Product Purchasing System

Abstract

To provide a merchandise purchase system that can be easily used by users.SOLUTION: A merchandise purchase system 1 includes a terminal device 10 and a site management server 30 that operates a shopping site. The terminal device 10 reads URL for accessing the site management server 30 and medium identification information from a recording medium 40 such as an IC card, accesses the site management server 30 according to the URL, and transmits the medium identification information to the site management server 30. The site management server 30 determines display contents of the shopping site based on the medium identification information received from the terminal device 10, and provides the shopping site of the determined display contents to the terminal device 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a product purchasing system, a site management server, and a program that enable users to purchase products via a network such as the Internet. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Product purchasing services that allow users to purchase products from virtual stores on the Internet by operating terminal devices such as PCs (Personal Computers) and smartphones are becoming popular (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Yahoo! Shopping homepage (http: / / shopping.yahoo.co.jp / ) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To use such a product purchasing service, a user must operate a terminal device to enter a uniform resource locator (URL) to access a specific site and then enter various pieces of information on the site screen, which is cumbersome. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and aims to provide a product purchasing system, a site management server, and a program that allow users to use product purchasing services more easily than ever before. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, a product purchasing system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: A product purchasing system including a terminal device and a site management server that manages a shopping site, The terminal device a reading unit that reads access information for accessing the site administration server and medium identification information from a recording medium; a transmission unit that accesses the site operation server in accordance with the access information and transmits the medium identification information to the site operation server; The site operation server a display content determination unit that determines display content of the shopping site based on the medium identification information received from the terminal device; and a site providing unit that provides the shopping site having the display content determined by the display content determining unit to the terminal device.

[0006] The site operation server may further include a delivery unit that executes a process for delivering the product instructed to be purchased from the terminal device to a delivery destination determined based on the received medium identification information.

[0007] The delivery unit may perform processing to deliver the product so that it arrives at the facility from which the return flight of the user who is the owner of the recording medium departs a predetermined time before the scheduled departure time, or so that the product arrives at the facility where the user is staying or at a designated location on the final day of the trip.

[0008] The site operation server may further include a payment unit that executes processing to pay for the product instructed to be purchased from the terminal device using a payment method determined based on the received medium identification information.

[0009] When paying for the product with electronic money, the settlement unit may determine the type of electronic money and cause the terminal device to access a settlement site corresponding to the determined type.

[0010] a plurality of access information items are stored in the recording medium; The transmission unit may access the site operation server in accordance with access information designated by a user from among the plurality of pieces of access information.

[0011] further comprising a relay server; The transmission unit may access the site operation server via the relay server.

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, a website administration server according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: A site management server that manages a shopping site, a display content determination unit that determines display content of the shopping site based on medium identification information received from the terminal device and read by the terminal device from the recording medium; and a site providing unit that provides the shopping site having the display content determined by the display content determining unit to the terminal device.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: The computer that runs the shopping site, a display content determination unit that determines display content of the shopping site based on medium identification information received from the terminal device and read by the terminal device from the recording medium; a site providing unit that provides the shopping site having the display content determined by the display content determining unit to the terminal device; Function as. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, a user can easily use a product purchasing service by simply having a terminal device read the recording medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a product purchasing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information stored on a recording medium. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a site management server. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a member DB. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart of a product purchase process executed in the product purchase system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product search screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product purchase screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a product purchasing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored on a recording medium according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0017] (Embodiment 1) A product purchasing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the product purchasing system 1 includes a terminal device 10 and a site operating server 30 connected to the terminal device 10 via the Internet 20. The product purchasing system 1 is a system that provides a product purchasing service that enables a user to purchase products from the terminal device 10 via the Internet 20.

[0018] Also connected to the Internet 20 are a store system 50, a payment system 60, and a delivery system 70. The store system 50 is a management system for the store that sells the products handled by the product purchasing system 1. The payment system 60 is a system for making payments for products purchased through the product purchasing system 1, and is, for example, a management system for a credit card company or bank. The delivery system 70 is a system for delivering the products purchased through the product purchasing system 1, and is, for example, a management system for a post office or delivery company. Note that while FIG. 1 shows one store system 50, one payment system 60, and one delivery system 70, in reality, there are multiple store systems 50, one payment system 60, and one delivery system 70.

[0019] The terminal device 10 is a terminal operated by a user to purchase a product, and is, for example, a smartphone or a PC (Personal Computer). As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 10 includes an input unit 11, a display unit 12, a reading unit 13, a communication unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a control unit 16.

[0020] The input unit 11 is, for example, a touch panel, and is used to input various information to the terminal device 10.

[0021] The display unit 12 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and outputs various information under the control of the control unit 16.

[0022] The reading unit 13 includes an antenna, a modulation circuit, a demodulation circuit, a high-frequency amplifier circuit, etc., and performs contactless communication with a recording medium 40 placed in close proximity. The recording medium 40 is an IC card that is distributed to users (members) who can use the product purchasing system. As shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium 40 stores medium identification information (ID) that uniquely identifies the recording medium 40 and a URL that serves as access information for accessing the site operating server 30 via the Internet 20. For example, the reading unit 13 reads the medium recording information and the URL from the recording medium 40 through contactless communication.

[0023] The communication unit 14 includes a communication interface and performs data communication with the site operating server 30 via the Internet 20 under the control of the control unit 16. For example, the communication unit 14 functions as a transmission unit that connects to the site operating server 30 using a URL read from the recording medium 40 and transmits the URL read from the recording medium 40 to the site operating server 30.

[0024] The storage unit 15 is, for example, a flash memory, and stores various data necessary for the operation of the terminal device 10. For example, the storage unit 15 stores an application program 151 for launching an application for using a product purchasing service.

[0025] The control unit 16 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (none of which are shown), and the CPU controls the entire terminal device 10 by using the RAM as a working memory and appropriately executing various programs stored in the ROM and the memory unit 15.

[0026] Next, we will explain the site operation server 30. The site operation server 30 is a web server that manages and operates the shopping site. As shown in FIG. 4, the site operation server 30 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33.

[0027] The communication unit 31 includes a communication interface such as a network interface card (NIC). The communication unit 31 communicates with the terminal device 10 via the Internet 20 under the control of the control unit 33. For example, the communication unit 31 receives medium identification information from the terminal device 10.

[0028] The storage unit 32 is configured with a hard disk drive or the like, and stores programs and various data required for the operation of the site operation server 30. For example, the storage unit 32 includes a member DB (database) 321, a product DB 322, and an order DB 323.

[0029] Member DB 321 stores information about each member who can use the shopping site. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, member DB 321 stores, for each user who is a member, information indicating medium identification information of the recording medium 40 distributed to the user, the user's name, address, preferred language, payment method, interests, return flight information, etc. Note that the user's name, address, preferred language, payment method, interests, return flight information, etc. may also be stored on recording medium 40.

[0030] The payment method is information indicating how payment for the purchased product will be made, and includes types such as "credit card payment," "direct debit," "cash on delivery," and "electronic money." If the payment method is "credit card payment," the credit card number is also registered, and if it is "direct debit," the account number is also registered. If the payment method is "electronic money," the recording medium 40 itself may have an electronic money function, in which case a predetermined amount is charged to the recording medium 40.

[0031] The interests are information indicating the fields in which the user is interested, and are registered by the user. Alternatively, the control unit 33 of the site operating server 30 may determine the fields in which the user is interested based on the purchase history, and automatically set the interests in the member DB 321.

[0032] The return flight information is information about a return flight for an overseas trip planned by the user, and includes information indicating the name of the departure airport, departure time, name of the arrival airport, arrival time, etc.

[0033] 4, the product DB 322 stores data indicating the product name, product image, inventory quantity, price, shipping fee, etc. of each product handled by the product purchasing system. The order DB 323 also stores order data indicating the details of product orders received from the terminal device 10.

[0034] The control unit 33 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (none of which are shown), and the CPU uses the RAM as a work memory and appropriately executes various programs stored in the ROM and storage unit 32, thereby controlling each unit of the site operating server 30. The control unit 33 also includes, as functional components, a display content determination unit 331, a site provision unit 332, a delivery unit 333, and a settlement unit 334.

[0035] The display content determination unit 331 determines the display content of the shopping site based on the medium identification information received from the terminal device 10.

[0036] The site providing unit 332 provides the terminal device 10 with the shopping site having the display content determined by the display content determining unit 331. Specifically, in response to a request from the terminal device 10, the site providing unit 332 transmits screen data of the screen of the shopping site having the determined display content to the terminal device 10.

[0037] The delivery unit 333 executes a process for delivering the product purchased from the shopping site to the delivery destination specified based on the received medium identification information. Specifically, the delivery unit 333 transmits a notification to the delivery system 70 via the Internet 20 instructing the delivery of the product to the delivery destination.

[0038] The payment unit 334 executes a process for paying for the product purchased on the shopping site using the payment method identified from the received medium identification information. Specifically, the payment unit 334 transmits a notice to the payment system 60 via the Internet 20 instructing that the payment be made using the identified payment method.

[0039] Next, the operation of the product purchasing system 1 will be described using the flowchart in Figure 6. Note that the user has already registered as a member through a prior member registration process, and various information such as address, name, interests, and payment method is registered in the member DB 321 or recording medium 40, and the recording medium 40 is distributed to the user by mail or other means. Furthermore, if the user is planning to travel abroad, the user notifies the site operating server 30 of the information about their return flight via the terminal device 10 or telephone, and the notified return flight information is registered in the member DB 321.

[0040] The user performs a predetermined operation on the input unit 11 of the terminal device 10, and in response to the operation, the control unit 16 executes the application program 151 stored in the storage unit 15 to start an app for purchasing products (step S101). When the app starts, a message such as "Please hold your membership card over the display unit 12 of the terminal device 10 is displayed.

[0041] Following this message, the user brings their own recording medium 40 close to the terminal device 10. The reading unit 13 reads the URL and medium identification information from the recording medium 40 by contactless communication (S102). If information such as the user's name and address is stored on the recording medium 40, the reading unit 13 also reads this information.

[0042] Next, the control unit 16 of the terminal device 10 accesses the site administration server 30 using the read URL, and transmits the read medium identification information to the site administration server 30 (step S103).

[0043] Upon receiving the medium identification information, the control unit 33 of the site administration server 30 determines the display content of the shopping site to be displayed on the terminal device 10 based on the medium identification information (step S104).

[0044] Specifically, the control unit 33 identifies a record in the member DB 321 that has the received medium identification information. Then, the control unit 33 determines the display content of the shopping site based on the user's language and interests contained in the identified record. For example, if the user's language is "English," the control unit 33 determines that the display and audio of the shopping site should be in English. Furthermore, if the user's interest is "games," the control unit 33 determines that information about best-selling games should be displayed in the recommended products section of the shopping site.

[0045] Next, the control unit 33 transmits screen data of the shopping site for which the display content has been determined to the terminal device 10 (step S105). As a result, the display unit 12 of the terminal device 10 displays a screen of the shopping site (product search screen) as shown in Fig. 7 (step S106). This product search screen reflects the display content determined in step S104.

[0046] Next, the user operates the input unit 11 of the terminal device 10 to search for a product in the search area E1 of the product search screen, or select a product displayed in the recommended product column E2, thereby displaying a product purchase screen such as that shown in FIG. 8. The user operates the input unit 11 to select a delivery destination in the delivery destination designation area E3 of the product purchase screen, and then clicks the "Purchase" button E4. In response to this operation, the control unit 16 transmits a product purchase request to the site operating server 30 (step S107). The product purchase request also includes the selection made in the delivery destination designation area E3.

[0047] Upon receiving the product purchase request, the control unit 33 of the site operating server 30 executes a delivery process to deliver the purchased product to the specified delivery address (step S108).

[0048] For example, when "Delivery to home" is selected in the delivery destination designation area E3 on the product purchase screen, the control unit 33 identifies the record in the member DB 321 that has the medium identification information received from the terminal device 10, and acquires the user's address from that record. The control unit 33 then transmits a delivery request to the delivery system 70 instructing the delivery system 70 to deliver the purchased product to the acquired address.

[0049] Furthermore, for example, when "Return flight delivery" is selected in the delivery destination designation area E3 on the product purchase screen, the control unit 33 identifies the record in the member DB 321 that has the medium identification information received from the terminal device 10, and acquires return flight information from that record. Then, the control unit 33 refers to the acquired return flight information and transmits to the delivery system 70 a delivery request instructing the purchased product to arrive at the airport a predetermined time (e.g., 3 hours) before the scheduled departure time of the return flight.

[0050] Also, for example, if "direct input" is selected from the delivery destination designation area E3 on the product purchase screen, the control unit 33 may send a delivery request to the delivery system 70 instructing it to deliver the purchased product to the address entered on the product purchase screen.

[0051] When the process for delivering the product is completed, the control unit 33 of the site operating server 30 executes a payment process for paying for the purchased product (step S109).

[0052] Specifically, the control unit 33 identifies the record in the member DB 321 that has the received medium identification information. Then, the control unit 33 may perform the payment process using the payment method included in the identified record.

[0053] For example, if the payment method is credit card payment, the control unit 33 sends a payment request to the payment system 60 of the corresponding credit card company. This payment request includes information necessary for payment, such as the user's credit card number. Credit card payment may be performed without using this system. However, in this case, the credit card number must be registered with the shopping site in advance, or the user must operate the input unit 11 to input the credit card number on the shopping site screen. This raises the risk that the registered or input credit card number may be leaked to a third party, or that the site operator may misuse the registered or input credit card number to purchase or reserve other products. Furthermore, while some major sites have a system for registering credit card numbers, if the registered credit card number is leaked to the outside, there is a risk that a third party may easily use the leaked credit card number to make purchases or receive services. Therefore, if an electronic money function is given to this recording medium 40 (IC card) (or if a recording medium 40 that is originally given the electronic money function is used for payment), payment cannot be made unless the recording medium 40 is present, so it becomes difficult to make fraudulent use by simply knowing a credit number, etc., and payment can be made more safely. The electronic money payment system (program) may be included in the same application as the application for accessing the shopping site (application program 151), or a separate application dedicated to electronic money payments may be used. In the latter case, credit information and the like are not disclosed to the shopping site, thereby further reducing the possibility of fraudulent use. Furthermore, when paying for products purchased on a shopping site with electronic money, the payment unit 334 of the site operating server 30 may determine the type of electronic money and automatically cause the terminal device 10 to access an appropriate payment site (payment system 60). For example, when payment is made using Suica (registered trademark), the payment unit 334 may send the URL of a payment site for Suica (registered trademark) to the terminal device 10 and cause the terminal device 10 to access this payment site. Alternatively, the payment unit 334 may first cause the terminal device 10 to access a payment agent site or the like, and then cause the terminal device 10 to access an appropriate payment site via the payment agent site or the like.

[0054] When the payment process is completed, the processing of the product purchasing system 1 ends.

[0055] Thus, according to this embodiment, a user who wants to use a shopping site can have the shopping site screen displayed on the display unit 12 simply by holding their recording medium 40 over the terminal device 10. Therefore, there is no need to input a URL or the like, and the user can easily use the product purchasing service.

[0056] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the shopping site that is displayed when the recording medium 40 is held up displays content that reflects the user's attributes (language, interests, etc.), thereby improving user convenience.

[0057] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, products purchased by a user from a shopping site are automatically delivered to an address, etc. linked to the medium identification information, so the user does not need to enter an address, etc. to which the products will be delivered, further reducing the operational burden on the user.

[0058] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by simply registering the return flight information in advance, products can be delivered to the airport from which the return flight departs in time for the return date, allowing the user to go sightseeing without bringing along souvenirs, etc., purchased during their overseas trip.

[0059] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, payment for products purchased by a user from a shopping site is automatically carried out using the payment method linked to the medium identification information, thereby further reducing the operational burden on the user and further improving the security of payments.

[0060] (Embodiment 2) Next, a product purchasing system 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the product purchasing system 2 is shown in Fig. 9. Compared to the product purchasing system 1 according to the first embodiment (Fig. 1), the second embodiment is equipped with multiple site operating servers 30 (30A, 30B, 30C, etc.), each of which operates a different shopping site. In addition, a relay server 80 is provided between the Internet 20 and each site operating server 30 (30A, 30B, 30C, etc.).

[0061] In the second embodiment, a dedicated recording medium 40 is prepared for each shopping site. As shown in Fig. 10, the recording medium 40 stores site identification information for identifying the corresponding shopping site (site operating server 30). The URL stored in the recording medium 40 is a fixed URL for accessing the relay server 80. Therefore, when the terminal device 10 reads the URL stored in the recording medium 40 that is brought close during the product purchase process, the terminal device 10 always accesses the relay server 80 and transmits the medium identification information and site identification information read from the recording medium 40 to the relay server 80.

[0062] The relay server 80 identifies the site operating server 30 of the shopping site that the user wants to use from the received site identification information, and transmits the received medium identification information to the identified site operating server 30.

[0063] The site operating server 30 determines the display content of the site based on the received medium identification information, as in embodiment 1. Then, the site operating server 30 transmits the screen data of the shopping site for which the display content has been determined to the terminal device 10 via the relay server 80, and the screen of the shopping site is displayed on the display unit 12 of the terminal device 10.

[0064] Thus, according to this embodiment, even if there are multiple shopping sites available, by providing a relay server 80, the screen of the desired shopping site can be displayed on the terminal device 10 simply by holding the recording medium 40 of the shopping site used over the terminal device 10.

[0065] (Variation) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0066] For example, a plurality of URLs may be stored in recording medium 40. Then, after the recording medium 40 is brought close to terminal device 10 and the plurality of URLs are read, the user may select one of the plurality of URLs, and the medium identification information may be transmitted to site operating server 30 of the selected URL, and the same process may be repeated thereafter. In this way, the user may first select the desired service, which further improves user convenience.

[0067] In addition, in the above embodiments, an example was shown in which products were delivered to the airport in time for the departure time of the return flight for an overseas trip. However, in the case of a cruise trip, the products may be delivered to the port from which the return ship departs. For example, information about the Shinkansen or other train used on the return journey for a domestic trip may be registered in the member database 321 in the same way as information about the return flight, and, similar to an overseas trip, the purchased products may be delivered to the departure station a predetermined time before the return Shinkansen departs. Alternatively, the products may be delivered to the user's home in time for the user's return, to the port of return in time for the user's return, or to the airport in time for the user's return. Similarly, the products may be delivered to the facility where the user will be staying (such as a hotel or inn) or a designated location on the last day of the trip. In this case, information about the facility where the user will be staying on the last day may be registered in advance in the site operating server 30. Alternatively, information may be acquired from a system provided by a travel agency (e.g., a hotel reservation system) or from the user's travel itinerary listed on their own social networking service (SNS).

[0068] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the site administration server 30 is accessed using a URL stored in the recording medium 40, but the site administration server 30 may also be accessed using an email address or other information.

[0069] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the terminal device 10 reads information from the recording medium 40 through contactless communication, but other methods may be used to read information from the recording medium 40. For example, a URL and medium identification information may be stored in a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on the recording medium 40. The terminal device 10 may then acquire the URL and medium identification information by reading the two-dimensional code on the recording medium 40 with a built-in camera or the like. Note that this QR code (registered trademark) may include information indicating the user's interests, information about the return flight, etc.

[0070] For example, by applying an operating program that defines the operation of the site management server 30 of this embodiment to an existing personal computer, information terminal device, etc., it is possible to make the personal computer, etc. function as the site management server 30 of the present invention.

[0071] Furthermore, the method of distribution of such a program is arbitrary; for example, it may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an MO (Magneto Optical Disk), or a memory card and distributed, or it may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1, 2 Product purchasing system, 10 Terminal device, 11 Input unit, 12 Display unit, 13 Reading unit, 14 Communication unit, 15 Memory unit, 151 Application program, 16 Control unit, 17, 20 Internet, 30 Site management server, 31 Communication unit, 32 Memory unit, 321 Member DB, 322 Product DB, 323 Order DB, 33 Control unit, 331 Display content determination unit, 332 Site provision unit, 333 Delivery unit, 334 Settlement unit, 40 Recording medium, 50 Store system, 60 Settlement system, 70 Delivery system, 80 Relay server

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores identification information for each user and return flight information in association with each other; a delivery unit that executes a process for delivering the product instructed to be purchased from the terminal device to a delivery destination determined based on the identification information, When return flight delivery is selected from the multiple delivery destinations displayed as the delivery destination, the delivery unit executes the delivery process based on return flight information pre-linked to the identification information so that the product arrives at a specified location from which the return flight departs at a specified time in time to arrive in time for the departure of the return flight.

2. In the product purchasing system described in claim 1, A product purchasing system in which the aforementioned "return flight" is replaced with "return flight."

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