Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus for, a method of, and a program for selecting competitors having more sales as compared with a restaurant and providing information used for improvement of a management state (menu) of a restaurant based on POS data of the competitors.SOLUTION: A method according to the present invention includes storing a plurality of pieces of restaurant information including category information of menus of foods and drinks, receiving POS data including a unit price of each menu and the number of orders from a plurality of restaurants, providing, based on the restaurant information and the POS data, a menu having an overlapping rate of a predetermined threshold value or more in a category as compared with menus of a first restaurant, and selecting, as a second restaurant, another restaurant having a larger sales amount per unit area than the first restaurant. The method also includes extracting, among the menus of the second restaurant, a category or a price range having a larger order rate as compared with those of the first restaurant, and transmitting the extracted category or price range to the POS system of the first restaurant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device capable of communicating with a POS (point of sales) system of a restaurant, and an information processing method and program for the information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, restaurants have introduced POS systems to improve the efficiency of their business management. These POS systems aggregate information on when and what products were sold, and serve as the basis for the management of the restaurant.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a POS server acquires POS data for each restaurant from a restaurant server, extracts and compares POS data for that restaurant and other restaurants with similar conditions based on that data, and transmits the comparison results to the restaurant server. In this system, restaurants can understand the status of their own restaurant compared to other restaurants based on the transmitted comparison results and manage their business. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-137657 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 extracts similar restaurants based on attributes such as area, business type, and location conditions, the restaurants may not actually be competitors of the restaurant itself, even if they are similar in area, business type, and location conditions. In such cases, comparing the POS data of the restaurant itself with the extracted restaurants will not contribute to improving the management of the restaurant itself.

[0006] Additionally, this technology compares sales per seat with other restaurants, but this comparison alone does not allow restaurants to determine the factors that are causing the discrepancies in sales, and they are unable to implement improvements.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can accurately select a restaurant's top-selling competitors and provide information that contributes to improving the restaurant's business situation (menu) based on the POS data of those competitors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above object, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a storage means, a communication means, and a control means. The storage means stores identification information of a plurality of restaurants and restaurant information, which includes at least category information regarding the categories of food and beverage menus that the plurality of restaurants can offer, in association with each other. The communication means receives POS data, including the unit price and order quantity for each menu item, from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants. The control means, based on the stored restaurant information and the received POS data, selects, as a second restaurant, another restaurant from the plurality of restaurants that offers a menu item with an overlap rate of at least the category with the menu of a first restaurant that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and has sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant. The control means also extracts, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first and second restaurants, a category or price range from the menu of the second restaurant that has a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant. Furthermore, the control means controls the communication means to transmit information relating to the extracted category or price range to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment.

[0009] This allows the information processing device to select a competing restaurant with higher sales than a given restaurant based on menu overlap and sales per unit area, and provide the restaurant with information about the menu categories / price ranges with high order rates based on the POS data of the competing restaurant, thereby encouraging the restaurant to improve its menu and contributing to improved business conditions. In other words, the information processing device can help the first restaurant understand that, although the menu categories offered by a first restaurant and a second restaurant overlap overall, the second restaurant's sales are higher due to differences in the assortment of items in each category or price range, thereby enabling the first restaurant to take improvement measures, such as increasing the assortment of items in a specific menu category or price range. The information processing device may store the area information of each of the restaurants as part of the restaurant information, or may acquire the area information from an external source during the process of selecting the second restaurant.

[0010] The control means may extract, from the menu of the second eating establishment, a category or price range having an order rate below a predetermined threshold based on the eating establishment information and POS data of the second eating establishment. The control means may further control the communication means to transmit information about the extracted category or price range having an order rate below the threshold to the POS system of the first eating establishment.

[0011] This allows the information processing device to allow the first eating establishment to know the categories / price ranges of menu items that should be reduced in exchange for increasing the number of menu items in the category / price range that are frequently ordered in the second eating establishment.

[0012] The control means may compare a menu composition rate, which indicates the number of menu items in each category or price range relative to the total number of menu items, with the order rate for each category or price range, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant.Furthermore, if there is a category or price range in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, the control means may control the communication means to transmit information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first restaurant.

[0013] This allows the information processing device to allow the first restaurant to understand menu items in categories / price ranges that are frequently ordered but have a limited selection at the first restaurant, and to use this information, along with information from the second restaurant, to improve its menu.

[0014] The control means may control the communication means to transmit information about a category or price range to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment when the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than a second threshold that is smaller than the first threshold.

[0015] This allows the information processing device to allow the first restaurant to identify menu items in categories / price ranges that have a wide selection but few orders, and to use this information together with information from the second restaurant and information on menu items in categories / price ranges above the first threshold to improve the menu.

[0016] The control means may extract, for each time period, from the menu of the second restaurant, categories or price ranges that have a higher order rate than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first restaurant, based on POS data for each of multiple time periods within a day for the first restaurant and the second restaurant.

[0017] This allows the information processing device to compare the order rates for each category or price range between the first restaurant and the second restaurant for multiple time periods within a day, thereby making it possible to propose detailed improvements to the menu of the first restaurant for each time period. A time period refers to, for example, one-hour or two-hour periods within a day, or time periods for each business division such as lunch hours and dinner hours.

[0018] The control means may control the communication means to send information suggesting business hours during a specified time period when it determines, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant, that the first restaurant has no sales and the second restaurant has sales that are equal to or greater than a specified percentage of daily sales during a specified time period among the plurality of time periods.

[0019] As a result, if a first restaurant is not open during a specified time period (for example, lunch or breakfast hours) and a second restaurant is open during that specified time period and has specified sales, the information processing device can determine that there is an advantage for the first restaurant to also be open during that specified time period, and by suggesting that the first restaurant open during that time period, it can aim to increase sales for the first restaurant.

[0020] An information processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: storing identification information of a plurality of restaurants in association with restaurant information including at least category information relating to the categories of food and drink menus that can be provided by the plurality of restaurants; Receive POS data including the unit price and the number of orders for each menu item from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants; Based on the stored restaurant information and the received POS data, select another restaurant from among the plurality of restaurants that offers a menu with an overlap rate of at least a predetermined threshold value between the menu of the first restaurant and the menu of the first restaurant in at least the category, and that has sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant, as a second restaurant; Based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant, extracting a category or price range from the menu of the second restaurant that has a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant; and transmitting information about the extracted category or price range to a POS system of the first restaurant.

[0021] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for executing the program on an information processing device, a step of storing identification information of a plurality of restaurants in association with restaurant information including at least category information relating to categories of food and drink menus that can be provided by the plurality of restaurants; receiving POS data including at least the unit price and the number of orders for each menu item from the POS systems of the plurality of restaurants; selecting, as a second restaurant, another restaurant among the plurality of restaurants that offers a menu with an overlap rate of at least a predetermined threshold value between the menu of the first restaurant and the menu of the first restaurant for at least the category, and that has sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the first restaurant, based on the stored restaurant information and the received POS data; extracting, from the menu of the second restaurant, a category or price range having a higher order rate than the corresponding category or price range of the first restaurant, based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant; and transmitting the extracted information about the category or price range to a POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately select a restaurant's top-selling competitor and provide information that contributes to improving the restaurant's business situation (menu) based on the POS data of the competitor. However, this effect does not limit the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a restaurant information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in a restaurant information providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for providing POS data analysis information of other stores by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of other stores that is generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for providing POS data analysis information of a restaurant by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of a store generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing an example of analysis information of POS data of a store generated by the restaurant information providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention and displayed in the POS system. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] [System Configuration] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a POS data analysis information providing system according to this embodiment.

[0026] As shown in the figure, this system includes a restaurant information providing server 100 on the Internet 50, POS systems 200 in a plurality of restaurants, and a plurality of user terminals 300.

[0027] Restaurant information providing server 100 is a web server that operates a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that lists information about restaurants. Restaurant information providing server 100 is connected to each POS system 200 of a plurality of restaurants and a plurality of user terminals 300 via Internet 50.

[0028] The restaurant information providing server 100 transmits a web page listing restaurant information that matches the search criteria to the user terminal 300 that has accessed the portal site and input the search criteria.

[0029] In addition, the restaurant information server 100 can receive POS data from each restaurant's POS system 200 periodically (for example, every predetermined period such as half a day, a day, a week, or a month), including menu information (menu name, category, etc.) about the menus offered at each restaurant, as well as unit price for each menu item, number of items served (number of orders), sales amount, etc.

[0030] Furthermore, the eating and drinking establishment information providing server 100 can provide analysis data created based on the POS data received from each POS system 200 to each POS system 200 via a management screen for each POS system 200, for example.

[0031] The POS system 200 (200A, 200B, . . . ) is provided in each restaurant and is composed of, for example, a POS register terminal, an order receiving device, a restaurant server, and the like.

[0032] Information about customer orders at restaurants is received by an order receiving device, such as a tablet PC (Personal Computer), carried by a restaurant employee (or placed at the customer's table.) The order data includes, for example, menu (dish) identification information, price, number of servings, order date and time, profit margin, etc., and this data is sent to and stored in the restaurant server as POS data.

[0033] A POS register terminal is a computer that processes the transactions associated with the food ordered by customers at a restaurant. The POS register terminal reads the identification information, such as a barcode, printed on the receipt given to the customer after the customer places an order, queries the restaurant server for that identification information, obtains the corresponding product and price information, and calculates the total price.

[0034] The restaurant server stores information about the dishes (menus) that can be served at the restaurant (identification number, menu name, price, category, etc.) The restaurant server also marks POS data for which transaction processing has been completed as "transaction completed" based on an inquiry about the above identification information from a POS register terminal, for example.

[0035] The POS register terminal, order receiving device, and restaurant server that make up the POS system 200 do not necessarily have to be physically separate devices, and for example, a single tablet PC may have all of these functions.

[0036] As described above, the POS system 200 (for example, the restaurant server) periodically transmits POS data for each menu item to the restaurant information providing server 100 based on the stored POS data of the transactions.

[0037] The administrator of each POS system 200 (for example, a restaurant server) can view the analysis data created by the restaurant information providing server 100 by accessing the management screen provided by the restaurant information providing server 100 using, for example, a browser.

[0038] The user terminals 300 (300A, 300B, 300C...) are terminals used by users (user A, user B, user C...), and are, for example, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, desktop PCs, and the like.

[0039] The user terminal 300 accesses the restaurant information providing site provided by the restaurant information providing server 100, receives the web page, and displays it on the screen using a browser.

[0040] A user of user terminal 300 searches for restaurants within the portal site via a screen displayed by the browser and browses information about the desired restaurant. The information about each restaurant displayed on the web page includes the restaurant's name, an ID (store ID) that identifies the restaurant, information about the restaurant's business type and service category, information introducing the restaurant (information indicating the restaurant's characteristics, such as promotional text for the restaurant, and information about events held by the restaurant), information about the area in which the restaurant is located, the restaurant's address, telephone number, information about the menu offered by the restaurant, and the restaurant's floor area. Here, the floor area may refer to the area of ​​the entire restaurant or just the area of ​​the seating area.

[0041] [Hardware configuration of restaurant information server] 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in the figure, the restaurant information providing server 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface 15, and a bus 14 connecting these components to one another.

[0042] The CPU 11 accesses the RAM 13 and other memory as needed, and performs various arithmetic processing while controlling all blocks of the restaurant information providing server 100. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that permanently stores firmware such as the OS, programs, and various parameters to be executed by the CPU 11. The RAM 13 is used as a working area for the CPU 11, and temporarily stores the OS, various applications currently being executed, and various data currently being processed.

[0043] The input / output interface 15 is connected to a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like.

[0044] The display unit 16 is a display device that uses, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OLED (Organic ElectroLuminescence Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like.

[0045] The operation reception unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or other input device. When the operation reception unit 17 is a touch panel, the touch panel can be integrated with the display unit 16.

[0046] The storage unit 18 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (solid state drive (SSD)), or other solid-state memory. The storage unit 18 stores the OS, various applications, and various data.

[0047] As will be described later, particularly in this embodiment, the storage unit 18 has a restaurant information database, a POS information database, an order rate information database, and a menu composition rate information database.

[0048] The communication unit 19 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication such as wireless LAN, and is responsible for communication processing with the POS system 200 of each of the restaurants.

[0049] Although not shown in the figure, at least one of the POS register terminal, order reception device, and restaurant server that make up the POS system 200 has a memory unit such as an HDD that stores the POS data, and a communication unit that transmits the POS data to the restaurant information providing server 100.

[0050] [Database configuration of restaurant information server] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0051] As shown in the figure, the restaurant information providing server 100 has a restaurant information database 31, a POS information database 32, and an order rate information database 33 in the storage unit 18.

[0052] Restaurant information database 31 stores, for each restaurant, information such as the restaurant's name, an ID (store ID) that identifies the restaurant, information about the restaurant's business type and service genre, business hours, text introducing the restaurant (information indicating the restaurant's characteristics, such as promotional text for the restaurant, and information about events held by the restaurant), information about the area in which the restaurant is located, the restaurant's address, telephone number, information about the menu offered by the restaurant (including menu IDs), store floor area, website URL, etc. Here, information about store floor area does not necessarily need to be stored in restaurant information database 31 in advance, and may be obtained from an external source and used when the second restaurant selection process described below is executed.

[0053] The area information may be stored in units of prefectures, for example, but information may also be stored in units of smaller areas such as cities, wards, towns, and villages. The genre information may include main genres such as Japanese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Italian cuisine, French cuisine, and yakiniku, as well as more detailed sub-genres such as yakitori and tempura in Japanese cuisine, and pasta and pizza in Italian cuisine.

[0054] The menu information is information that stores all menu items that each restaurant can offer, categorized by category and price range, and is received and stored periodically (e.g., daily or weekly) from the POS system 200 of each restaurant. Examples of categories include salads, stir-fries, meat dishes, fish dishes, flour-based dishes, fried foods, rice dishes, bread, noodles, soups and stews, skewers, hot pots, and desserts. Multiple price ranges are set, such as 100 yen to less than 150 yen and 780 yen to less than 980 yen. The higher the price, the wider the range of a single price range may be. Note that price range information does not necessarily need to be included in the menu information; for example, it may be set appropriately based on the unit price of each menu item extracted from the POS data below during the order rate calculation process described below, and each menu item may be classified into a price range based on this.

[0055] The POS information database 32 stores POS data for each menu item that is periodically received from the POS system 200 of each of the restaurants. The POS data consists of, for example, a menu ID, its unit price, the number of items served (or sales amount), and the time of order. The restaurant information providing server 100 can extract the menu name, category, and price range corresponding to each number of items served by referencing the menu information in the restaurant information database 31 using the menu ID as a key.

[0056] The order rate information database 33 stores the order rate for each menu category or price range at each restaurant, calculated based on the POS data stored in the POS information database 32. Here, the order rate refers to the ratio of the number of orders for a menu item belonging to each category or price range to the total number of orders for each restaurant during a given period. The order rate calculation process is performed, for example, periodically or when the POS data is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant.

[0057] The menu composition ratio information database 34 stores the composition ratio of the number of menu items in each category or price range to the total number of menu items at each restaurant, calculated based on the menu information (category information and price range information) of each restaurant stored in the restaurant information database 31. This menu composition ratio calculation process is executed, for example, periodically or when the latest menu information is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant.

[0058] These databases are used by mutual reference as needed in the POS data analysis information providing process by the restaurant information providing server 100, which will be described later.

[0059] [Operation of the restaurant information server] Next, we will explain the operation of the restaurant information providing server 100 configured as above. The operation is performed by cooperation between hardware such as the CPU 11 and communication unit 19 of the restaurant information providing server 100 and software stored in the storage unit 18. For convenience, in the following explanation, the CPU 11 is the subject of operation.

[0060] (POS data analysis information from other stores) First, we will explain the process of providing analysis information on POS data of other stores by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is executed by, for example, comparing with the POS data of the own store, but may be executed independently of the analysis of the POS data of the own store.

[0061] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of providing POS data analysis information of other restaurants by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is executed, for example, when the management screen is accessed from the POS system of the restaurant (first restaurant) that is the recipient of the analysis information.

[0062] As shown in the figure, first, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether or not POS data has been received from each POS system 200 (or whether or not the data is stored in the POS information database 32) every predetermined period of time, such as one day or one week (step 41).

[0063] If it is determined that the POS data has been received (Yes), the CPU 11 acquires menu information (category information) of each restaurant corresponding to the POS data from the restaurant information database 31 (step 42).

[0064] Next, the CPU 11 extracts restaurants that offer menu items that have an overlap rate of a predetermined threshold or more for the menu category with the menu of the first restaurant (step 43).

[0065] Specifically, the CPU 11 uses the category of the menu of the first restaurant as a key to search for restaurants that offer menus in a category that matches the category, and extracts restaurants where the proportion of matching categories is equal to or greater than a threshold proportion (e.g., 70%) of the total number of categories on the menu of the first restaurant.

[0066] Next, CPU 11 compares the sales per unit area between the first restaurant and the extracted restaurants based on the received POS data and the floor area information of each restaurant included in the menu information (step 44). Here, sales may be the total sales for each restaurant within a predetermined period, or may be the average customer spending or sales per hour within a predetermined period. Furthermore, sales are not limited to sales amounts, and any numerical value that can be used to evaluate the sales of a restaurant may be used.

[0067] Next, CPU 11 selects, as the second restaurant, the restaurant that has a larger sales per unit area than the first restaurant as a result of the comparison (step 45).

[0068] Next, CPU 11 analyzes the POS data of the first and second restaurants (or refers to the order rate information database 33) and compares the order rates for each menu category or price range at each restaurant (step 46). If multiple second restaurants are selected, CPU 11 calculates the average value of the order rates for each menu category or price range at the multiple second restaurants and compares this average value with the order rate for each menu category or price range at the first restaurant. Alternatively, one restaurant among the multiple second restaurants that has the highest sales per unit area may be extracted as the second restaurant. This embodiment describes the case where one second restaurant is extracted.

[0069] Next, based on the comparison, CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges from the menu of the second eating and drinking establishment that have higher order rates than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first eating and drinking establishment (step 47).

[0070] Next, CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges having an order rate below a predetermined threshold (for example, 5%) from the menu of the second eating and drinking establishment (step 48).

[0071] Then, the CPU 11 transmits the extracted information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment via the management screen, and displays it (step 49).

[0072] Figure 5 shows an example of a management screen that displays information about the categories or price ranges extracted by comparing the order rates of the first and second restaurants. This figure shows an example of displaying information about categories from the information about the categories and price ranges.

[0073] In addition, on the management screen, for example, by the user of the POS system 200 of the first eating and drinking establishment selecting from the menu screen, other screens besides the screen shown in the figure, which will be described later, can also be displayed.

[0074] As shown in the figure, the management screen displays, for example, the order rate for each category of the first restaurant on the left side, and the order rate for each category of the second restaurant on the right side. As mentioned above, if multiple second restaurants are selected, the average order rate for each category of the multiple second restaurants is displayed.

[0075] In the example shown in the figure, for the category of "fish dishes," the order rate at the first restaurant is 24%, while the order rate at the second restaurant is 39%, more than 1.5 times that of the first restaurant, and the area displaying the category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a solid rectangle.

[0076] In addition to the "fish dishes" category, there are other categories where the order rate at the second restaurant is higher than the order rate at the first restaurant, but in the example shown in the figure, the category with the largest difference in order rate is highlighted.

[0077] Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted solid line, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, urging the customer to increase the selection of fish dishes. The content of advice information 51 is not limited to this.

[0078] Also, in the same figure, the order rate for "rice dishes" at the second restaurant is less than the threshold of 5% mentioned above, so the area displaying that category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle.

[0079] In addition to this "rice dishes" category, there are other categories for which the order rate at the second restaurant is below the threshold, but the order rate for these categories at the first restaurant is 0%, so there is little point in highlighting them. Therefore, for example, categories for which the order rate at the second restaurant is below the threshold and the order rate at the first restaurant is higher than the order rate at the second restaurant are highlighted.

[0080] In addition to the highlighted dashed line, advice information 51 is also displayed, encouraging the customer to reduce the number of rice dishes in the selection, for example.

[0081] The management screen showing information about price ranges is also created in the same manner as the example shown in FIG. 5, and is displayed in POS system 200 of the first eating and drinking establishment.

[0082] By providing the above information, the manager or person in charge of the first restaurant can understand which menu items in a category or price range are most frequently ordered at competing restaurants that have higher sales than their own restaurant, and can increase sales by increasing the number of menu items in that category or price range.In addition, instead of increasing the number of menu items, the manager or person in charge can reduce menu items in a category or price range that are less likely to generate sales and have a low order rate at the competing restaurant.

[0083] (POS data analysis information from your store) Next, a process for providing analytical information on the POS data of one's own restaurant (the first restaurant) that is provided separately from information obtained by comparing POS data with that of another restaurant (the second restaurant) will be described.

[0084] 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for providing POS data analysis information of a restaurant by the restaurant information providing server 100. This process is also executed when the management screen is accessed from the POS system of a first restaurant.

[0085] As shown in the figure, first, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 acquires the menu composition ratio for each category and price range of the first restaurant from the menu composition ratio information database 34, and also acquires the order rate for each category and price range of the first restaurant from the order rate information database 33 (step 61). If the menu composition ratio and order rate are not stored in the databases, the CPU 11 may calculate them at that time based on the menu information and POS data.

[0086] Next, the CPU 11 compares the acquired menu composition rate with the order rate (step 62).

[0087] Next, the CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold value (for example, 1.5) (step 63).

[0088] Furthermore, the CPU 11 extracts categories or price ranges in which the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than a second threshold (for example, 0.7) that is smaller than the first threshold (step 64).

[0089] Then, the CPU 11 transmits the extracted information about the category or price range to the POS system of the first eating and drinking establishment via the management screen, and causes it to be displayed (step 65).

[0090] 7 and 8 show examples of a management screen that displays information about categories and price ranges where the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and categories and price ranges where the ratio is less than a second threshold. Fig. 7 is a screen that displays information about categories, and Fig. 8 is a screen that displays information about price ranges.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 7, on the management screen, for example, the menu composition rate for each category of the first restaurant is displayed on the left side, and for example, the order rate for each category of the first restaurant is displayed on the right side.

[0092] In the example shown in the figure, the menu composition rate for the "fried food" category is 8.3%, while its order rate is 17.3%. In other words, because the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (1.5), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a solid-line rectangle.

[0093] Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted solid line, advice information 51 is also displayed, indicating that the selection of fried foods is limited, for example.

[0094] Similarly, the menu composition rate for the "fish dishes" category is 13.9%, while the order rate is 24.2%, and because this rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold, the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that category is also highlighted and surrounded by a solid rectangle. In addition, advice information 51 indicating, for example, that there is a limited selection of fish dishes is also displayed.

[0095] On the other hand, the menu composition rate for the "dessert" category is 25.0%, while its order rate is 8.5%, and since the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than the second threshold (0.7), the area displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that category is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle. In addition, advice information 51 indicating, for example, that the dessert selection is too large is also displayed.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 8, the management screen displays, for example, the menu composition rate for each price range of the first restaurant on the left side, and, for example, the order rate for each price range of the first restaurant on the right side.

[0097] In the example shown in the figure, the menu composition rate for the price range "270 yen or more but less than 340 yen" is 5.3%, while the order rate for that price range is 28.0%. In other words, because the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (1.5), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that price range is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a solid-line rectangle. Furthermore, in addition to the highlighted solid line, advice information 51 is also displayed, indicating that the selection of menu items priced at 270 yen or more but less than 340 yen is limited.

[0098] On the other hand, the menu composition rate for the price range "480 yen or more but less than 580 yen" is 23.8%, while the order rate for that range is 15.8%. In other words, because the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is less than the second threshold (0.7), the portion displaying the menu composition rate and order rate for that price range is highlighted, for example, by being surrounded by a dashed rectangle. Furthermore, in addition to the dashed highlighting, advice information 51 is also displayed, for example, indicating that there are too many menu items in the range of 480 yen or more but less than 580 yen.

[0099] In addition to the price range of "480 yen or more but less than 580 yen," there are other price ranges in which the ratio of order rate to menu composition rate is below the second threshold, but in the example shown in the same figure, only the price range with the highest menu composition rate is highlighted.

[0100] By displaying the management screens shown in both figures, the manager or person in charge of the first restaurant can identify menu items in categories / price ranges that have a high number of orders but a small selection, or that have a large selection but a low number of orders, and, together with the information obtained by comparing the order rates with the second restaurant shown in Figure 5 above, can take measures to improve the menu.

[0101] [summary] As explained above, the restaurant information providing server 100 selects a competing restaurant that has higher sales than a certain restaurant based on overlapping menu items and sales per unit area, and provides the restaurant with information about the menu categories / price ranges that are highly ordered at the competing restaurant based on the POS data of the competing restaurant, thereby encouraging the restaurant to improve its menu and contributing to improving its business condition. In other words, the restaurant information providing server 100 allows the first restaurant to understand that although the menu categories offered by a first restaurant and a second restaurant in a competitive relationship overlap overall, the second restaurant has higher sales due to differences in the product lineup for each category or price range, and thereby allows the first restaurant to take improvement measures such as increasing the product lineup for a specific menu category or price range.

[0102] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0103] In the above embodiment, the overlap rate of the menus of the first restaurant and other restaurants is calculated based on the menu category, but instead of or in addition to this, the overlap rate may be calculated based on whether the menu names overlap. Furthermore, competing restaurants may be extracted based on the overlap rate of price ranges and whether the locations are the same or nearby.

[0104] In the above-described embodiment, restaurants are extracted based on the overlap rate of menu categories between the first restaurant and the extracted restaurant, and then the sales per unit area of ​​the extracted restaurant and the first restaurant are compared, but the order of this process can be reversed.

[0105] Furthermore, the process of extracting restaurants based on the overlap rate may be executed in advance before receiving POS data from each POS system.

[0106] In the above-described embodiment, the number of orders for a menu item in each category or price range relative to the total number of orders in a predetermined period was defined as the order rate, and information on the order rate was provided. However, instead of this, the ratio (group order rate) of the number of groups (groups or individuals who visited the restaurant together) that ordered a menu item in a predetermined category or price range relative to the total number of groups that visited the restaurant in a predetermined period (one day, one week, one month, etc.) may be calculated, and information on this may be provided (such as a comparison of the group order rate between a first restaurant and a second restaurant, or a comparison of the menu composition rate and the group order rate at the first restaurant).

[0107] In the above embodiment, the server that operates the restaurant information providing site and the server that receives and manages POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant are the same server (restaurant information providing server 100), but a separate POS server that manages the POS data of each restaurant may be provided separately from the server that provides restaurant information, and data regarding the above-mentioned order rate may be generated and provided to each POS system 200 by exchanging POS data between the POS server and the restaurant information providing server.

[0108] In the above-described embodiment, the comparison of order rates by category or price range between the first restaurant and the second restaurant is performed using data for a period corresponding to the timing of POS data reception, such as one day or one week. However, the restaurant information providing server 100 may perform the comparison for multiple time slots within a day. Here, a time slot refers to, for example, a one-hour or two-hour period within a day, or a time slot for each business period, such as lunch hours or dinner hours.

[0109] In other words, the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract, for each time period, from the menu of the second restaurant, categories or price ranges that have a higher order rate than the corresponding categories or price ranges of the first restaurant, based on the POS data of the first restaurant and the second restaurant for each of several time periods in a day.

[0110] This allows the restaurant information providing server 100 to propose detailed improvements to the menu of the first restaurant for each time period. Specifically, if it is found that compared to the first restaurant, the second restaurant has a high order rate for menu items in a certain category or price range in the early hours of its evening business hours (for example, from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM), but a high order rate for menu items in a different category or price range in the later hours (for example, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM), by providing this information to the first restaurant, it is possible to have the staff of the first restaurant recommend different menu items to customers for each time period, or to have the order receiving device display different menu items for each time period as recommended menu items.

[0111] Furthermore, if it is found that the categories with high order rates at the second restaurant are different during lunch and dinner hours, this information can be provided to the first restaurant, allowing the first restaurant to take measures such as arranging ingredients used in menus offered during dinner hours into a menu of a different category during lunch hours than during dinner hours.

[0112] In addition, if the second restaurant has good sales during the hours when the first restaurant is closed, the restaurant information providing server 100 may suggest to the first restaurant that it open during those hours.

[0113] That is, when it is determined based on the restaurant information and POS data of the first and second restaurants that the first restaurant has no sales during a predetermined time period among the plurality of time periods and the second restaurant has sales that are equal to or greater than a predetermined percentage of its daily sales, the restaurant information providing server 100 may control the communication means to transmit information proposing that the first restaurant be open during the predetermined time period. Note that the absence of sales at the first restaurant during the predetermined time period may be determined from the POS data or from business hours information included in the restaurant information database 31. The predetermined percentage may be, for example, 20%, 30%, etc., but is not limited to this.

[0114] As a result, if a first restaurant is not open during a specified time period (for example, lunch or breakfast hours) and a second restaurant is open during that specified time period and has a specified amount of sales, the restaurant information providing server 100 can consider that there is an advantage for the first restaurant to also be open during that specified time period, and can thereby improve the sales of the first restaurant by suggesting that it open during that time period.

[0115] In addition, by providing information on the categories or price ranges that are most frequently ordered at the second restaurant during the proposed time period, the first restaurant can also obtain information to help it decide on the menu categories or price ranges to offer during the new time period when it begins business. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 11...CPU 18...Storage section 19…Communications Department 31...Restaurant information database 32...POS information database 33...Order rate information database 34...Menu composition rate information database 51...Advice information 100...Restaurant information server 200...POS system 300...User terminal

Claims

1. A control means for extracting information relating to a category or price range of a menu item having a predetermined order rate from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment, and generating transmission information to be transmitted to the second eating and drinking establishment, the transmission information including the extracted information on the category or price range. Equipped with The control means selects, from among the plurality of restaurants, another restaurant that has a sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the second restaurant during a predetermined period, as the first restaurant, based on POS data of the plurality of restaurants. Information processing device.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control means Based on the POS data of the first restaurant, information on the category or price range of a menu item having an order rate below a predetermined threshold is extracted from the menu of the first restaurant. Information processing device.

3. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control means Based on the POS data of the second eating and drinking establishment, a menu composition rate indicating the number of menu items of each name, category, or price range relative to the total number of menu items is compared with the order rate of each name, category, or price range; If there is a name, category or price range where the ratio of the order rate to the menu composition rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, information about the category or price range is generated as the transmission information. Information processing device.

4. 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control means extracts, for each time period, information on the category or price range of a menu item at the first eating establishment that has a higher order rate than the corresponding menu item at the second eating establishment, based on POS data for each of a plurality of time periods within a day for the first eating establishment and the second eating establishment. Information processing device.

5. extracting information about a menu item category or price range that has a predetermined order rate from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment; generating transmission information to be transmitted to a second restaurant, the transmission information including information related to the extracted category or price range; Based on the POS data of a plurality of restaurants, another restaurant having a sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the second restaurant during a predetermined period is selected as the first restaurant from among the plurality of restaurants. A computer-implemented information processing method.

6. In the information processing device, extracting information about a category or price range of a menu item having a predetermined order rate from the POS data of the first eating and drinking establishment; generating transmission information to be transmitted to a second restaurant, the transmission information including information related to the extracted category or price range; selecting, from among the plurality of restaurants, as the first restaurant, another restaurant that has a sales per unit area greater than the sales per unit area of ​​the second restaurant during a predetermined period based on POS data of the plurality of restaurants; A program that executes the following.

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