Sales promotion methods

Abstract

This invention provides a sales promotion method that automates product sales promotion by linking users' actions of posting information on social media with their actions of purchasing products. [Solution] When a user orders a product from an online shopping site via an automated vending machine-type terminal, the first order does not require posting on social media to be a condition for purchasing the product. For subsequent orders, the user must post a review of the product on social media with a specific keyword within a predetermined first period (review request period) from the date of the previous order. After a predetermined second period has elapsed, the user will be able to repurchase the product. The management server performs a post search process to extract reviews that have the keyword attached and were posted within the first period using the user's account ID. Based on the results of this process and the second period (reorder non-repurchase period), it performs a purchase eligibility determination process to determine whether or not the product can be purchased.

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for promoting the sale of products.

Background Art

[0002] As a means for promoting the sale of products, advertisements that appeal to the name, features, advantages, etc. of the products have been the main means since before. Also, in order to give an incentive for users (consumers) to purchase products, coupons are issued with benefits such as the price of the product being discounted or other products being able to be purchased together at the same price.

[0003] On the other hand, in order for product sales operators to know how products are evaluated by users, questionnaires have been taken since ancient times. In recent years, in order to know the evaluation of users on products, product sales operators also use SNS (Social Networking Service). SNS is a community service for online human communication, and users post information about their current situation and objects of interest on SNS. The information posted on SNS is immediately shared by a large number of people on the Internet. Therefore, among product sales operators, there are operators who attempt to conduct a user awareness survey on products by transmitting information about their own products on SNS and collecting the user's reaction to it.

[0004] In such a current situation, the applicant thought that it might be possible to automate the promotion of product sales by directly linking the act of a user posting information on SNS and the act of purchasing a product.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] <0As described above, the present invention aims to provide a sales promotion method that can automate product sales promotion by directly linking the act of a user posting information on social media with the act of purchasing a product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, the sales promotion method according to the present invention is: "By allowing users to order products from an online shopping site via a vending machine-type terminal, the first order will be purchased without requiring a post on social media. Subsequent orders will be permitted only after a predetermined second period has elapsed, provided that the user posts a review of the product on social media with a specific keyword within a predetermined first period from the date of the previous order." In the aforementioned vending machine-type terminal, in order to order the product which can be purchased at a price lower than the regular price, the user presses the product selection button and simultaneously has the reader provided in the vending machine-type terminal read the payment processing information for cashless payment of the product price. A purchase voucher is issued from the vending machine-type terminal displaying a two-dimensional code that includes, as information, at least information identifying the product, information on the product price, information for payment processing, product order data including the order date of the product at the vending machine-type terminal, and the URL of the e-commerce site that accepts orders for the product via the internet. When the user uses a portable terminal with a camera to read the two-dimensional code on the purchase voucher, the user terminal connects to the e-commerce server managing the e-commerce site via the internet, the e-commerce server acquires the product order data, and the user terminal transmits information regarding the shipping address for the product and the SNS account ID used by the user to the e-commerce server. User data, including at least the shipping address information, the account ID, and the order date, is transmitted from the e-commerce server to the management server and stored in the user information database. The management server performs a post search process based on the user information database, searches the SNS at predetermined time intervals, extracts reviews that have the keyword attached, and determines whether the extracted reviews were posted within the first period based on the account ID, and based on the results of the post search process and the second period, performs a purchase eligibility determination process to determine whether users who ordered products from the e-commerce site via the vending machine terminal are eligible to purchase the products. As a result of the purchase eligibility determination process, if a signal indicating that the purchase of the product is possible is sent from the management server to the mail-order server, the mail-order server that receives the signal requests the payment server to make a cashless payment for the product price based on the payment processing information, and also performs processing to send the product to the recipient based on the recipient information.

[0007] This method allows users to purchase a product for the first time at a lower price than the regular price via a vending machine-type terminal. Whether or not they can purchase the product again at the lower price is determined based on whether they meet the condition of posting a product review on social media within a specified period. Through this method, users who purchase a product will share information about the product, including its existence, name, features, user reviews, and the name of the seller, on the internet, reaching a large number of people. Users who give a positive review of a product are more likely to want to purchase it again at a lower price, thus incentivizing them to post product reviews on social media. Furthermore, since such posts are likely to contain positive reviews, more people will read these posts and be encouraged to try the product. This positive cycle is expected to increase both the number of product purchases and product-related posts, enabling automated product sales promotion.

[0008] Furthermore, this method utilizes a vending machine-type terminal for ordering products. Unlike conventional vending machines, this terminal issues purchase tickets without dispensing any products. A "vending machine that doesn't dispense products" is highly innovative, attention-grabbing, and likely to attract interest, thus effectively promoting this sales method.

[0009] Here, the vending machine-type terminal is designed to issue purchase vouchers without dispensing products in order to facilitate product purchases through an e-commerce website. For e-commerce, users are required to provide their name and address to the e-commerce server (product seller) as information regarding the shipping address, thus eliminating anonymity. If the product were to be dispensed from the vending machine-type terminal, and the user entered their account ID at the terminal and sent it to the management server, anonymity would remain. In that case, there is a concern that it would be possible to purchase products at a low price only for the first time by entering someone else's account ID without permission. Furthermore, in this case, product reviews would not be posted on social media, thus failing to meet the conditions for repurchasing the product. This raises concerns that the legitimate owner of that account ID would be unable to purchase the product. In contrast, the sales promotion method of the present invention eliminates anonymity, thus preventing such fraudulent use.

[0010] The sales promotion method according to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, "The user data includes historical information regarding the number of times the user has previously purchased the product via the vending machine-type terminal." In the purchase eligibility determination process, the history information is referenced, and a different period is set as the second period depending on the number of times the product has been purchased in the past.

[0011] In this configuration, for example, the more times a user has purchased a product through a vending machine-type terminal in the past, the sooner they can repurchase the product (the shorter the second period becomes). This makes it easier to connect the desire of users who highly rate a product to repurchase it as soon as possible with the act of posting product reviews on social media. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, the present invention provides a sales promotion method that can automate product sales promotion by directly linking the act of a user posting information on social media with the act of purchasing a product. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a sales promotion system using a sales promotion method that is one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a vending machine-type terminal used in a sales promotion method, which is one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the steps for processing a post search. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart showing the procedure for determining whether a purchase is eligible or not. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Hereinafter, a sales promotion method and a sales promotion system 1 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "System 1") that uses this method, which are embodiments of one embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the sales promotion system 1 comprises a management server 10 managed by the administrator of System 1, an e-commerce server 20 that provides an e-commerce site managed by a product sales business operator, a vending machine-type terminal 30, and multiple user terminals 40 that are portable terminals equipped with cameras, all of which are connected via the Internet N. In addition, multiple payment servers 50 provided by payment service providers and one or more SNS servers 60 provided by SNS operators are connected to the Internet N.

[0015] The management server 10 is a computer that primarily comprises a storage device consisting of main memory and auxiliary storage, a processor, and a communication device that communicates via the Internet N. The storage device of the management server 10 stores a program that enables the computer to function as a system management means.

[0016] The e-commerce server 20 is a computer that primarily comprises a storage device consisting of main memory and auxiliary storage, a processor, and a communication device that communicates via the Internet N. The storage device of the e-commerce server 20 stores a program that enables the computer to function as a means of conducting mail-order sales. Here, if there are multiple product sales businesses using System 1, there are multiple e-commerce servers 20 managed by each product sales business. Each of the multiple e-commerce servers 20 provides an e-commerce site that accepts product orders via the Internet N.

[0017] The vending machine-type terminal 30 has an appearance almost the same as that of a general vending machine and is installed in the street. The difference from a general vending machine is that it does not dispense goods. The vending machine-type terminal 30 includes a sample display section 31 that displays product samples, product selection buttons 32 arranged for each product near the sample display section 31, a price display section 33 that displays the prices of the products, a reader 34 that reads information for cashless settlement, a ticket issuing slot 35 that discharges the issued purchase tickets, a display 36 that displays messages to the user, and a control section (not shown). Examples of product samples include product samples, product photos, product illustrations, and resin product models that mimic the appearance of the products.

[0018] When there are multiple types of products handled by the vending machine-type terminal 30 and the prices are different for each product, price display sections 33 are arranged near each of the multiple product selection buttons 32. The control section includes a storage device composed of a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device, a processor, and a communication device that communicates via the Internet N, and performs processing as vending machine control means by executing a program stored in the storage device.

[0019] Here, when the products that can be ordered via one vending machine-type terminal 30 consist only of products sold by a single product vendor, that vending machine-type terminal 30 can be a terminal managed by that product vendor. On the other hand, when the products that can be ordered via one vending machine-type terminal 30 consist of multiple types of products sold by multiple product vendors, that vending machine-type terminal 30 can be a terminal managed by a system administrator.

[0020] The user terminal 40 is a portable terminal with a camera, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, and includes a storage device composed of a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device, a processor, a communication device that communicates via the Internet N, a monitor capable of inputting by pressing the screen display with a finger or a stylus pen, and a camera. In addition, an application for reading information included in a two-dimensional code photographed by the camera and connecting the user terminal 40 to a website specified by a URL included in the read information is installed in the user terminal 40.

[0021] The sales promotion method of the present embodiment performed using the system having the above configuration enables a user to purchase a product at a lower price than usual by placing an order for the product via the vending machine type terminal 30, and enables the same user to repurchase the product at a lower price when the user satisfies a specific condition. When this condition is referred to as the "repurchase possible condition", it is composed of the following conditions (1) to (3). (1) After purchasing the product first, post a review of the product on the SNS. (2) The posting of the review of the product is made within a predetermined period (hereinafter referred to as the "review request period") from the order date of the product ordered first. (3) Set a specific keyword for the posting to the SNS.

[0022] Furthermore, when the conditions for repurchase are met, repurchasing the product by reordering will only be possible after a predetermined period (hereinafter referred to as the "non-reorder period") has elapsed since the previous order. The review request period and the non-reorder period may be the same or different. If the length of the non-reorder period is greater than or equal to the length of the review request period, the date on which the product can be reordered will be the same regardless of when the review is posted on social media during the non-reorder period. However, if the length of the non-reorder period is shorter than the length of the review request period, posting a review on social media early in the non-reorder period will allow the product to be reordered without waiting for the end of the review request period. Note that the "review request period" corresponds to the "predetermined first period" of this invention, and the "non-reorder period" corresponds to the "predetermined second period" of this invention.

[0023] The sales promotion method will be explained in detail below. First, the user goes to the location where the vending machine-type terminal 30 is installed, carrying the user terminal 40, and presses the product selection button 32 for the product they wish to purchase. As a result, the vending machine control means obtains product identification information that identifies the product the user is trying to purchase, and product price information regarding the price of that product. Here, the price of products that can be ordered through the vending machine-type terminal 30 is set considerably lower than the price (normal price) of the same product if it were sold by means other than the vending machine-type terminal 30.

[0024] Next, the user has the reader 34 read the information for cashless payment. For example, if the user uses a credit card or an IC card for electronic money for cashless payment, they hold the card over the reader 34 to have the information read. If the user displays a two-dimensional code containing information for cashless payment using electronic money on the monitor of the user terminal 40, they hold the display screen over the reader 34 to have the information read. Through this reading by the reader 34, the vending machine control means obtains the payment processing information necessary for cashless payment (for example, information about the type of cashless payment, information that identifies the user such as the card number and name of the cardholder, and information about the expiration date).

[0025] In this example, the vending machine control means determines the type of cashless payment based on the reading results by the reader 34. However, it is also possible to display a screen on the vending machine terminal 30 for the user to select the type of cashless payment, and then enable the vending machine control means to obtain information about the type of cashless payment based on the user's operation using that screen before enabling reading by the reader 34.

[0026] Next, the vending machine control means issues a purchase ticket displaying a two-dimensional code and ejects it from the ticket dispenser 35. The two-dimensional code displayed on the purchase ticket includes information to identify this vending machine terminal 30, product identification information, product price information, payment processing information, the order date (year, month, and day), and URL information of the e-commerce site that accepts orders for the selected product via the Internet N. Note that "product identification information" corresponds to "product identification information" in this invention, and "product price information" corresponds to "product price information" in this invention.

[0027] Furthermore, the vending machine control means electronically displays the above-mentioned repurchase conditions on the display 36 when issuing a purchase ticket. While it is also possible to display these conditions electronically on the display 36 each time an order is received, if the repurchase conditions or product prices differ depending on the product selected by the user, this can be presented to the user in an easy-to-understand manner.

[0028] Furthermore, when the conditions for repurchase are met, the vending machine control system calculates and displays on the display 36 the date on which the product can be reordered, i.e., the date on which the period during which reordering is not permitted has elapsed from the order date (the date the purchase voucher was issued). This eliminates the need for the user to calculate the period themselves, making it convenient. Additionally, using an electronic display allows for flexible responses when the conditions for repurchase are changed or when the product price is changed.

[0029] Here, the keyword in condition (3) of the conditions for repurchase can be a hashtag or a combination of multiple hashtags. For example, "#●●●Vending Machine (●●● is the name of the product vendor)" can be used as the keyword.

[0030] For example, the display on display 36 when issuing a purchase voucher could read: "Thank you. We are issuing a purchase voucher to order the product from our online store. If you post a review of the product on social media with the hashtag "#●●●VendingMachine" within △ months, you can order the product again for ▲▲ yen after ○○ / ○○ / ○○." Here, "△ months" is the period during which the review is requested, but the unit is not limited to "months"; it can also be "weeks" or "days." Also, "○○ / ○○ / ○○" is the date after the period during which the product cannot be reordered has elapsed since the original order date, i.e., the date when the product can be ordered again, and "▲▲ yen" is the product price.

[0031] The vending machine control means terminates its processing upon issuing such a purchase ticket and displaying it on the display 36.

[0032] Furthermore, the vending machine control means may, after the reader 34 reads the payment processing information and before issuing the purchase ticket, access the payment server 50 based on the payment processing information to check whether cashless payment is possible (e.g., whether a contract for the specified credit card or electronic money exists, whether it is before its expiration date), and only proceed to issue the purchase ticket if it is determined to be possible. In this case, if cashless payment is not possible, a message to that effect is displayed on the display 36, prompting the user to read the information for cashless payment by another means, and if no new reading is made by the reader 34 after a predetermined time has elapsed, the vending machine control means terminates its processing.

[0033] The purchase voucher includes a QR code and instructions on how to scan it with the camera on the user terminal 40 and enter the information into the input form displayed on the connected e-commerce site. Therefore, the user who receives the purchase voucher scans the QR code displayed on the voucher with the camera on their user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 has an application installed that reads QR codes, and the QR code contains the URL information of the e-commerce site. As a result, the user terminal 40, after scanning the QR code on the purchase voucher, connects to the e-commerce site identified by the URL information.

[0034] The e-commerce server 20, which provides the e-commerce site, acquires information contained in the two-dimensional code, namely information identifying the vending machine-type terminal 30, product identification information, product price information, order date, and payment processing information, and stores this information as product order data associated with identification numbers such as order numbers in the storage device of the e-commerce server 20 as a product order database. Based on the acquired information, the e-commerce device displays an input form on the monitor of the user terminal 40. Since the information acquired by the e-commerce device via the two-dimensional code of the purchase voucher includes product identification information, product price information, and order date, the input form is displayed with the product name, product price, and order date fields already filled in.

[0035] In this input form, the user is required to enter at least the postal code, address, name, and telephone number as shipping address information to identify the shipping destination for the product. The input form also includes a field for the user to enter the account ID of the social networking service (SNS) they use. This field, along with the shipping address information, is a required field for ordering the product. When entering the account ID, the user can select the appropriate SNS from a dropdown menu of names for multiple SNS platforms and then enter the account ID. Note that "shipping address information" corresponds to "information regarding the shipping destination" in this invention.

[0036] When the shipping address information and account ID are entered in the input form, the mail-order system acquires this information and adds the shipping address information and SNS account ID to the product order data previously stored in the product order database. In addition, the system adds mail-order server identification information that identifies the mail-order server 20 to the user data, which is linked to the order date, shipping address information, and SNS account ID, and sends it to the management server 10.

[0037] Here, we illustrate a case where, even if the same product vendor sells multiple types of products ordered through the vending machine-type terminal 30, the determination of whether a product can be purchased a second time or later is made not for each type of product, but as a single group of products sold by the same product vendor through the vending machine-type terminal 30. When ordering products handled by the same product vendor, the same e-commerce site will acquire the information regarding that order. Therefore, product-specific information is not included in the user data above. However, if the determination of whether a product can be repurchased is made for each type of product, product-specific information will be included in the user data.

[0038] The management server 10 has a separate user information database assigned to each e-commerce server 20, and the system management means stores the received user data in the user information database corresponding to the e-commerce server 20 that sent the data. At that time, the system management means identifies the user by combining the postal code and name included in the product shipping address information, and stores the user data in the user information database with a user ID to identify the user. If there are multiple users with the same postal code and name, that is, if there are multiple users with the same name in the same area with the same postal code, the system management means identifies the user by combining the postal code and name with a telephone number and assigns a user ID. The reason why the determination of whether users are the same person or different people is made based on the information included in the product shipping address information rather than based on the SNS account ID is because there is a risk that some users may use someone else's account ID without permission, and it is possible for the same person to use multiple account IDs.

[0039] Furthermore, the system management means adds history information and status information to the above information as components of each user's data. When a user's data is first stored in the user information database, the history information is set to "Not Purchased". On the other hand, the status information is set to "Not Confirmed".

[0040] Next, the mail-order service requests the management server 10 to perform a purchase eligibility determination process to determine whether or not this user is eligible to purchase the product. This purchase eligibility determination process will be described later. If the system management means determines, as a result of the purchase eligibility determination process, that the product is eligible to purchase, it sends a signal to that effect to the mail-order server 20. In conjunction with this, the system management means updates the history information for this user from "Not Purchased" to "Purchased (First Time)". Upon receiving the signal from the management server 10 that the product is eligible to purchase, the mail-order service requests the payment server 50 to settle the product price based on the payment processing information contained in the user's product order data. Once the payment server 50 settles the product price and the mail-order service receives a signal from the payment server 50 indicating that the settlement has been completed, the mail-order service performs the process of shipping the product identified in the product identification information to the shipping address identified in the product shipping address information contained in the product order data.

[0041] Furthermore, the system management means may, after receiving user data from the mail-order server 20, search the user information database, and if an account ID identical to the SNS account ID included in the newly received user data does not exist in the user information database, verify whether the account ID actually exists and send the result to the mail-order means. In this case, by linking the management server 10 and the SNS server 60 via an API (Application Programming Interface), it is possible to check whether the account ID of the user who is trying to purchase the product is included in the account ID database of registered users of that SNS, which is a resource of the SNS server 60.

[0042] After the mail-order service receives a signal from the management server 10 indicating that an account ID identical to the account ID obtained from the user terminal 40 exists, it can request payment of the product price from the payment server 50 as described above. If an account ID identical to the account ID included in the user data received by the system management means from the mail-order server 20 exists in the user information database, the existence of this account ID has already been confirmed, and the system management means sends a signal to the mail-order service to that effect. Upon receiving this, the mail-order service requests payment of the product price from the payment server 50 in the same manner as described above.

[0043] If the system management means detects that the account ID included in the user data received from the e-commerce server 20 does not exist, the system management means sends a signal to the e-commerce server 20 to that effect. Upon receiving this signal, the e-commerce means displays a message in the input form requesting the user to re-enter the account ID.

[0044] After the payment server 50 settles the product price and processes the shipment of the product to the shipping address specified in the shipping address information, the mail-order service displays on the monitor of the user terminal 40 a message indicating that the product price has been settled, that the product will be shipped, and that the user is requested to post a review of the product on social media within a specified period (review request period).

[0045] After the product processed for shipment by the e-commerce server 20 arrives at the user's location, the user posts a review of the product on social media. The system management means of the management server 10 performs a process (hereinafter referred to as "post search process") at predetermined time intervals to search for posts by users who purchased products via the vending machine-type terminal 30 on social media. Examples of social media include Instagram®, Facebook®, X (formerly Twitter, registered trademark), YouTube®, and TikTok®.

[0046] This post search process will be explained in detail using the flowchart shown in Figure 3. The system management means searches SNS posts at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 24 hours) using the keyword defined in condition (3) of the repurchase eligibility conditions, and extracts posts that have the keyword set (step S1). This extraction process can be performed with the management server 10 and the SNS server 60 linked via API. In this post search process, posts whose posting date is later than the time the previous post search process was performed are targeted for the search.

[0047] If no posts with the specified keyword exist (NO in step S1), the system waits for a predetermined amount of time to elapse before performing the next search (proceeding to step S1 via step S9). If posts with the specified keyword exist (YES in step S1), the system management means stores the extracted post data in the storage device of the management server 10 as a post database (step S2). Each post data that makes up this post database includes the post content, the keyword attached to the post, the date of posting, and the account ID of the user who posted it.

[0048] The system management means checks the user information database to see if there is any user data with a status information of "unconfirmed" (step S3). If there is (YES in step S3), it searches the posting database using the user's account ID as the search term (step S4). If there is a posting from a user with the searched account ID in the posting database (YES in step S4), the system management means refers to the user information database to read the order date when that user ordered a product via the vending machine terminal 30 and compares it with the posting date in the posting database (step S5). If the posting date is within a predetermined period from the order date, i.e., within the review request period (YES in step S5), the status information for the user data associated with that account ID in the user information database is updated from "unconfirmed" to "posted" (step S6).

[0049] On the other hand, if the posting date is not within the review request period from the order date, that is, if a product review is posted on social media but the posting date has passed the review request period (NO in step S5), then this user does not meet condition (2) of the conditions for repurchase. Therefore, the status information for the user data associated with that account ID in the user information database is updated from "Unconfirmed" to "Not available for purchase" (step S8).

[0050] After each of steps S6 and S8, the process returns to step S3 to check whether there are any user data entries in the posting database with a status of "unconfirmed". If there are (YES in step S3), the processes described in steps S4-S6, or S4, S5, S8, are repeated.

[0051] If no user data with a status information of "unconfirmed" remains in the posting database (NO in step S3), or if there are no posts from a user identified by an account ID in the posting database (NO in step S4), the process proceeds to step S9 to confirm the passage of a predetermined period. Once the predetermined period has elapsed (YES in step S9), the process returns to step S1 to begin the next search. If there are multiple SNSs to search, the posting search process is performed for each SNS following the above flow.

[0052] For users who, after purchasing a product, do not post a product review on social media using the specified keywords (keywords from condition (3)), their posting data will not be extracted during the posting search process, and therefore will not be stored in the posting database. Consequently, for these users, the status information in the user data stored in the user information database will remain as "unconfirmed."

[0053] Based on the results of the post search process described above, when a user attempts to purchase a product via the vending machine-type terminal 30, a purchase eligibility determination process is performed to determine whether the purchase is possible. This purchase eligibility determination process will be explained using the flowchart shown in Figure 4.

[0054] This process is performed when, as described above, the user terminal 40 connects to the e-commerce site via the URL information contained in the two-dimensional code of the purchase ticket issued by the vending machine terminal 30, and the user enters their SNS account ID through the input form displayed on the monitor of the user terminal 40, or after the system management means has confirmed that the account ID actually exists after the account ID has been entered.

[0055] As described above, when a mail-order service requests a purchase eligibility determination process from the management server 10, the system management means starts the purchase eligibility determination process. First, the system management means reads the history information contained in the user data related to this request and checks whether the history information is "not purchased" (step P1). If the history information is "not purchased" (YES in step P1), this user data has just been stored in the user information database, and this is the first time this user has ordered a product via the vending machine terminal 30. For the first order, it is possible to purchase a product without posting to SNS. Therefore, the system management means determines that the user can purchase the product and sends a signal to that effect to the mail-order server 20 (step P2). Upon receiving this signal, the mail-order service performs the payment of the product price and the shipping of the product as described above. Furthermore, the system management means updates the history information from "not purchased" to "purchased (first time)" (step P3) and terminates the purchase eligibility determination process.

[0056] If the history information is not "not purchased" (NO in step P1), the history information is "Purchased (Nth time)" (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1), so it is checked whether the current date is before the period during which reordering is not permitted has elapsed since the previous order (step P4). If the period during which reordering is not permitted has not elapsed (YES in step P4), the product cannot be purchased at this point, regardless of whether a product review has been posted on SNS or not (regardless of the status information). Therefore, the system management means determines that repurchasing the product is not possible at this point, and sends a signal to the mail-order server 20 indicating that the order cannot be accepted because the period during which reordering is not permitted has not elapsed (step P5), and terminates the purchase eligibility determination process. Upon receiving this signal, the mail-order means displays a message to that effect on the monitor of the user terminal 40 and does not proceed with payment processing or product shipping processing.

[0057] If the history information is "Purchased (Nth time)" and the period during which reordering is not permitted has elapsed since the previous order date (NO in step P4), the status information of the same user data is read and checked to see if the status information is "Posted" (step P6). If the status information is "Posted" (YES in step P6), the system management means determines that the user has met all the conditions for repurchasing and the period during which reordering is not permitted has elapsed, and sends a signal to that effect to the mail-order server 20 (step P7). Upon receiving this signal, the mail-order means processes the payment of the product price and the shipment of the product as described above, and displays a message on the monitor of the user terminal 40 indicating that these processes have been completed. Furthermore, the system management means updates the history information (step P8). For example, if the previous history information was "Purchased (1st time)", it is updated to "Purchased (2nd time)", and if the previous history information was "Purchased (2nd time)", it is updated to "Purchased (3rd time)".

[0058] If the status information is not "Posted" (NO in step P6), it means either the status information is "Not available for purchase" (a product review has been posted on SNS, but the posting date is after the review request period has expired) or the status information is "Unconfirmed" (post data has not been extracted from SNS through the post search process). Therefore, the system management means check whether the status information is "Unconfirmed" or not (step P9).

[0059] If the status information is "unconfirmed" (YES in step P9), it is checked whether the review request period has expired (step P10). If the review request period has not expired (YES in step P10), the system management means determines that ordering the product is not possible at this time (step P11). However, there is a possibility that the product may become available for repurchase if a review of the product is posted on SNS before the review request period expires. Therefore, the system management means leaves the status information as "unconfirmed" and sends a signal to the mail-order server 20 indicating that the order for the product cannot be accepted at this time because it has not been confirmed that a review of the product has been posted on SNS, and terminates the purchase eligibility determination process. Upon receiving this signal, the mail-order means displays a message to that effect on the monitor of the user terminal 40 and does not proceed with payment processing or product shipping processing.

[0060] If the status information is "Unconfirmed" and the review request period has passed (NO in step P10), it means that the user did not post a review of the product on SNS within the review request period. In other words, this user does not meet the conditions for repurchase. Therefore, the system management means determines that this user will not be able to purchase products through the vending machine terminal 30 in the future, and sends a signal to the mail-order server 20 that the user will not be able to repurchase products in the future because they did not post a review of the product on SNS (step P12). Upon receiving this signal, the mail-order means displays a message to that effect on the monitor of the user terminal 40 and does not proceed with payment processing or product shipping processing. Furthermore, the system management means updates the status information from "Unconfirmed" to "Not Available for Purchase" (step P) 13, and terminates the purchase eligibility determination process.

[0061] If the status information is not "unconfirmed" (NO in step P9), the status information is already "unavailable for purchase." In other words, a product review has been posted on SNS, but the posting date is after the review request period has expired. Therefore, the system management means determines that the product cannot be purchased via the vending machine terminal 30 in the future, and sends a signal to the mail-order server 20 (step P14) indicating that although a product review has been posted on SNS, the posting date is after the review request period has expired, and therefore the product cannot be repurchased via the vending machine terminal 30 in the future. The mail-order means that receives this signal displays a message to that effect on the monitor of the user terminal 40 and does not proceed with payment processing or product shipping processing.

[0062] The above example illustrates a case where the review request period and the no-reorder period are constant, although they may be the same or different. However, it is not limited to this, and the no-reorder period can be set to shorten with each subsequent purchase. For example, if the review request period is three months, the no-reorder period can be set to three months for the first purchase, two months for the second purchase, and one month for the third and subsequent purchases. In this case, for example, if a product review is posted on social media before two months have passed since the order date for the second purchase, the product can be repurchased after two months have passed. If the product review is posted on social media after two months but before three months have passed since the order date, the product can be repurchased on the date the product review was posted on social media.

[0063] In this case, in the purchase eligibility determination process shown in Figure 4, after it is confirmed that the purchase history is not "not purchased," that is, the purchase history is "purchased (Nth time)" (NO in step P1), and before step P4 which confirms whether or not the period for non-reordering has expired, it is sufficient to include a step to check the number of purchases in the purchase history and a step to set the period for non-reordering according to the confirmed number of purchases.

[0064] Furthermore, if the setting is such that the period during which reordering is not possible becomes shorter with each subsequent purchase, the vending machine control means cannot determine the date on which the product can be repurchased once it receives the purchase ticket from the vending machine terminal 30. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is not possible to display the date on which repurchase will be possible.

[0065] As described above, according to the sales promotion method of this embodiment, it is possible to make an initial purchase of a product at a lower price than the regular price via the vending machine-type terminal 30, and whether or not a repeat purchase of the product at a lower price is possible is determined based on whether or not the user meets the condition of posting a product review on SNS within a predetermined period. With this method, the existence, name, characteristics, user evaluation of the product, and the name of the product's seller are disseminated on the internet N by the user who purchased the product, and a large number of people see this information via the internet N. Users who give a good evaluation of the product will want to purchase it again at a low price, which incentivizes them to post a product review on SNS. And since posts by such users are likely to contain positive evaluations of the product, more people will read these posts and be inclined to try the product. Through this positive cycle, it is expected that both the number of product purchases and the number of posts about the product will increase. Therefore, sales promotion of the product can be automated without the product seller having to take particularly proactive action.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the conditions for repurchase are not affected by whether the product reviews posted on social media include positive or negative evaluations of the product. Therefore, product sellers can learn about users' honest evaluations of their products from the posted data.

[0067] Furthermore, the post data extracted from social media is stored in the storage device of the management server 10, which is managed by the system administrator. Therefore, by analyzing the stored post data, the results can be effectively utilized for future marketing efforts.

[0068] Furthermore, the information transmitted from the vending machine-type terminal 30 to the e-commerce server 20 includes information that identifies the vending machine-type terminal 30. Therefore, the e-commerce server 20 can distinguish between product sales where products are ordered by directly accessing its e-commerce site from a personal computer or smartphone (normal mail-order sales) and product sales where users order products via the vending machine-type terminal 30, and perform statistical processing of sales performance, etc.

[0069] In addition, a vending machine-type terminal 30 is used to order products. This vending machine-type terminal 30 looks almost the same as a normal vending machine, but it issues purchase tickets without dispensing any products. A "vending machine that doesn't dispense products" is extremely novel, highly attention-grabbing, and therefore useful in promoting the sales promotion method of this embodiment.

[0070] Furthermore, the reason why the vending machine-type terminal 30 issues purchase vouchers without dispensing products is to allow customers to purchase products through an online shopping site. For online shopping, users are required to provide their name and address to the product seller as shipping information, thus eliminating anonymity. If the vending machine-type terminal 30 were to dispense products, accept the input of an account ID, and transmit this to the management server 10, anonymity would remain, raising concerns that it would be possible to purchase products at a low price only for the first time by entering someone else's account ID without permission. In contrast, the sales promotion method of this embodiment eliminates anonymity, thus preventing such fraudulent use.

[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, cashless payment is used for mail-order sales. Therefore, by limiting the types of cashless payments to credit cards and registered electronic money, excluding anonymous payment methods such as transportation-related electronic money, the aforementioned fraudulent use can be more reliably eliminated.

[0072] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and design changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention, as shown below.

[0073] For example, the above example illustrates a case where the management server 10 and the e-commerce server 20 are composed of different computers. This configuration is suitable when there are multiple e-commerce servers 20, that is, when there are multiple types of products sold by different product vendors as products ordered via the vending machine-type terminal 30. The system in which the sales promotion method of the present invention is used is not limited to this configuration. For example, if there is only one product vendor using this system, the computer that constitutes the e-commerce server 20 may also constitute the computer that constitutes the management server 10.

[0074] Furthermore, the above example illustrates a case where, even if multiple types of products are ordered via the vending machine-type terminal 30, the determination of whether subsequent purchases are possible is made not for each type of product, but as a single category of products ordered via the vending machine-type terminal 30. However, the system is not limited to this, and the determination of whether subsequent purchases are possible may be made for each type of product. In that case, the user data should be divided into history information and status information for each type of product, the post search processing and purchase eligibility determination processing should be performed for each type of product, and keywords that can identify the type of product should be included in the keywords of condition (3) in the repurchase eligibility conditions. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0075] 10 Management Server 20 e-commerce servers 30 Vending machine type terminal 40 User terminals 50 Payment Servers 60 SNS servers N Internet

Claims

1. The system allows users to order products from an online shopping site via a vending machine-type terminal. For the first order, the user is allowed to purchase the product without being required to post on social media. For subsequent orders, the user is required to post a review of the product on social media with a specific keyword within a predetermined first period from the date of the previous order. After a predetermined second period, the user is allowed to repurchase the product. In the aforementioned vending machine-type terminal, in order to order the product which can be purchased at a price lower than the regular price, the user presses the product selection button and simultaneously has the reader provided in the vending machine-type terminal read the payment processing information for cashless payment of the product price. A purchase voucher is issued from the vending machine-type terminal displaying a two-dimensional code that includes, as information, at least information identifying the product, information on the product price, information for payment processing, product order data including the order date of the product at the vending machine-type terminal, and the URL of the e-commerce site that accepts orders for the product via the internet. When the user uses a portable terminal equipped with a camera to read the two-dimensional code on the purchase voucher, the user terminal connects to the e-commerce server managing the e-commerce site via the internet, the e-commerce server acquires the product order data, and the user terminal transmits information regarding the shipping address for the product and the SNS account ID used by the user to the e-commerce server. User data, including at least the shipping address information, the account ID, and the order date, is transmitted from the e-commerce server to the management server and stored in the user information database. The management server performs a post search process based on the user information database, searches the SNS at predetermined time intervals, extracts reviews that have the keyword attached, and determines whether the extracted reviews were posted within the first period based on the account ID, and performs a purchase eligibility determination process based on the results of the post search process and the second period, to determine whether users who ordered products from the e-commerce site via the vending machine terminal are eligible to purchase the products. If, as a result of the purchase eligibility determination process, a signal indicating that the product can be purchased is sent from the management server to the e-commerce server, the e-commerce server that receives the signal requests the payment server to make a cashless payment for the product price based on the payment processing information, and also performs processing to send the product to the recipient based on the recipient information. A sales promotion method characterized by the following features.

2. The user data includes historical information regarding the number of times the user has previously purchased the product via the vending machine terminal. In the purchase eligibility determination process, the history information is referenced, and a different period is set as the second period depending on the number of times the product has been purchased in the past. The sales promotion method according to feature 1.

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