Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus for, a method of, and a program for selecting competitors having more sales as compared with a restaurant and providing information used for improvement of a management state (menu) of a restaurant based on POS data of the competitors.SOLUTION: A method according to the present invention includes storing a plurality of pieces of restaurant information including category information of menus of foods and drinks, receiving POS data including a unit price of each menu and the number of orders from a plurality of restaurants, providing, based on the restaurant information and the POS data, a menu having an overlapping rate of a predetermined threshold value or more in a category as compared with menus of a first restaurant, and selecting, as a second restaurant, another restaurant having a larger sales amount per unit area than the first restaurant. The method also includes extracting, among the menus of the second restaurant, a category or a price range having a larger order rate as compared with those of the first restaurant, and transmitting the extracted category or price range to the POS system of the first restaurant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device capable of communicating with a POS (point of sales) system of a restaurant, and an information processing method and program for the information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, restaurants have introduced POS systems to improve the efficiency of their business management. The POS system collects information on when and what products were sold, and the restaurant's business management is based on this information.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a POS server acquires POS data for each restaurant from a restaurant server, extracts and compares POS data for the restaurant and other restaurants with similar conditions based on the data, and transmits the comparison results to the restaurant server. In this system, the restaurant can understand the status of its own restaurant compared to other restaurants based on the transmitted comparison results, and manage its business. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-137657 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, similar other restaurants are extracted based on attributes such as area, business type, and location conditions, but the other restaurants may not actually be competitors of the restaurant itself even if they are in similar areas, business types, and location conditions. In such cases, comparing POS data with the other extracted restaurants will not contribute to improving the management of the restaurant.

[0006] In addition, this technology compares sales per seat with other restaurants, but this comparison alone does not allow restaurants to determine the factors that are causing the difference in sales, and they are unable to take measures to improve the situation.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that are capable of accurately selecting a restaurant's top-selling competitor and providing information that contributes to improving the restaurant's business situation (menu) based on the POS data of the competitor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage means, a communication means, and a control means. The storage means stores identification information of a plurality of restaurants and restaurant information including at least category information related to the categories of food and drink menus that the plurality of restaurants can provide in association with each other. The communication means receives POS data including the unit price and the number of orders for each menu from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants. The control means selects, as a second restaurant, another restaurant among the plurality of restaurants that offers a menu with an overlap rate of at least the category that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value with respect to the menu of a first restaurant and has a sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant. The control means also extracts, from the menu of the second restaurant, a category or price range that has a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant. Furthermore, the control means controls the communication means to transmit information relating to the extracted category or price range to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment.

[0009] In this way, the information processing device can select a rival restaurant that has a higher sales than a certain restaurant based on overlapping menus and sales per unit area, and provide the restaurant with information on the category / price range of the menu with a high order rate based on the POS data of the rival restaurant, thereby encouraging the restaurant to improve its menu and contributing to improving its business condition. In other words, the information processing device can make the first restaurant understand that although the categories of menus provided by the first and second restaurants in a competitive relationship overlap overall, the second restaurant has a higher sales due to the difference in the lineup of items for each category or price range, and can thereby make the first restaurant take improvement measures such as increasing the lineup of items for a specific category or price range. Here, the information processing device may store the area information of each of the restaurants as part of the restaurant information, or may acquire the area information from an external source during the selection process of the second restaurant.

[0010] The control means may extract a category or price range having an order rate below a predetermined threshold from the menu of the second restaurant based on the restaurant information and POS data of the second restaurant. Furthermore, the control means may control the communication means to transmit information on the extracted category or price range having an order rate below a threshold to a POS system of the first restaurant.

[0011] This allows the information processing device to allow the first eating establishment to know the menu categories / price ranges that should be reduced in the first eating establishment, instead of increasing the menu items of a category / price range that has a high order rate in the second eating establishment.

[0012] The control means may compare a menu composition ratio indicating the number of menu items in each category or price range relative to the total number of menu items with the order rate for each category or price range, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant. Furthermore, when there is a category or price range in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition ratio is equal to or greater than a first threshold, the control means may control the communication means to transmit information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first restaurant.

[0013] This allows the information processing device to allow the first restaurant to understand menu items in categories / price ranges that are frequently ordered but have a small selection at the first restaurant, and to use this information, along with information from the second restaurant, to improve its menu.

[0014] The control means may control the communication means to transmit information regarding a category or price range in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value, to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment.

[0015] This allows the information processing device to allow the first restaurant to identify menu items in a category / price range that have a wide selection but low number of orders, and to use this information together with information from the second restaurant and information on menu items in a category / price range above the first threshold to improve its menu.

[0016] The control means may extract, for each time period of a day, categories or price ranges from the menu of the second restaurant that have a higher order rate than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first restaurant, based on POS data for each of multiple time periods of a day for the first restaurant and the second restaurant.

[0017] In this way, the information processing device can compare the order rates for each category or price range between the first and second restaurants for multiple time periods in a day, thereby making it possible to propose detailed improvements to the menu of the first restaurant for each time period. A time period is, for example, a one-hour or two-hour period in a day, or a time period for each business division such as lunch hours and dinner hours.

[0018] The control means may control the communication means to send information suggesting business during a specified time period when it is determined, based on restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant, that the first restaurant has no sales and the second restaurant has sales that are equal to or greater than a specified percentage of daily sales during a specified time period among the multiple time periods.

[0019] As a result, if a first restaurant is not open during a specified time period (e.g., lunch or breakfast hours) and a second restaurant is open during that specified time period and has certain sales, the information processing device can determine that there is an advantage for the first restaurant to also be open during that specified time period, and can thereby increase the first restaurant's sales by suggesting that it open during that time period.

[0020] An information processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: storing identification information of a plurality of restaurants in association with restaurant information including at least category information relating to the categories of food and drink menus that the plurality of restaurants can provide; receiving POS data including the unit price and the number of orders for each menu item from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants; Based on the stored restaurant information and the received POS data, select, as a second restaurant, another restaurant among the plurality of restaurants that provides a menu with an overlap rate of at least the category between the menu of the first restaurant and the menu of the first restaurant that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and has sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant; Based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant, extracting a category or price range from the menu of the second restaurant that has a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant; and transmitting the extracted category or price range information to a POS system of the first dining establishment.

[0021] A program according to still another aspect of the present invention includes: storing identification information of a plurality of restaurants in association with restaurant information including at least category information related to menu categories of food and drink that can be provided by the plurality of restaurants; receiving POS data including at least a unit price and an order quantity for each menu item from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants; selecting, as a second restaurant, another restaurant among the plurality of restaurants, which offers a menu having an overlap rate with the menu of the first restaurant at least for the category equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and has a sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant, based on the stored restaurant information and the received POS data; Extracting a category or price range from the menu of the second restaurant that has a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant based on restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant; and transmitting the extracted information about the category or price range to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment. Effect of the Invention

[0022] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately select a rival store with the highest sales of a restaurant and provide information that contributes to improving the business situation (menu) of the restaurant based on the POS data of the rival store. However, this effect does not limit the present invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a restaurant information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database included in a restaurant information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of providing POS data analysis information of other stores by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of other stores that is generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart showing a process of providing POS data analysis information of a restaurant by a server for providing restaurant information according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of a store of its own that is generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of a store of its own that is generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] [System configuration] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a POS data analysis information providing system according to this embodiment.

[0026] As shown in the figure, this system includes a restaurant information providing server 100 on the Internet 50, POS systems 200 in a plurality of restaurants, and a plurality of user terminals 300.

[0027] The restaurant information providing server 100 is a web server that operates a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that lists information about restaurants. The restaurant information providing server 100 is connected to each POS system 200 of a plurality of restaurants and a plurality of user terminals 300 via the Internet 50.

[0028] The restaurant information providing server 100 transmits a Web page listing restaurant information that matches the search conditions to the user terminal 300 that has accessed the portal site and input the search conditions.

[0029] In addition, the restaurant information server 100 can receive POS data from each restaurant's POS system 200 periodically (for example, every specified period such as half a day, a day, a week, or a month) including menu information (menu name, category, etc.) about the menus offered at each restaurant, as well as unit price for each menu item, number served (number of orders), sales amount, etc.

[0030] Furthermore, the restaurant information providing server 100 can provide analysis data created based on the POS data received from each POS system 200 to each POS system 200 via a management screen for each POS system 200, for example.

[0031] POS system 200 (200A, 200B, . . . ) is provided in each restaurant, and is composed of, for example, a POS register terminal, an order receiving device, a restaurant server, and the like.

[0032] Information about orders from restaurant customers is received by an order receiving device, such as a tablet PC (Personal Computer), carried by a restaurant employee (or placed on the customer's table). The order data includes, for example, menu (dish) identification information, the price, the number of servings, the order date and time, profit margin, etc., and this data is transmitted to the restaurant server as POS data and stored.

[0033] A POS register terminal is a computer that executes accounting processing for food ordered by customers at a restaurant. The POS register terminal reads identification information such as a barcode printed on a receipt given to a customer after the customer orders food, queries the restaurant server for that identification information, obtains information on the corresponding product and price, and calculates the total price.

[0034] The restaurant server stores information (identification number, menu name, price, category, etc.) about dishes (menus) that can be served at the restaurant. In addition, the restaurant server marks POS data for which transaction processing has been completed with a "transaction completed" flag, for example, based on an inquiry about the above identification information from a POS register terminal.

[0035] The POS register terminal, the order receiving device, and the restaurant server that constitute the POS system 200 do not necessarily have to be physically separate devices, and for example, a single tablet PC may have all of these functions.

[0036] As described above, the POS system 200 (for example, a restaurant server) periodically transmits POS data for each menu item to the restaurant information providing server 100 based on the stored POS data of the transaction.

[0037] An administrator of each POS system 200 (eg, a restaurant server) can view the analysis data created by the restaurant information providing server 100 by accessing a management screen provided by the restaurant information providing server 100 using, for example, a browser.

[0038] The user terminals 300 (300A, 300B, 300C...) are terminals used by users (user A, user B, user C...), and are, for example, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, desktop PCs, and the like.

[0039] The user terminal 300 accesses the restaurant information providing site provided by the restaurant information providing server 100, receives the above-mentioned Web page, and displays it on the screen using a browser.

[0040] A user of user terminal 300 searches for restaurants within the portal site via a screen displayed by the browser, and browses information about a desired restaurant. Information about each restaurant displayed on the web page includes the restaurant's name, an ID (store ID) that identifies the restaurant, information about the restaurant's business type and service category, information introducing the restaurant (information showing the restaurant's characteristics, such as a promotional copy for the restaurant, and information about events held by the restaurant), information about the area in which the restaurant is located, the restaurant's address, telephone number, information about the menu offered by the restaurant, the floor area of ​​the restaurant, etc. Here, the floor area may be the area of ​​the entire restaurant, or may be the area of ​​only the seating area.

[0041] [Hardware configuration of restaurant information server] 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in the figure, the restaurant information providing server 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface 15, and a bus 14 connecting these to each other.

[0042] The CPU 11 appropriately accesses the RAM 13 etc. as necessary, and performs various arithmetic processing while controlling all the blocks of the restaurant information providing server 100. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory in which the OS, programs, various parameters, and other firmware to be executed by the CPU 11 are fixedly stored. The RAM 13 is used as a working area for the CPU 11, and temporarily stores the OS, various applications being executed, and various data being processed.

[0043] The input / output interface 15 is connected to a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like.

[0044] The display unit 16 is a display device using, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic ElectroLuminescence Display (OLED), a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), or the like.

[0045] The operation reception unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or other input device. When the operation reception unit 17 is a touch panel, the touch panel can be integrated with the display unit 16.

[0046] The storage unit 18 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (SSD; Solid State Drive), or other solid-state memory. The storage unit 18 stores the OS, various applications, and various data.

[0047] As will be described later, particularly in this embodiment, storage unit 18 has a restaurant information database, a POS information database, an order rate information database, and a menu composition rate information database.

[0048] The communication unit 19 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication such as wireless LAN, and is responsible for communication processing with the POS system 200 of each of the restaurants.

[0049] Although not shown in the figure, at least one of the POS register terminal, order reception device, and restaurant server that make up the POS system 200 has a memory unit such as a HDD that stores the POS data, and a communication unit that transmits the POS data to the restaurant information providing server 100.

[0050] [Database configuration of restaurant information server] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0051] As shown in the figure, the restaurant information providing server 100 has a restaurant information database 31, a POS information database 32, and an order rate information database 33 in the storage unit .

[0052] Restaurant information database 31 stores, for each restaurant, information such as the restaurant name, an ID (store ID) that identifies the restaurant, as well as the restaurant's business type / service genre information, business hours, text introducing the restaurant (information indicating the characteristics of the restaurant, such as a promotional statement for the restaurant, and information on events held by the restaurant), area information in which the restaurant is located, the restaurant's address, telephone number, menu information (including menu ID) offered by the restaurant, store floor area, website URL, etc. Here, information regarding store floor area does not necessarily need to be included in restaurant information database 31 in advance, and may be obtained from outside and used when a second restaurant selection process described later is executed.

[0053] The area information is, for example, in prefecture units, but information may also be stored in narrower units such as cities, wards, towns, villages, etc. The genre information may include main genres such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, French food, and grilled meat, as well as more detailed sub-genres such as yakitori and tempura in Japanese food, and pasta and pizza in Italian food.

[0054] The menu information is information in which all menus that each restaurant can provide are stored so that they can be classified by category and price range, and is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically (e.g., daily or weekly) and stored. The categories are, for example, salads, stir-fried dishes, meat dishes, fish dishes, flour dishes, fried dishes, rice dishes, bread, noodles, soup / stew dishes, skewers, hotpots, desserts, etc. In addition, a plurality of price ranges are set, for example, from 100 yen to less than 150 yen, and from 780 yen to less than 980 yen. The range of one price range may be larger as the price becomes higher. Note that information on the price range does not necessarily have to be included in the menu information, and may be appropriately set based on the unit price of each menu item extracted from the POS data described below during the calculation process of the order rate described later, and each menu item may be classified into each price range based on the price range.

[0055] POS information database 32 stores POS data for each menu item that is periodically received from POS system 200 of each of the restaurants. The POS data is composed of, for example, a menu ID, its unit price, the number of servings (or sales amount), and the time of order. Restaurant information providing server 100 can extract the menu name corresponding to each number of servings, as well as its category and price range, by referring to the menu information in restaurant information database 31 using the menu ID as a key.

[0056] Order rate information database 33 stores the order rate for each menu category or price range at each restaurant, calculated based on the POS data stored in POS information database 32. Here, the order rate refers to the ratio of the number of orders for a menu item belonging to each category or price range to the total number of orders for each restaurant in a given period. The calculation process of the order rate is executed, for example, periodically or when the POS data is received from POS system 200 of each restaurant.

[0057] The menu composition ratio information database 34 stores the composition ratio of the number of menu items in each category or price range to the total number of menu items of each restaurant, calculated based on the menu information (category information and price range information) of each restaurant stored in the restaurant information database 31. The calculation process of this menu composition ratio is executed, for example, periodically or when the latest menu information is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant.

[0058] These databases are used by mutual reference as necessary in the POS data analysis information providing process by the restaurant information providing server 100, which will be described later.

[0059] [Operation of restaurant information server] Next, an operation of the restaurant information providing server 100 configured as above will be described. The operation is executed by the cooperation of hardware such as the CPU 11 and the communication unit 19 of the restaurant information providing server 100 and software stored in the storage unit 18. For convenience, in the following description, the CPU 11 is the subject of operation.

[0060] (Analysis of POS data from other stores) First, a description will be given of the process of providing analysis information of POS data of other stores by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is executed, for example, by comparing with the POS data of the own store, but may be executed independently of the analysis of the POS data of the own store.

[0061] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for providing POS data analysis information of other restaurants by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is executed, for example, when the management screen is accessed from the POS system of a restaurant (first restaurant) that is the destination of the analysis information.

[0062] As shown in the figure, first, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether or not POS data has been received from each POS system 200 (or whether or not the data is stored in the POS information database 32) at predetermined intervals, such as every day or every week (step 41).

[0063] If it is determined that the POS data has been received (Yes), the CPU 11 acquires menu information (category information) of each restaurant corresponding to the POS data from the restaurant information database 31 (step 42).

[0064] Next, the CPU 11 extracts restaurants that offer menu items that have an overlap rate of a predetermined threshold or more with respect to the menu category between the menu item of the first restaurant and the menu item of the first restaurant (step 43).

[0065] Specifically, the CPU 11 uses the category of the menu of the first restaurant as a key to search for restaurants that offer menus in a category that matches the category, and extracts restaurants where the proportion of matching categories is equal to or greater than a threshold proportion (e.g., 70%) of the total number of categories on the menu of the first restaurant.

[0066] Next, CPU 11 compares the sales per unit area between the first restaurant and the extracted restaurant based on the received POS data and the floor area information of each restaurant included in the menu information (step 44). Here, the sales may be the total sales in each restaurant during a predetermined period, or the average customer price or sales per hour during a predetermined period. Furthermore, the sales is not limited to the sales amount, and any numerical value that can evaluate the sales of the restaurant may be used.

[0067] Next, CPU 11 selects, as the second eating establishment, the eating establishment that has a larger sales per unit area than the first eating establishment as a result of the above comparison (step 45).

[0068] Next, CPU 11 analyzes the POS data of the first and second restaurants (or refers to the order rate information database 33) and compares the order rates of each restaurant for each menu category or price range (step 46). If multiple second restaurants are selected, CPU 11 calculates the average value of the order rates of the multiple second restaurants for each category or price range, and compares the average value with the order rate of the first restaurant for each category or price range. Alternatively, one restaurant with the highest sales per unit area among the multiple second restaurants may be extracted as the second restaurant. In this embodiment, a case where one second restaurant is extracted will be described.

[0069] Next, based on the result of the comparison, CPU 11 extracts, from the menu of the second eating establishment, categories or price ranges having higher order rates than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first eating establishment (step 47).

[0070] Next, CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges having order rates less than a predetermined threshold (for example, 5%) from the menu of the second eating and drinking establishment (step 48).

[0071] Then, the CPU 11 transmits the extracted information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment via the management screen, and causes it to be displayed (step 49).

[0072] 5 shows an example of a management screen that displays information about the categories or price ranges extracted by comparing the order rates of the first and second restaurants. This figure shows an example in which information about categories is displayed from among the information about categories and price ranges.

[0073] In addition, the management screen can display screens other than the screen shown in FIG. 1, which will be described later, by the user of POS system 200 of the first eating and drinking establishment selecting from the menu screen, for example.

[0074] As shown in the figure, the management screen displays, for example, the order rate for each category of the first restaurant on the left side, and the order rate for each category of the second restaurant on the right side. As described above, when multiple second restaurants are selected, the average order rate for each category of the multiple second restaurants is displayed.

[0075] In the example shown in the figure, for the category "fish dishes," the order rate at the first restaurant is 24%, while the order rate at the second restaurant is 39%, more than 1.5 times that of the first restaurant, and the area displaying the category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a solid-line rectangle.

[0076] In addition to the "fish dishes" category, there are other categories in which the order rate is higher at the second restaurant than at the first restaurant, but in the example shown in the figure, the category with the largest difference in order rate is highlighted.

[0077] Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted solid line, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, encouraging the customer to increase the selection of fish dishes. The content of the advice information 51 is not limited to this.

[0078] In addition, in the same figure, the order rate for "rice dishes" at the second restaurant is less than 5%, which is the threshold value mentioned above, so the area displaying that category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle.

[0079] In addition to the "rice dishes" category, there are other categories whose order rates at the second restaurant are below the threshold. However, the order rates for these categories at the first restaurant are 0%, so there is little point in highlighting them. Therefore, for example, categories whose order rates at the second restaurant are below the threshold and whose order rates at the first restaurant are higher than those at the second restaurant are highlighted.

[0080] Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted dashed line, advice information 51 is also displayed, encouraging the customer to reduce the number of rice dishes on the menu, for example.

[0081] The management screen showing information related to the price range is also created in the same manner as the example shown in FIG. 5, and is displayed in POS system 200 of the first eating and drinking establishment.

[0082] By providing such information, the manager or person in charge of the first restaurant can understand which menu items in a category or price range are ordered more frequently at a rival restaurant that has higher sales than the restaurant itself, and can increase sales by increasing the number of menu items in that category or price range.In addition, instead of increasing the number of menu items, the manager or person in charge can reduce menu items in categories or price ranges that are ordered less frequently at the rival restaurant and are unlikely to generate sales.

[0083] (Analysis of your store's POS data) Next, a process of providing analytical information on the POS data of one's own store (the above-mentioned first eating and drinking establishment), which is provided separately from information obtained by comparing the POS data with that of another store (the above-mentioned second eating and drinking establishment), will be described.

[0084] 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for providing POS data analysis information of a restaurant of its own by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is also executed when the management screen is accessed from the POS system of a first restaurant.

[0085] As shown in the figure, first, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 acquires the menu composition ratio for each category and price range of the first restaurant from the menu composition ratio information database 34, and also acquires the order rate for each category and price range of the first restaurant from the order rate information database 33 (step 61). If the menu composition ratio and order rate are not stored in the databases, the CPU 11 may calculate them at that time based on the menu information and POS data.

[0086] Next, the CPU 11 compares the acquired menu configuration rate with the order rate (step 62).

[0087] Next, the CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold value (for example, 1.5) (step 63).

[0088] Furthermore, the CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu configuration rate is less than a second threshold (eg, 0.7) that is smaller than the first threshold (step 64).

[0089] Then, the CPU 11 transmits the extracted information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment via the management screen, and causes it to be displayed (step 65).

[0090] 7 and 8 show examples of a management screen that displays information about categories and price ranges where the ratio of order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and categories and price ranges where the ratio is less than a second threshold. Fig. 7 is a screen that displays information about categories, and Fig. 8 is a screen that displays information about price ranges.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 7, on the management screen, for example, the menu composition rate for each category of the first eating and drinking establishment is displayed on the left side, and for example, the order rate for each category of the first eating and drinking establishment is displayed on the right side.

[0092] In the example shown in the figure, the menu composition rate of the "fried food" category is 8.3%, while its order rate is 17.3%. In other words, since the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (1.5), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate of the category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a solid-line rectangle.

[0093] Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted solid line, advice information 51 is also displayed indicating that the selection of fried foods is limited, for example.

[0094] Similarly, the menu composition rate of the "fish dishes" category is 13.9%, while the order rate is 24.2%, and since this rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold, the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate of the category is also highlighted by being surrounded by a solid-line rectangle. In addition, advice information 51 indicating, for example, that the selection of fish dishes is limited is also displayed.

[0095] On the other hand, the menu composition rate of the "dessert" category is 25.0%, while its order rate is 8.5%, and since the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than the second threshold value (0.7), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate of the category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle. In addition, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, indicating that the dessert selection is too large.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 8, the management screen displays, for example, a menu composition rate for each price range of the first eating and drinking establishment on the left side, and, for example, an order rate for each price range of the first eating and drinking establishment on the right side.

[0097] In the example shown in the figure, the menu composition rate for the price range of "270 yen or more but less than 340 yen" is 5.3%, while the order rate is 28.0%. In other words, since the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (1.5), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that price range is highlighted, for example, surrounded by a solid line rectangle. Furthermore, in addition to the highlighting with solid lines, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, indicating that the selection of menu items priced at 270 yen or more but less than 340 yen is limited.

[0098] On the other hand, the menu composition rate for the price range of "480 yen or more but less than 580 yen" is 23.8%, while the order rate for that range is 15.8%. In other words, since the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than the second threshold value (0.7), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that price range is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle. Furthermore, in addition to the dashed highlighting, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, indicating that there are too many menu items priced at 480 yen or more but less than 580 yen.

[0099] In addition to the price range of "480 yen or more but less than 580 yen," there are other price ranges in which the ratio of order rate to menu composition rate is below the second threshold; however, in the example shown in the figure, only the price range with the highest menu composition rate is highlighted.

[0100] By displaying a management screen like those in both figures, the manager or person in charge of the first restaurant can identify menu items in categories / price ranges that have a high number of orders but a small selection, or that have a large selection but a low number of orders.Then, together with the information obtained from a comparison of order rates with the second restaurant shown in Figure 5 above, the manager or person in charge of the first restaurant can take measures to improve the menu items.

[0101] [summary] As described above, the restaurant information providing server 100 can select a competing restaurant with higher sales than a certain restaurant based on overlapping menus and sales per unit area, and provide the restaurant with information on the menu categories / price ranges with high order rates based on the POS data of the competing restaurant, thereby encouraging the restaurant to improve its menu and contributing to improved business conditions. In other words, the restaurant information providing server 100 can make the first restaurant understand that although the menu categories offered by a first restaurant and a second restaurant in a competitive relationship overlap overall, the second restaurant has a higher sales due to a difference in the lineup of items for each category or price range, and can thereby make the first restaurant take improvement measures such as increasing the lineup of items for a specific category or price range.

[0102] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0103] In the above embodiment, the overlap rate of the menu between the first restaurant and other restaurants is calculated based on the menu category, but instead of or in addition to this, the overlap rate may be calculated based on whether the menu names overlap. Furthermore, in addition, the overlap rate of the price range and whether the location area is the same or nearby may also be taken into consideration when extracting competing restaurants.

[0104] In the above embodiment, restaurants were extracted based on the overlap rate of menu categories between the first restaurant and the new restaurant, and then the sales per unit area of ​​the extracted restaurant and the first restaurant were compared, but the order of this process may be reversed.

[0105] Furthermore, the process of extracting restaurants based on the overlap rate may be executed before receiving POS data from each POS system.

[0106] In the above embodiment, the number of orders for a menu item in each category or price range relative to the total number of orders in a predetermined period was defined as the order rate, and information on the order rate was provided. However, instead of this, the ratio of the number of groups (groups or individuals who visited the restaurant together) that ordered a menu item in a predetermined category or price range to the total number of groups (group order rate) of customers who visited the restaurant in a predetermined period (one day, one week, one month, etc.) may be calculated, and information on the ratio (comparison of group order rates between a first restaurant and a second restaurant, or comparison of menu composition rate and group order rate in the first restaurant) may be provided.

[0107] In the above embodiment, the server that operates the restaurant information site and the server that receives and manages the POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant are the same server (restaurant information providing server 100). However, a POS server that manages the POS data of each restaurant may be provided separately from the server that provides the restaurant information, and data regarding the order rate may be generated by exchanging POS data between the POS server and the restaurant information providing server and provided to each POS system 200.

[0108] In the above embodiment, the comparison of order rates by category or price range between the first and second restaurants is performed using data for a period corresponding to the timing of POS data reception, such as one day or one week. However, restaurant information providing server 100 may perform the comparison for multiple time slots in a day. Here, a time slot refers to, for example, a one-hour or two-hour period in a day, or a time slot for each business period, such as lunch hours and dinner hours.

[0109] In other words, based on the POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant for multiple time periods in a day, the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract, for each time period, from the menu of the second restaurant, categories or price ranges that have a higher order rate than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first restaurant.

[0110] This allows the restaurant information providing server 100 to propose detailed improvements to the menu of the first restaurant for each time period. Specifically, when it is found that the order rate of a certain category or price range of a menu is high in the early hours of the evening business hours of the second restaurant (e.g., 17:00-18:00) compared to the first restaurant, but the order rate of a different category or price range of a menu is high in the later hours (e.g., 19:00-20:00), such information is provided to the first restaurant, so that the staff of the first restaurant can recommend different menus to customers for each time period, or the order receiving device can display different menus for each time period as recommended menus.

[0111] In addition, if it is found that the categories with high order rates at the second restaurant are different during lunch and dinner hours, this information can be provided to the first restaurant, allowing the first restaurant to take measures such as arranging the ingredients used in the menu served during dinner hours into a menu of a different category during lunch hours than during dinner hours.

[0112] In addition, if the second restaurant has good sales during a time period when the first restaurant is closed, the restaurant information providing server 100 may suggest to the first restaurant that it open during that time period.

[0113] That is, when it is determined based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first and second restaurants that the first restaurant has no sales during a certain time period among the plurality of time periods and the second restaurant has sales that are equal to or greater than a certain percentage of daily sales, the restaurant information providing server 100 may control the communication means to transmit information proposing business during the certain time period. Note that the absence of sales at the first restaurant during a certain time period may be determined from the POS data or from business hours information included in the restaurant information database 31. The certain percentage may be, for example, 20%, 30%, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0114] As a result, when a first restaurant is not open during a specified time period (e.g., lunch or breakfast hours) and a second restaurant is open during that specified time period and has certain sales, the restaurant information providing server 100 can determine that there is an advantage for the first restaurant to also be open during that specified time period, and can thereby increase the first restaurant's sales by suggesting that it open during that time period.

[0115] In addition, by providing information regarding the category or price range that is most frequently ordered at the second restaurant during the proposed time period, the first restaurant can also obtain information to decide the menu category or price range that it will offer during the new business hours. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 11...CPU 18...Storage section 19…Communications Department 31...Restaurant information database 32…POS information database 33…Order rate information database 34…Menu composition ratio information database 51...Advice information 100: Restaurant information server 200…POS system 300...User terminal

Claims

1. A control means for extracting menu information relating to a menu item having a predetermined order rate among the menu items of the first eating and drinking establishment from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment, and generating transmission information including the extracted menu information to be transmitted to the second eating and drinking establishment. Equipped with The control means selects, from among the plurality of restaurants, another restaurant having a higher sales volume than the second restaurant during a predetermined period of time, as the first restaurant, based on POS data of the plurality of restaurants. Information processing device.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control means extracting information about a menu item having an order rate less than a predetermined threshold from among menu items of the first eating and drinking establishment based on the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment; Extracting information about the menu items having an order rate less than the extracted threshold value. Information processing device.

3. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control means comparing a menu composition rate, which indicates the number of menu items of each name, category, or price range relative to the total number of menu items, with the order rate of each name, category, or price range based on the POS data of the second eating and drinking establishment; When there is a name, category or price range in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, information on the category or price range is generated as the transmission information. Information processing device.

4. 4. An information processing device according to claim 1, The control means extracts, for each time period in a day, information on a menu item of the first eating establishment that has a higher order rate than a corresponding menu item of the second eating establishment, from among the menu items of the first eating establishment, based on POS data of the first eating establishment and the second eating establishment for each of a plurality of time periods in a day. Information processing device.

5. extracting menu information relating to a menu item having a predetermined order rate from among menu items of the first eating and drinking establishment, from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment; generating transmission information to be transmitted to a second restaurant, the transmission information including the extracted menu information; Based on the POS data of the plurality of restaurants, another restaurant having a higher sales volume than the second restaurant during a predetermined period is selected as the first restaurant from among the plurality of restaurants. A computer implemented information processing method.

6. In the information processing device, extracting, from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment, menu information relating to a menu item having a predetermined order rate among menu items of the first eating and drinking establishment; generating transmission information to be transmitted to a second restaurant, the transmission information including the extracted menu information; selecting, from among the plurality of eating and drinking establishments, another eating and drinking establishment having a unit sales volume greater than the sales volume of the second eating and drinking establishment during a predetermined period, as the first eating and drinking establishment, based on POS data of the plurality of eating and drinking establishments; A program that executes the following.

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