Information processing method, program, and information processing device

Abstract

This information processing method causes a computer to execute a process of: acquiring consumption behavior information on consumption behavior of a user who is a member; calculating, in accordance with the consumption behavior information, the quantity of cryptocurrency to be given to the user; giving the cryptocurrency to the user with the calculated quantity as a limit; acquiring invitation information on another user invited by the user; and determining, on the basis of the invitation information, whether or not to give privilege to the user.

Description

Information processing method, program, and information processing device

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

[0002] The use of cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology is increasing. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an information processing device that grants cryptocurrency to a user based on purchase information related to a product or service purchased by the user.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-125201

[0004] In one aspect, an object is to provide an information processing method and the like that can favorably support an increase in the number of users.

[0005] In one aspect, the information processing method involves a computer performing a process of acquiring consumption behavior information regarding the consumption behavior of a member user, calculating the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user based on the consumption behavior information, granting the virtual currency to the user up to the calculated amount, acquiring invitation information regarding other users invited by the user, and determining whether to grant a benefit to the user based on the invitation information.

[0006] In one aspect, it is possible to favorably support an increase in the number of users.

[0007] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a virtual currency granting system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a server. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the record layout of a user DB and a purchase information DB. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a virtual currency granting process. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of granting virtual currency. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a virtual currency granting process by RW. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a virtual currency granting process by CW.

[0008] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. (Embodiment) Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a virtual currency granting system. In this embodiment, a virtual currency granting system that grants virtual currency to users (members) who have purchased products at affiliated stores will be described. The virtual currency granting system includes an information processing device 1, terminals 2, 2, 2..., and an exchange server 3. Each device is communicatively connected via a network N such as the Internet.

[0009] The information processing device 1 is an information processing device capable of various information processing and transmitting and receiving information, such as a server computer or a personal computer. In this embodiment, the information processing device 1 is assumed to be a server computer, and for simplicity, will be referred to as server 1 below. The server 1 performs a process of granting virtual currency (cash back) to a user in accordance with the user's consumption behavior at a member store (such as an electronic commerce (EC) site) affiliated with this system. Consumption behavior refers to the purchase of a product at a member store, but this embodiment is not limited to this and may also include, for example, the purchase of a game or content (charges), a request for product information, etc.

[0010] Terminal 2 is a terminal device used by each user, such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. For example, a dedicated application program (hereinafter referred to as "this application") is installed on Terminal 2, and when a user accesses an e-commerce site of a member store via this application and purchases a product, the user can receive virtual currency. In addition, the user can check the amount of virtual currency they currently possess on this application.

[0011] The exchange server 3 is a management device that manages the exchange of virtual currency. As will be described later, when the server 1 grants virtual currency to a user, the server 1 acquires (procures) the virtual currency to be granted to the user by outputting a virtual currency purchase request to the exchange server 3.

[0012] 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the server 1. The server 1 includes a control unit 11, a main memory unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an auxiliary memory unit 14. The control unit 11 has one or more arithmetic processing devices such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processing unit (MPU), or a graphics processing unit (GPU), and performs various information processing, control processing, and the like by reading and executing a program P stored in the auxiliary memory unit 14. The main memory unit 12 is a temporary storage area such as a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and temporarily stores data necessary for the control unit 11 to execute arithmetic processing. The communication unit 13 is a communication module for performing communication-related processing and transmits and receives information to and from the outside.

[0013] The auxiliary storage unit 14 is a non-volatile storage area such as a large-capacity memory or a hard disk, and stores a program P (program product) and other data necessary for the control unit 11 to execute processing. The auxiliary storage unit 14 also stores a user DB 141 and a purchase information DB 142. The user DB 141 is a database that stores information on each user who is a member. The purchase information DB 142 is a database that stores product purchase information (purchase history) by users.

[0014] The auxiliary storage unit 14 may be an external storage device connected to the server 1. The server 1 may be a multi-computer consisting of multiple computers, or may be a virtual machine virtually constructed by software.

[0015] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the server 1 is not limited to the above configuration, and may include, for example, an input unit that accepts operation input, a display unit that displays images, etc. Furthermore, the server 1 may be provided with a reading unit that reads a portable storage medium 1a such as a CD (Compact Disk)-ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, and may read and execute the program P from the portable storage medium 1a.

[0016] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the record layout of the user DB 141 and the purchase information DB 142. The user DB 141 includes a user ID column, a user name column, a withdrawable balance column, and an invited user column. The user ID column stores a user ID for identifying each user. The user name column, the withdrawable balance column, and the invited user column each store, in association with the user ID, the user's name, the balance of virtual currency that the user can withdraw using "Regular Withdrawals" described below, and the user IDs of other users invited by the user.

[0017] The purchase information DB 142 includes a date / time column, a purchasing user column, a purchasing site column, and a purchase amount column. The date / time column stores the date and time of purchase of a product. The purchasing user column, purchasing site column, and purchase amount column each store the user ID of the user who purchased the product, the name of the EC site (affiliated store) where the product was purchased, and the purchase amount of the product, in association with the date and time of purchase of the product.

[0018] Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the process of providing virtual currency. Fig. 4 conceptually illustrates how virtual currency is given back to a user through this system (ecosystem).

[0019] One or more affiliated stores are affiliated with this system. An affiliated store is, for example, an e-commerce website, but it may also be a physical store. The e-commerce website of each affiliated store can be accessed through this app. A user accesses the affiliated store's e-commerce website through this app and purchases products. In return, the affiliated store pays a commission to the administrator of this system, calculated by multiplying the purchase amount by a specified rate, as an advertising commission.

[0020] The server 1 acquires consumption behavior information related to the user's consumption behavior and grants virtual currency to the user according to the consumption behavior information. Specifically, the server 1 acquires purchase information indicating the purchase amount of products purchased by the user as the consumption behavior information. The server 1 grants the user an amount of virtual currency according to the purchase amount of the products indicated by the purchase information. Specifically, the server 1 calculates a cashback amount by multiplying the purchase amount of the products by a predetermined rate, and grants the user an amount of virtual currency calculated by dividing the cashback amount by the market rate of the virtual currency.

[0021] In this embodiment, the server 1 procures the virtual currency to be granted to the user from the virtual currency trading market (exchange) using fees paid by affiliated stores as a source of funds. That is, when the server 1 has granted virtual currency to the user, or when the server 1 is going to grant virtual currency in the future, the server 1 outputs a purchase request for the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user to the exchange server 3. In this way, the server 1 obtains the virtual currency to be granted to the user. In this way, in this embodiment, the more a user purchases products at affiliated stores, the higher the demand for virtual currency in the market, and it is expected that the price of virtual currency will stabilize or rise.

[0022] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of granting virtual currency. Fig. 5 conceptually illustrates a method of granting (withdrawing) virtual currency to a user.

[0023] In this embodiment, when a user purchases a product, virtual currency is not immediately sent to the user's wallet, but is sent to the user's wallet when the user performs a predetermined operation to withdraw the virtual currency on the app. In this case, in this embodiment, virtual currency can be withdrawn in two ways: "Regular Withdrawals" and "Contributor Withdrawals."

[0024] "Regular Withdrawals" refers to a method of granting virtual currency to a user without any particular restrictions. In "Regular Withdrawals," virtual currency is granted to a user up to an amount calculated by multiplying the purchase amount of a product by the user (shown as "GMV" (Gross Merchandise Value)) by a predetermined rate (e.g., 2.5%), as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

[0025] In contrast, "Contributor Withdrawals" is an option for users who have made a significant contribution to the system, and refers to a method of granting a predetermined amount of virtual currency to the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when "Contributor Withdrawals" is selected, the server 1 grants the user a fixed amount of virtual currency (e.g., $100) that does not depend on the amount of the product purchase. Note that, although a fixed amount of virtual currency is granted to the user in this embodiment, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the user may be granted an amount of virtual currency corresponding to the amount of the product purchase (e.g., 100% of the product purchase amount).

[0026] For the sake of simplicity, in the following description, "Regular Withdrawals" will be abbreviated as "RW" and "Contributor Withdrawals" will be abbreviated as "CW."

[0027] In order to receive virtual currency through CW, several conditions must be met, and only some users can receive virtual currency. The following describes the flow of processing performed by the server 1 when a user applies to use CW.

[0028] First, the server 1 calculates the total amount of virtual currency to be granted by RW and CW based on the amount of merchandise purchased by all users over a certain period of time in the past (for example, 30 days). Specifically, the server 1 calculates the total amount of virtual currency to be granted by RW and CW (converted into legal tender) by multiplying the total amount of merchandise purchased by all users by a predetermined ratio. The server 1 then divides the total amount to be granted by the market rate of the virtual currency to calculate the total amount of virtual currency to be granted.

[0029] Next, the server 1 determines whether the user who requested the CW has invited a certain number of other users to the system. The app is equipped with a function for inviting friends (referral function). The user uses this function to invite other users. When the server 1 receives a CW request from the user, it obtains invitation information indicating other users invited by the user, and if the number of other users invited is a certain number or more, the server 1 permits the use of the CW.

[0030] Next, the server 1 acquires product purchase information of other users invited by the user and determines whether the product purchase amount of the other users is equal to or exceeds the minimum purchase amount. For example, the server 1 determines whether the product purchase amount of each of the multiple other users invited by the user is equal to or exceeds the minimum purchase amount. Note that, for example, the server 1 may determine whether the total product purchase amount of the multiple other users invited by the user is equal to or exceeds the minimum purchase amount. If it is determined that the product purchase amount of each of the other users is equal to or exceeds the minimum purchase amount, the server 1 permits use of the CW.

[0031] Finally, for each user who has applied to use the CW, the server 1 calculates the total amount of merchandise purchased by other users invited by that user. The server 1 then determines the priority of each user so that the higher the total amount, the higher the priority. The server 1 grants virtual currency to users in descending order of priority, up to a limit not exceeding the total amount of virtual currency to be granted.

[0032] For example, suppose the total amount of virtual currency granted to users who applied for RW this month is 7 million yen, the total amount of virtual currency granted to users who applied for CW is 5 million yen, and the total amount of virtual currency that can be granted is 10 million yen. In this case, the server 1 first prioritizes RW and allocates 7 million yen of the 10 million yen as the amount of virtual currency granted to users who applied for RW.

[0033] The server 1 then allocates the remaining "3 million yen" as the amount of virtual currency to be granted to users who have applied for CW. For example, the server 1 sets a daily limit on the amount of virtual currency that can be granted, such as 100,000 yen per day. The server 1 grants virtual currency to each user within the daily limit, starting with the user who has the highest total amount of purchases made by other users invited by the user. When the daily limit is reached, users with lower priority are carried over to the next day. The server 1 performs this process daily, and ultimately grants "3 million yen" worth of virtual currency to the top users out of the "5 million yen." Note that the "2 million yen" amount claimed by lower-ranked users out of the "5 million yen" is carried over to the next month.

[0034] Priority is determined as needed, and even if a user applies for CW use later, a user with a high level of contribution to the system (the total amount of product purchases made by other users invited by the user) will be given a higher priority. Priority is determined based on the total amount of product purchases made over a certain period of time (30 days), but this reference period changes over time. Therefore, even if a user currently has a high priority, if the time at which another user invited by the user purchases a product falls outside the reference period over time, the priority of that user will be lowered.

[0035] In this way, in this embodiment, users who have made a great contribution to the system (ecosystem) are selected and given more virtual currency as CW, which makes it possible to appropriately allocate virtual currency to users while increasing the sustainability of the system.

[0036] 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the virtual currency granting process by RW. The process for granting virtual currency to a user upon purchasing a product will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The control unit 11 of the server 1 acquires purchase information indicating the purchase amount of the product by the user (step S11). The control unit 11 calculates the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user by multiplying the purchase amount indicated by the purchase information by a predetermined coefficient (step S12).

[0037] The control unit 11 accepts a withdrawal request for virtual currency from the user (step S13). If the withdrawal request is accepted, the control unit 11 grants the virtual currency to the user up to the amount calculated in step S12 (step S14). Specifically, the control unit 11 generates a transaction to send the virtual currency to the user's wallet address and outputs it to the blockchain network. The control unit 11 then ends the series of processes.

[0038] 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the virtual currency granting process by CW. The process for granting virtual currency to a user by CW will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The control unit 11 of the server 1 accepts a withdrawal request by CW from each user (step S31). The control unit 11 acquires invitation information regarding other users invited by the user who made the withdrawal request (step S32). The invitation information includes purchase information indicating the amount of a product purchased by the other user.

[0039] The control unit 11 calculates the total amount of virtual currency to be granted based on the purchase amounts of all users' products (step S33). That is, the control unit 11 calculates the total amount of virtual currency to be granted (equivalent to legal tender) by multiplying the total amount of purchase amounts of all users' products by a predetermined ratio. The control unit 11 calculates the total amount of virtual currency to be granted by dividing the calculated total amount to be granted by the market rate of virtual currency.

[0040] The control unit 11 determines whether to grant virtual currency to the user depending on the number of other users invited by the user (step S34). That is, the control unit 11 determines to grant virtual currency to the user if the number of other users invited by the user is equal to or greater than a certain number. The control unit 11 makes this determination for each user who has applied to use the CW.

[0041] The control unit 11 determines whether to grant virtual currency by determining whether the product purchase amount of other users invited by the user is equal to or greater than the minimum purchase amount (step S35). For example, the control unit 11 determines to grant virtual currency when the product purchase amount of each of multiple other users invited by the user is equal to or greater than the minimum purchase amount. The control unit 11 makes this determination for each user who has applied to use the CW.

[0042] The control unit 11 determines the priority for granting virtual currency to each user according to the amount of purchases of products made by other users invited by the user (step S36). That is, the control unit 11 assigns priority to each user in descending order of the total amount of purchases of products made by multiple other users invited by the user.

[0043] The control unit 11 determines whether to grant virtual currency to each user based on the total amount of virtual currency granted calculated in step S33, the amount of virtual currency granted to each user in response to their product purchases, and the priority of each user determined in step S36 (step S37). Specifically, the control unit 11 calculates the amount of virtual currency to grant to each user through CW by subtracting the amount of virtual currency granted to each user through their product purchase (RW) from the total amount of virtual currency granted. The control unit 11 determines users to grant virtual currency by allocating a fixed amount of virtual currency to users in order of priority determined in step S36, with the calculated amount as the limit. The control unit 11 grants virtual currency to users determined to be eligible for virtual currency (step S38), and then ends the process.

[0044] Although not specifically mentioned above, in this system, regardless of whether it is RW or CW, a certain period (30 days) must be allowed before withdrawing virtual currency. In addition, in order to withdraw virtual currency, the user must have purchased a certain amount of goods via this system.

[0045] Although the above description has been given to the effect that a user can be given priority in receiving virtual currency in accordance with the purchase amounts (consumption behavior) of other users whom the user has invited, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the upper limit of the amount of virtual currency that a user can withdraw in a certain period of time may be increased or the handling fee may be reduced depending on the purchase amounts of other users. In other words, it is sufficient for the server 1 to be able to grant some kind of benefit to a user in accordance with the purchase amounts of other users associated with the user.

[0046] Although the above description has been given of determining the priority of each user based on the total amount of product purchases made by other users invited by the user, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the server 1 may determine the priority of each user when using a CW based on the number of other users invited by the user. In other words, the server 1 may be capable of granting a reward (such as virtual currency) to a user based on information (invitation information) of other users associated with the user.

[0047] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to preferably support an increase in the number of users.

[0048] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above meaning, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0049] The matters described in each embodiment can be combined with each other. Furthermore, the independent claims and dependent claims described in the claims can be combined with each other in any combination, regardless of the reference format. Furthermore, the claims use a format in which a claim references two or more other claims (multiple claim format), but this is not limited to this. A multiple claim (multi-multi claim) that references at least one other multiple claim may also be used.

[0050] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Server (information processing device) 11 Control unit 12 Main memory unit 13 Communication unit 14 Auxiliary memory unit P Program 141 User DB 142 Purchase information DB 2 Terminal 3 Exchange server (management device)

Claims

1. An information processing method in which a computer executes the following processes: acquire consumption behavior information regarding the consumption behavior of a member user; calculate the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user in accordance with the consumption behavior information; grant the virtual currency to the user up to the calculated amount; acquire invitation information regarding other users invited by the user; and determine whether or not to grant a benefit to the user based on the invitation information.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the reward is the virtual currency.

3. The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein the consumption behavior information is purchase information indicating the amount of a product purchased by the user, and the amount of the virtual currency to be granted to the user is calculated according to the purchase amount.

4. The information processing method of claim 3, further comprising: calculating a total amount of the virtual currency to be granted based on the purchase amounts of products by all users; the invitation information including purchase information indicating the purchase amounts of products by the other users; determining a priority for granting the benefit to each user based on the purchase amounts of products by the other users invited by the user; and determining whether or not to grant the benefit to each user based on the total amount of the virtual currency to be granted, the quantity of the virtual currency to be granted to each user in accordance with the product purchases, and the priority.

5. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether or not to grant the privilege depending on the number of other users invited by the user.

6. The information processing method of claim 1, wherein the invitation information includes purchase information indicating the amount of a product purchased by the other user, and whether or not to grant the benefit is determined by determining whether the amount of the product purchased by the other user is equal to or exceeds a minimum purchase amount.

7. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of outputting a purchase request for the virtual currency to be granted to the user to a management device that manages a trading market for the virtual currency.

8. A program that causes a computer to execute the following processes: acquire consumption behavior information regarding the consumption behavior of a member user; calculate the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user based on the consumption behavior information; grant the virtual currency to the user up to the calculated amount; acquire invitation information regarding other users invited by the user; and determine whether or not to grant a benefit to the user based on the invitation information.

9. An information processing device having a control unit, wherein the control unit: acquires consumption behavior information regarding the consumption behavior of a member user; calculates the amount of virtual currency to be granted to the user according to the consumption behavior information; grants the virtual currency to the user up to the calculated amount; acquires invitation information regarding other users invited by the user; and determines whether to grant a benefit to the user based on the invitation information.

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