JP2002092451A - Electronic coupon system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Issue] Converting print-type coupons into electronic coupons using electronic data, and using the Internet-based distribution system to distribute special coupons that users want To provide an electronic coupon to a user in real time when he / she wants to use it, or to provide a system that the user can use. SOLUTION: A coupon is displayed on the homepage of various stores such as bookstores, restaurants and convenience stores, and facilities such as movie theaters, indicating that there are various service tickets such as discount coupons and special treatment tickets that can be distributed. When the homepage is set up on the user's terminal and the coupon display is clicked, the content data of the coupon is taken into the user's terminal and an electronic coupon can be displayed or an electronic coupon can be printed out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to paper such as paper and plastic paper, such as preferential treatment coupons and discount coupons conventionally distributed freely in various stores for the purpose of business promotion and customer expansion. Various service tickets printed on
The service coupon is simply converted to electronic data (hereinafter referred to as an electronic coupon), and the electronic coupon is distributed to the user using a distribution system using the Internet, and the distributed user uses the coupon. The present invention relates to an electronic coupon system that is easy to use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of service tickets, such as special treatment tickets and discount tickets, have been used to promote sales and expand customers.
Bookstores, restaurants, convenience stores, various stores, or at movie counters, games, entertainment facilities, etc. It is available when you need it.

[0003] However, service tickets such as courtesy tickets formed on printed paper pieces, plastic pieces, and the like are originally stored free of charge if they are not used immediately. In addition, due to the morphology of the printed small flakes, they are often lost or lost, so that when they actually want to use them, they often do not have the special treatment ticket or the like at hand.

[0004] In other words, the company that issues service tickets such as courtesy tickets is unlikely to achieve a high degree of objectives such as sales promotion and customer expansion, while customers (users).
From the point of view, it is impossible to receive services, such as discounts, that should have been obtained, which results in economic loss for both companies and users. The service ticket according to the present invention includes economical added value for the user (consumer) such as a free ticket, a referral ticket, or a service ticket to which the service content is added, in addition to the above-mentioned preferential treatment ticket and discount ticket. Includes tickets with any name they have.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the current state of the above-mentioned coupon system using a conventional paper-sheet type discount coupon and the like. The e-coupon is converted into an e-coupon, such as a special ticket, which the user wants using a distribution system using the Internet.
It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to distribute to a user in real time when he / she wants to use it, or to provide a system that can be used by the user.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The structure of the system of the present invention which has been made to solve the above problems is described in a bookstore,
A coupon display indicating that there are various service tickets such as discount coupons and special treatment tickets that can be distributed is displayed on the homepage of various stores such as restaurants and convenience stores and facilities such as movie theaters. Is activated, and when the coupon display is clicked, the content data of the coupon is taken into the user's terminal and an electronic coupon can be displayed or an electronic coupon can be printed out.

In the system of the present invention,
Various service tickets that the system operator of the present invention converts into electronic coupons and distributes to users include service tickets of clients that provide service tickets directly contracted with the system operator of the present invention, and service tickets that advertise homepages on other sites. Includes those of companies that provide The system of the present invention forms an electronic coupon in which various service tickets provided in various specifications are converted into electronic data in a certain format determined by the system operator of the present invention.

On the other hand, the user terminal into which the content data of the electronic coupon is taken is a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer).
A personal computer, a mobile computer, a mobile phone having an i-mode function (internet connection function), or an interactive television having a printing function may be used. In addition, it is desirable that the electronic coupon display on the homepage is displayed for each service field to which the coupon is applied, such as a store, a restaurant, and various entertainment facilities. Furthermore, the content data of the electronic coupon display on the homepage may be distributed to the user terminal on condition that personal information including the ID code of the user is registered.

In the above electronic coupon system of the present invention, when distributing a sample at a store or the like, an ID card of an electronic coupon supplier (such as a client company) is given to a user,
If each user inputs the data of this ID card from each terminal and has them answer a questionnaire for accessing the electronic coupon system of the present invention,
The side of the company providing the sample can collect the questionnaire with a high collection rate, and each user can enjoy the free service provided by the electronic coupon system of the present invention.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an electronic coupon system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the electronic coupon system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a website for providing a homepage of an advertiser providing a coupon to a user's terminal device 3 via the Internet 2 and has at least a server computer 1a. 4a is a server computer for posting the electronic coupon system of the present invention on the homepage of the server computer 1a. In this example, each user accesses the operation site 4 which operates this electronic coupon system via the homepage. It is formed so that it can be.

The operation site 4 of the electronic coupon system of the present invention is connected to the server computer 4a, and as an example, a database 5a storing coupon contents, a database 5b storing questionnaire answers, and an age of each user. A database 5c for storing basic personal information such as gender, occupation, address, telephone number, etc. and additional personal information other than the basic personal information of each user, for example, additional information such as hobbies and preferences. A host computer 5 having a database 5d is installed. It should be noted that it is optional to use an individual computer for each of the databases 5a to 5d.

Each user accesses the server computer 4a of the operation site 4 and registers as a user in order to join the electronic coupon system of the present invention from each terminal device 3. For user registration, for example, name,
Subject to the presentation of basic personal information such as age, gender, occupation, address, telephone number, e-mail address, or
Presentation of supplementary information, such as the presence or absence of a hobby, a favorite item, a home, a car, and the like, is required to be presented together with the basic information.

In the management site 4, information on each individual presented by each user from each terminal 3 is stored in each database 5c, 5d, while each user is directed to the electronic coupon system of the present invention. Browsing of the homepage of the existing Web site 1 is permitted. Of course, the homepage advertisement of the web site 1 is set up as a system that can be viewed by anyone at any time, but in this embodiment, it is assumed that the electronic coupon system of the present invention is not applied to free browsing. That is, when the user directly opens the homepage advertisement of the website 1, the electronic coupon system of the present invention is not applied, but the homepage advertisement of the site 1 is opened via the site 4 that operates the electronic coupon system of the present invention. In this case, the electronic coupon system of the present invention can be applied.

On the other hand, in the electronic coupon system of the present invention,
The management site 4 retrieves the name of the company providing the coupon, the contents of the coupon, etc. from the database 5a and creates a list in the form of a list to create a homepage relating to the provision of the coupon. May be adopted in a format that allows the user to freely browse the homepage advertisement through the operation site 4. In this case, the coupon providing company 6 accesses the computer 4a of the operation site 4 from the terminal 6a of each company via the Internet, and provides the content of the coupon provided by the company, such as a discount rate and a discount amount.
Alternatively, the coupon contents stored in the database 5a, such as the application period, can be changed as appropriate.

As described above, in the electronic coupon system of the present invention, each user 3 registers in the operation site 4 to browse the homepage advertisement of the web site 1 and receive an electronic coupon such as a discount ticket. Although it is possible, coupons such as discount coupons and courtesy coupons to be provided are classified into application fields according to service fields, so that each user can select a service field in which a desired coupon can be obtained.

As described above, in the coupon system of the present invention, when each user registers his / her personal data on the website 4 from each terminal 3, the coupon providing service by the electronic coupon system of the present invention can be applied. . Then, the content data of each provided coupon is taken into the terminal 3 of the applicable user,
When the user clicks the display of the coupon content that he or she needs, it is displayed on the screen of his terminal 3 and the display can be printed out on the spot, so that discounts on facilities and the like that are used when desired can be made. Electronic coupons such as tickets can be obtained from home.

The electronic coupon can be obtained not only at home, as described above, but also by printing it out at its own terminal 3 or at a facility where the coupon is to be used. The terminal 3 such as a mobile phone having an i-mode function can access the operation site 4 of the electronic coupon system of the present invention, set up its homepage and receive the electronic coupon that the user wants to receive, and can enter the facility to receive the service. At a cash register or the like, the display of the electronic coupon can be shown to receive services such as discounts.

The electronic coupon system of the present invention is an ID card for accessing a coupon system of the present invention to a user who has responded to a questionnaire in distribution of a sample which is often carried out at a store or at a station, and a questionnaire accompanying it. May be used to increase the questionnaire collection rate. The timing of giving the ID card may be given to the user together with the sample, and the questionnaire may be answered to the site 4 of the system of the present invention using the ID card. In this manner, the user's personal information can be collected together with the questionnaire response.

[0020]

The electronic coupon system of the present invention is as described above. Discount coupons that can be distributed to homepages of various entertainment facilities such as bookstores, restaurants, convenience stores, movie theaters, and other facilities, When a coupon display indicating that there are various service tickets such as preferential coupons is performed, and the user launches the homepage on his own terminal and clicks the coupon display, the content data of the coupon is imported to the user's terminal. Since it is configured to be displayed or printed out, it is possible to distribute coupons such as coupons that the user wants to use to the user in real time when he wants to use it, or the user can acquire or It is possible to demonstrate the convenience that the user can use, which is not available with conventional paper media coupons

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram for explaining a coupon system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Web site of homepage advertisement 2 Internet 3 User's terminal device 4 Operation site of the present electronic coupon system 4a Server computer 5 Host computer 5a-5d database 6 Coupon providing company 6a Company terminal

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A coupon display indicating that various service tickets such as a discount ticket and a special treatment ticket which can be distributed is displayed on a homepage using the Internet, and a user sets up the homepage on his / her own terminal and displays the coupon. The electronic coupon system is characterized in that the content data of the coupon is taken into the user's terminal by clicking and the electronic coupon can be displayed or the electronic coupon can be printed out. 2. The electronic coupon system according to claim 1, wherein the homepage is a homepage of a system operator or a homepage of a coupon provider. 3. The electronic coupon system according to claim 1, wherein the coupon is displayed for each service field to which the coupon is applied, such as a store, a restaurant, and various entertainment facilities. 4. The electronic coupon according to claim 1, wherein the content data of the coupon display is delivered to a terminal of the user on condition that personal information including an ID code of the user is registered. system.