Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus which provides a discount coupon in consideration of attributes of users while improving convenience for a business operator, an information processing method, and a program.SOLUTION: In an electronic settlement service, a settlement server 100 communicates with each of one or more user terminal devices and one or more store terminal devices over a network. The settlement server includes: a coupon setting receiving unit which receives, from a store terminal device in a real store, a budget for issuing discount coupon available for the electronic settlement service which processes a settlement related to a purchase in the real store; a user trend estimation unit which estimates a settlement trend of a user in the electronic settlement service, on the basis of user information on the user who uses the electronic settlement service; a coupon generation unit which generates a discount coupon to be provided to the user on the basis of the received budget and the estimated settlement trend; and a coupon providing unit which provides the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] There are known techniques for generating discount coupons to be used for payments in electronic payment services. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for varying the discount rate of payment fees set in a discount coupon depending on the number of requests for issuing the discount coupon. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-257334 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 sets the discount rate according to the number of requests for issuing discount coupons, i.e., the level of demand for discount coupons. In other words, the conventional technology does not take into account the attributes of each user who uses the discount coupon, and it is sometimes impossible to set an optimal discount rate for each user. Furthermore, with the conventional technology, in order to issue a discount coupon, a business operator who registers with an electronic payment service must specify various items related to the issuance of the discount coupon (image, text, budget, etc.), which can be inconvenient for the business operator.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can provide discount coupons that take into account the attributes of individual users while increasing convenience for businesses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that includes a reception unit that receives a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments for purchases at the store from a store terminal of the physical store; an estimation unit that estimates the payment tendencies of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information about the user; a generation unit that generates a discount coupon to be provided to the user based on the received budget amount and the estimated payment tendency; and a provision unit that provides the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can provide discount coupons that take into account the attributes of individual users. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the general flow of electronic payment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a general flow of using a discount coupon used in electronic payment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 174. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of store information 176. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of external service usage information 178. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of external distribution information 180. [Figure 9] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. [Figure 10]10 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a diagram showing an example of user tendency information 182 estimated by a user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon setting screen displayed on the store terminal device 50. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for generating discount coupons using machine learning. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon provided at a shopping site provided by the service server 70. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An information processing device, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The information processing device is realized by one or more processors. The information processing device provides electronic payment services, generates discount coupons to be used for payments via the electronic payment service, and provides the generated discount coupons to user terminal devices 10 used by users of the electronic payment service. For convenience, in the following description, such an information processing device will be referred to as a single "payment server," but the server providing the electronic payment service and the server executing the process of generating the discount coupons may be separate entities. An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real-world store) existing in real space.

[0010] [Electronic payment service] Figure 1 shows an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10 and one or more store terminal devices 50 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, etc.

[0011] The user terminal device 10 is a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment app 20, which operates in cooperation with a payment server 100 to provide users with electronic payment services. The payment app 20 controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a service app 22, which operates in cooperation with a service server 70 to provide users with services other than the electronic payment service.

[0012] The store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The store terminal device 50 may include a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may also be displayed on a display placed in the store.

[0013] The service server 70 is a device that provides services to users in cooperation with the service application 22 of the user terminal device 10. The service server 70 functions as, for example, a shopping server that sells products offered by sellers on an online shopping site to users in the form of electronic commerce, a search engine server that searches for information made public on a network in response to a search query specified by a user, a mail server, a news distribution server, an SNS server that enables information sharing among multiple people on a network, a server that manages schedules, etc., and provides various services to users. In the following description, as an example, the service server 70 functions as a shopping server.

[0014] The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the store terminal device 50. The payment server 100 performs electronic payment, for example, by increasing or decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID (in other words, by depositing or withdrawing electronic money). Electronic payment may include methods such as revolving payment or credit payment that allow for purchases of a larger amount than the charge balance at the time of purchase. The payment server 100 further accepts settings for discount coupons to be used for payments in electronic payment services, generates discount coupons, and provides the generated discount coupons to the user terminal device 10, as described below.

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns for electronic payment: Pattern 1 and Pattern 2. In Pattern 1, first, the payment app 20 is launched on the user terminal device 10, which displays a code image such as a QR code or barcode. The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the store terminal device 50. The store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and acquires information such as the account ID. The store terminal device 50 then generates payment information including the account ID, payment amount, store ID, etc., and transmits it to the payment server 100. The payment amount information has been acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 transfers the payment amount from the user's electronic payment account to the store's electronic payment account, thereby completing the payment process.

[0016] In pattern 2, the user terminal device 10, with the payment app 20 running, decodes the store code image 60 using its optical reading function. The store code image 60 contains information such as the store name. The user enters the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen displaying the store name, etc. The user terminal device 10 then generates payment information including the account ID, payment amount, store ID, etc., and transmits it to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 performs payment processing based on the received information. Note that electronic payment may be performed only in one of the above patterns. The "account ID" described in Figure 2 may also be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information.

[0017] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the general flow of using discount coupons used in electronic payments. The left part of Figure 3 shows a page dedicated to discount coupons for the electronic payment service displayed on the user terminal device 10, and the right part of Figure 3 shows a page dedicated to stores. In Figure 3, symbol A1 shows a list of discount coupons recommended for each user, symbol A2 shows a list of discount coupons that the user has already acquired, symbol A3 shows summary information about the store, symbol A4 shows detailed store information that can be switched using tabs, and symbol A5 shows a list of discount coupons that can be offered to the user.

[0018] First, when a user taps one of the recommended discount coupons on the discount coupon dedicated page, the discount coupon dedicated page transitions to a store dedicated page shown on the right side of Fig. 3. Next, when the user taps the get button for the discount coupon displayed on the store dedicated page, the tapped discount coupon is saved in the payment application 20 as an acquired discount coupon and is displayed as a list in area A2. The acquired discount coupon is automatically applied when making an electronic payment at the store that issued the discount coupon, and the payment amount is the amount obtained by subtracting the discount amount corresponding to the discount coupon from the bill amount at the store. A usage expiration date (such as a specific date and time or a period of time after acquisition) may be set for the discount coupon, and if an acquired discount coupon passes its usage expiration date without being used, the discount coupon may be deleted from the list of acquired discount coupons.

[0019] In the example of Figure 3, an example is described in which a user acquires a discount coupon by tapping on the discount coupon displayed after transitioning to a store-specific page, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, discount coupons for each store may be displayed on a discount coupon-specific page, and the user may acquire the discount coupon by tapping on the displayed discount coupon without transitioning to the store-specific page. Also, for example, a search box for searching discount coupons may be provided on the discount coupon-specific page, and the store-specific page or discount coupons offered on the store-specific page may be searched for by performing a keyword search.

[0020] [Payment server] 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 122, a coupon setting receiving unit 126, a user tendency estimating unit 124, a coupon generating unit 128, a coupon providing unit 130, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are implemented by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0021] The storage unit 170 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as payment content information 172, user information 174, store information 176, external service usage information 178, external distribution information 180, user tendency information 182, and coupon information 184.

[0022] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW, and is, for example, a network interface card.

[0023] The payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a function of a web server, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens for electronic payment services to the user terminal device 10. The payment content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the payment content information 172 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs from the user while content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

[0024] The payment processing unit 122 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 122 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 174.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 174. For example, the user information 174 associates information such as balance information, email address, telephone number, coupon grant information, coupon validity period, login history, payment history, and coupon usage history with a user ID. The balance information indicates the balance of electronic money set by the user by transferring funds from a bank deposit or the like to the electronic payment service in advance. Note that the balance information may be automatically added by auto-charge associated with the payment process. The email address is the email address information entered when the user subscribes to the electronic payment service. The telephone number is the email address information entered when the user subscribes to the electronic payment service. The coupon grant information is information indicating the content of the discount coupon acquired and granted to the user. The coupon validity period is information indicating the validity period of the time-limited coupon if the discount coupon indicated by the coupon grant information is a time-limited coupon. If no validity period is set for the discount coupon, the coupon validity period is set to blank.

[0026] The login history is information indicating the time when the user logged in to the payment app 20 (or launched the payment app 20). In FIG. 4, as an example, only the time of login (launch) is recorded as the login history, but the time of logout or the time when a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5 minutes) has passed since login without any operation of the payment app 20 may also be recorded as the login history. The payment history information is information indicating the details of electronic payments made by the user (time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, etc.) for each payment. The coupon usage history is information indicating the details of coupons used when the user made an electronic payment (time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, discount rate of the coupon used, etc.) for each payment.

[0027] Information about stores is managed as store information 176. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of store information 176. In store information 176, for example, store IDs are associated with store category, location, payment pattern, business hours, and other information. Store category may be one-level information, or may have a hierarchical structure of two or more levels. For example, information such as "Japanese cuisine," "restaurant," or "eatery" may be assigned as a higher-level concept than "sushi" shown in the figure. Locations may be represented by hierarchical code information such as JIS code. Payment pattern is information indicating whether payment is possible using the aforementioned pattern 1 or pattern 2. Business hours are information indicating the time period from opening to closing of the store. If a store is open only on certain days of the week, business hours may also include information about the day of the week.

[0028] The payment server 100 communicates with the service server 70 using the communication unit 110 and acquires usage history information of the service provided by the service server 70 by the user. The payment server 100 stores the acquired usage history information in the storage unit 170 as external service usage information 178.

[0029] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the external service usage information 178. As described above, in this embodiment, the service server 70 functions as a shopping server. Therefore, the external service usage information 178 associates, for example, information such as date and time, category, purchased item, purchase amount, coupon usage history, etc., for each user of an online shopping site. The coupon usage history refers to the usage history of discount coupons that can be used on the online shopping site, which are different from discount coupons for electronic payment services.

[0030] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the external distribution information 180. The external distribution information 180 is information associated with, for example, date and time, weather, average temperature, holidays, events, and traffic conditions. The payment server 100 acquires this information, for example, via an API (application programming interface) provided by a public institution that distributes weather information and traffic information, and stores the information in the storage unit 170 as the external distribution information 180. Note that, for convenience of explanation, FIG. 8 stores the weather, average temperature, and traffic conditions for each day, but in reality, for example, the weather, average temperature, and traffic conditions for each time period and region for each day may be stored. Furthermore, the external distribution information 180 is not limited to past recorded information, and current real-time information may also be stored.

[0031] The user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates the payment tendency of a user in an electronic payment service based on the user information 174, external service usage information 178, and external distribution information 180. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. Figure 9 shows an example in which the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates the tendency of a user's payment time period based on payment history information recorded in the user information 174.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 9 , the user tendency estimation unit 124, for example, aggregates payment history information for a predetermined period (e.g., one month) recorded in the user information 174 and estimates payment time periods during which users frequently make electronic payments. For example, the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates that a user with user ID "AAA" makes electronic payments most frequently between 9:00 and 10:00 and records the estimated payment time period tendency in the user tendency information 182. At this time, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may record the estimated payment time period tendency in the user tendency information 182 for each store or category at which electronic payments are made. For example, if it is estimated that a user with user ID "AAA" makes electronic payments most frequently at "XX Coffee Shop" between 9:00 and 10:00, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may associate the store "XX Coffee Shop" or the category "Coffee Shop" with the time period and record it in the user tendency information 182. Furthermore, the user tendency estimation unit 124 can also estimate the tendency of login time periods during which the user frequently logs in to the payment application 20 using a similar method.

[0033] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. Fig. 10 shows an example in which the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates the user's payment region tendency based on the payment history information recorded in the user information 174.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 10, the user tendency estimation unit 124, for example, compiles payment history information for a predetermined period (e.g., one month) recorded in the user information 174, and estimates payment regions where users frequently make electronic payments. More specifically, the user tendency estimation unit 124 references the store information 176 using the store ID information stored in the payment history information as a key, and extracts the location of the store information 176. The user tendency estimation unit 124 compiles the extracted locations over a predetermined period, and estimates payment regions where electronic payments frequently are made. FIG. 10 shows, as an example, how the user tendency estimation unit 124 compiles the extracted locations as a heat map.

[0035] The user tendency estimation unit 124 records the estimated payment region tendency in the user tendency information 182. At this time, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may record the payment region tendency in the user tendency information 182 for each store or category where an electronic payment was made. For example, if it is estimated that a user with user ID "AAA" makes electronic payments most frequently at "XX Coffee Shop" in Marunouchi, Chiyoda Ward, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may link the payment region tendency "Marunouchi, Chiyoda Ward" with the store "XX Coffee Shop" or the category "coffee shop" and record them in the user tendency information 182.

[0036] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. Fig. 11 shows an example in which the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates a user's payment store tendency based on payment history information recorded in the user information 174. As shown on the left side of Fig. 11, the user tendency estimation unit 124 first generates a table by associating data on the frequency of electronic payments (measured every predetermined period, such as every month) at a store identified by the store ID with the user ID of each user.

[0037] The user tendency estimation unit 124 can calculate the user's preference score for each store using, for example, a matrix factorization (MF) method based on the generated table shown on the left side of FIG. 11 . Matrix factorization is a method of predicting values ​​for missing values ​​by targeting the store usage frequency values ​​for each user constituting a matrix and performing matrix factorization on only elements with values ​​(i.e., positive elements in FIG. 11 ). Any method, such as singular value decomposition (SVD), can be used for matrix factorization. For example, the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates stores whose calculated preference scores for each store are equal to or greater than a threshold as payment store tendencies and stores the estimate in the user tendency information 182. At the same time, the user tendency estimation unit 124 stores the categories to which the stores estimated as payment store tendencies belong in the user tendency information 182 as payment category tendencies.

[0038] 12 is a diagram showing another example of a user's payment tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates a user's coupon usage tendency based on coupon usage history information recorded in the user information 174.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 12 , the user tendency estimation unit 124, for example, aggregates payment history information recorded in the user information 174 for a predetermined period (e.g., one month) and estimates the discount rate at which a user frequently uses discount coupons. Generally, the higher the discount rate, the more frequently a discount coupon is used. Therefore, the user tendency estimation unit 124, for example, sets a threshold (e.g., 50%) for the discount coupon usage rate and stores the smallest discount rate exceeding the threshold as a coupon usage rate in the user tendency information 182. In this case, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may record the coupon usage rate in the user tendency information 182 for each store or category where an electronic payment was made. For example, if a user with user ID "AAA" uses discount coupons for "XX Coffee Shop" with a probability of 50% or more when the discount rate is 15% or more, the user tendency may be associated with "XX Coffee Shop" and recorded as a coupon usage rate in the user tendency information 182 as "15% or more."

[0040] In estimating the coupon usage tendency, the "discount coupon usage rate" can be calculated using a variety of measurement methods. For example, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may calculate the usage rate of discount coupons that were actually used in electronic payments among the discount coupons stored as acquired discount coupons shown in Fig. 3, or may calculate the usage rate of discount coupons that were actually used in electronic payments among the discount coupons displayed as recommended coupons in the payment app 20, including discount coupons that have not yet been acquired.

[0041] Furthermore, in estimating the coupon usage tendency described above, the user tendency estimation unit 124 estimates the coupon usage tendency using the coupon usage history recorded in the user information 174. However, the user tendency estimation unit 124 may also estimate the coupon usage tendency using the coupon usage history recorded in the external service usage information 178. For example, if a user uses a discount coupon when purchasing a product belonging to the "fashion" category on a shopping site provided by the service server 70 and also uses a discount coupon when purchasing a product belonging to the "fashion" category through an electronic payment service, the user tendency estimation unit 124 collectively uses this information to estimate the user's coupon usage tendency for products belonging to the "fashion" category. This makes it possible to estimate the user's coupon usage tendency based on more data.

[0042] The user tendency estimation unit 124 further compares the payment history information recorded in the user information 174 with the external distribution information 180 to estimate trends in the weather, average temperature, whether there are holidays or not, events, and traffic conditions at the time the user made an electronic payment. The user tendency estimation unit 124 aggregates, for example, payment history information for a predetermined period (e.g., one month) with the external distribution information 180 at the time the electronic payment was made, to estimate trends in the weather, average temperature, whether there are holidays or not, events, and traffic conditions that are associated with a high frequency of electronic payments by the user. The user tendency estimation unit 124 stores the estimated payment weather trends, payment date trends, payment event trends, and payment traffic conditions trends in the user tendency information 182.

[0043] 13 is a diagram showing an example of user tendency information 182 estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124. After estimating payment time zone tendency, payment region tendency, payment store tendency, payment category tendency, coupon usage tendency, payment weather tendency, payment date tendency, payment event tendency, and payment traffic situation tendency using the above-mentioned method, the user tendency estimation unit 124 stores this estimated tendency information in the user tendency information 182 by linking it to each user ID.

[0044] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon setting screen displayed on the store terminal device 50. In FIG. 14, symbol A6 indicates an area for setting an advertising budget for issuing discount coupons. That is, for example, if a 10% discount coupon is used in a user's electronic payment, an amount equivalent to the 10% discount amount is subtracted from the advertising budget. If, as a result of the subtraction, the remaining advertising budget falls below a predetermined value (for example, the minimum discount amount of the discount coupon), the issuance of the discount coupon is stopped. In addition to the discount amount, a fee paid by the business issuing the discount coupon to the operator of the electronic payment service may also be subtracted from the budget amount.

[0045] Symbol A7 indicates an area for setting the maximum discount rate of a discount coupon to be provided to a user. That is, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon set with a discount rate equal to or less than the maximum discount rate set in area A7. Symbol A8 indicates an area for setting the maximum discount amount of a discount coupon to be provided to a user. That is, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon set with a discount amount equal to or less than the maximum discount amount set in area A7. Symbol A9 indicates an area for setting the validity period of a discount coupon to be provided to a user. That is, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon that can be used within the period set in area A9. Symbol A10 indicates the minimum usage rate of the discount coupon by a user to whom the discount coupon is to be provided (an example of a "threshold value"). That is, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon for a user who uses the discount coupon at a usage rate equal to or greater than the minimum usage rate set in area A10. In this case, the "usage rate" may refer to the usage rate of discount coupons at stores operated by the business that provides the discount coupons, the usage rate of discount coupons in the category to which the stores operated by the business that provides the discount coupons belong, or the usage rate of discount coupons for the entire electronic payment service. Reference symbol A11 is an area for setting the image of the discount coupon to be provided to the user. If the business selects "Use template" in area A11, an image prepared in advance by the operator of the electronic payment service is set as the discount coupon. On the other hand, if the business selects "Upload," the business can set an image that the business has prepared on its own as the discount coupon. When the business enters the setting items on the discount coupon setting screen and presses the coupon generation button B1, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon according to the setting contents.

[0046] For example, if only the required item, advertising budget, is set on the discount coupon setting screen, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon for each user based on the set advertising budget and user tendency information 182, and the coupon providing unit 130 provides the generated discount coupon to the user terminal device 10 of that user. In particular, at this time, as described with reference to FIG. 12, the coupon providing unit 130 provides a discount coupon for each user with a minimum discount rate that achieves a usage rate (conversion rate) equal to or greater than a threshold, based on the coupon usage tendency of the user tendency information 182. In other words, businesses can issue cost-effective discount coupons through electronic payment services without having to make detailed settings to generate discount coupons.

[0047] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. FIG. 15 shows an example in which "XX Coffee Shop" with store ID "001" sets only an advertising budget for the discount coupon, and the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon for "XX Coffee Shop" to be provided to a user with user ID "AAA." When generating the discount coupon, the coupon generation unit 128 references the user tendency information 182 and determines that the "payment store tendency" of the user with user ID "AAA" includes "XX Coffee Shop," the "payment time zone tendency" is "9:00-10:00," and the "coupon usage tendency" is "15% or more." Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, the coupon generation unit 128 provides the user terminal device 10 of the user with user ID "AAA" with a discount coupon that is valid between 9:00 and 10:00 and has a discount rate of 15%. In this way, businesses that provide discount coupons are only required to set an advertising budget on the discount coupon setting screen, and are not required to make detailed settings, and the coupon generation unit 128 generates discount coupons that are optimized for the payment habits of each user based on the user tendency information 182. In other words, it is possible to provide discount coupons that take into consideration the attributes of individual users while increasing convenience for businesses.

[0048] Even if the "payment store tendency" does not include a business that provides discount coupons, the coupon generation unit 128 may generate a discount coupon for a user whose "payment category tendency" includes the category to which the business belongs. For example, in the case of "XX Coffee Shop," even if the "payment store tendency" does not include "XX Coffee Shop," a discount coupon may be generated for a user whose "payment category" includes "coffee shop," or a discount coupon may be generated for a user whose "payment category" includes "coffee shop" and whose "payment area tendency" includes "Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku" (i.e., the location of "XX Coffee Shop").

[0049] The coupon generation unit 128 may further set the timing for providing a discount coupon taking into consideration the user's payment weather tendency, payment date tendency, payment event tendency, and payment traffic condition tendency. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the "payment weather tendency" of a user with user ID "AAA" is "sunny," the "payment temperature tendency" is "20-25 degrees," the "payment date tendency" is "weekend," and the "payment traffic condition tendency" is "normal." Therefore, the coupon generation unit 128 may compare this information with the external distribution information 180 and set the timing for providing a discount coupon when the weather is sunny, the temperature is within the range of 20 to 25 degrees, the date is a weekend, and traffic conditions are not congested. Also, for example, if a certain user's payment date tendency is weekends (i.e., weekends) and the payment category tendency is daily necessities, the coupon generation unit 128 may provide the user with a discount coupon that can be used to purchase daily necessities on weekends. The settings regarding the timing of provision do not necessarily need to satisfy all conditions, but may at least be used as references for optional conditions for providing a discount coupon. Alternatively, the coupon generation unit 128 may set the timing of provision so that the discount coupon is provided during a time period corresponding to the login time period tendency estimated by the user tendency estimation unit 124.

[0050] Furthermore, for example, the coupon generation unit 128 may determine the content of a discount coupon to be provided to a user based on a combination of information stored in the store information 176 and information stored in the external distribution information 180. Specifically, the coupon generation unit 128 links the payment history information of multiple users with the date and time information and holiday information stored in the external distribution information 180, and identifies busy and quiet time periods of the store among the business hours stored in the store information 176. Here, a busy time period means, for example, a time period during business hours with the most customers or the largest payment amount. A quiet time period means, for example, a time period during business hours with the fewest customers or the smallest payment amount.

[0051] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. Unlike the discount coupon in FIG. 15, the discount coupon in FIG. 16 is usable only on certain days of the week. For example, for "XX Coffee Shop" with store ID "001," the coupon generation unit 128 determines that, of the business hours "9:00-22:00" stored in the store information 176, "10:00-11:00" on Saturdays and Sundays stored in the external distribution information 180 is an off-peak time period. Therefore, the coupon generation unit 128 provides discount coupons usable on Saturdays and Sundays from "10:00-11:00" to encourage more customers to visit the store during the off-peak time periods. In this case, the coupon generation unit 128 may set a higher discount rate for the discount coupons usable during the off-peak time periods. Conversely, when the coupon generation unit 128 identifies a busy time period for a store based on the store information 176 and the external distribution information 180, it may not provide discount coupons that can be used during the busy time period, or may set a lower discount rate for discount coupons that can be used during the busy time period, in order to reduce the number of customers who visit the store during the busy time period.

[0052] Furthermore, the coupon generation unit 128 may also refer to the payment date trends in the user trend information 182 and provide discount coupons to users whose payment date trends coincide with off-peak time periods. This can more strongly encourage customers to visit the store and use discount coupons during off-peak time periods when they are generally less likely to visit the store.

[0053] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. For example, the coupon generation unit 128 may determine, based on the user's payment history information and the payment temperature trend in the user trend information 182, that a certain user tends to purchase the same product (or multiple products belonging to the same category) when the temperature is above a predetermined temperature (or below a predetermined temperature). Then, based on the external distribution information 180, when the current temperature reaches the predetermined temperature, the coupon generation unit 128 may generate a discount coupon for the product. In this case, for example, the coupon generation unit 128 may issue a discount coupon a predetermined period (e.g., one hour) before the payment time zone trend in the user trend information 182, to encourage the user to use the discount coupon. FIG. 17 shows an example in which the coupon generation unit 128 issues a discount coupon one hour before the payment time zone trend, based on a certain user's tendency to purchase ice cream when the temperature is above a predetermined temperature (e.g., 30 degrees). Furthermore, for example, if the coupon generation unit 128 determines that a certain user makes many payments on days off, national holidays, specific events (such as fireworks displays), etc., based on the payment date trends or payment event trends in the user trend information 182, the coupon generation unit 128 may provide the user with a discount coupon related to going out, specifically, a coupon that can be used at gas stations, convenience stores, etc., before a predetermined period of time in the payment time period trends. In this way, businesses can issue cost-effective discount coupons without having to perform detailed settings to generate discount coupons.

[0054] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another example of a discount coupon provided to the user terminal device 10. Unlike the cases of FIGS. 15 to 17 in which discount coupons that can only be used in stores of a specific business that issued the discount coupon are provided, FIG. 18 shows an example in which discount coupons that can be used in stores of multiple business operators that belong to the same store category are provided. When multiple business operators that belong to the same store category have set advertising budgets, the coupon generation unit 128 generates a discount coupon (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "category coupon") that can be used in common in the stores of these multiple business operators, and the coupon providing unit 130 provides the generated category coupon to the user terminal device 10 of each user.

[0055] The coupon generation unit 128 references the user tendency information 182 and generates category coupons only for users whose "payment category tendency" matches a store category to which multiple businesses belong. The validity period and discount rate of the category coupons may be uniform, or may be set differently depending on the tendency information of each user. Furthermore, the coupon generation unit 128 may change the settings for the timing of providing category coupons, taking into account each user's tendency toward payment weather, payment date, payment event, and payment traffic conditions. In this way, businesses that provide discount coupons can provide category coupons that take into account the attributes of individual users by setting only an advertising budget without having to make detailed settings.

[0056] In the above description, the coupon generation unit 128 generates discount coupons in a rule-based manner based on the rules set by the administrator of the electronic payment service. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and can generate discount coupons using, for example, a machine learning model trained based on training data.

[0057] Fig. 19 is a diagram for explaining a method for generating discount coupons using machine learning. Fig. 19 shows an example in which input data, as training data for generating a machine learning model, includes user data (including at least some of the items in user information 174), store data (including at least some of the items in store information 176), and external distribution data (including at least some of the items in external distribution information 180), and output data includes a discount rate, advertising copy, coupon type (coupon for a specific store or category coupon), target store (store ID if the coupon type is a specific store coupon / category name if the coupon type is a category coupon), and coupon expiration date.

[0058] The administrator of the electronic payment service prepares, as correct answer data (output data), combinations of discount rates, advertising copy, coupon types, target stores, and coupon expiration dates of discount coupons issued in the past that have a cost-effectiveness (conversion rate) above a standard, and obtains a trained model by training an arbitrary machine learning model using, as input data, combinations of user data, store data, and externally distributed data at the time the cost-effectiveness of the discount coupon became above the standard. Next, the coupon generation unit 128 inputs the latest combinations of user data, store data, and externally distributed data into the trained model to obtain combinations of discount rates, advertising copy, coupon types, target stores, and coupon expiration dates as candidates for a newly generated discount coupon.

[0059] Note that the user data included in the training data for the machine learning model in Figure 19 may be user data for each user, or may be user data for all users of the electronic payment service. If the user data included in the training data is user data for each user, trained models are generated for the number of users.

[0060] On the other hand, if the user data included in the training data represents user data for all users of the electronic payment service, only one machine learning model will be generated. In this case, the coupon generation unit 128 may perform rule-based corrections on the discount coupon candidates output by a single trained model, further based on the user tendency information 182. For example, if the coupon expiration date set for the output discount coupon candidate significantly deviates from the payment time zone tendency of the user to whom the discount coupon is to be issued, the set coupon expiration date may be corrected to be closer to the user's payment time zone tendency.

[0061] In this way, by generating discount coupons using machine learning models, businesses can issue cost-effective discount coupons to individual users without having to perform detailed settings to generate the discount coupons.

[0062] The payment server 100 may increase awareness of the discount coupon by providing the discount coupon generated for each user via the service server 70. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a discount coupon provided on a shopping site provided by the service server 70. When a discount coupon is generated for a user, the payment server 100 links information about the generated discount coupon with the user ID registered in the payment server 100 and the user ID registered in the service server 70 and provides the linked information to the service server 70. The service server 70 may then display the provided discount coupon on the screen of the shopping site upon receiving access from the user terminal device 10 of the user. FIG. 17 shows an example in which the discount coupon is displayed as a display advertisement on the screen of the shopping site. As another aspect, if the service server 70 is, for example, a search engine server providing a search engine service, the discount coupon may be displayed by being included in search results obtained when a user performs a keyword search.

[0063] The service server 70 may further measure the actual click rate and acquisition rate relative to the number of times the discount coupon is displayed, and feed the measured information back to the payment server 100. The fed back information is used, for example, to estimate coupon usage trends in the user trend information 182. This makes it possible to estimate user trends with higher accuracy than when estimating user trends based solely on the payment history of electronic payment services.

[0064] According to the present embodiment described above, businesses that register with the electronic payment service set at least an advertising budget when offering discount coupons, and the coupon generation unit generates discount coupons tailored to each user from user tendency information estimated based at least on the payment history of the electronic payment service, and provides the generated discount coupons within the set advertising budget. This increases convenience for businesses and makes it possible to offer discount coupons that take into account the attributes of individual users.

[0065] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 22 Service Apps 50 Store terminal equipment 60 Store Code Image 70 Service Server 100 Payment Server 110 Communications Department 120 Payment Contents Department 122 Payment processing unit 124 User trend estimation section 126 Coupon Setting Reception 128 Coupon Generation Unit 130 Coupon Department 170 Storage section 172 Payment Content Information 174 User information 176 Store Information 178 External service usage information 180 External Distribution Information 182 User trend information 184 Coupon Information

Claims

1. a reception unit that receives, from a store terminal of the physical store, a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at the physical store; an estimation unit that estimates a payment tendency of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information about the user; a generation unit that identifies a time period when the physical store is quiet based on payment history information related to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, and generates a discount coupon that matches the estimated payment tendency and can be used at the physical store during the quiet time period based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment tendency; a providing unit that provides the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user. Information processing device.

2. The estimation unit estimates, based on the user information, a physical store where the user frequently uses the electronic payment service as the payment tendency, and The generation unit generates the discount coupon that can be used in the physical store. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The estimation unit estimates, as the payment tendency, a time period or a date when the user frequently uses the electronic payment service based on the user information; the generation unit generates the discount coupon that can be used during the time period or on the date.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1.

4. the estimation unit estimates, as the payment tendency, weather conditions under which the user frequently uses the electronic payment service based on the user information; the generation unit generates the discount coupon that can be used in the weather condition. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The estimation unit estimates, as the payment tendency, a category of the physical store preferred by the user based on the user information, and the generation unit generates discount coupons that belong to the category and can be used at a plurality of physical stores for which the budget amount has been set. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The estimation unit estimates, for each physical store, a relationship between a discount rate set in the discount coupon and a usage rate of the discount coupon by the user according to the discount rate, as the payment tendency, based on the user information; the generation unit generates the discount coupon with the discount rate set such that the usage rate is equal to or greater than a threshold. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. the reception unit further receives a setting of the threshold value from the store terminal; The information processing device according to claim 6 .

8. The user information includes at least one of the date and time when the user used the electronic payment service, the store, the amount, the location, and the discount coupon usage history. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. the generation unit generates the discount coupon further based on usage information regarding a service registered by the user that is different from the electronic payment service. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. the generation unit generates the discount coupon based on externally distributed information including weather information, holiday information, event information, or traffic information when the user uses the electronic payment service. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

11. The computer receiving, from a store terminal of the physical store, a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at the physical store; estimating a payment tendency of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information relating to the user; Based on payment history information relating to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, a time period when the physical store is quiet is identified, and based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment tendency, a discount coupon is generated that matches the estimated payment tendency and can be used at the physical store during the quiet time period; providing the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user; Information processing methods.

12. On the computer, Accepting a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a physical store from a store terminal of the physical store; estimating the payment tendency of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information relating to the user; Based on payment history information relating to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, a time period when the physical store is quiet is identified, and based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment tendency, a discount coupon that matches the estimated payment tendency and can be used at the physical store during the quiet time period is generated; providing the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user; program.

13. a reception unit that receives, from a store terminal of the physical store, a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at the physical store; an estimation unit that estimates a payment time zone tendency of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information about the user; a generation unit that identifies a time period when the physical store is quiet based on payment history information related to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, and generates a discount coupon that can be used at the physical store during a time period when the payment time period trend and the quiet time period coincide based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment time period trend; a providing unit that provides the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user. Information processing device.

14. The computer receiving, from a store terminal of the physical store, a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at the physical store; estimating a payment time zone tendency of the user using the electronic payment service based on user information relating to the user; Based on payment history information relating to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, a low-traffic time period for the physical store is identified, and based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment time period trend, a discount coupon that can be used at the physical store during a time period that coincides with the payment time period trend and the low-traffic time period is generated; providing the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user; Information processing methods.

15. On the computer, Accepting a budget amount for issuing discount coupons that can be used in an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a physical store from a store terminal of the physical store; estimating a payment time zone tendency of a user using the electronic payment service based on user information relating to the user; Based on payment history information relating to electronic payments made by a plurality of users at the physical store, a low-traffic time period for the number of customers at the physical store is identified, and based on the accepted budget amount and the estimated payment time period trend, a discount coupon that can be used at the physical store during a time period that coincides with the payment time period trend and the low-traffic time period is generated; providing the generated discount coupon to a user terminal device used by the user; program.

Images