Method, apparatus, and recording medium for processing orders for out-of-stock menu items.

Abstract

This disclosure relates to methods, apparatus and recording media performed by electronic devices. A method according to one embodiment of this disclosure includes the steps of: receiving a request from a user to refuse an order in response to an order from a customer, wherein the order includes at least a portion of one or more sales menus included in a sales menu catalog corresponding to the user; providing the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to the refusal request, wherein the out-of-stock management page includes a first user interface that allows the user to select an out-of-stock menu from one or more sales menus included in the order; receiving a request from the user for information regarding the out-of-stock menu and for recommendations of alternative menus corresponding to the out-of-stock menu; providing the user with a catalog of candidate menus including one or more alternative menus to the out-of-stock menu; and providing the customer with information regarding an alternative menu selected by the user from the one or more candidate menus based on the selection input received from the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for processing orders. More specifically, it relates to a technology for providing an alternative menu to replace an out-of-stock menu when the menu corresponding to a customer's order is out of stock.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, due to the development of communication technologies and changes in social and environmental factors, the expansion of non-face-to-face services has been progressing, and the use and provision of delivery services, which are a type of non-face-to-face service, have become commonplace. When providing such non-face-to-face delivery services, it may be difficult for each entity participating in the delivery service, for example, the owner (user) of a franchise store of the delivery service) (user) and the customer, to communicate immediately.

[0003] In particular, when the user does not timely inform the customer of the out-of-stock status of a product (menu), if the customer orders that menu, the user has to simply unilaterally reject or cancel the order, and a unilateral cancellation may be a negative experience for the customer. Moreover, it may lead to potential losses for the user, such as a decrease in future sales due to the customer's negative experience. Therefore, a technology that can solve such problems is demanded.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A technical problem to be solved by an embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can recommend an alternative menu to replace an out-of-stock menu to a customer in order to prevent a negative experience for the customer when an order for an out-of-stock menu is placed by the customer.

[0005] Another technical problem to be solved by an embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that enables a user to more easily provide an alternative menu to a customer.

[0006] Another technical problem that one embodiment of this disclosure seeks to solve is to provide a technology that enables users to select a more suitable alternative menu item in response to an out-of-stock item, thereby mitigating the negative customer experience caused by order cancellation or rejection.

[0007] Another technical problem that one embodiment of this disclosure seeks to solve is to provide a technology that dynamically presents customers with appropriate alternative menus, taking into account the out-of-stock menu, the store's situation, and customer preferences, when a customer's order for an out-of-stock menu item is refused or canceled.

[0008] The technical challenges of this disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical challenges not mentioned above will be clearly understood by a person of the ordinary skill in the art of this disclosure from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A method performed by an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, which may include the steps of: receiving a request from a user to refuse an order in response to an order from a customer, wherein the order includes at least a portion of one or more sales menus included in a sales menu catalog corresponding to the user; providing the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to the refusal request, wherein the out-of-stock management page includes a first user interface that allows the user to select an out-of-stock menu from one or more sales menus included in the order; receiving a request from the user for information regarding the out-of-stock menu and for recommendations of alternative menus corresponding to the out-of-stock menu; providing the user with a catalog of candidate menus including one or more alternative menus to the out-of-stock menu; and providing the customer with information regarding an alternative menu selected by the user from the one or more candidate menus based on the selection input received from the user.

[0010] In one embodiment, the step of providing the candidate menu list may include a step of determining, based on information regarding the out-of-stock menu items, candidate menu items to be included in the candidate menu list from among the one or more sales menu items.

[0011] In one embodiment, the step of determining the candidate menus may include determining candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog based on at least a portion of the menu groups corresponding to the information on the out-of-stock menus and the price information of the out-of-stock menus.

[0012] In one embodiment, the step of determining the candidate menu may include determining the candidate menu based on at least a portion of the past sales volume and the frequency with which each of the one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog has been selected as an alternative menu in the past.

[0013] In one embodiment, the step of providing the candidate menu list may include a step of determining which candidate menus to include in the candidate menu list from among one or more sales menus included in the sales menu list, based on information regarding the customer's purchase history.

[0014] In one embodiment, the step of providing the customer with information about the alternative menu may include the steps of providing the user with a second user interface for the user to input the alternative menu, and providing the customer with information about the alternative menu based on user input received from the user that corresponds to the second user interface.

[0015] In one embodiment, the first user interface includes a recommendation request interface for requesting recommendations for alternative menus, and the method may further include a step of deactivating the recommendation request interface if the out-of-stock menu selected by the user includes only optional menus that can be added in correspondence with other menus for sale.

[0016] In one embodiment, the step of providing the customer with information about the alternative menu may include providing information about the reasons for recommending the alternative menu along with the information about the alternative menu.

[0017] In one embodiment, the step of displaying the sales menu corresponding to the out-of-stock menu as out of stock in the sales menu catalog, based on the information about the out-of-stock menu received from the user, may further be included.

[0018] In one embodiment, the step of rejecting the order and providing the customer with information about alternative menus may further include providing the customer with information about alternative menus along with a message regarding the rejection of the order.

[0019] In one embodiment, the step of determining a second alternative menu from among the one or more sales menus based on at least a portion of the information relating to each of the one or more sales menus, the information relating to the out-of-stock menus, and the step of providing the information relating to the alternative menu to the customer may include providing the customer with information relating to the determined second alternative menu along with information relating to the alternative menu selected by the user.

[0020] An electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes one or more processors and one or more memories in which instruction words to be executed by the one or more processors are stored, and when the instruction words are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors may be configured to execute the method according to the present disclosure.

[0021] A non - transitory computer - readable recording medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a non - transitory computer - readable recording medium that records instructions for causing one or more processors to perform operations when executed by the one or more processors, and the instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors to execute the method according to the present disclosure.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the present disclosure, when an order for an out - of - stock menu is placed by a customer, a negative experience of the customer can be prevented by recommending an alternative menu to replace the out - of - stock menu to the customer.

[0023] According to the present disclosure, a user can more easily provide an alternative menu for an out - of - stock menu to a customer.

[0024] According to the present disclosure, a user can select a more appropriate alternative menu corresponding to the out - of - stock menu, and mitigate the negative experience of the customer due to the cancellation or rejection of the order.

[0025] According to the present disclosure, when rejecting or canceling a customer's order for an out - of - stock menu, by dynamically presenting an appropriate alternative menu to the customer considering the out - of - stock menu, the store situation, and the customer's preferences, it is possible to mitigate the negative experience of the customer while improving the convenience of the user.

[0026] The effects according to the technical idea of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the specification.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an environment to which an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This figure shows at least a portion of an order rejection page provided by a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This figure shows at least a portion of the out-of-stock management page provided by a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This figure shows at least a portion of the alternative menu recommendation page provided by the method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows the detailed operation of the process of providing a catalog of candidate menu items, as explained with reference to Figure 3. [Figure 8] This flowchart shows the detailed steps involved in providing customers with information about alternative menu options, as explained with reference to Figure 3. [Figure 9] This flowchart shows the detailed steps involved in providing customers with information about alternative menu options, as explained with reference to Figure 3. [Figure 10] This figure shows one example of an alternative menu recommendation page, as explained with reference to Figure 6. [Figure 11] This figure shows one example of an alternative menu recommendation page, as explained with reference to Figure 6. [Figure 12] This figure shows one example of an out-of-stock management page, as explained with reference to Figure 5. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0028] The various embodiments described herein are illustrative for the purpose of clearly illustrating the technical idea of ​​this disclosure and are not intended to limit it to any particular embodiment. The technical idea of ​​this disclosure includes various modifications, equivalents, alternatives, and embodiments selectively combined from all or part of the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, the scope of rights relating to the technical idea of ​​this disclosure is not limited to the various embodiments or specific descriptions thereof presented below.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, terms used in this disclosure, including technical or scientific terms, may have meanings that are generally understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0030] Expressions used in this disclosure such as “includes,” “may include,” “equip,” “may equip,” “may equip,” “have,” and “may have” mean that the feature in question (e.g., function, operation, or component) exists, but do not exclude the existence of other further features. In other words, such expressions should be understood as open-ended terms that imply the possibility of including other embodiments.

[0031] Unless otherwise specified in the context, singular expressions used in this disclosure may also include plural meanings, and this applies equally to singular expressions used in claims.

[0032] The terms "first," "second," or "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure, unless otherwise specified in the context, are used to distinguish one object from others when referring to multiple objects of the same kind, and do not limit the order or importance of those objects.

[0033] Expressions used in this disclosure such as “A, B, and C,” “A, B, or C,” “A, B, and / or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” or “at least one of A, B, and / or C” can mean each of the enumerated items or any possible combination of the enumerated items. For example, “at least one of A or B” could mean (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) all of at least one A and at least one B.

[0034] The expression “based on” as used in this disclosure is used to describe one or more factors that influence an act or action of decision, judgment, or action described in the phrase or sentence containing the expression, and the expression does not exclude any further factors that influence such act or action of decision, judgment, or action.

[0035] The expression used in this disclosure that one component (e.g., a first component) is “connected” or “linked” to another component (e.g., a second component) may mean that the one component is connected or linked not only directly to the other component, but also via yet another component (e.g., a third component).

[0036] As used in this disclosure, the expression "configured to" may, depending on the context, mean "set to do," "capable of doing," "modified to do," "made to do," or "capable of doing." This expression is not limited to meaning "specifically designed in hardware." For example, a processor configured to perform a particular operation may mean a generic-purpose processor capable of performing that particular operation by running software, or a special-purpose computer structured by programming to perform that particular operation.

[0037] Various embodiments described in this disclosure will be explained below with reference to the attached drawings. In the attached drawings and descriptions relating to the drawings, identical or substantially equivalent components may be denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, in the descriptions of the various embodiments below, redundant descriptions of identical or corresponding components may be omitted, but this does not mean that the component is not included in that embodiment.

[0038] Figure 1 shows an environment to which an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied. The electronic device 101 and the user terminal 102 are connected via a network and can communicate with each other.

[0039] The electronic device 101 may be a server device that provides e-commerce services. In other words, the electronic device 101 may be a server device operated under the management of an entity that operates e-commerce services.

[0040] The electronic device 101 can manage information about users who use the e-commerce service. This information about users managed by the electronic device 101 may include, for example, the user's name, age, address, or contact information. The management of user information can be collectively referred to as all actions taken to process that information with control over it. For example, the management of user information may include saving, updating, or modifying that information.

[0041] The electronic device 101 can manage information about stores of users who use the e-commerce service. The e-commerce service may be a delivery service that delivers goods such as items, food, or prepared meals. Users of the e-commerce service may include store owners or workers who provide goods according to customer orders. The e-commerce service provided by the electronic device 101 may include, for example, a delivery sales intermediary service that mediates transactions between customers and users. The information about stores managed by the electronic device 101 in this way may include, for example, store name information, store category information, business hours information, address information, contact information, or information about the menus offered at the store.

[0042] The electronic device 101 can manage information about customers who use the e-commerce service. This customer information managed by the electronic device 101 may include, for example, the customer's name, age, address, or contact information. The management of customer information can be collectively referred to as all actions taken to process that information with control over it. For example, the management of customer information may include saving, updating, or modifying that information.

[0043] The management of information concerning users, customers, or users' stores can be collectively referred to as all actions taken to process that information with control over it. For example, the management of information concerning users may include saving, updating, or modifying that information.

[0044] The electronic device 101 can manage various types of information provided to users of e-commerce services. Based on requests from administrators managing e-commerce services or users of e-commerce services, the electronic device 101 can manage various types of data necessary to provide e-commerce services. For example, it can generate, modify, store, or provide data related to various pages associated with e-commerce services, namely product detail pages, search results pages, product sales pages, event pages, and landing pages requested by users.

[0045] Regarding the management method of the electronic device 101, in one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can manage information related to the provision of e-commerce services based on user input.

[0046] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide a user terminal 102 with a page related to the e-commerce service based on a request from a user using the e-commerce service. Here, the page related to the e-commerce service provided to the user terminal 102 may include a page for managing various information about the user's store, or a page for managing orders requested by customers to the store, or a page for managing pages provided to customers regarding the user's store. The page provision operation may include providing the user with at least a portion of all the data generated in the process of the user using the e-commerce service.

[0047] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide a customer terminal 103 with pages related to the e-commerce service based on a request from a customer using the e-commerce service. Here, the pages related to the e-commerce service provided to the customer terminal 103 may include order-related pages provided to allow the customer to request an order from a store, pages related to the items for sale (menus) that the customer has requested, and so on. The page provision operation may include providing the customer with at least a portion of all the data generated in the process of the customer using the e-commerce service.

[0048] Furthermore, the electronic device 101 can manage transactions relating to e-commerce services provided to users, i.e., transactions relating to online goods (e.g., merchandise or services). That is, the electronic device 101 can manage a series of processes such as enabling customers to search, select, purchase, and pay for goods and request delivery. As part of such processes, the electronic device 101 can provide customers with information relating to the user's store so that customers can search, select, purchase, and pay for goods and request delivery, and can communicate the customer's purchase, payment, and delivery requests to the user. It should also be noted that, regarding operations that the electronic device 101 can perform, even if they are not mentioned in this introduction, if they are general operations that a server device providing a known e-commerce service can perform, applying the technical ideas of this disclosure by referring to such operations is not excluded from the scope of this disclosure.

[0049] The e-commerce service may include a delivery order service. For example, the electronic device 101 may be a server device that manages the delivery order service. The delivery order service can mean a service in which food and other items are ordered and paid for online. That is, the electronic device 101 may be a server device that manages a platform that provides the delivery order service. Customers can subscribe to the delivery order service and transmit orders to users through the delivery order service. The customer terminal 103 can transmit order information corresponding to the user or store that intends to request an order to the electronic device 101, and the electronic device 101 can transmit order information corresponding to the customer account to the user terminal 102. Therefore, the aforementioned products may include one or more menus offered by the user at the store, and the order information may include information about at least some of the one or more menus.

[0050] The aforementioned electronic device 101 may be implemented by one or more computing devices. For example, all functions of the electronic device 101 may be implemented in a single computing device. As another example, the first function of the electronic device 101 may be implemented in a first computing device, and the second function may be implemented in a second computing device. As yet another example, multiple computing devices may be used, each implementing all or specific functions of the electronic device 101. The computing devices mentioned above include, but are not limited to, desktop computers, laptop computers, application servers, proxy servers, or cloud servers; any type of device equipped with computing functions may be considered a computing device.

[0051] The user terminal 102 may be a device used by the user to order delivery services. The user terminal 102 may be implemented as a terminal capable of sending and receiving various information with the electronic device 101 via a network. For example, the user terminal 102 may be a computer, laptop, portable communication terminal (such as a smartphone), portable multimedia device, wearable device, or HMD. However, the type of user terminal 102 is not limited to these, and the user terminal 102 may be any device that includes an input / output interface capable of receiving information from or outputting information to the user, and can communicate with the electronic device 101 or other devices via a network.

[0052] The user terminal 102 can provide the user with information received from the electronic device 101, and can receive input from the user and transmit it to the electronic device 101. Specifically, the user terminal 102 can obtain input from the user instructing them to call up various pages, and can generate commands instructing them to call up various pages in response to the obtained input. The user terminal 102 can transmit commands instructing them to call up various pages to the electronic device 101. The input obtained from the user may include various forms of input, such as mouse clicks, touches using a touchpad or touchscreen, voice recognition, and other electronic inputs. The user terminal 102 can receive various pages from the electronic device 101 and output the various pages it has received.

[0053] The user terminal 102 may be a device used by the user to order delivery services. The user terminal 102 may be implemented as a terminal capable of sending and receiving various information with the electronic device 101 via a network. For example, the user terminal 102 may be a computer, laptop, portable communication terminal (such as a smartphone), portable multimedia device, wearable device, or HMD. However, the type of user terminal 102 is not limited to these, and the user terminal 102 may be any device that includes an input / output interface that can input information from the user or output information to the user, and can communicate with the electronic device 101 or other devices via a network.

[0054] The customer terminal 103 can provide the user with information received from the electronic device 101 and can receive input from the user and transmit it to the electronic device 101. Specifically, the customer terminal 103 can obtain input from the user instructing them to call up various pages and generate commands instructing them to call up various pages in response to the obtained input. The customer terminal 103 can transmit commands instructing them to call up various pages to the electronic device 101. The input obtained from the user may include various forms of input, such as mouse clicks, touches using a touchpad or touchscreen, voice recognition, and other electronic inputs. The customer terminal 103 can receive various pages from the electronic device 101 and output the received pages.

[0055] The network can play a role in connecting the electronic device 101 with a user terminal 102, a customer terminal 103, or other external devices. For example, the network can provide a connection path so that the user terminal 102 or customer terminal 103 is connected to the electronic device 101 and can send and receive packet data with the electronic device 101. The network may be embodied by any type of wired or wireless network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Mobile Radio Communication Network, or Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet).

[0056] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 and the user terminal 102 can operate as a single device. The user terminal 102 may be included in the electronic device 101 as a component of all or part of the electronic device 101. In this case, for example, the various types of information transmitted and received between the electronic device 101 and the user terminal 102 via a network may be the same as the various types of information transmitted and received between each component within a single device.

[0057] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 200 can process information related to e-commerce services. In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 may include one or more processors 210, one or more memories 220, and a communication interface 230 as components. In one embodiment, at least one of the components of the electronic device 200 may be omitted, and other components may be added to the electronic device 200. In one embodiment, as an addition or alternative, some components may be embodied as a combined entity, or as one or more individual entities. In the present disclosure, one or more processors 210 may be expressed as processor 210. Unless otherwise specified in the context, the expression processor 210 can mean one or more sets of processors. In the present disclosure, one or more memories 220 may be expressed as memory 220. Unless otherwise specified in the context, the expression memory 220 can mean one or more sets of memories. In one embodiment, at least some of the internal / external components of the electronic device 200 are connected to each other via a bus, GPIO (General Purpose Input / Output), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), or MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface), etc., and can send and receive information (data, signals, etc.).

[0058] The processor 210 can drive software (e.g., instructions, programs, etc.) to control at least one component of the electronic device 200 connected to the processor 210. The processor 210 can also perform various operations related to this disclosure, such as calculations, processing, data generation, and manipulation. The processor 210 can also load data from or store data in the memory 220. In one embodiment, the processor 210 can control the communication interface 230 to request various information from the user terminal 102 or customer terminal 103 and receive various information from the user terminal 102 or customer terminal 103.

[0059] The processor 210 can generate pages relating to e-commerce services and provide information about the generated pages to the user's terminal. For example, the pages provided by the processor 210 may include a main page that is initially displayed when a user connects to an order delivery service. The main page may include at least a portion of an area that can display information about one or more menus managed and offered to customers by the user's store. In one embodiment, the pages provided to the user by the processor 210 may include an order management page that displays information about customer orders to the user's store. The order management page may include one or more user interfaces for the user to manage orders received from customers. The user can input requests to accept, reject, or cancel accepted orders to the user terminal 102 via the user interface, and the user terminal 102 can provide user requests regarding order acceptance, rejection, or cancellation to the electronic device 101.

[0060] Memory 220 can store various types of information (data). The information stored in memory 220 is information acquired, processed, or used by at least one component of the electronic device 200, and may include software (e.g., instructions, programs, etc.). Memory 220 may include volatile and / or non-volatile memory. In this disclosure, instructions or programs are software stored in memory 220 and may include an operational system for controlling the resources of the electronic device 200, an application, and / or middleware that provides various functions to the application so that the application can utilize the resources of the electronic device 200. In one embodiment, memory 220 can store instructions that cause the processor 210 to perform calculations when executed by the processor 210. Memory 220 can store at least a portion of information received from the database via the communication interface 230, and / or information sent to the database via the communication interface 230. Specifically, memory 220 can store information related to e-commerce or delivery order services and instructions executed by the processor 210.

[0061] The communication interface 230 can perform wireless or wired communication between the electronic device 200 and a database or other external electronic device. For example, the communication interface 230 can perform wireless communication using methods such as eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low-Latency Communications), MMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE Advance), NR (New Radio), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), WiBro (Wireless Broadband), WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), GPS (Global Positioning System), or GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). For example, the communication interface 230 can perform wired communication using methods such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), RS-232 (Recommended Standard-232), or POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 may be implemented in conjunction with other devices. In this case, the communication interface 230 can function as a connecting circuit or interface linking the electronic device 200 with the other devices.

[0062] The operations described below in Figures 3 to 11 as being performed by the electronic device may be understood as being performed by the processor 210 of the electronic device 200 described in Figure 2.

[0063] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] The method disclosed in Figure 3 may be understood as a series of actions that provide users of e-commerce with a page to manage their orders and provide customers with information about the menus managed by the user's store. The actions shown in Figure 3 will be explained in detail below.

[0065] The electronic device 101 can receive a customer's request to reject an order (S310).

[0066] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive a customer's order request. The order request may include at least some of the following: information about one or more menu items that the customer intends to order from the user store, information about the store from which the customer intends to place the order, the customer's address information, and information about the customer's account. The electronic device 101 can provide the received customer order request to the user terminal 102. The electronic device 101 can provide the user terminal 102 with information about one or more menu items included in the customer's order. At this time, the order may be in a state where the customer's payment has been completed. The electronic device 101 can perform payment processing in response to the customer's order request and payment request, and after the payment processing is completed, it can transmit information about the order request to the user terminal 102.

[0067] An order may include one or more menus that a customer intends to order. One or more menus may include at least a portion of one or more menus offered at the user's store. Information about the menus may be provided by a menu catalog. For example, electronic device 101 can provide a customer with a menu catalog of one or more menus offered at the user's store. The menu catalog may include information about one or more menus. The information about one or more menus may include at least a portion of the menu's name, price, image, description, and information regarding whether or not it is out of stock. The user can manage the menu catalog and the information about one or more menus included in the menu catalog. In response to receiving a request from the user to manage the menu catalog and the information about one or more menus, electronic device 101 may modify, update, generate, delete, or change the menu catalog and the information about one or more menus.

[0068] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive an acceptance request for a customer's order from the user. The electronic device 101 can receive an acceptance request for a customer's order from the user terminal 102. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive an acceptance request for a customer's order through user input.

[0069] An acceptance request may be a request from a user to accept a customer's order. In response to an acceptance request, the electronic device 101 may provide the customer's terminal 103, which is responsible for the order, with information indicating that the user has accepted the customer's order. Along with the information indicating that the order has been accepted, the electronic device 101 may also provide the customer with information regarding the estimated delivery completion time or estimated delivery time for the order.

[0070] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive a request from the user to reject a customer's order. The electronic device 101 can receive a request from the user terminal 102 to reject a customer's order. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive a request from the user to reject a customer's order through user input.

[0071] A rejection request may be a request from a user to reject a customer's order. For example, a rejection may occur if, after the electronic device 101 has completed order completion processing and payment completion processing in response to an order and payment request from the customer terminal 103 to the electronic device 101, the user who has received information about the order request from the electronic device 101 decides to reject the customer's order. A user can make a rejection request for an order if, after receiving the order information, they are unable to complete the delivery according to that order. A rejection request may include order information relating to the order to be rejected. The order information may include information about one or more menus included in the order and customer information.

[0072] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive a cancellation request for a customer's order from the user. The electronic device 101 can receive a cancellation request for a customer's order from the user terminal 102. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive a cancellation request for a customer's order through user input.

[0073] If an order is cancelled, this may include cases where, after the electronic device 101 has completed order completion processing and payment completion processing in response to the order and payment request from the customer terminal 103 to the electronic device 101, the user who received information about the order request from the electronic device 101 accepts the customer's order. After the user receives the order information and accepts the order, if the delivery of the order cannot be completed, the user can request a cancellation of the order. The cancellation request may include order information relating to the order to be cancelled. The order information may include information about one or more menus included in the order and customer information.

[0074] The electronic device 101 can respond to a rejection request by providing an out-of-stock management page (S320).

[0075] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide an out-of-stock management page in response to a user's cancellation or rejection request.

[0076] A user may request to reject or cancel an order for a variety of reasons. For example, this could include: at least some of the menu items included in the order being out of stock; the user's store being overwhelmed with orders due to an excessive volume of orders; the user's store being closed for business; the store being temporarily closed; the order being accepted and preparation of the menu items beginning, but the wrong menu items being prepared; the order being accepted and preparation of the menu items being completed, but the packaging being inadequate and delivery being impossible; the order being canceled or rejected at the customer's request; or for any other reason. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an order rejection page in response to the user's cancellation or rejection request. Based on the user's input to the order rejection page, the electronic device 101 can receive information regarding the cause of the user's order rejection or cancellation request from the user terminal 102 or directly from the user. The information regarding the cause of the rejection or cancellation request, i.e., rejection reason information or cancellation reason information, may include information indicating that the reason falls under at least some of the following categories: out of stock, overwhelmed with orders, closing for the day, temporary closure for the day, wrong menu items being prepared, poor packaging, customer request, or other reasons.

[0077] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to receiving rejection reason information corresponding to an out-of-stock item from the user. In yet another embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to receiving cancellation reason information corresponding to an out-of-stock item from the user.

[0078] The out-of-stock management page may include information about one or more menu items included in an order that the user has requested to be rejected or canceled. The out-of-stock management page may include at least some of the following: a user interface for selecting at least some of the one or more menu items included in the order that is subject to cancellation or rejection; a user interface for receiving requests to mark the selected menu items as out of stock; and a user interface for receiving input regarding alternative menu recommendations. The electronic device 101 can receive user requests based on user input to the user interface included in the out-of-stock management page.

[0079] The electronic device 101 can receive information about out-of-stock menu items and requests for recommendations of alternative menu items (S330).

[0080] Information regarding out-of-stock menu items may include information about one or more menu items included in a customer's order that are out of stock and therefore cannot be delivered. When a user requests to refuse or cancel an order due to an out-of-stock menu item, it may be because all or some of the menu items included in the order are out of stock. The electronic device 101 can receive information from the user regarding out-of-stock menu items among the one or more menu items included in the order. The electronic device 101 can also receive information about out-of-stock menu items from the user based on user input received via the out-of-stock management page.

[0081] A request for alternative menu recommendations may include a request for recommendations of one or more menu items that can replace an out-of-stock item. The alternative menu may include one or more menu items that can be offered to the customer in place of the out-of-stock item. A customer may perceive a unilateral cancellation or rejection of their order if the ordered item is out of stock, which can lead to a poor customer experience. Therefore, when an order is cancelled or rejected due to being out of stock, providing the customer with recommendations for alternative menu items can improve the customer experience and recover lost revenue from the cancellation or rejection through customer orders for alternative menu items. When an order is cancelled or rejected, the user may send a request for alternative menu recommendations to the electronic device 101 in order to recommend alternative menu items to the customer in place of the out-of-stock item.

[0082] The electronic device 101 can provide the user with a catalog of candidate menus that includes one or more alternative menus for out-of-stock items (S340).

[0083] The list of candidate menu items may contain information about one or more candidate menu items.

[0084] One or more alternative menu items may be one or more items that replace out-of-stock items.

[0085] Information regarding candidate menu items may include at least some of the following: the name of the candidate menu item, the menu group in which the candidate menu item is included, and the price of the candidate menu item.

[0086] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide an alternative menu recommendation page. The electronic device 101 can provide the user with an alternative menu recommendation page in response to receiving a request from the user for recommendations of alternative menus. The alternative menu recommendation page may include a list of candidate menus and a user interface for selecting an alternative menu from one or more candidate menus included in the list of candidate menus.

[0087] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog. The electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog from one or more sales menus corresponding to the user.

[0088] In one embodiment, one or more candidate menus may include at least a portion of one or more menus sold at the user's store, excluding out-of-stock items. The electronic device 101 can determine which candidate menus to include in the candidate menu catalog from among the one or more menus sold.

[0089] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu list from among one or more sales menus included in the sales menu list.

[0090] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus from one or more sales menus based on user input. The electronic device 101 can select candidate menus based on input from the user regarding candidate menus corresponding to the sales menus, which has been received in advance.

[0091] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus based on at least a portion of the information regarding out-of-stock menus. The electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus based on at least a portion of the price information of the out-of-stock menus and the information regarding the menu group to which the out-of-stock menus belong.

[0092] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus based on at least a portion of the information regarding the sales menu. The electronic device 101 can select at least a portion of the menus from among the one or more sales menus to be determined as candidate menus, based on the information regarding each of the one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog.

[0093] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on at least a portion of customer information. The electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus from one or more sales menus based on information about the customer's purchase history. Customer information may include information about the customer who requested the order that is subject to rejection or cancellation, and may include information about the customer's purchase history.

[0094] The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about alternative menus selected from the candidate menus (S350).

[0095] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can identify a menu selected from a candidate menu list as an alternative menu. The electronic device 101 can identify alternative menus based on selection input received from the user via an alternative menu recommendation page. The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about the selected alternative menu.

[0096] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information regarding alternative menus. This information may include at least some of the following: the name, price, and image of the alternative menu.

[0097] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about alternative menus, along with information about the reasons for recommending the alternative menus. The reasons for recommendation may correspond to the reasons why the alternative menu was selected as a candidate menu. For example, if the electronic device 101 selects the first menu as a candidate menu based on the price information of the first menu, it can provide the customer with information about the reasons for recommendation, such as displaying a message like "This menu is similar in price to the menu that was rejected (canceled)" in response to the first menu being selected as an alternative menu from the candidate menu list. For example, if the electronic device 101 selects the second menu as a candidate menu based on past sales volume information of the second menu, it can provide the customer with information about the reasons for recommendation, such as displaying a message like "This is a popular menu item" in response to the second menu being selected as an alternative menu from the candidate menu list.

[0098] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can process a rejection of an order. The electronic device 101 can process a cancellation or rejection of an order for which a cancellation or rejection request has been made. The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with the reason for cancellation or rejection of the order in response to the cancellation or rejection request. The electronic device 101 can perform a refund procedure for the settlement of the order in response to the cancellation or rejection request.

[0099] Figure 4 shows at least a portion of an order rejection page provided by a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0100] The electronic device 101 can provide the user with an order rejection page 400 in response to a rejection or cancellation request. The order rejection page 400 may include a user interface that allows the user to select at least some of one or more rejection reasons. One or more user interfaces may include icons corresponding to each of the one or more rejection reasons. For example, if the electronic device 101 receives user input from the user through an out-of-stock icon 410 corresponding to "out of stock" among one or more rejection reasons, it can identify that the reason the order was rejected is that at least some of the one or more menus included in the order are out of stock. In response to the rejection reason being selected as "out of stock," the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an out-of-stock management page.

[0101] The rejection reason information or cancellation reason information may include information indicating that the reason is at least partially one of the following: out of stock, high demand, closing time for the day, closed for the day, wrong menu item prepared, poor packaging, customer request, or other reasons. The order rejection page 400 may include one or more icons for selecting a rejection reason, corresponding to one or more rejection reasons.

[0102] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to receiving rejection reason information corresponding to an out-of-stock item from the user. In yet another embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an out-of-stock management page in response to receiving cancellation reason information corresponding to an out-of-stock item from the user. The above-described explanation regarding rejection reasons may also apply to order cancellations. In this case, the rejection reasons may be applied in the same way as the cancellation reasons.

[0103] Figure 5 shows at least a portion of the out-of-stock management page provided by a method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0104] The electronic device 101 can provide an out-of-stock management page 500 in response to a rejection or cancellation request for an order received from a user. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide an out-of-stock management page 500 based on the reason for rejection. The electronic device 101 can provide an out-of-stock management page 500 when the reason for rejection is identified as corresponding to the out-of-stock status of one or more menu items included in the order. The electronic device 101 can provide an out-of-stock management page 500 based on user input corresponding to an out-of-stock icon 410 for the order rejection page 400, as described with reference to Figure 4.

[0105] The out-of-stock management page 500 may contain information about one or more menu items included in an order. The out-of-stock management page 500 may include a first area 510 that displays an order menu catalog in at least a portion of the area. The order menu catalog may contain information about one or more menu items included in an order, i.e., one or more order menus. The first area 510 may include one or more user interfaces 501, 502, 511 for selecting out-of-stock menu items from one or more order menu items. Referring to Figure 5, based on the input to the first selection icon 511 corresponding to "Americano" among the order menu items, "Americano" may be selected as an out-of-stock menu item. Similarly, based on the input to the second selection icon 501 corresponding to "Add Caramel Syrup" among the order menu items, "Add Caramel Syrup" may be selected as an out-of-stock menu item, and based on the input to the third selection icon 502 corresponding to "Cafe Mocha" among the order menu items, "Cafe Mocha" may be selected as an out-of-stock menu item.

[0106] In one embodiment, the out-of-stock management page 500 can provide a "Today Only Out of Stock" icon 512 or a "Menu Hidden" icon 513 corresponding to each selection icon based on user input corresponding to selection icons 511, 501, and 501. For example, in response to user input corresponding to the second selection icon 501, the "Add Caramel Syrup" menu may be provided with a "Today Only Out of Stock" icon 512 or a "Menu Hidden" icon 513 through the out-of-stock management page 500. Based on user input corresponding to the "Today Only Out of Stock" icon 512, the electronic device 101 can process the "Add Caramel Syrup" menu as out of stock for a specified period. The out-of-stock processing may include displaying the menu as out of stock in the sales menu catalog. Based on user input corresponding to the "Menu Hidden" icon 513, the electronic device 101 can hide the "Add Caramel Syrup" menu in the sales menu catalog for a specified period. The hiding processing may include not displaying the menu in the sales menu catalog.

[0107] Referring to Figure 5, the out-of-stock management page 500 may include an out-of-stock request interface 520 for receiving out-of-stock processing requests and a recommendation request interface 530 for recommending alternative menus. Based on user input corresponding to the out-of-stock request interface 520, the electronic device 101 can process out-of-stock items for one or more out-of-stock menus selected from the first area 510. Based on user input corresponding to the recommendation request interface 530, the electronic device 101 can receive from the user information about one or more out-of-stock menus selected from the first area 510 and requests for recommendations of alternative menus. Based on user input corresponding to the recommendation request interface 530, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with an alternative menu recommendation page.

[0108] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can activate or deactivate the recommendation request interface 530. The recommendation request interface 530 may be activated based on a selection input for at least some of the selection icons included in the first area 510. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 may deactivate the recommendation request interface 530 if the selected out-of-stock menu includes only option menus that can be added in conjunction with other sales menus. Referring to Figure 5, the "Add Caramel Syrup" menu may be an option menu that can be added in conjunction with other menus. For example, in Figure 5, the "Add Caramel Syrup" menu may be an option menu that can be added to the "Americano" menu. Therefore, the recommendation request interface 530 may be deactivated if only "Add Caramel Syrup" is selected as an out-of-stock menu.

[0109] Figure 6 shows at least a portion of the alternative menu recommendation page provided by the method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0110] The electronic device 101 can provide an alternative menu recommendation page 600 in response to a request from the user for information about out-of-stock menu items and recommendations for alternative menu items. The electronic device 101 can provide an alternative menu recommendation page 600 based on user input corresponding to the recommendation request interface 530 as described with reference to Figure 5.

[0111] The alternative menu recommendation page 600 may include a candidate menu area 610. The candidate menu area 610 may display a candidate menu catalog in at least a portion of its area. The candidate menu catalog may contain information about one or more candidate menus. The information about one or more candidate menus may include at least some of the name, menu group, and price information corresponding to each candidate menu. Referring to Figure 6, the candidate menu area 610 may display the name and price information 612 corresponding to the "Caffè Latte" menu in the candidate menu catalog, and may also display information 601 about the menu group "COFFEE".

[0112] The candidate menu area 610 may include a selection interface corresponding to one or more candidate menus. For example, based on user input corresponding to the icon 611 corresponding to "caffè latte" among the one or more candidate menus, the "caffè latte" menu may be selected as an alternative menu.

[0113] The candidate menu area 610 may include menu group icons 601 and 602 corresponding to one or more candidate menus. For example, menu group icons 601 and 602 can display menu groups corresponding to one or more candidate menus. Based on user input corresponding to each menu group icon 601 and 602, the electronic device 101 can display a list of candidate menus corresponding to the selected menu group in the candidate menu area 610.

[0114] The alternative menu recommendation page 600 can display information 620 regarding out-of-stock menus in at least a portion of its area. The alternative menu recommendation page 600 can also display a menu catalog conversion icon 630 in at least a portion of its area. Based on user input corresponding to the menu catalog conversion icon 630, the electronic device 101 can either display the catalog for the entire menu, i.e., the entire sales menu catalog, in the candidate menu area 610, or display only a portion of the sales menu that have been determined as candidate menus in the candidate menu area 610. In other words, based on user input corresponding to the menu catalog conversion icon 630, the electronic device 101 can selectively provide the user with one or more different candidate menu catalogs. In this case, the different candidate catalogs may be catalogs containing candidate menus determined based on different methods.

[0115] The alternative menu recommendation page 600 may include a selection initialization icon 640. The electronic device 101 can initialize the user's selection input received via the selection interface for each of the one or more candidate menus based on the user input corresponding to the selection initialization icon 640.

[0116] The alternative menu recommendation page may include a recommendation completion icon 650. The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about one or more alternative menus based on user input corresponding to the recommendation completion icon 650.

[0117] Figure 7 is a flowchart detailing the operation of providing a catalog of candidate menus, as described with reference to Figure 3.

[0118] Figure 7 is a flowchart detailing the operation (S340) of providing a list of candidate menus, as explained with reference to Figure 3. Operation S700 in Figure 7 may be at least a part of the operation (S340) of providing a list of candidate menus. The operation shown in Figure 7 will be described in detail below.

[0119] The electronic device 101 can determine which candidate menus to include in the candidate menu list (S710).

[0120] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on user input. The electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus from a sales menu catalog based on input about candidate menus that has been received in advance from the user. For example, the electronic device 101 can receive user input about candidate menus in advance. Based on this input, the electronic device 101 can store in advance information regarding the mapping relationship between sales menus and candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog when a sales menu is out of stock. Based on the mapping relationship, the electronic device 101 can identify candidate menus mapped to out-of-stock menus. The electronic device 101 can include in at least a portion of the candidate menu catalog candidate menus that have been determined based on the pre-stored mapping relationship and are mapped to out-of-stock menus. For example, if a first menu and a second menu are mapped to each other by a mapping relationship based on pre-received user input, the electronic device 101 can determine the second menu as a candidate menu in response to the first menu being selected as an out-of-stock menu.

[0121] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menu items from the sales menu catalog that correspond to an out-of-stock menu item, based on at least some of the following: information about out-of-stock menu items, information about one or more sales menu items, and information about the customer.

[0122] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus based on information about out-of-stock menus. The electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus based on at least some of the price information of the out-of-stock menus and information about the menu group to which the out-of-stock menus belong.

[0123] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on the price information of the out-of-stock menu. For example, it may be appropriate for the alternative menu to have a similar price to the out-of-stock menu. Based on the price information of the out-of-stock menu, the electronic device 101 can select at least some of the following as candidate menus: menus with a price lower than the price of the out-of-stock menu, menus with a price difference of less than or equal to a threshold, or menus with a price lower than the price of the out-of-stock menu while also having a price difference of less than or equal to a threshold.

[0124] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on the menu group of the out-of-stock menu items. The electronic device 101 can identify the menu group to which the out-of-stock menu items belong and select candidate menus from one or more sales menus belonging to that menu group.

[0125] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can select candidate menus based on information about one or more sales menus included in a sales menu catalog corresponding to the user. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on at least some of the following: past sales volume, discount information, frequency of past selection as an alternative menu, and frequency of reorders when recommended as an alternative menu for each of the one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog.

[0126] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus from one or more sales menus based on the frequency of customer orders, the number of times they were sold, and the quantity sold during a specified period in the past. That is, the electronic device 101 can select candidate menus based on the order of customer order frequency, number of times sold, and quantity sold during a specified period in the past. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more candidate menus from a sales menu catalog based on the order of highest order frequency.

[0127] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on information regarding the frequency with which each of the sales menus has been selected as an alternative menu by the user. For example, candidate menus can be determined based on the order in which the sales menus have been selected as alternative menus by the user, or the order in which the sales menus have been selected as alternative menus by the user, in descending order of probability. For example, if the electronic device 101 determined the second menu as a candidate menu corresponding to the out-of-stock status of the first menu during a specified period in the past, the second menu was selected most frequently as an alternative menu in response to the out-of-stock status of the first menu. As yet another example, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on the order in which each sales menu included in the menu group to which the out-of-stock first menu belongs, in response to the out-of-stock status of each sales menu during a specified period in the past, in descending order of frequency or probability of selection. As yet another example, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on the order in which each sales menu included in the sales menu list is selected as an alternative menu in response to the out-of-stock status of each sales menu.

[0128] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus from the sales menu based on information regarding the frequency or probability of a customer reordering when a third menu is recommended to a customer as an alternative menu. When a third menu is recommended as an alternative menu in response to another menu being out of stock among the menus included in the sales menu catalog during a past period, the electronic device 101 can determine the third menu as a candidate menu based on the frequency of reorders for the third menu from customers who experienced the out-of-stock situation or the reorder probability calculated based on past frequency.

[0129] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus from among one or more sales menus based on discount information for each of the one or more sales menus. The discount information may include at least a portion of information regarding whether or not a discount is available and information regarding the discount rate.

[0130] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on customer information.

[0131] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine candidate menus based on at least some of the following: information about menus previously purchased by the customer corresponding to the rejected or canceled order; information about the customer's preferences identified by analysis based on the customer's past order history; and information about a group, type, or category of one or more menus purchased by the customer at the user's store or other stores corresponding to the canceled or rejected order.

[0132] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine the degree of substitute suitability between one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog, corresponding to each out-of-stock menu, and can determine one or more candidate menus based on the degree of substitute suitability between sales menus. The electronic device 101 can determine the degree of substitute suitability between sales menus based on at least some of the following: information on out-of-stock menus, information on one or more sales menus, and information on customers. The conditions for determining the degree of substitute suitability may be the same as or similar to the conditions for determining candidate menus described above.

[0133] The electronic device 101 can provide the user with a list of candidate menus (S720).

[0134] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with a catalog of candidate menus, which includes one or more determined candidate menus.

[0135] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine the order in which one or more candidate menus are listed and displayed in the candidate menu catalog. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine the order in which candidate menus are displayed based on the sales menu catalog. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine the order in which candidate menus are displayed in the sales menu catalog based on the order in which sales menus are displayed in the sales menu catalog. In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine the priority order among candidate menus and determine the order in which one or more candidate menus are displayed in the candidate menu catalog based on the priority order among candidate menus. The electronic device 101 can determine the priority order among candidate menus based on at least some of the following: information on out-of-stock menus, information on one or more sales menus, and information on customers. The conditions for determining the priority order among candidate menus may include the same or similar conditions as those for determining candidate menus as described above. The electronic device 101 can provide the user with a candidate menu catalog in which the candidate menus are displayed in the order determined based on the priority order.

[0136] Figure 8 is a flowchart detailing the process of providing customers with information about alternative menus, as described with reference to Figure 3.

[0137] Figure 8 is a flowchart detailing the operation (S350) of providing information about alternative menus, as explained with reference to Figure 3. Operation S800 in Figure 8 may be at least a part of the operation (S350) of providing information about alternative menus. The operation shown in Figure 8 will be described in detail below.

[0138] The electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu from the sales menu (S810). The second alternative menu may be offered to the customer together with the alternative menu described with reference to Figure 3, or it may be a menu that replaces the alternative menu described with reference to Figure 3.

[0139] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu from one or more sales menus based on at least some of the information regarding each sales menu, information regarding out-of-stock menus, and information regarding the customer. The electronic device 101 can determine an alternative menu from the sales menu without depending on the user's choice.

[0140] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more second alternative menu items from the sales menu catalog to recommend to the customer as an alternative to an out-of-stock menu item, based on at least some of the information regarding out-of-stock menu items, information regarding one or more sales menu items, and information regarding the customer.

[0141] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more second alternative menus based on information regarding out-of-stock menus. The electronic device 101 can determine one or more second alternative menus based on at least some of the price information of the out-of-stock menu and information regarding the menu group to which the out-of-stock menu belongs.

[0142] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on the price information of the out-of-stock menu. For example, the alternative menu may appropriately have a similar price to the out-of-stock menu. Based on the price information of the out-of-stock menu, the electronic device 101 can select at least some of the following as the second alternative menu: a menu with a price lower than the price of the out-of-stock menu, a menu with a price difference of less than or equal to a threshold, or a menu with a price lower than the price of the out-of-stock menu while still having a price difference of less than or equal to a threshold.

[0143] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on the menu group of the out-of-stock menu item. The electronic device 101 can identify the menu group to which the out-of-stock menu item belongs and select a second alternative menu item from one or more available menu items belonging to that menu group.

[0144] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can select a second alternative menu based on information about one or more sales menus included in a sales menu catalog corresponding to the user. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on at least some of the following: past sales volume, discount information, frequency of past selection as an alternative menu, and frequency of reorders when recommended as an alternative menu for one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog.

[0145] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu from one or more sales menus based on the frequency of customer orders, the number of times they were sold, and the quantity sold during a specified period in the past. That is, the electronic device 101 can select a second alternative menu based on the order of customer order frequency, number of times sold, and quantity sold during a specified period in the past. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine one or more second alternative menus from a sales menu catalog based on the order of highest order frequency.

[0146] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on information regarding the frequency with which each of the sales menus has been selected as an alternative menu by the user. For example, the second alternative menu may be determined based on the order in which the user has selected each of the sales menus as an alternative menu from the most frequent, or the order in which the user has selected each of the sales menus as an alternative menu from the most frequent. For example, the electronic device 101 can determine the second menu as the second alternative menu corresponding to the out-of-stock status of the first menu if, during a specified period in the past, the second menu was selected most frequently as an alternative menu in response to the out-of-stock status of the first menu. As yet another example, the electronic device 101 can determine the second alternative menu based on the order in which the user has selected each of the sales menus included in the menu group to which the out-of-stock first menu belonged during a specified period in the past, in response to the out-of-stock status of each menu. As yet another example, the electronic device 101 can determine the second alternative menu based on the order in which the user has selected each of the sales menus included in the sales menu catalog in response to the out-of-stock status of each menu.

[0147] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu from the sales menu based on information regarding the frequency or probability of a customer reordering when the alternative menu is recommended to the customer. The electronic device 101 can determine the third menu as the second alternative menu based on the frequency with which a reorder for the third menu occurred from a customer who experienced a stockout, or the probability of a reorder calculated based on past frequencies, when the third menu was recommended as an alternative menu in response to another menu being out of stock during a past period.

[0148] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu from among one or more sales menus based on discount information for each of the one or more sales menus. The discount information may include at least a portion of information regarding whether or not a discount is available and information regarding the discount rate.

[0149] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on customer information.

[0150] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine a second alternative menu based on at least some of the following: information about menus previously purchased by the customer corresponding to the rejected or canceled order; information about the customer's preferences identified by analysis based on the customer's past order history; and information about a group, type, or category of one or more menus purchased by the customer at the user's store or other stores corresponding to the canceled or rejected order.

[0151] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can determine the degree of substitute suitability between one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog, corresponding to each out-of-stock menu, and can determine one or more second alternative menus based on the degree of substitute suitability between sales menus. The electronic device 101 can determine the degree of substitute suitability between sales menus based on at least some of the following: information on out-of-stock menus, information on one or more sales menus, and information on customers. The conditions for determining the degree of substitute suitability may be the same as or similar to the conditions for determining the second alternative menu described above.

[0152] The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information regarding a second alternative menu (S820).

[0153] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about a second alternative menu, along with the information about the alternative menu described with reference to Figure 3. In this case, for example, in response to the provision of information about the alternative menu described with reference to Figure 3, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with a message such as, "This is an alternative menu recommended by the store manager," and in response to the provision of information about the second alternative menu, it can provide the customer with a message such as, "Based on our analysis, we recommend an alternative menu that we believe will satisfy you."

[0154] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about a second alternative menu along with information about the reasons for recommending the second alternative menu. The reasons for recommendation may correspond to the reasons why the second alternative menu was selected as a candidate menu. For example, if the electronic device 101 selects the first menu as a candidate menu based on the price information of the first menu, it can provide the customer with information about the reasons for recommendation, such as displaying a message like "This menu is similar in price to the menu that was rejected (canceled)" in response to the first menu being selected as a second alternative menu from the candidate menu list. For example, if the electronic device 101 selects the second menu as a candidate menu based on past sales volume information of the second menu, it can provide the customer with information about the reasons for recommendation, such as displaying a message like "This is a popular menu item" in response to the second menu being selected as a second alternative menu from the candidate menu list.

[0155] Figure 9 is a flowchart detailing the process of providing customers with information about alternative menus, as described with reference to Figure 3.

[0156] Figure 9 is a flowchart detailing the operation (S350) of providing information about alternative menus, as explained with reference to Figure 3. Operation S900 in Figure 9 may be at least a part of the operation (S350) of providing information about alternative menus. The operation shown in Figure 9 will be described in detail below.

[0157] The electronic device 101 can provide a user interface for entering an alternative menu (S910). The electronic device 101 can provide the user with a second user interface for entering an alternative menu.

[0158] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the user with a second user interface via an alternative menu recommendation page. For example, the second user interface may be included in at least a portion of the alternative menu recommendation page 600 described with reference to Figure 6.

[0159] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can receive information about alternative menus from the user via a second user interface. The information about alternative menus may include at least some of the following: the name of the menu, options, whether or not there is a discount, the discount rate, price information, and the reason for recommending the alternative menu. For example, if the user intends to directly input an alternative menu, the user can input information about the alternative menu via the second user interface. In this case, when the user inputs information about the alternative menu via the second user interface, the electronic device 101 can identify the information about the alternative menu based on the user input corresponding to the second user interface. If the user intends to recommend a menu that is not included in the existing sales menu as an alternative menu, the user can input information about the alternative menu using the second user interface, and the electronic device 101 can receive information about the alternative menu via the second user interface. In this case, the user may input a new menu that is not included in the sales menu, or recommend an alternative menu that is already included in the sales menu but has a lower price or a discount applied, in order to compensate for a negative customer experience due to order cancellation or rejection.

[0160] The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information regarding the received alternative menu (S920).

[0161] The electronic device 101 can identify alternative menus based on input received from the user via the second user interface. The electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information regarding the received alternative menus.

[0162] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information regarding alternative menus. This information may include at least some of the following: the name, price, and image of the alternative menu.

[0163] In one embodiment, the electronic device 101 can provide the customer with information about alternative menus, along with information about the reasons for recommending the alternative menus based on user input.

[0164] Figure 10 shows an example of the alternative menu recommendation page 600, as described with reference to Figure 6.

[0165] In one embodiment 600a of the alternative menu recommendation page, which will be explained with reference to Figure 10, the alternative menu recommendation page 600a may include a second user interface 1000.

[0166] The second user interface 1000 may include at least some of the following: a selection interface 1010 for selecting an alternative menu directly entered by the user; one or more interfaces 1020, 1030 for entering information about the alternative menu; and an additional icon 1040 for adding an alternative menu directly entered by the user. In response to input to the additional icon 1040, the second user interface 1000 may provide additional selection interfaces and input interfaces for adding and entering alternative menus.

[0167] Information regarding alternative menus may be generated based on user input corresponding to the menu name input window 1020 and the price input window 1030. Figure 10 shows only the input windows 1020 and 1030 for menu name and price, but is not limited to these. It may further include user interfaces for inputting information such as the discount rate and recommendation reason mentioned above, and may further include a user interface for receiving input to refer to at least some of the information of existing sales menus, and a user interface for receiving user input to modify at least some of the information of the referenced sales menus.

[0168] Figure 11 shows an example of the alternative menu recommendation page 600, as explained with reference to Figure 6.

[0169] In one embodiment 600b of the alternative menu recommendation page, as described with reference to Figure 11, the alternative menu recommendation page 600b can display a message 1100 indicating that an alternative menu recommendation is not possible. For example, if the entire sales menu is out of stock, the electronic device 101 can display such a message 1100 to the user. In this case, since an alternative menu recommendation is not possible, the electronic device 101 displays an out-of-stock processing complete icon 1100 on the alternative menu recommendation page 600b and, based on the user input corresponding to the out-of-stock processing complete icon 1100, can perform out-of-stock processing only for the out-of-stock menu selected from the out-of-stock management page 500.

[0170] Figure 12 shows an example of the out-of-stock management page 500, as explained with reference to Figure 5.

[0171] In one embodiment of the out-of-stock management page 500a, which will be described with reference to Figure 12, the out-of-stock management page 500a can display a message 1200 indicating that the out-of-stock processing has already been completed. For example, if the out-of-stock processing corresponding to the out-of-stock menu selected from the out-of-stock management page 500a has already been completed, the electronic device 101 can respond to an out-of-stock processing request for the same menu by displaying a message 1200 indicating that the out-of-stock processing for that menu has already been completed. Such a message 1200 may be displayed in at least a portion of the area of ​​the out-of-stock management page 500a.

[0172] In the flowcharts relating to this disclosure, each step of the method or algorithm is described in a sequential order; however, the steps may be performed in any order that can be combined. The descriptions relating to the flowcharts relating to this disclosure do not preclude changes or modifications to the method or algorithm, nor do they imply that any particular step is essential or preferred. In one embodiment, at least some steps may be performed in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically. In another embodiment, at least some steps may be omitted, and other steps may be added.

[0173] The various embodiments relating to this disclosure may be embodied as software on a machine-readable storage medium. The software may be software for embodying the various embodiments described in this disclosure. The software can be inferred from the various embodiments described in this disclosure by a programmer in the art to which this disclosure belongs. For example, the software may be a program containing instructions (e.g., instructions, code, or code segments) that are readable by a computing device. The device is a device capable of operating in response to instructions called from a storage medium, and may be, for example, a computer. In one embodiment, the device may be a computing device according to one of the various embodiments described in this disclosure. In one embodiment, the processor of the device can execute a called instruction and cause the components of the device to perform the function corresponding to this instruction. The storage medium can mean any kind of recording medium on which information is stored and is readable by the device. The storage medium may include, for example, ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc. In one embodiment, the storage medium may be implemented in a distributed form, such as a network-connected computer system. In this case, the software may be stored and executed in a distributed manner across the computer system. In another embodiment, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium. A non-transitory storage medium means a medium that exists regardless of whether the data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily, and does not include signals that are transmitted transiently.

[0174] Although the technical concept of this disclosure has been explained through various embodiments, the technical concept of this disclosure includes various substitutions, modifications, and alterations that can be understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Furthermore, such substitutions, modifications, and alterations should be understood to be included within the scope of the attached claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0175] 101 Electronic equipment 102 User Terminals 103 Customer terminal 200 Electronic equipment 210 processors 220 memory 230 Communication Interfaces 400 Order Rejection Page 410 icons 500 Admin Pages 501 Second Selection Icon 502 Third Selection Icon 510 1st area 511 First Selection Icon 512 icons 513 Icons 520 Request Interface 530 Recommendation Request Interface 600 Alternative Menu Recommendation Pages 601 Menu Group Icons 602 Menu Group Icons 610 Candidate menu area 611 Icons 612 Price Information 620 Information 630 Menu Catalog Conversion Icon 640 Select Initialization Icon 650 Recommendation Complete Icon 1000 Second User Interface 1010 Selection Interface 1020 Menu Name Input Window 1030 Price Input Window 1040 Additional Icons 1100 Message 1200 messages

Claims

1. A method performed by an electronic device, A step in which, in response to an order from a customer, a request to refuse the order is received from the user, wherein the order includes at least a portion of one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog corresponding to the user. In response to the aforementioned rejection request, the user is provided with an out-of-stock management page, the out-of-stock management page includes a first user interface that allows the user to select out-of-stock items from one or more sales items included in the order; The steps include receiving a request from the user for information regarding the out-of-stock menu items and for recommendations of alternative menu items corresponding to the out-of-stock items, The steps include providing the user with a catalog of candidate menus that includes one or more alternative menus to replace the out-of-stock menu items, A method comprising the step of providing the customer with information about an alternative menu selected by the user from among the one or more candidate menus, based on the selection input received from the user.

2. The step of providing the aforementioned list of candidate menu items is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog from among the one or more sales menus, based on the information regarding the out-of-stock menus.

3. The step of determining the aforementioned candidate menu is, The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of determining candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog based on at least a portion of the menu group corresponding to the information regarding the out-of-stock menus and the price information of the out-of-stock menus.

4. The step of providing the aforementioned list of candidate menu items is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu list from among the one or more sales menus, based on information relating to each of the one or more sales menus included in the sales menu list.

5. The step of determining the aforementioned candidate menu is, The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of determining candidate menus based on at least a portion of past sales volume and frequency of selection as an alternative menu in the past for each of the one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog.

6. The step of providing the aforementioned list of candidate menu items is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining, from among one or more sales menus included in the sales menu catalog, candidate menus to be included in the candidate menu catalog based on information regarding the customer's purchase history.

7. The step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu is: The steps include providing the user with a second user interface for the user to input an alternative menu, The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu based on user input corresponding to the second user interface received from the user.

8. The first user interface includes a recommendation request interface for requesting recommendations for the alternative menu, The aforementioned method, The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of deactivating the recommendation request interface if the out-of-stock menu selected by the user includes only optional menus that can be added in correspondence with other sales menus.

9. The step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing information regarding the reasons for recommending the alternative menu, along with information regarding the alternative menu.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying in the sales menu catalog that the sales menu corresponding to the out-of-stock menu is out of stock, based on the information about the out-of-stock menu received from the user.

11. The process further includes the step of rejecting the aforementioned order, The step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu along with a message regarding the rejection of the order.

12. The process further includes determining a second alternative menu from among the one or more sales menus based on information relating to each of the one or more sales menus, information relating to out-of-stock menus, and information relating to the customer's purchase history. The step of providing the customer with information regarding the alternative menu is: The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the customer with information regarding the determined second alternative menu along with information regarding the alternative menu selected by the user.

13. An electronic device, One or more processors, Includes one or more memories in which instruction words executed by the one or more processors are stored, An electronic device in which, when the instruction word is executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors are configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A non-temporary computer-readable recording medium that stores instruction words causing one or more processors to operate when executed by one or more processors, The instruction word is configured to cause one or more processors to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium.

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