Online gift device, method, and program

Abstract

The present invention implements inventory management suitable for selling catalog gifts through online gift services.　One embodiment provides an online gift device comprising one or more control units. The one or more control units: receive an order for a catalog gift from a giver terminal; generate a reception URL for a recipient to receive the catalog gift; check the stock quantity of each item included in the catalog gift when the recipient terminal accesses the reception URL; generate a reception screen indicating that items in stock can be received and items out of stock cannot be received; and cause the recipient terminal to display the reception screen.

Description

Online Gift Device, Method, and Program

[0001] The present invention relates to an online gift device, method, and program.

[0002] Conventionally, as a form of electronic commerce (EC: Electronic Commerce), an online gift service has been used. The online gift service is a service that enables the purchase, shipping, and receipt of gifts (goods) on the Internet.

[0003] In Cited Document 1, for an information processing apparatus provided to an EC site that uses an inventory management EC system to provide a function of a service that allows a purchaser who purchases a product as a gift from the EC site to give the gift to a recipient whose address is unknown, when gift purchase operation information indicating that the purchaser has performed a gift purchase operation is acquired from a purchaser terminal that displays the EC site based on HTML data in which a script tag linked to inventory management EC system information indicating the inventory management EC system is embedded, display information of a settlement screen for the purchaser to perform a settlement operation is transmitted to the purchaser terminal; and when settlement operation information indicating that the settlement operation has been performed is acquired from the purchaser terminal, access is made to the inventory management EC system indicated by the inventory management EC system information linked to the script tag, and inventory management processing of the product as the gift on the inventory management EC system is performed. An information processing apparatus characterized by including these components is described.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-157572

[0005] In an online gift service, similar to general EC, inventory is checked before a purchaser (giver) purchases a gift, and if there is inventory, the purchaser can purchase the gift. However, this method has a problem that when the gift is a catalog gift, the purchaser cannot purchase the catalog gift unless there is inventory for all the products included in the catalog gift.

[0006] This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to realize inventory management suitable for the sale of catalog gifts in online gift services.

[0007] According to one embodiment, an online gift device comprising one or more control units, wherein the control unit receives an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generates a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checks the stock quantity of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receiving screen indicating that items in stock are available for pickup and items out of stock are unavailable for pickup, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal.

[0008] According to one embodiment, it is possible to achieve inventory management suitable for the sale of catalog gifts through online gift services.

[0009] This is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the online gift system 1000. This is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the online gift device 1. This is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the business terminal 2. This is a flowchart showing an example of an online gift method. This is a diagram showing an example of catalog gift information. This is a diagram showing an example of order information. This is a diagram showing an example of receipt information. This is a diagram showing an example of the chat screen sc1. This is a diagram showing an example of product information. This is a diagram showing an example of the receipt screen sc2. This is a diagram showing an example of the receipt screen sc2. This is a diagram showing an example of the receipt screen sc2.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description and drawings of each embodiment, components having substantially the same functional configuration will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] <System Configuration> First, an overview of the online gift system 1000 (hereinafter referred to as "gift system 1000") according to this embodiment will be described. The gift system 1000 is an information processing system that provides an online gift service that sells catalog gifts as gifts. Online gift services are sometimes also called digital gift services, electronic gift services, e-gift services, etc.

[0012] An online gift service is a service in which a giver purchases goods on a website as a gift for a recipient. When the giver purchases a gift, the online gift service issues a URL for the giver to receive the purchased gift, and the giver sends this URL to the recipient. When the recipient accesses the URL, enters their address, etc., and requests to receive the gift, the gift is shipped to the recipient. In this way, an online gift service allows the giver to send a gift to a recipient whose address, etc., is unknown. In this embodiment, the gift system 1000 realizes an online gift service that sells gifts, including catalog gifts.

[0013] A catalog gift is a gift (product) sold through an online gift service. It is a catalog containing multiple gifts (products) that the recipient can choose from. Catalog gifts are sold on e-commerce websites operated by the businesses that provide them.

[0014] The giver is someone who purchases a catalog gift from an e-commerce site that provides online gift services and then presents it to the recipient.

[0015] The recipient is the person who receives the catalog gift from the giver.

[0016] The business operates an e-commerce site and provides online gift services. The business sells catalog gifts through its e-commerce site. An e-commerce site is an online store, sometimes also referred to as an online shop or e-commerce platform.

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the gift system 1000. As shown in Figure 1, the gift system 1000 comprises an online gift device 1 (hereinafter referred to as "gift device 1"), a business operator terminal 2, a giver terminal 3, and a recipient terminal 4, all of which are connected to each other via a network N so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0018] Network N may be, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN, the Internet, a public network, a mobile data network, or a combination thereof.

[0019] Gift device 1 is an information processing device that provides an e-commerce platform capable of realizing online gift services. The business operator's e-commerce site is operated on the e-commerce platform provided by gift device 1. Gift device 1 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, server device, or microcomputer, but is not limited to these. In the example in Figure 1, gift device 1 is a single information processing device, but it may be implemented as a system consisting of multiple information processing devices connected via a network N.

[0020] For example, the gift device 1 may be configured as an information processing system comprising an information processing device that provides an e-commerce platform and an information processing device that provides online gift services. In this case, the information processing device that provides the e-commerce platform is operated by an e-commerce platform operator (e.g., Shopify®), and the information processing device that provides online gift services is operated by a software vendor that provides applications usable on the e-commerce platform (e.g., a Shopify partner). Each of these information processing devices may be configured as an information processing system comprising multiple information processing devices.

[0021] The business terminal 2 is an information processing device used by the business. The business operates an e-commerce site on the e-commerce platform via the business terminal 2. The business terminal 2 is, for example, a PC, smartphone, or tablet device, but is not limited to these. The gift system 1000 may include multiple business terminals 2.

[0022] The giver terminal 3 is an information processing device used by the giver. The giver purchases a catalog gift via the giver terminal 3 and sends the catalog gift to the recipient. The giver terminal 3 is, for example, a PC, smartphone, or tablet device, but is not limited to these. The gift system 1000 may include multiple giver terminals 3.

[0023] The recipient terminal 4 is an information processing device used by the recipient. The recipient receives the catalog gift and requests to receive the product via the recipient terminal 4. The recipient terminal 4 is, for example, a PC, smartphone, or tablet device, but is not limited to these. The gift system 1000 may include multiple recipient terminals 4.

[0024] <Hardware Configuration of Gift Device 1> Next, the hardware configuration of gift device 1 will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of gift device 1. As shown in Figure 2, gift device 1 comprises a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13, which are interconnected via bus B1.

[0025] The control unit 11 executes various programs stored in the memory unit 12, controls the entire gift device 1, and realizes the functions of the gift device 1. The control unit 11 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or a combination thereof.

[0026] The storage unit 12 is a computer-readable recording medium that stores various programs and data. The storage unit 12 may be, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), SCM (Storage Class Memories), or a combination thereof.

[0027] The communication unit 13 controls communication between the gift device 1 and an external device via the network N. The communication unit 13 is, for example, a Bluetooth® module, a Wi-Fi® module, a ZigBee® module, an Ethernet® module, a mobile communication module, or a combination thereof.

[0028] In this embodiment, the program may be written to the storage unit 12 during the manufacturing stage of the gift device 1, provided to the gift device 1 via the network N, or provided to the gift device 1 via a non-temporary, computer-readable recording medium such as a recording medium. Examples of recording media include CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), FD (Floppy Disk), MO (Magneto-Optical disk), BD (Blu-ray® Disc), USB® memory, SD card, or a combination thereof.

[0029] <Hardware Configuration of Carrier Terminal 2> Next, the hardware configuration of carrier terminal 2 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of carrier terminal 2. As shown in Figure 3, carrier terminal 2 comprises a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an input unit 24, and an output unit 25, all of which are interconnected via bus B2.

[0030] The control unit 21 executes various programs stored in the memory unit 22, controls the entire operator terminal 2, and realizes the functions of the operator terminal 2. The control unit 21 is, for example, a CPU, MPU, GPU, ASIC, DSP, or a combination thereof.

[0031] The storage unit 22 is a computer-readable recording medium that stores various programs and data. The storage unit 22 is, for example, ROM, RAM, flash memory, HDD, SSD, SCM, or a combination thereof.

[0032] The communication unit 23 controls communication between the operator terminal 2 and external devices via the network N. The communication unit 23 is, for example, a Bluetooth® module, a Wi-Fi® module, a ZigBee® module, an Ethernet® module, a mobile communication module, or a combination thereof.

[0033] The input unit 24 inputs information to the operator terminal 2. The input unit 24 may be, for example, a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, microphone, scanner, camera, various sensors, operation buttons, or a combination thereof.

[0034] The output unit 25 outputs information from the operator terminal 2. The output unit 25 is, for example, a display device (display), projector, printer, speaker, vibrator, or a combination thereof.

[0035] In this embodiment, the program may be written to the storage unit 22 during the manufacturing stage of the business terminal 2, provided to the business terminal 2 via the network N, or provided to the business terminal 2 via a non-temporary, computer-readable recording medium such as a recording medium. Examples of recording media include CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, MO disks, Blu-ray discs, USB® memory, SD cards, or combinations thereof.

[0036] <Hardware Configuration of Gift Giver Terminal 3> The gift giver terminal 3 comprises a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, an input unit 34, and an output unit 35. The control unit 31, storage unit 32, communication unit 33, input unit 34, and output unit 35 of the gift giver terminal 3 are the same as the control unit 21, storage unit 22, communication unit 23, input unit 24, and output unit 25 of the business operator terminal 2, so their explanation is omitted.

[0037] <Hardware Configuration of Recipient Terminal 4> The recipient terminal 4 comprises a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, a communication unit 43, an input unit 44, and an output unit 45. The control unit 41, storage unit 42, communication unit 43, input unit 44, and output unit 45 of the recipient terminal 4 are the same as the control unit 21, storage unit 22, communication unit 23, input unit 24, and output unit 25 of the carrier terminal 2, so their explanation is omitted.

[0038] <Online Gift Method> Next, we will explain the online gift method (hereinafter referred to as the "gift method") executed by the gift system 1000. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the gift method.

[0039] (Step S101) First, the business operator of the e-commerce site creates a catalog gift to be sold on the e-commerce site. Specifically, the business operator inputs the catalog gift information of the catalog gift to be created into the business terminal 2. The catalog gift information is information about the catalog gift and includes information such as the catalog gift ID (identifier), name, category, price, sales quantity, sales period, discount, coupon, thumbnail image, and the IDs and names of the gifts (products) included in the catalog gift. Once the input of the catalog gift information is complete, the control unit 21 of the business terminal 2 transmits the input catalog gift information to the gift device 1.

[0040] Figure 5 shows an example of catalog gift information. The catalog gift information in Figure 5 includes the following information items: "Catalog Gift ID," "Catalog Gift Name," "Category," "Product ID," and "Price." "Catalog Gift ID" is the ID of the catalog gift. Hereinafter, a catalog gift with ID GXX may be referred to as Catalog Gift GXX. The same applies to other IDs. "Catalog Gift Name" is the name of the catalog gift. "Category" is the category of the catalog gift. "Product ID" is the ID of the gift (product) included in the catalog gift. "Price" is the price of the catalog gift.

[0041] In the example in Figure 5, the "Catalog Gift ID" is G01, the "Catalog Gift Name" is "Year-End Gift Catalog," the "Category" is "Year-End Gift," the "Product IDs" are i01, i02, and i03, and the "Amount" is 3,000 yen. This means that the Year-End Gift Catalog (Catalog Gift G01) is a 3,000 yen catalog gift that includes products i01, i02, and i03. The giver can purchase the Year-End Gift Catalog for 3,000 yen. The recipient who receives the Year-End Gift Catalog can choose one of products i01, i02, or i03 to receive. Note that, as mentioned above, catalog gift information is not limited to the example in Figure 5.

[0042] (Step S102) When the control unit 11 of the gift device 1 receives catalog gift information from the business terminal 2, it stores the received catalog gift information in the storage unit 12, associating it with the business information. The business information is information about the business and includes information such as the business ID, name, address, contact information, person in charge, rank, and the ID, name, URL, category, and rank of the e-commerce site operated by the business. As a result, the catalog gift created by the business is registered as a catalog gift to be sold on the business's e-commerce site.

[0043] (Step S103) After that, the gifter accesses the merchant's EC site on the gifter terminal 3, selects a desired catalog gift, and orders (purchases) the selected catalog gift. At this time, the gifter may input a message to the recipient. The control unit 31 of the gifter terminal 3 transmits order information to the online gift device 1 in response to the gifter's order operation.

[0044] The order information is information regarding the gifter's order, and includes order content information and gifter information.

[0045] The order content information is information indicating the content of the order, and includes information indicating the order ID, the ID of the catalog gift ordered, name, quantity, order date and time, message from the gifter to the recipient, presence or absence of coupon use, payment method, and the like.

[0046] The gifter information is information regarding the gifter, and includes information indicating the gifter's ID (such as email address), name, address, date of birth, rank, and the like.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the order information. The order information in FIG. 6 includes "order ID", "catalog gift ID", "quantity", "order date and time", "message", "gifter ID", and "name" as information items. "Order ID", "catalog gift ID", "quantity", "order date and time", and "message" correspond to the order content information, and "gifter ID" and "name" correspond to the gifter information. The "order ID" is the ID of the order. The "catalog gift ID" is the ID of the catalog gift. The "quantity" is the quantity of the catalog gift ordered. The "order date and time" is the date and time of the order. The "message" is the message from the gifter to the recipient. The "gifter ID" is the ID of the gifter. The "name" is the name of the gifter.

[0048] In the example of FIG. 6, the "order ID" is OD01, the "catalog gift ID" is G01, the "quantity" is 1, the "order date and time" is 2024 / 12 / 22 15:00, the "message" is "Thank you for your patronage this year", the "sender ID" is P01, and the "name" is AAA. This means that AAA (sender P01) entered "Thank you for your patronage this year" as a message to the recipient at 15:00 on 2024 / 12 / 22 and ordered (purchased) one catalog gift G01. Note that, as described above, the order information is not limited to the example of FIG. 6.

[0049] (Step S104) When the control unit 11 of the gift device 1 receives order information from the sender terminal 3, the control unit 11 stores the order information in the storage unit 12 and accepts an order for a catalog gift from the sender. Then, the control unit 11 executes processing according to the order, such as settlement processing. The control unit 11 notifies the sender of the success or failure of the settlement via the sender terminal 3. If the settlement is successful, the control unit 11 may notify the merchant that the order has been completed via the merchant terminal 2 or notify the sender via the sender terminal 3. Here, the description will continue assuming that the settlement is successful.

[0050] (Step S105) When the settlement is successful, the control unit 11 generates receipt information and stores it in the storage unit 12. The receipt information is information for the recipient to receive the catalog gift and includes information indicating the order ID and the receipt URL.

[0051] The receipt URL is the URL of the receipt screen for the recipient to receive the catalog gift and is generated for each order. The sender accesses the receipt URL on the sender terminal 3 and operates the receipt screen displayed on the sender terminal 3 to receive the gift included in the catalog gift.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the receipt information. The receipt information in FIG. 7 includes "order ID" and "receipt URL" as information items. The "order ID" is the ID of the order. The "receipt URL" is the URL of the receipt screen.

[0053] In the example in Figure 7, the "Order ID" is OD01 and the "Receipt URL" is "https: / / xxx". This means that the URL for the receipt screen for order OD01 is "https: / / xxx". Note that the receipt information is not limited to the example in Figure 7.

[0054] (Step S106) When the control unit 11 generates the receipt information, it sends the generated receipt URL to the giver terminal 3. The control unit 11 can send the receipt URL to the giver terminal 3 in any format, such as text, a link, or a QR code.

[0055] (Step S107) When the control unit 31 of the giver terminal 3 receives the receiving URL from the gift device 1, it transmits the received receiving URL to the giver terminal 3. The control unit 31 can transmit the receiving URL to the giver terminal 3 in any format, such as text, a link, or a QR code. The control unit 31 can also transmit the receiving URL to the giver terminal 3 by any method, such as chat, email, or social networking service (SNS).

[0056] Alternatively, the redemption URL may be sent directly from the gift device 1 to the recipient's terminal 4. In this case, the giver specifies their contact information (such as an email address) when ordering the catalog gift. Then, when the control unit 11 of the gift device 1 successfully completes the payment for this order, it sends the generated redemption URL to the recipient's contact information specified by the giver.

[0057] Figure 8 shows an example of a chat screen sc1 displayed on the recipient's terminal 4. In the example in Figure 8, the giver sends a receiving URL to the recipient via chat. The chat screen sc1 in Figure 8 displays the receiving URL sc11 along with a message from the giver. The recipient can access the receiving URL sc11 by selecting it.

[0058] (Step S108) The recipient accesses the receipt URL received from the giver. Specifically, the control unit 41 of the recipient terminal 4 accesses the receipt URL in response to the recipient's access operation and requests the gift device 1 to display the receipt screen.

[0059] (Step S109) When the control unit 11 of the gift device 1 receives a request from the recipient terminal 4 to display the receipt screen, it refers to the receipt information to identify the order ID corresponding to the receipt URL, refers to the order information to identify the catalog gift corresponding to the order ID, refers to the catalog gift information to identify each product included in the catalog gift, and refers to the product information to check the stock quantity of each product.

[0060] Product information refers to information about a product, including its ID, name, price, category, and stock quantity.

[0061] Figure 9 shows an example of product information. The product information in Figure 9 includes the information items "Product ID," "Product Name," and "Stock Quantity." "Product ID" is the ID of the product. "Product Name" is the name of the product. "Stock Quantity" is the stock quantity of the product.

[0062] In the example in Figure 9, the "Product IDs" are i01, i02, and i03; the "Product Names" are "Ham Assortment," "Beer Set," and "Sweets Assortment"; and the "Stock Quantity" is "3," "0," and "2." This means that there are 3 Ham Assortments (product i01), 2 Sweets Assortments (product i03) in stock, and no Beer Sets (product i02) in stock. As mentioned above, product information is not limited to the example in Figure 9.

[0063] In the examples shown in Figures 5 to 9, when the control unit 11 receives a display request from the recipient terminal 4, it refers to the receipt information (Figure 7) to identify order OD01 corresponding to the receipt URL (https: / / xxx), refers to the order information (Figure 6) to identify catalog gift G01 corresponding to order OD01, refers to the catalog gift information (Figure 5) to identify products i01, i02, and i03 included in catalog gift G01, and refers to the product information (Figure 9) to check the stock quantity of products i01, i02, and i03.

[0064] (Step S110) After checking the stock quantity of each product, the control unit 11 generates a receiving screen. The receiving screen is the screen for the recipient to receive the catalog gift. Specifically, the control unit 11 generates a receiving screen in which products that are in stock can be received and products that are out of stock cannot be received. Products that are in stock are those with a stock quantity of 1 or more. Products that are out of stock are those with a stock quantity of 0. In the example in Figure 9, the control unit 11 generates a receiving screen in which products i01 and i03 can be received and product i02 cannot be received.

[0065] (Step S111) The control unit 11 then transmits the generated receipt screen to the recipient terminal 4, causing the recipient terminal 4 to display the receipt screen.

[0066] (Step S112) When the control unit 41 of the recipient terminal 4 receives a receipt screen from the gift device 1, it displays the received receipt screen.

[0067] Figures 10, 11, and 12 show examples of the receiving screen sc2. The receiving screen sc2 in Figures 10, 11, and 12 displays a message sc21, a name sc22, a catalog gift name sc23, a product selection button sc24, an address input form sc25, and a receive button sc26. The message sc21 is a message from the giver to the recipient. The name sc22 is the name of the giver. The catalog gift name sc23 is the name of the catalog gift received by the recipient. The product selection button sc24 is a button for the recipient to select a product, and is displayed for each product. The address input form sc25 is an input form for entering the recipient's address (name, address, etc.). The receive button sc26 is a button for receiving the product.

[0068] In the receiving screen sc2 shown in Figures 10 and 12, only the product selection buttons sc24 for the available products i01 and i03 are displayed, while the product selection button sc24 for the unavailable product i02 is not displayed. In this way, by not displaying the product selection button sc24 for products that are out of stock, it is possible to create a receiving screen sc2 where available products are available for receiving, and out-of-stock products are unavailable. Furthermore, by not displaying the product selection buttons sc24 for products that are out of stock, it is possible to prevent recipients from feeling dissatisfied that there are products in the catalog gift that they cannot receive.

[0069] In the receiving screen sc2 of Figure 11, product selection buttons sc24 for products i01 and i03 that can be received, and a product selection button sc24 for product i02 that cannot be received are displayed. The product selection button sc24 for product i02 that cannot be received is displayed as unavailable. In this way, by displaying the product selection button sc24 for products that are out of stock as unavailable, it is possible to create a receiving screen sc2 where products that are in stock can be received and products that are out of stock cannot be received.

[0070] Furthermore, in the receiving screen sc2 of Figure 12, the product selection button sc24 is a dropdown button, and by selecting the product selection button sc24, attributes for similar products are displayed as selectable options. In the example in Figure 12, the type of ham (boneless ham, prosciutto, smoked ham) for the ham assortment (product i01) is selectable. Product attributes include, but are not limited to, type, color, size, and dimensions. By displaying these attributes as selectable options, the recipient's freedom in choosing products can be increased.

[0071] Furthermore, when displaying selectable attributes for similar products, attributes that are out of stock do not need to be displayed, as in the example in Figure 10, or attributes that are out of stock may be disabled for selection, as in the example in Figure 11.

[0072] (Step S113) The recipient selects the desired product on the receiving screen sc2. Specifically, the recipient selects the product selection button sc24 for the desired product.

[0073] (Step S114) The recipient enters their own address (name, address, etc.) in the recipient input form sc25 on the receiving screen sc2. The recipient input form sc25 may also allow input of delivery date and time, delivery method (delivery to a parcel locker, delivery to a designated location, etc.).

[0074] (Step S115) The recipient then selects the receive button sc26 to request receipt of the product (gift). When the receive button sc26 is selected, the control unit 41 of the recipient terminal 4 sends a request to receive the product to the gift device 1. The request includes information indicating the product selected by the recipient and information indicating the recipient's address entered by the recipient.

[0075] (Step S116) When the control unit 11 of the gift device 1 receives a receipt request from the recipient terminal 4, it executes a shipping process to send the selected product to the entered address. The shipping process is, for example, a process that requests the shipping of the selected product to a system used by the person who ships the product (such as the business operator that runs the e-commerce site that sells the product, or the logistics company that is entrusted with shipping the product by this business operator) to manage shipping.

[0076] (Step S117) Subsequently, the control unit 11 refers to the product information and updates the inventory of the product selected by the recipient. Specifically, the control unit 11 decreases the inventory quantity of the product selected by the recipient by 1.

[0077] <Summary> As explained above, according to this embodiment, a gift device 1 is realized that includes one or more control units 11, wherein the control unit 11 receives an order for a catalog gift from the giver's terminal 3, generates receipt information including a receipt URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receipt URL, checks the stock quantity of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receipt screen sc2 indicating that items in stock can be received and items out of stock cannot be received, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal 4.

[0078] According to this gift device 1, the inventory of items included in the catalog gift is checked when the recipient requests to receive the item. In other words, the inventory of items included in the catalog gift is not checked when the giver purchases the catalog gift. Therefore, the giver can purchase the catalog gift regardless of whether the items included in the catalog gift are in stock or not.

[0079] Furthermore, with the gift device 1, when the recipient receives the product, a receiving screen sc2 is displayed on the recipient's terminal 4, indicating that the recipient can receive products that are in stock and cannot receive products that are out of stock. This prevents the recipient from requesting to receive products that are out of stock and allows the recipient to select the product they want to receive from the products that are in stock.

[0080] Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve inventory management suitable for the sale of catalog gifts in online gift services.

[0081] <Note> This embodiment includes the following disclosures.

[0082] (Note 1) An online gift device comprising one or more control units, wherein the control unit receives an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generates a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checks the stock quantity of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receiving screen indicating that items in stock are available for receipt and items out of stock are unavailable for receipt, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal.

[0083] (Note 2) The aforementioned receiving screen is the online gift device described in Note 1, which does not display products that are out of stock.

[0084] (Note 3) The aforementioned receiving screen is the online gift device described in Note 1 that displays out-of-stock items as unselectable.

[0085] (Note 4) The catalog gift is the online gift device described in Note 1, which includes multiple items that can be received.

[0086] (Note 5) The control unit is an online gift device as described in Note 1, which transmits the receipt URL to the giver terminal or the recipient terminal.

[0087] (Note 6) The online gift device described in Note 1, in which the control unit reduces the inventory quantity of the product when it receives a request to receive the product from the recipient terminal.

[0088] (Note 7) The aforementioned receiving screen is an online gift device as described in Note 1, which allows users to select attributes for similar products.

[0089] (Note 8) An online gifting method in which an information processing device having one or more control units receives an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generates a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checks the stock of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receiving screen indicating that items in stock are available for receipt and items out of stock are unavailable for receipt, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal.

[0090] (Note 9) A program that causes the control unit of an information processing device having one or more control units to execute an online gifting method, which includes receiving an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generating a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checking the stock of each item included in the catalog gift, generating a receiving screen in which items in stock are available for pickup and items out of stock are unavailable for pickup, and displaying this screen on the recipient's terminal.

[0091] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not in the sense described above, and is intended to include all modifications in the sense and scope equivalent to the claims. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0092] 1: Online gifting device 2: Business operator terminal 3: Gift giver terminal 4: Recipient terminal 11, 21, 31, 41: Control unit 12, 22, 32, 42: Storage unit 13, 23, 33, 43: Communication unit

Claims

1. An online gift device comprising one or more control units, wherein the control units receive an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generate a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, the control unit checks the stock quantity of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receiving screen indicating that items in stock are available for receipt and items out of stock are unavailable for receipt, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal.

2. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving screen does not display products that are out of stock.

3. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving screen displays an item that is out of stock and cannot be selected.

4. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the catalog gift includes multiple items that can be received.

5. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the receiving URL to the giver terminal or the recipient terminal.

6. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit reduces the inventory quantity of the product when it receives a request to receive the product from the recipient terminal.

7. The online gift device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving screen displays attributes for similar products in a selectable manner.

8. An online gifting method comprising an information processing device having one or more control units, wherein the control unit receives an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generates a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checks the stock of each item included in the catalog gift, generates a receiving screen indicating that items in stock are available for receipt and items out of stock are unavailable for receipt, and displays this screen on the recipient's terminal.

9. A program that causes the control unit of an information processing device having one or more control units to execute an online gifting method, which includes receiving an order for a catalog gift from a gift-giver's terminal, generating a receiving URL for the recipient to receive the catalog gift, and, when the recipient's terminal accesses the receiving URL, checking the stock of each item included in the catalog gift, generating a receiving screen in which items in stock are available for pickup and items out of stock are unavailable for pickup, and displaying this screen on the recipient's terminal.

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