Fitting-in sales support system and fitting-in sales support device

Abstract

To provide a try-on sales support system, a try-on sales support apparatus, and a try-on application program configured to improve sales performance of commodities by increasing implementation of virtual try-on on a website that provides a mechanism for virtual try-on for selling clothing.SOLUTION: In a system for selling clothing through virtual try-on using outfit images posted on a website and a face image of a consumer provided from the consumer, a server device 10 which performs processing for assisting implementation of virtual try-on includes: an information management unit 11 which manages try-on-related information related to implementation of virtual try-on performed by a poster who posts an outfit image and a consumer for the outfit image; and an incentive offering unit 13 which performs processing to offer an incentive to the poster who posted the virtual try-on outfit image, on the basis of the try-on-related information managed by the information management unit 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fitting sales support system and fitting sales support device Place and is particularly suitable for use in a system for supporting the sale of clothing using virtual fitting performed within a website.

Background Art

[0002] In clothing stores, it is common for consumers to try on several clothes that they are interested in, check whether they suit their appearance, and finally purchase the clothes they like. Therefore, in order to increase the number of items sold, it is considered necessary to increase the number of consumers who try on clothes as a prerequisite.

[0003] On the other hand, in online sales (internet sales) of clothing using an EC site, there is a problem that consumers cannot try on clothes before purchasing. In contrast, a system that enables virtual fitting by synthesizing a clothing image and a consumer's face image is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By using this virtual fitting device, an increase in the number of users who perform virtual fitting can be expected.

[0004] On the other hand, in online sales (internet sales) of clothing using an EC site, there is a problem that consumers cannot try on clothes before purchasing. In contrast, a system that enables virtual fitting by synthesizing a clothing image and a consumer's face image is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0005] In the fitting and sales system described in Patent Document 2, the service company terminal has a webpage accessible from the internet that contains basic information about the clothing to be sold, as well as image information of the appearance of each garment. Furthermore, the webpage has a fitting page that enables virtual fitting by combining the image information of the appearance of each garment with a photograph of the user's face.

[0006] According to the system described in Patent Document 2, consumers can virtually try on clothes even when purchasing clothing online using an e-commerce site. However, the system described in Patent Document 2 does not provide a mechanism to increase the number of consumers who can virtually try on clothes within the e-commerce site.

[0007] Furthermore, there is a known system that provides incentives such as points to sales staff who sell clothing, based on their sales performance of products promoted on e-commerce sites, the status of their sales promotions, and the consumer response to those promotions (see, for example, Patent Document 3). The purpose of providing incentives to sales staff is to motivate them to sell products through sales promotions based on their own strategies, thereby improving their individual sales performance and ultimately increasing the sales of the company to which they belong.

[0008] Patent Document 3 discloses an example of providing incentives based on the implementation status of sales promotions, in which an evaluation value is calculated using the total number of outfit information posts made by the seller through fashion outfit postings. It also discloses an example of providing incentives based on consumer response to sales promotions, in which an evaluation value is calculated using the total number of page views (PVs) of the web pages (fashion outfit posting pages) where the seller has posted outfits. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-38813 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-197323 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 7311937 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] This invention was made in view of the circumstances described above, and aims to increase the number of virtual try-ons performed on a website that sells clothing by providing a system for virtual try-ons, thereby improving the sales performance of the products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an incentive to the poster of the outfit that was virtually tried on, based on outfit-related information regarding the poster of the outfit and the status of virtual try-ons by consumers, when a virtual try-on is performed using an outfit outfit image posted on a website and a consumer's facial image provided by the consumer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] With the present invention configured as described above, it is expected that more coordinated outfit images will be posted by posters motivated by incentives. As a result, it is expected that more consumers will try on clothes virtually using these coordinated outfit images. By applying this invention to a website that sells clothing and provides a mechanism for virtual try-on, it is possible to increase the number of virtual try-ons and improve product sales performance. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]It is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of a fitting sales support system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of a consumer terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of a salesperson terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of a server device according to this embodiment. [Figure 5A] It is a diagram showing an example of a coordinate posting page. [Figure 5B] It is a diagram showing an example of a coordinate posting page in a state where virtual fitting is executed. [Figure 6A] It is a diagram showing an example of a posting list page. [Figure 6B] It is a diagram showing an example of a posting list page in a state where virtual fitting is executed. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of product master information stored in a product master storage unit. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing an example of salesperson master information stored in a salesperson master storage unit. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing an example of coordinate information stored in a coordinate information storage unit. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing an example of implementation status information stored in a fitting status storage unit. [Figure 11] It is a diagram showing an example of sales status information stored in a sales status storage unit. [Figure 12] It is a diagram showing another example of implementation status information stored in a fitting status storage unit and sales status information stored in a sales status storage unit. [Figure 13] It is a flowchart showing an operation example of a server device regarding management of coordinate information. [Figure 14] It is a flowchart showing an operation example of a server device regarding management of implementation status information of virtual fitting. [Figure 15] It is a flowchart showing an operation example of a server device regarding granting of incentives. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the fitting and sales support system according to this embodiment. The fitting and sales support system of this embodiment is a system that supports the sale of clothing using virtual fitting conducted on a website. In order to support this sale, in this embodiment, as a sales promotion measure, the system executes a process to provide incentives to sales staff who sell clothing by posting their own coordinated outfits on the website, according to the status of virtual fitting by consumers. Virtual fitting, as used here, is a process that combines an image of a coordinated outfit posted on the website with a facial image of the consumer provided by the consumer.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the fitting room sales support system according to this embodiment is configured to include a server device 10, a plurality of consumer terminals 20, and a plurality of sales staff terminals 30. The server device 10, consumer terminals 20, and sales staff terminals 30 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a communication network 100 such as the Internet and a mobile phone network.

[0016] The server device 10 corresponds to the fitting and sales support device in the claims, and performs sales management processing related to the sale of products targeted by a company (hereinafter referred to as "target products") on an e-commerce site, as well as evaluation processing related to the provision of incentives to sales personnel who sell the target products. In particular, the server device 10 supports the promotion of virtual fitting by performing evaluation processing.

[0017] Sales management processes include all the necessary steps for selling products through the e-commerce site, such as posting product information, adding products specified by consumers to their shopping carts, and processing payments for products added to the shopping carts. Posting product information on the e-commerce site includes posting coordinated images of the products for sale that have been posted by sales staff using the coordinated posting function of the sales promotion support app described later.

[0018] The evaluation process includes evaluating sales staff (posters) who posted images of outfits that were virtually tried on, based on the consumer's virtual try-on experience, and providing incentives to the sales staff based on the evaluation. Details of the evaluation process will be described later.

[0019] Although Figure 1 shows a configuration in which sales management processing and evaluation processing are performed on a single server device 10, these processes may also be performed on two or more servers. For example, the system may be configured with two separate servers: a sales management server that performs sales management processing and an evaluation management server that performs evaluation processing. In this case, the sales management server and the evaluation management server will cooperate to perform the processes described below.

[0020] Consumer terminals 20 are devices used by consumers, such as smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. Salesperson terminals 30 are devices used by salespeople of companies that sell the target products, such as smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. In Figure 1, for ease of distinction, consumer terminals 20 are shown as smartphones and salesperson terminals 30 as personal computers, but this is not intended to be the only representation.

[0021] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a consumer terminal 20. As shown in Figure 2, the consumer terminal 20 of this embodiment includes a face image registration unit 21, a virtual try-on processing unit 22, an implementation status provision unit 23, and a product purchase processing unit 24 as its functional configuration. The consumer terminal 20 also includes a face image storage unit 25 as a storage medium.

[0022] The above-mentioned functional blocks 21 to 24 perform the processes described below through the cooperation of hardware and software. For example, the processes of the above-mentioned functional blocks 21 to 24 are executed by the operation of programs stored in storage media such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory, under the control of a microcomputer configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. In addition to the microcomputer, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) may also be included.

[0023] The programs stored in the consumer terminal 20 include an operating system, a web browser, and a fitting application program (hereinafter referred to as the fitting application) that performs the virtual fitting process. The processing of the face image registration unit 21, the virtual fitting processing unit 22, the implementation status provision unit 23, and the product purchase processing unit 24 is performed through the cooperation of these programs.

[0024] The face image registration unit 21 uses the camera provided by the consumer terminal 20 to capture an image of the consumer's face and stores it in the face image storage unit 25. At this time, the face image registration unit 21 recognizes the consumer's face from the image captured by the camera, removes the parts other than the face, processes the image to store only the face portion in the face image storage unit 25. The face images to be registered may be only front-facing images, but face images facing to the right (including diagonally to the right) and face images facing to the left (including diagonally to the left) may also be registered.

[0025] The camera used to capture facial images does not necessarily have to be one provided by the consumer terminal 20. For example, the consumer terminal 20 may be connected to another camera via a USB cable, and the facial image registration unit 21 may acquire facial images from the other camera via the USB cable. Alternatively, the consumer terminal 20 may be wirelessly connected to another camera using Bluetooth® or similar technology, and the facial image registration unit 21 may acquire facial images wirelessly transmitted from the other camera.

[0026] The virtual try-on processing unit 22 performs a virtual try-on using clothing coordination images posted on a website and a consumer's face image provided by the consumer (a face image stored in the face image storage unit 25). In this embodiment, the website is an e-commerce site where a company sells clothing products for sale, or a website linked to such an e-commerce site (hereinafter, such linked websites are simply referred to as the e-commerce site). In this embodiment, the person who posts coordination images to the e-commerce site is a salesperson who sells the products for sale.

[0027] The virtual try-on processing unit 22 performs a virtual try-on by compositing the consumer's face image stored in the face image storage unit 25 onto the face position of a coordinated outfit image in which a salesperson or mannequin is wearing the clothes. In other words, the virtual try-on processing unit 22 analyzes the coordinated outfit image to recognize the face position and then composites the consumer's face image onto that recognized face position. At this time, the virtual try-on processing unit 22 adjusts the size of the face image to match the size of the coordinated outfit image before compositing. Furthermore, if the virtual try-on processing unit 22 recognizes that the salesperson's face is facing forward in the coordinated outfit image in which the salesperson is wearing the clothes, it composites the consumer's face image facing forward. If the salesperson's face is recognized as facing to the right or left, it composites the consumer's face image facing to the right or left.

[0028] Here, the outfit images that are the subject of virtual try-on are images posted on the web pages of e-commerce sites. For example, these include web pages that display information on a single outfit posted by a salesperson (including the outfit image, product information about the items included in the outfit image, and promotional information such as comments) (hereinafter referred to as the outfit posting page), and web pages that display multiple outfit images posted by one or more salespeople side by side (hereinafter referred to as the posting list page).

[0029] In addition to the post list page and the coordinate post page, the e-commerce site also has a product list page that displays multiple products as a list and a product details page that displays detailed information about individual products, allowing consumers to purchase their preferred products through these web pages. The product purchase processing unit 24 executes the processing related to this product purchase. Since this product purchase processing is the same as the processing generally performed on e-commerce sites, a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0030] Figure 5A shows an example of a coordination posting page displaying coordination information submitted by a salesperson. As shown in Figure 5A, the coordination posting page includes a coordination image 51, the name of the store to which the salesperson belongs 52, salesperson-related information 53, the salesperson's comments on the coordination 54, and product-related information 55 for each item included in the coordination image 51. Salesperson-related information 53 includes, for example, the salesperson's photo, name, and height. Product-related information 55 includes, for example, a photo of the product, product name, and price. As will be described later, this coordination posting page is generated in the server device 10 based on the coordination information transmitted from the salesperson terminal 30 to the server device 10, and the product master information and salesperson master information held by the server device 10.

[0031] In the example in Figure 5A, a coordinated image 51 is displayed, combining gathered pants product X and T-shirt product Y. Product-related information 55 contains information about both products X and Y. Clicking on the photo of product X or product Y will take you to the product details page for product X or product Y. Although the product details page is not shown here, it includes, for example, a product photo, a color selection field, a size selection field, and a shopping cart button. Consumers can add the specified product to their shopping cart by selecting their preferred color and size and clicking the shopping cart button, and then proceed with the purchase on the subsequent purchase page.

[0032] Figure 5B shows an example screen of the state when virtual try-on is performed on the outfit posting page shown in Figure 5A, for the outfit images 51 included on the page. For example, when a consumer is viewing the outfit posting page in Figure 5A and operates, for example, the try-on button (not shown) of a try-on app, the virtual try-on processing unit 22 performs a virtual try-on by compositing the consumer's face image 56 onto one of the outfit images 51 displayed on the outfit posting page being viewed. The try-on button may also be displayed on the outfit posting page.

[0033] Figure 6A shows an example of a post list page. When one or more sales staff each make one or more outfit posts, multiple outfit information is accumulated in the server device 10. The post list page shown in Figure 6A displays an overview of these multiple outfit posts in a list format. As shown in Figure 6A, the post list page displays the outfit image 51, the name of the store to which the sales staff belongs 52, and sales staff-related information 53 for each outfit post. Clicking on any of the outfit images 51 will take you to the outfit post page shown in Figure 5A.

[0034] Figure 6B shows an example screen of the post list page shown in Figure 6A, where a virtual try-on has been performed on multiple outfit images 51 included on the page. When a consumer is browsing the post list page, for example, if they operate the try-on button in the try-on app, the virtual try-on processing unit 22 performs a virtual try-on by collectively compositing the consumer's face image 56 onto the multiple outfit images 51 included on the post list page being viewed. The try-on button may also be displayed on the post list page. Here, it may be possible to allow the consumer to select any outfit image 51 from the multiple outfit images 51 displayed on the post list page, and perform a virtual try-on on one or more outfit images 51 selected by the consumer.

[0035] When the virtual try-on processing unit 22 executes the virtual try-on process, the implementation status provision unit 23 transmits implementation status information indicating the implementation status to the server device 10. The implementation status information includes salesperson information indicating the salesperson who posted the coordinate image that was the target of the virtual try-on, and information indicating the date and time the virtual try-on was executed. The salesperson information can be any information that can identify the salesperson. For example, a salesperson code uniquely assigned to each salesperson can be used. The salesperson code is linked to each coordinate image on the post list page and the coordinate post page.

[0036] If a virtual try-on is performed on a coordinate submission page, the implementation status provision unit 23 sends virtual try-on implementation status information for one coordinate image included on that coordinate submission page to the server device 10. On the other hand, if a virtual try-on is performed on a submission list page, the implementation status provision unit 23 sends virtual try-on implementation status information for multiple coordinate images included on that submission list page (or one or more specified coordinate images if the consumer specifies any of the coordinate images for the virtual try-on) to the server device 10.

[0037] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the salesperson terminal 30. The salesperson terminal 30 in this embodiment corresponds to the poster terminal in the claims. As shown in Figure 3, the salesperson terminal 30 in this embodiment has a functional configuration that includes a coordination image acquisition unit 31, a product information acquisition unit 32, and a coordination information posting unit 33.

[0038] The above-described functional blocks 31 to 33 perform the processes described below through the cooperation of hardware and software. For example, the processes of the above-described functional blocks 31 to 33 are executed by the operation of programs stored in storage media such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory, under the control of a microcomputer configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. In addition to the microcomputer, a DSP may also be provided.

[0039] The programs stored in the salesperson terminal 30 include an operating system, a web browser, and a sales promotion support application program (sales promotion support app) that has a coordination posting function. The processing of the coordination image acquisition unit 31, the product information acquisition unit 32, and the coordination information posting unit 33 is performed by the cooperation of these programs.

[0040] The coordination image acquisition unit 31 acquires coordination images taken by the salesperson themselves while wearing the coordinated clothing, or coordination images taken by the camera while a mannequin is dressed in the coordinated clothing. For example, the camera and the salesperson terminal 30 are connected by a USB cable, and the coordination image acquisition unit 31 acquires coordination images from the camera via the USB cable. Alternatively, the camera and the salesperson terminal 30 may be wirelessly connected using Bluetooth® or similar technology, and the coordination image acquisition unit 31 may acquire coordination images wirelessly transmitted from the camera. The salesperson terminal 30 may also take coordination images with its own camera. In this case, the coordination image acquisition unit 31 acquires coordination images taken by the camera on the salesperson terminal 30.

[0041] The product information acquisition unit 32 acquires product information from the product master information managed as information on products for sale in the server device 10, indicating the products included in the coordinated image that the salesperson posts. The product information acquired here only needs to be information that can identify the product. For example, it is possible to use a product code that is uniquely assigned to the product.

[0042] For example, the product information acquisition unit 32 has the function of accessing the server device 10, displaying a product management screen generated based on product master information, and allowing the user to select any product from that screen. When a salesperson selects a product, the server device 10 retrieves product information related to the selected product from the product master information and provides it to the product information acquisition unit 32 on the salesperson terminal 30. However, the method of acquiring product information is not limited to this. For example, the salesperson terminal 30 may display a product list page and acquire product information by allowing the user to select any product from that page.

[0043] The coordination information posting unit 33 transmits coordination information, including coordination images acquired by the coordination image acquisition unit 31, product information acquired by the product information acquisition unit 32, and related information such as comments created by the salesperson in relation to the coordination images, to the server device 10 and posts it to the company's e-commerce site. The related information is entered by the salesperson by operating the touch panel, keyboard, or other control panel of the salesperson terminal 30.

[0044] Here, the coordination information posting unit 33 posts the coordination information along with salesperson information that identifies the salesperson. The salesperson information can be any information that identifies the salesperson. For example, it is possible to use a salesperson code that is uniquely assigned to the salesperson. For example, the salesperson code is pre-registered in the sales promotion support app used by the salesperson, and this pre-registered salesperson code is included in the coordination information. In the following explanation, when we refer to posting coordination information, we mean sending the coordination image along with product information, related information, and salesperson information to the server device 10.

[0045] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 10. As shown in Figure 4, the server device 10 of this embodiment has an information management unit 11, a web page provision unit 12, and an incentive provision unit 13 as its functional configuration. The server device 10 of this embodiment also has a product master storage unit 14, a salesperson master storage unit 15, a web page content storage unit 16, a coordination information storage unit 17, a fitting status storage unit 18, and a sales status storage unit 19 as its storage medium.

[0046] The above-described functional blocks 11 to 13 perform the processes described below through the cooperation of hardware and software. For example, the processes of the above-described functional blocks 11 to 13 are executed by the operation of programs stored in storage media such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory, under the control of a microcomputer configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. In addition to the microcomputer, a DSP or similar may also be included.

[0047] The product master storage unit 14 stores product master information for multiple products to be sold. Figure 7 shows an example of product master information stored in the product master storage unit 14. Figure 7 shows one record that stores product master information. As shown in Figure 7, the product master storage unit 14 stores information such as product code, product name, product attributes, sales price, and product photo (or an address indicating the location where it is stored) for each of the multiple products to be sold. Product attributes are information used to identify different attributes when different attributes exist for the same product. For example, product attributes may include the color and size of the product. Note that the information listed here is just an example, and the product master information may include other information.

[0048] The salesperson master storage unit 15 stores salesperson master information for multiple salespeople. Figure 8 shows an example of salesperson master information stored in the salesperson master storage unit 15. Figure 8 shows one record that stores salesperson master information. As shown in Figure 8, the salesperson master storage unit 15 stores information for each of the multiple salespeople, such as salesperson code, name, height, store code, store name, and salesperson employee (or an address indicating the storage location). Note that the information listed here is just an example, and the salesperson master information may include other information.

[0049] The webpage content storage unit 16 stores content (images and text) for displaying webpages such as product list pages, product detail pages, post list pages, and coordinate post pages. The coordinate information used for displaying post list pages and coordinate post pages is stored in the coordinate information storage unit 17. The content stored in the webpage content storage unit 16 for post list pages and coordinate post pages is content other than the coordinate information stored in the coordinate information storage unit 17.

[0050] The web page provider unit 12 processes web pages such as product list pages, product detail pages, post list pages, and coordinate post pages in response to requests from consumer terminals 20. Here, the web page provider unit 12 generates product list pages and product detail pages based on product master information stored in product master storage unit 14 and web page content stored in web page content storage unit 16, and provides them to consumer terminals 20. The product detail page is provided either by transitioning from the product list page or by transitioning from the coordinate post page exemplified in Figures 5A and 5B.

[0051] Furthermore, the web page provision unit 12 generates a post list page and a coordinate post page and provides them to the consumer terminal 20 based on the product master information stored in the product master storage unit 14, the salesperson master information stored in the salesperson master storage unit 15, the web page content stored in the web page content storage unit 16, and the coordinate information stored in the coordinate information storage unit 17. As described above, each coordinate image included in the post list page and the coordinate post page is associated with a salesperson code included in the coordinate information.

[0052] The Information Management Department 11 manages try-on related information regarding the posters (sales staff) of coordinated outfit images and the status of virtual try-ons conducted by consumers of those images. The following is an example of the specific processing content of the Information Management Department 11.

[0053] The information management unit 11 receives the coordination information transmitted by the coordination information posting unit 33 of the salesperson terminal 30 and records it sequentially in the coordination information storage unit 17. Figure 9 shows an example of coordination information stored in the coordination information storage unit 17. Figure 9 shows one record that stores coordination information, and each time the information management unit 11 receives coordination information from the salesperson terminal 30, one record is added.

[0054] As shown in Figure 9, the coordination information storage unit 17 stores coordination information, which consists of a product code, salesperson code, coordination image, and comment, in a single record. For the product code, multiple product codes are included, corresponding to multiple products included in the coordination image. The coordination image and comment may be stored in a location separate from the record, and the address indicating the storage location may be stored in the record.

[0055] Furthermore, the information management unit 11 receives virtual try-on status information transmitted by the consumer terminal 20's implementation status provision unit 23 and records it sequentially in the try-on status storage unit 18. Figure 10 shows an example of the implementation status information stored in the try-on status storage unit 18. Figure 10 shows one record that stores the implementation status information, and each time the information management unit 11 receives implementation status information from the consumer terminal 20, one record is added.

[0056] As shown in Figure 10, the fitting status storage unit 18 stores the salesperson code and the date and time of the virtual fitting in a single record. When a virtual fitting is performed on the outfit posting page, the information management unit 11 stores one piece of fitting status information in one record of the fitting status storage unit 18. On the other hand, when a virtual fitting is performed on the post list page, the information management unit 11 stores one or more pieces of fitting status information in one or more records of the fitting status storage unit 18. This fitting status information shown in Figure 10 is used as fitting-related information to manage whether a consumer has performed a virtual fitting on an outfit image posted by a salesperson as a sales promotion measure.

[0057] Furthermore, the information management unit 11 sequentially records sales status information for the sold product in the sales status storage unit 19 each time a product is purchased through processing by the product purchase processing unit 24 of the consumer terminal 20. For example, when a consumer purchases a product through an e-commerce site, the information management unit 11 records information indicating when and how many of the product were sold, that is, information showing the product's sales performance, as sales status information in the sales status storage unit 19.

[0058] Here, if a customer transitions from the outfit posting page to the product details page and adds an item to their shopping cart, the product code of that item is associated with the salesperson code of the salesperson who generated the outfit posting page. In this case, the information management unit 11 records sales status information, consisting of the product code, sales date, and quantity sold of the sold item, in the sales status storage unit 19, associating it with the salesperson code of the salesperson who posted the outfit.

[0059] On the other hand, when a product is added to the shopping cart after transitioning from the product list page to the product details page, the salesperson code is not associated with the product code of that product. In this case, the information management unit 11 records the product code, sales date, and quantity of the sold product as sales status information in the sales status storage unit 19, and does not associate it with the salesperson code.

[0060] Figure 11 shows an example of sales status information stored in the sales status storage unit 19. Figure 11 shows one record that stores sales status information, and one record is added each time a product is purchased by a consumer.

[0061] As shown in Figure 11(a), the sales status storage unit 19 stores the product code, sales date, and sales quantity of products sold by transitioning from the product list page to the product details page in a single record as sales status information. Also, as shown in Figure 11(b), the sales status storage unit 19 stores the product code, sales date, and sales quantity of products sold by transitioning from the coordination posting page to the product details page in a single record as sales status information, and also stores the salesperson code associated with the same record.

[0062] The incentive granting unit 13 processes an incentive for sales staff who have posted images of outfits that have been virtually tried on, based on fitting-related information managed by the information management unit 11. For example, the incentive granting unit 13 evaluates the sales staff who have posted outfit information based on the virtual fitting status information stored in the fitting status storage unit 18, and processes an incentive for the sales staff based on the evaluation.

[0063] The incentives given to salespeople are optional. For example, they could be points with economic value that can be used in actual business transactions, monetary bonuses, prizes, or points used to calculate performance evaluation scores. The process of giving an incentive includes registering data equivalent to the incentive on the salesperson terminal 30 or on a terminal or server designated by the seller, or notifying the salesperson terminal 30 that an incentive will be given.

[0064] For example, the incentive granting unit 13 calculates an evaluation value per unit period regarding the virtual try-on status of a salesperson's outfit post, based on the implementation status information stored in the try-on status storage unit 18. The unit period is the evaluation period (e.g., one month) during which the incentive granting unit 13 performs processing at predetermined time intervals.

[0065] For example, at the beginning of each month, the incentive granting unit 13 counts the number of times virtual try-ons were performed per salesperson during the previous month, and uses that count as the salesperson's evaluation value. That is, it counts the number of records for each salesperson code where the same salesperson code is recorded, using the try-on status storage unit 18's records of the previous month's try-on status information for the same date and time, and uses this as the evaluation value for each salesperson. Based on this evaluation value, the unit then grants incentives to the salesperson according to predetermined rules. As an example, the unit may grant points equivalent to a value obtained by multiplying the evaluation value by a predetermined coefficient.

[0066] As described above, by providing incentives to sales staff who post images of outfits that have been virtually tried on, it is possible to motivate them to post more outfit images. This is expected to increase the number of consumers who try on outfits using these images. Therefore, by applying this embodiment to e-commerce sites that sell clothing using a virtual try-on function, it becomes possible to increase the number of virtual try-ons and improve product sales performance.

[0067] Furthermore, the method for calculating evaluation values ​​and the method for awarding incentives are not limited to these and can be set arbitrarily. For example, a fixed incentive may be awarded for the fact that at least one virtual try-on was conducted during the evaluation period, regardless of the number of times the virtual try-on was conducted.

[0068] Alternatively, the incentive granting unit 13 may refer to the sales status information stored in the sales status storage unit 19 in addition to the implementation status information stored in the fitting status storage unit 18, and grant an incentive to the poster of the coordinated image according to predetermined rules, depending on whether the consumer who performed a virtual fitting using the coordinated image purchased the clothing related to the virtual fitting on the e-commerce site.

[0069] In this case, the implementation status provision unit 23 provides implementation status information indicating the status of virtual try-on for coordinated images, along with consumer information indicating the consumer who performed the try-on, and information indicating the coordinated images that were the subject of the virtual try-on.

[0070] Consumer information only needs to be information that can identify a consumer. For example, a consumer code uniquely assigned to each consumer can be used. For instance, a consumer code unique to the fitting app used by the consumer is registered in advance, and the implementation status provision unit 23 includes this pre-registered consumer code in the implementation status information and transmits it to the server device 10.

[0071] Furthermore, the information indicating the coordinated image may be the coordinated image itself, or it may be a coordinated code uniquely assigned to the coordinated image. For example, when coordinated information is posted from the salesperson terminal 30 to the server device 10, the information management unit 11 sets a unique coordinated code and stores the coordinated information in the coordinated information storage unit 17, linking it to the coordinated code. Then, when the virtual fitting processing unit 22 performs a virtual fitting, the implementation status provision unit 23 can obtain the coordinated code linked to the coordinated information and provide it to the server device 10.

[0072] The information management unit 11 of the server device 10 receives the implementation status information transmitted by the implementation status provision unit 23 of the consumer terminal 20, and sequentially records the implementation status information, which includes a coordination code and a salesperson code in addition to the configuration in Figure 10, in the fitting status storage unit 18, as shown in Figure 12(a).

[0073] Furthermore, when a consumer accesses the e-commerce site from the try-on app and purchases a product, the information management unit 11 sequentially records sales status information, including a consumer code in addition to the configuration shown in Figure 11(b), in the sales status storage unit 19, as shown in Figure 12(b).

[0074] The incentive granting unit 13 then processes the granting of incentives according to predetermined rules based on the implementation status information stored in the fitting status storage unit 18 and the sales status information stored in the sales status storage unit 19. For example, an incentive may be granted to the poster of a coordinated outfit image only if it is shown that a consumer who performed a virtual fitting using the coordinated outfit image has purchased the clothing related to that virtual fitting on the e-commerce site.

[0075] Specifically, the system uses records of the fitting status information stored in the fitting status storage unit 18 as shown in Figure 12(a) and records of the sales status information stored in the sales status storage unit 19 as shown in Figure 12(b) to determine whether the products included in the coordinated image corresponding to the coordinated code linked to the consumer code in the fitting status information in Figure 12(a) match the products corresponding to the product code linked to the same consumer code as the consumer code in the fitting status information in Figure 12(b). Then, it executes a process to grant incentives only to the records of the fitting status information in which a match between the products included in the coordinated image and the products sold has been confirmed.

[0076] It should be noted that the rules for granting incentives are not limited to the examples above. For example, incentives may be granted in both cases: when it is shown that a consumer who has virtually tried on clothes using coordinated images has purchased the clothes related to that virtual try-on from the e-commerce site; and when it is shown that a consumer has performed a virtual try-on but it is not shown that the consumer has purchased the clothes related to that virtual try-on from the e-commerce site. The content of the incentives may also be differentiated between the former and the latter cases.

[0077] As described above, by providing incentives that consider not only the implementation status of virtual try-ons but also the sales status of the products included in the coordinated outfit images used for virtual try-ons, it is possible to motivate sales staff to post attractive coordinated outfit images that are likely to lead to actual purchases. This is expected to increase the number of consumers who try on outfits using coordinated outfit images, and consequently, the number of consumers who purchase products.

[0078] Furthermore, if incentives are provided solely based on the status of virtual try-on, the information management unit 11 does not need to manage sales status information, and the coordination information does not need to include product codes. In other words, the sales status storage unit 19 of the server device 10 can be omitted. Also, the product information acquisition unit 32 of the salesperson terminal 30 can be omitted.

[0079] Figures 13 to 15 are flowcharts illustrating examples of operation of the server device 10 (fitting-in sales support device) according to this embodiment configured as described above. Figure 13 shows an example of operation related to the management of coordination information, Figure 14 shows an example of operation related to the management of virtual fitting status information, and Figure 15 shows an example of operation related to the provision of incentives. Here, an example is shown in which incentives are provided based on the implementation status information stored in the fitting status storage unit 18 (an example in which sales status information is not considered).

[0080] In Figure 13, the information management unit 11 determines whether or not it has received a request for product information from the salesperson terminal 30 (step S1). If no request for product information has been received, the information management unit 11 continues the determination in step S1. If a request for product information has been received, the information management unit 11 retrieves the product code of the requested product from the product master information stored in the product master storage unit 14 and provides it to the salesperson terminal 30 (step S2).

[0081] Subsequently, the information management unit 11 determines whether or not it has received coordination information from the salesperson terminal 30 (step S3). If coordination information has not been received, the information management unit 11 continues the determination in step S3. If coordination information is received, the information management unit 11 stores the received coordination information in the coordination information storage unit 17 (step S4). This completes the recording process for one piece of coordination information. The information management unit 11 performs this process continuously, and each time it receives coordination information from the salesperson terminal 30, it sequentially records the coordination information in the coordination information storage unit 17.

[0082] In Figure 14, the web page provider 12 determines whether or not it has received a request from the consumer terminal 20 to display the post list page (step S11). If it receives a request to display the post list page, the web page provider 12 generates the post list page based on the product master information, salesperson master information, web page content, and coordination information and provides it to the consumer terminal 20 (step S12). The process then proceeds to step S18.

[0083] If no request has been received to display the list of posts page, the web page provider 12 determines whether or not a request has been received from the consumer terminal 20 to display the coordinated post page (step S13). If a request has been received to display the coordinated post page, the web page provider 12 generates the coordinated post page based on the product master information, salesperson master information, web page content, and coordinated information, and provides it to the consumer terminal 20 (step S14). The process then proceeds to step S18.

[0084] If no request has been received to display the coordinate posting page, the web page provider 12 determines whether or not a request has been received from the consumer terminal 20 to display another web page (product list page or product details page) (step S15). If no request has been received to display another web page, the process returns to step S11.

[0085] On the other hand, if a request to display another web page is received, the web page provision unit 12 generates the other web page based on the product master information and web page content and provides it to the consumer terminal 20 (step S16). Then, it appropriately performs the necessary processing in accordance with the instructions provided by the consumer terminal 20 within the other web page (step S17), and the process returns to step S11.

[0086] After displaying the post list page in step S12, or after displaying the coordinate post page in step S14, the information management unit 11 determines whether or not it has received virtual try-on status information from the consumer terminal 20 (step S18). While the information management unit 11 is waiting for the virtual try-on status information to be received, the web page provision unit 12 determines whether or not it has received a request from the consumer terminal 20 to display another web page (step S19). If a request to display another web page is received, the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, if no request to display another web page is received, the process returns to step S18.

[0087] When the information management unit 11 receives virtual fitting status information, it stores the received information in the fitting status storage unit 18 (step S20). This completes the recording process for one piece of fitting status information. The information management unit 11 performs this process continuously, and each time it receives fitting status information from the consumer terminal 20, it sequentially records the information in the fitting status storage unit 18.

[0088] In Figure 15, the incentive granting unit 13 determines whether the evaluation period (e.g., one month) has elapsed (step S21). If the evaluation period has not elapsed, the incentive granting unit 13 continues the determination in step S21. If the evaluation period has elapsed, the incentive granting unit 13 executes a process to grant an incentive to the salesperson based on the implementation status information for the evaluation period stored in the fitting status storage unit 18 (step S22). This completes one incentive granting process.

[0089] As explained in detail above, in this embodiment, when a virtual try-on is performed using clothing coordination images posted on an e-commerce site and a consumer's facial image provided by the consumer, the system is configured to provide an incentive to the salesperson based on try-on-related information regarding the status of the virtual try-on by the salesperson who posted the coordination images and the consumer.

[0090] With this configuration, it is expected that more outfit images will be posted by sales staff motivated by the incentives. As a result, it is expected that more consumers will try on clothes virtually using these outfit images. Therefore, by applying the mechanism of this embodiment to an e-commerce site that sells clothing by providing a virtual try-on system, it is possible to increase the number of virtual try-ons and improve product sales performance.

[0091] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which an incentive is given to a salesperson who posts a coordinated outfit image. However, incentives may also be given to both the salesperson and the consumer who performs a virtual try-on. The process for giving an incentive to a salesperson may be the same as in the above embodiment.

[0092] On the other hand, incentives for consumers may be provided in a different way than those for sales staff. For example, each time information on the status of virtual try-on is transmitted from the consumer terminal 20 to the server device 10, a predetermined incentive may be provided to the consumer as a response. As an example, it is possible to register points with economic value that can be used in actual commercial transactions on the consumer terminal 20 or on a terminal or server designated by the consumer. Alternatively, the information management unit 11 may manage the status information as shown in Figure 12(a) and provide incentives according to the number of times the consumer has tried on virtual clothes during the evaluation period.

[0093] Alternatively, the system may implement a process to provide incentives to consumers who have participated in a virtual try-on and who have purchased the clothing related to the coordinated images used in the virtual try-on from the e-commerce site. In this case, the information management unit 11 manages implementation status information and sales status information as shown in Figure 12, making it possible for the incentive provision unit 13 to provide incentives only to consumers who have purchased the products related to the coordinated images used in the virtual try-on from the e-commerce site.

[0094] Furthermore, while the above embodiment described an example in which a salesperson of a company selling products on an e-commerce site posts coordinated outfit images and is given an incentive, the invention is not limited to this. For example, if a consumer who has purchased a product on an e-commerce site posts a coordinated outfit image wearing the purchased product, and another consumer uses that coordinated outfit image to virtually try on the clothes, the consumer who posted the coordinated outfit image may be given an incentive.

[0095] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the fitting application installed on the consumer terminal 20 may have a function that, in cooperation with the server device 10, presents the consumer's fitting images generated by virtual fitting to one or more other consumer terminals 20 and receives evaluations from one or more consumers using those other consumer terminals 20. For example, the fitting images of consumers who have requested evaluations may be shared across multiple fitting applications installed on multiple consumer terminals 20, and other consumers who view them may assign evaluation results such as "suits / doesn't suit / neither."

[0096] Furthermore, while the above embodiment describes an example where incentives are given without distinguishing whether virtual try-on was performed on the post list page or on the coordinate post page, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the incentives given may differ depending on whether virtual try-on was performed on the post list page or on the coordinate post page. For instance, it is possible to give a greater incentive when virtual try-on was performed on the coordinate post page than when it was performed on the post list page.

[0097] Furthermore, while the above embodiment describes an example of using the implementation status information configured as shown in Figure 10 as try-on related information, the system is not limited to this. For example, in Figure 9, the coordination information may be configured to include a coordination code in addition to the coordination image, and in Figure 10, the implementation status information may be configured to include a coordination code instead of a salesperson code, and the coordination information and implementation status information configured in this way may be used as try-on related information. In this case, the coordination information and the implementation status information are associated by the coordination code, making it possible to manage whether a consumer has virtually tried on a coordination image posted by a salesperson.

[0098] Furthermore, while the above embodiment described an example of conducting virtual try-on on an e-commerce site, it is not limited to this. For example, it could be a webpage on a social networking service (SNS) used by an individual salesperson (Instagram, Facebook, LINE, etc., all of which are registered trademarks).

[0099] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes a configuration in which the virtual try-on processing unit 22 is provided on the consumer terminal 20 and the information management unit 11 and incentive provision unit 13 are provided on the server device 10, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the virtual try-on processing unit 22 may also be provided on the server device 10. For example, a consumer's face image may be sent from the consumer terminal 20 to the server device 10 for pre-registration, and when the try-on button of the try-on application is operated, the server device 10 may perform a virtual try-on and provide the image of the execution result to the try-on application on the consumer terminal 20.

[0100] Furthermore, the above embodiments are merely examples of how the present invention may be implemented, and the technical scope of the invention should not be interpreted as being limited by them. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various ways without departing from its gist or its main features. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0101] 10 Server devices 11 Information Management Department 12 Webpage Provision Department 13. Incentive Granting Department 14. Product Master Storage Unit 15 Salesperson Master Memory Unit 16 Web page content storage unit 17. Coordination Information Storage Unit 18 Fitting status memory unit 19 Sales status memory unit 20 Consumer terminals 21. Face Image Registration Section 22 Virtual Fitting Processing Unit 23 Implementation Status (Provision Department) 24 Product Purchase Processing Section 25 Face Image Memory Unit 30 Salesperson terminals 31. Coordination Image Acquisition Section 32 Product information acquisition department 33. Coordination Information Submission Section

Claims

1. A system that supports the sale of clothing using virtual try-ons conducted on a website, A virtual try-on processing unit that performs a virtual try-on using clothing coordination images posted on the above website and the consumer's facial image provided by the consumer, The Information Management Department manages information related to the virtual try-on process, including the poster of the above-mentioned outfit image and the consumer who conducted the virtual try-on for the above-mentioned outfit image. Based on the fitting-related information managed by the above-mentioned information management unit, the system includes an incentive granting unit that processes the granting of incentives to the poster who posted the coordinated outfit image in which the virtual fitting took place, and to the consumer who participated in the virtual fitting. The incentive granting unit grants the incentive to the poster based on the number of times the consumer performs the virtual try-on per predetermined unit period, while also granting the incentive to the consumer each time the consumer performs the virtual try-on. A fitting and sales support system characterized by the following features.

2. The incentive granting unit is characterized in that it grants the incentive to the poster of the coordinated outfit image in accordance with predetermined rules, depending on whether or not a consumer who has performed a virtual try-on using the coordinated outfit image has purchased the clothing related to the virtual try-on on the website.

3. A system that supports the sale of clothing using virtual try-on conducted on a website, A virtual try-on processing unit that performs a virtual try-on using clothing coordination images posted on the above website and the consumer's facial image provided by the consumer, The Information Management Department manages information related to the virtual try-on process, including the poster of the above-mentioned outfit image and the consumer who conducted the virtual try-on for the above-mentioned outfit image. Based on the fitting-related information managed by the above-mentioned information management unit, the system includes an incentive granting unit that processes the granting of incentives to the poster who posted the coordinated outfit image in which the virtual fitting took place, and to the consumer who participated in the virtual fitting. The incentive-granting unit grants a fixed incentive to the poster for the fact that the consumer has performed the virtual try-on at least once during a predetermined unit period, while also granting the incentive to the consumer based on the number of times the consumer has performed the virtual try-on per unit period. A fitting and sales support system characterized by the following features.

4. The fitting and sales support system according to claim 3, characterized in that the incentive granting unit grants the incentive to consumers who have performed the virtual fitting and who have purchased the clothing related to the coordination image used for the virtual fitting from the website.

5. In a system for selling clothing through virtual try-on using clothing coordination images posted on a website and facial images of consumers provided by consumers, a device to support implementation promotion by indicating that the virtual try-on has been performed, The Information Management Department manages information related to the posting of the above-mentioned outfit images and the status of the above-mentioned consumers' virtual try-on activities for the above-mentioned outfit images, Based on the fitting-related information managed by the above-mentioned information management unit, the system includes an incentive granting unit that processes the granting of incentives to the poster who posted the coordinated outfit image in which the virtual fitting took place, and to the consumer who participated in the virtual fitting. The incentive granting unit grants the incentive to the poster based on the number of times the consumer performs the virtual try-on per predetermined unit period, while also granting the incentive to the consumer each time the consumer performs the virtual try-on. A fitting and sales support device characterized by the following features.

6. A system for selling clothing through virtual try-on using clothing coordination images posted on a website and facial images of consumers provided by consumers, comprising a device for supporting implementation promotion to indicate that the virtual try-on has been performed, The Information Management Department manages information related to the posting of the above-mentioned outfit images and the status of the above-mentioned consumers' virtual try-on activities for the above-mentioned outfit images, Based on the fitting-related information managed by the above-mentioned information management unit, the system includes an incentive granting unit that processes the granting of incentives to the poster who posted the coordinated outfit image in which the virtual fitting took place, and to the consumer who participated in the virtual fitting. The incentive-granting unit grants a fixed incentive to the poster for the fact that the consumer has performed the virtual try-on at least once during a predetermined unit period, while also granting the incentive to the consumer based on the number of times the consumer has performed the virtual try-on per unit period. A fitting and sales support device characterized by the following features.

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