Presentation device, presentation method, and program

Abstract

To provide a presentation device, a presentation method, and a program capable of more effectively presenting recommended genres. [Solution] The presentation device 100 presents to a shopper a specific genre included in the hierarchically structured genres in an electronic market where trading objects are classified by genres having a hierarchical structure and each genre is assigned an image representing that genre, and is equipped with an extraction unit 130 that extracts the specific genre and sub-genres that are lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure, a selection unit 160 that selects one of the genres extracted by the extraction unit 130 based on the shopper's behavior in the electronic market, and a presentation unit 170 that presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the genre selected by the selection unit 160 in association with each other.

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] There is known a technique for classifying and managing trading objects, including products or services, traded in an online marketplace, according to genres having a hierarchical structure (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-059202 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such technology, recommended genres are presented to shoppers. However, since shoppers do not necessarily have a full understanding of the hierarchical structure of genres, when a genre in a higher hierarchy is presented, they may not be able to know what kind of business objects are available in the presented genre. In this case, the shopper will not be interested in the presented genre. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of presenting recommended genres more effectively.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a presentation device, a presentation method, and a program that can more effectively present recommended genres. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a presentation device according to the present invention comprises: A presentation device for presenting a specific genre included in the hierarchical genre to a shopper in an electronic market in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and an image representing each of the genres is assigned to each of the genres, the device comprising: an extracting unit that extracts the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; a selection unit that selects a genre from the genres extracted by the extraction unit based on the shopper's behavior in the electronic marketplace; a presentation unit that presents to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the genre selected by the selection unit in association with each other; Equipped with. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a presentation device, a presentation method, and a program capable of more effectively presenting recommended genres. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a presentation system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a genre structure according to the embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying recommended genres displayed on a user terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a presentation device. [Diagram 5] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a genre table stored in a genre information storage unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a product database shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a browsing history database shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a physical configuration of the presentation device. [Figure 9]13 is a flowchart of a presentation process by the presentation device. [Figure 10] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a result of aggregation performed by a selection unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart of a specific genre change process performed by the presentation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals. In addition, the present embodiment is for the purpose of explanation, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, a person skilled in the art can adopt an embodiment in which each or all of these elements are replaced with an equivalent, and such an embodiment is also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0010] (Overall composition) A presentation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described using an example in which it is applied to a presentation system 1 shown in Fig. 1. The presentation system 1 is a system that provides recommended genres together with thumbnail images showing products representative of the genre when a shopper searches for products in an online market. Note that the presentation system 1 is not limited to products, and may also present recommended genres for services such as travel, restaurants, and beauty salons on a reservation site, or for transaction targets on a financial product providing site.

[0011] The presentation system 1 includes a presentation device 100, a genre identification engine 200, and a user terminal 300, and the presentation device 100, the genre identification engine 200, and the user terminal 300 are connected via a communication network 400.

[0012] Communications network 400 may include various types of networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a telecommunications network such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless network, a public switched network, a satellite network, a cellular network, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, an optical fiber-based network, etc., and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0013] The presentation device 100 is composed of one or more server computers. The presentation device 100 is operated by a business operator providing an electronic commerce service such as an online mall, an online shopping site, an auction site, or a flea market site. In this electronic commerce service, products to be traded are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure. Here, an example of the genre configuration according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, the genres are defined in a hierarchical structure (tree structure). The genre "food and beverages" in the first hierarchy, which is the top hierarchy, corresponds to the root node in the tree structure, and the genres are subdivided as they branch out from here to lower levels. For example, genres such as "food" and "sweets and snacks" are defined in the second hierarchy, which is a lower hierarchy of "food". In addition, genres such as "fruit and fruit", "seafood and seafood products", and "rice and grains" are defined in the third hierarchy, which is a lower hierarchy of "food". Furthermore, for example, in the fourth layer, which is a layer below "fruits", genres such as "grapes", "tangerines", "sets / assortments", "strawberries", "peaches", and "apples" are defined. Note that the hierarchical structure of genres is not limited to being composed of four layers, and may be composed of any number of layers. In the following explanation, a genre one layer above a genre is also referred to as a parent genre, a genre one layer below a genre is also referred to as a child genre, and a genre two layers below is also referred to as a grandchild genre.

[0014] The presentation device 100 receives a specific genre, which is a genre identified by the genre identification engine 200 as a genre to be recommended to the shopper, and extracts sub-genres, which are genres at all levels belonging to the received specific genre. The presentation device 100 selects one of the specific genre and sub-genres based on the browsing behavior of the shopper in the e-commerce service. The presentation device 100 changes a thumbnail image that is assigned in advance to the specific genre and shows a product that represents the genre to a thumbnail image that is assigned in advance to the selected genre, and presents the thumbnail image to the shopper together with the name of the specific genre.

[0015] Returning to FIG. 1, the genre identification engine 200 executes a process of identifying a specific genre to be recommended to a shopper. The genre identification engine 200 is implemented, for example, in a provider server (not shown) that provides an electronic commerce service, and identifies a specific genre to be recommended to a shopper using a predetermined recommendation algorithm. Specifically, the genre identification engine 200 identifies a specific genre based on an algorithm that identifies a genre of a product most recently viewed by a shopper, or a genre with a high growth rate in the number of views by all shoppers, or identifies a specific genre based on a machine learning algorithm such as content-based filtering or collaborative filtering. Note that the implementation method of the genre identification engine 200 and the algorithm to be used are not limited to these, and any method and any algorithm may be used in appropriate combination.

[0016] The user terminal 300 is an information terminal (so-called computer) such as a smartphone, tablet, or PC (Personal Computer) owned by a shopper, and is capable of communicating with the presentation device 100 via a communication network 400. The shopper installs an e-commerce application in the user terminal 300, starts the e-commerce application, and uses an e-commerce service.

[0017] The user terminal 300 displays the name of the specific genre and the thumbnail image presented by the presentation device 100 on the display screen. Here, an example of the display screen 310 displayed on the user terminal 300 is shown in FIG. 3. This display screen 310 is a screen that is displayed when, for example, an electronic commerce application is started and a page for searching for products by genre is selected, and includes a "recommended genre" section that displays genres recommended to the shopper. The "recommended genre" section is composed of icons 340 in which the name 330 of the specific genre and the thumbnail image 320 are associated. The user terminal 300 accepts the selection of the icon 340 by the shopper, and in response to the accepted shopper operation, displays a list of child genres of the genre corresponding to the selected icon 340 on the display screen 310. Specifically, for example, when the icon 340 of "food" in the "recommended genre" is selected, the genres "fruits", "seafood and seafood products", "rice and grains", etc., which are directly under "food" in the hierarchy, are displayed in a list on the display screen 310. If the genre corresponding to the selected icon 340 is a terminal genre that does not have a child genre, a list of products classified into that genre is displayed. Then, the user terminal 300 accepts the selection of a product by the shopper, and displays detailed information of the selected product on the display screen 310. The "recommended genre" section may be displayed on the top page that is displayed first when the shopper launches the e-commerce application.

[0018] (Functional configuration of presentation device) Next, a functional configuration of the presentation device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The presentation device 100 includes an acquisition unit 110, a genre information storage unit 120, an extraction unit 130, a product database 140, a browsing history database 150, a selection unit 160, and a presentation unit 170.

[0019] The acquiring unit 110 acquires the specific genres identified by the genre identification engine 200 as genres to be recommended to the shopper, and transmits the acquired specific genres to the extracting unit 130 .

[0020] The genre information storage unit 120 stores a genre table that defines the hierarchical structure of genres. An example of the genre table is shown in FIG. 5. The genre table stores information in which a genre ID for uniquely identifying a genre, a "genre name" that is the name of the genre, a "parent genre ID" that is the genre ID of the parent genre that is the genre one level higher to which each genre belongs, and an "image ID" for uniquely identifying a thumbnail image assigned to each genre are associated with each other. Specifically, the parent genre ID of the genre name "food and drink" is "None", which indicates that there is no parent genre, and therefore indicates that it is the root node of the top layer, and indicates that a thumbnail image with image ID "IMG00001" is assigned. In addition, the parent genre ID of the genre names "Food" and "Sweets and Confectionery" is the genre ID "J00001" of the genre name "Gourmet and Drinks", which indicates that these genres are subgenres directly under "Gourmet and Drinks". "Food" is assigned a thumbnail image with image ID "IMG00010", and "Sweets and Confectionery" is assigned a thumbnail image with image ID "IMG00011".

[0021] Returning to FIG. 4, the extraction unit 130 extracts sub-genres indicating all genres of lower hierarchical levels belonging to the specific genre acquired by the acquisition unit 110. Specifically, the extraction unit 130 extracts sub-genres of the specific genre with reference to a genre table stored in the genre information storage unit 120. For example, in the genre configuration illustrated in FIG. 2, when the acquisition unit 110 acquires "food" as a specific genre, the extraction unit 130 extracts "fruits", "seafood and marine products", "rice and miscellaneous grains", etc., which are immediately below "food", and "grapes", "mandarin oranges", "sets and assortments", "strawberries", "peaches", etc., which are immediately below each of "fruits", "seafood and marine products", "rice and miscellaneous grains", etc., as sub-genres. Details of the processing by the extraction unit 130 will be described later.

[0022] Returning to Fig. 4, product database 140 is a database that stores information about products traded in electronic commerce services. An example of product database 140 is shown in Fig. 6. As shown in the figure, product database 140 includes information such as a "product name" indicating the name of the product, a "product ID" for uniquely identifying each product, a "classification genre" indicating the classification genre that is the lowest genre for classifying each product, and a "genre ID" for uniquely identifying each genre. Note that the classification genre is information that is specified and set by the seller when listing the product.

[0023] Returning to Fig. 4, the browsing history database 150 is a database in which each shopper's browsing history of products in the e-commerce service is stored. The browsing history is collected, for example, by a provider server that provides the e-commerce service and transmitted to the presentation device 100. An example of the browsing history database 150 is shown in Fig. 7. As shown in the figure, the browsing history database 150 includes information such as a "user ID" for uniquely identifying a shopper, a "product ID" for uniquely identifying a product viewed by the shopper, and a "viewing date and time" indicating the date and time when the product was viewed.

[0024] Returning to FIG. 4, the selection unit 160 selects one genre from among the specific genres identified by the genre identification engine 200 and the sub-genres extracted by the extraction unit 130 based on the browsing history of the shopper. In the following, the genre selected by the selection unit 160 is also referred to as the selected genre. Specifically, the selection unit 160 counts the number of times each genre is viewed, calculates the bias in the distribution of the number of times the genre is viewed for each hierarchy, and determines whether or not there is a hierarchy with a bias. The selection unit 160 determines whether or not there is a bias in the distribution, starting from the lowest hierarchy, and if it is determined that there is a bias, selects the genre with the highest number of times viewed in this hierarchy as the selected genre. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no bias in the distribution up to the hierarchy of the child genres of the specific genre, the selection unit 160 selects the specific genre as the selected genre. Details of the process by the selection unit 160 will be described later.

[0025] The presentation unit 170 causes the user terminal 300 to display the name 330 of the specific genre identified by the genre identification engine 200 and the thumbnail image 320 assigned to the selected genre selected by the selection unit 160. Specifically, the presentation unit 170 refers to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5 and acquires the image ID of the thumbnail image 320 assigned to the selected genre selected by the selection unit 160. The presentation unit 170 transmits the name 330 of the specific genre and the image ID of the thumbnail image 320 in association with each other to the user terminal 300, and causes the user terminal 300 to display an icon 340 including the name 330 of the specific genre and the thumbnail image 320 in the section of "recommended genre" illustrated in FIG.

[0026] (Physical configuration of presentation device) The presentation device 100 having the functional configuration described above physically comprises, as shown in FIG. 8, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 that executes processing according to a program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 which is a volatile memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 which is a non-volatile memory, a storage unit 14 that stores data, an input unit 15 that accepts input of information, a display unit 16 that visualizes and displays information, and a communication unit 17 that transmits and receives information, all of which are connected via an internal bus 99.

[0027] The CPU 11 executes various processes by reading out the programs stored in the storage unit 14 into the RAM 12 and executing them. As main functions provided by the programs, the CPU 11 executes each process by the extraction unit 130, the selection unit 160, and the presentation unit 170. The CPU 11 may also execute the process by the acquisition unit 110.

[0028] The RAM 12 is used as a work area for the CPU 11. The ROM 13 stores a control program executed by the CPU 11 for the basic operation of the presentation device 100, a BIOS (Basic Input Output System), and the like.

[0029] The storage unit 14 includes a hard disk drive, and stores the programs executed by the CPU 11 and various data used when executing the programs. The storage unit 14 functions as a genre information storage unit 120, a product database 140, and a browsing history database 150.

[0030] The input unit 15 is a user interface including a keyboard, a mouse, a communication device, etc. The display unit 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display that visualizes and displays information.

[0031] The communication unit 17 is a network termination device or a wireless communication device that connects to a network, and a serial interface or a LAN (Local Area Network) interface that connects to them. The communication unit 17 functions as an acquisition unit 110 and a presentation unit 170.

[0032] (Presentation process) Next, the operation of the presentation device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. When a shopper operates the user terminal 300 to start an e-commerce application pre-installed in the user terminal 300, the presentation device 100 starts a presentation process.

[0033] The acquisition unit 110 acquires a specific genre recommended to the shopper, identified by the genre identification engine 200 (step S101). Specifically, when the acquisition unit 110 detects that the shopper has logged in to the e-commerce application, it notifies the genre identification engine 200 of the user ID of the shopper and instructs it to transmit the specific genre of the shopper. Note that the genre identification engine 200 may detect that the shopper has logged in to the e-commerce application and transmit the specific genre to the presentation device 100.

[0034] Next, the extraction unit 130 extracts sub-genres indicating all genres of lower hierarchies belonging to the specific genre acquired by the acquisition unit 110 (step S102). Specifically, the extraction unit 130 refers to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5 to extract all genres belonging to the specific genre in each hierarchy from the hierarchy immediately below the specific genre to the hierarchy at the end. For example, in the genre configuration illustrated in FIG. 2, when the acquisition unit 110 acquires "food" as a specific genre, the extraction unit 130 extracts "fruits", "seafood and marine products", and... as sub-genres of "food", in which the genre ID "J00010" of "food" is set as the "parent genre ID". Next, the extraction unit 130 extracts the genre IDs "J00100", "J00101", and... of the extracted sub-genres "fruits", "seafood and marine products", and... as sub-genres. For example, since the parent node ID of "Grapes", "Tangerines", "Sets / Assortments", "Strawberries", and "Peaches" stores the genre ID "J00100" of "Fruits", the extraction unit 130 extracts "Grapes", "Tangerines", "Sets / Assortments", "Strawberries", and "Peaches" as subgenres of "Food". Note that the above example is based on a genre structure having four hierarchical levels, but in the case of a genre structure having four or more hierarchical levels, the extraction process is repeated until it is determined that there is no genre whose extracted subgenre genre ID is set as the "parent genre ID".

[0035] Returning to Fig. 9, next, the selection unit 160 acquires the browsing history of the shopper (step S103). Specifically, the selection unit 160 uses the shopper's user ID as a key to extract the browsing history of the target shopper from the browsing history database 150 illustrated in Fig. 7. Note that a period for extracting the browsing history may be preset, such as one week, one month, half a year, or one year, so that the browsing history within the set period may be extracted.

[0036] Next, the selection unit 160 counts the number of times of browsing of each of the specific genre acquired in step S101 and the sub-genres extracted in step S102 (step S104). Specifically, the selection unit 160 refers to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5 and the product database 140 illustrated in FIG. 6, and extracts the browsing history of the product belonging to the classification genre, which is the lowest hierarchical genre, among the sub-genres extracted in step S102. Next, the selection unit 160 counts the number of times of browsing of the product in the extracted browsing history for each genre to which the product belongs, thereby counting the number of times of browsing of the product. Here, an example of the counting result by the selection unit 160 is shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 shows the counting result when the specific genre is "food" and the browsing history of the product belonging to the classification genres "grapes," "strawberries," "peaches," "tuna," and "white rice," which are the lowest genres, is extracted. The selection unit 160 refers to the product database 140 using the product ID of each record included in the browsing history as a key, and identifies the classification genre of each product. For example, when the product ID is "M0001", the classification genre is identified as "peach" and +1 is counted for "peach". Next, the selection unit 160 refers to the genre table to identify the parent genre "fruit" of "peach", and further identifies the parent genre "food" of "fruit", and counts +1 for each. The selection unit 160 repeats the same process for all records included in the browsing history, and counts up the number of views of a specific genre and a sub-genre. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the number of views of a parent genre is the total number of views of its child genres. For example, the number of views of "fruit" is 45, which is the total of 5 views of "grapes", 5 views of "strawberries", and 35 views of "peach", and the number of views of "food" is 50, which is the total of 45 views of "fruit", 2 views of "seafood and seafood products", and 3 views of "rice and grains".

[0037] Returning to FIG. 9, next, the selection unit 160 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S106 and S107 for each hierarchy level on the sub-genres extracted in step S102 (step S105).

[0038] In step S106, the selection unit 160 acquires the number of views of the genres at the lowest level among the unprocessed levels (step S106). For example, in the case of the first processing, the selection unit 160 acquires the number of views of each classification genre that is the genre at the lowest level. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the selection unit 160 acquires the number of views of the classification genres "grapes," "strawberries," "peaches," "tuna," and "white rice" at the fourth level. Also, for example, in the case of the second processing, the selection unit 160 acquires the number of views of the genres at the lowest level among the unprocessed levels, that is, the genres "fruits," "seafood and seafood products," and "rice and grains" at the third level.

[0039] Next, the selection unit 160 judges whether or not there is a bias in the distribution of the number of times of browsing of the genres acquired in step S106 (step S107). Specifically, if the ratio of the number of times of browsing of a certain genre to the total number of times of browsing of each genre acquired in step S106 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold such as 50%, it is judged that there is a bias in the distribution of the number of times of browsing. In the example shown in Fig. 10, the ratio of the classification genre "peaches" to the number of times of browsing of the genres in the same hierarchy, which is 50, is 70%, which is equal to or greater than the threshold of 50%, so the selection unit 160 judges that there is a bias in the distribution of the number of times of browsing (step S107; Yes) and proceeds to step S109.

[0040] In step S109, the selection unit 160 determines the genre with the highest number of views as the selected genre (step S109). Specifically, in the above example, the selection unit 160 determines "peaches" as the selected genre.

[0041] On the other hand, returning to step S107, if the selection unit 160 determines that there is no bias in the distribution of the number of views (step S107; No), it determines whether or not the process of loop 1 including steps S106 and S107 has been executed for all hierarchical levels of the sub-genres extracted in step S102 (step S108). If the selection unit 160 determines that there is an unexecuted hierarchical level, it returns to step S106 and acquires the number of views for the genre of the next higher hierarchical level.

[0042] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that loop 1 has been executed for all hierarchies of the sub-genres extracted in step S102, that is, if it is determined that there is no bias in the distribution of the number of views at any of the hierarchies, the selection unit 160 determines the specific genre obtained in step S101 as the selected genre (step S110).

[0043] Next, the selection unit 160 acquires the image ID of the thumbnail image assigned to the selected genre (step S111). Specifically, the selection unit 160 acquires the image ID of the selected genre by referring to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, when "peaches" is determined as the selected genre by the process of step S109, the selection unit 160 acquires the image ID "IMG01004". Also, when the specific genre "food" is determined as the selected genre by the process of step S110, the selection unit 160 acquires the image ID "IMG00010". The selection unit 160 transmits the name 330 of the selected genre determined in step S110 and the acquired image ID to the presentation unit 170.

[0044] Next, the presentation unit 170 transmits the name 330 of the specific genre acquired in step S101 and the image ID of the thumbnail image acquired in step S111 to the user terminal 300 (step S112), displays an icon 340 consisting of the name 330 of the specific genre and the thumbnail image 320 in the recommended genre section of the display screen 310 illustrated in Fig. 3, and ends the presentation process. For example, if the specific genre "food" is acquired by the process of step S101 and "peaches" is determined as the selected genre by the process of step S109, the presentation unit 170 displays the icon 340 consisting of "food", which is the name 330 of the specific genre, and the thumbnail image 320 of the image ID "IMG01004" assigned to "peaches", on the display screen 310. Furthermore, when the specific genre “Food” is obtained by the processing in step S101, and the specific genre “Food” is determined as the selected genre by the processing in step S110, the selection unit 160 and the presentation unit 170 cause an icon 340 consisting of “Food”, which is the name 330 of the specific genre, and a thumbnail image 320 of the image ID “IMG00010” assigned to “Food”, to be displayed on the display screen 310.

[0045] When the shopper selects an icon 340 in the "recommended genre" section of the display screen 310 presented by the presentation unit 170, the presentation unit 170 refers to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5 to determine whether the specific genre associated with the selected icon 340 has a child genre. When the presentation unit 170 determines that the specific genre has a child genre, it extracts the child genre from the genre table and displays a list of the child genres on the display screen 310. For example, when the specific genre is "food", the presentation unit 170 displays a list of the child genres of "food", such as "fruits", "seafood and seafood products", "rice and miscellaneous grains", etc., on the display screen 310. On the other hand, when the presentation unit 170 determines that the specific genre does not have a child genre, it refers to the product database 140 illustrated in FIG. 6 to display a list of products classified into the genre corresponding to the selected icon 340 on the display screen 310. Then, when the shopper selects a product, detailed information of the selected product is displayed on the display screen 310.

[0046] As described above, the presentation device 100 selects one genre from among the specific genres identified by the genre identification engine 200 and the subgenres belonging to the specific genres according to the distribution bias of the number of views. If the distribution of the number of views is biased, the subgenre with the most number of views is selected, and the thumbnail image 320 assigned to the selected subgenre is presented to the shopper together with the name 330 of the specific genre. Thus, the shopper can know what kind of products belong to the recommended specific genre. For example, if the recommended genre is a higher-level genre such as "gourmet / drinks" or "food," thumbnail images 320 such as "grapes" or "peaches" are also displayed, so that the shopper can know more specifically what products belong to the recommended specific genre.

[0047] (Modification) In the above embodiment, the presentation device 100 presents the specific genre identified by the genre identification engine 200 to the shopper as the genre, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the specific genre may be changed to a subgenre depending on the bias of the distribution of the number of views in a subgenre below the specific genre. Details of the specific genre change process for changing the specific genre in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 11. This specific genre change process is a process executed between step S111 and step S112 of the presentation process shown in FIG. 9.

[0048] Specifically, in step S201, the selection unit 160 determines whether the selected genre determined by the processing of step S109 or step S110 is a grandchild genre of the specific genre acquired in step S101 or a genre lower than the grandchild genre by referring to the genre table illustrated in FIG. 5 (step S201).

[0049] Next, the selection unit 160 acquires the number of times of viewing for the genres in the hierarchy higher than the selected genre (step S202). For example, in the example of the counting result shown in Fig. 10, if the specific genre is "food" and the selected genre is "peaches", the number of times of viewing for each of the sub-genres "fruits", "seafood and seafood products", and "rice and grains" which are one hierarchy higher than "peaches" and belong to "food" is acquired.

[0050] Next, the selection unit 160 determines whether there is a bias in the distribution of the number of views of the genres acquired in step S202 by the same process as in step S107 (step S203). Note that the threshold value used for the determination may be the same as the threshold value in step S107, or a different threshold value may be used.

[0051] When the selection unit 160 determines that there is a bias in the distribution of the number of times of browsing of the genres acquired in step S202 (step S203; Yes), it changes the genre with the highest number of times of browsing among the genres acquired in step S202 to a specific genre (step S204). For example, in the tabulation result illustrated in FIG. 10, the specific genre "food" is changed to "fruit" which has the highest number of times of browsing. Then, in step S112, the presentation unit 170 displays an icon 340 including the name 330 of the specific genre, "fruit", and a thumbnail image 320 of the selected genre, "peaches", on the display screen 310 of the user terminal 300.

[0052] On the other hand, if the selection unit 160 determines that there is no bias in the distribution of the number of views of the genres acquired in step S202 (step S203; No), it decides not to change the specific genre (step S205) and proceeds to step S112. In this way, the presentation device 100 may change the specific genre identified by the genre identification engine 200 to a lower genre and present it as a genre recommended to the shopper.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the genre identification engine 200 has been described as identifying one specific genre, but it may identify multiple specific genres. In this case, the presentation device 100 may execute a presentation process for each specific genre identified by the genre identification engine 200, select a selected genre, and display on the display screen 310 each icon 340 including a name 330 of the specific genre and a thumbnail image 320 assigned to the selected genre.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the selection unit 160 determines that there is a bias in the distribution of the number of views when the ratio of the number of views of a certain genre to the total number of views of all genres in the same hierarchy is equal to or greater than a threshold value, but the determination method is arbitrary. For example, in the hierarchy to be processed, the average information amount (entropy) of the ratio of the number of views of each genre to the total number of views in the hierarchy may be obtained. Specifically, when there are N genres to be processed and each is viewed evenly, the average information amount H is -N x (1 / N) log (1 / N) = log N. On the other hand, when only one genre is viewed, the average information amount H is 0. The selection unit 160 may determine whether the average information amount H is smaller than (maximum average information amount log N) x (constant less than 1), and if it is smaller, determine that there is a bias in the distribution.

[0055] Also, the product itself can be used as a leaf node (terminal genre) of the genre hierarchy. In this case, if a specific product is repeatedly viewed, a representative image of the product is used as the thumbnail image 320 associated with the specific genre. For example, in the example of FIG. 10 showing the counting result when the specific genre "food" is specified, if the product of the product page that was viewed the most out of the number of views "35 times" of the classification genre "peaches" is peach Y of store X, peach Y of store X is selected as the selected genre, and a representative image of peach Y of store X together with the name of the specific genre "food" may be presented to the shopper. In this case, the representative image is an image used on a sales page for selling peach Y in store X, and is preferably an image that represents peach Y itself without containing text information other than banners and advertisement images of store X. For example, a technology such as machine learning or deep learning is used to extract the representative image, and the presence or absence of text information and the presence or absence of the target product (peach Y) or the object (peaches) of the category to which this product belongs are detected from among multiple images included in the sales page, and the representative image may be extracted. In this way, a representative image from the sales page of a product that a shopper has viewed multiple times is used as the thumbnail image for the top genre, reminding the shopper of the connection between his or her past behavior and the recommended genre.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the selection unit 160 determines the distribution bias of the number of times of browsing, but is not limited thereto. The selection unit 160 may determine the distribution bias of the number of times of other behavioral histories, such as the number of times of purchases and the number of times of registration to favorites, or may determine the distribution bias of the number of times of behaviors obtained by adding up the numbers of times of multiple behavioral histories. In this case, instead of the browsing history database 150 illustrated in FIG. 7, a behavioral history database that stores multiple types of behavioral content may be stored, and in step S104, the number of behaviors in each genre may be tallied based on the behavioral history database. The number of behaviors in each genre may also be tallied by weighting according to the behavioral content.

[0057] The presentation device 100 according to the above embodiment can be realized by using a normal computer, not a dedicated device. For example, the presentation device 100 that executes the above-mentioned processes may be configured by installing a program for executing any of the above-mentioned processes on a computer from a recording medium storing the program. The presentation device 100 may also be configured by a plurality of computers operating in cooperation with each other.

[0058] Furthermore, when the above-mentioned functions are realized by sharing the functions between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and the application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the medium.

[0059] It is also possible to superimpose the program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the program may be distributed through an application store (App Store), or posted on a bulletin board (BBS, Bulletin Board System) on a communication network and distributed via the network. These programs may then be started and executed under the control of an operating system in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-mentioned processing to be performed.

[0060] Furthermore, the information stored in the storage unit 14 may be collectively managed by a cloud server present on the network, and the presentation device 100 may access the cloud server as necessary to read and write information. In this case, the presentation device 100 may not include the genre information storage unit 120, the product database 140, and the browsing history database 150. Furthermore, the presentation process by the presentation device 100 may be executed on the cloud using information stored in the cloud server.

[0061] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0062] (Appendix 1) A presentation device for presenting a specific genre included in the hierarchical genre to a shopper in an electronic market in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and an image representing each of the genres is assigned to each of the genres, the device comprising: an extracting unit that extracts the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; a selection unit that selects a genre from the genres extracted by the extraction unit based on the shopper's behavior in the electronic marketplace; a presentation unit that presents to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the genre selected by the selection unit in association with each other; A presentation device comprising:

[0063] (Appendix 2) the selection unit obtains a bias in distribution of the number of times the sub-genres are viewed for each hierarchical level based on the number of times the shopper viewed the transaction object, and when it is determined that there is a bias in the distribution, it selects the sub-genre with the highest number of times viewed in the hierarchical level determined to have the bias. 2. The presentation device of claim 1.

[0064] (Appendix 3) the selection unit determines that the distribution is biased when there is a sub-genre in the hierarchical level being processed that has a number of times of viewing equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio of the total number of times of viewing. 3. A presentation device as described in claim 2.

[0065] (Appendix 4) the selection unit calculates an average information amount of a ratio of the number of times the sub-genres are viewed to the total number of times the sub-genres are viewed in the hierarchical level being processed, and if the calculated average information amount is less than a threshold value, it determines that the distribution is biased. 3. A presentation device as described in claim 2.

[0066] (Appendix 5) When it is determined that there is no bias in the distribution in all hierarchical layers to be processed, the selection unit selects the specific genre extracted by the extraction unit; the presentation unit presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre in association with an image assigned to the specific genre; 5. A presentation device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

[0067] (Appendix 6) When the specific genre is selected, the presentation unit determines whether or not the specific genre has a sub-genre; If it is determined that the specific genre exists, a list of child genres, which are genres at a level immediately below the specific genre, is presented to the shopper; if it is determined that there is no sub-genre, presenting to the shopper a list of the transaction objects classified into the specific genre; 6. A presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

[0068] (Appendix 7) when the selected sub-genre is a grandchild genre of the specific genre or a genre lower than the grandchild genre in the hierarchical structure, the selection unit obtains a bias in the distribution of the number of times of viewing in a hierarchy higher than the selected sub-genre, and when it is determined that the distribution is biased, changes the genre with the highest number of times of viewing in the higher hierarchy determined to be biased to the specific genre; the presentation unit presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre changed by the selection unit and the image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; 6. A presentation device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

[0069] (Appendix 8) In an electronic marketplace in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and each genre is assigned an image representing the genre, a computer is provided as a presentation device that presents a specific genre included in the genres having a hierarchical structure to a shopper, extracting the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; selecting a genre from the extracted genres based on the shopper's behavior in the electronic marketplace; presenting to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; A presentation method to perform.

[0070] (Appendix 9) In an electronic market in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and each genre is assigned an image representing the genre, a computer that is a presentation device that presents a specific genre included in the genres having a hierarchical structure to a shopper includes: A process of extracting the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; selecting a genre from the extracted genres based on the shopper's behavior in the electronic marketplace; a process of presenting to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; A program that executes the following.

[0071] Various embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure are possible without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the scope of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0072] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a presentation device, a presentation method, and a program capable of more effectively presenting recommended genres. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 100 presentation device, 200 genre identification engine, 300 user terminal, 400 communication network, 110 acquisition unit, 120 genre information storage unit, 130 extraction unit, 140 product database, 150 browsing history database, 160 selection unit, 170 presentation unit, 170 output unit, 310 display screen, 320 thumbnail image, 330 specific genre name, 340 icon, 11 CPU, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 14 storage unit, 15 input unit, 16 display unit, 17 communication unit, 99 internal bus

Claims

1. A presentation device for presenting a specific genre included in the hierarchical genre to a shopper in an electronic market in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and an image representing each of the genres is assigned to the genre, the device comprising: an extracting unit that extracts the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; a selection unit that selects one of the extracted genres by calculating a distribution bias of the number of times of the behavior of the extracted sub-genres for each hierarchical level based on a history of a predetermined behavior of the shopper with respect to the transaction objects classified into the extracted sub-genres; a presentation unit that presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the genre selected by the selection unit in association with each other; A presentation device comprising:

2. the selection unit obtains a bias in distribution of the number of times the sub-genres are viewed for each hierarchical level based on the number of times the shopper viewed the transaction object, and when it is determined that the distribution is biased, selects the sub-genre with the highest number of times viewed in the lowest hierarchical level among the hierarchical levels determined to be biased; The presentation device according to claim 1 .

3. the selection unit determines that the distribution is biased when there is a sub-genre in the hierarchical level being processed that has a number of times of viewing equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio of the total number of times of viewing. The presentation device according to claim 2 .

4. the selection unit calculates an average information amount of a ratio of the number of times the sub-genres are viewed to the total number of times the sub-genres are viewed in the hierarchical level being processed, and if the calculated average information amount is less than a threshold value, it determines that the distribution is biased. The presentation device according to claim 2 .

5. When it is determined that there is no bias in the distribution in all hierarchical layers to be processed, the selection unit selects the specific genre extracted by the extraction unit; the presentation unit presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre in association with an image assigned to the specific genre; The presentation device according to claim 2 .

6. When the specific genre is selected, the presentation unit determines whether or not the specific genre has a sub-genre; If it is determined that the specific genre exists, a list of child genres, which are genres at a level immediately below the specific genre, is presented to the shopper; if it is determined that there is no sub-genre, presenting to the shopper a list of the transaction objects classified into the specific genre; The presentation device according to claim 1 .

7. when the selected sub-genre is a grandchild genre of the specific genre or a genre lower than the grandchild genre in the hierarchical structure, the selection unit obtains a bias in the distribution of the number of times of viewing in a hierarchy higher than the selected sub-genre, and when it is determined that the distribution is biased, changes the genre with the highest number of times of viewing in the higher hierarchy determined to be biased to the specific genre; the presentation unit presents to the shopper the name of the specific genre changed by the selection unit and the image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; The presentation device according to claim 2 .

8. In an electronic marketplace in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and each genre is assigned an image representing the genre, a computer is provided as a presentation device that presents a specific genre included in the genres having a hierarchical structure to a shopper, extracting the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; selecting a genre from the extracted genres by calculating a distribution bias of the number of times of the behavior of the extracted subgenres for each hierarchical level based on a history of a predetermined behavior of the shopper with respect to transaction objects classified into the extracted subgenres; presenting to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; A presentation method to perform.

9. In an electronic market in which trading objects are classified into genres having a hierarchical structure and each genre is assigned an image representing the genre, a computer that is a presentation device that presents a specific genre included in the genres having a hierarchical structure to a shopper includes: A process of extracting the specific genre and a sub-genre that is lower than the specific genre in the hierarchical structure; a process of selecting one of the extracted genres by calculating a distribution bias of the number of times of the behavior of the extracted sub-genres for each hierarchical level based on a history of a predetermined behavior of the shopper with respect to the transaction objects classified into the extracted sub-genres; a process of presenting to the shopper a name of the specific genre and an image assigned to the selected genre in association with each other; A program that executes the following.

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