Product sales system

Abstract

To provide a merchandise sales system equipped with a system that allows a purchaser to receive a refund without imposing complicated work or financial burden on the purchaser when the purchaser wishes to return the purchased merchandise. [Solution] A product sales system 1 comprising a terminal 4 of a product purchaser who becomes a member, and a refund system 10 that refunds the product purchase price by providing product images via the terminal 4, wherein the products are sold only by the system administrator in the market, and the refund system 10 comprises a management unit 11 that manages product purchasers, a refund decision unit 14 that determines whether the product cannot be resold from the product image, and a refund response unit 15 that handles refunds to product purchasers, wherein the management unit 11 registers the member's email address, and the product image from the product purchaser is an image that can detect whether the product has been opened, and the refund response unit 15 automatically contacts the email address to handle the refund when the refund decision unit 14 detects that the product has been opened.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for selling products over the Internet, and more particularly to a product sales system that includes a refund system for products purchased by users. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, product sales systems that allow users to select and purchase products from product sales websites have become widespread.

[0003] On the other hand, in the case of product sales via websites or mail order, unlike product sales in physical stores, consumers do not actually touch the products before purchasing them, and so they may not be satisfied with the products delivered to their homes, etc. In particular, in the health food and supplement industry, many consumers seem to get the impression that they cannot actually experience the effects of a product when they purchase it, and therefore cannot experience the effects that are advertised on websites after purchasing the product.

[0004] As a system for protecting consumers, as described on the website of the National Association of Consumer Counselors (see Non-Patent Document 1), there is a cooling-off period that allows consumers to unconditionally withdraw their application or cancel the contract if they have entered into a contract for a product or service through door-to-door sales or telephone solicitation, within eight days, including the day they made the purchase application or signed the contract (the day they received the written document). On the other hand, in the case of mail order or in-store sales, as a general rule there is no cooling-off period, and sellers may adopt their own money-back guarantee systems, such as "products can be returned within x number of days after purchase (return shipping costs are borne by the consumer who placed the order)." [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] https: / / zenso.or.jp / yakudatsu / coolingoff Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the money-back guarantee systems that have been implemented in the health food and supplement industry have generally been subject to the following restrictions: You must pay the shipping costs required to return the product. - The period for returning products is short, such as within two weeks of purchase. Reasons for return were limited. For example, if you learn about a competitor's product through an advertisement after purchasing it and then want to return it after comparing the results, this was not covered. This has led to a problem in which customers are unable to make purchases with confidence and are hesitant to make purchases.

[0007] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a product purchasing system that allows a refund to be made without forcing a purchaser to go through complicated procedures or bear a financial burden when the purchaser wishes to return a purchased product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention (Claim 1) provides a product sales system (1) for selling products, which comprises a terminal (4) of a product purchaser who becomes a member, and a refund system (10) that, under the management of a system administrator, accepts a refund request for the product purchase price by providing a product image via the terminal (4) from the product purchaser, and is characterized by having the following configuration. the product is a product sold in the market only by the system administrator, The refund system (10) a management unit (11) for managing the product purchasers; A refund determination unit (14) that determines whether the product is non-resaleable based on the product image; a refund processing unit (15) that performs a refund to the product purchaser based on the judgment of the refund judgment unit (14), The management unit (11) registers the name and email address of the product purchaser who will become a member, The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal (4) is an image that can detect the opening state, The refund handling unit (15) automatically contacts the email address to inform the purchaser of the refund when the refund judgment unit (14) detects the opened state, without requesting the purchaser to return the product.

[0009] Claim 2 provides the product sales system of claim 1, The management unit (11) manages payment settlement information for the purchased product by the product purchaser, and when the payment settlement has been completed and the refund request is the first for the purchased product, the refund handling unit (15) transfers money to the refund destination.

[0010] Claim 3 provides the product sales system of claim 1, The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal (4) is an image that can detect whether the product has been opened, and the refund judgment unit (14) is characterized by having a detection unit that detects whether the product has been opened.

[0011] Claim 4 provides the product sales system of claim 3, The detection unit is characterized in that it determines whether the product is unsalable for resale by detecting a change in the position of a portion of the structure of an opened container or package from the product image.

[0012] Claim 5 provides the product sales system of claim 1, The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal (4) is an image in which an X mark is displayed on the surface of the product (surface of the container body, surface of the product bag), and the refund judgment unit (14) is characterized by having a detection unit that detects the X mark. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to claim 1, by providing a refund determination unit (14) that determines whether the product is unsalable from the product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal (4), and a refund response unit (15) that handles refunds to the product purchaser based on the judgment of the refund determination unit (14), it becomes possible to handle refunds to product purchasers only through processing on the homepage, without sending emails or making phone calls.

[0014] According to claim 2, the management unit (11) manages payment settlement information for the purchased product by the product purchaser, so that it is possible to reliably refund the purchased product for which payment settlement has been made.

[0015] According to claim 3, the refund determination unit (14) is provided with a detection unit that detects whether the product has been opened, so that it is possible to determine whether the product can be returned based on whether it has been opened.

[0016] According to claim 4, by detecting a change in the position of a part of the structure of the container or packaging, it is possible to reliably grasp the opening state and determine whether or not the product can be returned.

[0017] According to claim 5, the refund determination unit (14) is provided with a detection unit that detects the X mark on the product label, so that it is possible to determine whether or not to allow a return based on the presence or absence of the X mark. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a product sales system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen on a homepage accessed by a product purchaser, on which an image attachment section is displayed. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure when a product purchase price refund request is made using the product sales system. [Figure 4] This is a diagram of the screen displayed on the first page of the refund application (condition confirmation). [Figure 5] This is a diagram of the screen displayed on the second page of the refund application (when entering purchaser information). [Figure 6]This is a diagram of the screen displayed on the third page of the refund application (product image attached). [Figure 7] This is a diagram of the screen displayed on the fourth page of the refund application (entering refund destination information). [Figure 8] This is a diagram of a screen showing another example of the third page of a refund application (with product images attached). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] A product sales system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a product sales system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The product sales system 1 comprises a product sales device 2 equipped with a refund system 10 that refunds the purchase price of a product, and a plurality of terminals 4 connected to the product sales device 2 via a network 3 (an internet communication line).

[0020] In the product sales device 2, the registration of products sold in the product sales system 1 and users who will purchase the products is managed by a system administrator. In particular, the products are sold only by system administrators in the market (direct sales products). Furthermore, products sold by the product sales device 2 can be purchased by performing user registration of the product purchaser on each terminal 4 and performing operations such as selecting the product that the purchaser wishes to purchase. User registration is done by entering the product purchaser's address (residence), name, contact email address, etc.

[0021] The product sales device 2 is constructed within an existing computer and includes a network module that functions as a communication unit that communicates with a server via a network 3, a memory that functions as a storage unit that stores a web browser program, and a CPU that functions as a processing unit that sends and receives information to and from the server via the network module by executing the program stored in the memory.

[0022] Each terminal 4 is composed of a general computer, tablet, or mobile terminal, such as a personal computer, that is equipped with a communication unit, a memory unit, a processing unit, a display unit, an imaging unit, a character input unit, and a position input unit, and is configured to be able to access the product selling device 2 via the network 3. The terminal 4 is capable of recording images captured by the imaging unit and transmitting them via the network 3.

[0023] The product sales device 2 allows users to select and purchase a wide variety of products (direct sales products) sold only by the system administrator in the market from a terminal 4 via a network 3. The user connects to the system administrator's homepage (product sales device 2) from the user's terminal 4, and various information is transmitted by the user entering information on each page displayed on the homepage. Here, "on the homepage" is a concept that includes all web-based UIs, including external ground form services such as Jotform (service name), but is not limited to this. The product selling device 2 also includes a refund system 10 that refunds the purchase price of a product using a product image provided by the product purchaser.

[0024] The refund system 10 includes a management unit 11 for managing product purchasers, an image attachment unit 12 for uploading product images, a refund destination information input unit 13 for inputting information on the product purchaser's refund destination, a refund determination unit 14 for determining whether the product cannot be resold from the product image, and a refund handling unit 15 for handling refunds to product purchasers based on the determination of the refund determination unit 14.

[0025] The management unit 11 manages the address (residence), name, contact email address, etc. of the product purchaser from the information entered by the product purchaser during user registration via the terminal 4. In addition, when a product is actually purchased, the management unit 11 manages the purchase history, such as the type and quantity of the product. The management unit 11 also manages payment settlement information for the purchased products of the product purchaser, and manages whether or not a refund request has been received from the product purchaser, as will be described later.

[0026] Product images are sent from the user's terminal 4 to the image sales device 2 via the image attachment unit 12. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, product images captured or recorded on the terminal 4 side are uploaded by dragging and dropping them into the image attachment unit 12, which serves as an image upload window on the image sending page displayed on the homepage screen. Images requested by the system administrator are also displayed on the homepage screen as photo examples. Specifically, the image attachment section 12 is displayed on the homepage screen using an external ground form service such as Jotform (service name).

[0027] The refund determination unit 14 determines whether the purchased product is non-resaleable based on the product image sent by the product purchaser. The determination of whether the product is non-resaleable is made by a detection unit that detects whether the product has been opened.

[0028] For example, the product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal 4 may be captured with the product container or packaging opened, so that the opened state of the product can be detected from this image. Specifically, on the homepage screen of Figure 2, a product image of the purchased product taken by the product purchaser is shown as a photo example 23 in which the positional relationship of a part of the structure (tongue portion 22) of the opened container or packaging body (box body 21) has changed (becomes protruding), and the same type of image is uploaded (sent) to the image upload window (image attachment section 12).

[0029] The detection unit analyzes the transmitted image and determines whether the container or packaging has been opened by detecting the relative positions of the opened container or part of the packaging structure (such as the position of the protruding tongue of the box relative to the box body). If the product is only a container, the opened state may be determined based on the relative positions of the lid 27 and the container body 26 from an image in which the lid 27 is separated from the container body 26, as in example photograph 25 in Figure 2.

[0030] Furthermore, with regard to image analysis in the detection unit, the opened state was determined by detecting the relative positions of parts of the structure of the opened container or packaging (detecting the position of the tongue relative to the box body, etc.), but it is also possible to use existing image analysis technology or AI technology to make a determination based on the similarity between the opened image and a normal image, and the detection unit may be configured to include a function that can determine whether or not the purchased product can be resold based on the provision and analysis of images of the purchased product. Furthermore, the refund determination unit 14 can also allow an operator on the image sales device 2 side (system administrator side) to visually check the uploaded (transmitted) image to determine whether or not it can be resold.

[0031] The refund destination information is transmitted from the user's terminal 4 to the image selling device 2 via the refund destination information input unit 13. For example, this is done by the product purchaser inputting refund destination information such as the name of the financial institution, branch, account name, etc. into an input window (refund destination information input unit) on a refund destination input page displayed on the homepage. After inputting information into each input window, the purchaser's refund request is sent to the management unit 11 of the image sales device 2 by selecting the send window. Specific screens displayed on the homepage will be described later.

[0032] The refund processing unit 15 performs refund processing to the product purchaser based on the decision of the refund decision unit 14. In this case, no request is made to the product purchaser to process the return of the purchased product. That is, if the refund decision unit 14 decides from the image that the product cannot be resold, the refund handling unit 15 automatically performs a refund operation to the designated refund account entered by the product purchaser. In addition, after the refund decision unit 14 decides that the image cannot be resold, the refund process may be started manually by an operator on the image sales device 2 side in the refund handling unit 15.

[0033] Next, a refund process in response to a request from a product purchaser will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 3 and screens (FIGS. 4 to 8) displayed on the homepage.

[0034] The product purchaser checks the refund application conditions on the refund application page of the homepage (image selling device 2) displayed on the terminal 4 of the product purchaser. On the first page of the refund application (Figure 4), you will see the message, "Is this your first time requesting a return of the product?" and "You may only return one item at a time." Check the boxes to the left of "Yes, this is my first time" and "Yes, I understand." This is to confirm whether the product purchaser himself / herself understands the conditions of the application, and whether the conditions are actually met is determined based on the registered information of the purchase history stored in the management unit 11.

[0035] On the second page of the refund request (Figure 5), enter the buyer's information, such as the buyer's name, the email address used when placing the order, and the item for which you wish to receive a refund. The refund application page 3 (FIG. 6) displays an upload screen with an image upload window (image attachment section 12) for submitting images of the purchased product. Above the image attachment section 12, an example image 25 suitable for uploading is displayed, showing an image of a container body (bottle) 26 with a lid (cap) 27 removed, and an example image 28 suitable for uploading is displayed, showing an image of a bag body (pouch) 29 opened. On the refund application page 4 (FIG. 7), a refund destination input screen (refund destination input section 13) is displayed for inputting refund destination information such as the name of the financial institution, branch, account name, etc.

[0036] The product purchaser enters information on each page and clicks on the refund application submission window (Send) 70 displayed on the refund application page 4 (Figure 7), which accepts the refund application from the product purchaser, and the refund system 10 reads the information entered on each refund application page and the product purchaser information registered in the management unit 11 (Step 1).

[0037] The management unit 11 checks from the information registered whether this is the first refund request for the purchased item (step 2). The management unit 11 checks from the information registered whether the purchaser has completed payment for the product (step 3).

[0038] If step 2 and step 3 are not satisfied, a message indicating that the refund cannot be processed is sent to the purchaser's email address managed by the management unit 11 (step 10), and the refund application process is terminated. If Step 2 and Step 3 are satisfied, the refund destination information of the product purchaser registered in the refund destination information input unit 13 is read (Step 4).

[0039] The image uploaded (transmitted) to the image attachment unit 12 is analyzed to determine whether the product is non-resaleable (non-resaleable) (step 5).

[0040] If it is determined in step 5 that the product is resalable, a notice of non-refundability is sent to the email address of the product purchaser managed by the management unit 11 (step 10), and the refund application process is terminated. At this time, the user may be prompted to upload images again. If it is determined in step 5 that the product is non-resaleable (non-resaleable), a refund notification is sent to the email address of the product purchaser managed by the management unit 11, and a refund request is sent to the financial institution, etc. (step 11), and the refund request process is completed.

[0041] In the above-mentioned process, the information regarding "completion of payment settlement by the product purchaser" and "whether this is the first return request (refund request) for the purchased product" is obtained from the information registered in the management unit 11, but it may also be confirmed by checking the display of the check boxes "Yes, this is my first time" and "Yes, I understand" in response to "Is this your first time requesting to return the product?" and "The number of returns is limited to one per product, one time" on the return confirmation page displayed on the homepage in Figure 4.

[0042] On the refund application page 3 (Fig. 6) in the refund application process described above, an image in which the lid 27 is separated from the container body 26 is displayed as photo example 25 suitable for uploading. However, as shown on the refund application page 3 (Fig. 8), images in which an X mark is displayed on the surface of the container body or product bag (product surface) may be posted as photo examples 30 and 31, and when such images are provided by the product purchaser, the refund judgment unit may detect the X mark and determine that the product cannot be resold (cannot be resold).

[0043] According to the above-mentioned product sales system 1, it is determined whether the product cannot be resold based on the product image uploaded to the image attachment unit 12 (refund determination unit 14), and a refund is provided to the product purchaser (refund response unit 15), making it possible to provide a refund to the product purchaser through processing only on the homepage, without sending an email or making a phone call. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 Product sales system 2. Product sales device 3 Network 4. Terminal 10. Refund System 11 Management Department 12 Image attachment section 13 Refund information input section 14. Refund Judgment Department 15 Refund Department

Claims

1. A terminal of a member who purchases a product; a refund system that accepts a refund request for the purchase price of a product by providing a product image via the terminal from the product purchaser under the management of a system administrator, the product sales system comprising: the product is a product sold in the market only by the system administrator, The refund system comprises: a management unit that manages the product purchasers; a refund determination unit that determines whether the product is unsalable based on the product image; a refund processing unit that performs a refund processing for the product purchaser based on the judgment of the refund judgment unit, The management department registers the names and email addresses of product purchasers who will become members, The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal is an image that allows detection of the opened state, The refund handling unit automatically sends a refund handling message to the email address when the refund determination unit detects the opened state, without requesting the product purchaser to return the product. A product sales system characterized by:

2. The product sales system of claim 1, wherein the management unit manages payment settlement information for the purchased product by the product purchaser, and when payment settlement has been completed and the refund request is the first for the purchased product, the refund handling unit transfers money to the refund destination.

3. The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal is an image that allows detection of an opened state, The product sales system according to claim 1 , wherein the refund determination unit includes a detection unit that detects the opened state.

4. The product sales system according to claim 3 , wherein the detection unit determines that the product cannot be resold by detecting a change in the position of a part of a structure of an opened container or package from the product image.

5. The product image provided by the product purchaser via the terminal is an image of a product with an X mark displayed on the surface thereof, The product sales system according to claim 1 , wherein the refund determination unit includes a detection unit that detects the x mark.

Images