Information processing device, information processing method, transaction support system, and information processing program

Abstract

This invention provides an information processing device, method, and program for supporting gift transactions, as well as a transaction support system. [Solution] The information processing device 12 includes a product information acquisition unit 1202 that acquires product information of products provided from an EC server, a product candidate identification unit 1203 that identifies product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products related to the acquired product information, a customer input acquisition unit 1204 that acquires a request from a first terminal to send content that satisfies specified conditions, a product extraction unit 1205 that extracts products that satisfy specified conditions from the identified selectable product candidates, a customer transmission control unit 1206 that performs transmission control to send the extracted results to the first terminal as extraction results in response to the request, a selected product information acquisition unit 1207 that acquires selected product information indicating the selected product selected from the extraction results from the first terminal, and a vendor transmission control unit 1208 that performs transmission control to send order information of the selected product to the EC server that provides the selected product.

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] This disclosure relates to information processing technology.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method of arranging a gift using the Internet, in which a giver accesses the homepage of a gift center via the Internet, registers as a member, selects a gift, and arranges for the gift to be given by specifying the recipient's email address or the address of an email-capable terminal. The gift center then distributes an email to the recipient via the Internet and prompts the recipient to access the gift center's homepage to view the product image of the gift from the giver. When the recipient receives the gift from the giver, the gift center arranges for the gift to be received by specifying the method of receipt. A technique related to a method of arranging a gift using the Internet is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the method of receiving a gift is specified from the recipient to the gift center, if the giver knows the recipient's email address or the address of an email-capable terminal, the giver can arrange for the gift to be given without knowing information such as the recipient's address.

[0005] However, since the arrangement of a gift is made among the giver, the gift center, and the recipient, there is a problem that the gift center must hold an inventory of the gifts to be arranged.

[0006] This disclosure is made to solve these problems and aims to provide information processing technology that can support gift transactions without requiring the user to hold inventory of gifts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the information processing device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a product information acquisition unit that acquires product information of products provided by an EC server used by a product provider; a product candidate identification unit that identifies product candidates that can be selected by a customer from among the products related to the acquired product information; a customer input acquisition unit that acquires a request from a first client terminal used by a customer to transmit content that satisfies specified conditions for specifying a group of products including multiple products; a product extraction unit that extracts products that satisfy the specified conditions from among the identified selectable product candidates; a customer transmission control unit that performs transmission control to transmit the extracted results as extraction results to the first client terminal in response to the request; a selected product information acquisition unit that acquires selected product information indicating the selected product selected via the first client terminal from among the extraction results from the first client terminal; and a vendor transmission control unit that performs transmission control to transmit order information of the selected product to the EC server that provides the selected product. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the information processing device of the embodiment of this disclosure, it is possible to support gift transactions without having to hold inventory of goods as gifts. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an overview of the transaction support system. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a client terminal configuration. [Figure 4A]This diagram shows an example of a hardware configuration. [Figure 4B] This diagram shows an example of a hardware configuration. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of an information processing method. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Various embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions of such parts will be omitted. In this disclosure, the term "or" is used in the sense of an inclusive OR unless otherwise stated.

[0011] <Overview of the Transaction Support System> Referring to Figure 1, an overview of the transaction support system according to the embodiment of this disclosure will be described. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of the transaction support system according to the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the transaction support system Sys comprises a transaction support server 1, EC (Electronic Commerce) servers 2-1 to 2-n, a client terminal 3-B as a buyer terminal, and a client terminal 3-R as a recipient terminal. Each device or terminal is connected to communicate via a communication network NW such as the Internet. The transaction support server 1 and EC servers 2 (2-1 to 2-n) have aspects of web servers and have web server software implemented on them. A web browser is installed on the client terminals 3 (3-B, 3-R).

[0012] As an example, the transaction support system Sys can be used for exchanging gifts or gift catalogs to be given as wedding favors. In this case, the user of client terminal 3-B (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "purchaser") is the person getting married. The user of client terminal 3-R (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "recipient") is typically a guest at the wedding reception, but may also be someone who is not a guest at the reception but simply sends a congratulatory gift.

[0013] Furthermore, EC servers 2-1 to 2-n are operated by multiple operators (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "vendors"). For example, EC server 2-1 is operated by operator V1, which provides confectionery; EC server 2-2 is operated by operator V2, which provides fruit; EC server 2-3 is operated by operator V3, which provides cosmetics; and EC server 2-4 is operated by operator V4, which provides general merchandise.

[0014] Transaction support server 1 supports the trading or distribution of goods provided by EC servers 2-1 to 2-n, which are operated by multiple operators. There are two main forms of support. The first form involves the purchaser selecting one of the goods offered, gifting the selected item to the recipient (the user of client terminal 3-R), and supporting the delivery of the selected item to the recipient. The second form involves the purchaser acquiring the right to select one of the goods offered by EC server 2 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "item selection right"), gifting the acquired item selection right to the recipient, and supporting the delivery of the selected item to the recipient by the recipient exercising the item selection right. The item selection right is provided as the right to select one of the goods listed in the electronic gift catalog. In either form, the operator of transaction support server 1 places an order with the operator of EC server 2 that provides the selected item, and delivers it to the recipient.

[0015] The operator of Transaction Support Server 1 may charge the vendor or the buyer a fee for assisting with the transaction of goods. The operator may charge the vendor a commission based on the price of the ordered goods. The operator may charge the buyer the price of the electronic gift catalog or a system usage fee. In the first case (when the buyer selects the goods), payment may be made at the time the goods are selected. In the second case (when the recipient selects the goods), payment may be made when the buyer acquires the electronic gift catalog (right to select goods), or it may be waited until the right to select goods is exercised by the recipient.

[0016] Examples of the use of the transaction support system Sys may be other than weddings. For example, it can be used for the exchange of gifts or gift catalogs in various life events such as childbirth celebrations, graduation celebrations, housewarming celebrations, jubilee celebrations, funerals, etc. Also, in addition to life events, it can be used as a promotional gift or an electronic gift catalog in corporate campaign measures or sales promotions.

[0017] In the following description, a wedding is assumed as an example of the use of the transaction support system Sys, and an example will be described in accordance with the case where the transaction support server 1 supports the transaction of goods in the form of an electronic gift catalog (second form). In the present disclosure, "goods" includes the right to receive the provision of services such as massage treatments.

[0018] <Configuration of the information processing device> As an example of the use of the transaction support system Sys, when assuming an electronic gift catalog for a wedding, the user (purchaser) of the client terminal 3-B selects an electronic gift catalog to purchase from the website provided by the transaction support server 1.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the transaction support server 1 includes a communication device 11, an information processing device 12, and a storage device 13. The communication device 11 is a communication device capable of communicating with the EC servers 2-1 to 2-n, the client terminal 3-B, and the client terminal 3-R via the communication network NW. The storage device 13 is a storage device such as a hard disk that stores databases such as the product provider DB referred to by the information processing device 12.

[0020] On the website provided by the information processing device 12 of the transaction support server 1, it is possible to select electronic gift catalogs of multiple courses according to the price range, etc. The purchaser selects the desired electronic gift catalog as many as necessary and transmits purchaser information (name, address, contact information, etc.).

[0021] Transaction support server 1 provides the purchaser with a URL containing an electronic gift catalog ID (electronic gift catalog identification condition) as catalog identification information that uniquely identifies each selected electronic gift catalog on a transaction basis. The medium provided may be a tangible item such as paper, or an intangible item such as email. The URL may also be a two-dimensional symbol code, such as a QR code (registered trademark).

[0022] Transaction support server 1 stores purchaser identification information, such as the purchaser's name, and purchase information of the selected electronic gift catalog (quantity, amount, predetermined date information (starting date), payment information, etc.) linked together in storage device 13. Transaction support server 1 may perform payment processing at the same time as the selection of the electronic gift catalog, or it may perform payment via deferred payment. Enabling deferred payment makes it possible to reduce the initial costs for those getting married. To enable deferred payment, the information processing device 12 of transaction support server 1 may be equipped with a date receiving unit 1212 that receives the date of the event (wedding reception) related to the purchase of the transaction item (electronic gift catalog) from purchaser terminal 3-B, as described later.

[0023] The purchaser, for example, on the day of the wedding reception, sends the URL information for an electronic gift catalog to the guests who attended the reception as a token of appreciation. The medium through which the URL information is provided may be either a tangible or intangible object, as described above.

[0024] Upon receiving the URL information for the electronic gift catalog, the guest sends a request to the transaction support server 1 via the recipient terminal 3-R to receive the contents of the electronic gift catalog identified by that URL information. The URL information is entered via an input device such as a touch panel or camera on the recipient terminal 3-R. The guest selects the item they wish to receive from the electronic gift catalog.

[0025] (Information processing device) To provide such an electronic gift catalog service, the information processing device 12 of the transaction support server 1, as shown in Figure 2, includes the following functional units: a control unit 1201, a product information acquisition unit 1202, a product candidate identification unit 1203, a customer input acquisition unit 1204, a product extraction unit 1205, a customer transmission control unit 1206, a selected product information acquisition unit 1207, a vendor transmission control unit 1208, a product provider identification unit 1209, a delivery address reception unit 1210, an operator input reception unit 1211, a date reception unit 1212, a confirmation request reception unit 1213, and a storage control unit 1214. These functional units are connected to each other via a bus so as to be able to communicate with each other. These functional units will be described below.

[0026] (Control Unit) The control unit 1201 is responsible for controlling the overall operation of the information processing device 12 and also performs various other functions. For example, it may be responsible for the series of processes described above related to the purchase of an electronic gift catalog. That is, the control unit 1201 may be responsible for generating a website for purchasing electronic gift catalogs, and for processing from accepting the electronic gift catalog selected by the purchaser via the generated website to issuing the URL information of the electronic gift catalog.

[0027] (Product Information Acquisition Department) The product information acquisition unit 1202 acquires product information from each EC server 2 (2-1 to 2-n) that is connected via API (Application Programming Interface). For example, following the example above, product information for confectionery items such as baked goods sets, jelly sets, and pudding sets is acquired from EC server 2-1. The product information includes the product name and price.

[0028] The product information acquisition unit 1202 associates the acquired product information with a product provider ID that identifies the product provider and a product ID that identifies the product, and stores it in the product provider DB held by the storage device 13. The product provider DB may also contain information associated with the product provider ID or product ID. For example, the product provider ID may be associated with the company name of the product provider, and the product ID may be associated with the product name, price, or the address of the website introducing the product. The product provider DB may be a single database or a collection of multiple databases.

[0029] (Product candidate identification department) The product candidate identification unit 1203 receives input from the operator of the transaction support server 1, or according to predetermined rules, to identify product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products stored in the product provider DB. A customer refers to an individual or company that provides the object of a transaction (including intangible goods), and includes, for example, a buyer who purchases an electronic gift catalog, or a recipient who receives a purchased electronic gift catalog. Instead of making all products stored in the product provider DB selectable by the customer, selecting product candidates from the perspective of the operator of the transaction support server 1 prevents bias towards products offered by specific vendors and helps to balance the product offerings. Furthermore, when providing a service as an electronic gift catalog, as mentioned above, the products to be presented to the customer differ depending on the purpose, such as a baby shower, a graduation celebration, a housewarming gift, or a 60th birthday celebration. Therefore, by identifying product candidates from among the products stored in the product provider DB according to input from the operator or rules and conditions corresponding to the type of catalog, it is possible to create an electronic gift catalog that includes product candidates appropriate for each purpose. In this case, one catalog will contain a group of product candidates consisting of multiple product candidates that can be selected by the customer, and since multiple catalogs will be provided for different purposes, etc., as a result there will be multiple groups of product candidates consisting of multiple product candidates that can be selected by the customer. In order for the system Sys to be able to adapt to these various purposes, whether it is a personal life event or a corporate campaign, when a purchaser selects the type of event (for example, a wedding, a 60th birthday celebration, or a campaign) via a client terminal operated on the system Sys, the product extraction unit 1205 may present the purchaser with products or groups of products associated with product IDs linked to identifiers representing the type of event, or products associated with electronic catalog IDs.Furthermore, the inclusion of the product candidate identification unit 1203 makes it possible to present customers with products suitable as gifts, thus facilitating the accumulation of trust in the services provided using the information processing device 12. It also prevents customers from being presented with products unsuitable as gifts, thus preventing the pollution of the service's brand.

[0030] The product candidate identification unit 1203 may associate each product identified as a product candidate with one or more catalogs. For example, a product sold for 4,500 yen by one e-commerce site may be associated with a catalog for a 5,000 yen course, and a product sold for 2,500 yen by another e-commerce site may be associated with a catalog for a 3,000 yen course. Such associations can be made by associating the sales price of the target product with the lowest-priced catalog that is above a certain percentage of the sales price. The association of products with catalogs may also be made based on operator input. The product candidate identification unit 1203 records information (catalog ID) that identifies the catalog to which the product is associated in the product record of that product in the product provider DB. In addition, each catalog ID is associated with the address of the corresponding website.

[0031] The database for products considered as potential products may be configured separately from the product provider database as a catalog database with the catalog ID as the primary key. Such a catalog database may store information such as the catalog ID, catalog name, catalog price, catalog sale date, product ID associated with the catalog ID, event date (described later), and payment deadline (described later).

[0032] Operator input is received, for example, via an input device not shown, such as a keyboard or pointing device, and the operator input reception unit 1211 acquires the entered operator input. This operator input is a selection of whether or not to include a product as a candidate, and the operator input reception unit 1211 assigns a flag to the product stored in the product provider DB indicating whether or not to include it as a candidate product, according to the received operator input.

[0033] Furthermore, for example, rules such as the number of products that can be provided by a single vendor and the selection of products from the highest-priced items may be predetermined, and the product candidate identification unit 1203 may assign a flag to products stored in the product provider DB according to these rules, indicating whether or not they should be considered product candidates.

[0034] The product candidate identification unit 1203 may identify such product candidates from among products that are in stock. More specifically, the product candidate identification unit 1203 may further narrow down the product candidate identification to those that are in stock from among the product groups linked to the catalog ID. In order to perform this function, the product information described above includes inventory management information linked to an inventory management system that manages the inventory of products. The inventory management system is a system for managing the inventory of products provided by each EC server 2 and manages product inventory information. Such an inventory management system may be provided by the EC server 2 corresponding to each product, or it may be provided as an external system to the EC server 2. In either case, the inventory management system is connected to a communication network NW. The product candidate identification unit 1203 may refer to such inventory management information and identify selectable product candidates from among the products that are in stock among the products related to the acquired product information. Note that the acquisition of inventory information may also be performed in a timely manner through API linkage with an external server.

[0035] Furthermore, the product candidate identification unit 1203 may also refer to such inventory management information in response to the receipt of a request acquired by the customer input acquisition unit 1204, described later. As an example, by embedding a script tag, which is a description of the inventory management system that manages the inventory of each product associated with the catalog, into the HTML data for displaying the catalog site provided by the information processing device 12, it becomes possible to dynamically refer to inventory management information in response to the receipt of a request. The script tag is generated by the operator of the transaction support server 1, who has previously obtained information on the corresponding inventory management system from the operators of each EC server 2. As another example, the inventory management system corresponding to the product ID of the product included in the catalog may be linked to the product provider DB, and inventory management information may be referred to by accessing the product provider DB in response to the receipt of a request. In this way, by referring to inventory management information in response to the receipt of a request, it becomes possible to present only products that are in stock to the customer, thus reducing the time it takes for the customer to select a product.

[0036] (Customer input acquisition unit) The customer input acquisition unit 1204 acquires a request from the recipient terminal 3-R, used by the customer (the recipient of the gift), to transmit content that satisfies specified conditions for a product group containing multiple products. In other words, the electronic gift catalog contains multiple product groups depending on the course, such as price range. As mentioned above, the purchased electronic gift catalog is assigned an electronic gift catalog ID that identifies the catalog, and this electronic gift catalog ID corresponds to the specified conditions. The customer input acquisition unit 1204 acquires a request to transmit content specified by the electronic gift catalog ID. The recipient can access the electronic gift catalog by receiving a URL or code to access the purchased electronic gift catalog from the purchaser via communication methods such as email or social media, or by receiving printed material with a QR code (registered trademark) for accessing the electronic gift catalog. When the recipient terminal 3-R accesses the URL indicating the electronic gift catalog, a request to transmit content that satisfies specified conditions for a product group containing multiple products is sent.

[0037] (Product extraction department) The product extraction unit 1205 extracts products that meet the specified conditions (electronic gift catalog ID) from among the selectable product candidates identified by the product candidate identification unit 1203. In other words, if multiple catalogs are pre-configured as described above, the unit extracts products from the catalogs corresponding to the specified conditions from among the selectable product candidates included in those multiple catalogs.

[0038] (Customer transmission control unit) The customer transmission control unit 1206 performs transmission control in response to a request from the customer input acquisition unit 1204 to transmit content that meets specified conditions, and transmits the results extracted by the product extraction unit 1205 as the extraction result to the recipient terminal 3-R. According to the transmission control, the extraction result is transmitted to the recipient terminal 3-R via the communication device 11, and the contents of the electronic gift catalog are displayed on the display unit of the recipient terminal 3-R. The recipient, who is the user of the recipient terminal 3-R, selects the desired product from the displayed products, and the recipient terminal 3-R transmits selected product information indicating the selected product to the transaction support server 1.

[0039] Furthermore, the customer transmission control unit 1206 may perform notification control to notify the purchaser terminal 3-B of the payment deadline for the selected electronic gift catalog based on the date of the event acquired by the date reception unit 1212. For example, the payment deadline (e.g., one month, three months, etc.) may be managed starting from the wedding date, and the payment deadline may be notified to the purchaser terminal 3-B. If payment is not made within the payment deadline, the customer transmission control unit 1206 may perform transmission control to notify a payment reminder.

[0040] Furthermore, the customer transmission control unit 1206 may perform notification control to notify the recipient terminal 3-R of the selection deadline for selecting an item listed in the electronic gift catalog, based on the event date acquired by the date reception unit 1212. For example, the selection deadline (e.g., one month, three months, etc.) may be managed starting from the wedding date, and the selection deadline may be notified to the recipient terminal 3-R.

[0041] If a selection is not made within the selection period, the system may refund the purchaser all or part of the price of the electronic gift catalog. This process may be carried out by the customer transmission control unit 1206 or by the control unit 1201.

[0042] Furthermore, when the confirmation request receiving unit 1213 receives a confirmation request, the customer transmission control unit 1206 may perform notification control to the purchaser terminal 3-B to inform them whether or not a product has been selected. Whether or not a product has been selected can be managed, for example, by preparing a sales management database in which a flag indicating whether or not a product has been selected is associated with a URL containing the electronic gift catalog ID for each transaction.

[0043] (Selected Product Information Acquisition Unit) The selected product information acquisition unit 1207 acquires selected product information, which indicates the selected product transmitted from the recipient terminal 3-R, via the communication device 11. The selected product information acquisition unit 1207 supplies the acquired selected product information to the product provider identification unit 1209. In addition, if the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 acquires selected product information, it may access the sales management database and set a flag indicating that a product has been selected.

[0044] (Vendor-to-Vendor Transmission Control Unit) The vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit 1208 generates order information related to the selected product acquired by the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 and performs transmission control to send the generated order information to the EC server that provides the selected product. The order information includes information that identifies the selected product as well as the delivery address of the selected product. The delivery address is acquired by the delivery address reception unit 1210 (described later), and the acquired delivery address is supplied to the vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit 1208. The EC server that provides the selected product is identified by the product provider identification unit 1209, and the information of the identified EC server is supplied to the vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit 1208.

[0045] (Product provider identification department) The product provider identification unit 1209 identifies the product provider that provides the selected product acquired by the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 by referring to the product provider database, which associates product IDs that identify products with product provider IDs that identify product providers. The product provider database is stored in the storage device 13. The identification result is supplied to the vendor transmission control unit 1208.

[0046] (Delivery Reception Department) The delivery address reception unit 1210 obtains the delivery address of the selected product transmitted from the recipient terminal 3-R via the communication device 11. The delivery address obtained by the delivery address reception unit 1210 is supplied to the vendor transmission control unit 1208. By configuring the system to accept the delivery address of the product from the recipient terminal 3-R in this way, purchasers of electronic gift catalogs can send gifts without knowing the recipient's address.

[0047] (Operator Input Reception Department) The operator input receiving unit 1211 receives operator input from the transaction support server 1 via an input device not shown, such as a keyboard or pointing device. In addition to the selection of whether or not to include a product as a candidate, various other types of information may be accepted as operator input.

[0048] (Date Reception Department) The date receiving unit 1212 may receive from the purchaser terminal 3-B the purchase date of the electronic gift catalog, which is the product of the transaction, as well as the date of an event related to the purchase of the electronic gift catalog, specifically the date of the wedding or reception. The date receiving unit 1212 stores the received information in various databases within the storage device 13, linking it with identifiers that identify the purchase or transaction, such as the product purchaser ID and the transaction ID for each transaction.

[0049] (Confirmation Request Reception Department) The system may also provide a function to confirm whether the recipient of the electronic gift catalog has made a selection. To provide such a function, the confirmation request receiving unit 1213 receives a confirmation request from the purchaser terminal 3-B to confirm whether or not a product has been selected. By providing such a confirmation request receiving unit 1213, it becomes possible to respond whether or not a product has been selected. This allows the purchaser to know whether or not the guest has selected and received a product. If multiple electronic gift catalogs are purchased, the system may also respond with the percentage of products that were selected. This percentage calculation may be performed by the confirmation request receiving unit 1213 or by the control unit 1201.

[0050] (Memory Control Unit) When a product is selected by the recipient terminal 3-R, the memory control unit 1214 stores information in the storage device 13 for billing the product provider of the selected product for a fee. Such information includes, for example, product ID, product name, product price, recipient's name, delivery address, and electronic gift catalog ID. The fee may be calculated based on the price of the selected product.

[0051] <Client terminal configuration> Next, with reference to Figure 3, the configuration of client terminal 3 (3-B, 3-R) will be described. As shown in Figure 3, client terminal 3 comprises an input device 31, a control device 32, a communication device 33, and a display device 34.

[0052] (Input device) The input device 31 is implemented by an input device such as a touchscreen and accepts user input. Examples of user input include selecting an electronic gift catalog (in the case of client terminal 3-B), selecting a specific product (in the case of client terminal 3-R), entering the delivery address for the product, and entering the date of the event. The input device 31 supplies the received user input to the control device 32.

[0053] The control device 32 controls the overall operation of the client terminal 3 and transmits user input received from the input device 31 to the transaction support server 1 via the communication device 33. The control device 32 also receives website display content from the transaction support server 1 via the communication device 33 and performs display control to display the received content on the display device 34.

[0054] (Communication equipment) The communication device 33 is a communication device that can communicate with the transaction support server 1 and EC servers 2-1 to 2-N via the communication network NW.

[0055] (display device) The display device 34 is implemented by an output device such as a touchscreen and displays content.

[0056] <Hardware Configuration> Next, with reference to Figures 4A and 4B, an example of the hardware configuration of the servers (transaction support server 1, EC server 2) and client terminal 3 will be described. The information processing device 12 of the transaction support server 1 and the control device 32 of the client terminal 3 are implemented by processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may be a dedicated processing circuit 100a as shown in Figure 4A, or a processor 100b that executes a program stored in memory 100c as shown in Figure 4B.

[0057] If the processing circuitry is a dedicated processing circuit 100a, then the dedicated processing circuit 100a may include, for example, an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA (field-programmable gate array).

[0058] When the processing circuitry is a processor 100b as a computer, the functions realized by the information processing device 12 of the transaction support server 1 and the control device 32 of the client terminal 3 are described as programs, and these programs are stored in memory 100c. The processor 100b realizes the functions of the information processing device 12 or the control device 32 by reading and executing the programs stored in memory 100c. Examples of memory 100c include non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memories such as RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), flash memory, EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), and EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0059] <Operation of the Information Processing Device> Next, the operation of the information processing device 12 will be explained with reference to Figure 5.

[0060] (Step ST02) In step ST02, the product information acquisition unit 1202 acquires product information for products provided by each EC server 2 (2-1 to 2-n) from the EC servers 2 that have been linked via API.

[0061] (Step ST03) In step ST03, the product candidate identification unit 1203 receives input from the operator of the transaction support server 1, or identifies product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products stored in the product provider DB, in accordance with predetermined rules.

[0062] The product candidate identification unit 1203 may identify such product candidates from among products that are in stock. The product candidate identification unit 1203 may obtain inventory information from the EC server 2 via API integration or the like, store it in the storage device 13, and then retrieve the inventory information from the storage device 13 to identify product candidates. Alternatively, the product candidate identification unit 1203 may refer to such inventory management information in response to the receipt of a request obtained by the customer input acquisition unit 1204. By referring to inventory information at the time the recipient of the product selects the product, it becomes possible to provide timely and appropriate information.

[0063] (Step ST04) In step ST04, which is performed in parallel with step ST02, the customer input acquisition unit 1204 acquires a request from the recipient terminal 3-R used by the gift recipient, who is the customer, to send content that satisfies specified conditions (electronic gift catalog ID) that specify a group of products including multiple items.

[0064] (Step ST05) In step ST05, the product extraction unit 1205 extracts products that meet the specified conditions (electronic gift catalog ID) from among the selectable product candidates identified by the product candidate identification unit 1203.

[0065] (Step ST06) In step ST06, the customer transmission control unit 1206 performs transmission control to send the results extracted by the product extraction unit 1205 as extraction results to the recipient terminal 3-R in response to the customer input acquisition unit 1204's request to transmit content that meets the specified conditions. The recipient selects the product they wish to receive as a gift from the extraction results, and the recipient terminal 3-R sends the selected product information indicating the selected product to the transaction support server 1.

[0066] (Step ST07) In step ST07, the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 acquires selected product information indicating the selected product transmitted from the recipient terminal 3-R via the communication device 11.

[0067] (Step ST08) In step ST08, the vendor transmission control unit 1208 performs transmission control to send the order information related to the selected product acquired by the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 to the EC server that provides the selected product. Note that the order of steps ST05 and ST03 may be reversed. If the order is reversed, the product extraction unit 1205 extracts products that match the electronic gift catalog ID, and then the product candidate identification unit 1203 identifies product candidates that are in stock.

[0068] The transaction support system Sys described above has the effect of enabling the operator of the transaction support server 1 to support transactions without holding inventory of goods. In the conventional technology, a trading company that supports gift giving had to hold inventory of gifts, but the information processing device 12 of the transaction support server 1 in this disclosure is equipped with a selected product information acquisition unit 1207 and a vendor transmission control unit 1208, so it is possible to separate the person who receives instructions from the customer to identify the product to be given as the final gift (the operator of the information processing device 12) from the person who ships the identified product (the vendor; the operator of the EC server that provides the selected product). Therefore, the operator of the transaction support server 1 can support transactions without holding inventory of goods.

[0069] Furthermore, since the operator of Transaction Support Server 1 does not need to hold inventory, there is no need to move tangible goods from the EC server operator to the intermediary (i.e., the operator of Transaction Support Server 1), which has the effect of suppressing distribution costs and reducing the environmental impact.

[0070] <Variation> <Example 1> In the above explanation, the use of the transaction support system Sys was described based on an example in which the transaction support server 1 supports product transactions in the form of an electronic gift catalog. However, the form of support does not have to be an electronic gift catalog; it could be a specific product. For example, the transaction support server 1 could support a purchaser in selecting a specific product and delivering that selected product to someone other than the purchaser (the recipient). Below, a support example like this specific example will be referred to as "Modification Example 1" and will be explained. Note that explanations that are common to the electronic gift catalog form will be omitted, and the explanation will mainly focus on the differences from the electronic gift catalog form.

[0071] In Modification 1, the customer input acquisition unit 1204 of the transaction support server 1 acquires a request from the buyer terminal 3-B, instead of the recipient terminal 3-R, for the transmission of content that satisfies specified conditions for a group of products including multiple items. For example, it acquires a request for the transmission of content that specifies the general names of multiple products, such as "miscellaneous goods" and "confectionery." The product extraction unit 1205 extracts products that satisfy such specified conditions from the selectable product candidates. The transaction support server 1 transmits the product extraction results to the buyer terminal 3-B.

[0072] The buyer receives the product extraction results via buyer terminal 3-B, selects the desired product from the extraction results, and sends the selection result to the transaction support server 1 via buyer terminal 3-B.

[0073] The vendor transmission control unit 1208 performs transmission control to send order information for the selected products to the EC server that provides the selected products. The order information includes a reservation instruction that instructs the EC server to reserve the selected products.

[0074] The delivery address reception unit 1210 may accept the delivery address from the purchaser terminal 3-B.

[0075] Even in this modified example 1, the operator of the transaction support server 1 can support transactions without holding inventory of goods. Furthermore, since there is no need to move tangible goods to an intermediary, distribution costs can be reduced, and the environmental impact can be minimized.

[0076] <Modification 2> Furthermore, as an example of supporting product transactions, a support model could be provided that involves gathering information on products handled by EC servers 2-1 to 2-n operated by multiple operators and providing an EC site that sells electronic gifts. For example, dedicated EC sites could be created for each purpose, and in each dedicated EC site, products suitable for the purpose of that EC site could be identified from the products stored in the product provider DB, similar to the case of the electronic gift catalog described above. The purposes referred to here include, for example, personal life events such as celebrations for childbirth, passing exams, moving, and 60th birthdays. Examples of purposes could also include events associated with corporate activities, such as a campaign by a particular company. In the case of corporate activity purposes, an EC site for the campaign could be created that gathers only the products offered in that particular company's campaign.

[0077] In the case of such modified example 2, the above-mentioned functional unit may operate as follows: The customer input acquisition unit 1204 acquires a request from the electronic gift purchaser's terminal to send content from the specific electronic gift's e-commerce site when the purchaser's terminal accesses the URL (specified condition) of the specific electronic gift's e-commerce site.

[0078] The product extraction unit 1205 extracts products that meet the specified conditions, i.e., products from the electronic gift e-commerce site accessed by the purchaser's terminal.

[0079] The customer transmission control unit 1206 performs transmission control in response to a request from the customer input acquisition unit 1204 to transmit content that meets specified conditions, and transmits the results extracted by the product extraction unit 1205 to the buyer terminal as extraction results. According to the transmission control, the extraction results are transmitted to the buyer terminal via the communication device 11, and the electronic gift content is displayed on the buyer terminal's display. The buyer selects the product they wish to purchase from the displayed products, and the buyer terminal transmits selected product information indicating the selected product to the transaction support server 1.

[0080] The selected product information acquisition unit 1207 acquires selected product information, which indicates the selected product transmitted from the purchaser's terminal, via the communication device 11. Once the selected product information acquisition unit 1207 has acquired the selected product information, payment for the product is processed. The control unit 1201 may perform the payment processing. Furthermore, upon the selection of a product, i.e., the purchase of the product, identification information such as the URL of the website accepting the delivery address for that product, or a QR code (registered trademark) representing that URL, is issued. The control unit 1201 may generate such identification information. The generated identification information is transmitted from the customer transmission control unit 1206 to the purchaser's terminal.

[0081] The delivery address reception unit 1210 obtains the delivery address for the selected product (purchased product) from the recipient's terminal. Here, the purchaser can access the page where the recipient enters the delivery address for the electronic gift by sending the URL issued after the purchase of the electronic gift to the recipient's terminal, or by having the recipient's terminal read the QR code (registered trademark) issued after the purchase.

[0082] Even in this modified example 2, the operator of the transaction support server 1 can support transactions without holding inventory of goods. Furthermore, since there is no need to move tangible goods to an intermediary, distribution costs can be reduced, and the environmental impact can be minimized.

[0083] It is possible to combine embodiments or modify or omit each embodiment as appropriate. For example, the above description assumes that the disclosed invention is implemented with a web browser installed on the client terminal. In such a browser implementation, the transaction support server (information processing device) functions as a web server and displays catalog information or product information consisting of HTML via the browser on the client terminal (either the buyer terminal or the recipient terminal, or one of them). Instead of such a browser implementation, the disclosed invention may be implemented by installing application software on the client terminal. In such an application implementation, the transaction support server (information processing device) transmits catalog information and product information to the application on the client terminal (either the buyer terminal or the recipient terminal, or one of them), and the application displays product information, handles payment, and inputs information related to the purchase.

[0084] Alternatively, as an alternative to an electronic gift catalog, the purchaser may set up a group of products containing multiple items via a transaction support server, and the recipient may select one or more items from that set group.

[0085] Furthermore, even in variations where the buyer specifies a particular product, the buyer may specify only an abstract product (in the sense that it includes multiple attributes), and the recipient may specify the attributes of the product. For example, the recipient may specify any attributes of the product given to them by the buyer (i.e., specified), such as color, size, or type (e.g., type of fragrance). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0086] 1 Transaction support server, 2 (2-1~2-n) EC server, 3 Client terminal, 3-B Client terminal (buyer terminal), 3-R Client terminal (recipient terminal), 11 Communication device, 12 Information processing device, 13 Storage device, 31 Input device, 32 Control device, 33 Communication device, 34 Display device, 100a Processing circuit, 100b Processor, 100c Memory, 1201 Control unit, 1202 Product information acquisition unit, 1203 Product candidate identification unit, 1204 Customer input acquisition unit, 1205 Product extraction unit, 1206 Customer transmission control unit, 1207 Selected product information acquisition unit, 1208 Vendor transmission control unit, 1209 Product provider identification unit, 1210 Delivery address reception unit, 1211 Operator input reception unit, 1212 Date reception unit, 1213 Confirmation request reception unit, 1214 Memory control unit, Sys Transaction support system.

Claims

1. A product information acquisition unit that acquires product information of products provided by an EC server used by a product provider, A product candidate identification unit identifies product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products related to the acquired product information, A customer input acquisition unit acquires a request from a first client terminal used by a customer to send content that satisfies specified conditions for specifying a group of products including multiple products. A product extraction unit extracts products that meet the specified conditions from among the identified and selectable product candidates, A customer transmission control unit performs transmission control to send the extracted results as an extraction result to the first client terminal in response to the aforementioned request. A selected product information acquisition unit acquires selected product information from the extraction results via the first client terminal from the first client terminal, and A vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit that performs transmission control to send the order information of the selected products to the EC server that provides the selected products, Equipped with, The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The aforementioned specified conditions are product group identification conditions that identify the product group related to product selection rights purchased via a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The aforementioned product information includes inventory management information linked to an inventory management system that manages the inventory of the product, and the product candidate identification unit refers to the inventory management information to identify the selectable product candidates from among the products related to the acquired product information that have inventory. The aforementioned product candidate identification unit obtains inventory management information from the EC server in response to the receipt of the request. Information processing device.

2. The identified selectable product candidates are accompanied by product group identification information associated with the product group, The product extraction unit extracts product candidates to which product group identification information corresponding to the product group identification conditions is added. The information processing apparatus described in claim 1.

3. The system further includes a product provider identification unit that identifies the product provider that provides the selected product by referring to a product provider database in which a product ID that identifies the product and a product provider ID that identifies the product provider are associated. The vendor-facing transmission control unit performs transmission control to transmit the order information of the selected product to the EC server of the identified product provider. The information processing apparatus described in claim 1.

4. The system further includes a delivery address reception unit that accepts delivery addresses for the selected products, The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit performs transmission control to transmit the delivery address received from the recipient terminal to the EC server of the identified product provider. The information processing apparatus described in claim 3.

5. An information processing device according to claim 1, The system further includes an operator input receiving unit that receives operator input, which is input by the operator of the information processing device, specifying product candidates. The aforementioned product candidate identification unit identifies the product candidate specified by the operator input it receives as the selectable product candidate. The information processing apparatus described in claim 1.

6. The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The system further includes a date receiving unit that receives the date of an event related to the purchase of the goods subject to the transaction from a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The customer transmission control unit performs notification control to notify the second client terminal of the payment deadline for the goods subject to the transaction, based on the date of the event. The information processing apparatus described in claim 1.

7. The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The system further includes a date receiving unit that receives the date of an event related to the purchase of the goods subject to the transaction from a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The customer transmission control unit performs notification control to notify the first client terminal of the deadline for selecting a product, based on the date of the event. The information processing apparatus described in claim 1.

8. The system further includes a confirmation request receiving unit that receives a confirmation request from the second client terminal to confirm whether or not the selection has been made, The customer transmission control unit performs notification control to the second client terminal to indicate whether or not the selection has been made. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7.

9. The system further includes a storage control unit that, when the selection is made by the first client terminal, stores in a storage device information for billing the provider of the selected product a fee. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7.

10. A first client terminal used by the customer, An e-commerce server used by the product provider and a transaction support server connected to the first client terminal in a manner that enables communication with the first client terminal, A trading support system equipped with, The transaction support server is A product information acquisition unit that acquires product information of products provided by the EC server from the EC server, A product candidate identification unit identifies product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products related to the acquired product information, A customer input acquisition unit that acquires a request to send content that meets specified conditions for a product group that includes multiple products, A product extraction unit extracts products that meet the specified conditions from among the identified and selectable product candidates, A customer transmission control unit that controls the transmission of the extracted results in response to the aforementioned request, A selected product information acquisition unit acquires selected product information indicating the selected product from the extraction results, A vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit that performs transmission control to send the order information of the selected products to the EC server that provides the selected products, Equipped with, The first client terminal includes a control device that performs control to send the request, receive the extraction results, and transmit the selected product information from the received extraction results as the selected product information. The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The aforementioned specified conditions are product group identification conditions that identify the product group related to product selection rights purchased via a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The aforementioned product information includes inventory management information linked to an inventory management system that manages the inventory of the product, and the product candidate identification unit refers to the inventory management information to identify the selectable product candidates from among the products related to the acquired product information that have inventory. The aforementioned product candidate identification unit obtains inventory management information from the EC server in response to the receipt of the request. Transaction support system.

11. An information processing method performed by an information processing device comprising a product information acquisition unit, a product candidate identification unit, a customer input acquisition unit, a product extraction unit, a customer transmission control unit, a selected product information acquisition unit, and a vendor transmission control unit, The product information acquisition unit acquires product information of products provided by the EC server from the EC server used by the product provider, The aforementioned product candidate identification unit includes the step of identifying product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products related to the acquired product information, The customer input acquisition unit obtains a request from a first client terminal used by the customer to send content that satisfies specified conditions for specifying a group of products including multiple products. The product extraction unit performs the step of extracting products that satisfy the specified conditions from among the identified selectable product candidates, The customer transmission control unit performs a transmission control in response to the request, sending the extracted result as the extracted result to the first client terminal. The selected product information acquisition unit acquires selected product information from the first client terminal, indicating the selected product selected via the first client terminal from the extraction results, The vendor-to-vendor transmission control unit performs a transmission control to send the order information of the selected product to the EC server that provides the selected product. Equipped with, The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The aforementioned specified conditions are product group identification conditions that identify the product group related to product selection rights purchased via a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The aforementioned product information includes inventory management information linked to an inventory management system that manages the inventory of the product. The product candidate identification unit, by referring to the inventory management information, identifies selectable product candidates from among the products related to the acquired product information that are in stock. The aforementioned product candidate identification unit includes the step of obtaining inventory management information from the EC server in response to the receipt of the request, It also has Information processing methods.

12. A function to obtain product information of products provided by an EC server used by a product provider, This function identifies product candidates that can be selected by the customer from among the products related to the acquired product information. A function to obtain a request from a first client terminal used by the customer to send content that meets specified conditions for specifying a group of products including multiple products, A function to extract products that meet the specified conditions from among the identified and selectable product candidates, A function to perform transmission control in response to the aforementioned request, which sends the extracted results as the extraction result to the first client terminal, A function to obtain selected product information from the extraction results via the first client terminal, and A function to control transmission of order information for the selected products to the EC server that provides the selected products, An information processing program that causes a computer to execute, The first client terminal described above is the recipient terminal of the recipient who will receive the ordered goods. The aforementioned specified conditions are product group identification conditions that identify the product group related to product selection rights purchased via a second client terminal different from the first client terminal, The aforementioned product information includes inventory management information linked to an inventory management system that manages the inventory of the product. A function that, by referring to the aforementioned inventory management information, identifies selectable product candidates from among the products related to the acquired product information that are in stock, A function to obtain inventory management information from the aforementioned EC server in response to the receipt of the aforementioned request, An information processing program that causes the aforementioned computer to perform further operations.

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