Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus configured to present a privilege to be offered for the purchase of a promoted commodity, to a potential user who is likely to purchase the commodity.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 1 includes: a promotion item receiving unit 12 which receives a promotion item identifier for identifying a commodity promoted in a real store; a processing target receiving unit 13 which receives a processing target identifier for identifying a commodity to be subjected to predetermined processing that a user requests, from the user in the real store; and an output unit 15 which outputs, if a promotion item identifier identifying a commodity associated by commodity related information with a commodity identified by a processing target identifier has accepted when the processing target identifier is accepted, privilege information for the purchase of the promoted commodity identified by the promotion item identifier, to the user who requests the predetermined processing on the commodity identified by the processing target identifier.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device or the like that outputs special benefit information for promoting sales of a product. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, physical stores have promoted product sales by offering discounts and other special offers. Such special offers are usually offered uniformly to all consumers. For example, in order to avoid waste, uniform discounts are offered to promote sales of products such as prepared foods, fresh fish, and vegetables that are approaching their expiration date.

[0003] As a related technique, sales promotion information is displayed in multiple stages to increase customers' purchasing motivation (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-088166 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventional sales promotional benefits such as discounts have been uniformly offered to consumers for whom the benefit is effective and those for whom it is not, resulting in an overall inefficient sales promotion.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an information processing device, etc. that can present benefits that will be granted for purchasing a promoted product to specific users who are likely to purchase the promoted product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing device capable of accessing product-related information associating multiple products, and includes: a promotional target reception unit that receives a promotional target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a promotion in a specified physical store; a processing target reception unit that receives, from a user in the specified physical store, a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a specified processing requested by the user; and an output unit that, when the processing target identifier is received by the processing target reception unit, if a promotional target identifier that identifies a product that is associated by product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is received by the promotional target reception unit, outputs bonus information indicating a bonus that will be granted for the purchase of the promotional product identified by the promotional target identifier to the user requesting the specified processing for the product identified by the processing target identifier. With this configuration, a user who requests a predetermined process for a certain product can be presented with a bonus for purchasing a promotional product related to the product. Therefore, the bonus can be presented to a targeted user, resulting in more efficient sales promotion. For example, when a user requests a process to obtain information about another product associated with the promotional product or a process related to the purchase, the user can be encouraged to purchase the promotional product by being presented with a bonus for purchasing the promotional product.

[0008] In the information processing device according to an aspect of the present invention, the predetermined process may be a process of acquiring information about a product. With this configuration, it is possible to present a user who is thought to be interested in a certain product with a special benefit for purchasing a promotional product related to that product.

[0009] In addition, in the information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the predetermined process may be a process related to the purchase of a product. With this configuration, for example, a user who purchases a certain product can be presented with a special benefit for purchasing a promotional product related to the purchased product.

[0010] In addition, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the product is a food product, and the product-related information includes a plurality of recipe information including a plurality of foods, and a plurality of correspondence information that associates a product identifier with a food identifier that identifies the food corresponding to the product identified by the product identifier, and the multiple products corresponding to the multiple foods included in one recipe information may be associated products. With this configuration, a user can be encouraged to purchase the promoted product in order to prepare a dish of recipe information that includes food corresponding to the product identified by the processing target identifier and food corresponding to the promoted product.

[0011] In addition, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the output unit may output recipe information used to associate the product identified by the processing target identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit with the product being promoted, together with the bonus information to be output. With this configuration, it is possible to suggest to the user to prepare the dish from the output recipe information, thereby encouraging the purchase of promotional products that correspond to the food items included in the recipe information.

[0012] In the information processing device according to an aspect of the present invention, the benefit may be at least one of a discount, points, and a gift. With this configuration, it is possible to promote sales of the promotional products by, for example, offering discounts, points, or prizes.

[0013] In addition, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the information processing device is capable of accessing a plurality of user-related information that associates a user identifier with user information including a rank corresponding to the purchase amount of the user identified by the user identifier, the processing target receiving unit receives a processing target identifier that identifies the product that is the subject of a specified processing and a user identifier that identifies the user requesting the specified processing, and the output unit may change the bonus information to be output according to the rank included in the user information corresponding to the user identifier received by the processing target receiving unit. With this configuration, the user can be encouraged to purchase more products in order to achieve a higher rank according to the purchase amount.

[0014] In addition, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing method processed using a promotional object receiving unit, a processing object receiving unit, and an output unit, and includes the following steps: the promotional object receiving unit receives a promotional object identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a promotional object product in a specified physical store; the processing object receiving unit receives, from a user in the specified physical store, a processing object identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the subject of a specified processing requested by the user; and the output unit outputs, when the processing object identifier is received, bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted for the purchase of the promotional object product identified by the promotional object identifier to the user requesting the specified processing for the product identified by the processing object identifier, if a promotional object identifier that identifies a product associated with the product identified by the processing object identifier by product-related information that associates multiple products is received. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to an information processing device or the like according to one aspect of the present invention, sales of a promoted product can be promoted by presenting benefits for purchasing the promoted product to specific users who are likely to purchase the promoted product. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information according to the embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence information in the embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of food-related information in the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of user correspondence information in the embodiment; [Figure 6] A flowchart showing the operation of the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer system according to the embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a computer system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An information processing device and an information processing method according to the present invention will be described below using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps with the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repeated description may be omitted. The information processing device according to this embodiment promotes sales of a promotional product by presenting a special offer for the purchase of the promotional product to a user who has requested a predetermined process for the product, if the promotional product is related to the product.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an information processing device 1, an information processing terminal 2, and multiple information processing terminals 3, which are communicatively connected via a wired or wireless communication line 500. The communication line 500 may be, for example, the Internet, an intranet, or a public telephone network. The information processing terminal 2 is used by a store staff member, and the information processing terminal 3 is used by a consumer who shops at the store. While FIG. 1 shows only one information processing terminal 2, the information processing system 100 may include two or more information processing terminals 2. The information processing terminals 2 and 3 may be, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. The information processing terminal 2 may be, for example, a portable terminal or a non-portable terminal. In the latter case, the information processing terminal 2 may be, for example, a desktop PC. On the other hand, it is preferable that the information processing terminal 3 be a portable terminal. As will be described later, the information processing terminal 3 may be, for example, a smart cart used in a physical store.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment includes a storage unit 11, a promotional target receiving unit 12, a processing target receiving unit 13, a processing unit 14, and an output unit 15. While FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which the information processing device 1 is a server device in a server-client system, the information processing device 1 may also be a device directly operated by at least one of a user and a store staff member. When the information processing device 1 is directly operated by a store staff member, the promotional target receiving unit 12 of the information processing device 1 may, for example, receive a promotional target identifier, which is a product identifier, input from an input device or the like. In this case, the information processing system 100 may not include, for example, an information processing terminal 2. When the information processing device 1 is directly operated by a user, the processing target receiving unit 13 of the information processing device 1 may, for example, receive a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier, input from an input device or the like, and the output unit 15 may perform output, such as printing. In this case, the information processing system 100 may not include, for example, an information processing terminal 3. The promotional object receiving unit 12 and the processing object receiving unit 13 will be described later. The information processing device 1 may be, for example, a general-purpose device such as a computer, or may be a dedicated device for outputting benefit information.

[0020] The storage unit 11 stores product-related information, which is information that associates multiple products. The products may be, for example, products that are commercially available at retail stores or the like. The products may be, for example, food products, or non-food products such as daily necessities, clothing, or home appliances. In this embodiment, the case where the products are food products, i.e., the case where multiple food products are associated by the product-related information, will be mainly described. The multiple products associated by this product-related information are preferably, for example, products that are expected to be purchased together.

[0021] For example, the product-related information may include a plurality of pieces of food-related information associating a plurality of foods, and a plurality of pieces of correspondence information associating a product identifier with a food identifier that identifies a food corresponding to the product identified by the product identifier. For example, the food-related information may be information associating a plurality of food identifiers that identify foods. The food identifier may be, for example, the name of the food, or other information that identifies the food. When the product-related information includes food-related information and correspondence information, a plurality of products corresponding to a plurality of foods associated by one piece of food-related information may be associated products. In other words, a plurality of products associated by the food-related information and the correspondence information may be a plurality of products associated by the product-related information.

[0022] The food-related information may be, for example, recipe information. Recipe information is information about a recipe for a dish, and may include, for example, the name of the dish, multiple food items that are ingredients used in the dish, the amount of each ingredient, and a method for preparing the dish. More strictly, the food items included in the recipe information may be food identifiers such as food names. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information. As shown in FIG. 2, the recipe information may include the name of the dish, "pork cutlet curry," food identifiers that are the names of the ingredients, such as "instant curry" and "pork cutlet," the amounts of the ingredients, and a method for preparing the dish. In the recipe information shown in FIG. 2, the foods "instant curry," "pork cutlet," and "rice" are associated with each other. In this way, for example, a food identified by the food identifier "instant curry" may also be called the food "instant curry." The same applies to other information.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence information. In FIG. 3, the correspondence information is information that associates a product identifier with a food identifier that identifies a food corresponding to the product identified by the product identifier. The food corresponding to a product may be a food that indicates the type of product. As an example, the first correspondence information shown in FIG. 3 associates the product identifier "ABC retort curry" with the food identifier "retort curry." This correspondence information indicates that the product "ABC retort curry" is a product that belongs to the food "retort curry." As shown in FIG. 3, the correspondence information may be information that includes, for example, the product identifier and food identifier to be associated.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows a case where the product identifier is a product name, but the product identifier is not particularly limited as long as it can identify a product. The product identifier may be an identifier assigned to a product, such as a JAN (Japanese Article Number) code or an EAN (European Article Number) code. The JAN code may be, for example, a source marking JAN. Furthermore, when an in-store marking JAN is assigned to a product, the product may not be uniquely identified by the in-store marking alone. Therefore, the product identifier may include the in-store marking JAN and a vendor identifier that identifies the vendor that assigned the in-store marking JAN. The vendor identifier may be, for example, an identifier of a retail company or an identifier of a store that sells the product. In this embodiment, the case where the product identifier is a product name will be mainly described.

[0025] When product-related information includes recipe information and corresponding information, multiple products corresponding to multiple foods included in one recipe information may be related products. As an example, when the recipe information is as shown in Figure 2 and the corresponding information is as shown in Figure 3, the product "ABC instant curry" and the product "loin cutlet" are related products.

[0026] Food-related information other than recipe information may also be used. The food-related information other than recipe information may be, for example, information associating multiple foods, as shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, two foods identified by two food identifiers included in one piece of food-related information are considered to be associated with each other. For example, the first piece of food-related information in FIG. 4 indicates that the food "instant curry" and the food "pork cutlet" are associated with each other. It goes without saying that one piece of food-related information may associate three or more foods with each other. Preferably, the multiple foods associated with each other by the food-related information are foods that are expected to be purchased together. For example, the food "instant curry" and the food "pork cutlet" associated with each other by the first piece of food-related information in FIG. 4 can be considered to be foods that are expected to be purchased together to make pork cutlet curry. Furthermore, when the food-related information is recipe information, it is generally considered that the multiple foods included in the recipe information are often purchased together to make the dish represented by the recipe information, and therefore the multiple foods included in the recipe information can be considered to be foods that are expected to be purchased together.

[0027] The storage unit 11 may also store a plurality of pieces of user-associated information. The user-associated information is information that associates a user identifier with user information including a rank according to the purchase amount of the user identified by the user identifier. The user identifier may be, for example, the user's name, the user's membership number, or other information that identifies the user. The rank according to the user's purchase amount may be, for example, a rank according to the total purchase amount of products purchased by the user over a predetermined period (e.g., one year). This rank may be, for example, higher the total purchase amount.

[0028] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of user-associated information. As shown in Fig. 5, the user-associated information may include, for example, a user identifier and user information that is a rank according to the purchase amount of the user identified by the user identifier. The first user-associated information shown in Fig. 5 indicates that the rank of user U001, identified by user identifier "U001," is "5." In this embodiment, the higher the rank value, the greater the user's purchase amount.

[0029] The user information may include information other than rank, such as prohibited allergens, which are allergens that the user is prohibited from consuming, and the user's dietary preferences (e.g., low carbohydrate, low calorie, etc.).

[0030] Other information may also be stored in the storage unit 11. For example, a plurality of pieces of information that associate a product identifier with information about the product may be stored. The information about the product may include, for example, information about the nutrients, allergens, etc. of a food product, information indicating the product's specifications and attributes, information indicating how to use the product, information indicating the product's price, or other information about the product.

[0031] The promotional target identifier accepted by the promotional target accepting unit 12 may be stored in the storage unit 11. When the processing unit 14 performs processing related to the purchase of a product for each user, as will be described later, the storage unit 11 may store, for each user, a product identifier or the like that identifies the product that the user is trying to purchase or the product that the user has purchased.

[0032] The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 11 is not important. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 11 via a recording medium, information transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 11, or information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11. The storage unit 11 is preferably realized by a non-volatile recording medium, but may also be realized by a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk. Furthermore, the storage unit 11 may be configured by, for example, a single recording medium or multiple recording media. In the latter case, for example, the product-related information and the user-related information may be stored in different recording media.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where product-related information, a plurality of pieces of user-related information, etc. are stored in the storage unit 11 of the information processing device 1 and, as a result, the information processing device 1 is able to access the information will be mainly described, but at least some of the information such as the product-related information and a plurality of pieces of user-related information may be managed by a device or the like external to the information processing device 1. Even in this case, the information processing device 1 is assumed to be able to access the information managed by the external device or the like.

[0034] The promotional target receiving unit 12 receives a promotional target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is a promotion target at a specific physical store. For example, when a physical store staff member wants to promote the sale of a product such as a prepared dish that is nearing its expiration date, the staff member may input the product identifier that identifies the product into the information processing device 1 via the communication line 500 or an input device. The promotional target identifier, which is the input product identifier, may then be received by the promotional target receiving unit 12. Note that the promotional target identifier may be transmitted to the information processing device 1 from the information processing terminal 2 operated by the physical store staff member, or may be directly input via an input device or the like of the information processing device 1. The promotional target receiving unit 12 may also store the received promotional target identifier in the storage unit 11, for example.

[0035] For example, the promotional target receiving unit 12 may receive, along with the promotional target identifier, information indicating the period and number of times for which bonus information is to be output for the product identified by the promotional target identifier. Furthermore, the promotional target receiving unit 12 may also receive, for example, information indicating that a bonus for the purchase of a product identified by a promotional target identifier that was previously received will no longer be granted, for that promotional target identifier. In this case, for example, the promotional target receiving unit 12 may delete from the storage unit 11 the promotional target identifier identifying the product for which the bonus is to be terminated. Furthermore, when the information processing device 1 outputs bonus information for multiple brick-and-mortar stores, the promotional target receiving unit 12 may also receive, along with the promotional target identifier, a store identifier identifying the brick-and-mortar store that sells the promotional target identified by the promotional target identifier. In this case, the promotional target identifier and the store identifier may be stored in association with each other in the storage unit 11.

[0036] For example, promotional object receiving unit 12 may receive information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, or may receive information input from an input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.). Promotional object receiving unit 12 may or may not include a device for receiving information (e.g., a communication device, an input device, etc.). Promotional object receiving unit 12 may be realized by hardware, or by software such as a driver that drives a specific device.

[0037] The processing target receiving unit 13 receives, from a user in a predetermined physical store, a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier identifying a product that is the target of a predetermined process requested by the user. The processing target receiving unit 13 may also receive, for example, a processing target identifier identifying a product that is the target of a predetermined process and a user identifier identifying a user requesting the predetermined process. This embodiment will mainly describe a case in which the processing target receiving unit 13 receives a processing target identifier and a user identifier. The product identifier and the user identifier may be received simultaneously or at different times, for example. In the latter case, for example, the user identifier may be received at the time of login, and the processing target identifier may be received thereafter.

[0038] The predetermined process may be, for example, a process performed in the information processing device 1 or a process performed in another device. Furthermore, the predetermined process is not particularly limited as long as it is a process related to a product. For example, the predetermined process may be a process of acquiring product information or a process related to the purchase of a product. The process of acquiring product information may be, for example, a process of acquiring and outputting product information. Furthermore, the product information may be, for example, detailed product information. When the predetermined process is a process of acquiring product information, for example, a user may use the information processing terminal 3 to transmit a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier, to the information processing device 1 using information read from a code such as a two-dimensional code displayed on a shelf tag on a shelf where the product is placed in a physical store, or information obtained from the shelf tag using NFC (Near Field Communication). The shelf tag may be, for example, an electronic shelf tag. Furthermore, for example, a user may use the information processing terminal 3 to scan a product and transmit a processing target identifier, which is a product name or a JAN code read, to the information processing device 1.

[0039] The process related to the purchase of a product may be, for example, a process for purchasing a product, or a process for registering a product as a purchase target. The process for registering a product as a purchase target may be, for example, a process for adding a product to a smart cart. The smart cart may be a shopping cart with a cash register function. A user using the smart cart scans a product when adding the product to the smart cart. In this case, for example, a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier such as a JAN code or product name obtained by scanning the product, or a user identifier of the user who added the product to the smart cart may be transmitted from the smart cart to the information processing device 1.

[0040] As described above, it is preferable that the processing target identifier is received from a user in a physical store. Therefore, when the processing target identifier is transmitted, the processing target identifier may be transmitted, for example, together with the location information of the information processing terminal 3 that is the transmission source. In this case, for example, when the location information corresponding to the processing target identifier received by the processing target receiving unit 13 indicates a location different from the physical store, the output of bonus information in response to the reception of the processing target identifier may not be performed. Furthermore, when the information processing device 1 outputs bonus information for multiple physical stores, the location information may be used to identify the physical store where the user is located.

[0041] Furthermore, when a product identifier is acquired from a shelf label, a store identifier identifying the physical store where the shelf label is located may be acquired along with the processing target identifier, which is the product identifier, and these may be transmitted to the information processing device 1. In this way, when the information processing device 1 outputs benefit information for multiple physical stores, the physical store where the user is located can be identified using the store identifier received together with the processing target identifier. In addition, when a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier, is transmitted from a smart cart, a store identifier identifying the physical store where the smart cart is used may also be transmitted together with the processing target identifier, for example. In this way, when the information processing device 1 outputs benefit information for multiple physical stores, the physical store where the user is located can be identified using the store identifier received together with the processing target identifier.

[0042] For example, the processing target receiving unit 13 may receive information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, or may receive information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.). The processing target receiving unit 13 may or may not include a device for receiving information (for example, a communication device, an input device, etc.). The processing target receiving unit 13 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

[0043] The processing unit 14 may perform a predetermined process requested for a product identified by the processing target identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13. For example, if the predetermined process is a process for acquiring information about the product, the processing unit 14 may read out information about the product associated with the accepted processing target identifier from the storage unit 11 and output it to the user via the output unit 15.

[0044] Also, for example, if the specified process is a process for purchasing a product, the processing unit 14 may perform processing to charge the total amount of the product identified by the processing target identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13 to the user identified by the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13.

[0045] Furthermore, for example, if the predetermined process is a process of adding a product to a smart cart, the processing unit 14 may store the process target identifier received by the process target receiving unit 13 in the storage unit 11 in association with the received user identifier. In this case, when a request to perform a purchase process is finally received by the process target receiving unit 13, the processing unit 14 may perform processing in the storage unit 11 to charge the user who requested the purchase process for the product identified by the process target identifier associated with the user identifier of the user. Note that when a product is added to a smart cart, a process target identifier identifying the product is transmitted to the information processing device 1. However, if a process such as purchasing the product is performed in the smart cart, the processing unit 14 may not perform any processing in response to the reception of the process target identifier. In this way, if the predetermined process is not performed in the information processing device 1, the information processing device 1 may not have the processing unit 14.

[0046] When a processing target identifier is accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13, if a promotion target identifier identifying a product associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is accepted by the promotion target accepting unit 12, the output unit 15 outputs benefit information indicating a benefit to be granted for the purchase of the promotion target product identified by the promotion target identifier to a user requesting a predetermined process for the product identified by the processing target identifier. The benefit indicated by the benefit information will be granted when the promotion target product associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is purchased. The user to whom the benefit information is output may be, for example, a user identified by the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13.

[0047] The benefit indicated by the benefit information may be, for example, at least one of a discount, points, and a gift, or may be another benefit. The discount may be, for example, a discount of a predetermined amount (e.g., 100 yen), or a discount based on a percentage of the product price, such as 30% off or half price. The points may be, for example, points that can be used to purchase a product. The points to be awarded may be, for example, a predetermined number (e.g., 100 points), or points based on a percentage of the product price, such as 20% or 30%. When the discount or point award is based on a percentage of the product price, the discount or point award may be based on the result of multiplying the price of the product that is the target of the sales promotion and for which the benefit is awarded by a predetermined percentage. The gift may be a so-called "free gift," such as a sample product or another product.

[0048] The product identified by the promotion target identifier accepted by the promotion target acceptance unit 12 may be, for example, a prepared dish or other product with an approaching expiration date that the brick-and-mortar store wishes to sell quickly. Furthermore, a user who requests a predetermined process for a product associated with such a product is likely to be planning to purchase the product or is interested in purchasing the product, and may potentially purchase both the product identified by the promotion target identifier and the product that is the subject of the predetermined process. Therefore, in such a situation, presenting the user with benefit information indicating a benefit that will be granted for the purchase of the product identified by the promotion target identifier is considered effective in encouraging the purchase of the product identified by the promotion target identifier.

[0049] The benefit information may include, for example, information indicating the content of the benefit. The information indicating the content of the benefit may include, for example, information indicating the type of benefit, such as a discount, points, or a gift. Furthermore, if the benefit is a discount or points, the information indicating the content of the benefit may include, for example, information indicating the level of the discount or points. The information indicating the level of the discount or points may be, for example, information indicating the amount of the discount or the points to be awarded, or information indicating the percentage of the discount or points to be awarded relative to the price of the product. Furthermore, if the benefit is a gift, the information indicating the content of the benefit may include information indicating the content of the gift, such as an item to be awarded as a gift. Furthermore, the information indicating the content of the benefit may include a product identifier identifying a product eligible for the benefit. The product identifier identifying a product eligible for the benefit may be, for example, a product identifier identifying a product eligible for a sales promotion associated with the product identified by the received processing target identifier. Furthermore, the information indicating the content of the benefit may include an expiration date of the benefit. The expiration date of the reward may be set, for example, to the end of the period for outputting the reward information received along with the promotional item identifier.

[0050] The output unit 15 may change the benefit information to be output depending on, for example, the rank included in the user information corresponding to the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13. In this case, for example, the higher the rank, the better the benefit information may be output. A better benefit may be, for example, a larger discount, more points, or more prizes. Also, for example, the higher the rank, the more benefit information may be output. In this case, for example, benefit information indicating only the award of points may be output to a user with a low rank, and benefit information indicating both the award of points and prizes may be output to a user with a high rank. Also, for example, when multiple pieces of information correlating ranks with benefit contents are stored in the storage unit 11, the output unit 15 may use the information to identify the benefit contents corresponding to the rank included in the user information corresponding to the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13, and output benefit information including the identified benefit contents.

[0051] The reward information may be output, for example, as follows. First, the promotional target identifier accepted by the promotional target accepting unit 12 is stored in the storage unit 11. Next, the processing target accepting unit 13 accepts a processing target identifier and the user identifier of a certain user from the certain user. The output unit 15 then acquires the user's rank from the user information associated with the accepted user identifier. The output unit 15 also uses the product-related information stored in the storage unit 11 to determine whether the storage unit 11 stores a promotional target identifier identifying a product associated with the product identified by the accepted processing target identifier. If the storage unit 11 stores a promotional target identifier identifying a product associated with the product identified by the accepted processing target identifier, the output unit 15 may output reward information indicating a reward to be granted for the purchase of the promotional target product identified by the promotional target identifier stored in the storage unit 11. This reward information may correspond to the user's rank acquired by the output unit 15.

[0052] When the product-related information includes food-related information and correspondence information, the output unit 15 may, for example, identify a food identifier corresponding to the received processing target identifier and also identify a food identifier corresponding to the promotional target identifier stored in the storage unit 11. Then, when food-related information associating the food identifier corresponding to the processing target identifier with the food identifier corresponding to the promotional target identifier is stored in the storage unit 11, the output unit 15 may determine that the product identified by the processing target identifier and the product identified by the promotional target identifier are associated by the product-related information. In this case, benefit information for granting a benefit to a purchase of the product identified by the promotional target identifier determined to be associated with the product identified by the processing target identifier is output.

[0053] Furthermore, when the food correspondence information is recipe information, the output unit 15 may output recipe information used to associate the product identified by the processing target identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13 with the promoted product, along with the benefit information to be output. The promoted product may be a promoted product for which a benefit is to be granted. This recipe information is also preferably output to a user identified by the accepted user identifier. In this case, outputting the recipe information to the user can encourage the user to prepare the dish of the recipe information, thereby promoting the sales of the promoted product corresponding to the food included in the recipe information.

[0054] The output bonus information may be, for example, an image indicating a bonus, a code such as a two-dimensional code indicating a bonus, data indicating a bonus, or other information indicating a bonus. If the bonus information is an image indicating a bonus or a code indicating a bonus, the user may receive the bonus by, for example, presenting the bonus information to a store clerk at a cash register or by having the cash register system scan the bonus information at a self-checkout. If the bonus information is data indicating a bonus, the bonus may be automatically granted when a product eligible for the bonus is added to the smart cart by transmitting the bonus information to the smart cart. Preferably, the bonus is granted only upon purchase of a promotional product eligible for the bonus. For example, if the bonus information includes an expiration date for the bonus, the bonus may not be granted after the expiration date has passed.

[0055] In addition, if a period for outputting bonus information along with the promotional target identifier is also accepted, the output unit 15 may terminate output of bonus information for the product identified by the promotional target identifier when the period has elapsed. As an example, after the period for outputting bonus information for a certain product has elapsed, the output unit 15 may delete the promotional target identifier that identifies the product from the storage unit 11.

[0056] Furthermore, when the number of times to output the bonus information is also accepted together with the promotional object identifier, the output unit 15 may output the bonus information for the product identified by the promotional object identifier the accepted number of times, and then terminate output of the bonus information for the product. As an example, after outputting the bonus information for a certain product the accepted number of times, the output unit 15 may delete the promotional object identifier that identifies the product from the storage unit 11.

[0057] Furthermore, the output unit 15 may output to the user, for example, information about the product acquired by the processing unit 14. This output may be, for example, a transmission to the information processing terminal 3 that is the sender of the processing target identifier, or may be a display on a display or a printout by a printer.

[0058] The output by the output unit 15 may be, for example, transmission to a predetermined device via a communication line, printing by a printer, storage on a recording medium, or delivery to another component. For example, if the output of the benefit information is performed by printing by a printer, a coupon indicating the content of the benefit may be printed by the output unit 15. The output unit 15 may or may not include a device that performs the output (for example, a communication device, a printer, etc.). The output unit 15 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives such a device.

[0059] Next, the operation of the information processing device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. (Step S101) The promotion object receiving unit 12 determines whether or not a promotion object identifier has been received. If a promotion object identifier has been received, the process proceeds to step S102; if not, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0060] (Step S102) The promotional object receiving unit 12 stores the received promotional object identifier in the storage unit 11. Then, the process returns to step S101.

[0061] (Step S103) The processing target receiving unit 13 determines whether or not the processing target identifier and the user identifier have been received. If the processing target identifier and the like have been received, the process proceeds to step S104; if not, the process returns to step S101.

[0062] (Step S104) The processing unit 14 executes a predetermined process for the product identified by the processing target identifier received in step S103. Note that this predetermined process may be, for example, a predetermined process. If the predetermined process is not executed in the information processing device 1, the process of step S104 may be skipped.

[0063] (Step S105) The output unit 15 determines whether there is a promotional product associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier received in step S103. Note that it may be determined that such a promotional product exists if a promotional target identifier that identifies a product associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is stored in the storage unit 11. If such a promotional product exists, the process proceeds to step S106; if not, the process returns to step S101.

[0064] (Step S106) The output unit 15 identifies the rank included in the user information corresponding to the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit 13, and identifies the bonus information corresponding to the identified rank, which indicates a bonus to be granted for the purchase of the promotional product that is determined to be associated with the product identified by the processing target identifier by the product-related information in step S105. This identification of the bonus information may be, for example, generation of the bonus information.

[0065] (Step S107) The output unit 15 outputs the bonus information identified in step S106 to the user identified by the user identifier accepted in step S103. Note that if there are multiple promotional products determined to be associated with the product identified by the processing target identifier by the product-related information in step S105, bonus information may be output for each of the multiple promotional products. Then, the process returns to step S101.

[0066] The order of the steps in the flowchart of Fig. 6 is an example, and the order of the steps may be changed as long as the same results are obtained. Also, in the flowchart of Fig. 6, the processing may be terminated by power-off or an interrupt to terminate the processing.

[0067] Next, the operation of the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, it is assumed that the recipe information shown in Fig. 2, the correspondence information shown in Fig. 3, and the user correspondence information shown in Fig. 5 are stored in the storage unit 11. Also, in this specific example, it is assumed that benefit information indicating a discount benefit of N discounts is output to a user whose rank included in the user information is N. N is an integer equal to or greater than 1.

[0068] First, suppose that a certain brick-and-mortar store has some unsold "loin cutlet" products that are approaching their expiration date. A staff member at the store then operates the information processing terminal 2 to transmit the promotional target identifier "loin cutlet" to the information processing device 1. The transmitted promotional target identifier is received by the promotional target receiving unit 12 of the information processing device 1 and stored in the memory unit 11 (steps S101 and S102).

[0069] Thereafter, when user U001 places the product "XYZ instant curry" in the smart cart 3 at the physical store, the smart cart 3 accordingly transmits the processing target identifier "XYZ instant curry" and the user identifier "U001" to the information processing device 1. The transmitted processing target identifier is received by the processing target receiving unit 13 of the information processing device 1, and the processing target identifier, the user identifier, and the address of the sender of the processing target identifier, etc. are passed to the output unit 15 (step S103). Note that in this specific example, it is assumed that no processing is performed by the processing unit 14 in response to the reception of the processing target identifier by the processing target receiving unit 13.

[0070] Upon receiving the processing target identifier, the output unit 15 searches for a plurality of pieces of corresponding information stored in the memory unit 11 using the processing target identifier "XYZ instant curry" as a search key, and acquires the food identifier "instant curry" from the matched corresponding information. The output unit 15 also searches for a plurality of pieces of corresponding information using one or more promotional object identifiers stored in the memory unit 11 as search keys, and acquires a food identifier from each of the matched corresponding information. For example, the output unit 15 may search for a plurality of pieces of corresponding information using the promotional object identifier "loin cutlet" as a search key, and acquire the food identifier "pork cutlet" from the matched corresponding information. Note that the food identifier corresponding to the promotional object identifier may be acquired in advance.

[0071] Thereafter, the output unit 15 searches for a plurality of recipe information stored in the storage unit 11 using the food identifier "retort curry" corresponding to the processing target identifier "XYZ retort curry" as a search key, and determines whether the hit recipe information includes a food identifier corresponding to the promotion target identifier. In this case, the recipe information shown in Figure 2 is hit, and since the recipe information includes the food identifier "pork cutlet," the output unit 15 determines that the hit recipe information includes a food identifier corresponding to the promotion target identifier, i.e., that there is a promotion target product associated with the product identified by the processing target identifier, and acquires the recipe information (step S105).

[0072] Next, the output unit 15 searches for a plurality of pieces of user-associated information stored in the storage unit 11 using the user identifier received from the processing target receiving unit 13 as a search key, and acquires the rank "5" of the user information from the user-associated information that is found. Furthermore, the output unit 15 generates bonus information that provides a 50% discount in accordance with the rank "5" for the product identified by the sales promotion target identifier "loin cutlet" associated with the processing target identifier "XYZ retort curry", and transmits the bonus information and the acquired recipe information to the sender address of the processing target identifier etc. that was received in advance (steps S106, S107).

[0073] The benefit information and recipe information are transmitted to and displayed on the smart cart 3 used by the user U001 at the physical store. Then, the user U001 decides to purchase the product "loin cutlet" based on the displayed recipe information and benefit information, and goes to the prepared food counter and places the product "loin cutlet" in the smart cart 3. After that, when the user U001 processes the payment on the smart cart 3, the benefit information transmitted from the information processing device 1 is applied, and the user U001 can purchase the product "loin cutlet" at a 50% discount.

[0074] As described above, the information processing device 1 according to the present embodiment can present a special offer for the purchase of a promotional product to a user who has performed a predetermined process on a product related to the promotional product. In this way, special offers for the purchase of the promotional product can be presented to users who are likely to want the promotional product at the timing when they want the product, thereby promoting sales of the promotional product. Meanwhile, by presenting special offers to such specific users, sales are promoted, and since a flat discount is not offered across the board, the promotional product can be sold at the regular price to other users, preventing the loss of sales opportunities at the regular price. In this way, it is possible to achieve both sales promotion of the promotional product and increased profits. Furthermore, if recipe information is output along with the special offer information, the output of the recipe information can encourage users to purchase the promotional product, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the sales promotion. Furthermore, by changing the special offer information according to the rank corresponding to the user's purchase amount, users can aim for a higher rank, which in turn encourages users to purchase more products.

[0075] In this embodiment, the modification of the reward information according to the user's rank may include, for example, outputting reward information to high-ranked users but not outputting reward information to low-ranked users. This process may be performed only for specific promotional products. In this case, for example, when the promotional product identifier is received by the promotional product receiving unit 12, the rank for which reward information is to be output may also be received. Then, for the promotional product identified by the promotional product identifier, reward information may be output only to users of the received rank. This makes it possible to narrow down the users to whom reward information is to be output when, for example, the number of promotional products is small. Furthermore, for promotional products such as prepared foods and fresh fish, for example, reward information may be output only to high-ranked users during early hours and to all users during later hours.

[0076] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the output privilege information changes depending on the rank of the user has been mainly described, but this is not necessarily the case. The privilege information may be uniformly determined for all users. In this case, the user-associated information does not need to be stored in the storage unit 11.

[0077] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the user information includes prohibited allergens and the user's dietary preferences, and the product-related information includes recipe information, when outputting bonus information to a user, product association may be determined using only recipe information that does not include the user's prohibited allergens or recipe information that matches the user's dietary preferences. This allows for sales promotion that is in line with the user's preferences.

[0078] Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described primarily with respect to cases in which the products are food products, as described above, the products may also be non-food products, such as daily necessities. In this case, the product-related information may include, for example, multiple types of product-related information associating multiple product types, and multiple correspondence information associating product identifiers with type identifiers that identify the types of products corresponding to the products identified by the product identifiers. The type-related information may, for example, be information associating multiple type identifiers that identify product types. The type identifier may be, for example, the name of a product type, or other information that identifies a product type. For example, the product type corresponding to the products "BCD Citric Acid" and "CDE Citric Acid Spray" may be "Citric Acid." Furthermore, the correspondence information may, for example, be information associating the product identifier "BCD Citric Acid" with the type identifier "Citric Acid," information associating the product identifier "CDE Citric Acid Spray" with the type identifier "Citric Acid," information associating the product identifier "DEF Sponge" with the type identifier "Sponge," etc.

[0079] Furthermore, the type-related information may be, for example, recipe information including multiple product types, or information associating multiple product types. Type-related information associating multiple product types may be, for example, information associating multiple type identifiers. Furthermore, recipe information may include, for example, multiple type identifiers that identify product types. Recipe information including multiple type identifiers may be recipe information related to housework, such as cleaning recipe information or care recipe information. An example of cleaning recipe information may be, "Dissolve citric acid in water and spray it into the sink. Then, scrub the surface of the sink with a sponge or brush to remove rust. Finally, rinse with water." This recipe information includes type identifiers such as "citric acid," "sponge," and "brush."

[0080] As an example, if type-related information, which is cleaning recipe information including type identifiers "citric acid," "sponge," and "brush," correspondence information associating a product identifier "DEF sponge" with the type identifier "sponge," and correspondence information associating a product identifier "BCD citric acid" with the type identifier "citric acid," and a promotional target identifier "DEF sponge" is received by promotional target receiving unit 12, and the processing target identifier "BCD citric acid" is received by processing target receiving unit 13 in response to a user adding the product "BCD citric acid" to their smart cart, output unit 15 may output, to the user, reward information indicating a reward that will be granted for the purchase of the promotional target product "DEF sponge," which is associated with the processing target identifier "BCD citric acid" through the product-related information. Furthermore, output unit 15 may output, together with the reward information, recipe information used to associate the product "BCD citric acid," identified by the processing target identifier, with the promotional target product "DEF sponge." These processes are the same as those described in the present embodiment except that food is the product type and food-related information is type-related information, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0081] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the processing target identifier and the user identifier are received by the processing target receiving unit 13 has been mainly described, but this is not necessarily the case. If the user identifier is not used in the subsequent processing, the processing target receiving unit 13 does not have to receive the user identifier.

[0082] In this embodiment, when the information processing device 1 outputs bonus information for multiple brick-and-mortar stores, the store identifier may be accepted along with the promotion target identifier and the processing target identifier, as described above. The promotion target identifier and the processing target identifier may then be managed for each store identifier, and bonus information may be output for each brick-and-mortar store.

[0083] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, each process or function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or may be realized by distributed processing by multiple devices or multiple systems.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the transfer of information between components may be performed, for example, by one component outputting information and the other component receiving information if the two components transferring the information are physically different, or by moving from a processing phase corresponding to one component to a processing phase corresponding to the other component if the two components transferring the information are physically the same.

[0085] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information accepted, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, and information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used in processing by each component, may be temporarily or long-term stored in a recording medium (not shown), even if not explicitly stated in the above description. Furthermore, the storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). Furthermore, the reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

[0086] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, if the information used by each component, such as thresholds, addresses, and various setting values ​​used by each component in processing, may be changed by the user, the user may or may not be able to change the information as appropriate, even if not explicitly stated in the above description. If the information is changeable by the user, the change may be realized, for example, by a receiving unit (not shown) that receives a change instruction from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in accordance with the change instruction. The change instruction may be received by the receiving unit (not shown), for example, from an input device, by receiving information transmitted via a communication line, or by receiving information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0087] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when two or more components included in the information processing device 1 have a communication device, an input device, etc., the two or more components may physically have a single device, or may have separate devices.

[0088] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit or recording medium. The software that realizes the information processing device 1 in the above-described embodiments is the following program. In other words, this program may be a program for causing a computer that can access product-related information associating multiple products to function as a promotional target reception unit that receives a promotional target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a promotion at a specified physical store; a processing target reception unit that receives, from a user at the specified physical store, a processing target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a specified processing requested by the user; and an output unit that, when the processing target identifier is received by the processing target reception unit, if a promotional target identifier that identifies a product that is associated by product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is received by the promotional target reception unit, outputs bonus information indicating a bonus that will be granted for the purchase of the promotional product identified by the promotional target identifier to the user requesting the specified processing for the product identified by the processing target identifier.

[0089] Note that the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can only be realized by hardware, such as a modem or interface card in a reception unit that receives information or an output unit that outputs information.

[0090] This program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or by being read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory). This program may also be used as a program constituting a program product.

[0091] Furthermore, the computer that executes this program may be a single computer or multiple computers, and may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0092] 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the above program to realize the information processing device 1 according to the above embodiment. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0093] In FIG. 7, computer system 900 comprises a computer 901 including a CD-ROM drive 905 , a keyboard 902 , a mouse 903 , and a monitor 904 .

[0094] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a computer system 900. In Fig. 8, the computer 901 includes, in addition to a CD-ROM drive 905, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM 913 connected to the MPU 911 for temporarily storing instructions for application programs and providing temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 for storing application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 for interconnecting the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc. Note that the computer 901 may also include a network card (not shown) for providing connection to a LAN, WAN, etc.

[0095] A program that causes computer system 900 to execute the functions of information processing device 1 according to the above embodiment may be stored on CD-ROM 921, inserted into CD-ROM drive 905, and transferred to hard disk 914. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored on hard disk 914. The program is loaded into RAM 913 when executed. The program may be loaded directly from CD-ROM 921 or the network. The program may also be read into computer system 900 via another recording medium (e.g., a DVD) instead of CD-ROM 921.

[0096] The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the information processing device 1 according to the above embodiment. The program may include only instructions that call appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to achieve the desired results. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0097] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are merely examples for specifically implementing the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments, and is intended to include modifications within the literal scope of the claims and within the scope of equivalent meanings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1. Information processing equipment 11 Storage section 12 Promotional Reception 13 Processing target reception unit 14 Processing section 15 Output section

Claims

1. An information processing device capable of accessing product-related information that associates multiple products, a promotion target receiving unit that receives a promotion target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a promotion target product in a predetermined physical store; a processing target receiving unit that receives, from a user in the predetermined physical store, a processing target identifier that is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a predetermined processing requested by the user; and an output unit that, when a processing target identifier is received by the processing target receiving unit, if a promotional target identifier identifying a product associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier is received by the promotional target receiving unit, outputs bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted for the purchase of the promotional target product identified by the promotional target identifier to a user requesting a specified process for the product identified by the processing target identifier.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined process is a process for acquiring information about a product.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined process is a process related to the purchase of a product.

4. The product is a food product; the product-related information includes a plurality of recipe information items including a plurality of food items, and a plurality of correspondence information items that associate product identifiers with food item identifiers that identify food items corresponding to the products identified by the product identifiers; The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of products corresponding to a plurality of foods included in one recipe information are associated products.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the output unit outputs recipe information used to associate the product identified by the processing target identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit with the product being promoted, together with the bonus information to be output.

6. 6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the benefit is at least one of a discount, points, and a gift.

7. the information processing device is capable of accessing a plurality of pieces of user correspondence information that associate a user identifier with user information including a rank according to a purchase amount of the user identified by the user identifier; the processing target receiving unit receives a processing target identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a predetermined processing, and a user identifier that identifies a user that requests the predetermined processing; The information processing device according to claim 6 , wherein the output unit changes the bonus information to be output depending on a rank included in the user information corresponding to the user identifier accepted by the processing target accepting unit.

8. An information processing method that is processed using a promotional target receiving unit, a processing target receiving unit, and an output unit, a step in which the promotional item receiving unit receives a promotional item identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a promotional item in a predetermined physical store; The processing target receiving unit receives, from the user in the predetermined physical store, a processing target identifier which is a product identifier identifying a product that is the target of a predetermined processing requested by the user; an output unit, when a processing target identifier is received, outputting, to a user requesting a specified process for the product identified by the processing target identifier, bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted for the purchase of the promotion target product identified by the promotion target identifier, if a promotion target identifier identifying a product associated with the product identified by the processing target identifier by product-related information associating multiple products is received.

9. A computer that can access product-related information that associates multiple products, a promotion target receiving unit that receives a promotion target identifier, which is a product identifier that identifies a promotion target product in a predetermined physical store; a processing target receiving unit that receives, from a user in the predetermined physical store, a processing target identifier that is a product identifier that identifies a product that is the target of a predetermined processing requested by the user; A program for functioning as an output unit that, when a processing target identifier is accepted by the processing target acceptance unit, outputs, to a user requesting a specified process for a product identified by the processing target identifier, bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted for the purchase of a promotional product identified by the promotional target identifier, if the promotional target acceptance unit accepts a promotional target identifier that identifies a product that is associated by the product-related information with the product identified by the processing target identifier.

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