Information processing apparatus, method, and program

Abstract

To provide a buying / selling support apparatus capable of activating transactions of an article, a buying / selling support method, and a program.SOLUTION: A management server 11 (buying / selling support apparatus) includes: a storage unit 113 which stores terminal information on a registered user and terminal information of a person in charge of a chat service associated with the terminal information; and a website management unit 112C (providing unit) which provides a chat service for connecting a terminal of the user with a terminal of the peron in charge, on the basis of the user terminal information and the person-in-charge terminal information stored in the storage unit 113.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a trading support device, a trading support method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems have been developed to assist in the buying and selling of goods (e.g., second-hand goods).

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a support server for automobile sales that provides automobile information and mediates sales. Specifically, when a terminal of a person wishing to sell a car accesses the support server's website and sends a request to put the car up for sale, the support server internally registers information about the car's past maintenance. The support server then accepts desired purchase conditions from the terminal of a person wishing to purchase the car, and if a matching car is found, it transmits information about the car's maintenance to the terminal of the person wishing to purchase the car.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a buying and selling support system that includes a store terminal, a car information management server, and a car database. Specifically, when a car sale request is received from the store terminal, the store terminal acquires car information from the car database based on the car number of the car to be sold, and calculates a selling price based on the car information. The store terminal registers the car sales information, including the selling price, in the car database or car sales system. When an individual wishing to purchase a car completes the purchase procedure at another store terminal, the individual acquires the car information registered in the car database and posted as up for sale. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-016224 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-153335 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the above-mentioned system, only when a car owner has the intention to sell does the seller's car information get registered in the system, and the car becomes available for purchase by a potential buyer. As a result, opportunities to conduct car sales transactions have been limited.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a buying and selling support device, a buying and selling support method, and a program that can stimulate the trading of goods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A buying and selling support device according to a first exemplary aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives update information on owned items held by a user, a owned item information acquiring unit that acquires owned item information, which is information on the owned items, based on the update information, an identifying unit that identifies replacement candidate items related to the owned items using at least the owned item information, and a proposal generating unit that generates a replacement proposal including information on the replacement candidate items, proposing to the user to replace the owned items with the replacement candidate items. As a result, the buying and selling support device can encourage the user to replace the owned items using the transmission of the update information as a trigger, thereby activating transactions of items.

[0009] The information on the owned items may include price information when the user purchased the owned items, and the identifying unit of the buying and selling support device may identify replacement candidate items based on the price information. This allows the buying and selling support device to suggest replacement candidate items in a price range that the user is likely to consider purchasing, thereby making it possible to make replacement suggestions that are more suitable for the user.

[0010] The buying and selling support device may further include a transmitting unit that transmits a replacement suggestion to the user. The receiving unit may further receive a notification from the user that the user is interested in a replacement candidate item, and the identifying unit may identify, based on the notification, an item similar to the replacement candidate item in which the user is interested as a replacement candidate item to be suggested by the suggestion generating unit in the future. This allows the buying and selling support device to suggest items in which the user is interested as replacement candidate items in the future, thereby making replacement suggestions that are more suitable for the user.

[0011] The buying and selling support device may further include a transmitting unit that transmits a replacement suggestion to the user. The identifying unit may identify a replacement candidate item from a purchasable item database that stores items that the user can purchase, using at least the owned item information. The owned item information acquiring unit acquires the owned item information from the owned item database that stores the owned item information when information about an additional item is newly added to the purchasable item database as additional item information. When a comparison of the owned item information and the additional item information determines that the owned item and the additional item are similar, the identifying unit identifies the additional item as a replacement candidate item to be suggested from the next purchase onwards, and the transmitting unit sends a notification to the user urging them to send updated information. This allows the buying and selling support device to suggest items that are similar to the owned item and that have recently become available for purchase (e.g., new products) as replacement candidate items, thereby further increasing the user's purchasing motivation.

[0012] The buying and selling support device may further include a transmitting unit that transmits a replacement suggestion to the user. The identifying unit may identify a replacement candidate item from a purchasable item database that stores items that the user can purchase, using at least the owned item information. The owned item information acquiring unit acquires the owned item information from the owned item database that stores the owned item information when information about an additional item is newly added to the purchasable item database as additional item information. When a comparison is made between the preferred item information, which is information about items that the user has a preference for, and the additional item information, and it is determined that the preferred item and the additional item are similar, the identifying unit identifies the additional item as a replacement candidate item to be suggested from the next purchase onwards, and the transmitting unit transmits a notification to the user urging them to send updated information. This allows the buying and selling support device to suggest items that match the user's preferences and are newly available for purchase (e.g., new products) as replacement candidate items, thereby further increasing the user's purchasing motivation.

[0013] Furthermore, the transmission unit of the trading support device may be configured not to transmit a notification prompting the user to transmit new update information until a predetermined period has elapsed since the transmission of the notification prompting the user to transmit update information. This prevents the user from receiving multiple notifications from the trading support device in a short period of time, thereby reducing the annoyance felt by the user.

[0014] Furthermore, if the owned item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the owned item and the additional item is equal to or greater than a predetermined level, the transmission unit of the buying and selling support device may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information even before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the previous notification prompting the user to send update information. On the other hand, if the owned item and the additional item are similar but the similarity between the owned item and the additional item is less than the predetermined level of similarity, the transmission unit will not transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the previous notification prompting the user to send update information. As a result, unless the additional item is highly similar to the owned item, the user will not receive notifications for the predetermined period of time. Therefore, the user is less likely to receive replacement suggestions for items that are not highly similar to their interests, which reduces the annoyance felt by the user.

[0015] Furthermore, if the owned item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the owned item and the additional item is equal to or greater than a predetermined similarity, the transmission unit of the trading support device may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new updated information after a first period has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification prompting the user to send updated information. On the other hand, if the owned item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the owned item and the additional item is less than a predetermined similarity, the transmission unit may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new updated information after a second period longer than the first period has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification prompting the user to send updated information. This allows the trading support device to notify the user less frequently when the additional item has a low similarity to the owned item compared to when the similarity is high. Therefore, the user is less likely to receive replacement suggestions for items that are less similar to their interests, thereby reducing the annoyance felt by the user.

[0016] Furthermore, if the preferred item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the preferred item and the additional item is equal to or greater than a predetermined level, the transmission unit of the buying and selling support device may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information even before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the previous notification prompting the user to send update information. On the other hand, if the preferred item and the additional item are similar but the similarity between the preferred item and the additional item is less than the predetermined level of similarity, the transmission unit does not transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the previous notification prompting the user to send update information. As a result, unless the additional item is highly similar to the preferred item, the user will not receive notifications for the predetermined period of time. Therefore, the user is less likely to receive replacement suggestions for items that do not match their interests, which reduces the annoyance felt by the user.

[0017] Furthermore, if the preferred item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the preferred item and the additional item is equal to or greater than a predetermined similarity, the transmitter may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information after a first period has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification prompting the user to send update information. On the other hand, if the preferred item and the additional item are similar and the similarity between the preferred item and the additional item is less than a predetermined similarity, the transmitter may transmit a notification prompting the user to send new update information after a second period longer than the first period has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification prompting the user to send update information. This allows the buying and selling support device to notify the user less frequently when the additional item has a low similarity to the preferred item compared to when the similarity is high. Therefore, the user is less likely to receive replacement suggestions for items that are less similar to their interests, thereby reducing the annoyance felt by the user.

[0018] The trading support device may further include a storage unit that stores terminal information of registered users and terminal information of staff members providing chat services linked to the terminal information, and a chat service provider that connects the user's terminal and the staff member's terminal based on the user's terminal information and the staff member's terminal information stored in the storage unit, thereby enabling smoother communication between the user and the staff member.

[0019] The sales support device may further include a communication model generation unit that generates a communication model that identifies a communication pattern related to the purchase of at least one of goods and services using training data including a communication history between the user and the user's staff member and the user's purchase history of at least one of goods and services, and a communication proposal generation unit that generates a proposal to the target user's staff member regarding communication related to the purchase of at least one of the target goods and the target service by using the communication model and the communication history between the target user and the target user's staff member. This allows the target user's staff member to communicate related to the purchase of the target goods or the target service, thereby improving sales performance of the target goods or the target service.

[0020] Here, the communication history is a chat history between the user and the user's representative, the communication model generation unit uses the training data to generate a communication model that identifies a conversation pattern in chat related to the purchase of at least one of a product and a service, and the communication proposal generation unit may generate proposals for chat conversations related to the purchase of at least one of the target product and the target service by using the communication model and the chat history between the target user and the target user's representative. This allows the target user's representative to develop a conversation related to the purchase of the target product or the target service in chat, thereby improving sales performance of the target product or the target service.

[0021] Furthermore, the training data may further include at least one of the user's personal information, a behavioral history related to the user's purchase of at least one of a product and a service, and a history related to the user's sales promotion of at least one of the product and the service, and the communication proposal generation unit may generate proposals by further using at least one of the target user's personal information, the target user's behavioral history related to the target user's purchase of at least one of the product and the service, and the target user's history related to the sales promotion of at least one of the product and the service. This allows the person in charge of the target user to communicate with the user in a way that is more appropriate for the user's attributes or behavior.

[0022] The communication proposal generator may generate proposals regarding at least one of the timing to communicate with the target user, at least one of an article and a service to recommend to the target user for purchase, and a sales promotion method for at least one of the target article and the target service to the target user, thereby enabling the person in charge of the target user to take a more effective method for selling the article or service.

[0023] The buying and selling support device may further include a sales model generation unit that generates a sales model specifying at least one of advertising and sales promotion techniques related to the sale of at least one of goods and services using training data including a history of at least one of advertising and sales promotion related to at least one of goods and services and a sales history of at least one of goods and services, and a sales method proposal generation unit that generates a proposal for at least one of advertising and sales promotion related to the sale of at least one of target goods and target services using the sales model. This allows a person in charge of advertising or sales promotion to adopt advertising or sales promotion techniques related to the sale of the target goods or target services, thereby improving sales performance of the target goods or target services.

[0024] In the above-described buying and selling support device, the owned goods and goods that the user can purchase may be automobiles, thereby enabling the buying and selling support device to easily mediate automobile transactions.

[0025] A buying and selling support method executed by a buying and selling support device according to a second exemplary aspect of the present invention includes a receiving step of receiving update information on owned items owned by a user, a owned item information acquiring step of acquiring owned item information that is information on the owned items based on the update information, an identifying step of identifying replacement candidate items related to the owned items using at least the owned item information, and a proposal generating step of generating a replacement proposal including information on the replacement candidate items, which proposes to the user to replace the owned items with the replacement candidate items. As a result, the buying and selling support device can encourage the user to replace the owned items using the transmission of the update information as a trigger, thereby activating transactions of items.

[0026] A program according to a third exemplary aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a receiving step of receiving update information on owned items owned by a user, a owned item information acquiring step of acquiring owned item information that is information on the owned items based on the update information, an identifying step of identifying replacement candidate items related to the owned items using at least the owned item information, and a proposal generating step of generating a replacement proposal that includes information on the replacement candidate items and suggests to the user to replace their owned items with the replacement candidate items. As a result, the computer can encourage the user to replace their owned items using the transmission of the update information as a trigger, thereby stimulating transactions of items. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a buying and selling support device, a buying and selling support method, and a program that can stimulate the trading of goods. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal according to the first embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a management server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by the management server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by the management server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a management server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a management server according to a third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a management server according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a management server according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by a management server according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 18]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by a management server according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to an eighth embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to a ninth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management server according to a ninth embodiment. [Figure 23] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a management server according to a ninth embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to each embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Embodiment 1 (1A: Reference to maintenance and inspection history) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the following embodiments, an example in which an automobile is traded as an article will be described. In embodiment 1, the basic processing executed by the management server (trading support device) will be described.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to a first embodiment. Briefly explaining the overview of FIG. 1, the buying and selling support system S1 includes at least terminals 10A and 10B, a management server 11, and a maintenance and inspection history database (DB) 12. The terminals 10A and 10B are terminals owned by the vehicle owner (owner) and the vehicle buyer, respectively. The management server 11 is connected to the terminals 10A and 10B, respectively, and is a server owned by a brokerage company that mediates the buying and selling of used cars. The management server 11 mediates between the owner and the buyer and functions as a platform that supports the conclusion of a used car sales contract between the owner and the buyer. The maintenance and inspection history DB 12 is connected to the management server 11 and is a database that stores information about the maintenance and inspection history of vehicles owned by multiple users. The maintenance and inspection history DB 12 may be owned by the brokerage company that owns the management server 11, or by a different company. The arrows in FIG. 1 indicate the chronological order of information being transmitted and received, and details of this will be described later. The detailed configuration of each terminal or device will be described below.

[0031] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of terminals 10A and 10B. In the following description, terminals 10A and 10B are collectively referred to as terminal 10. Terminal 10 includes a communication unit 101, a display unit 102, an input unit 103, an imaging unit 104, a control unit 105, and a storage unit 106. Terminal 10 is configured as any information processing device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a PC (Personal Computer).

[0032] The communication unit 101 (transceiver) functions as a transmitting unit that transmits information to the management server 11, and also functions as a receiving unit that receives information from the management server 11. For example, the communication unit 101 can transmit information to the management server 11 by accessing a website (described below) operated by the management server 11 and inputting information via the input unit 103. However, the communication unit 101 can also transmit information to and receive information from the management server 11 in other ways, and can also communicate with terminals and devices other than the management server 11. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly.

[0033] The display unit 102 is an interface for displaying information stored in the memory unit 106 and information received from the management server 11. The input unit 103 is an interface for a user (holder or buyer) of the terminal 10 to input information. For example, the user can input information to be sent to the management server 11. The display unit 102 is configured, for example, by a display or a touch panel, and the input unit 103 is configured, for example, by buttons or a touch panel. Note that at least a portion of the display unit 102 and the input unit 103 may be configured as a common component using a touch panel.

[0034] The imaging unit 104 is configured with a camera and captures desired content. The captured information may be displayed on the display unit 102 by the control unit 105 or transmitted via the communication unit 101. Furthermore, when the imaging unit 104 reads a two-dimensional barcode such as a QR code (registered trademark) on a vehicle inspection certificate, the control unit 105 may access a website specified by the two-dimensional barcode via the communication unit 101, and cause information listed on the website to be displayed on the display unit 102 or stored in the storage unit 106.

[0035] The control unit 105 controls the processing of each unit of the terminal 10 and is connected to each of the other components via a bus. For example, the control unit 105 can display information transmitted from the management server 11 on the display unit 102. The control unit 105 can also transmit input information acquired from the input unit 103 to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101.

[0036] The storage unit 106 can store information input to the input unit 103 and information received from the management server 11 under the control of the control unit 105. The storage unit 106 may also store a program for realizing the processing executed by the control unit 105.

[0037] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management server 11. The management server 11 includes a communication unit 111, a control unit 112, and a storage unit 113. However, the management server 11 may further include an input unit and a display unit having the same functions as the terminal 10. The management server 11 is made up of one or more arbitrary information processing devices. The management server 11 also operates a website that can be accessed by the terminal 10.

[0038] The communication unit 111 (transceiver) functions as a transmitting unit and a receiving unit that transmits and receives information to and from the terminal 10 and the maintenance and inspection history DB 12. For example, it is possible to transmit and receive information to and from the terminal 10 via a website. However, the communication unit 111 can also communicate with other terminals or devices.

[0039] The control unit 112 implements the functions of an analysis unit 112A, a search unit 112B, a site management unit 112C, etc. by reading and executing software (computer programs) from the storage unit 113. Each of these functions will be described below.

[0040] The analysis unit 112A analyzes information received via the communication unit 111 and determines the next process to be executed by the management server 11. For example, when information about a user's owned vehicle (owned items) is received from the terminal 10A as information about a vehicle to be sold, the analysis unit 112A stores the information in the memory unit 113, and determines that the search unit 112B should search for information about the maintenance and inspection history of the vehicle to be sold in the maintenance and inspection history DB 12 based on the information. Furthermore, when the site management unit 112C acquires maintenance and inspection history information about the vehicle to be sold from the maintenance and inspection history DB 12, the site management unit 112C should upload the maintenance and inspection history information to the website. Furthermore, when the search unit 112B receives inquiry information about a vehicle to be sold from the terminal 10B, the search unit 112B searches for information about the vehicle to be sold stored in the memory unit 113 according to the content of the inquiry information, and acquires information about the vehicle to be sold that matches the inquiry.

[0041] Furthermore, when a website is accessed from terminal 10 via communication unit 111, analysis unit 112A determines, in accordance with the content of the access, that site management unit 112C should update the content of the website to be displayed on terminal 10. Also, when communication unit 111 receives an instruction to withdraw a vehicle desired for sale from terminal 10A, analysis unit 112A may analyze the instruction and determine that site management unit 112C should delete information about the vehicle desired for sale related to the instruction from the website (i.e., make it unavailable for viewing from terminal 10B).

[0042] When the search unit 112B receives information related to a vehicle to be sold or an inquiry from the terminal 10, it searches for the desired information based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 112A. For example, when information related to a vehicle to be sold (information about a vehicle to be sold) is received from the terminal 10A, the search unit 112B uses the vehicle identification information, such as the vehicle identification number, contained in the information to search for and obtain maintenance and inspection history information related to the vehicle to be sold in the maintenance and inspection history DB 12 via the communication unit 111. On the other hand, when the search unit 112B receives information related to an inquiry about a vehicle to be sold from the terminal 10B, the search unit 112B searches for and obtains information about the vehicle to be sold stored in the memory unit 113 according to the inquiry information.

[0043] The site management unit 112C manages websites that can be accessed by the terminal 10. Specifically, the site management unit 112C manages information to be uploaded to the website. For example, when the search unit 112B acquires maintenance and inspection history information related to a vehicle desired for sale, the site management unit 112C uploads the maintenance and inspection history information to the website. Furthermore, when an instruction to withdraw the vehicle desired for sale is received from the terminal 10A, the site management unit 112C deletes the information about the vehicle desired for sale from the website. Furthermore, depending on the content of the access from the terminal 10, the site management unit 112C updates the content of the website to be displayed on the accessed terminal 10 and transmits the updated content to the terminal 10 via the communication unit 111.

[0044] The storage unit 113 stores the owner's personal information, information about vehicles to be sold acquired from the terminal 10A, and maintenance and inspection history information about the vehicles to be sold acquired by the search unit 112B, all associated with the connection destination (destination) of the owner's terminal 10A. The site management unit 112C uploads predetermined information from the information stored in the storage unit 113 to the website. The storage unit 113 may also store a program for realizing the processing executed by the control unit 112.

[0045] Returning to Figure 1, the explanation will continue. The maintenance and inspection history DB 12 stores maintenance and inspection history information for vehicles owned by multiple users. The maintenance and inspection history information refers to information related to at least one of the vehicle inspection, statutory inspection, and other inspections of each vehicle, linked to a vehicle identification number that identifies the vehicle or a specific number that identifies the maintenance and inspection history information.

[0046] The following describes in detail the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S1 using Figures 1 and 4. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (11) to (16) in the following description indicate the explanations corresponding to (11) to (16) in Figure 1.

[0047] (11) First, the owner of the vehicle operates the input unit 103 of the terminal 10A to input information about the vehicle to be sold on the website and transmit it to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101. The communication unit 111 receives the information about the vehicle to be sold (step S11). The information about the vehicle to be sold may include, for example, the vehicle identification number, the vehicle inspection certificate, a specific number identifying maintenance and inspection history information, detailed information about the vehicle to be sold (information such as the vehicle model, manufacturer, color, mileage, vehicle options, comments and photos indicating the condition of the exterior and interior), and comments from the owner about the vehicle to be sold. As an example, a start button for the imaging unit 104 is provided on the website displayed on the display unit 102. When the owner presses this button using the input unit 103, the site management unit 112C outputs an instruction to the terminal 10A, thereby activating the imaging unit 104. When the owner photographs the QR code on the vehicle inspection certificate with the activated imaging unit 104, the terminal 10A acquires the data about the vehicle inspection certificate, which is then transmitted to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101. The acquired vehicle inspection certificate data may be displayed on the display unit 102.

[0048] (12) After the analysis unit 112A analyzes the sales vehicle information, the search unit 112B uses the received vehicle identification number to search for maintenance and inspection history information linked to the vehicle identification number from the maintenance and inspection history DB 12 (step S12). Alternatively, the search unit 112B may use a specific number that identifies the maintenance and inspection history information for the search.

[0049] (13) The communication unit 111 acquires the maintenance and inspection history information searched for in (12). After the analysis unit 112A analyzes this information, the site management unit 112C executes a process of associating the information about the vehicle to be sold with the information about the maintenance and inspection history and uploading it to the website (step S13). This makes the information about the vehicle to be sold and the maintenance and inspection history information viewable from any terminal. The acquired information about the vehicle to be sold and the maintenance and inspection history information are stored in the memory unit 113. Here, personal information about the owner other than the information about the vehicle acquired in (11) and (12) is stored in the memory unit 113, but is not uploaded to the website. Therefore, this information cannot be acquired from the terminal 10B.

[0050] (14) The site management unit 112C also notifies the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 that the registration of the vehicle to be sold on the website has been completed (step S14).

[0051] (15) Next, the car buyer operates the input unit 103 of the terminal 10B to input information about the car for sale that the buyer wishes to purchase on the website, and transmits this information as inquiry information to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101. Note that the inquiry information may be, for example, an inquiry about detailed information about a specific car that the buyer specified on the website. Alternatively, the buyer may input the desired conditions for the car they wish to purchase on the website and request a match.

[0052] The communication unit 111 acquires the inquiry information from the terminal 10B. The search unit 112B searches the information on vehicles for sale currently published on the website stored in the memory unit 113 according to the content of the inquiry, and acquires the information on vehicles for sale that matches the inquiry and the associated maintenance and inspection history information (step S15). For example, if a buyer inputs the desired conditions of the prospective purchaser on the website, the search unit 112B acquires all the information on vehicles for sale that matches the conditions and the corresponding maintenance and inspection history information.

[0053] (16) The site management unit 112C transmits the acquired information on the vehicle to be sold and the maintenance and inspection history information to the terminal 10B via the communication unit 111 so that the information can be displayed on the website displayed on the terminal 10B (step S16).

[0054] The site management unit 112C may accept user registration of owners and buyers on the website. For example, after the owner executes the user registration process via the terminal 10A, the site management unit 112C may cause the terminal 10A to display a screen for registering information about vehicles to be sold on the website, thereby enabling the owner to transmit the information about vehicles to be sold to the management server 11.

[0055] Furthermore, when a buyer performs user registration processing via terminal 10B, analysis unit 112A analyzes the registration processing information via communication unit 111, and then causes site management unit 112C to permit acceptance of a car purchase request from terminal 10B. This allows terminal 10B to submit a car purchase request to management server 11 for the car that is available for viewing on the website. Here, the buyer's personal information sent from terminal 10B during the user registration processing is stored in memory unit 113 and is not uploaded to the website. Therefore, this information cannot be obtained from terminal 10A.

[0056] The buyer may also use terminal 10B to post a comment about the vehicle being offered for sale. The owner may also use terminal 10A to post a reply comment in response to that comment. These comments are sent from each terminal 10 to management server 11, and are associated with the vehicle being offered for sale information by site management unit 112C, uploaded to the website, and stored in storage unit 113. This allows chat-like communication between the owner and the buyer on the website, thereby enabling smooth sales transactions.

[0057] In the buying and selling support system S1 described above, when a buyer inquires about the car they wish to purchase, the buyer can refer to its maintenance and inspection history, which increases the reliability of used car transactions. In addition, personal information of the owner and buyer is managed by the management server 11 and is not disclosed to anyone other than the owner, making it possible to trade used cars with consideration for privacy.

[0058] (1B: Processing of amount display) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a sales support system capable of executing processes that can be executed in parallel with the process described in (1A). Unlike FIG. 1, FIG. 5 includes a sales price DB 13 instead of the maintenance and inspection history DB 12. The sales price DB 13 is connected to the management server 11 and is a database in which information on the sales prices of various used cars (so-called market price information) is stored in association with detailed information about the used cars (such as model, manufacturer, color, mileage, car options, comments and photos showing the condition of the exterior and interior, etc.). The sales price DB 13 may be owned by the brokerage company that owns the management server 11, or by a different company. The block diagrams of the terminal 10 and management server 11 are the same as those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, so their explanations are omitted.

[0059] The details of the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S1' will be explained below using Figures 5 and 6. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the management server 11. (11') to (16') in Figure 5 indicate the information sent and received in chronological order, and the symbols (11') to (16') in the following specification indicate the explanations corresponding to (11') to (16') in Figure 5. Furthermore, the processing of (11') to (16') is performed in parallel with the processing of (11) to (16) in Figure 1, respectively.

[0060] (11') First, when submitting information about a vehicle to be sold, the owner of the vehicle also inputs the desired selling price of the vehicle on the website and transmits it to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101. This desired selling price may be determined by the owner with reference to an estimated price calculated by AI (Artificial Intelligence), for example. The communication unit 111 of the management server 11 receives the desired selling price information from the terminal 10A (step S11').

[0061] (12') The search unit 112B uses the received sales vehicle information to search the sales price DB 13 for sales price information of used cars similar to the sales vehicle (step S12'). Note that the search may also use the maintenance and inspection history information obtained in (13).

[0062] Here, "used cars similar to the car being offered for sale" refers to, for example, the detailed information of the used car, which is a factor in determining the sales price, and the detailed information of the car being offered for sale, which match or are within a range that can be considered to match in one or more aspects (for example, model, manufacturer, color, mileage, car options, exterior and interior condition, maintenance and inspection history, etc.). This similarity aspect may be determined, for example, by the search unit 112B before the search. For this similarity judgment, known technology can be used as appropriate.

[0063] (13') The communication unit 111 acquires the sales price information of the used cars searched for in (12'). The analysis unit 112A analyzes this information and creates a graph that allows the user to visually recognize where the desired selling price acquired in (11') is located in the distribution of the acquired used car sales prices. The graph may be any type of graph, such as a bar graph. The site management unit 112C executes a process of associating the desired selling price and graph with the desired selling car information, etc., and uploading them to the website (step S13'). As a result, the desired selling price and graph are associated with the desired selling car information and become viewable from any terminal. The desired selling price and graph are also associated with the desired selling car information and stored in the memory unit 113.

[0064] (14') The site management unit 112C also notifies the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 that the registration of the vehicle to be sold on the website has been completed (step S14').

[0065] (15') Next, the car buyer inputs information about the car they wish to purchase on the website and transmits it as inquiry information to the management server 11 via the communication unit 101. The search unit 112B retrieves information about the car they wish to sell that matches the content of the inquiry, as well as the desired selling price and graph information associated with it, by searching the memory unit 113 (step S15').

[0066] (16') The site management unit 112C transmits the acquired desired selling price and graph to the terminal 10B and displays them (step S16'). The site management unit 112C may configure a website so that it can provide at least the information on the desired selling price to the terminal 10B as an electronic file. One example of the format of the electronic file is PDF (Portable Document Format). Based on access from the terminal 10B, the site management unit 112C transmits the electronic file to the terminal 10B via the communication unit 111. This allows the buyer to download the selling price of the desired car as an estimate. The electronic file may be linked to the buyer's personal information and stored in the memory unit 113.

[0067] In this way, buyers can view the desired selling price of the vehicle they wish to purchase in a graph format that combines data on the selling prices of used cars similar to the desired vehicle. Therefore, they can easily determine whether the used car they are considering purchasing is a good deal compared to the market price, which will increase the buyer's desire to purchase.

[0068] In the process of (1B), the processes (12) to (13) for acquiring maintenance and inspection history information shown in (1A) are not required. After the owner registers as a user on the website, the site management unit 112C may display a screen for inputting the desired selling price on the website on the terminal 10A, and after the desired selling price is input, the processes from (11') onward may be performed. This allows the owner to have the selling price assessed by user registration, thereby providing an incentive for the owner to register as a user.

[0069] In addition, in (1B), the same processing or variations as in (1A) can be applied as appropriate. For example, if the owner can enter a comment about the car they wish to sell, the owner may refer to the desired selling price and graph disclosed on the website and enter a comment about the selling points of the car they wish to sell. For example, if the desired selling price is higher than the market price on the graph, the owner can enter the reason in the comment (for example, the car has a premium), making it easier to sell the car they wish to sell.

[0070] In addition to the processes (12') and (13'), the management server 11 may input information about vehicles to be sold as input data into a model that has been machine-learned in advance and shows the relationship between used cars and their sales prices, obtain estimated listing price information as output data, and display the price information on a website in association with the information about the vehicles to be sold. This model may be generated by machine learning by the management server 11 or another device based on detailed information about cars sold in the past and their sales prices, which are stored in the memory unit 113 of the management server 11. The model can also be updated as needed.

[0071] Furthermore, instead of the sales price DB 13, a model may be provided in which machine learning has been performed in advance, and in which input data and output data indicate automobiles that are similar to each other. The search unit 112B inputs the sales car information to the model as input data, and acquires information on used cars (similar to the sales car) that is output as output data. Because this used car information includes sales price information, the search unit 112B can acquire the sales price information of used cars from the output data.

[0072] Embodiment 2 (2A: Notice of replacement proposal) Next, in the second embodiment, a process will be described in which the management server (sales support device) generates a trade-in proposal for a car owner and transmits it.

[0073] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to the second embodiment. Briefly explaining the overview of FIG. 7, the buying and selling support system S2 includes at least a terminal 10A, a management server 21, an owned vehicle DB 22 (owned item database), and a purchase target vehicle DB 23 (purchasable item database). The terminal 10A is a terminal owned by a vehicle owner, and its configuration is as described in FIG. 2. The management server 21 is a server owned by a brokerage company, and is connected to the terminal 10A, the owned vehicle DB 22, and the purchase target vehicle DB 23. The owned vehicle DB 22 and the purchase target vehicle DB 23 are databases that store information about vehicles owned by multiple users and information about vehicles that the user can currently purchase, respectively. These databases may be owned by the brokerage company that owns the management server 21, or by different companies. The arrows in FIG. 7 indicate the chronological order of information being transmitted and received, and details of this will be described later. The detailed configuration of each terminal or device will be described below.

[0074] 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management server 21. The management server 21 includes a communication unit 211, a control unit 212, and a storage unit 213. However, the management server 21 may further include an input unit and a display unit having the same functions as the terminal 10. The management server 21 is made up of one or more arbitrary information processing devices. The management server 21 also operates a website that can be accessed by the terminal 10.

[0075] The communication unit 211 (transceiver) functions as a transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving information to and from the terminal 10, the owned vehicle DB 22, and the purchase target vehicle DB 23. For example, information can be transmitted and received to and from the terminal 10 via a website.

[0076] The control unit 212 reads and executes software (computer programs) from the storage unit 213, thereby realizing functions of an analysis unit 212A, a search unit 212B, a site management unit 212C, a proposal generation unit 212D, etc. Each of these functions will be described below.

[0077] The analysis unit 212A analyzes the information received via the communication unit 211 and determines the next process to be executed by the management server 21. For example, when updated information on the user's owned vehicles is received from the terminal 10A, the analysis unit 212A stores the information in the storage unit 113 and determines, based on the information, that the search unit 212B should perform a process to search for information on the owned vehicles (owned vehicle information) in the owned vehicle DB 22. Furthermore, when the analysis unit 212A acquires owned vehicle information from the owned vehicle DB 22, the analysis unit 212A determines, based on the owned vehicle information, that the search unit 212B should perform a process to search (identify) replacement candidate vehicles related to the owned vehicle from the purchase target vehicle DB 23. The analysis unit 212A can also perform the same process as the analysis unit 112A according to the first embodiment.

[0078] The search unit 212B (owned item information acquisition unit and identification unit) searches for desired information based on the analysis result of the analysis unit 212A. For example, it searches and acquires information about the automobile related to the update information received from the terminal 10A from the owned vehicle information in the owned vehicle DB 22 via the communication unit 211. Furthermore, it uses the owned vehicle information acquired from the owned vehicle DB 22 to search and acquire information about replacement candidate vehicles related to the owned vehicle from the purchase target vehicle information in the purchase target vehicle DB 23 via the communication unit 211. Note that the search unit 212B can also perform the same processing as the search unit 112B according to the first embodiment.

[0079] Here, the search unit 212B can determine the "replacement candidate vehicle related to the owned vehicle" as follows, for example. For example, the search unit 212B may compare the owned vehicle information with the purchase candidate vehicle information in the purchase candidate vehicle DB23 for each purchase candidate vehicle, and if it is determined that the owned vehicle and the purchase candidate vehicle are similar, identify the purchase candidate vehicle as a replacement candidate vehicle. Here, "the owned vehicle and the purchase candidate vehicle are similar" means that the detailed information of the owned vehicle and the detailed information of the purchase candidate vehicle, which are elements that can be said to be similar between the owned vehicle and the purchase candidate vehicle, match or are within a range that can be considered to match in one or more aspects (e.g., model, manufacturer, color, vehicle options, exterior and interior appearance, etc.). The search unit 212B can read and use the similarity aspects that are pre-stored in the memory unit 213.

[0080] Furthermore, instead of the eligible vehicle DB 23, a model may be provided that has been machine-learned in advance and that, when automobile information is input as input data, outputs information on eligible vehicles similar to the automobile as output data. The search unit 212B inputs owned vehicle information as input data to the model, and acquires the eligible vehicle (similar to the owned vehicle) output as output data as a replacement candidate vehicle.

[0081] The owned vehicle information may also include price information when the user purchased the owned vehicle. The search unit 212B identifies replacement candidate vehicles by performing a similarity determination that takes into account price information as described above. As a result, the search unit 212B can identify replacement candidate vehicles in a price range similar to the price at which the owned vehicle was purchased, whether using the purchase target vehicle DB23 or a machine learning model.

[0082] The site management unit 212C executes the same processes as the site management unit 112C according to the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0083] The proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal including information about the replacement candidate vehicle, proposing to the user to trade in their owned vehicle for the replacement candidate vehicle. For example, if the user's owned vehicle is vehicle A and the replacement candidate vehicle is vehicle B, the proposal generation unit 212D generates a proposal such as, "Why don't you consider purchasing vehicle B, which has just been released?" After generating the replacement proposal, the proposal generation unit 212D may transmit the generated replacement proposal to the terminal 10A via the communication unit 211. Alternatively, the proposal generation unit 212D may display the generated replacement proposal on the display unit of the management server 21, allowing a sales staff member or the like to modify the information about the replacement proposal using an input unit of the management server 21. The modified replacement proposal is transmitted to the terminal 10A by operation of the sales staff member.

[0084] The memory unit 213 stores automobile update information acquired from the terminal 10A, owned vehicle information acquired by the search unit 212B, and information on replacement candidate vehicles. The memory unit 213 also stores the contents of the replacement proposal generated by the proposal generation unit 212D and information on the date and time of transmission thereof, in association with personal information of the owner (e.g., name, vehicle identification number of the owned vehicle, etc.) managed by the management server 21. Furthermore, the memory unit 213 may store a program for realizing the processing executed by the control unit 212. The memory unit 213 can also execute processing similar to that of the memory unit 113 according to the first embodiment.

[0085] Returning to FIG. 7, the explanation will be continued. The owned vehicle DB 22 stores owned vehicle information for each user known to the brokerage company. The owned vehicle information may include detailed information such as a vehicle identification number that identifies the vehicle, the vehicle model, manufacturer, color, mileage, vehicle options, and the condition of the exterior and interior. The owned vehicle information may also include the maintenance and inspection history information described above. The owned vehicle DB 22 stores owned vehicle information, for example, when a user purchases a current owned vehicle or when the user registers as a user with the brokerage company.

[0086] The eligible car DB23 stores eligible car information about cars that the user can currently purchase and cars that the user can purchase in the future. The eligible car information may include detailed information similar to the owned car information. Furthermore, the available cars may include not only new cars but also used cars.

[0087] The following describes in detail the communications and processes performed within the trading support system S2 using Figures 7 and 9. Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the processes executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (21) to (26) in the following description indicate the explanations corresponding to (21) to (26) in Figure 7.

[0088] (21) First, the automobile owner operates the input unit 103 of the terminal 10A to send updated information about his / her own vehicle to the management server 21 via the communication unit 101. The updated information may be sent by inputting it on a website operated by the management server 21, or may be sent to the management server 21 via a medium such as email. The updated information is information indicating whether or not the condition of the owned vehicle has changed since the time of purchase or the last time updated information was sent, and may be, for example, information indicating at least one of the following: maintenance and inspection history, vehicle inspection update information, whether or not there has been an accident, changes in mileage, and changes in the exterior and interior condition (e.g., the occurrence of scratches), but is not limited to these. The updated information may also be information indicating "no change." The updated information also includes information used to search for owned vehicle information, such as the vehicle identification number. The communication unit 211 of the management server 21 receives the updated information from the terminal 10A (step S21; receiving step).

[0089] (22) After the analysis unit 212A analyzes the update information, the search unit 212B uses the received vehicle identification number to search the owned vehicle DB 22 for owned vehicle information linked to the vehicle identification number (step S22).

[0090] (23) The communication unit 211 acquires the owned vehicle information searched for in (22), and the analysis unit 212A analyzes this information (step S23; owned item information acquisition step).

[0091] (24) The search unit 212B uses the acquired owned vehicle information to search for replacement candidate vehicles related to the owned vehicle from the purchase target vehicle information in the purchase target vehicle DB 23 via the communication unit 211 (step S24; identification step). Note that the search unit 212B may use the update information acquired in step S21 or the owner's personal information stored in the memory unit 213 when searching.

[0092] (25) The communication unit 211 acquires the information on the replacement candidate vehicles searched for in (24), and the analysis unit 212A analyzes this information. Then, the proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal including the information on the replacement candidate vehicles (step S25; proposal generation step).

[0093] (26) The proposal generation unit 212D transmits the replacement proposal to the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 (step S26). The terminal 10A displays the replacement proposal received by the communication unit 101 on the display unit 102, so that the owner can view the replacement proposal. The proposal generation unit 212D stores the content of the generated replacement proposal and information on the date and time of transmission in the memory unit 213 for each owner.

[0094] Here, the owner may operate the input unit 103 to send a notification to the management server 21 indicating that the owner is interested in the replacement candidate item proposed in the replacement proposal. The owner can send this notification, for example, by replying to the email containing the replacement proposal. The communication unit 211 receives this notification, and the analysis unit 212A analyzes the content of the notification and changes the settings of the search unit 212B as follows. Based on the notification, the search unit 212B identifies a purchase candidate vehicle similar to the replacement candidate vehicle in which the user is interested as a replacement candidate vehicle to be proposed by the proposal generation unit 212D from the next time onwards. The next time onwards may be, for example, the timing when update information is next received from the terminal 10A, or may be any timing thereafter. In this case, the search unit 212B may apply information related to the replacement candidate vehicle, instead of the owned vehicle information, to the purchase candidate vehicle DB 23 or a machine learning model, and execute the above-described method for identifying a purchase candidate vehicle.

[0095] If the search unit 212B is unable to search for a replacement candidate vehicle related to the owned vehicle in step S24, the management server 21 does not execute the subsequent processes.

[0096] In the buying and selling support system S2 described above, the management server 21 can prompt users to replace their owned goods with new ones, triggered by the transmission of update information, thereby making it possible to stimulate trading of goods.

[0097] Here, the search unit 212B can also identify replacement candidate items based on price information, which allows the management server 21 to suggest replacement candidate items in a price range that the user is likely to purchase, thereby making it possible to make replacement suggestions that are more suitable for the user.

[0098] (2B: Details of replacement proposal Part 1) As the processing of the management server 21 shown in (2A), the following more detailed processing as described in (2B) and (2C) may be performed.

[0099] For example, when new purchase eligible vehicle information (hereinafter referred to as additional vehicle information) is added to the purchase eligible vehicle DB 23, the purchase eligible vehicle DB 23 may notify the management server 21 of this fact. The analysis unit 212A analyzes the notification and causes the search unit 212B to acquire the additional vehicle information from the purchase eligible vehicle DB 23. Note that the purchase eligible vehicle DB 23 may automatically send the additional vehicle information to the management server 21 when it newly stores the additional vehicle information.

[0100] Furthermore, the search unit 212B acquires owned vehicle information of a certain owner from the owned vehicle DB 22. Here, the owners whose owned vehicle information is to be acquired (i.e., who will be the target for determining whether to generate a replacement proposal thereafter) may be, for example, all owners stored in the memory unit 213, or owners who have passed a predetermined threshold (period) since the previous replacement proposal was transmitted. This predetermined threshold is stored in the memory unit 213. The search unit 212B acquires this threshold and information on the date and time of the previous transmission of the replacement proposal from the memory unit 213, and determines, for each owner, who will be the target for determining whether to generate a replacement proposal.

[0101] The search unit 212B then determines whether the owned vehicle in the owned vehicle information and the vehicle in the added vehicle information are similar. The method for determining similarity is, for example, as described in (2A). If it is determined that the two are similar, the search unit 212B identifies the added vehicle as a replacement candidate vehicle that the proposal generation unit 212D will propose from the next time onwards. The proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal for this replacement candidate vehicle, and the communication unit 211 sends a notification to the owner urging them to send updated information. The management server 21 performs this process for all owners who have been subject to the determination for the generation of a replacement proposal.

[0102] The "notification prompting transmission of updated information" prompts the owner to input updated information, for example, by saying, "Has anything changed recently in Mr. / Ms. X's car? Please select from the options below." When the owner replies to the notification by entering the specified information, the updated information is transmitted to the management server 21 as in step S21 described above. After the analysis unit 211A of the management server 21 analyzes the updated information, the proposal generation unit 212D uses the updated information as a trigger to transmit the replacement proposal previously generated by the above process to the terminal 10A.

[0103] The owner's personal information stored in the storage unit 213 may also include information about the owner's preferred automobiles (preferred automobile information). The preferred automobile information includes, for example, the model, manufacturer, color, mileage, vehicle options, and the exterior and interior appearance of the preferred automobile. The search unit 212B determines whether the automobile in the preferred automobile information is similar to the automobile in the additional automobile information. In other words, the preferred automobile information is used to determine similarity instead of the owned automobile information described above.

[0104] If it is determined that the vehicle in the preferred vehicle information and the vehicle in the added vehicle information are similar, the search unit 212B identifies the added vehicle as a replacement candidate vehicle that the proposal generation unit 212D will propose next time onwards. The proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal for this replacement candidate vehicle, and the communication unit 211 sends a notification to the owner urging them to send updated information. The management server 21 performs this process for all owners who are the subject of the determination for generating a replacement proposal. If the management server 21 receives updated information from the owner, the analysis unit 212A determines this and then causes the proposal generation unit 212D to send the replacement proposal that it previously generated to the owner via the communication unit 211.

[0105] This allows the management server 21 to suggest, among the newly available cars, cars similar to the owned car or cars that suit the owner's preferences as potential replacement items, thereby further increasing the user's desire to purchase.

[0106] Instead of sending a notification urging the owner to send updated information, the management server 21 can generate a replacement offer for the vehicle in the additional vehicle information determined to be similar and send it to the terminal 10A. However, by waiting for an action from the owner before sending the replacement offer to the terminal 10A, the owner is more likely to accept the replacement offer.

[0107] Furthermore, the storage unit 213 may store information about the last transmission date and time of a notification prompting each owner to transmit update information. When determining owners for whom a replacement proposal generation determination is to be made, the search unit 212B extracts information about the last transmission date and time for each owner and determines whether a predetermined threshold (period) has elapsed since the last transmission date and time. Owners for whom the predetermined threshold has elapsed since the last transmission date and time are then subject to determination for the generation of a replacement proposal, while other owners are excluded from this determination. In other words, notifications prompting the transmission of new update information are not sent to other owners. This predetermined threshold is stored in the storage unit 213. This prevents owners from receiving repeated notifications from the management server 21 within a short period of time, thereby reducing the annoyance felt by the owners.

[0108] (2C: Details of replacement proposal Part 2) In (2B), if it is determined that the owned vehicle in the owned vehicle information and the vehicle in the additional vehicle information are similar, the search unit 212B may further determine the similarity between them. The similarity is expressed, for example, by the number of elements that match or are within a range that can be considered to match in terms of the above-mentioned similarity (e.g., vehicle model, manufacturer, color, vehicle options, exterior and interior appearances, etc.). Alternatively, as described above, if a model that has been machine-learned in advance is used instead of the purchase target vehicle DB 23, the output data output by the model may be expressed by including, in addition to information about similar vehicles, a numerical value of the similarity between the vehicle and the vehicle related to the input data. The search unit 212B determines whether the similarity between them is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (similarity). This predetermined threshold is stored in the storage unit 213.

[0109] If the similarity between the two is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the search unit 212B identifies the added vehicle as a replacement candidate vehicle currently being proposed by the proposal generation unit 212D, even if a predetermined period (for example, several weeks to several months) has not yet elapsed since the previous notification urging the owner to send updated information. The proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal for this replacement candidate vehicle, and the communication unit 211 transmits a notification urging the owner to send updated information.

[0110] On the other hand, if the similarity between the two is less than a predetermined threshold, the search unit 212B identifies the added car as a replacement candidate car that the proposal generation unit 212D will propose in the future. This "future" refers to the timing after a predetermined period has passed since the previous transmission of a notification urging the owner to send updated information. When that timing arrives, the proposal generation unit 212D generates a replacement proposal for this replacement candidate car, and the communication unit 211 transmits a notification to the owner urging the owner to send updated information. Therefore, at this stage, no notification urging the owner to send new updated information is transmitted. The management server 21 performs the above process for all owners who are the subject of the determination for generating a replacement proposal.

[0111] Furthermore, if the similarity between the two is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the search unit 212B may be configured to cause the communication unit 211 to send a notification to the owner urging them to send updated information after a first period t1 has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification urging them to send updated information. On the other hand, if the similarity between the two is less than the predetermined threshold, the search unit 212B may be configured to cause the communication unit 211 to send a notification to the owner urging them to send updated information after a second period t2 (>t1) has elapsed since the previous transmission of a notification urging them to send updated information. The first period t1 and the second period t2 are thresholds for determination stored in the storage unit 213. Furthermore, as described above, the search unit 212B identifies the added vehicle as a candidate replacement vehicle to be proposed in the future by the proposal generation unit 212D.

[0112] By the above process, the owner is less likely to receive replacement offers for items that do not match his / her interests, thereby reducing the annoyance felt by the owner.

[0113] Furthermore, the process described in (2C) can be executed not only when it is determined that the owned vehicle in the owned vehicle information and the vehicle in the additional vehicle information are similar, but also when it is determined that the vehicle in the additional vehicle information is similar to the vehicle that the owner prefers. The same effect can be achieved in this way. In either case, when the management server 21 receives update information from the owner, the analysis unit 212A determines this, and the proposal generation unit 212D can transmit a pre-generated replacement proposal to the owner via the communication unit 211. The threshold value used for the determination can be changed as desired.

[0114] In the following embodiments, other embodiments will be described that can be appropriately applied to the buying and selling support systems in Embodiments 1 and 2. Furthermore, the configurations and processes described in different embodiments can also be used in combination as appropriate.

[0115] Third embodiment (Determination of desired selling price) FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a trading support system according to the third embodiment. Explaining the overview of FIG. 10, trading support system S3 includes at least terminals 10A and 10B, a management server 11, a sales amount DB 13, and a related information DB 31. Terminals 10A and 10B and sales amount DB 13 are as described in the first embodiment. Management server 11 is connected to terminals 10A and 10B, management server 11, sales amount DB 13, and related information DB 31, respectively, and is a server owned by a brokerage company. The configuration of management server 11 is as shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, arrows in FIG. 10 indicate the chronological order of information being transmitted and received, and details of this will be described later.

[0116] The related information DB31 is a database that stores related information about the vehicles owned by owners managed by the management server 11, and may be owned by the brokerage company that owns the management server 11, or by a different company. Here, the related information includes general information about the money paid by buyers of used cars, such as catalog data (vehicle specifications) of the owned cars, environmental performance tax, automobile tax, and repair warranty fees. The related information is stored in the related information DB31 in association with information that can identify the owned cars, such as the vehicle identification number of the owned cars.

[0117] The following describes in detail the communications and processes performed within the trading support system S3 using Figures 10 and 11. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processes executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (31) to (37) in the following description indicate the explanations corresponding to (31) to (37) in Figure 10.

[0118] (31) First, the owner of the car inputs information about the car they wish to sell using the input unit 103 and sends it to the management server 11. The communication unit 111 then receives the information about the car they wish to sell (step S31). The input may be, for example, data obtained by scanning a QR code and sent to the management server 11 via a website. Furthermore, the information about the car they wish to sell does not include the desired selling price of the car they wish to sell.

[0119] (32) After the analysis unit 112A analyzes the desired vehicle information, the search unit 112B uses the received desired vehicle information to search for sales price information of used cars similar to the desired vehicle from the sales price DB 13. The details are the same as in step S12'.

[0120] (32') The search unit 112B uses the received sales vehicle information to search for related information related to the sales vehicle from the related information DB 31 (step S32). For example, the received vehicle identification number is used in the above search.

[0121] (33) The communication unit 111 acquires the sales price information of the used cars searched for in (32). The analysis unit 112A analyzes this information and creates a graph showing the distribution of the sales price information of used cars. A specific example of this graph is as described in step S13'.

[0122] (33') The communication unit 111 also acquires the related information searched for in (32') (step S33). The information acquired through the above process is associated with the desired vehicle information and stored in the storage unit 113.

[0123] In addition to the processes (32), (33), (32'), and (33'), the management server 11 may input the desired vehicle information as input data into a model that shows the relationship between used cars and their sales prices, which has been machine-learned in advance, to acquire estimated exhibition price information as output data. Details of this model are as described in the first embodiment. Furthermore, an appraisal price derived by an AI other than this model may also be calculated as estimated exhibition price information. The price information acquired in this manner is associated with the desired vehicle information and stored in the memory unit 113.

[0124] (34) The search unit 112B transmits the graph obtained by the above process, related information about the car to be sold, and estimated price information to the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 as information for determining the desired selling price (step S34).

[0125] (35) The car owner views the transmitted information and checks the market price for the car and the amount that a buyer of the car will pay. Based on this information, the owner determines the desired selling price for the car, enters the desired selling price on the website, and transmits it to management server 11. Management server 11 receives the desired selling price information (step S35).

[0126] (36) After the analysis unit 112A analyzes the desired selling price information, the site management unit 112C plots the acquired desired selling prices of the vehicles on a graph. Then, the site management unit 112C executes a process of associating the desired selling price information of the vehicles, related information, desired selling prices of the vehicles, and the plotted graph, and uploading them to the website (step S36). The site management unit 112C also notifies the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 that registration of the vehicles on the website has been completed.

[0127] (37) The uploaded information can be viewed from any terminal, for example, terminal 10B. Terminal 10B can also acquire the uploaded purchase price information as an electronic file of a rough estimate. The electronic file may be linked to the buyer's personal information and stored in storage unit 113.

[0128] Through the above process, when determining the desired selling price, the owner can check the market price for the car he owns and the amount that the owner's buyer will pay, allowing him to set a price that is more favorable for the car or a price higher than initially expected. This allows for a transaction that is profitable for the owner. Furthermore, the buyer can check related information about the used car, allowing him to know more accurately the amount that he will pay.

[0129] In (31), the information on cars to be sold sent from terminal 10A may include the desired selling price of the car. In this case, in (35), the car owner will view the sent information, revise the desired selling price of the car, and send the desired selling price information to management server 11. The graph generated in (36) displays the revised desired selling price information.

[0130] Embodiment 4 (Trial Listing System) FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to the fourth embodiment. Explaining the outline of FIG. 12, the buying and selling support system S4 is a system that allows trial listing (provisional listing) of owned vehicles, and includes at least terminals 10A and 10B, a management server 11, a maintenance and inspection history DB 12, and a sales price DB 13. Each component of the buying and selling support system S4 is as described in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the arrows in FIG. 12 indicate the information being transmitted and received in chronological order, and this will be described in detail below.

[0131] The details of the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S4 will be explained using Figures 12 and 13. Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (41) to (47) in the following specification indicate the explanations corresponding to (41) to (47) in Figure 12.

[0132] (41) First, the car owner uses the input unit 103 to input the desired car information and the desired selling price for the car he / she owns that is the subject of the trial listing, and transmits the information to the management server 11. The communication unit 111 then receives the desired car information (step S41). Note that the input may also be made, for example, on a website.

[0133] (42) The management server 11 performs the same process as in step S12, whereby the search unit 112B searches for maintenance and inspection history information relating to the vehicle to be sold.

[0134] (42') Furthermore, the management server 11 performs the same process as in step S12', so that the search unit 112B searches the sales price DB 13 for sales price information of used cars similar to the desired car (step S42).

[0135] (43) The communication unit 111 acquires the maintenance and inspection history information searched for in (42).

[0136] (43') The communication unit 111 also acquires the related information searched for in (42'). After the analysis unit 112A analyzes this information, the site management unit 112C executes a process of associating the information on the vehicle to be sold, the sales price information, and the maintenance and inspection history information, and uploading them to the website (step S43). This makes the uploaded information viewable from any terminal. The information obtained by the above process is also associated with the information on the vehicle to be sold and stored in the memory unit 113.

[0137] (44) The site management unit 112C notifies the terminal 10A via the communication unit 111 that the provisional registration (trial listing) of the vehicle to be sold on the website has been completed (step S44).

[0138] (45) For used cars (cars offered for sale) that are exhibited on a trial basis on the website, the site management unit 112C does not accept purchase procedures from other terminals. Instead, the site management unit 112C provides a configuration on the website that accepts applications for the actual listing of used cars in association with the used cars exhibited on a trial basis. After viewing the information about the cars exhibited on a trial basis, the buyer operates the input unit 103 of the terminal 10B to send an application for the actual listing of the car to the management server 11 via the website. The communication unit 111 receives the application for the actual listing sent from the terminal 10B (step S45).

[0139] (46) After the analysis unit 112A analyzes the received information, the site management unit 112C notifies the terminal 10A that an application for permanent listing has been made (step S46).

[0140] (47) The owner, upon learning from the notification sent to terminal 10A that a request for official listing has been made, determines that the owner's vehicle is likely to be sold by official listing, and operates input unit 103 to send a request for official listing to management server 11. Communication unit 111 receives the request for official listing sent from terminal 10A. Then, site management unit 112C performs official listing processing, which starts accepting purchase procedures from other terminals for the vehicle for which official listing has been requested (step S47).

[0141] The above process allows the owner to test list their vehicle before putting it up for sale, and they can find out whether there is demand for their vehicle before putting it up for sale. Therefore, the owner can sell their vehicle at an effective time when there is likely to be demand.

[0142] During the trial listing, the owner can also send a request to the management server 11 via the terminal 10A to withdraw the trial listing. In this case, the site management unit 112C will cancel the upload of the vehicle information, etc., for the requested vehicle so that it will not be displayed on other terminals. The management server 11 may also withdraw the trial listing if the owner does not notify the request for a permanent listing until a predetermined period has elapsed since the trial listing. This predetermined period is stored in the memory unit 113.

[0143] The site management unit 112C may also provide the website with a function that allows buyers to search for cars currently uploaded to the website (including both cars that are officially listed and cars that are being offered for trial sale). The terminal 10B transmits detailed information about the car the buyer wishes to purchase (such as price range, model, manufacturer, color, mileage, car options, and the condition of the exterior and interior) entered by the buyer via the website to the management server 11. The communication unit 111 receives the information, and the analysis unit 112A analyzes it. Based on the results, the site management unit 112C extracts cars that meet the specified conditions for the car from the uploaded cars, and transmits the extracted car information for sale from the communication unit 111 to the terminal 10B as information to be displayed on the website. By viewing this information, the buyer can apply for the aforementioned official listing of the specific car they wish to purchase.

[0144] Furthermore, management server 11 may transmit a proposal to put the owned vehicle up for trial sale together with the replacement proposal in embodiment 2. When terminal 10A sends a notification of a desire to put the owned vehicle up for trial sale in response to the proposal, management server 11 transmits information on an input format in which the desired selling price pertaining to (41) can be entered to terminal 10A by email, website, or the like. In this case, the information on the owned vehicle to be sold can be diverted from the information on the owned vehicle previously acquired in step S23, and therefore does not need to be acquired from the owner.

[0145] Fifth embodiment (system for calculating repair cost based on scratch information) FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to the fifth embodiment. Briefly explaining the overview of FIG. 14, the buying and selling support system S5 is a system that includes at least terminals 10A and 10B, a management server 11, and a damage information DB 51, and that enables calculation of repair costs for owned vehicles. The damage information DB 51 stores detailed damage information, repair details, and repair costs for each case in which a vehicle is damaged, in association with each other. The damage information includes attribute information of the damage, such as the location, type, size, and repair history of the damage. The repair details include, for example, sheet metal processing and painting, but are not limited to these. The other components of the buying and selling support system S5 are as described in the first embodiment. The arrows in FIG. 14 indicate the information being transmitted and received in chronological order, and details of this will be described below.

[0146] The details of the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S5 will be described using Figures 14 and 15. Figure 15 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (51) to (57) in the following description indicate the explanations corresponding to (51) to (57) in Figure 14. Also, as an example, the following processing can be executed in parallel with the processing from (31) onwards in the third embodiment.

[0147] (51) First, based on access from terminal 10A, management server 11 transmits a screen (damage input screen) for the owner to input damage information about his / her own automobile to terminal 10A via communication unit 111 (step S51). The damage input screen may be displayed, for example, on a website. The damage input screen may be one that allows the owner to input damage information (for example, attach a photo) for each part of the automobile, for example.

[0148] (52) The owner inputs information about damage to the exterior and interior of the vehicle on the display unit 102 by any method, such as by writing a comment, drawing a diagram, or attaching a photo, and transmits the information to the management server 11. The communication unit 111 receives the information (step S52).

[0149] (53) As a result of analyzing the information received by the analysis unit 112A, the search unit 111B searches the scratch information DB 51 (step S53). In detail, the search unit 111B extracts examples of scratches similar to the scratch received in step S51 from the scratch information DB 51 based on attributes such as the location, type, size, and repair history of the scratch included in the scratch information.

[0150] (54) The search unit 111B acquires information on the repair content and repair cost for the extracted case (step S54).

[0151] (55) The communication unit 111 transmits the information on the repair content and repair cost acquired in step S54 as estimate information to the terminal 10A (step S55).

[0152] (56) The user of terminal 10A determines the desired selling price of the owned vehicle based on the transmitted repair estimate information. Note that, in addition to the repair estimate information, terminal 10A may also display information on the market price for the owned vehicle and the amount that a buyer of the owned vehicle will pay, as shown in (35). The owner enters the desired selling price on the website and transmits it to management server 11. Management server 11 receives the desired selling price information. Then, site management unit 112C uploads the desired selling price information to the website (step S56). Furthermore, site management unit 112C may also upload the damage information received in step S52 and the information on the repair details and repair price acquired in step S54 to the website. Furthermore, terminal 10A is notified via communication unit 111 that registration of the vehicle to be sold on the website has been completed.

[0153] (57) The uploaded information can be viewed from any terminal, for example, the terminal 10B. The terminal 10B can also obtain the uploaded price information related to the purchase as an electronic file of a rough estimate.

[0154] By using the above process, the owner can set a more reasonable desired selling price by knowing the estimated repair costs in advance. Also, the buyer can know the costs involved in the purchase more accurately.

[0155] Note that a model that has undergone machine learning in advance regarding the scratch information, the repair details, and the repair cost may be provided instead of the scratch information DB 51. The search unit 212B inputs the scratch information obtained in step S52 to the model as input data, and acquires the information on the repair details and repair cost output as output data.

[0156] Furthermore, in (52), the site management unit 112C may provide the terminal 10A with website functions such as a function to process the background of a photo related to scratch information and a function to hide the license plate of a vehicle that appears in the photo. Processing the background of a photo means, for example, blanking out the background area other than the vehicle or creating a virtual background area. The owner performs these processes on the photo by operating the input unit 103 on the website. The site management unit 112C can display the processed photo in a way that respects privacy by uploading it to the website.

[0157] Sixth embodiment (acquisition of various information about owned vehicles) FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to embodiment 6. Explaining the outline of FIG. 16, the buying and selling support system S6 is a system that includes at least a terminal 10A, a management server 11, a sales price DB 13, and an owned vehicle DB 22, and that enables the acquisition of various information about owned vehicles. Each component of the buying and selling support system S6 is as described in the previous embodiment. Furthermore, the arrows in FIG. 16 indicate the information being sent and received in chronological order, and this will be described in detail below.

[0158] The details of the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S6 will be described using Figures 16 and 17. Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (61) to (64) in the following description indicate the corresponding explanations for (61) to (64) in Figure 14. Also, the following processing will be described as being performed based on a notification urging transmission of update information in the second embodiment, but this is not limiting and may be performed at any timing.

[0159] (61) First, when the car owner receives a notification prompting them to send update information, they use input unit 103 to send information about their car to management server 11 in the form of a reply to the notification. Here, image capture unit 104 captures the QR code on the car inspection certificate, and terminal 10A acquires the data on the car inspection certificate and transmits it to management server 11, but the method of sending information about their car is not limited to this. The method of acquiring the data on the car inspection certificate is as described above. In this way, communication unit 111 receives the data on the car inspection certificate (step S61).

[0160] (62) The analysis unit 112A analyzes the received vehicle inspection certificate data, causing the search unit 111B to perform a search for owned vehicles. Specifically, the search unit 111B uses the vehicle identification number in the received owned vehicle information to search the owned vehicle DB 22 for owned vehicle information linked to that vehicle identification number. This owned vehicle information includes, for example, various information regarding whether the owned vehicle is subject to a recall, the timing of vehicle inspections and statutory inspections (every 12 months or 24 months), and the presence or absence of vehicle options (for example, a sunroof, car navigation system, or seats). The owned vehicle information may also include detailed information about the owned vehicle and maintenance and inspection history information.

[0161] (62') The search unit 111B also uses the information contained in the received vehicle inspection certificate data to search the sales price DB 13 for sales price information of used cars similar to the owned vehicle (step S62). Note that the search unit 111B may also use detailed information about the owned vehicle and maintenance and inspection history information acquired from the owned vehicle DB 22 in (62) for the search.

[0162] (63) The communication unit 111 acquires the owned vehicle information of the owned vehicle searched for in (62).

[0163] (63') The communication unit 111 also acquires sales price information for the used cars searched for in (62'). The acquired sales price information includes information such as the number of years each used car has been in use and the mileage.

[0164] The analysis unit 112A analyzes the vehicle inspection certificate data and the owned vehicle information, and predicts the current or future appraised price of the target owned vehicle based on the used vehicle sales price information acquired in (63') (step S63). For example, the analysis unit 112A determines the timing of the owned vehicle's next vehicle inspection based on various information. Then, based on information on the owned vehicle's age at that time and information on the estimated mileage at that time calculated based on data on the mileage during average use, the analysis unit 112A predicts the appraised price of the owned vehicle at that time using the acquired used vehicle sales price information. Note that there may be multiple times to be predicted.

[0165] (64) The communication unit 111 transmits the owned vehicle information acquired by the search and the information on the estimated owned vehicle appraisal price to the terminal 10A (step S64).

[0166] With the above process, owners can obtain detailed information about their vehicles and their estimated value by simply scanning the QR code on their vehicle inspection certificate. This not only improves the quality of services provided to users (for example, after-sales service after a car purchase), but also motivates owners to replace their vehicles.

[0167] In (61), the owner may transmit information on the current mileage of their vehicle to the management server 11 together with the data on the vehicle inspection certificate. For example, the storage unit 113 may store, for each owner, mileage data for that vehicle (owned vehicle) along with the update timing of each piece of data. The analysis unit 112A periodically checks the mileage data of the vehicles stored in the storage unit 113, and if there is a vehicle whose mileage data has not been updated for a predetermined period or more, it transmits a notification to the terminal of the owner of that vehicle, prompting the owner to transmit mileage information. This notification may be sent together with the notification prompting the owner to transmit updated information described in the second embodiment. The predetermined period that serves as a threshold for determining whether to send a notification may be stored in the storage unit 113 and may be updatable by the administrator.

[0168] In this case, the analysis unit 112A can use the information on the current mileage when predicting the assessed price in step S63. For example, when predicting the assessed price at the time of the next vehicle inspection, the mileage of the owned vehicle at that time is calculated using the information on the current mileage, and the assessed price of the owned vehicle is predicted using the predicted mileage. This allows the assessed price to be predicted more accurately.

[0169] Furthermore, in (62), when the analysis unit 112A recognizes that it has received the mileage data, it awards a predetermined number of service points to the owner who sent the data. This service point information is recorded as owner data in the storage unit 113 and is also transmitted to the terminal 10A. Service points can also be awarded by other processes. When the service points exceed a certain value, the analysis unit 112A executes a process to issue a coupon. The coupon may be transmitted to the terminal 10A as electronic data or may be printed on paper by a printer connected to the management server 11. The coupon may be used, for example, to pay for services related to the owned vehicle (e.g., option installation, repair, car wash, or purchase of the target vehicle), or may be used to pay for other products or services from a brokerage company or its affiliated companies. However, the coupon data may be associated with the owner's personal information and stored in the storage unit 113. Furthermore, similar service point awarding processes can be performed even when other information related to the owned vehicle is updated, not just the mileage data. This not only motivates the owner to update the information, but also allows the management server 11 to grasp more accurate information about the owned vehicle, leading to improved service. The process of awarding service points and information about the number of points to be awarded are stored in the storage unit 113, and the analysis unit 112A refers to this information when awarding service points.

[0170] Furthermore, as described in the first embodiment, a model that has undergone machine learning in advance may be used instead of the sales price DB 13. In this case, by inputting owned vehicle information as input data to the model, the search unit 112B acquires used vehicle information that is output as output data. This input owned vehicle information may include mileage data.

[0171] Seventh embodiment (acquisition of listing information) Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to embodiment 7. Explaining the outline of Fig. 18, the buying and selling support system S7 is a system that includes at least terminals 10A and 10B, a management server 11, an owned vehicle DB 22, and a registered vehicle DB 71, and that enables acquisition of auction item information.

[0172] The terminal 10A is a terminal of an owner who has purchased a car from a brokerage company, or an owner who has undergone user registration processing. The user registration processing is as explained in (1A).

[0173] The owned vehicle DB22 stores owned vehicle information including detailed information about the owned vehicles, in association with connection destination (destination) information for the terminal 10A owned by the owner of each owned vehicle. This data is stored in the owned vehicle DB22, for example, when the above-mentioned user registration process is performed. The owned vehicle DB22 is a DB of automobiles owned by clients of the intermediary company. Furthermore, the registered vehicle DB71 stores registered vehicle information including detailed information about registered vehicles for which user registration process has been performed, in association with connection destination information for the terminal 10A owned by the registered user (owner) of each registered vehicle. Note that these registered vehicles also include vehicles being exhibited for trial as described in embodiment 4, and the registered vehicle information may include a flag indicating whether the registered vehicle is being exhibited for trial or not.

[0174] The site management unit 112C of the management server 11 manages a listing bulletin board as one of the websites accessible by the terminals 10A and 10B. The terminals 10A and 10B can post comments of any content on the listing bulletin board. The analysis unit 112A acquires and analyzes the posted information via the communication unit 111. If the posted information is detailed information about a vehicle from a buyer wishing to put up for sale, the search unit 112B determines to perform a process of searching for a vehicle corresponding to the detailed information about the vehicle from among the vehicle information stored in the owned vehicle DB 22 and the registered vehicle 71 DB. In response to this determination, the search unit 112B searches the owned vehicle DB 22 and the registered vehicle 71 DB for owned vehicle information and registered vehicle information corresponding to the detailed information about the vehicle wishing to put up for sale via the communication unit 111. Then, the search unit 112B acquires connection destination information for the terminal 10A associated with the corresponding owned vehicle information and registered vehicle information. The analysis unit 112A controls the communication unit 111 to send a notification encouraging the terminal 10A to put up for sale to the acquired connection destination.

[0175] The other processes executed by the components of the trading support system S7 are the same as those described in the previous embodiments. The arrows in Fig. 18 indicate the chronological order of the information transmitted and received, and will be described in detail below.

[0176] The details of the communications and processing performed within the trading support system S7 will be described using Figures 18 and 19. Figure 19 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the management server 11. Note that the reference numerals (71) to (75) in the following description indicate the explanations corresponding to (71) to (75) in Figure 18.

[0177] (71) First, a buyer posts detailed information about a vehicle they wish to put up for sale on the exhibition request message board managed by the site management unit 112C. As a result, the communication unit 111 receives the detailed information about the vehicle they wish to put up for sale from the terminal 10B (step S71). The analysis unit 112A analyzes the detailed information about the vehicle they wish to put up for sale. Then, the search unit 112B determines to perform a process of searching for a vehicle that corresponds to (is relevant to) the detailed information about the vehicle they wish to put up for sale from the information about vehicles stored in the owned vehicle DB 22 and the registered vehicle DB 71.

[0178] (72) In response to the determination, the search unit 112B searches the owned vehicle DB 22 via the communication unit 111 for owned vehicle information corresponding to the detailed information of the vehicle desired to be put up for auction (step S72).

[0179] (72') Furthermore, the search unit 112B searches the registered vehicle DB 22 via the communication unit 111 for registered vehicle information corresponding to the detailed information of the vehicle desired to be put up for auction.

[0180] (73) The communication unit 111 acquires the connection destination information of the terminal 10A associated with the owned vehicle information identified by the search in (72) (step S73).

[0181] (73') Furthermore, the communication unit 111 acquires connection destination information of the terminal 10A associated with the registered vehicle information identified by the search in (72').

[0182] (74) The analysis unit 112A controls the communication unit 111 to send a notification encouraging the owner to put the vehicle up for sale to the connection destination of the terminal 10A acquired in (73) and (73'). At this time, the analysis unit 112A controls the communication unit 111 to send a notification encouraging at least one of the official listing and the trial listing to the terminal 10A associated with the owned vehicle information and the terminal 10A associated with the registered vehicle information of the registered vehicle not being put up for sale for trial. For example, the analysis unit 112A may include in the content of the notification that the owner is urging the owner to consider putting the vehicle up for sale because there is a user who wishes to purchase the vehicle owned by the owner, and that trial listing is also possible if the owner wishes to further confirm demand for the vehicle before putting it up for sale. In contrast, the analysis unit 112A controls the communication unit 111 to send a notification encouraging the owner to put the vehicle up for sale to the connection destination of the terminal 10A associated with the registered vehicle information of the registered vehicle being put up for trial sale (step S74). In response to the control of the analysis unit 112A, the communication unit 111 sends a notification encouraging the owner to put the vehicle up for sale to the connection destination of the terminal 10A (step S74).

[0183] (75) Based on the notification, the user of terminal 10A decides whether to put his / her vehicle up for trial or full sale. Then, terminal 10A sends a request to put the vehicle up for trial or full sale. Communication unit 111 receives the request sent from terminal 10A. Then, site management unit 112C processes the requested vehicle for trial or full sale (step S75). This process is as described in (41) to (44) or (47) of embodiment 4.

[0184] Through the above process, owners can understand that there is demand for their cars, which motivates them to put their cars up for trial or full sale, leading to increased trading activity.

[0185] Embodiment 8 (chat service) FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a buying and selling support system according to the eighth embodiment. Explaining the outline of FIG. 20, the buying and selling support system S8 includes at least a terminal 10, a management server 11, and a terminal 80. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the management server 11 provides a chat service that directly connects the terminal 10 (the terminal of the owner or buyer of the car) with the terminal 80 of the person in charge of the chat service who corresponds to the user of the terminal 10. The arrows in FIG. 20 indicate the transmission and reception of information related to the chat. The terminal 80 is configured with any information processing device such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or PC.

[0186] The storage unit 113 of the management server 11 stores terminal information of users registered with the chat service and terminal information of the person in charge of the chat service linked to the terminal information. Registration with the chat service may be performed by the user registration process described above. The person in charge of the chat service is, for example, a sales staff member of the intermediary company who is in charge of the user. The user's terminal information and the person in charge's terminal information each include connection destination information for each terminal. Here, information on multiple terminals for each user and person in charge may be linked and stored in the storage unit 113. Furthermore, the storage unit 113 stores screen information for the chat service (chat screen) and information transmitted from the terminal 10 and the terminal 80 via the chat service. Any type of chat service can be applied as long as it is a chat-style service in which conversations are conducted in real time.

[0187] The site management unit 112C functions as a provider that provides a chat service that connects the user's terminal 10 and the person in charge's terminal 80 based on the above-mentioned user's terminal information and person in charge's terminal information stored in the storage unit 113. In detail, the site management unit 112C displays a chat screen on the terminal 10 and the terminal 80 based on the information stored in the storage unit 113. When a message is posted from either the terminal 10 or the terminal 80, the site management unit 112C reflects the content of the message acquired from the communication unit 111 on the chat screen and displays the reflected screen on the terminal 10 and the terminal 80.

[0188] The chat service provided is a service conducted between terminal 10 and terminal 80, and the contents of the chat between the two cannot be viewed from other terminals. Furthermore, this chat service allows both terminals 10 and 80 to send not only written text but also various types of electronic data such as images, PDFs, coupons, etc.

[0189] For example, the person in charge can use terminal 80 to write content such as greetings to the user, asking how the user's car is doing, celebrating an event related to the user, proposing a new car or a new service, scheduling a phone or face-to-face consultation, and providing operational support for the website managed by site management unit 112C. Events related to the user include, for example, user events such as the user's birthday, or family events such as a child's school entrance. Website operational support includes, for example, support on the above-mentioned methods for full listing and trial listing, and how to respond to comments. Furthermore, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for a specific service can also be entered.

[0190] The user can use the terminal 10 to write a reply regarding the above content, and can also access the homepage of a specified service by operating the input URL. The user can also take a picture of the owned car with the imaging unit 104 of the terminal 10 and upload the picture to the chat to show the person in charge the condition of the owned car. The person in charge can view the picture on the chat screen, and if the owned car has any damage, etc., can suggest that the user use the repair cost estimate service described in the fifth embodiment.

[0191] As another example, the person in charge operates the terminal 80 to access the maintenance and inspection history DB 12 and refer to information about the maintenance and inspection history of the user's vehicle. This allows the terminal 80 to acquire information about the user's vehicle, such as the vehicle inspection date, statutory inspection date, and automobile insurance expiration date. Furthermore, the person in charge can operate the terminal 80 to reference the owner's personal information stored in the storage unit 113 of the management server 11, thereby acquiring the service points and coupon data owned by the owner, as described in the sixth embodiment. Furthermore, the person in charge can also operate the terminal 80 to reference the personal information, thereby acquiring electronic files containing predetermined information, such as the desired sales price and approximate estimate, as described in the above-described embodiment, as well as other electronic files, such as sales brochures. The person in charge can upload this information to chat on the screen of the terminal 80, allowing the user to easily check the information from the terminal 10.

[0192] A chat application (hereinafter referred to as the app) is installed in the terminals 10 and 80, and when new content is added to a chat, the app's function is to display a push notification on the display unit of the terminal 10 or 80 to indicate that the chat has been updated. This allows both the user and the person in charge to confirm that new communication has been made by the other party.

[0193] As described above, the chat service provided by the management server 11 directly connects the user and the person in charge, allowing for smoother communication between the two. For example, the user can easily check various information about the vehicle he or she owns on a regular basis through contact from the person in charge. Furthermore, compared to methods such as telephone or mail, the chat service can also reduce stress regarding communication for the user.

[0194] Furthermore, for the person in charge, it can increase opportunities for communication with customers, which leads to improved after-sales service and increased sales opportunities. This can invigorate transactions. Furthermore, since the management server 11 can grasp information on communication through chat, this information can be used as big data to propose improvements to sales methods, which will be described later.

[0195] Furthermore, it also makes it easier for the agent to manage customer data. For example, even if the agent is handed over to a new agent, the new agent can easily check the chat communications of the previous agent by operating his / her own terminal by updating the agent's terminal information stored in the storage unit 113.

[0196] The information about the vehicle owned by the user and the vehicle owner's personal information may be automatically acquired by the management server 11 and uploaded to the chat screen, rather than by a person in charge. In particular, the search unit 112B of the management server 11 periodically accesses the maintenance and inspection history DB 12 or refers to the vehicle owner's personal information stored in the memory unit 113 to acquire the information. The site management unit 112C then uploads this information to the chat. The management server 11 can also upload electronic files, such as the user's desired selling price, stored in the memory unit 113 to the chat.

[0197] Furthermore, the management server 11 can execute the communication regarding the purchase and sale of a car between the terminal 10 and the management server 11 described in the first to seventh embodiments on a chat service provided by the site management unit 112C. For example, when a user inputs information about a car they wish to sell and the desired selling price of the car via chat and transmits it to the management server 11 using the terminal 10A, the analysis unit 112A may analyze the information and request an AI service linked to the management server 11 to appraise the car they wish to sell using AI via the communication unit 111. The AI ​​service performs the appraisal and returns information about the appraised price to the management server 11. The analysis unit 112A analyzes the information and controls the site management unit 112C to reflect the information about the appraised price in the chat. This allows the user to obtain information about the appraised price based on the AI ​​appraisal shown in (11') of the first embodiment.

[0198] Furthermore, the management server 11 can also execute the processes (21) and (26) described in the second embodiment on a chat service. First, in (21), the car owner uploads update information to the chat using the terminal 10A. The processes (22) to (25) are as described in the second embodiment. Then, in (26), the communication unit 111 uploads the trade-in suggestion information to the chat, thereby transmitting it to the terminal 10A. As another example, the processes (61) and (64) described in the sixth embodiment may be executed on a chat service. First, in (61), the car owner photographs the QR code on the vehicle inspection certificate with the terminal 10 and uploads it to the chat. The processes (62) to (63′) are as described in the sixth embodiment. Then, in (64), the communication unit 111 uploads the owned car information acquired by the search and the estimated appraised price of the owned car to the chat. As described above, the user can easily grasp various information.

[0199] The chat service provided by the site management unit 112C may also include shortcut keys for frequently used functions, such as requesting a trade-in appraisal or scheduling a visit to the store.

[0200] The other processes executed by the components of the trading support system S8 are the same as those described in the previous embodiments. Note that the above-described processes can also be executed by the management server 21 shown in Fig. 8 instead of the management server 11 shown in Fig. 3.

[0201] Ninth embodiment (improvement proposals for sales, advertising and sales promotion methods) (9A) Fig. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a sales support system according to the ninth embodiment. Explaining the outline of Fig. 21, the sales support system S9 includes at least a terminal 10, a terminal 80, a management server 91, and a purchase DB 92. Terminal 10 is a terminal of a customer C of the intermediary company, and terminal 80 is a terminal of a sales representative D of customer C. Here, customer C may be a user who has completed the user registration described above, or may be a user who has previously purchased a car through the intermediary company. Sales representative D is an employee of the intermediary company.

[0202] Management server 91 is connected to terminal 10, terminal 80, and purchase DB 92, respectively, and is a server owned by the intermediary company. Purchase DB 92 stores data on the intermediary company's past purchases of automobiles (items for sale). In addition, the arrows between terminal 10 and management server 91 in FIG. 21 and the arrows between terminal 80 and management server 91 indicate the transmission and reception of information related to chat, as in FIG. 20. In addition, the arrows between management server 91 and purchase DB 92 in FIG. 21 indicate access from management server 91 to purchase DB 92 and the management server 91 obtaining purchase data from purchase DB 92, as will be described later.

[0203] In this embodiment, the improvement proposal for the sales, advertising and sales promotion methods of the intermediary company will be explained. The detailed configuration of each device will be explained below.

[0204] 22 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management server 91. The management server 91 includes a communication unit 111, a control unit 912, and a storage unit 113, and may further include an input unit and a display unit. The management server 91 is configured with one or more arbitrary information processing devices.

[0205] The communication unit 911 (transceiver) functions as a transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving information to and from the terminal 10, the terminal 80, and the purchase DB 92. For example, it is possible to transmit and receive information to and from the terminal 10 via a website and a chat service.

[0206] The control unit 912 reads and executes software (computer programs) from the storage unit 913, thereby realizing functions such as an analysis unit 912A, a search unit 912B, a site management unit 912C, a model generation unit 912D, and a proposal generation unit 912E. Each of these functions will be described below.

[0207] The processes executed by analysis unit 912A and search unit 912B are the same as those executed by analysis unit 112A and search unit 112B, and therefore will not be described here. Similar to site management unit 112C, site management unit 912C manages websites accessible by terminal 10, and also functions as a provider that provides a chat service that connects terminal 10 and terminal 80, as described in the eighth embodiment.

[0208] The model generation unit 912D uses training data that includes at least chat histories (communication histories) between past customers and their sales representatives, and their car purchase histories, to generate a communication model through machine learning that identifies chat communication patterns related to car purchases. These past customers may be registered users or users who previously purchased cars through a brokerage company. The car purchase history indicates whether or not a customer purchased a specific car (whether or not the contract was concluded). Based on these chat histories and purchase histories for multiple past customers, the model generation unit 912D generates a communication model that identifies which chat conversation patterns between customers and sales representatives determined the success or failure of a purchase.

[0209] Furthermore, the model generation unit 912D can apply various known machine learning techniques when generating the model. For example, the model generation unit 912D may perform natural language analysis using deep learning or the like to analyze the chat history. This communication model can identify, for example, at least one of a conversation pattern that, based on past statistics, resulted in a car purchase contract being concluded with a fairly high predetermined probability or more (a desirable conversation pattern) and a conversation pattern that resulted in a car purchase contract not being concluded with a fairly high predetermined probability or more (an undesirable conversation pattern).

[0210] The communication patterns may be quantifiable, such as the number of chats, the frequency of specific keywords in a conversation, or the length of a sentence. Alternatively, the model generation unit 912D may generate communication patterns related to the flow of conversation by using natural language analysis. In this case, it becomes clearer, for example, what kind of response to what kind of customer comment is preferable or unpreferable.

[0211] The proposal generation unit 912E generates a proposal to the sales representative D regarding communication related to the purchase of a car by using the communication model and the chat history between the current customer C (target user) and the sales representative D.

[0212] For example, the proposal generation unit 912E determines whether the chat history so far corresponds to a desirable conversation pattern identified by the communication model. As an example, assume that a desirable conversation pattern is one in which the number of characters per sentence is 30 or less and the interval between chat conversations (interval between replies) is 3 minutes or less. If the proposal generation unit 912E analyzes the chat conversations so far between customer C and salesperson D and determines that the conversation does not correspond to this conversation pattern, it generates a proposal to salesperson D, such as, "Let's shorten each sentence a little and speed up the tempo of the conversation." The proposal generation unit 912E transmits this proposal to the terminal 80 via the communication unit 911. An application serving as a support tool is installed in the terminal 80, and the application displays this proposal on the display unit of the terminal 80 in a location separate from the chat screen. This allows salesperson D to develop a desirable conversation pattern in the chat, thereby increasing the possibility of securing a car contract.

[0213] Note that the suggestion generator 912E can similarly generate suggestions by using undesirable conversation patterns instead of or in addition to the desirable conversation patterns. It goes without saying that the suggestions may be other suggestions, such as "Let's write the sentence specifically" or "Let's touch on this point in the conversation."

[0214] Returning to Fig. 21, the explanation will be continued. In the purchase DB 92, past purchase data (big data) related to automobiles, which are products for sale by the intermediary company, is stored as a log for each customer by a sales representative. Specifically, the purchase data stored includes personal information of the customer, a behavioral history related to the customer's purchase of the automobile, a communication history between the customer and the sales representative, a customer's automobile purchase history, and a history related to automobile sales promotion.

[0215] The customer's personal information includes the customer's name, the chassis number of the vehicle they own or have purchased, and information about their attributes, such as the type of vehicle they own or have purchased, the customer's gender, age, address, and family composition. The customer's behavioral history related to the purchase of a vehicle includes the customer's behavioral history when they visit the brokerage company and the customer's behavioral history when they access the brokerage company's website managed by the site management unit 112C. An example of the former is behavioral history such as viewing and test driving cars for sale. An example of the latter may be website browsing history (what cars were viewed), "favorite" registration information for specific cars, comment history about cars they wish to sell, and comment history posted on the listing request message board. The explanation of these comments is as shown in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0216] The communication history includes chat history between the customer and their sales representative, as well as the content of communications such as emails exchanged between them, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations. The customer's car purchase history indicates whether or not the customer has purchased a specific car. The car sales promotion history includes, for example, the history of information such as various campaigns conducted by a brokerage company to promote car sales, and special offers such as coupons.

[0217] The other processes executed by the components of the trading support system S9 are the same as those described in the previous embodiments.

[0218] 23, the process executed by the management server 91 in the buying and selling support system S9 will be described. First, the model generation unit 912D accesses the purchase DB 92 via the communication unit 111 to acquire at least the customer's past chat history and purchase history. Then, using the acquired information as training data, a communication model is generated as described above (step S91).

[0219] When the site management unit 112C provides a chat service and customer C and salesperson D are chatting using their respective terminals, the proposal generation unit 912E generates a proposal to salesperson D regarding communication related to the purchase of a car by using the communication model generated in step S91 and the chat history between customer C and salesperson D (step S92). As a result, salesperson D can develop a conversation related to the purchase of a car through chat, thereby improving the sales performance of the car. This can also stimulate transactions.

[0220] The model generation unit 912D may use communication history, such as emails and conversations other than chat history, stored in the purchase DB 92 as training data. In this case, the model generation unit 912D can generate a communication model that identifies communication patterns in emails and conversations related to the purchase of a car. The proposal generation unit 912E uses this communication model and the communication history, such as emails and conversations, between customer C and salesperson D to generate proposals to salesperson D regarding the content of emails and conversations that will increase the likelihood that customer C will purchase a car. Salesperson D can use these proposals to improve his or her car sales performance. The communication history between customer C and salesperson D is stored, for example, in the purchase DB 92, and can be acquired by the proposal generation unit 912E accessing the purchase DB 92.

[0221] (9B) The model generation unit 912D shown in (9A) may use, as training data, not only the communication history and the customer's car purchase history stored in the purchase DB 92, but also at least one of the customer's personal information, the customer's behavioral history related to the car purchase, and the history related to car sales promotions. The proposal generation unit 912E uses data related to customer C that corresponds to the data used by the model generation unit 912D as training data. That is, the proposal generation unit 912E generates the above-mentioned proposal by further using at least one of the customer's personal information, the customer's behavioral history related to the car purchase, and the history related to the car sales promotions for customer C. Note that the information used by the proposal generation unit 912E is stored, for example, in the purchase DB 92 and can be obtained by the proposal generation unit 912E accessing the purchase DB 92. This allows salesperson C to communicate with customer D in a way that is more suited to the attributes or behavior of customer D.

[0222] Furthermore, the proposal generating unit 912E can generate proposals regarding at least one of the timing for communicating with the customer C, the car that the customer C should purchase, and the method of promoting the sales of the car.

[0223] For example, the proposal generation unit 912E acquires, as customer C's personal information, information that several years have passed since the purchase of the previous car and that the customer's child will soon enter elementary school. Furthermore, as customer C's behavioral history, information that customer C has recently started accessing a website managed by the site management unit 112C is also acquired. At this time, the proposal generation unit 912E uses a communication model generated based on the customer's personal information and behavioral history to estimate that customer C is about to purchase a new car and that customer C desires a relatively large car for the family. Based on this estimation, the proposal generation unit 912E transmits to the terminal 80 a proposal to salesperson D that it is desirable to communicate with customer C and to recommend the purchase of a relatively large car. Furthermore, if the communication model is generated based on information about sales promotion methods, the proposal generation unit 912E may also include in the proposal information the promotion of sales promotion methods such as coupons and discounts to customer C. In this way, salesperson D can adopt more effective methods to sell the car.

[0224] As another example, the suggestion generation unit 912E may use a communication model to estimate that if a customer who has not been in contact recently is left alone, the likelihood of future purchases will decrease, and may suggest to sales representative D that he or she communicate with the customer (e.g., exchange seasonal greetings).

[0225] In (9A) and (9B), the communication models may be generated based on at least one of the attributes in the customer's personal information and the attributes of the purchased vehicle. For example, after multiple attributes are defined based on gender and age, the model generation unit 912D classifies past customers by these attributes and generates a communication model for each attribute based on the above-mentioned information. This generates multiple communication models. Then, the proposal generation unit 912E selects one communication model that matches the attributes of customer C from the multiple communication models based on the personal information of customer C. Then, the selected communication model is used to execute the above-mentioned process. This allows the proposal generation unit 912E to generate more accurate proposals based on the customer's attributes.

[0226] (9C) The model generation unit 912D may also generate a sales model that identifies at least one of advertising and sales promotion techniques related to automobile sales using training data including at least one history of automobile advertising and sales promotion, as well as automobile sales history. The advertisements may be displayed on the terminal 10 as the above-mentioned chat push notifications or as television commercials. The advertising history is information indicating the content of advertisements for each period. The advertising and sales promotion history is stored in the purchase DB 92, and the model generation unit 912D acquires this information and generates a sales model using known machine learning techniques such as natural language analysis. This sales model can identify, for example, at least one of advertising or sales promotion techniques that have historically improved automobile purchase contracts with a fairly high predetermined probability or more (preferable advertising or sales promotion techniques) or advertising or sales promotion techniques that have decreased automobile purchase contracts with a fairly high predetermined probability or more (unfavorable advertising or sales promotion techniques).

[0227] The proposal generation unit 912E uses the sales model generated by the model generation unit 912D to generate proposals for at least one of advertising and sales promotion related to automobile sales. For example, the proposal generation unit 912E determines whether the catchphrase of an advertisement currently under consideration corresponds to a preferred advertisement identified by the sales model. As an example, if the proposal generation unit 912E determines that the number of characters in the catchphrase of a preferred advertisement is 15 characters or less, while the number of characters in the catchphrase of the advertisement currently under consideration is 20 characters, the proposal generation unit 912E generates a proposal such as "Let's make the catchphrase a little shorter." The proposal generation unit 912E transmits this proposal to the terminal 80 via the communication unit 911, and the terminal 80 displays this proposal on its display unit.

[0228] The above process allows the person in charge of advertising or promoting automobiles to take advertising or promotional techniques that are more relevant to automobile sales, thereby improving automobile sales performance.

[0229] In (9C), sales models may be generated based on at least one of the attributes in the customer's personal information and the attributes of the purchased vehicle. For example, after defining multiple attributes based on gender and age, the model generation unit 912D separates the history of at least one of advertising and sales promotions and the car sales history into each attribute. A sales model is then generated for each attribute. Based on the attributes of the target customer, the proposal generation unit 912E selects one sales model from multiple sales models that matches the customer's attributes. The selected sales model is then used to execute the above-described process. This allows the proposal generation unit 912E to generate more accurate advertising or sales promotion proposals tailored to the customer's attributes.

[0230] (9A) to (9C) can be combined as appropriate. Note that in (9A) to (9C), the items for sale are not limited to automobiles, but may be automobile-related goods or various automobile-related services such as automobile insurance and inspection services. Furthermore, the model generated by the model generation unit 912D and the proposal generated by the proposal generation unit 912E may target both goods and services.

[0231] The present invention is not limited to the above-described first to ninth embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, terminals 10A and 10B may not be terminals owned by the owner or buyer, but at least one of them may be a terminal installed in a store of a brokerage company or the like. Furthermore, the various DBs used for searches in the first to seventh and ninth embodiments may be configured as storage units installed inside the management server, rather than being external to the management server.

[0232] In the first to ninth embodiments, an example has been described in which automobiles are bought and sold as goods, but the present invention is not limited to automobiles and can also be applied to the buying and selling of any tangible object (for example, real estate, watches, clothes, ornaments, etc.).

[0233] 24 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device (signal processing device) that executes the processes of the above-described embodiments. Referring to FIG. 24, this information processing device I0 includes a signal processing circuit I1, a processor I2, and a memory I3.

[0234] The signal processing circuit I1 is a circuit for processing signals in accordance with the control of the processor I2. The signal processing circuit I1 may include a communication circuit for receiving signals from a transmitting device.

[0235] The processor 12 performs the processing of the device described in the above embodiment by reading and executing software (computer programs) from the memory 13. As an example of the processor 92, one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Demand-Side Platform), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used, or a plurality of these may be used in parallel.

[0236] The memory I3 is configured with a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory I3 is not limited to one, and multiple memories may be provided. The volatile memory may be, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). The nonvolatile memory may be, for example, a ROM (Random Only Memory) such as a PROM (Programmable Random Only Memory) or an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a flash memory, or an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0237] The memory I3 is used to store one or more instructions. Here, the one or more instructions are stored in the memory I3 as a group of software modules. The processor I2 can perform the processes described in the above embodiments by reading and executing the group of software modules from the memory I3.

[0238] The memory I3 may include a memory external to the processor I2, or may be built into the processor I2. The memory I3 may also include a storage device located away from the processors constituting the processor I2. In this case, the processor I2 can access the memory I3 via an I / O (Input / Output) interface.

[0239] As described above, one or more processors included in each device in the above-described embodiments execute one or more programs including instructions for causing a computer to execute the algorithms described using the drawings. This processing enables the processing of the management server or terminal described in each embodiment to be realized.

[0240] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include optical storage media (e.g., optical disks such as DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) and CDs (Compact Discs)), semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs (Read Only Memory), PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)), magnetic storage media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, and hard disk drives), and magneto-optical storage media (e.g., magneto-optical disks). The program may also be supplied to a computer by various types of transitory computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable medium can supply the program to a computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire or optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0241] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0242] 10 devices 101 Communications Department 102 Display section 103 Input section 104 Imaging unit 105 Control Unit 106 Storage section 11 Management Server 111 Communications Department 112 Control Unit 112A Analysis section 112B Search section 112C Site management section 113 Storage section 12 Maintenance and inspection history DB 13 Sales amount DB 21 Management Server 211 Communications Department 212 Control Unit 212A Analysis section 212B Search section 212C Site management section 212D Proposal generation section 213 Storage section 22 Owned car DB 23 Purchase target vehicle database 31 Related Information DB 51 Wound Information DB 91 Management Server 911 Communications Department 912 Control Unit 912A Analysis section 912B Search section 912C Site management section 912D Model Generation Unit 912E Proposal Generation Unit 913 Storage section 92 Purchasing DB

Claims

1. a storage unit that stores terminal information of registered users and terminal information of chat service personnel linked to the terminal information; a providing unit that provides a chat service that connects the user's terminal and the person in charge's terminal based on the user's terminal information and the person in charge's terminal information stored in the storage unit, Buying and selling support device.

2. a communication model generation unit that generates a communication model that identifies a communication pattern related to the purchase of at least one of the goods and services using training data that includes a communication history between a user and a person in charge of the user and a purchase history of at least one of the goods and services of the user; and a communication proposal generation unit that generates a proposal to the person in charge of the target user regarding communication related to the purchase of at least one of a target product and a target service related to the target user by using the communication model and a communication history between the target user and the person in charge of the target user. The buying and selling support device according to claim 1.

3. the communication history is a chat history between the user and the user's representative in the chat service, the communication model generation unit uses the training data to generate the communication model that identifies conversation patterns in chats related to the purchase of at least one of the goods and services; the communication proposal generation unit generates the proposal for a chat conversation related to the purchase of at least one of the target product and the target service by using the communication model and a chat history between the target user and a person in charge of the target user; The buying and selling support device according to claim 2.

4. The training data further includes at least one of personal information of the user, a behavioral history of the user related to the purchase of at least one of goods and services, and a history of the user related to the promotion of at least one of goods and services; the communication proposal generation unit generates the proposal by further using at least one of personal information of the target user, a behavioral history of the target user related to the purchase of at least one of the target product and the target service, and a history of the target user related to sales promotion of at least one of the target product and the target service. The buying and selling support device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. the training data includes, as personal information of the user, a behavior history when the user accesses a website managed by the trading support device; the communication proposal generation unit generates the proposal by using the behavior history. The buying and selling support device according to claim 4.

6. the communication proposal generation unit generates the proposal regarding at least one of a timing for communicating with the target user, at least one of an article and a service recommended for purchase by the target user, and a sales promotion method for at least one of the target article and the target service to the target user; 6. A buying and selling support device according to claim 4 or 5.

7. a sales model generation unit that generates a sales model that identifies advertising and / or sales promotion techniques related to the sale of at least one of a product and / or a service, using training data that includes a history of advertising and / or sales promotion for at least one of the product and / or service, and a sales history of at least one of the product and / or service; and a sales method proposal generation unit that generates proposals for at least one of advertising and sales promotion related to the sale of at least one of a target product and a target service using the sales model. The buying and selling support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. an update information acquisition unit that acquires, from the user's terminal via the chat service, update information of the owned items held by the user, the update information indicating whether or not there has been a change in the state of the owned items since the time of purchase of the owned items or the time of the previous transmission of update information, the update information including search information used to search for the owned items; a possession item information acquisition unit that acquires, in response to acquisition of the update information, possession item information that is information on the possession items and is linked to the search information from a possession item database; an identification unit that acquires information on similar aspects from the storage unit, and uses the information on similar aspects to compare the owned item information with replacement candidate item information, which is information on replacement candidate items stored in a purchasable item database that stores items that the user can purchase, and, when it is determined that the owned item and the replacement candidate item are similar, identifies the replacement candidate item as an item similar to the owned item; a proposal generator that generates a replacement proposal including information on the replacement candidate item, and proposes the replacement candidate item identified as an item similar to the owned item to the user as an item to be replaced with the owned item; a presentation unit that presents the replacement suggestion to the user's terminal via the chat service, The buying and selling support device according to claim 1.

9. The owned item information includes price information when the user purchased the owned item, The identification unit determines whether the owned item and the replacement candidate item are similar to each other using the price information, and if it determines that the price information and the replacement candidate item price information are similar, identifies the replacement candidate item as an item similar to the owned item. The buying and selling support device according to claim 8.

10. When the identification unit receives a notification from the user's terminal via the chat service that the user is interested in the replacement candidate item, the identification unit identifies, based on the notification, an item similar to the replacement candidate item in which the user is interested, as the replacement candidate item to be suggested by the suggestion generation unit from the next time onwards. The buying and selling support device according to claim 8 or 9.

11. an information acquisition unit that acquires information about vehicles owned by the user, including search information used to search for the vehicles, from the user's terminal via the chat service; an owned vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires owned vehicle information of the owned vehicle linked to the search information from an owned vehicle database; a sales price acquisition unit that acquires information about similar aspects from the storage unit, compares the owned vehicle information with used car information stored in a sales price database that stores sales prices of used cars using the information about similar aspects, and acquires sales price information of the used car from the sales price database when it is determined that the owned vehicle and the used car are similar; a prediction unit that predicts the current or future assessed price of the owned vehicle based on the owned vehicle information and the sales price information of the used vehicle; and a presentation unit that presents the predicted appraisal price to the user's terminal via the chat service. The buying and selling support device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The owned vehicle information includes information regarding at least one of whether the owned vehicle is subject to recall, the timing of vehicle inspection, and the timing of statutory inspection. The buying and selling support device according to claim 11.

13. The information about the owned vehicle includes data on the vehicle inspection certificate of the owned vehicle. The buying and selling support device according to claim 11 or 12.

14. a storage step of storing terminal information of the registered user and terminal information of a person in charge of the chat service associated with the terminal information; a providing step of providing a chat service that connects the user's terminal and the person in charge's terminal based on the stored user's terminal information and the person in charge's terminal information; A trading support method executed by a trading support device.

15. a storage step of storing terminal information of the registered user and terminal information of a person in charge of the chat service associated with the terminal information; a providing step of providing a chat service that connects the user's terminal and the person in charge's terminal based on the stored user's terminal information and the person in charge's terminal information; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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