Sales promotion support system, method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique that enables distribution of electronic coupons taking the movement state of users into consideration.SOLUTION: A terminal device accumulates target user's past day movement history information that records movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device in past days. A sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records movement history of the target user and other users in the past days. The terminal device records movement history of the target user up to the current time on the current day as target user's current day movement history information, uses the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information to generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time, and transmits the first movement information to the sales promotion support device. The sales promotion support device determines an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information, and transmits the electronic coupon to the terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for supporting sales promotion using electronic coupons. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an information provision system that supports sales promotion. The information provision system of Patent Document 1 uses the Internet or the like to inform a terminal device of a user who is about to purchase a product of stores where the product can be purchased cheaply and stores where shopping can be done in an efficient manner. Information on various stores can be obtained without the user having to go through a registration process. Stores can expect an increase in the number of customers and sales by disseminating this information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-190352 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, if a user is on his / her way to work and does not have the freedom to choose his / her actions, it is not expected to be very effective to provide him / her with information about products and stores. However, the technology of Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the state of movement of the user, such as leaving home, going to a destination, completing the destination, and returning home. Therefore, the information providing system of Patent Document 1 does not necessarily provide appropriate information.

[0005] One objective of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that enables distribution of electronic coupons taking into consideration the movement state of a user, for example, to selectively distribute electronic coupons to users who belong to a segment that is expected to have a high probability of using the electronic coupons, such as a user who is about to return home after completing a task, or a user who is behaving differently from usual due to a business trip or a detour. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a sales promotion support system includes a terminal device that accumulates target user past day movement history information that records the movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days, a sales promotion support device that accumulates user movement history information that records the movement history of the target user and other users on past days, a terminal device that records the movement history of the target user up to the current time on that day as target user today movement history information, and using the target user today movement history information and the target user past day movement history information, generates first movement information regarding a series of movements including predicted movements of the target user after the current time and transmits it to the sales promotion support device, and the sales promotion support device determines an electronic coupon to distribute to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information and transmits the electronic coupon to the terminal device. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it becomes possible to distribute electronic coupons taking into account the user's movement state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sales promotion support system. [Diagram 2] 13 is a flowchart of a sales promotion support process. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a user behavior model. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between congestion rate and discount rate and store visit probability in a user behavior model. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart of a coupon request process and a coupon distribution process. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart of a movement characteristic information generating process. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart of a segment determination process. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a segment classification model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sales promotion support system.

[0011] The sales promotion support system 1 is an information processing system that distributes electronic coupons that provide benefits that can be used at stores to users. The sales promotion support system 1 has a sales promotion support device 10, a terminal device 20, a travel demand prediction system 32, and an operation prediction system 33. The sales promotion support device 10, the terminal device 20, the travel demand prediction system 32, and the operation prediction system 33 are connected to a communication network 31. The communication network 31 includes, for example, the Internet, an intranet, a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the like.

[0012] The terminal device 20 is a computer configured with portable hardware such as a smartphone or tablet terminal carried by a user and used to receive electronic coupons. The terminal device 20 has a communication unit 21, a calculation processing unit 22, an input unit 23, a display unit 24, and a storage unit 25. The storage unit 25 stores a coupon request program 251, a movement characteristic information generating program 252, current day movement history information 253, past movement history information 254, and coupon request area information 255.

[0013] The arithmetic processing unit 22 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The arithmetic processing unit 22 executes a coupon request program 251 and a movement characteristic information generation program 252 by using the current day movement history information 253, the past movement history information 254, and the coupon request area information 255. The coupon request program 251 is a software program for causing the terminal device 20 to execute a process (coupon request process) for requesting an electronic coupon from the sales promotion support device 10. The movement characteristic information generation program 252 is a software program for causing the terminal device 20 to execute a process (movement characteristic information generation process) for calculating various characteristics of the user's movement on the current day. Note that in this specification, the process realized by the arithmetic processing unit 22 executing the software program in the terminal device 20 may be described as being executed by the software program. The coupon request process and the movement characteristic information generation process will be described later.

[0014] The current day movement history information 253 is information that records the movement history of the terminal device 20 of the user up to the current time of the day. The past movement history information 254 is information that records the movement history of the terminal device 20 of the user on past days included in a predetermined period of the past. The predetermined period of the past is, for example, one month. These movement histories are, for example, time-series data that is recorded by sampling the position of the terminal device 20 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 5 minutes), identifying an area of ​​a predetermined resolution from the measured coordinates, and correlating the area ID indicating the area with the time when the position was measured. The past movement history information 254 may be compressed by run-length coding or the like and stored. Also, when the user is traveling by train, the recording of the position between stations may be omitted, and not recorded in the current day movement history information 253 and the past movement history information 254. In this case, in order to align the overall data length of the current day movement history information 253 and the past movement history information 254 with the overall data length of the current day movement history information 253 and the past movement history information 254 in the absence of omissions, the data for the omitted time may be filled with an exceptional value.

[0015] The coupon request area information 255 is information that records an area ID indicating the coupon request area of ​​the user. The coupon request area is an area where the user is expected to stay among areas (target areas) targeted for sales promotion measures in the sales promotion support system 1. The coupon request area is an area where an electronic coupon is requested from the sales promotion support device 10 when the terminal device 20 of the user enters the area. For example, the entire surrounding city centered on a certain station may be set as one target area. For example, a target area where the user transfers between public transportation means while traveling is registered as the coupon request area of ​​the user.

[0016] In this example, the target area where the user transfers between public transport modes is registered as the coupon request area, but other examples are also possible. For example, a target area where the user has stayed for a period of time exceeding a predetermined time may be registered as the coupon request area at the time the user leaves the target area.

[0017] Also, areas around facilities where many users gather, such as city halls, hospitals, department stores, etc., may be registered in advance as coupon request areas common to all users. In other words, the registered coupon request areas do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive, and for example, one coupon request area may contain another coupon request area.

[0018] The communication unit 21 is a communication device that enables communication via the communication network 31. The input unit 23 is an input device such as a touch panel or an operation button that is operated by the user to input information. The display unit 24 is a display device that displays images and text.

[0019] The sales promotion support device 10 is a physical server using a computer configured with hardware, or a virtual server using a computer configured virtually on the cloud, which transmits electronic coupons to the terminal device 20. The sales promotion support device 10 has a calculation processing unit 11, a memory unit 12, an input unit 13, a display unit 14, and a communication unit 15. The memory unit 12 stores a sales promotion support program 121, a congestion prediction program 122, an optimal policy planning program 123, a segment determination program 124, a coupon distribution program 125, optimization condition data 126, and a segment classification model 127. The sales promotion support device 10 also stores coupon usage record data 16, a user behavior model 18, and a movement history database 17.

[0020] The calculation processing unit 11 executes a sales promotion support program 121, a congestion prediction program 122, an optimal measure planning program 123, a segment determination program 124, and a coupon distribution program 125 by using the optimization condition data 126, the segment classification model 127, the coupon usage record data 16, the user behavior model 18, and the movement history database 17. Note that in this specification, the processing realized by the calculation processing unit 11 executing a software program in the sales promotion support device 10 may be described as being executed by that software program. The processing of the sales promotion support program 121, the congestion prediction program 122, the optimal measure planning program 123, the segment determination program 124, and the coupon distribution program 125 will be described later.

[0021] The optimization condition data 126 is data that specifies the conditions used to optimize the distribution plan, i.e., how many electronic coupons should be distributed to each segment into which users are classified. The classification of segments will be described in detail later. The optimization condition data 126 includes data that is registered in advance and data that is registered when planning a promotional measure for a certain target period. The data that is registered in advance includes information about the store, including the number of seats in the store and the number of customers when the promotional measure is not being implemented. The data that is registered when planning a promotional measure for a certain target period includes the target period and a promotional budget, which is the budget amount to be allocated for distributing electronic coupons during the target period.

[0022] The segment classification model 127 is a machine learning model (a model created in advance by machine learning) for classifying users into segments. The segment classification model 127 identifies a segment into which the user is classified based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user, performance information indicating the performance of the user's store visits, purchases, and coupon usage, reference time information indicating the time used as a reference for judgment, movement information regarding the movement on the day, and peculiar day level information indicating the degree of non-ordinaryness of the movement on the day. The attribute information of the user is, for example, age, sex, occupation, hobbies, and preferences.

[0023] The coupon usage record data 16 is data that records the usage record of electronic coupons by each user. For example, the coupon usage record data 16 records the usage of an electronic coupon, the congestion state (congestion rate) indicating the degree of congestion of public transportation when the electronic coupon was used, and the distribution record of the electronic coupon when the electronic coupon was used, in association with each other.

[0024] The movement history database 17 is a database that records the user's past movement history in the target area of ​​the sales promotion campaign, linked to the user's attributes and the day type. The day type is information indicating the type of the day, such as the day of the week or whether it is a weekday or a holiday.

[0025] The user behavior model 18 is a machine learning model (a model created in advance by machine learning) that is provided for each segment and calculates the store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will visit a store, based on the content of the benefits of the electronic coupon distributed in that segment.

[0026] The sales promotion support program 121 is a software program for causing the sales promotion support device 10 to execute the overall processing of sales promotion support (sales promotion support processing). The congestion prediction program 122 is a software program for causing the sales promotion support device 10 to execute processing for predicting the degree of congestion of public transportation that can be used by users for travel (congestion prediction processing).

[0027] The optimal policy planning program 123 is a software program for causing the sales promotion support device 10 to execute a process (distribution plan creation process) for creating a distribution plan with optimal cost-effectiveness. The distribution plan creation process is a process for creating a distribution plan so as to optimize cost-effectiveness using the user behavior model 18 under conditions defined in the optimization condition data 126. The segment determination program 124 is a software program for causing the sales promotion support device 10 to execute a process (segment determination process) for identifying a user segment. The segment determination process is a process for identifying a user segment using the segment classification model 127. The coupon distribution program 125 is a software program for causing the sales promotion support device 10 to execute a process (coupon distribution process) for distributing an electronic coupon to a user. The coupon distribution process is a process for receiving a coupon distribution request from the terminal device 20 and transmitting an electronic coupon.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the sales promotion support process.

[0029] First, in the sales promotion support device 10, the sales promotion support program 121 sets a target period and a budget amount to be used for electronic coupons to be distributed during the target period as optimization conditions (step S101). In addition, the optimization conditions include information about the store, including the number of seats in the store that are set in advance and the number of customers visiting the store during periods when promotional measures are not being implemented.

[0030] Next, the sales promotion support program 121 acquires demand prediction data from the travel demand prediction system 32 (step S102), and calls the congestion prediction program 122 to execute congestion prediction processing (step S103).

[0031] In the congestion prediction process, the congestion prediction program 122 performs a people flow simulation based on operation prediction data indicating the predicted operation of public transportation obtained from the operation prediction system 33 and demand prediction data obtained from the travel demand prediction system 32, and calculates the predicted degree of congestion at stations or each service of the public transportation. An example of the public transportation is a railway, in which case the congestion prediction program 122 calculates the degree of congestion at each railway station and each railway train. Note that although a railway is shown here as an example of public transportation, public transportation is not limited to a railway. Other examples of public transportation include route buses and LRT (Light Rail Transit). In the case of route buses, the congestion prediction program 122 calculates the degree of congestion at each stop and each bus service.

[0032] Next, the sales promotion support program 121 calls the optimal policy planning program 123 to execute a distribution plan creation process (step S104). In the distribution plan creation process, the optimal policy planning program 123 creates a distribution plan so as to optimize cost-effectiveness by using the user behavior model 18 under conditions defined in the optimization condition data 126.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a user behavior model. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the congestion rate and discount rate and the store visit probability in the user behavior model. As shown in FIG. 3, the user behavior model 18 is provided for each segment, and in the segment, the discount rate of the electronic coupon to be distributed and the congestion rate of public transportation are input, and the store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will come to a store, is output. As shown in FIG. 4, the relationship between the congestion rate of public transportation and the discount rate of the electronic coupon in the user behavior model and the store visit probability is such that the higher the discount rate, the higher the store visit probability, and the higher the congestion rate, the relatively higher the store visit probability.

[0034] The distribution plan defines how many electronic coupons to distribute to each segment. For example, electronic coupons offering various discount rates may be distributed to users randomly determined with a predetermined distribution probability. The cost is the budget amount for distributing the electronic coupons. The cost may also be calculated by multiplying the number of customers expected to visit the store because of the distributed electronic coupons, the average customer spending, and the discount rate of the distributed electronic coupons. The benefit is the number of customers visiting the store, the store's sales, or an increase in either of these.

[0035] For example, the problem may be formulated as a mixed integer programming problem, and a distribution plan that can expect the highest possible sales within a given promotion budget for the entire target period may be obtained. The objective function and constraint conditions are created taking into consideration the tolerance of the store's congestion level, the average stay time, the average customer price, and the like. The tolerance of the store's congestion level, the average stay time, and the average customer price may be set by an operator of the sales promotion support system 1 based on instructions from the store, etc. If the tolerance of the store's congestion level is set high, the waiting time until the customer is guided to a seat will be longer. For example, based on the congestion prediction results of public transportation for each day and each time period, a user behavior model 18 for a segment to be used may be selected, and the discount rate and the congestion rate may be input into the selected user behavior model 18 to calculate the probability of visiting the store, and the number of customers who will visit the store may be calculated from the probability of visiting the store. Alternatively, the sales amount may be calculated by multiplying the number of customers who will visit the store by the average customer price. In this case, multiple industries in which the number of customers who visit the store may affect each other, such as restaurants and cafes, may be optimized simultaneously to adjust the supply and demand balance.

[0036] After completing the processing for the target period up to this point, the sales promotion support program 121 performs processing for each day within the target period (current day processing).

[0037] In the same-day processing, first, the sales promotion support program 121 causes the coupon distribution program 125 to execute the coupon distribution process (step S105). As described above, the coupon distribution process is a process linked to the coupon request process in the terminal device 20.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the coupon request process and the coupon distribution process.

[0039] The coupon request process is started when the terminal device 20 is turned on or a dedicated application is started. First, the coupon request program 251 starts to register the movement history of the day (step S201). The registration of the movement history is executed periodically at a predetermined time interval.

[0040] Furthermore, the coupon request program 251 determines whether the terminal device 20 has entered a coupon request area based on the current location information of the terminal device 20 and the coupon request area information 255 (step S202). If the current location of the terminal device 20 moves from outside to inside the coupon request area registered in the coupon request area information 255, it may be determined that the terminal device 20 has entered the coupon request area. If the terminal device 20 has entered the coupon request area, the coupon request program 251 calls the movement characteristic information generation program 252 to execute movement characteristic information generation processing (step S203).

[0041] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the movement characteristic information generating process.

[0042] The movement characteristic information generation process is a process of calculating the characteristics of the user's movement on the day and generating movement characteristic information. The movement characteristic information on the day includes the movement information on the day (also called "first movement information" or "day movement information") and the specific day level information on the day.

[0043] First, the movement characteristics information generation program 252 executes a current day movement information estimation process (step S401).

[0044] In the current day movement information estimation process, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 refers to the past movement history information 254, and generates the current day movement information of the user indicating the movement of the day including the movement after the estimated current time based on the history of the movement up to the current time of the day indicated in the current day movement history information 253. A known technique such as the nearest neighbor method can be used to estimate the movement after the current time. Since the movement history is time series data, the calculation of the similarity between vectors when using the nearest neighbor method may use a calculation method such as elastic matching (DP (Dynamic Programming) matching, etc.) to absorb the fluctuation in the time direction. If there is not enough data in the current day movement history information 253 to match with the movement history included in the past movement history information 254, or if there is not data in the past movement history information 254 whose similarity with the current day movement history information 253 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the movement history of the time range included in the current day movement history information 253 may be directly copied to the current day movement information (first movement information), and an exception value indicating that estimation is impossible may be registered for the other times.

[0045] Next, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 executes a stop point sequence extraction process (step S402). The movement characteristic information generation program 252 extracts an area ID sequence indicating a stop point including a station where the user boards a train or gets off a train or transfers (a public transportation hub (transport hub)) and a location where the user is expected to stay for a predetermined time or more from the day movement history information 253 for the movement history up to the current time of the day. The stop point is expected to be a waypoint or a destination of the user's movement on the day, and the stop point sequence is expected to be a sequence of places that represent the characteristics of the user's behavior on the day. A plurality of places included in the same area may be combined into one stop point. Furthermore, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 performs a stop point sequence extraction process for each day included in the past movement history information 254, and extracts a similar area ID sequence.

[0046] Next, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 executes a point sequence similarity calculation process (step S403). In the point sequence similarity calculation process, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 treats each of the area ID sequences extracted in step S402 as a point sequence, and calculates the similarity of a certain point sequence with another point sequence. The similarity of a certain point sequence with another point sequence is the sum of the number of elements included in a certain point sequence that do not match the elements included in each of the other point sequences. Here, this sum is called the number of different elements. The number of different elements may be normalized according to the length of the point sequence.

[0047] Next, the movement characteristic information generation program 252 executes a peculiar day level calculation process (step S404). The "peculiar day level" is an index value that indicates the degree of "unusual day" for the moving person of interest, that is, the degree of non-ordinary. It is estimated that a day with a high peculiar day level is highly likely to stop by a store during the movement or purchase a product. For example, the peculiar day level may be set to (number of different elements corresponding to the movement history of the day) / (average number of different elements corresponding to the past movement history). If the movement on the day is different from that on the past days, the numerator of the above formula becomes large, and the peculiar day level becomes a high value. Also, if the variation in the way of movement in the past days is originally large, the denominator of the above formula becomes large, and the peculiar day level becomes a relatively low value. Note that here, an example of calculating the peculiar day level using the point sequence similarity is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. As another example, the peculiar day level may be calculated using the similarity of the movement history itself. By calculating using the similarity of the movement history itself, it is possible to reflect in the peculiar day level that work was finished earlier on the day than on the past days. In this way, the behavior reflected in the peculiar day level is not limited to going to a place on that day that is different from that of past days.

[0048] Returning to FIG. 5, in the terminal device 20, the coupon request program 251 transmits a coupon distribution request to the sales promotion support device 10 (step S204). The coupon distribution request is a message signal requesting distribution of an electronic coupon. The coupon distribution request includes the coupon request area in which the user is staying, the current time, the attributes of the user, the performance information of the user, the movement information of the user on that day (today's movement information), and the special day level of that day for the user. When the sales promotion support device 10 receives this coupon distribution request, the coupon distribution program 125 starts the coupon distribution process.

[0049] First, when the coupon distribution program 125 receives this coupon distribution request (step S301), it calls the segment determination program 124 to execute a segment determination process (step S302).

[0050] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the segment determination process.

[0051] First, the segment determination program 124 acquires information about the user from the coupon distribution request (step S501). The user information includes the coupon request area where the user is currently staying (area of ​​interest), the current time, the user's attributes, the user's performance information, the user's movement information for the day (today's movement information), and the special day level for the day for the user. If the coupon request area acquired from the coupon distribution request is included in another coupon request area, the segment determination program 124 may treat the coupon request area that includes a larger range as the area of ​​interest.

[0052] Next, the segment determination program 124 executes a movement pattern estimation process (step S502). The segment determination program 124 refers to the movement history database 17, estimates the movement of the user around the area of ​​interest for one day on the day based on the current time and the movement information for that day, and outputs the movement pattern (second movement information). A known technique such as the nearest neighbor method can be used to estimate the movement. When using the nearest neighbor method, the calculation method of the similarity between vectors may be, for example, an elastic matching (DP matching, etc.) calculation method so as to absorb fluctuations in the time direction. In order to estimate the movement around the area of ​​interest, the range from immediately before entering the area of ​​interest to immediately after leaving the area of ​​interest is the subject of analysis. For other locations in the movement history database 17, the area ID may be replaced with an exceptional value such as "outside the area" and processing may be performed. If there is not enough data in the movement information for that day to match with the history of the user's past movements registered in the movement history database 17, the movement around the area of ​​interest cannot be estimated, so an exceptional value such as "unestimateable" is output.

[0053] The current day movement information estimation process in the terminal device 20 matches the user's movement history for the current day with past movement history, while the movement pattern estimation process in step S502 in the sales promotion support device 10 estimates the user's movement pattern by using the movement history of other users. Therefore, even if the user has never visited the area of ​​interest in the past, the movement pattern of the user in the area of ​​interest can be estimated.

[0054] The range of matching in the movement history database 17 may or may not include the day type and / or the user attributes. If they are included, it leads to the estimation of behavior such as "if the user is in his / her 40s and went to a prefectural park on Saturday and is still in the area of ​​interest at around 8 p.m., he / she will likely stay overnight near the area of ​​interest today." In addition, a stop point sequence may be extracted using a method similar to that used in the movement characteristic information generation process in step S203, and a label such as "return from area ID XX" may be added to the stop point sequence and treated with meaning by considering the time used as the reference for judgment.

[0055] Next, the segment determination program 124 executes a segment classification process using the segment classification model 127 (step S503).

[0056] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a segment classification model.

[0057] A segment ID indicating the segment to which the user belongs is obtained by inputting attribute information, performance information, reference time information, movement pattern information, and peculiar day level information of the user into the segment classification model 127. In the current day processing, the current time is given as the reference time information, so the same user may be classified into different segments depending on the current time. The segment classification model 127 is created in advance by machine learning. Learning may be performed by a known machine learning framework using a known model such as a decision tree or a neural network, based on predetermined hyper parameters.

[0058] Returning to Fig. 5, when the segment determination process is completed, the coupon distribution program 125 executes a distribution coupon determination process (step S303). The distribution coupon determination process is a process for determining the content of the electronic coupon to be sent to the user. For example, if the distribution plan specifies that electronic coupons offering various discount rates are to be distributed to users with a predetermined distribution probability, the coupon distribution program 125 may determine to send to the user an electronic coupon with a discount rate determined by a random number based on the predetermined distribution probability.

[0059] At this time, the coupon distribution program 125 may also correct the discount rate and / or distribution probability of the electronic coupon depending on the number of users actually visiting the store or the degree of congestion in the store, and adjust the number of customers or the probability of customer visitation to be approximately the same as the value assumed when the distribution plan was created.

[0060] Next, the coupon distribution program 125 transmits the coupon distribution result to the terminal device 20 of the user (step S304). The coupon distribution result is information indicating the contents of the electronic coupon to be distributed to the user. Then, the coupon distribution program 125 determines whether the coupon distribution end time has been reached (step S305). The coupon distribution end time is the time when the target period ends. The coupon distribution program 125 repeats the processes of steps S301 to S305 described above until the coupon distribution end time is reached.

[0061] In the terminal device 20, when the coupon request program 251 receives the coupon distribution result from the sales promotion support device 10 (step S205), it displays the distributed electronic coupon on the display unit 24 (step S206). Note that if no electronic coupon is distributed, the coupon request program 251 does not display anything.

[0062] When the coupon request program 251 finishes the process of step S206, or when it is determined in step S202 that the user has not entered the coupon request area, it determines whether the terminal device 20 of the user has exited the transportation node area (step S207).

[0063] If the terminal device 20 has exited a transportation node area, the coupon request program 251 checks whether the transportation node area is registered as a coupon request area, and if not, registers it (step S208). The coupon request program 251 also transmits movement history information from entering the coupon request area to exiting it to the sales promotion support device 10. This information is registered in the movement history database 17 of the sales promotion support device 10. The coupon request program 251 may transmit movement history information for the day to the sales promotion support device 10, and the sales promotion support device 10 may extract the portion of the information received from entering the coupon request area to exiting it and register it in the movement history database 17.

[0064] In the terminal device 20, the coupon request program 251 repeats the above-mentioned processes from step S201 to S208 until an end instruction is received (step S209). The end instruction is, for example, the end of a dedicated application.

[0065] 2, the sales promotion support program 121 executes a coupon usage record data update process (step S106). The coupon usage record data update process is a process for recording information on the usage of electronic coupons performed on the day in the coupon usage record data 16. The sales promotion support program 121 records in coupon usage history data 16 the use of an electronic coupon, the congestion situation (crowding rate) indicating the degree of congestion of public transportation at the time the electronic coupon was used, and the distribution history of the electronic coupon at the time the electronic coupon was used, in correspondence with each other.

[0066] Next, the sales promotion support program 121 executes a user behavior model update process (step S107). In the user behavior model update process, the sales promotion support program 121 updates the user behavior model of each segment based on the distribution record of the electronic coupon, the coupon usage record data 16, and the number of users who actually visited the store.

[0067] Next, the sales promotion support program 121 determines whether or not the current day is the last day of the target period (step S108). If the current day is the last day, the sales promotion support program 121 ends the sales promotion support process. If the current day is not the last day, the sales promotion support program 121 updates the remaining number of days in the target period and the remaining sales promotion budget in the optimization conditions (step S109), and returns to step S102 to repeat the subsequent processes.

[0068] The above-described embodiment includes the following items. However, the items included in the embodiment are not limited to the items listed below.

[0069] (Item 1) A sales promotion support system that distributes electronic coupons that provide benefits that can be used in stores to users, comprising: a terminal device carried by the user and receiving the electronic coupon; a sales promotion support device that transmits the electronic coupon to the terminal device; having The terminal device accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days; The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records the movement history of the target user and other users on past days; The terminal device, Recording the movement history of the target user up to the current time on that day as target user's movement history information on that day; Using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time, and transmit the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device, determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information; transmitting the electronic coupon to the terminal device; Sales promotion support system.

[0070] According to this, the terminal device accumulates the movement history information of the target user carrying it for the past days, the sales promotion support device accumulates the movement history information of the target user and other users, the terminal device records the movement history information of the target user for the day, and generates first movement information regarding a series of movements including predicted movements from the current time onward using the movement history information of the target user for the day and the movement history information of the target user for the past days, and the sales promotion support device determines an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the movement history information of users including users other than the target user accumulated in the sales promotion support device. This makes it possible to distribute an electronic coupon to the target user in consideration of the movement states of the target user and other users even when the target user is visiting an area for the first time.

[0071] (Item 2) In the sales promotion support system according to item 1, The sales promotion support device includes: generating second movement information regarding a series of movements including predicted movements of the target user after the current time using the first movement information and the user movement history information; determining a segment to which the target user belongs based on attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and the second movement information; An electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user is determined based on the segment to which the target user belongs.

[0072] According to this, the sales promotion support device generates second movement information indicating the estimated movement of the target user using the history of other users, and uses the second movement information to determine the user's segment.Therefore, even if the area is one that the target user is visiting for the first time, it is possible to distribute to the target user's terminal device an electronic coupon with content that is effective for the segment that takes into account the target user's movement state predicted from the movement of other users (such as whether or not they have stopped at their destination).

[0073] (Item 3) In the sales promotion support system according to item 1, The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information in a target area of ​​a sales promotion campaign, The terminal device accumulates, based on a movement history of the target user, an area of ​​the target area in which the target user is expected to stay as a coupon request area; When the terminal device enters the coupon request area, the terminal device transmits a coupon distribution request including the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; When the sales promotion support device receives the coupon distribution request, the sales promotion support device transmits to the terminal device an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user, the electronic coupon being based on the first movement information and the user movement history information.

[0074] According to this, when the terminal device of the target user enters the sales promotion target area, a coupon distribution request is transmitted, and the sales promotion support device distributes the electronic coupon accordingly, so that the electronic coupon can be distributed at an effective timing.

[0075] (Item 4) In the sales promotion support system according to item 1, The sales promotion support device includes: a segment classification model that determines a segment to which a user belongs based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user, reference time information indicating a reference time for the determination, and movement information regarding the movement on that day; and a user behavior model that represents a store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will visit a store according to the content of the benefit of an electronic coupon to be distributed, for each of the segments, are stored in advance; Using the user behavior model, a distribution plan is created that defines the contents of benefits of electronic coupons to be distributed to each segment so as to maximize the number of users who visit the store within a predetermined sales promotion budget; Using the segment classification model, a segment to which the target user belongs is determined based on the attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and movement information of the target user; An electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user is determined based on the segment to which the target user belongs and the distribution plan.

[0076] (Item 5) In the sales promotion support system according to item 4, the user behavior model is a model that represents the store visit probability for each of the segments according to the content of the benefit of the electronic coupon and a congestion state indicating a degree of congestion of public transportation that the user can use for traveling; The sales promotion support device includes: Predicting the congestion situation; The user behavior model is used to generate the distribution plan based on the predicted congestion situation.

[0077] This makes it possible to create a distribution plan that reflects the behavioral trends of users in each segment depending on the congestion status of public transportation, making it possible to distribute electronic coupons effectively according to the traffic congestion status.

[0078] (Item 6) In the sales promotion support system according to item 1, The sales promotion support device, a segment classification model that determines a segment to which a user belongs based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user, reference time information indicating a reference time for the determination, and movement information regarding the movement on that day; and a user behavior model that represents a store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will visit a store according to the content of the benefit of an electronic coupon to be distributed, for each of the segments, are stored in advance; Using the user behavior model, a distribution plan is created that defines the contents of benefits of electronic coupons to be distributed to each segment so as to maximize the number of users who visit the store within a predetermined sales promotion budget; The terminal device accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days; The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records a history of the user's movements in a target area of ​​the sales promotion campaign on past days; The terminal device accumulates, based on a movement history of the target user, an area of ​​the target area in which the target user is expected to stay as a coupon request area; The terminal device, Record target user's current day movement history information that records the target user's movement history up to the current time on that day; When the target user enters the coupon request area, generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, and send the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device, generating second movement information regarding a series of predicted movements of the target user in the target area using the first movement information and the user movement history information; Using the segment classification model, determine a segment to which the target user belongs based on attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and the second movement information; determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the segment to which the target user belongs and the distribution plan; The electronic coupon is transmitted to the terminal device.

[0079] (Item 7) In the sales promotion support system according to item 6, The segment classification model is a model for determining a segment to which the user belongs based on a peculiar day level indicating a degree to which the user's movement on the day is different from the user's everyday movement, The terminal device calculates a specific day level of the movement of the target user on that day using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, and sends the specific day level to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device uses the segment classification model to determine the segment to which the target user belongs, based on the attributes of the target user, the current time, the second movement information, and the specific day level.

[0080] This makes it possible to distribute effective electronic coupons that take into account the target user's behavior on that day by classifying the segments based on the degree to which the movement differs from everyday movement, such as going to a place that is not visited on an everyday basis.

[0081] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these embodiments. Those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other forms without departing from the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1...Sales promotion support system, 10...Sales promotion support device, 11...Calculation processing unit, 12...Memory unit, 13...Input unit, 14...Display unit, 15...Communication unit, 16...Coupon usage record data, 17...Movement history database, 18...User behavior model, 20...Terminal device, 21...Communication unit, 22...Calculation processing unit, 23...Input unit, 24...Display unit, 25...Memory unit, 31...Communication network, 32...Movement demand prediction system, 33...Operation prediction system, 121...Sales promotion support program, 122...Congestion prediction program, 123...Optimal policy planning program, 124...Segment determination program, 125...Coupon distribution program, 126...Optimization condition data, 127...Segment classification model, 251...Coupon request program, 252...Movement characteristic information generation program, 253...Today's movement history information, 254...Past movement history information, 255...Coupon request area information

Claims

1. A sales promotion support system that distributes electronic coupons that provide benefits that can be used in stores to users, comprising: a terminal device carried by the user and receiving the electronic coupon; a sales promotion support device that transmits the electronic coupon to the terminal device; having The terminal device accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days; The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records the movement history of the target user and other users on past days; The terminal device, Recording the movement history of the target user up to the current time on that day as target user's movement history information on that day; Using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time, and transmit the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device, determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information; transmitting the electronic coupon to the terminal device; Sales promotion support system.

2. The sales promotion support device includes: Using the first movement information and the user movement history information, generate second movement information regarding a series of movements including predicted movements of the target user after the current time; determining a segment to which the target user belongs based on attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and the second movement information; determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the segment to which the target user belongs; The sales promotion support system according to claim 1.

3. The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information in a target area of ​​a sales promotion campaign, The terminal device accumulates, based on a movement history of the target user, an area of ​​the target area in which the target user is expected to stay as a coupon request area; When the terminal device enters the coupon request area, the terminal device transmits a coupon distribution request including the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; When the sales promotion support device receives the coupon distribution request, the sales promotion support device transmits to the terminal device an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information. The sales promotion support system according to claim 1.

4. The sales promotion support device includes: a segment classification model that determines a segment to which a user belongs based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user, reference time information indicating a reference time for the determination, and movement information regarding the movement on that day; and a user behavior model that represents a store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will visit a store according to the content of the benefit of an electronic coupon to be distributed, for each of the segments, are stored in advance; Using the user behavior model, a distribution plan is created that defines the contents of benefits of electronic coupons to be distributed to each segment so as to maximize the number of users who visit the store within a predetermined sales promotion budget; Using the segment classification model, a segment to which the target user belongs is determined based on the attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and movement information of the target user; determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the segment to which the target user belongs and the distribution plan; The sales promotion support system according to claim 1.

5. the user behavior model is a model that represents the store visit probability for each of the segments according to the content of the benefit of the electronic coupon and a congestion state indicating a degree of congestion of public transportation that the user can use for traveling; The sales promotion support device includes: Predicting the congestion situation; creating the distribution plan based on the predicted congestion state using the user behavior model; The sales promotion support system according to claim 4.

6. The sales promotion support device, a segment classification model that determines a segment to which a user belongs based on attribute information indicating the attributes of the user, reference time information indicating a reference time for the determination, and movement information regarding the movement on that day; and a user behavior model that represents a store visit probability, which is the probability that a user will visit a store according to the content of the benefit of an electronic coupon to be distributed, for each of the segments, are stored in advance; Using the user behavior model, a distribution plan is created that defines the contents of benefits of electronic coupons to be distributed to each segment so as to maximize the number of users who visit the store within a predetermined sales promotion budget; The terminal device accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days; The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records a history of the user's movements in a target area of ​​the sales promotion campaign on past days; The terminal device accumulates, based on a movement history of the target user, an area of ​​the target area in which the target user is expected to stay as a coupon request area; The terminal device, Record target user's current day movement history information that records the target user's movement history up to the current time on that day; When the target user enters the coupon request area, generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, and send the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device, generating second movement information regarding a series of predicted movements of the target user in the target area using the first movement information and the user movement history information; Using the segment classification model, determine a segment to which the target user belongs based on attributes of the target user, a current time serving as a determination criterion, and the second movement information; determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the segment to which the target user belongs and the distribution plan; transmitting the electronic coupon to the terminal device; The sales promotion support system according to claim 1.

7. The segment classification model is a model for determining a segment to which the user belongs based on a peculiar day level indicating a degree to which the user's movement on the day is different from the user's everyday movement, The terminal device calculates a specific day level of the movement of the target user on that day using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, and sends the specific day level to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device uses the segment classification model to determine a segment to which the target user belongs based on the attributes of the target user, the current time, the second movement information, and the specific day level. The sales promotion support system according to claim 6.

8. A sales promotion support method for distributing electronic coupons to users by using a terminal device that is carried by a user and receives electronic coupons that provide benefits that can be used in a store, and a sales promotion support device that transmits the electronic coupons to the terminal device, comprising: The terminal device accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of a target user carrying the terminal device on past days; The sales promotion support device accumulates user movement history information that records the movement history of the target user and other users on past days; The terminal device, Recording the movement history of the target user up to the current time on that day as target user's movement history information on that day; Using the target user's current day movement history information and the target user's past day movement history information, generate first movement information regarding a series of movements including a predicted movement of the target user after the current time, and transmit the first movement information to the sales promotion support device; The sales promotion support device, determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information; transmitting the electronic coupon to the terminal device; Sales promotion support methods.

9. A sales promotion support program to be executed by a computer serving as the sales promotion support device in a sales promotion support system that distributes electronic coupons to users using a terminal device that is carried by a user and receives electronic coupons that provide benefits that can be used at a store, and a sales promotion support device that transmits the electronic coupons to the terminal device, the sales promotion support program comprising: Accumulating user movement history information that records the movement history of the target user and other users on past days; a terminal device of the target user accumulates target user past day movement history information that records a movement history of the target user carrying the terminal device on past days, records the movement history of the target user up to the current time on that day as target user current day movement history information, and receives from the terminal device first movement information regarding a series of movements including predicted movements of the target user after the current time, the first movement information being generated using the target user current day movement history information and the target user past day movement history information; determining an electronic coupon to be distributed to the target user based on the first movement information and the user movement history information; transmitting the electronic coupon to the terminal device; A sales promotion support program to help make this happen.

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