Content management system and content display method

Abstract

This content management system comprises: an acquisition unit (503B) that acquires product identification information of a product to be purchased, and information indicating whether or not additional work is to be performed on the product based on a request from the purchaser of the product; a work time storage unit that stores the product identification information in association with the additional work time required for the additional work; an estimation unit (506B) that estimates a total work time on the basis of the bagging time for bagging the product to be purchased and the additional work time required for the additional work to be performed on the product to be purchased that requires additional work; a storage unit (502B) that stores content and the playback time of the content; an extraction unit (507B) that extracts content corresponding to the total work time from the storage unit; and a content provision unit (508B) that displays, on a display device visible to a customer, the extracted content.

Description

Content management system, content display method

[0001] The present invention relates to a content management system and a content display method.

[0002] In stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores, there are systems that display content such as advertisements on a display device that is visible to customers during waiting times at checkout. For example, barcodes attached to products are read with a scanner, and the more products that are scanned, the longer the waiting time. Such systems allow customers to watch content while waiting during checkout. There is also a system that displays advertisements during waiting times when a service is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this system, for a copying service, the waiting time is calculated by multiplying the processing time per sheet by the number of copies to be printed, and an advertisement is displayed according to the waiting time.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-041451

[0004] However, although the viewing opportunity time available for customers to view content can be determined based on the quantity provided, the viewing opportunity time also depends on factors other than the quantity of products, services, etc. provided. Therefore, it is preferable to provide content after more accurately understanding the viewing opportunity time.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a content management system having an acquisition unit that acquires product identification information of a product to be purchased and whether or not additional work is required for the product based on the wishes of the purchaser of the product; a work time memory unit that stores the product identification information in association with the additional work time required for the additional work; an estimation unit that estimates a total work time based on the bagging time required to bag the product to be purchased and the additional work time required for the additional work for the products to be purchased that have additional work; a content memory unit that stores content and the playback time of the content; an extraction unit that extracts content from the content memory unit according to the total work time; and a content provision unit that displays the extracted content on a display device that is visible to the customer.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention is a content display method that acquires product identification information for a product to be purchased and whether or not additional work is required for the product based on the wishes of the purchaser of the product, estimates a total work time based on the bagging time for the product to be purchased read from a work time memory unit that stores the product identification information in correspondence with the additional work time required for the additional work, and the additional work time required for the additional work for the products to be purchased that have additional work, references a memory unit that stores content and the playback time of the content, extracts content corresponding to the total work time from the memory unit, and displays the extracted content on a display device that is viewable by the customer.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide content after more accurately grasping the viewing opportunity time.

[0008] 5 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the content management system S according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic external view illustrating the vicinity of a checkout counter where a POS terminal 30 is installed in a store. FIG. 6 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating the functions of a content management device 50. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of content data stored in a content storage unit 5021. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of product data stored in a product information storage unit 5022. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of store clerk data stored in a store clerk information storage unit 5023. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of customer data stored in a customer information storage unit 5024. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of store-specific priority data stored in a priority item setting information storage unit 5025. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the content management device 50. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating product data based on acquired product identification information. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of content priority when sorted by products purchased by customers. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of content displayed on a display device 70. FIG. 16 is a schematic external view illustrating the vicinity of a checkout counter in a store. FIG. 17 is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating the functions of a content management device 50A. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of bagging time data stored in a customer information storage unit 5024A. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of usage mode data stored in a usage mode storage unit 5026A. It is a flowchart explaining the operation of the content management device 50A in the second embodiment. It is a schematic functional block diagram showing the configuration of the content management system Sa. It is a schematic functional block diagram showing the configuration of the content management system Sc.

[0009]

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <<First Embodiment>> Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a content management system S according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The content management system S includes a scanner 10, a membership card 20, a store clerk card 25, a POS (point of sales) terminal 30, a router 40, a content management device 50, a router 60, and a display device 70.

[0010] The scanner 10 optically reads the product identification information 5a attached to the product 5 and outputs the read result to the POS terminal 30. The scanner 10 also optically reads the customer identification information attached to the membership card 20 and outputs the read result to the POS terminal 30. The scanner 10 also optically reads the store clerk identification information attached to the store clerk card 25 and outputs the read result to the POS terminal 30.

[0011] The membership card 20 is distributed individually to customers who have registered as members at the store. A barcode representing customer identification information is printed on the face of the membership card 20. The barcode may be either a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode.

[0012] The clerk card 25 is individually distributed to each clerk in the store. A barcode representing clerk identification information is printed on the face of the clerk card 25. The barcode may be either a one-dimensional barcode or a two-dimensional barcode. The clerk card 25 may also be used as a name tag with the clerk's name and other information written on it.

[0013] The POS terminal 30 is installed in a store that sells the products 5, etc. The store may be any store that is a base for selling products and where customers can stay in the store to make payments, such as a convenience store, supermarket, kiosk, department store, shopping center, drug store, mass retailer, etc. In this embodiment, a case where the store is a convenience store will be described as an example.

[0014] Examples of situations in which a customer may stay in the store following payment include the time while a store clerk bags the purchased items near the POS terminal 30, the time until a store clerk provides the items in response to a customer's order or the like made to the store clerk using the POS terminal 30, and the time while the customer bags the items after payment has been made via the POS terminal 30. Examples of situations in which a store clerk provides a product in response to a customer's order or the like include the following cases (1) to (4). (1) When taking hot snacks from a hot showcase and handing them to a customer. (2) When using a soft serve ice cream server (soft serve ice cream server) installed in the store to squeeze the ingredients into a cone or other form and hand it to a customer. (3) When using a microwave or other cooking appliance to cook food items purchased by a customer. (4) When cooking food items ordered by a customer in a kitchen installed in the store and serving them to the customer. (5) When checking the contents of a coupon or voucher presented by a customer, taking the product corresponding to the coupon or voucher from a shelf or storage case and handing it to the customer.

[0015] The POS terminal 30 acquires the product identification information, customer identification information, and store clerk identification information output from the scanner 10, and transmits the acquired product identification information, customer identification information, and store clerk identification information to the content management device 50 via the router 40. The POS terminal 30 also acquires the product price based on the read product identification information, calculates the payment amount based on the product price, and performs payment processing in response to payment from the customer.

[0016] The router 40 is communicatively connected to the POS terminal 30 via the network NWa. The router 40 is also communicatively connected to the content management device 50 via the network NWb. The networks NWa and NWb may be wired or wireless, or may be a combination of wired and wireless networks.

[0017] The content management device 50 is communicatively connected to the POS terminal 30 via the router 40, and receives various data transmitted from the POS terminal 30. The content management device 50 is also communicatively connected to the display device 70 via the router 60, and transmits various data to the display device 70. For example, the content management device 50 can transmit content to the display device 70, causing the display device 70 to display the content.

[0018] The router 60 is communicatively connected to the content management device 50 via the network NWc. The router 40 is communicatively connected to the display device 70 via the network NWd. The networks NWc and NWd may be wired or wireless, or may be a combination of wired and wireless networks.

[0019] The display device 70 is installed in the store. For example, the display device 70 is provided near the POS terminal 30 and positioned so as to be visible to customers making payments at the POS terminal 30. The display device 70 may be attached to the POS terminal 30, for example, with the display screen oriented so as to be visible to customers. This allows customers to view content displayed on the display device 70 during their stay.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic external view showing the area around a checkout counter where a POS terminal 30 is installed in a store. In this figure, two POS terminals 30, POS terminal 30a and POS terminal 30b, are installed side by side on checkout counter RC. POS terminal 30a is used by store clerk CLa to read barcodes attached to products purchased by customer CU1 and perform payment processing. Customer CU1 can view content displayed on at least one of a display device 70-1 attached to the top of POS terminal 30a and a display device 70-2 suspended from the ceiling above POS terminal 30a. A sensor SE1 is attached to the bottom of display device 70-2. Sensor SE1 detects whether a customer is near POS terminal 30a and outputs the detection result to content management device 50 via POS terminal 30a or router 40. The sensor SE1 can detect whether or not a customer (for example, customer CU1) who is making a purchase is present near a cash register (POS terminal 30a) that reads the product using a scanner.

[0021] The POS terminal 30b is used by a store clerk CLb to read barcodes attached to products purchased by customer CU2 and to process payments. Customer CU3 can view content displayed on at least one of a display device 70-5 attached to the top of the POS terminal 30b and a display device 70-6 suspended from the ceiling above the POS terminal 30b. A sensor SE2 is attached to the bottom of the display device 70-6. The sensor SE2 detects whether a customer is near the POS terminal 30b and outputs the detection result to the content management device 50 via the POS terminal 30b or the router 40. The sensor SE2 can detect whether a customer (e.g., customer CU2) is near the cash register (POS terminal 30b) that scans products using a scanner.

[0022] The content displayed on such a display device 70 can be viewed by any customer who is near the POS terminal 30a or POS terminal 30b, and can be viewed not only during the dwell time but also while the product to be purchased is being read by the scanner.

[0023] 3 is a functional block diagram showing the functions of the content management device 50. The content management device 50 has a communication unit 501, a storage unit 502, an acquisition unit 503, a store clerk information acquisition unit 504, a customer information acquisition unit 505, an estimation unit 506, an extraction unit 507, a content provision unit 508, and a control unit 509. The communication unit 501 communicates with the POS terminal 30 via the router 40, and with the display device 70 via the router 60.

[0024] The storage unit 502 stores various data. The storage unit 502 is configured with a storage medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random access read / write memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or any combination of these storage media. For example, a non-volatile memory may be used for the storage unit 502. The storage unit 502 includes a content storage unit 5021, a product information storage unit 5022, a salesperson information storage unit 5023, a customer information storage unit 5024, and a priority item setting information storage unit 5025.

[0025] The content storage unit 5021 stores content and the playback time of the content. The content storage unit 5021 stores content data in which advertising information, target, content, item classification indicating the content classification, and playback time of the content are associated with each other.

[0026] The product information storage unit 5022 stores product data in which product identification information attached to the product is associated with an item indicating the classification assigned to the product. The store clerk information storage unit 5023 stores store clerk data in which bagging time, work time, and store clerk identification information are associated with each other.

[0027] The customer information storage unit 5024 stores customer identification information, date of birth, gender, and purchase data.

[0028] The priority item setting information storage unit 5025 stores store-specific priority data indicating the priority order determined for each store regarding which content should be preferentially displayed. The priority order indicates that content with a higher priority is preferentially extracted. In the following description, the smaller the priority number, the more likely the content is to be prioritized, but the larger the number, the more likely the content is to be prioritized.

[0029] The acquisition unit 503 acquires the result of reading, by the scanner, the product identification information attached to the product to be purchased.

[0030] The store clerk information acquisition unit 504 acquires store clerk identification information that identifies the store clerk who handles the cash register.

[0031] The customer information acquisition unit 505 acquires customer identification information from the scanner 10 in response to the customer identification information being read by the scanner 10 from the membership card 20 presented by a customer who purchases a product at the POS terminal 30.

[0032] The estimation unit 506 estimates the work time associated with the purchase of a product in a store, which is a work that occurs in a process different from the scanning process in which product identification information is read. The work includes the preparation time required for a store clerk to prepare the product in response to a customer request. The preparation time may include, for example, at least one of the following (a) to (c): (a) the serving time required to remove the hot snack ordered by the customer from the hot showcase and serve it to the customer; (b) the cooking time required to cook the product ordered by the customer and hand it over to the customer; and (c) the exchange time required for the clerk to prepare the product according to the coupon presented by the customer and hand it over to the customer.

[0033] The estimation unit 506 also reads the bagging time and work time corresponding to the scanned items from the clerk information storage unit 5023 based on the clerk identification information acquired by the clerk information acquisition unit 504, and estimates the work time based on the read times. The bagging time corresponding to the scanned items may be calculated from the number of scanned items and the bagging time required for each item. Alternatively, the average bagging time per item may be used, or different bagging times may be used for each item.

[0034] The extraction unit 507 extracts content corresponding to the total time of the bagging time for bagging the products based on the scanned product identification information and the work time from the content storage unit 5021. The extraction unit 507 also extracts content to which items corresponding to the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503 are assigned from the content storage unit 5021, and extracts combinations of content that include content with a higher priority than the extracted content, and whose total playback time of the combined content fits within the total time.

[0035] The content providing unit 508 displays the extracted content on a display device visible to the customer. For example, even after all of the extracted content has been played, if the presence of a customer is detected by sensors SE1 and SE2, the content providing unit 508 displays the highest priority extracted content that has not yet been displayed on the display device. Furthermore, the content providing unit 508 displays the content during the period when the scanned product is being bagged by a store clerk after payment for the product is completed.

[0036] The above-mentioned communication unit 501, acquisition unit 503, clerk information acquisition unit 504, customer information acquisition unit 505, estimation unit 506, extraction unit 507, content provision unit 508, and control unit 509 may be composed of a processing unit such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0037] 4 is a diagram showing an example of content data stored in the content storage unit 5021. The content data includes advertisement information, target, advertisement content, item classification, and playback time. The advertisement information is information indicating the title of the advertisement.

[0038] The target indicates the attributes of the customers to whom the content (advertising information) is to be displayed. For example, "all ages" indicates that the target is any age, and "men in their teens to 30s" indicates that the target is men in their teens to 30s.

[0039] Advertisement content is an example of content. The content may be either video or still images. The advertisement content includes content data that introduces products or services offered at the store to customers. Furthermore, the advertisement content for "rice ball discount" may include content explaining the conditions and period for which the rice balls can be discounted. In this embodiment, a case where the content is an advertisement is described, but the content may be other than an advertisement, and may be, for example, information about the area where the store is located, a weather forecast, disaster prevention notices, recent news, etc.

[0040] The item classification indicates the classification of the content. For example, the advertising information "rice ball discount" and "buy a specific drink and get a free ticket" are assigned the item classification "discount information," indicating that the advertising information is classified as information related to product discounts. Furthermore, the advertising information "release of new drink" is assigned the item classification "new product information" and "gender," indicating that two items are assigned to the advertising information: a classification related to new products and a classification related to gender. Furthermore, the advertising information "nutritional balance of frozen foods" is assigned the item classification "frozen foods," indicating that the advertising information is classified as information related to frozen foods. The items used in this item classification can be used as tags or keywords.

[0041] The playback time indicates the time that the advertisement information "New Hot Snacks on Sale" is displayed on the display device. For example, the playback time of the advertisement information "New Hot Snacks on Sale" is "10 seconds," which indicates that the time from the start of playback to the end of playback of this advertisement information is 10 seconds.

[0042] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of product data stored in the product information storage unit 5022. The product data is data in which product identification information attached to the product, the product, an item classification, and an additional process are associated with each other. The item classification indicates the classification assigned to the product. The additional process represents a process other than the process of reading the barcode attached to the product with the scanner 10. The additional process can also be considered an additional job. Examples of the additional process include preparing hot snacks, preparing sweets, and cooking food such as boxed lunches using a cooking appliance, such as heating them. For example, the product with product identification information "1" is "500ml of tea," the item classification is "discount information," and the additional process is "none." The additional process of "none" indicates that the product with product identification information "1" can be bagged without performing any additional process after the identification information is read by the scanner 10. Furthermore, the product with product identification information "94" is "hot snack AA," the item classification is "drink," and the additional process is "hot snack." Because the additional process is "hot snacks," the product with product identification information "94" indicates that there is a process related to hot snacks (for example, the time-consuming process (a) described above) after the identification information is read by scanner 10. Since the product data is associated with an item classification for each product, for example, when a customer purchases any of the products, it is possible to identify the item classification corresponding to the purchased product.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of clerk data stored in the clerk information storage unit 5023. The clerk data is data in which clerk identification information, bagging time, and work time are associated with each other. The clerk identification information is information that individually identifies each clerk. The bagging time is the time it takes to put items whose barcodes are interfered with by the scanner 10 into a shopping bag. Here, the bagging time is described as the average bagging time per item, but different bagging times may be used for different items. The work time includes the time required to prepare hot snacks, the time required to prepare sweets, the time required to exchange coupons, and the time required for cooking. It is expected that the bagging time and work time will vary for each clerk depending on factors such as the length of the clerk's employment. Therefore, the bagging time and work time may be determined based on the clerk's employment period. Alternatively, the bagging time and work time may be determined based on the actual time required for the clerk to bag items and the time required to perform processes other than scanning, and stored in association with the clerk identification.

[0044] The hot snack service time is the time it takes to remove a hot snack from the hot showcase and hand it to the customer in response to a customer order, and represents the service time per hot snack. The sweet service time is the time it takes to prepare a sweet, such as soft serve ice cream, in response to a customer order and hand it to the customer, and represents the service time per sweet. The coupon exchange time is the time it takes to check the contents of a coupon or voucher presented by a customer, remove the product corresponding to the coupon or voucher from a shelf or storage case, and hand it to the customer. This coupon exchange time represents the service time per coupon. The cooking time is the time it takes to heat food using a cooking appliance such as a microwave in response to a customer order and hand it to the customer, and represents the service time per product. Here, the work time may include kitchen time, which is the time it takes to cook the food ordered by the customer in a kitchen installed in the store and serve it to the customer.

[0045] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of customer data stored in the customer information storage unit 5024. The customer data includes, for example, customer identification information, date of birth, gender, and purchase data. The customer identification information is information that individually identifies a customer. The customer identification information is assigned individually when a membership registration application is accepted in response to a customer's request. The date of birth indicates the customer's date of birth. The gender indicates the customer's gender. The purchase data is a log that indicates products that the customer has purchased in the past. The purchase data may be data in which product identification information is associated with the date and time of purchase.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of store-specific priority data stored in the priority item setting information storage unit 5025. The store-specific priority data shown in FIG. 8 is data set for a certain store, while for other stores, priorities, items, and specific examples are determined according to the policies and preferences of each store. The priority data, for example, is data in which priorities, target items, and specific examples are associated. Priorities are determined in ascending order, starting from 1, where 1 is the highest priority, and increasing numbers indicate lower priorities. Items are target items to be prioritized and can be determined based on advertisements (tags, keywords, etc.) and attributes (age range, gender, etc.) that can be used as item classifications. Specific examples indicate detailed content for each item classification. Here, priority "1" is associated with the item classification "discount information" and the specific example "x discount." Here, waiting time varies depending on the number of products purchased, the number and type of products that require additional processes, etc., but stores desire to display content that will have as high an appealing effect as possible during the waiting time determined based on these factors. Therefore, the store can determine what content it wants to display with priority during this limited waiting time from the perspective of item classification and specific examples.

[0047] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the content management system S. Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the content management device 50. Here, a case where the store is a convenience store will be described as an example.

[0048] <Step S1: Acquiring Store Clerk Information> When a customer places a product to be purchased from products displayed in the store into a shopping cart and carries it to the checkout counter, the store clerk uses the scanner 10 to read the barcode attached to the store clerk card 25 held by the store clerk. The scanner 10 reads the barcode attached to the store clerk's store clerk card 25 and transmits the read result to the POS terminal 30 as store clerk identification information. When the POS terminal 30 acquires the store clerk identification information, it transmits the store clerk identification information to the content management device 50. The store clerk information acquisition unit 504 of the content management device 50 determines whether the store clerk identification information has been acquired from the POS terminal 30. If the store clerk identification information has not been acquired, the store clerk information acquisition unit 504 executes the process of step S1 again after a certain waiting time has elapsed. On the other hand, if the store clerk identification information has been acquired, the store clerk information acquisition unit 504 proceeds to step S2. The store clerk information is stored in the content management server and synchronized with the barcode on the name tag. The store clerk information includes past customer service data, which is used to estimate the time required for customer service. The time required for customer service is assumed to be from the completion of payment to the completion of bagging.

[0049] <Step S2: Acquiring Customer Information> In step S2, the POS terminal 30 acquires customer information. The customer information can be acquired by obtaining customer identification information corresponding to the barcode read by the scanner 10 on the membership card 20. Alternatively, rather than by reading the membership card 20, the customer information can be acquired by pressing one of the customer demographic buttons on the POS terminal 30 for inputting customer attributes and acquiring the customer attributes assigned to that customer demographic button. The customer demographic buttons are divided into male and female demographic buttons corresponding to age groups, such as "Under 10," "Teens," "Twenties," "Thirties," "Forties to Fifties," and "Sixties and Over." The store clerk estimates the gender and age of the customer based on their appearance and presses the demographic button corresponding to the estimation result. After acquiring the customer information, the POS terminal 30 transmits the acquired customer information to the content management device 50. The acquired customer information is either customer identification information or customer attributes. When the customer information acquisition unit 505 of the content management device 50 is able to acquire customer identification information by reading the membership card 20 with the scanner 10, it can obtain customer information by referring to the customer information storage unit 5024 based on the customer identification information and reading out the date of birth and gender registered at the time of member registration.

[0050] <Step S3: Determining Whether Past Purchase Data Can Be Acquired> In step S3, the control unit 509 determines whether past purchase data can be acquired. If the barcode on the membership card is read by the scanner 10 in step S2, the control unit 509 determines that purchase data can be acquired (step S3—YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if customer attributes have been obtained by pressing the customer demographic button in step S2, the control unit 509 determines that past purchase product data cannot be acquired (step S3—NO). In this case, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0051] <Step S4: Obtaining information on past purchased products> If customer identification information is obtained in step S3, the customer information acquisition unit 505 refers to the customer information storage unit 5024 and reads out the purchase data corresponding to the customer identification information, thereby obtaining information on past purchased products.

[0052] <Step S5: Obtaining Product Information> In step S5, the store clerk removes one product from the shopping cart and uses scanner 10 to read the barcode attached to the removed product. Scanner 10 reads the barcode attached to the product and outputs the read result to the POS terminal 30 as product identification information. The store clerk places the product whose barcode has been read on the checkout counter and uses scanner 10 to read the barcodes of each product in turn until there are no more products in the shopping cart. In this way, the POS terminal 30 sequentially obtains product identification information each time the scanner 10 reads a barcode. Each time the POS terminal 30 obtains product identification information, it transmits the obtained product identification information to the content management device 50. The acquisition unit 503 of the content management device 50 sequentially obtains product identification information from the POS terminal 30. The control unit 509 of the content management device 50 stores the received product identification information as purchase data in the customer information storage unit 5024. In addition to the products placed in the shopping cart, customers may also verbally order products such as hot snacks and soft serve ice cream that are prepared by a store clerk. In such cases, the store clerk reads the barcode corresponding to the ordered product from a list of barcodes printed on a print medium. The POS terminal 30 then obtains product identification information for the products such as hot snacks and soft serve ice cream that are prepared by a store clerk, and transmits the information to the content management device 50. The acquisition unit 503 of the content management device 50 obtains the product identification information for the products such as hot snacks and soft serve ice cream.

[0053] <Step S6: Estimation of Waiting Time> After each item to be purchased has been scanned, the store clerk presses the "Subtotal" button on the POS terminal 30. The POS terminal 30 performs payment processing in response to the pressing of the "Subtotal" button. Furthermore, when the "Subtotal" button is pressed, the POS terminal 30 transmits a registration completion signal to the content management device 50, indicating that registration of the product identification information has been completed. Upon receiving the registration completion signal, the estimation unit 506 of the content management device 50 estimates the waiting time. The waiting time includes bagging time and work time. Hereinafter, the waiting time may also be referred to as waiting time. This waiting time is the time during which a viewing opportunity is possible for the customer to view the content. For example, the estimation unit 506 estimates the waiting time based on the number of scanned product identification information, orders for products requiring processes other than scanning, and store clerk identification information. The estimation unit 506 can obtain the number of scanned product identification information by counting the number of product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503 in step S3.

[0054] In addition, the estimation unit 506 reads out the bagging time and work time corresponding to the store clerk identification information acquired by the store clerk information acquisition unit 504, and estimates the time required to bag the purchased products by multiplying the read bagging time by the number of product identification information.

[0055] The estimation unit 506 also calculates the time required to fulfill an order for a product that requires a process other than scanning. For example, the estimation unit 506 extracts products that require work time from the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503 in step S3. For example, the estimation unit 506 references the product information storage unit 5022 for the additional process corresponding to the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503, and extracts products whose additional process corresponds to one of "hot snacks," "sweets," "cooking," and "product exchange." Then, based on the extracted additional process, the estimation unit 506 references the store clerk information storage unit 5023 and adds the work time corresponding to the product that corresponds to the additional process. For example, if the product identification information for the product "hot snacks AA" has been acquired, the estimation unit 506 reads out the "hot snacks handling time" corresponding to the store clerk identification information from the work time stored in the store clerk information storage unit 5023, based on the fact that the additional process for this product is "hot snacks." If the store clerk identification information "CL0010" was acquired in step S1, the estimation unit 506 reads "6.5 seconds" as the "hot snacks handling time" corresponding to the store clerk identification information "CL0010." Similarly, if there are other products among the product identification information acquired in step S5 that correspond to additional processes (e.g., "sweets," "product exchange," etc.), the estimation unit 506 reads out the operation time for each of them. After the operation times are read out, the estimation unit 506 can estimate the time required to fulfill orders for products that require processes other than scanning by adding up the operation times for each product. The estimation unit 506 calculates the waiting time by adding up the time required to bag the purchased products and the time required to fulfill orders for products that require processes other than scanning.

[0056] Here, the bagging time and work time are calculated according to the store clerk identification information, so even if the time is artificial, the waiting time can be calculated according to the store clerk, taking into account the store clerk's experience and length of service.

[0057] Below is a specific example of how to calculate waiting time. Example: Customer information: Male, in his 20s Purchased items: 1 500ml bottle of tea, 2 rice balls (uncooked), 1 hot snack, 1 salad Staff information: Based on data from the past 20 transactions, the time it takes to bag each item is 1.5 seconds. The time it takes to handle a hot snack is 18 seconds, from taking the hot snack out to bagging it. Estimated waiting time: (Bagging items other than hot snacks) 1.5 seconds x 4 items = 6 seconds (Time taken for the hot snack) 18 seconds Total is 6 seconds + 18 seconds = 24 seconds

[0058] <Step S7: Advertisement Selection> Once the dwell time (waiting time) has been calculated, in step S7, the extraction unit 507 of the content management device 50 extracts content corresponding to the dwell time and related to the customer's purchased product information. FIG. 10 shows product data based on the product identification information acquired in step S5. In this example, if a customer purchases five products, product data for these purchased products is extracted. The extracted product data is categorized into "discount information," "new product release," "discount information," "beverages," and "frozen foods." The customer information acquired in step S2 is "male in his twenties."

[0059] The extraction unit 507 then sorts and determines the priority item setting information stored in the priority item setting information storage unit 5025 according to the customer's purchased product information.

[0060] Here, a method for providing an appropriate advertisement to a customer is to link the customer information obtained in step S2 and the information on the product purchased by the customer obtained in step S3 with the information contained in the displayed advertisement. Methods for linking information include, for example, the following methods (A) to (C).

[0061] (A) Linking by Item: Several items, such as "drinks" or "frozen foods," are linked to products and advertisements in advance, and advertisements with tags related to the products purchased by the customer are provided. (B) Linking from Other Customer Information: Data is collected on what other products other customers who have purchased the same product as the product indicated by the product identification information obtained in step S5 also purchase when purchasing the product, and advertisements for products that are frequently purchased together are provided. (C) Linking from Customer Shopping Tendencies: A camera installed at the store entrance captures images of customers entering the store, and facial recognition is performed using the captured facial images. Multiple cameras installed in the store track the customer's movements within the store while shopping, thereby extracting sales areas where customers spent a long time lingering and sales areas with shelves displaying products that customers have removed from shelves and examined. Advertisements related to the relevant sales areas are then provided.

[0062] An example of selecting advertisements linked to customer purchase information is shown below, taking the case of the priority item setting shown in FIG. 8 as an example. FIG. 11 shows an example of content priorities when content data corresponding to the item categories assigned to the customer's purchased products are extracted and sorted according to the item categories assigned to the extracted content data and the priority of each item set by the priority item setting shown in FIG. 8 . For example, because the item category assigned to the purchased product "500ml of tea" is "discount information" (see FIG. 10), records of content data (see FIG. 4) assigned the item category "discount information" are extracted. Here, for example, advertising information "rice ball discount" and advertising information "purchase a specific drink and receive a free ticket" assigned the item category "discount information" are extracted. Furthermore, because the item category assigned to the purchased product "rice ball A" is "new product release" (see FIG. 10), records of content data (see FIG. 4) assigned the item category "new product release" are extracted. Here, for example, the advertising information "New Hot Snack Release" and the advertising information "New Beverage Release" are extracted, each assigned to the category "New Product Release." In this way, content records corresponding to each product purchased by the customer are extracted. The extracted records are then sorted according to priority based on the priority item setting ( FIG. 8 ), resulting in the results shown in FIG. 11 . Here, advertising information assigned to the category "Discount Information" (e.g., "Rice Ball Discount," "Get a Free Coupon with Purchase of a Specific Beverage") is ranked higher, followed by advertising information assigned to the category "New Product Information" (e.g., "New Hot Snack Release," "New Beverage Release"). If there are multiple pieces of advertising information assigned the same category, the advertising information with multiple category categories assigned to it is sorted higher among the advertising information assigned to the same category. Then, advertisements are extracted from the highest priority of the sorted content, resulting in a combination that falls within the range of the estimated waiting time.For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , when the priorities of the sorted content are obtained, if Priority 1 (rice ball discount), Priority 2 (a free coupon can be received with the purchase of a specific drink), and Priority 3 (the release of a new hot snack) are extracted, the result is Priority 1 (8 seconds) + Priority 2 (10 seconds) + Priority 3 (10 seconds) = 28 seconds, which does not fall within the calculated waiting time of 24 seconds. Therefore, the extraction unit 507 does not adopt this combination. Next, if Priority 1 (rice ball discount), Priority 2 (a free coupon can be received with the purchase of a specific drink), and Priority 4 (the release of a new drink) are extracted, the result is Priority 1 (8 seconds) + Priority 2 (10 seconds) + Priority 4 (5 seconds) = 23 seconds, which falls within the calculated waiting time of 24 seconds. Therefore, the extraction unit 507 adopts this combination. By extracting this combination as the final extraction result, the extraction unit 507 can obtain a combination that can provide information most efficiently within the estimated waiting time.

[0063] <Step S8: Display of Advertisement> Once the extraction unit 507 extracts a combination of content items, the content provider 508 displays the extracted content items on the display device 70 so that they are played in order of priority. After the "Subtotal" button is pressed in step S6, the store clerk uses the POS terminal 30 to process the payment in accordance with the customer's payment, bags the items, and performs additional processes such as preparing the ordered hot snacks and sweets. In response to the "Subtotal" button being pressed in step S6, steps S7 to S9 are executed, and content items are displayed on the display device 70. The content items begin to be displayed when the store clerk bags each item or performs additional processes. Therefore, the customer can watch the content items while waiting for the store clerk to bag the items or prepare the hot snacks. Furthermore, the playback time of the content items is set according to the number of purchased items and the time required to perform additional processes, so the content items can be viewed in a time that matches the waiting time.

[0064] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of content displayed on the display device 70. As shown in FIG.

[0065] <Step S9: Customer Detection> A certain time (e.g., 5 seconds) before the playback of the content extracted in step S8 ends, the control unit 509 acquires detection results from sensors SE1 and SE2 and determines, based on these detection results, whether a customer is near the checkout counter before the checkout process is complete. If bagging or serving of hot snacks has not been completed, the customer remains near the checkout counter because the checkout process is not complete. If the checkout process is complete, the customer moves away from the checkout counter and then leaves the store. If there is no customer near the checkout counter (step S9—NO), the control unit 509 instructs the content provider 508 not to display additional content. As a result, the content provider 508 does not display additional content, but instead displays predetermined content on the display device until the next customer checks out. The control unit 509 then transitions to step S1.

[0066] <Step S10: Display of Additional Content> On the other hand, if there is a customer near the checkout counter (step S9—YES), the control unit 509 instructs the content providing unit 508 to display the additional content. Upon receiving this instruction, the content providing unit 508 displays, on the display device 70, the content extracted in step S7 that has not yet been displayed. Here, the content providing unit 508 may display, on the display device, the content with the highest priority among the content output by the extraction unit 507 that has not yet been displayed.

[0067] In the above-described embodiment, the time required for an order for a hot snack is considered as the operation time. However, if a customer orders a sweet, the waiting time can be calculated by including the time required for the sweet in the operation time. Furthermore, if a customer presents a coupon, the barcode attached to the coupon is read by the scanner 10, and the exchange time corresponding to the coupon corresponding to the product identification information indicated by the read barcode is read and included in the operation time to calculate the waiting time. Furthermore, if any of the purchased products is associated with the additional process "cooking," the time required for cooking the product can be calculated by including the operation time.

[0068] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case where a store clerk bags purchased items was described. In the second embodiment, a case where a customer bags the items themselves will be described. In a case where a customer bags the items themselves, for example, after items are scanned by a scanner 10 at a checkout counter and payment is completed, the customer carries the basket containing the paid items to a bagging table located near the checkout counter but behind the POS terminal, and the customer bags the items themselves. Examples of such stores include supermarkets and pharmacies (drugstores). The bagging table may be located in a location away from the checkout counter, with the table surface of the checkout counter expanded to provide space for customers to bag the items themselves, or it may be located away from the checkout counter.

[0069] In stores where customers bag their own items, there is no need to consider fluctuations in estimated waiting time due to the working speed of store clerks. However, it is necessary to consider the bagging time of the customer. This is done by acquiring data on customer attributes such as age group and gender, as well as the bagging time that varies for each customer, obtained in step S2, to estimate the bagging time according to age group and gender. Furthermore, at shopping counters, in addition to packing items into shopping bags, some items may be placed in roll bags before being packed. If there are items that may be packed in roll bags, time is required to put the items into the roll bags, which increases the overall bagging time compared to bagging without placing them in roll bags. The more items that need to be packed into roll bags, the longer the bagging time.

[0070] In the second embodiment, when a customer packs products, the process of putting the products into a roll bag is treated as an additional process, and the time required for this additional process is added to the time required for packing the products to calculate the dwell time. In this case, since the customer stays at the bagging counter while packing the products, content can be displayed on a display device installed on the bagging counter, allowing the customer to view the content during their dwell time.

[0071] FIG. 13 is a schematic external view showing the area around a shopping cart at a store. In this figure, customer CU21 and customer CU22 are bagging items for which payment has been completed at the shopping cart BT. Display devices 70-7 and 70-8 are arranged side by side on the shopping cart BT according to the bagging position. Display device 70-7 is installed in front of the bagging position of customer CU21. Customer CU21 can bag the items while viewing content displayed on display device 70-7. Similarly, display device 70-8 is installed in front of the bagging position of customer CU22. Customer CU22 can bag the items while viewing content displayed on display device 70-8. A roll bag is attached to a holder between display devices 70-7 and 70-8, allowing bagging customers to use it as needed. A roll bag is made up of connected bags rolled up lengthwise, and can be used as a single bag by pulling out the end and separating it along the perforations. Such roll bags are sometimes used to store fresh foods such as meat and fish that are placed on a tray and sealed with a transparent film. By placing the fresh foods in a roll bag, even if moisture or other substances leak out of the product, they are less likely to leak out of the roll bag.

[0072] In addition, a sensor SE5 is provided near the sucker table BT to detect whether or not a customer is present. This sensor SE5 is, for example, a camera that captures an image of the area including the sucker table BT and detects whether or not a customer is present based on whether or not an image corresponding to a customer packing items at the sucker table BT can be extracted from the captured image. If an image corresponding to a customer is extracted, the sensor SE5 detects that a customer is present, and if an image corresponding to a customer is not extracted, the sensor SE5 detects that a customer is not present.

[0073] In the second embodiment, the configuration of the content management system S is similar, but the functions of the content management device 50 are different. Therefore, a description of the configuration of the content management system S will be omitted, and the following description will mainly focus on the differences in the content management device 50. Figure 14 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions of a content management device 50A. In Figure 14, parts that are common to the content management device 50 in Figure 3 are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. The content management device 50A differs from the content management device 50 in that it has a customer information storage unit 5024A, a usage mode storage unit 5026A, a customer information acquisition unit 505A, an estimation unit 506A, and a content provision unit 508A.

[0074] The customer information storage unit 5024A stores bagging time data that associates the time it takes to pack items into shopping bags, the time it takes to place the items into roll bags, and customer attributes. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of bagging time data stored in the customer information storage unit 5024A. The bagging time data associates attribute information with the bagging time per item and the bagging time per item into roll bags. For example, for the attribute "female in her 30s," the bagging time per item when packing items into a shopping bag is "1.8 seconds," and the time it takes per item to place items into a roll bag is "8.2 seconds."

[0075] The usage mode storage unit 5026A stores usage mode data in which product identification information is associated with a usage mode indicating whether or not the product is likely to be placed in a roll bag. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of usage mode data stored in the usage mode storage unit 5026A. The usage mode data is data in which product identification information, product name, and roll bag usage are associated with each other. The roll bag usage is information indicating whether or not the product is likely to be placed in a roll bag. Regarding roll bag usage, "Yes" indicates that a roll bag may be used, and "No" indicates that a roll bag is not expected to be used. For example, the product identification information "AB12345" is associated with the name "Onigiri 0001," and the roll bag usage is "No," indicating that a roll bag is not expected to be used. Furthermore, the product identification information "DEF5311" is associated with the name "Chicken 1001," and the roll bag usage is "Yes," indicating that a roll bag may be used.

[0076] The customer information acquisition unit 505A acquires attribute information of the customer who will be bagging the products.

[0077] The estimation unit 506A estimates a task time including the time it takes for the customer to pack some of the products into a roll bag after payment for the products is completed and the time it takes for the customer to pack the products into a shopping bag. The estimation unit 506A calculates a first time required for the customer to pack the products based on the number of products based on the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503 and the bagging time corresponding to the attribute information acquired by the customer information acquisition unit 505A. The estimation unit 506A also calculates a second time required for the customer to pack the products into a roll bag based on the number of products that may be packed into a roll bag among the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 503 and the packing time corresponding to the attribute information acquired by the customer information acquisition unit 505A. The estimation unit 506A also extracts content corresponding to the total time of the first time and the second time from the content storage unit 5021.

[0078] The content providing unit 508A displays the content on the display device during the period when the customer is putting the products into a shopping bag after the payment is completed. Even after all of the extracted content has been played, if the sensor detects that the customer is present, the content providing unit 508A displays the highest priority content among the extracted content that has not been displayed on the display device.

[0079] The above-mentioned communication unit 501, acquisition unit 503, clerk information acquisition unit 504, customer information acquisition unit 505A, estimation unit 506A, extraction unit 507, content provision unit 508A, and control unit 509 may be composed of a processing unit such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0080] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the content management device 50A in the second embodiment. <Step S21: Acquisition of Customer Information> When a customer places a product to be purchased from products displayed in the store into a shopping cart and carries it to the checkout counter, a store clerk manually inputs the customer information. This input is performed by using the scanner 10 to read the barcode on the membership card 20 or by pressing one of the customer demographic buttons on the POS terminal 30 for inputting customer attributes. Based on this input, the POS terminal 30 acquires the customer information by acquiring customer identification information corresponding to the barcode or the customer attributes assigned to the pressed customer demographic button. After acquiring the customer information, the POS terminal 30 transmits the acquired customer information to the content management device 50A. The customer information acquisition unit 505A of the content management device 50 acquires the customer information. If the acquired customer information is customer identification information, the customer information acquisition unit 505A can obtain the customer information by referring to the customer information storage unit 5024 based on the customer identification information and reading out the date of birth and gender registered at the time of member registration.

[0081] <Step S22: Determining Whether Past Purchase Data Can Be Acquired> In step S22, the control unit 509 determines whether past purchase data can be acquired. If the barcode on the membership card is read by the scanner 10 in step S2, the control unit 509 determines that purchase data can be acquired (step S22—YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if customer attributes have been obtained by pressing the customer demographic button in step S21, the control unit 509 determines that past purchase data cannot be acquired (step S22—NO). In this case, the process proceeds to step S24.

[0082] <Step S23: Obtaining past purchase product information> If customer identification information is obtained in step S3, the customer information acquisition unit 505A refers to the customer information storage unit 5024 and acquires past purchase product information by reading out the purchase data corresponding to the customer identification information.

[0083] <Step S24: Obtaining Product Information> In step S24, the store clerk removes one product from the shopping cart and uses the scanner 10 to read the barcode attached to the removed product. The scanner 10 reads the barcode attached to the product and outputs the read result to the POS terminal 30 as product identification information. The store clerk sequentially places registered products into the cart each time the barcode of the product is read. In this way, the POS terminal 30 sequentially obtains product identification information each time the barcode is read by the scanner 10. The POS terminal 30 transmits the obtained product identification information to the content management device 50 each time it obtains product identification information. The acquisition unit 503 of the content management device 50 sequentially obtains product identification information from the POS terminal 30. The control unit 509 of the content management device 50 stores the received product identification information as purchase data in the customer information storage unit 5024. Note that products that require additional processing, such as hot snacks and soft serve ice cream, may not be subject to purchase.

[0084] <Step S25: Estimating Waiting Time> After each item to be purchased has been scanned, the store clerk presses the "Subtotal" button on the POS terminal 30. The POS terminal 30 performs payment processing in response to the pressing of the "Subtotal" button. Furthermore, when the "Subtotal" button is pressed, the POS terminal 30 transmits a registration completion signal to the content management device 50, indicating that registration of the product identification information has been completed. Upon receiving the registration completion signal, the estimation unit 506A of the content management device 50 estimates the waiting time. The waiting time may include the bagging time and the work time required to place the products into the roll bag. For example, the estimation unit 506A estimates the waiting time based on the number of scanned product identification information pieces, the number of products that may be placed in the roll bag, and the customer identification information. The estimation unit 506A can obtain the number of scanned product identification information pieces by counting the number of product identification information pieces acquired by the acquisition unit 503 in step S3.

[0085] In addition, the estimation unit 506A reads out the bagging time and the time required to put the purchased items into a roll bag corresponding to the customer identification information acquired by the customer information acquisition unit 505, and estimates the time required to bag the purchased items by multiplying the read-out bagging time by the number of item identification information.

[0086] The estimation unit 506A also calculates and estimates the time required to put the products into the roll bag by multiplying the read-out time required to put the products into the roll bag by the number of products that may be put into the roll bag.The estimation unit 506A then calculates the residence time by adding up the time required to bag the purchased products and the time required to put the products into the roll bag.

[0087] Here, the time for bagging and the time for putting items into roll bags are calculated according to customer identification information, so even if the time is artificial, the residence time for that customer can be calculated taking into account the speed at which the customer bags the items and the time for putting items into roll bags, etc.

[0088] Below is a specific example of calculating dwell time. Here, we will explain an example of how to calculate bagging when the store is a supermarket and at least one of the purchased items is to be placed in a roll bag. Example: Customer information: Female in her 40s Number of items purchased: 15 items Number of purchased items that may be placed in a roll bag: 2 items Customer attributes: Based on past data, it is estimated that it takes 2 seconds to bag each item, and 5 seconds per item to remove the roll bag and place the item in. Estimated dwell time: (2 seconds x 15 items) + (5 seconds x 2 items) = 40 seconds Here, even if the number of purchased items is 15, if only items that may not be placed in a roll bag are included, the dwell time is 30 seconds. However, if two items that may be placed in a roll bag are included, the dwell time is 40 seconds, which is an estimated dwell time of 10 seconds longer.

[0089] <Step S26: Selection of Advertisement> After the dwell time is calculated, in step S26, the extraction unit 507 of the content management device 50 extracts content that corresponds to the dwell time and is related to the customer's purchased product information. The extraction unit 507 can extract content in the same manner as the processing in step S7 in the first embodiment.

[0090] <Step S27: Display of Advertisement> Here, in step S25, the customer completes the payment procedure by paying the purchase amount. Once payment is complete, the customer carries the basket containing the registered products from the cash register counter to the shopping cart BT. Here, a camera is installed on the ceiling that captures images of the area from the cash register counter to the shopping cart. The ceiling camera captures images of the customer, tracks which shopping cart the customer will move to after completing payment, and identifies the destination location. The ceiling camera then notifies the content management device 50A of which shopping cart the customer will move to and the destination location.

[0091] When the extraction unit 507 extracts a combination of content, the content providing unit 508A displays the extracted content on the display device 70-7 or the display device 70-8 so that the extracted content is played in order according to priority. Here, since the ceiling camera has notified the user which soccer table is the destination and its location, the device identifies the soccer table to be moved to based on the notification, and by identifying the location of the soccer table, it selects either the display device 70-7 or the display device 70-8 depending on the location, and displays the content on the selected display device (for example, the display device 70-7).

[0092] This content is displayed in response to a store clerk's operation input to the POS terminal 30 indicating that the payment procedure has been completed. After completing the payment procedure, the customer carries the basket containing the registered products from the cash register counter to the shopping cart BT. Therefore, the content begins to be displayed around the time the customer arrives at the shopping cart BT. Therefore, the customer can view the content while placing the products into a roll bag or a shopping bag as needed. Furthermore, the playback time of this content is set according to the number of purchased products and the time required to complete the process of placing the products into the roll bag, so the content can be viewed with a playback time that matches the customer's dwell time.

[0093] The display device 70-7 displays content as shown in FIG. 12, for example.

[0094] <Step S28: Customer Detection> A certain time (e.g., 5 seconds) before the playback of the content extracted in step S26 ends, the control unit 509 acquires detection results from the sensor SE5 and determines whether a customer is present near the sucker table BT based on these detection results. The customer remains near the sucker table BT until bagging and other tasks are completed. Once bagging and other tasks are completed, the customer moves away from the sucker table BT and then leaves the store. If there are no customers present near the sucker table BT (step S28—NO), the control unit 509 instructs the content provider 508A not to display additional content. As a result, the content provider 508A does not display additional content, but instead displays predetermined content on the display device until the next customer checks in. The control unit 509 then proceeds to step S21.

[0095] <Step S10: Display of Additional Content> On the other hand, if there is a customer near the soccer table BT (step S28—YES), the control unit 509 instructs the content providing unit 508A to display the additional content. Upon receiving this instruction, the content providing unit 508A causes the display device 70-7 to display, among the content extracted in step S7, the content that has not yet been displayed. Here, the content providing unit 508A may cause the display device to display, among the content output by the extraction unit 507 but that has not yet been displayed, the content with the highest priority.

[0096] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to estimate the waiting time that will occur when paying at a store such as a convenience store or supermarket, and select and display appropriate content that will allow customers to obtain the maximum amount of information during that waiting time. Appropriate content is, for example, content that can be played within the waiting time range and may be an advertisement that includes information that meets the customer's needs.

[0097] By implementing this invention, it is possible to precisely estimate the waiting time that occurs during checkout and provide advertisements with the optimal amount of information to match that estimated time. In addition, by changing the content of advertisements according to customer tendencies, it is possible to further increase the effectiveness of advertisements.

[0098] FIG. 18 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the configuration of the content management system Sa. The acquisition unit 503B acquires product identification information for the products to be purchased and whether or not additional work is required based on the purchaser's request. The estimation unit 506B estimates the total work time based on the bagging time for the products to be purchased and the additional work time required for the additional work required for the products to be purchased. The work time may be either the preparation time required for a store clerk to prepare the products in response to a customer request or the time required to place the products in a roll bag. The preparation time may be determined based on the number of product identification information items read by the scanner. The time required to place the products in a roll bag may be determined based on the number of products read by the scanner that may be placed in a roll bag. The additional work may be additional work required for a store clerk to provide products in response to a customer's order (e.g., work occurring in cases (1) to (4) in the first embodiment). The additional work may also be the purchaser's work of placing the products in a roll bag. The memory unit 502B has a memory area that functions as a work time memory unit that stores product identification information and the additional work time required for the additional work in association with each other. The memory unit 502B also has a memory area that functions as a content memory unit that stores content and the playback time of the content. The extraction unit 507B extracts content corresponding to the total work time estimated by the estimation unit 506B from the memory unit 502B. The extraction unit 507B may read out one piece of content as the content corresponding to the total work time, or may extract a combination of content whose total playback time is equal to the total work time. The content providing unit 508B displays the extracted content on the display device 70B that is visible to the customer.

[0099] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the content management device 50 or the content management device 50A is connected to the POS terminal 30. However, some of the functions of the content management device 50 or the content management device 50A may be provided in an external device, the dwell time estimation device 80. FIG. 19 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the configuration of the content management system Sc. In the content management system Sc, the POS terminal 30 and the dwell time estimation device 80 are communicatively connected, and the dwell time estimation device 80 is communicatively connected to the content management device 50C. In FIG. 19, functions corresponding to the functions of the content management device 50 in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of those functions will be omitted. The dwell time estimation device 80 includes a communication unit 581, a memory unit 502, an acquisition unit 503, a store clerk information acquisition unit 504, a customer information acquisition unit 505, an estimation unit 506, and a control unit 589. The communication unit 581 has a function of communicating with the POS terminal 30 and a function of communicating with the content management device 50C. The control unit 589 controls the various units of the stay time estimation device 80. The content management device 50C has a communication unit 501C, a content storage unit 5021, an extraction unit 507, a content providing unit 508, and a control unit 509C. The communication unit 501C has a function of communicating with the stay time estimation device 80. The control unit 509C controls the various units of the content management device 50C. With this configuration, for example, the stay time estimation device 80 executes the processes from step S1 to step S6 shown in FIG. 9 and transmits the estimated waiting time acquired in step S6, the previously purchased product information acquired in step S2, and the product identification information acquired in step S3 to the content management device 50C. Extraction unit 507 of content management device 50C may extract advertisements that are relevant to the product purchased by the customer from the content stored in content storage unit 5021. Also, although the case where the functions of content management device 50 are separated into stay time estimation device 80 and content management device 50C has been described here, some of the functions of content management device 50A shown in Fig. 14 may also be provided in the stay time estimation device.

[0100] 1 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be read into a computer system and executed to perform construction management. Note that the term "computer system" here includes hardware such as the OS and peripheral devices.

[0101] Furthermore, if a WWW system is used, the term "computer system" also includes the homepage provision environment (or display environment). Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" also includes devices that retain programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system that serves as a server or client. The program may be one that realizes part of the aforementioned functions, or it may be one that realizes the aforementioned functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system. The program may also be stored on a designated server, and distributed (e.g., downloaded) via a communication line in response to requests from other devices.

[0102] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0103] 5 Product 5a Product identification information 10 Scanner 20 Membership card 25 Store clerk card 30, 30a, 30b POS terminal 40, 60 Router 50, 50A, 50C Content management device 70, 70-1, 70-2, 70-5, 70-6, 70-7, 70-8, 70B Display device 80 Stay time estimation device 501, 501C, 581 Communication unit 502, 502B Memory unit 503, 503B Acquisition unit 504 Store clerk information acquisition unit 505, 505A Customer information acquisition unit 506, 506A, 506B Estimation unit 507, 507B Extraction unit 508, 508A, 508B Content provision unit 509, 509C, 589 Control unit 5021 Content storage unit 5022 Product information storage unit 5023 Clerk information storage unit 5024, 5024A Customer information storage unit 5025 Priority item setting information storage unit 5026A Usage mode storage unit BT Soccer table CLa, CLb Clerks CU1, CU2, CU3, CU21, CU22 Customers NWa, NWb, NWc, NWd Network POS Clerk card RC Cashier counter S, Sa, Sc Content management system SE1, SE2, SE5 Sensor

Claims

1. A content management system having: an acquisition unit that acquires product identification information of a product to be purchased and whether or not additional work is required for the product based on the desires of the purchaser of the product; a work time memory unit that stores the product identification information in association with the additional work time required for the additional work; an estimation unit that estimates a total work time based on the bagging time required to bag the products to be purchased and the additional work time required for the additional work for the products to be purchased that have additional work; a content memory unit that stores content and the playback time of the content; an extraction unit that extracts content from the content memory unit according to the total work time; and a content provision unit that displays the extracted content on a display device that can be viewed by a customer.

2. The content management system described in claim 1, wherein the work time memory unit stores at least the product identification information, the time required to heat food using a cooking appliance, and the time required to not heat food using the cooking appliance.

3. The content management system according to claim 1, wherein the additional work includes preparation time for a salesperson at a store selling the product to prepare the product in response to a customer's request.

4. The content management system of claim 3, wherein the additional work time includes at least one of the following: the serving time from taking the hot snack ordered by the customer out of the hot showcase to serving it to the customer; the cooking time from cooking the item ordered by the customer and handing it over to the customer; and the exchange time from preparing the item corresponding to the coupon presented by the customer by the store clerk and handing it over to the customer.

5. A content management system as described in claim 1, comprising: a clerk information acquisition unit that acquires clerk identification information that identifies the clerk working the register; and a clerk information storage unit that stores the bagging time, the additional work time, and the clerk identification information in association with each other, wherein the estimation unit reads out the bagging time and the additional work time corresponding to the product from the clerk information storage unit based on the clerk identification information acquired by the clerk information acquisition unit, and estimates the total work time based on the read times.

6. A content management system as described in claim 1, comprising: a content storage unit in which content, an item representing the classification of the content, and the playback time of the content are associated; and a product information storage unit in which product identification information attached to the product is associated with an item representing the classification assigned to the product, wherein the extraction unit extracts from the content storage unit content to which an item corresponding to the item corresponding to the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit is assigned, and extracts a combination in which the total playback time of the extracted multiple pieces of content falls within the total working time.

7. A content management system as described in claim 6, further comprising a sensor for detecting whether or not a customer who is a purchaser is present near a cash register that reads the product identification information using a scanner, and wherein the content providing unit causes the display device to display one of the extracted contents that has not been displayed if the sensor detects that the customer is present even after all of the extracted contents have been played.

8. A content management system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the content providing unit displays the content during the period when the product is being bagged by a store clerk at the store selling the product after payment for the product has been completed.

9. A content management system as described in claim 1, wherein the estimation unit estimates as additional work time the work time including the time it takes for the customer to pack some of the products into a roll bag after payment for the products is completed and the time it takes for the customer to pack the products into a shopping bag.

10. A content management system as described in claim 9, wherein the display device is installed near a cash register on a table where the customer bags the products, and the content providing unit displays the content during the period when the customer is bagging the products into a shopping bag after the payment is completed.

11. A content management system as described in claim 1, comprising: a customer information acquisition unit that acquires attribute information of the customer who will be bagging the products; a customer information storage unit that stores the time required to bag the products into shopping bags, the time required to place the products in roll bags, and customer attributes in association with each other; and a usage mode storage unit that stores the product identification information in association with a usage mode indicating whether or not the products are likely to be placed in a roll bag, wherein the estimation unit: calculates a first time that the customer will take to bag the products based on the number of products based on the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit and the bagging time corresponding to the attribute information acquired by the customer information acquisition unit; calculates a second time that the customer will take to place the products in a roll bag based on the number of products that are likely to be placed in the roll bag from the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit and the time to place the products in the roll bag corresponding to the attribute information acquired by the customer information acquisition unit; and extracts content corresponding to the total of the first time and the second time from the content storage unit.

12. A content management system as described in claim 10 or claim 11, further comprising a sensor for detecting whether or not a customer who is a purchaser is present near the bagging station, and the content providing unit causes the display device to display one of the extracted contents that has not been displayed if the sensor detects that the customer is present even after all of the extracted contents have been played.

13. A content display method comprising: acquiring product identification information for a product to be purchased and whether or not additional work is required for the product based on the purchaser's wishes; estimating a total work time based on the bagging time for the product to be purchased read from a work time memory unit that stores the product identification information in association with the additional work time required for the additional work, and the additional work time required for the additional work for the products to be purchased that have additional work; extracting content corresponding to the total work time from a memory unit that stores content and the playback time of the content; and displaying the extracted content on a display device that is viewable by the customer.

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