Retail Commodity Attribute Analysis Using Customer Terminal Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
In mass retailers, customers face difficulties in finding commodities due to mismatched classifications, and existing methods for analyzing customer traffic patterns require costly infrastructure like cameras and beacons, making it expensive to collect necessary information for attribute analysis.
Innovation Solution
An information collection apparatus comprising an acquiring unit, analyzing unit, detecting unit, and collecting unit that utilizes customer registration data to identify and analyze commodities' registration times and locations, detecting attributes such as prolonged registration times or inter-shelf movement, without the need for cameras or beacons.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If many cameras or beacons are disposed in the store to analyze customer traffic lines, then measurement precision of customer behavior is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses customer terminals (smartphones, tablets, or shopping cart terminals) as intermediaries to collect position information. These terminals already exist in customers' hands or are attached to their shopping carts, eliminating the need for expensive infrastructure like cameras or beacons. The terminal's built-in positioning capabilities serve as the measurement tool, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The customer terminal performs self-positioning using its own sensors and communication capabilities without requiring external tracking infrastructure. The terminal automatically collects position information at each selling floor and transmits it to the server, enabling the system to function using the customer's own device rather than requiring the store to deploy complex tracking systems.
2Loss of information
If cameras or beacons are introduced to capture customer traffic lines, then information collection capability is improved, but initial cost and running cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The customer terminal serves multiple functions: it acts as a positioning device, a data collection point, and a communication node. By leveraging the multi-functionality of existing customer terminals, the system eliminates the need for dedicated expensive infrastructure, thereby reducing both initial and running costs while still collecting comprehensive customer behavior information.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of investing in expensive, long-lived infrastructure like cameras and beacons, the patent utilizes inexpensive, widely-available customer terminals that customers already possess. These terminals are replaced or updated naturally as customers acquire new devices, eliminating the need for costly long-term infrastructure investment and maintenance.
3Measurement precision
If a system for analyzing images and signals is introduced, then attribute analysis capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential position information from complex image and signal data. Instead of implementing full image recognition or signal analysis systems, the invention collects simplified position coordinates from customer terminals at each selling floor, which are then used to determine customer movement patterns and commodity attributes. This extraction approach maintains analysis capability while dramatically reducing system complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
An information collection apparatus includes an acquiring unit, an analyzing unit, a detecting unit, and a collecting unit. The acquiring unit acquires identification information of commodities registered by the same customer in a selling floor together with times when the commodities are registered. The recognizing unit recognizes, from the identification information and the registration times of the commodities, registration order of the commodities by the same customer and a required time until the registration. The detecting unit detects, based on the registration order of the commodities by the same customer and the required time until the registration, a commodity having a predetermined attribute. The collecting unit collects information necessary for an attribute analysis for the commodity having the predetermined attribute.