weight based on product information and expiration date information. For example, when a user purchases online, the storage server obtains the purchase data for the user from a server that provides online sales services and updates the user storage database. Also, when a user purchases products by weight at a store, payment can be made using a store application based on code information affixed to the product when it is sold by weight, and a system can be constructed in which the storage server updates the user storage database in the same way as in the case shown in Figure 7.

[0086] Although the embodiments of the information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Furthermore, various improvements and modifications to the above embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the individual technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate as long as no technical contradiction occurs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1. Product storage system 3...User terminal 31...Control unit 32…Storage 33...Operation input section 34…Display section 35...imaging unit 36...Code reader 37…Communications Department 4...Store terminal 41...Control unit 42…Storage 43...Operation input section 44…Display section 45…Communications Department 5...Store server 51...Control unit 511...Price Information Department 512: Payment processing unit 52…Storage 53…Communications Department 7...Payment agent server 8...Storage server 81...Control unit 811...Data acquisition section 812…Counting department 813...Output control unit 814…Reception 815...Product Ordering Department 82…Storage 83…Communications Department 100...Scan area 101...Stored data 102...Additional data C1, C2... chord information CT…User NW...Network P…Product cp1, cp2...Coupon

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires, for each user, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of the product before consumption as product storage information; A totaling unit that totals, based on the product storage information for each user acquired by the acquisition unit and the address information of the user, the quantity for each expiration date of the product and the number of users storing the product among the product storage information of users living within a predetermined range from the store selling the product; An output control unit that outputs the result totaled by the totaling unit; An information processing apparatus comprising the above.

2. The output control unit: When the quantity for each expiration date of the product obtained by the totaling unit satisfies a predetermined condition, outputs privilege information on the condition of purchasing the product to the user terminals of users living within the predetermined range; The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. The output control unit: When the number of users storing the product for each expiration date of the product obtained by the totaling unit satisfies a predetermined condition, outputs privilege information on the condition of purchasing the product to the user terminals of users living within the predetermined range; The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. A reception unit that receives, from each user terminal, a request regarding a reservation for purchasing the product; A product ordering unit that places an order so that the product is delivered to the store based on the requests from each user terminal, The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2.

5. The product ordering unit orders a number of the products set according to the number of requests for the product received by the reception unit; The information processing apparatus according to Claim 4.

6. The product ordering unit: The ratio of the number of the requests received by the reception unit to the number of users of the store, or adjust the order quantity of the product according to the ratio of the number of the requests received by the reception unit to the average daily sales volume of the product in the store. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.

7. The output control unit outputs information indicating menu items of dishes made from the product to the user terminal of the user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

8. For each user, a step of acquiring, as product storage information, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of the product before consumption; Based on the product storage information for each user acquired in the acquiring step and the address information of the user, among the product storage information of users living within a predetermined range from the store selling the product, the quantity for each expiration date of the product and the number of users storing the product are aggregated; Outputting the result aggregated in the aggregating step, and including An information processing method.

9. A program for causing a computer to execute a predetermined method, wherein the method includes For each user, a step of acquiring, as product storage information, information including the product type, expiration date, and quantity of the product before consumption; Based on the product storage information for each user acquired in the acquiring step and the address information of the user, among the product storage information of users living within a predetermined range from the store selling the product, the quantity for each expiration date of the product and the number of users storing the product are aggregated; Outputting the result aggregated in the aggregating step, and including A program.

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