Apparatus for providing service based on information on coupons and method thereof

Abstract

According to the present disclosure, a method for providing information in an electronic device is disclosed, comprising the steps of: obtaining input from a customer related to the use of a service; verifying information of a coupon provided to a customer based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer; configuring a page for the use of a service based on the information of the coupon; and providing the page to the customer, wherein one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item to the present.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for providing a service based on coupon information. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus and a method for verifying coupon information provided to a customer, configuring a page for using the service based on the coupon information, and providing it to the customer. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of electronic technology, e-commerce has established itself as a field of shopping. Customers can purchase items online without having to visit shopping malls or markets in person, and items purchased online are delivered to the shipping address requested by the customer.

[0003] Looking at the e-commerce process, customers can browse items for sale through internet-connected devices such as computers, examine detailed information about items of interest, and then decide whether to purchase.

[0004] Meanwhile, in the case of item purchases via e-commerce, it is possible to provide flexible services by considering various specific situations, such as flexibly offering discount benefits or determining the item's selling price itself based on detailed customer information. However, a problem existed where the provision of benefits did not effectively lead to increased customer satisfaction or item sales volume because customers were not clearly aware of the available benefits. For instance, there were cases where customers did not purchase an item because they were unaware that they were eligible for a discount. Additionally, there were instances where customers did not realize they had received a discount when making a purchase.

[0005] In this regard, prior art documents such as KR101578147B1 and KR101664034B1 may be referenced. The problem to be solved

[0006] The problem that the present embodiment aims to solve is to provide an electronic device and a method thereof, wherein, in order to solve the aforementioned problem, the device obtains input related to the use of a service from a customer, verifies information on a coupon provided to a customer based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer, configures a page for the use of the service based on the coupon information, and provides the page to the customer, wherein one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item until the present.

[0007] The technical problems that this embodiment aims to solve are not limited to those described above, and other technical problems can be inferred from the following embodiments. means of solving the problem

[0008] A method for providing information in an electronic device according to one embodiment comprises: obtaining input from a customer related to the use of a service; verifying information of a coupon provided to the customer based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer; configuring a page for the use of the service based on the information of the coupon; and providing the page to the customer, wherein one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item until the present.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the step of configuring a page for using the service may include the step of including information of the coupon in a part of the page.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the step of configuring a page for using the service may include: a step of checking whether the page is subject to the application of the coupon for one or more items containing the information; and a step of including the information of the coupon in a part of the page if there is at least one item among the one or more items that is subject to the application of the coupon.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the one or more items may include at least some of the items that satisfy a set condition among a plurality of items in which the page contains the information.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the step of determining whether the coupon is applicable may include: a step of determining, in relation to a first item included in the one or more items, each one or more candidate coupons to which the first item can be applicable; a step of determining, for each of the one or more candidate coupons, the benefit information that the customer obtains by applying the coupon to the first item; and a step of determining whether it is appropriate to apply the coupon to the first item based on the benefit information for each of the one or more candidate coupons.

[0013] According to one embodiment, if there is at least one item among the one or more items to which the coupon applies, the electronic device may display the information of the coupon together with the information of the item to which the coupon applies when displaying the information of the item to which the coupon applies.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the method of providing the information may further include the step of obtaining input from the customer for moving to another page; the step of configuring the other page based on the information of the coupon if the coupon has not expired and the other page is associated with the use of the service; and the step of providing the other page to the customer.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the step of configuring a page for using the service includes the step of configuring the page to include a user interface related to the use of the coupon, and the user interface may include information about the coupon.

[0016] According to one embodiment, when receiving input from the customer corresponding to the user interface, the method of providing the information may further include the step of providing information on one or more items to which the coupon is applicable at the time of purchase.

[0017] According to one embodiment, when receiving input from the customer corresponding to the user interface, the method of providing the information may further include the step of providing detailed benefit information related to the coupon.

[0018] According to one embodiment, an input including an intention to use the coupon is obtained from the customer, and if the customer does not withdraw the intention, the electronic device may reconfigure the page so that the information of the coupon is not included on the page and provide it to the customer.

[0019] An electronic device providing information according to one embodiment comprises a transceiver, a memory for storing instructions, and a processor, wherein the processor is connected to the transceiver and the memory to obtain input from a customer related to the use of a service, and based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer, verifies information of a coupon provided to the customer, and based on the information of the coupon, constructs a page for the use of the service, and provides the page to the customer, wherein one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item to the present.

[0020] Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. Effects of the invention

[0021] According to the present disclosure, an apparatus and method for providing a service based on coupon information can enable customers to clearly recognize the benefits that may be provided during e-commerce, thereby allowing the provision of benefits to effectively lead to increased customer satisfaction and increased item sales volume.

[0022] The effects of the invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description in the claims. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system that provides a service based on coupon information according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of each device in a system that provides a service based on coupon information according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a drawing for exemplarily illustrating a customer interface related to the use of a coupon according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method of providing detailed benefit information related to a coupon according to one embodiment. FIGS. 5 and 6 are drawings for exemplarily explaining a method of configuring an item search page and an item detail page based on coupon information according to one embodiment. FIG. 7 is a drawing for exemplarily explaining a method of configuring a shopping cart page and a checkout page based on coupon information according to one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of a method for providing a service based on coupon information in an electronic device according to one embodiment. FIG. 9 is an example diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0024] The terms used in the embodiments have been selected to be as widely used as possible, taking into account their functions in the present disclosure; however, these may vary depending on the intent of those skilled in the art, case law, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Additionally, in specific cases, terms have been arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant explanatory section. Therefore, terms used in the present disclosure should be defined not merely by their names, but based on their meanings and the overall content of the present disclosure.

[0025] When a part of a specification is described as “comprising” a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. Furthermore, terms such as “...part” or “...module” as used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be implemented in hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software.

[0026] The expression “at least one of a, b, and c” described throughout the specification may include ‘a alone’, ‘b alone’, ‘c alone’, ‘a and b’, ‘a and c’, ‘b and c’, or ‘a, b, and c all’.

[0027] The "terminal" mentioned below may be implemented as a computer or portable terminal capable of connecting to a server or other terminal via a network. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook, desktop, or laptop equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal may include, for example, a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and may include all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as communication-based terminals like IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), and LTE (Long Term Evolution), smartphones, tablet PCs, etc.

[0028] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement them. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0030] In describing the embodiments, technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present invention belongs and are not directly related to the present invention are omitted. This is intended to convey the essence of the present invention more clearly without obscuring it by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0031] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings have been exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Additionally, the size of each component does not entirely reflect its actual dimensions. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing have been assigned the same reference numbers.

[0032] The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but can be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components.

[0033] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the process flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be executed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions can be loaded into the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, the instructions executed through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means to perform the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since these computer program instructions can also be stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory that can be directed toward the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the function in a specific way, the instructions stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item containing the means of instruction to perform the function described in the flow diagram block(s). Since computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, instructions that perform a series of operation steps on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process executed by the computer can also provide steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0034] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative execution examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For instance, two blocks described in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may be executed in reverse order according to their corresponding functions.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system that provides a service based on coupon information according to one embodiment.

[0036] According to various embodiments, a system for providing services based on coupon information includes an electronic device (110) and a customer terminal (120). A system for providing services based on coupon information according to one embodiment may further include a network that supports the transmission and reception of information between at least some of the electronic device (110), the customer terminal (120), and an external device.

[0037] The electronic device (110) and customer terminal (120) of the system providing services based on coupon information may include a transceiver, memory, and a processor. Additionally, each of the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) represents a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software. Meanwhile, throughout the embodiments, the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) are referred to as separate devices and servers, but they may have a logically separated structure and may be implemented by functions separated from a single device or server.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) may include a number of computer systems or computer software implemented as network servers. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) may refer to computer systems and computer software that are connected to a sub-device capable of communicating with another network server via a computer network such as an intranet or the Internet, receive a request to perform a task, perform the task, and provide the result. In addition, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) may be understood in a broader sense as including a series of applications capable of operating on a network server and various databases built internally. For example, at least some of the electronic device (110) and the customer terminal (120) may be implemented using network server programs provided in various ways depending on an operating system such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, or MacOS.

[0039] Meanwhile, for the sake of convenience of explanation, each operating entity has been referred to as an electronic device (110) and a customer's terminal (120), but these should be understood as devices of a comprehensive form that correspond to, include, or can be included in, various types of devices such as computer devices and mobile communication terminals.

[0040] The electronic device (110) is a device that acquires and provides various information. The electronic device (110) can perform various tasks to provide services to customers. The services provided to customers may include shopping services for purchasing items, but are not limited thereto.

[0041] More specifically regarding the operation of the electronic device (110), the electronic device (110) obtains input from a customer related to the use of the service, checks information on a coupon provided to the customer based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer, configures a page for the use of the service based on the coupon information, and provides the page to the customer. In this regard, one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item until now.

[0042] In addition, in this regard, inputs related to the use of the service may be obtained from the customer's terminal (120), and the configured page may be provided to the customer's terminal (120), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, according to an embodiment, the customer may directly provide inputs related to the use of the service through an input device of the electronic device (110) (e.g., a mouse connected to the electronic device (110)), and may directly receive a page through an output device of the electronic device (110) (e.g., a screen of the electronic device (110).

[0043] The customer may correspond to a subject who receives a service (e.g., purchasing an item on sale) through a terminal connected to the internet. The customer's terminal (120) may be a device operated and managed by the customer. The customer's terminal (120) may receive user input from the customer, etc., or receive information from an electronic device (110), etc., and perform corresponding operations. For example, the customer's terminal (120) may obtain a page for using the service from the electronic device (110) and provide it to the customer (e.g., display it on a screen). Alternatively, the customer's terminal (120) may obtain information that serves as a basis for configuring the page from the electronic device (110), and configure the page based thereon and provide it to the customer. In addition, the customer's terminal (120) may obtain input related to the use of the service from the customer and transmit the obtained input to the electronic device (110), or transmit information generated based on the obtained input to the electronic device (110).

[0044] More detailed information regarding the electronic device (110) and the customer's terminal (120) will be described later in FIGS. 2 to 7, etc.

[0045] Operations related to a series of information provision methods according to various embodiments may be implemented by a single physical device or may be implemented in a manner in which multiple physical devices are organically combined. For example, some of the components included in a system that provides a service based on coupon information may be implemented by one physical device, and the remaining parts may be implemented by another physical device. For instance, one physical device may be implemented as part of an electronic device (110), and another physical device may be implemented as part of a customer's terminal (120) or other external device.

[0046] In some cases, each component included in a system that provides services based on coupon information may be distributed and placed in different physical devices, and the distributed components may be organically combined to be implemented to perform the functions and operations of a system that provides services based on coupon information. For example, the electronic device (110) of this specification may include at least one sub-device, and some operations described as being performed by the electronic device (110) may be performed by a first sub-unit, and other operations may be performed by a second sub-unit.

[0047] FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of each device in a system that provides a service based on coupon information according to one embodiment.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 2, an electronic device (110) according to one embodiment obtains input from a customer related to the use of the service (201). The input related to the use of the service may include input for initiating the use of the service (e.g., input for running an application for the use of the service), but is not limited thereto. For example, the input related to the use of the service may further include various types of input, such as an input for searching for an item, an input for entering an item detail page, an input for adding an item to a shopping cart, an input for entering a checkout page for payment, and an input for completing payment.

[0049] The electronic device (110) checks the information of a coupon provided to a customer based on one or more pieces of information associated with the customer (202). The operation of “checking” the information of a coupon provided to a customer should be interpreted in a broad sense that encompasses various types of operations, such as the operation of acquiring the information of the coupon, or the operation of looking up or using the information of a coupon that has been acquired or stored.

[0050] One or more pieces of information associated with a customer include one or more of the following: customer account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed since the time when the customer last purchased an item. The information on the time when the customer last purchased an item and the information on the time elapsed since the time when the customer last purchased an item may be related to each other, but they are not substantially the same information (since they differ in whether the current time is involved as a parameter).

[0051] The "coupon provided to the customer" confirmed based on such information may include a coupon issued to promote the customer's use of the service when the customer has not used the service for a certain period of time or longer. The meaning of "cases where the service has not been used for a certain period of time or longer" may be determined in various ways depending on the embodiment, such as cases where the customer has not accessed the service for a certain period of time or longer, or cases where the purpose of using the service has not been achieved for a certain period of time or longer (e.g., cases where items have not been purchased using a shopping service).

[0052] Terms such as "Welcome Back Coupon" and "Revisit Discount Coupon" described below may be understood as names that make it easier for customers to understand the aforementioned "coupon provided when services have not been provided for a certain period." However, since the scope of the coupons in this disclosure is not necessarily limited to "coupons provided when services have not been provided for a certain period," the embodiments below using terms such as "Welcome Back Coupon" and "Revisit Customer Discount Coupon" should also be understood as descriptions applicable to various types of coupons within the scope of this disclosure (rather than descriptions applicable only to specific types of coupons).

[0053] With respect to FIG. 2, although the operation of reference numeral 201, which obtains an input related to the use of the service, is described as being performed before the operation of reference numeral 202, which checks the information of a coupon provided to a customer, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the operation of reference numeral 201 and the operation of reference numeral 202 may be performed simultaneously with at least some of the operations overlapping in time, or the operation of reference numeral 202 may be performed before the operation of reference numeral 201, and various embodiments may fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0054] If the operation of drawing number 202 is performed before the operation of drawing number 201, it can be understood that information on coupons available for each customer is checked in advance, and when input related to the use of the service is obtained from the customer, the coupon information corresponding to that customer (which was checked in advance) is used.

[0055] For convenience of explanation, embodiments in which the operation of Drawing No. 201 is performed first and the operation of Drawing No. 202 is performed later are described below, but it should be understood that the following description may also apply to other embodiments.

[0056] Based on the information of the verified coupon, the electronic device (110) configures a page for the use of the service (203) and provides the configured page to the customer (204). The electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may include coupon information in a part of the page. However, the method of configuring the page is not limited to the method of "including coupon information," and various embodiments may exist, such as a method of indirectly displaying the result of applying the coupon (e.g., a discounted price).

[0057] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (110) may configure a page to include a user interface related to the use of a coupon. In this regard, the user interface related to the use of a coupon may include information about the coupon (though it is not mandatory to include it).

[0058] According to one embodiment, when receiving customer input corresponding to a user interface, the electronic device (110) may provide information related to the use of a coupon in response to the customer input. According to one example, when receiving customer input corresponding to a user interface, the electronic device (110) may provide information on one or more items to which the coupon is applicable at the time of purchase. According to another example, when receiving customer input corresponding to a user interface, the electronic device (110) may provide detailed benefit information related to the coupon.

[0059] A more detailed example regarding the case in which a page is configured to include a user interface related to the use of a coupon is illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring further to FIG. 3, an example of a user interface related to the use of a coupon included on a page configured by an electronic device (110) is as shown in Drawing No. 310. In this regard, the user interface of Drawing No. 310 may include phrases such as "10,000 won coupon exclusively for Mr. Kim Cheol-su." Additionally, the user interface may include a "Details" button, and upon receiving input from a customer regarding the button, it may provide detailed benefit information related to the coupon (see Drawing No. 320). Referring to Drawing No. 320, it can be seen that the detailed benefit information according to the example may include various information such as information guiding the products eligible for coupon application ("Available right now for various products marked 'Revisit'"), information guiding the benefit ("Discount amount 10,000 won"), information guiding the method of coupon application ("Coupon automatically applied upon payment"), and time information related to coupon application ("Available for use within 22:12:51").

[0060] Additionally, the detailed benefit information of Drawing No. 320 includes a "View recommended products where coupons can be used" button, and upon receiving input from a customer regarding the said button, the electronic device (110) may provide information on one or more items to which the coupon is applicable at the time of purchase (see Drawing No. 330). According to an embodiment, the page providing information on one or more items may further provide functions for shopping for those items. For example, in Drawing No. 330, the information on one or more items may include a function to link to a detail page related to each item, a function to add each item to a shopping cart, or a function to proceed directly to a payment page for the item, and various types of functions for shopping for items may fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0061] The example in FIG. 3 corresponds to an example of configuring a "page for running an application for using a service" to include a user interface related to the use of a coupon, but it should be understood that the contents described in FIG. 3 can be similarly applied to cases where other types of pages are configured to include a user interface related to the use of a coupon.

[0062] Drawing number 320 corresponds to an example of providing detailed benefit information related to a coupon, and other examples of providing detailed benefit information related to a coupon are further illustrated in FIG. 4 (400). Referring further to FIG. 4, the detailed benefit information according to the example may include information indicating that the user is eligible to receive the benefits of the coupon ((a): "'Welcome Back Coupon' is only visible to eligible customers", (b): "'Welcome Back Coupon' displayed when paying for the product") and information indicating the benefits ((a): "7,000 won discount just for shopping", (b): "Mr. Kim Cheol-su gets an immediate 7,000 won discount"). Additionally, the detailed benefit information according to the example may include a "Start Shopping" button, and upon receiving input from a customer regarding the button, the electronic device (110) may provide a page that includes a function for shopping for one or more items eligible for the coupon at the time of purchase.

[0063] Returning to FIG. 2, the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment checks whether a page is eligible for a coupon to one or more items containing the information, and if there is at least one item among the one or more items eligible for a coupon, it may include information about the coupon in a part of the page. More specifically regarding the operation of "checking whether an item is eligible for a coupon," the electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may determine that an item is eligible for a coupon if the item can be applied to a coupon, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the electronic device (110) according to another embodiment may determine that an item is not eligible for a coupon if it is not suitable to apply the coupon even if the coupon can be applied.

[0064] According to a more specific embodiment for determining whether it is appropriate to apply a coupon, with respect to a first item comprising one or more items, an electronic device (110) can identify one or more candidate coupons to which the first item may be applied. For each of the identified one or more candidate coupons, the electronic device (110) can identify benefit information that a customer obtains by applying the coupon to the first item. Based on the benefit information for each of the identified one or more candidate coupons, the electronic device (110) can determine whether it is appropriate to apply the coupon to the first item.

[0065] Cases where it is not appropriate to apply a coupon may include, for example, cases where there is a benefit among other candidate coupons that cannot be applied in conjunction with the benefit of the coupon that is superior to the benefit of the coupon (for example, when using the coupon, a discount of 10,000 won is applied, but when using the benefit of another candidate coupon, a discount of 15,000 won is applied), and cases among other candidate coupons that cannot be applied in conjunction with the benefit of the coupon that provide substantially the same benefit as the benefit of the coupon and have a greater number of uses (for example, when the coupon can be used only once, but another candidate coupon has a number of uses of 10).

[0066] According to one embodiment, if there is at least one item among one or more items to which the coupon is applicable, the electronic device (110) can display the coupon information together with the information of the item to which the coupon is applicable when displaying the information of the item to which the coupon is applicable.

[0067] Meanwhile, "one or more items in which the page contains information" may include items in which information is displayed directly on the page, but is not limited thereto. For example, if a function (e.g., page scrolling function) is provided to hide some information to overcome spatial limitations on the page and to display the hidden information upon user request, items that are hidden and can be displayed upon user request may also be included in the scope of "one or more items in which the page contains information."

[0068] Additionally, "one or more items in which the page contains the information" may include at least some items among multiple items in which the page contains the information that satisfy the set conditions. That is, even if the page contains the information, if it is an item that does not satisfy the set conditions, it may not be subject to checking whether it is eligible for the coupon. For example, the electronic device (110) can check whether the page is eligible for the coupon for up to 30 items in order of highest display priority among the items containing the information, and in this example, the set condition may be a condition requiring that it be "within the top 30 when listed in order of display priority."

[0069] Furthermore, depending on the embodiment, the aforementioned "set condition" may also include consideration of whether there is a possibility of applying a coupon to determine its applicability in this disclosure. In this regard, a question may arise as to whether it is contradictory to consider the possibility of coupon applicability when determining whether an item satisfies the set condition, given that the determination of whether the item satisfies the set condition is eligible for coupon application. However, since the specific criteria for determining "the possibility of coupon applicability" and "the target of coupon applicability" may differ (for example, "the possibility of coupon applicability" is determined based on whether the item corresponds to a type to which the coupon can be applied, whereas "the target of coupon applicability" can be determined by specifically considering whether applying the coupon is appropriate), determining whether there is a possibility of coupon applicability is not contradictory. Even if the criteria for determining "the possibility of coupon applicability" and "the target of coupon applicability" are identical or similar, it is difficult to view this approach as flawed, given that iterative learning methods—which derive optimal results through repeated trials where the output becomes a new input—are utilized in various fields such as machine learning.

[0070] A more detailed example relating to a case in which a page is configured based on whether there is at least one item to which a coupon applies is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7. Referring further to FIG. 5, if it is determined that among one or more items included in an item search page (510), “HH Company Nature Dishwashing Detergent Unscented, 500ml, 1 pack” corresponds to an item to which a coupon applies, the electronic device (110) may include information about the coupon in a part of the page (specifically, at the bottom of the page), and one example thereof may include information such as “12,000 won discount available right now when purchasing a product marked ‘Revisit’” as shown in Drawing No. 512. Additionally, the electronic device (110) may display information about the HH Company Nature dishwashing detergent, which is an item eligible for coupon application, by combining it with information about the coupon. An example thereof may include information such as “Coupon discount price 8,000 won” and “Returning customer one-time coupon discount applied” as shown in Drawing No. 511.

[0071] Even when providing a detail page (520) for an item eligible for coupon application, such as "HH Company Nature Dishwashing Detergent Unscented, 500ml, 1 pack," the electronic device (110) may include information about the coupon in a part of the page (specifically, at the bottom of the page), and an example thereof may include information such as "Mr. Kim Cheol-su, 12,000 won coupon discount available right now" as shown in Drawing No. 522. Additionally, the electronic device (110) may display information about the coupon together with the item's detail information, and an example thereof may include information such as "Coupon discount price 8,000 won" or "Returning customer coupon discount applied once" as shown in Drawing No. 521.

[0072] Referring further to FIG. 6, when it is determined that one or more items included in the item search page (610) correspond to items eligible for coupon application, the electronic device (110) may include coupon information in a part of the page (specifically, at the top of the page), and an example thereof may include information such as “‘Welcome Back’ products are discounted by {7,000 won}” and “This message is only visible to customers eligible for the discount” as shown in Drawing No. 612. In addition, the electronic device (110) may display coupon information in conjunction with the information of items eligible for coupon application, and an example thereof may include providing phrases such as “Welcome Back discount applied” in a part of the image of each item or in a form associated with the image as shown in Drawing No. 611.

[0073] Even when providing a detail page (620) for an item eligible for coupon application, such as "HH Company Nature Dishwashing Detergent Unscented, 500ml, 1 pack," the electronic device (110) may include information about the coupon in a part of the page (specifically, at the top of the page excluding the item image), and an example thereof may include information such as "Welcome Back discount of {7,000} won applied upon payment" and "Visible only to customers eligible for the discount, limited to one time per person," as shown in Drawing No. 622. Additionally, the electronic device (110) may display information about the coupon together with the item's detail information, and an example thereof may include information such as "Coupon discount price of 7,000 won" and "Welcome Back coupon discount applied," as shown in Drawing No. 621.

[0074] Referring further to FIG. 7, if it is determined that among one or more items included in the shopping cart page (710), "HH Company Nature Dishwashing Detergent Unscented, 500ml, 1" corresponds to an item eligible for the Welcome Back Coupon ("II Company Concentrated Gel Liquid Detergent for Drums 2.1L is also eligible for the coupon, but not for the "Welcome Back Coupon"), the electronic device (110) may include information on the Welcome Back Coupon in a part of the page (specifically, at the top of the page), and an example thereof may include information such as "A total discount of 7,000 won applied to this order with the Welcome Back Coupon" and "23:44:12" as shown in Drawing No. 712 ("23:44:12" corresponds to information on the remaining time available to use the Welcome Back Coupon). Additionally, the electronic device (110) may display the information on the items eligible for the coupon together with the coupon information, and an example thereof may include Drawing No. 711 and This may include cases where phrases such as "coupon applied upon payment" are provided in a form associated with the description of each item.

[0075] Even when providing a checkout page (720) for shopping cart items, the electronic device (110) may include information about coupons in part of the page, and one example may include information about benefits applied by coupons, such as “10,000 won discount applied” as in Drawing No. 722, and may include information such as “Total coupon discount -10,000 won”, “Welcome back coupon discount applied -7,000 won” as in Drawing No. 721.

[0076] In the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6, benefit information based on specific types of coupons ("Welcome Back Coupon", "Returning Customer Discount Coupon") is displayed, whereas in the example of FIG. 7, benefit information based on different types of coupons (specifically, II Company's concentrated gel liquid detergent for drums is discounted by a coupon other than the Welcome Back Coupon) is further displayed; however, this is merely a matter of partial differences in implementation depending on the specific embodiment and is not contradictory. Rather, it can be understood that various methods of displaying coupon information in this manner are all within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0077] In addition, as can be seen in the examples of FIGS. 5 to 7, the form of the coupon information displayed may differ slightly depending on the embodiment, and even for embodiments of the same type (embodiments illustrated in the same drawings), the form of the coupon information displayed may differ slightly depending on the type of page.

[0078] Meanwhile, throughout the present disclosure including the examples of FIGS. 5 to 7, the operation of including coupon information in a “part” of a page is understood to include not only the case where coupon information is included to constitute a part of the page, but also the case where coupon information is included in a space provided with additional space, such as a separate pop-up window or bottom sheet.

[0079] Returning to FIG. 2, an electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may obtain input from a customer for moving to another page (it may be received from the customer's terminal (120), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto). In such a case, if the coupon has not expired and the other page is related to the use of the service, the electronic device (110) may configure the other page based on the coupon information and provide it to the customer. In this way, if the coupon is valid, the coupon information is continuously exposed to the user even if the user moves to another page, thereby allowing the user to continuously recognize the existence of the coupon and further inducing the user to actively use the coupon.

[0080] However, this is merely an example, and depending on the embodiment, various embodiments may exist, such as excluding coupon information when configuring subsequent pages when a set condition is satisfied (e.g., after the user has received coupon information a set number of times) so that the user does not feel fatigue from continuous exposure to the same information.

[0081] According to one embodiment, input including an intention to use a coupon is obtained from a customer (which may be received from the customer's terminal (120), but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto), and if the customer does not withdraw such intention, the electronic device (110) may reconfigure and provide a page so that the coupon information is not included on the page. For example, unless there are special circumstances such as the customer adding an item to which the coupon benefit applies to a shopping cart and subsequently removing that item from the shopping cart, or a certain amount of time having elapsed after the customer terminated the service, the electronic device (110) may reconfigure and provide a page so that the coupon information is not included on the page. This may be intended to prevent unnecessary confusion by ensuring that the coupon information is no longer exposed to the customer, not only in cases where the coupon has expired due to the customer's use of the coupon, but also in cases where the coupon has not yet expired but is expected to expire in the near future.

[0082] Furthermore, according to the embodiment, even if the expiration of the coupon is not expected, if it is determined that the customer is clearly aware of the existence of the coupon, the electronic device (110) can prevent unnecessary increase in customer fatigue and save resources by ensuring that the coupon information is no longer exposed to the customer.

[0083] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of a method for providing a service based on coupon information in an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 8, an electronic device (110) according to one embodiment obtains input from a customer related to the use of the service (810). The input related to the use of the service may include input for initiating the use of the service (e.g., input for running an application for the use of the service), but is not limited thereto, and may further include various types of input such as an input for searching for an item, an input for entering an item detail page, an input for adding an item to a shopping cart, an input for entering a checkout page for payment, and an input for completing payment.

[0085] The electronic device (110) checks the information of a coupon provided to a customer based on one or more pieces of information associated with the customer (820). One or more pieces of information associated with the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item until now.

[0086] Based on the information of the coupon, the electronic device (110) configures a page for the use of the service (830) and provides the configured page to the customer (840). The electronic device (110) according to one embodiment may include the information of the coupon in a part of the page. However, the method of configuring the page is not limited to the method of “including the information of the coupon,” and various embodiments may exist, such as a method of indirectly displaying the result of applying the coupon.

[0087] FIG. 9 is an example diagram of the configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0088] Referring to FIG. 9, the electronic device (110) includes a transceiver (910), a processor (920), and a memory (930). The electronic device (110) is connected to a customer terminal (120) and other external devices through the transceiver (910) and can exchange data.

[0089] The processor (920) may include at least one device described through FIGS. 1 to 8 or perform at least one method described through FIGS. 1 to 8. The memory (930) may store information for performing at least one method described through FIGS. 1 to 8. The memory (930) may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory.

[0090] The processor (920) can control an electronic device (110) for executing a program and providing information. The code of the program executed by the processor (920) can be stored in memory (930).

[0091] In addition, the electronic device (110) of one embodiment may further include an interface capable of providing information to a customer.

[0092] Meanwhile, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although specific terms have been used, they are used merely in a general sense to facilitate the explanation of the technical content of the present invention and to aid in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that, in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein, other variations based on the technical concept of the present invention are possible.

[0093] The recommendation server, electronic device, or terminal according to the embodiments described above may include a processor, memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with an external device, and customer interface devices such as a touch panel, key, button, etc. Methods implemented as software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable code or program instructions executable on the processor. Here, computer-readable recording media include magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM (read-only memory), RAM (random-access memory), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical reading media (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)). Computer-readable recording media may be distributed across networked computer systems, allowing computer-readable code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be readable by a computer, stored in memory, and executed by a processor.

[0094] The present embodiment may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented by various numbers of hardware and / or software configurations that execute specific functions. For example, the embodiment may employ integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, etc., capable of executing various functions by the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similar to how components may be implemented as software programming or software elements, the present embodiment may be implemented in programming or scripting languages ​​such as C, C++, Java, assembler, Python, etc., including various algorithms implemented as combinations of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms executed on one or more processors. Additionally, the present embodiment may employ prior art for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as “mechanism,” “element,” “means,” and “configuration” may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The above terms may include the meaning of a series of software processes (routines) in conjunction with processors, etc.

[0095] The aforementioned embodiments are merely examples, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

Claim 1 A method for providing information in an electronic device comprises: obtaining input from a customer related to the use of a service; verifying information of a coupon provided to the customer based on one or more pieces of information related to the customer; configuring a page for the use of the service based on the information of the coupon; providing the page to the customer; obtaining input from the customer for moving to another page; determining whether to include information of the coupon in the other page; and providing the other page to the customer based on the result of determining whether to include information of the coupon, wherein one or more pieces of information related to the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item to the present, and the step of determining whether to include information of the coupon in the other page includes: determining whether the coupon has expired; determining whether the number of times the customer has received information of the coupon is greater than or equal to a set number; and determining whether the customer has a pending intention to use the coupon. A method for providing information, comprising the step of determining whether the coupon has not expired, determining that the number of times the customer has received information about the coupon is less than the set number of times, and determining that the customer's intention to use the coupon is not pending, and determining whether the customer's intention to use the coupon is pending, wherein the step of determining whether the customer's intention to use the coupon is pending includes the step of obtaining the customer's input including the intention to use the coupon and determining whether the customer has not withdrawn the intention. Claim 2 A method for providing information, characterized in that, in claim 1, the step of configuring a page for using the service includes the step of including information of the coupon in a part of the page. Claim 3 A method for providing information according to claim 1, wherein the step of configuring a page for using the service comprises: a step of checking whether the page is subject to the application of the coupon for one or more items containing the information; and a step of including the information of the coupon in a part of the page if there is at least one item among the one or more items that is subject to the application of the coupon. Claim 4 A method for providing information according to paragraph 3, wherein the above one or more items include at least some of the items that satisfy a set condition among a plurality of items in which the page contains the information. Claim 5 A method for providing information, wherein, in paragraph 3, the step of determining whether the above coupon is applicable includes: a step of determining, in relation to a first item included in the above one or more items, each one or more candidate coupons to which the first item may be applicable; a step of determining, for each of the above one or more candidate coupons, benefit information obtained by the customer as a result of applying the coupon to the first item; and a step of determining whether it is appropriate to apply the above coupon to the first item based on the benefit information for each of the above one or more candidate coupons. Claim 6 A method for providing information according to paragraph 3, wherein if there is at least one item among the above one or more items to which the coupon applies, the electronic device displays the information of the coupon together with the information of the item to which the coupon applies when displaying the information of the item to which the coupon applies. Claim 7 delete Claim 8 A method for providing information according to claim 1, wherein the step of configuring a page for using the service includes the step of configuring the page to include a user interface related to the use of the coupon, and the user interface includes information about the coupon. Claim 9 A method for providing information according to claim 8, further comprising the step of providing information on one or more items to which the coupon is applicable at the time of purchase when receiving input from the customer corresponding to the user interface. Claim 10 A method for providing information according to claim 8, further comprising the step of providing detailed benefit information related to the coupon when receiving input from the customer corresponding to the user interface. Claim 11 delete Claim 12 A computer-readable, non-transient recording medium having a program for executing the method of paragraph 1 on a computer. Claim 13 In an electronic device for providing information, the device comprises a transceiver, a memory for storing instructions, and a processor, wherein the processor is connected to the transceiver and the memory to obtain input from a customer regarding the use of a service, and based on one or more pieces of information regarding the customer, verifies information on a coupon provided to the customer, and based on the information on the coupon, constructs a page for the use of the service, provides the page to the customer, obtains input from the customer for moving to another page, determines whether to include information on the coupon in the other page, and provides the other page to the customer based on the result of determining whether to include information on the coupon, wherein one or more pieces of information regarding the customer include one or more of the customer's account information, information on the time when the customer last purchased an item, and information on the time elapsed from the time when the customer last purchased an item to the present, and in order to determine whether to include information on the coupon in the other page, the processor determines whether the coupon has expired, determines whether the number of times the customer has received information on the coupon is greater than or equal to a set number, determines whether the customer has a pending intention to use the coupon, and if it is determined that the coupon has not expired, the An electronic device that, when it is determined that the number of times a customer has received information about the coupon is less than the set number of times and that the customer is not pending an intention to use the coupon, decides to include the information about the coupon on the other page, and in order to determine whether the customer is pending an intention to use the coupon, the processor acquires an input from the customer including an intention to use the coupon and determines whether the customer has not withdrawn the intention.

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