Information processing apparatus and method

Abstract

To perform guidance for a user to purchase a commodity that is repeatedly purchased by the user.SOLUTION: An estimation unit 33 estimates a period in the future in which a user purchases a commodity on the basis of the history of the user's purchase of the commodity. A generation unit 34 generates guidance information for guiding purchase of the commodity in the future on the basis of the period of purchase estimated for the commodity. For example, the generation unit 34 generates guidance information for guiding a store that has the commodity in stock in the period of purchase estimated for the commodity, and that is located within a certain geographical range from the position of the user. A presentation unit 35 transmits the guidance information generated for the commodity to a user terminal 10 at the time point earlier by a certain period than the period of purchase estimated for the commodity, to present the guidance information to the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for providing guidance to users on purchasing products. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that creates a shopping list that includes information on ingredients that are missing from a menu selected by the user and their quantities, as well as the names and locations of stores that sell those ingredients, calculates the optimal shopping route for purchasing the ingredients, and guides the user along the calculated shopping route. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-172743 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Each user has products that they purchase repeatedly on a regular basis, but the types of products and the timing of purchases vary from user to user.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide guidance for a user to purchase a product that the user repeatedly purchases. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing device comprising: an estimation unit that estimates a future purchase date for a product based on a user's purchase history for the product; and a presentation unit that presents guidance information to the user to guide the user to purchase the product in the future at a time period a certain period before the estimated purchase date for the product.The present invention also provides an information processing method comprising: a step of estimating a future purchase date for a product based on the user's purchase history for the product; a step of generating guidance information to guide the user to purchase the product in the future; and a step of presenting the generated guidance information for the product to the user at a time period a certain period before the estimated purchase date for the product. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide guidance to encourage a user to purchase a product that the user has repeatedly purchased. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server device 30 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a user terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device 30 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 3 is a diagram illustrating information stored in the server device 30 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 3 is a diagram illustrating information stored in the server device 30 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 3 is a diagram illustrating information stored in the server device 30 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8]3 is a diagram illustrating information stored in the server device 30 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the server device 30 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen D displayed by the user terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen D displayed by the user terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] [Embodiment] [composition] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Information processing system 1 is a system for predicting the time of purchase of a product from the purchase history information of the product by a user, and informing the user of the purchase of the product shortly before the predicted purchase time.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a user terminal 10 used by a user, a purchase history storage system 20 that stores information about the user's product purchase history, a server device 30 corresponding to the information processing device of the present invention, and a communication network 2 including a wireless communication network or a wired communication network that communicatively connects these devices. The user terminal 10 is a computer that can be carried by a user, such as a smartphone, wearable device, or tablet. The purchase history storage system 20 is a system that generates or acquires and stores information about each user's product purchase history in conjunction with an electronic payment system (not shown). The server device 30 may be composed of a single computer or multiple computers. Note that while FIG. 1 shows one user terminal and one server device, there may be multiple of each.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server device 30. The server device 30 is physically configured as a computer including a processor 3001, a memory 3002, a storage 3003, a communication device 3004, an input device 3005, an output device 3006, and a bus connecting these devices. Each of these devices operates using power supplied from a battery (not shown). In the following description, the term "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the server device 30 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in FIG. 2, or may be configured without including some of the devices. Furthermore, the server device 30 may be configured by communicating with multiple devices each having a different housing.

[0012] Each function in the server device 30 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 3001 and memory 3002, causing the processor 3001 to perform calculations, control communication via the communication device 3004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 3002 and storage 3003.

[0013] The processor 3001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 3001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. Furthermore, for example, a baseband signal processing unit, a call processing unit, etc. may be realized by the processor 3001.

[0014] The processor 3001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 3003 and the communication device 3004 into the memory 3002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the server device 30 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 3002 and running on the processor 3001. Various processes may be executed by one processor 3001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 3001. The processor 3001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted to the server device 30 via a telecommunications line.

[0015] The memory 3002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The memory 3002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 3002 can store an executable program (program code), a software module, etc. for implementing the method according to this embodiment.

[0016] Storage 3003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be constituted by at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 3003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

[0017] The communication device 3004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. Each device, such as the processor 3001 and the memory 3002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0018] The server device 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 3001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0019] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a user terminal 10. The user terminal 10 is a computer such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, or a wearable terminal. The user terminal 10 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a positioning device 1007, and a bus connecting these. The processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the storage 1003 are the same hardware as the processor 3001, the memory 3002, and the storage 3003 of the server device 30.

[0020] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., to realize at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, a transmitting / receiving antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmitting / receiving unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmitting / receiving unit may be implemented as a transmitting unit and a receiving unit that are physically or logically separated.

[0021] The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, a key, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (for example, a touch screen).

[0022] The positioning device 1007 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit, and measures the position of the user terminal 10. In this embodiment, the position of the user terminal 10 is used as the position of the user who uses the user terminal 10.

[0023] 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of server device 30. In server device 30, processor 3001 reads programs and the like from storage 3003 into memory 3002 and executes them, thereby realizing the functions of acquisition unit 31, memory unit 32, estimation unit 33, generation unit 34, and presentation unit 35.

[0024] The acquisition unit 31 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 31 acquires location information (including the date and time of positioning) indicating the location measured by the positioning device 1007 of the user terminal 10 together with identification information of the user terminal 10 via the communication network 2. In this embodiment, the identification information of the user terminal 10 is used as a user ID that identifies the user who uses the user terminal 10.

[0025] The acquisition unit 31 also acquires purchase history information regarding products purchased by each user from the purchase history accumulation system 20. The purchase history information includes the user ID of the user who purchased the product, a product ID for identifying the product purchased by the user, the time of purchase, and a store ID for identifying the store where the product was purchased.

[0026] The storage unit 32 stores various types of information. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the storage unit 32 stores the user ID of the user acquired by the acquisition unit 31, the location information of the user, and the purchase history information of the user in association with each other.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the storage unit 32 stores the store's location information, product inventory information at the store, and product arrival information at the store, in association with the store ID of the store. The store ID and store location information are pre-stored information. The product inventory information at the store includes the product IDs of products in stock at the store and the number of products. The product arrival information at the store includes the product IDs of products scheduled to arrive at the store, the number of products, and the arrival time. This inventory information and arrival information is updated in response to notifications from a store management system (not shown) installed in each store (for example, a POS system that manages product inventory information and arrival information at the store).

[0028] The storage unit 32 also stores product information about each product in association with the product ID of the product, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The product information includes, for example, the product name, category, price, ingredients, reviews, ratings, or description of the product.

[0029] 4, the estimation unit 33 estimates a future purchase time of a product based on the purchase history information of the product by the user. For example, the estimation unit 33 identifies, among the products included in the purchase history information, products that have been purchased a predetermined number of times or more per unit period, such as once or more per week, as products that the user will repeatedly purchase. Alternatively, the estimation unit 33 may identify the products that the user will repeatedly purchase by inputting the product IDs of the products that the user will repeatedly purchase into the user terminal 10 and notifying the server device 30 of the product IDs.

[0030] The estimation unit 33 then converts the purchase date and time history of the products identified as those repeatedly purchased by the user into a normal distribution and estimates a period corresponding to the mean value ± standard deviation as the time range of the purchase date and time for each product. The estimation of the purchase date and time of the product is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, the mean value, median, or mode of the purchase date and time of each product included in the purchase history information. As a result, the storage unit 32 stores the product IDs of the products repeatedly purchased by each user and the future purchase dates and times of those products in association with the user ID of that user, as exemplified in FIG. 8.

[0031] The generation unit 34 generates guidance information for guiding the user to purchase a product in the future based on the estimated purchase time of the product. Specifically, the generation unit 34 refers to the information exemplified in FIGS. 5 to 8 to search for a store that has the product in stock at the estimated purchase time of the product. Then, the generation unit 34 refers to the information exemplified in FIGS. 5 to 8 to search for stores that have the product in stock and are within a certain geographical range from the user's location (for example, a circular range with a radius of Xm centered on the user's location, where X is an arbitrary value). Then, the generation unit 34 uses the information exemplified in FIGS. 5 to 8 to generate guidance information for guiding the user to purchase the product at the store.

[0032] Furthermore, the generation unit 34 refers to the information exemplified in FIGS. 5 to 8, and if the store does not have the product in stock at the estimated time of purchase for the product, generates guidance information to inform the store of the time when the product will be in stock.

[0033] The presentation unit 35 presents the generated guidance information for the product to the user terminal 10 at a time a certain period before the estimated purchase time of the product. The time a certain period before the purchase time is, for example, Y minutes before the purchase time (Y is an arbitrary value).

[0034] [Operation] Next, the operation of the server device 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. In the following description, for example, when the server device 30 is described as the subject of processing, this specifically means that the processor 3001 performs calculations by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 3001 and memory 3002, and controls communication via the communication device 3004 and reading and / or writing of data from and to the memory 3002 and storage 3003, thereby executing processing. The same applies to the user terminal 10.

[0035] 9, an acquisition unit 31 repeatedly acquires location information of the user terminal 10 (user location information) via the communication network 2. The acquired location information is stored in a storage unit 32 as illustrated in FIG.

[0036] In FIG. 9, the acquisition unit 31 acquires purchase history information on products purchased by each user from the purchase history accumulation system 20 (step S11).

[0037] The estimation unit 33 estimates the future purchase time of a product that has been purchased a predetermined number of times or more per unit period, such as once or more per week, among the products included in the purchase history information (step S12).

[0038] The generation unit 34 sets the presentation time when guidance information for guiding the user to purchase the product will be presented to the user in the future (step S13).

[0039] When the set presentation time arrives (step S14; YES), the generation unit 34 identifies stores within a certain geographical range from the user's location that have the product in stock at the estimated purchase time for the product (here, the current time determined as YES in step S14), and generates guidance information to guide the user to the store (step S15). At this time, the generation unit 34 generates guidance information to inform the user of the time when the product will be in stock at the store.

[0040] The presentation unit 35 transmits the generated guidance information to the user terminal 10 (step S16). As a result, a screen D as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the user terminal 10. This screen includes the product name of the product and the store name of the store to which the user is directed, as well as a soft button ("Details" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing details of the store, a soft button ("Map" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing the location of the store on a map, and a soft button ("Benefits" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing benefits given to users who visit the store or purchase the product at the store. By referring to such guidance information, the user can find out about stores where they can purchase products that they usually purchase repeatedly.

[0041] On the other hand, if the store does not have the product in stock at the estimated purchase time, the presentation unit 35 transmits guidance information to the user terminal 10 to display screen D, as shown in FIG. 11 (step S16). The screen shown in FIG. 11 includes a message informing the user that the product they regularly purchase is out of stock at stores near the user, as well as the name of the store where the product will be available and the time of arrival. Furthermore, screen D also includes a soft button ("Details" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing details about the store, a soft button ("Map" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing the location of the store on a map, and a soft button ("Benefits" in the figure) that transitions to a page showing benefits given to users who visit the store or purchase the product at the store. By referring to such guidance information, the user can learn that a product they regularly purchase is out of stock and when it will be available again.

[0042] According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to provide guidance to encourage a user to purchase a product that the user has repeatedly purchased.

[0043] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. Furthermore, two or more of the following modifications may be combined and implemented.

[0044] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, when the generation unit 34 generates guidance information, the search range for stores near the user is a geographical range based on the user's location. The size of this geographical range may be changed based on the purchase frequency of the product. For example, a product whose purchase frequency by the user is equal to or greater than a threshold may be considered to be a product that the user is strongly interested in purchasing, and the size of the geographical range may be relatively large. A product whose purchase frequency by the user is less than the threshold may be considered to be a product that the user is not so strongly interested in purchasing, and the size of the geographical range may be relatively small. In this way, by changing the size of the geographical range depending on the frequency of the estimated purchase time for the product, the generation unit 34 can search for stores where the product can be purchased in geographical ranges of different sizes depending on the user's willingness to purchase the product.

[0045] The size of this geographical range may also be varied based on the user's travel speed. For example, if the user's travel speed is equal to or greater than a threshold, the size of the geographical range may be relatively large, assuming that the user can travel long distances relatively easily. If the user's travel speed is below the threshold, the size of the geographical range may be relatively small, assuming that the user cannot travel long distances easily. The user's travel speed can be determined by calculating the amount of change per unit time in the user's location information history during a predetermined period prior to the purchase time estimated by the estimation unit 33. In this way, by having the generation unit 34 vary the size of the geographical range depending on the user's travel speed, it becomes possible to search for stores where the product can be purchased within geographical ranges of different sizes depending on the user's ease of travel.

[0046] The geographical range may be determined in advance for each user, for example, as the range from the current location of a user to the nearest store.

[0047] [Variation 2] In the above embodiment, the generation unit 34 identifies stores within a certain geographical range from the user's location that have the product in stock at the estimated time of purchase for the product, and generates guidance information to guide the user to those stores.On the other hand, if the product is not in stock at any store within a certain geographical range from the user's location at the estimated time of purchase for the product, the generation unit 34 generates guidance information to guide the user when the product will be in stock at that store.

[0048] In response to this, the presentation unit 35 may prioritize and present to the user either guidance information for providing information about stores within a certain geographical range from the user's location or guidance information for providing information about when products will be in stock at the store. The term "prioritizing" here includes, for example, presenting only the prioritized guidance information or presenting the prioritized guidance information to the user before the non-prioritized guidance information.

[0049] For example, if a user repeatedly purchases products that are commonly used as ingredients for dinner (such as meat or vegetables), and the estimated time of purchase for those products is shortly before the typical dinner time (for example, between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. every day), the system will consider those products to be likely to be consumed that day and prioritize guidance information to guide users to stores within a certain geographical range from the user's location.

[0050] On the other hand, for products that are relatively unlikely to be consumed on a given day (e.g., additive-free jelly, pesticide-free vegetables, baby food, etc.), there is a high probability that they will be out of stock and there are few substitutes, so priority is given to information informing the user when the product will be in stock at the store. Whether or not a product is likely to be consumed on a day including such a purchase date can be determined by, for example, storing information indicating whether or not a product is likely to be consumed on a day including the purchase date, in association with each product ID, as shown in FIG. 7, and then referencing that information. This makes it possible to present the user with guidance information that corresponds to whether or not the product is likely to be consumed on a day including the purchase date.

[0051] [Variation 3] If a store does not have a product in stock at the estimated purchase time, the generation unit 34 may generate guidance information including information for guiding the user to purchase a similar product that is in stock at the store. Whether two products are similar to each other can be determined by, for example, storing information indicating that the products are similar in advance, in association with each product ID that corresponds to a similar product, as shown in FIG. 7, and then referencing that information. This allows a user to purchase a similar product even if the product they want is out of stock.

[0052] [Variation 4] The generation unit 34 may be configured not to generate guidance information for purchasing a product if the period of time during which the product has not been purchased exceeds a certain period in the purchase history information of the product. This eliminates the need to present guidance information to the user for a product that the user has not purchased for a certain period of time or more, that is, a product that is unlikely to be purchased repeatedly by the user.

[0053] [Variation 5] Furthermore, if a certain period of time has passed since a purchase was made for a particular product in the purchase history information, the generation unit 34 may generate guidance information that includes benefits for purchasing other products that belong to the same category as the product in question and are frequently purchased by other users. This allows the user to learn about other products similar to a product that the user has stopped purchasing repeatedly because the user has grown bored of it, and also motivates the user to purchase the product.

[0054] [Variation 6] For example, if there is a user who frequently buys and eats ramen at a ramen shop, when a new ramen shop opens within a predetermined range based on the user's location (for example, a circular range with a radius of 500 m centered on the user's location), the user terminal 10 may be notified of this fact from the presentation unit 35 of the server device 30. This allows the user to know about new stores that sell products or services that the user frequently purchases.

[0055] [Other variations] The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining the single device or multiple devices with software.

[0056] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0057] For example, the server device 30 in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the present disclosure.

[0058] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (New Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wideband), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other appropriate systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.) may also be applied.

[0059] The present invention may also be an information processing method comprising the steps of: estimating a future purchase date for a product based on a user's purchase history; generating guidance information for guiding the user to purchase the product in the future; and presenting the generated guidance information for the product to the user at a time a certain period before the estimated purchase date for the product. The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be reordered unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0060] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to another device.

[0061] The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0062] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0063] Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc. Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then such wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of a transmission medium.

[0064] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof. In addition, terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

[0065] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information.

[0066] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0067] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

[0068] The "unit" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "means," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0069] When used in this disclosure, the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0070] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0071] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different." [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1: Information processing system, 2: Communication network, 10: User terminal, 1001: Processor, 1002: Memory, 1003: Storage, 1004: Communication device, 1005: Input device, 1006: Output device, 1007: Positioning device, 20: Purchase history accumulation system, 30: Server device, 31: Acquisition unit, 32: Memory unit, 33: Estimation unit, 34: Generation unit, 35: Presentation unit, 3001: Processor, 3002: Memory, 3003: Storage, 3004: Communication device.

Claims

1. an estimation unit that estimates a future purchase time of the product based on the user's product purchase history; a presentation unit that presents guidance information for guiding the user to purchase the product in the future to the user at a time a certain period before the estimated purchase time of the product; An information processing device comprising:

2. The guidance information includes information for guiding the user to stores that have the product in stock at the estimated purchase time of the product and that are within a certain geographical range from the user's location.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The guidance information includes information for informing the store when the product will be in stock if the store does not have the product in stock at the estimated purchase time for the product.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The size of the geographic range varies depending on the estimated frequency of purchases for the product.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The size of the geographical area varies depending on the moving speed of the user.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

6. The presentation unit presents to the user, with priority, either the guidance information including information for providing guidance to stores within a certain geographical range from the user's location or the guidance information including information for providing guidance on when the product will be in stock at the store.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

7. The guidance information includes information for guiding the purchase of a similar product that is in stock at the store and is similar to the product in question, when the product is out of stock at the store at the estimated purchase time for the product.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

8. If the period of time during which the product has not been purchased exceeds a certain period in the purchase history of the product, the guidance information is not presented to the user.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

9. The guidance information is guidance information that, when a period of time during which the product has not been purchased exceeds a certain period in the purchase history of the product, guides the user to purchase another product that belongs to the same category as the product in question and is frequently purchased by other users, and includes a benefit for purchasing the other product.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

10. A step of estimating a future purchase time of the product based on the user's product purchase history; presenting guidance information for guiding the user to purchase the product in the future to the user at a time a certain period prior to the estimated purchase time of the product; An information processing method comprising:

Images