JP2005258620A - Method, system and program for sales promotion of sellout merchandise - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an efficient sellout of merchandise that should be sold out. <P>SOLUTION: Every individual store (or headquarters) sets merchandise that the store (person in charge) decides to sell out on the same day (sellout merchandise) and creates/inputs sales information about the sellout merchandise. By reference to a personal database in a server, a plurality of specific individual consumers for which the sellout merchandise is suitable are selected automatically, and the sales information about the sellout merchandise is notified by email or the like. The sales information is provided limitedly for the carefully selected individual consumers so that the sellout merchandise can be sold out efficiently. Correlations between stocks by category (or unit sales, sales) and attribute data and correlations between personal data and sales can be fed back to sales promotion and stocking to increase sellout efficiency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is a product that is sold out during the day in a large-scale retail store such as a supermarket or other retail store such as a side dish restaurant, or a restaurant (food and beverages such as fresh food, lunch boxes, and food menus, or other products). , In cooperation with the server and the communication terminal device of the customer (individual consumer registered as a member) via the communication network, the sales promotion method, system, And a computer program therefor.

The following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-269200) discloses an invention relating to a food sales system that manages sales of food and drink at a plurality of retail stores lined up as a specific convenience store with a central server. The server automatically detects products that are nearing the expiration date among the products in stock at each retail store, and contacts the user to make a reservation to reduce the number of discarded food and drink as much as possible. Is. Inventory information such as food / drink data and expiration date data received at each retail store is stored in a central server, and the information sold at each retail store is added to the unsold food and beverages with a short expiration date. The product is automatically detected at the server. The server lowers the price of food and drink for each retail store detected as a special sale and distributes it to the user's mobile phone, personal computer, etc. to make a reservation. This system is used for the purpose of enclosing customers, and is used for advertising special menus at stores and products sold at low prices.
JP 2002-269200 A

The following Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-203165) discloses an invention related to a sales promotion system in which a merchandise seller provides bargain information to a customer's mobile terminal in a timely manner. An electronic mail is created by attaching an attached file including the price of the sale item to the advertisement consisting of sale information at the terminal device of the retail store, and this is sent to the server. In the server, the attached file received from the retail store is converted into data and transmitted to the mobile phone of each consumer together with the advertisement information. When a consumer visits a retail store to see the advertisement information and purchases a special sale product, the store's POS system reads the data of the file attached to the mobile phone and obtains the data, which is useful for payment settlement and analysis.
JP 2002-203165 A

All of the above-mentioned prior arts were effective in terms of advertising widely because they were notifying a large number of unspecified consumers of special sale information, etc. From the perspective of selling out unsold items efficiently, it was extremely inefficient.
By the way, the reality of the sales method of special sale products in many supermarkets and retail stores that handle foods is that the special sale products and featured products are widely notified to customers in advance by using the advertising flyers on the day of the special sale day or the day before. It has become. However, these bargain items are not always sold out, and further discounts are applied just before closing, in which case the bargain information is not transmitted to anyone other than the person who is present. Since the person who happens to be there does not always need the special sale product, such a well-known method is extremely inefficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a sold-out product that allows a retail store or a restaurant or the like to sell out efficiently (hereinafter referred to as “sold-out product” for convenience). An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for promoting sales of a product, and a computer program therefor.

  The present invention uses a system in which an individual store or headquarter terminal device and a server can be connected via a communication line, and a server and an individual consumer communication terminal device can be connected via a communication line. A sales promotion method, wherein the server includes an individual database including at least past purchase record data for each individual consumer, and inputs information on sold-out products determined at the individual store at the terminal device A step of referring to the individual database in response to the input at the terminal device, and a step of selecting a plurality of specific individual consumers suitable for the sold-out product based on the reference to the individual database. The sales information on the sold-out product created by the terminal device is transmitted to the selected specific individual consumers. Tsu; and a flop.

  According to the present invention, for each individual store, the store (the person in charge) sets a product (sold-out product) determined to be sold out today, and is suitable for the sold-out product by referring to the personal database of the server. Multiple specific individual consumers are selected and sales information on sold-out products is provided to these carefully selected individual consumers, so that information can be provided efficiently and targeted. Providing sales information of sold-out products can increase the probability that the sold-out product can be sold out, and contribute to sales promotion. Further, the relationship between the number of stocks by food category (or the number of sales, the sales amount) and the attribute data and the relationship between the sales number, the sales amount and the personal data can be fed back to sales and purchases to increase the sell-out rate.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a system configuration for implementing a sales promotion method according to the present invention. For each of the plurality of individual stores A to Y (or in the headquarters Z when the input processing and the like at the plurality of individual stores are managed collectively by the headquarters Z), a terminal device 1 composed of, for example, a personal computer PC is provided. In the personal computer PC, an application program necessary for carrying out the present invention is installed on the individual store side. In addition, the individual stores A to Y include the POS terminal 2 and can be used to automatically collect purchase record information for each customer (individual consumer) at the time of purchase price settlement and accumulate it in the server 4. . The barcode reading scanner 3 provided in the POS terminal 2 can also be used to read the membership information barcode of each customer (individual consumer) of the system according to the present invention (or a barcode scanner dedicated to a portable terminal). Use). The terminal devices 1 of the individual stores A to Y are connected to the server 4 via the communication network 5. The server 4 is connected to a mobile carrier 6 and can communicate with a communication terminal device 7 (for example, a mobile phone, a PDA, a personal computer, etc.) of each customer (individual consumer) via the communication line network 5.

  The server 4 is configured by an ASP (Application Service Provider) and includes a server having a plurality of functions such as a web server 4a, a database server 4b, a mail server 4c, and an application server 4d. The individual stores A to Y connected in this system may be related to each other like each branch of the supermarket, or may not be related at all. For example, this system can be used even in an independent retail store or restaurant. The database server 4b includes an individual database that accumulates and stores purchase record data for each individual consumer collected at the individual stores A to Y. This individual database may be created for each individual store A to Y, or created for each group with one or more individual stores (A to Y) as one group. You may come to be. Of course, the individual database includes basic information (name, address, date of birth, gender, occupation, address, telephone number, email address, etc.) entered at the time of application for membership, as well as past purchase record data, hobbies Various personal information that is useful for sales promotion in some sense, such as preferences, may also be accumulated. This system can be easily used at a lower price by sharing the ASP service at one retail store or a branch or chain store of a large supermarket. In a business form in which a predetermined headquarters manages a plurality of retail stores such as a large supermarket or chain store, the terminal device 1 of the headquarter Z is under its own management. Special sale information / sold-out product information related to the implementation of the present invention is obtained from a plurality of individual stores, and the terminal device 1 of the headquarter Z uses the terminal device 1 of the headquarters Z to sell special sale information / sold-out product information at a plurality of individual stores May be input and transmitted to the server 4, or a sales promotion mail to be described later may be created and transmitted in a batch. If it does so, the burden of the input operation etc. in an individual store will be reduced, and since it becomes unnecessary to provide the terminal device 1 for each of the plurality of individual stores under the management of the headquarter Z, it is also economical. In that case, transmission of various types of information from the plurality of individual stores under the management of the headquarter Z to the headquarter Z may use appropriate means such as FAX, telephone, and e-mail.

  Individual consumers need to complete special registration procedures to become members of the system. For example, in order for an individual consumer to become a member of the system, he / she can apply to the server 4, enter necessary information in the application form sent from the server 4 to his / her mobile terminal device 7, and reply. In response to this, when necessary registration processing such as establishment of a personal database for the enrollment applicant is completed in the database server 4b, an electronic membership card (barcode image) unique to the enrollment applicant is stored in the server 4 Sent from The received electronic membership card (barcode image) is stored in its own mobile terminal device 7. In addition to such an electronic membership application procedure, it is also possible to apply for membership by having an individual store fill out the necessary information on an application form and inputting it into a PC at the store. Even in this case, when the registration process is completed, an electronic membership card (barcode image) unique to the mobile terminal device 7 of the application applicant is transmitted from the server 4 and stored.

Next, a sales promotion method (processing procedure) for sold-out products in this system will be described with reference to FIG. This procedure is performed according to the execution of the application software of the system installed in the personal computer PC of the terminal device 1 at the individual store, and according to the execution of the operation program of the system provided in the server computer at the server.
In individual stores, various factors are comprehensively determined, and the sales person in charge determines the products that will be sold out today (for example, food). In addition to basic information such as price and discount information, food safety information (genetically modified foods, food additives, etc.), and recipes and recipes using the food (sales floors and prices for other ingredients used in the recipe, etc.) The additional information consisting of value-added information such as sold-out products / sale products may or may not be sold) is created and input on the PC 1.
In order for the store side to determine today's sold-out food, for example, the following factors are mainly taken into account for comprehensive determination.
a) Expiration date
b) Weather forecast for today and tomorrow
c) Day of the week
d) Number of food
e) Number of customers on the day and purchase status
f) Analysis results of data accumulated so far and intuition of sales staff
g) Holidays of businesses and schools around the store

Taking the meat “black pork loin” as an example, an example of the basic information and additional information is as follows.
"(1) Black pork loin pack 400 yen is discounted to 350 yen. The production area is XX prefecture. Tonight, how about kimchi hot pot to add stamina. The recipe is ~ ~ ~. Can also be used. "
This basic information and additional information etc. may be created from a template, or if similar basic information and additional information etc. have been created in the past, they must be copied. You only need to make corrections. The created information is transmitted to the server 4 and is put on the server 4 with a predetermined URL address. At this time, it is preferable to attach a photograph of the sold-out product so that the member can easily select it, or to attach a suitable moving image such as a cooking scene or a cooked product to encourage purchase.

  The information consisting of the basic information and additional information as described above is created for each sold-out product, and classified as appropriate for each food category (vegetable, meat, fish, sushi, bento, side dish, etc.) A predetermined URL address is attached to the server 4 so that it can be easily referred to.

In addition, in the individual stores A to Y (or headquarters Z), apart from the information (basic information and additional information) for each sold-out product as described above, information (sales promotion) to be transmitted directly to individual customers Or event information, etc.), for example, in the form of an e-mail (sales promotion mail) and sent to individual customers.
The creation of this sales promotion mail will be explained. First, a standard (template) sales promotion mail prepared in advance by the terminal application software of this system is displayed on the screen of the PC 1. For example:
“Oo, this is xx supermarket. Today's discount information is as follows. Please select your favorite food category. Discount starts today ~ hour ~ minute."
In addition to the introductory text as described above, a URL address indicating a link destination of information of each food category is displayed (or automatically connected when each food category is displayed and clicked).
In the URL address, information (basic information and additional information) of sold-out products for each food category created as described above is arranged. A plurality of such template (template) mail texts may be prepared, and a desired one may be selected and used. Of course, it is also possible to appropriately modify the template (template) mail text to create a desired one. Alternatively, you can create a new promotional email by copying a past one and modifying it. The sales promotion e-mail text should be appropriate for the destination customer conditions described below, so that it can be targeted to the customer segment of the destination and willingness to purchase sold-out products. It is easy to do so and can contribute to sales promotion.

  Furthermore, the store side A to Y (or headquarters Z) also inputs information for setting a destination customer condition as to which range of customers the sales promotion mail of the sold-out food is to be sent. For example, depending on who the sales promotion e-mail is sent to, multiple condition selection categories ((1) Everyone, (2) Number of visits, (3) Average purchase price, (4) Last visit date designation , (5) Vegetables only, (6) Fishes only, etc.) are displayed, and the destination customer condition can be selected and set by selecting the desired category. This destination customer condition is transmitted to the server 4, and the individual database of the database server 4b is referred to. The server 4 automatically creates a customer list that meets the destination customer conditions, and returns the customer list to the terminal device 1 of the store A to Y (or headquarter Z) that made the inquiry. In the terminal device 1 of the store that has received the reply of the customer list that meets the destination customer condition, the sales promotion mail created as described above is transmitted to the specific customer (s) listed in this customer list. For example, if the store visit designation is selected and the store visit count is specified as one or more, the corresponding member list comes out by referring to the individual database. In this case, when there is a limit on the number of items sold out, the terminal device 1 may be manually set so that a sales promotion mail is sent only to a predetermined number of customers (for example, 10 people) in descending order of the number of visits. it can. Then, if you click Send Mail, a sales promotion mail is sent to the corresponding customer / member. By specifying the mail transmission time, it is possible to automatically distribute mail at that time later.

The member performs an operation of selecting a desired category (vegetable, meat, fish, sushi, lunch box, prepared food, etc.) having a sold-out product to be confirmed by looking at the e-mail received by his / her communication terminal device 7. As a result, a screen is displayed that jumps to a predetermined URL and presents information on sold-out products of the category. The member goes to the sales floor of the individual store by looking at the information, actually selects the food and takes it to the cash register, pays the price and purchases the product.
When a member purchases food, the bar code reader 3 of the store reads the ID number of the membership card (bar code) of the mobile terminal 7 of the member, and information on the purchased product input to the POS terminal 2 Is transmitted to the server 4. These pieces of information are accumulated as purchase record data in the individual database of the database server 4b. In this way, by linking with the POS system, a lot of valuable data can be easily stored in association with the membership card (barcode) ID by obtaining information on what has been purchased. Needless to say, this membership card (barcode) may have a point card function (a function for accumulating bonus points according to the purchase amount). It is also possible to distribute coupons to members' mobile phones.

  The application software installed in the terminal device 1 includes an analysis processing module. By starting the analysis processing module and executing the analysis processing, for example, data is obtained as an analysis result as follows. This analysis result is fed back to the next sales method to increase the sellout rate. In this analysis process, the individual database of the database server 4b is referred to and used as necessary.

(1) Correlation between inventory quantity by category and attribute data Attribute data refers to time, day of the week, weather, outside temperature, discount rate, discount start time, and the like. For each food category (vegetables, meat, fish, sushi, bento, side dish, etc.), the relationship between the time and the number of stocks (number of foods decided to be sold out), the horizontal axis is time, and the vertical axis is the number of stocks (or sales) , Sales amount). You can also create a table and set the time interval. As a result, it is possible to analyze the time of sale peak of the product (at the time of highest sales), and to analyze the relationship between the day of the week and the rate of decrease in the number of stocks (or the sell-out rate). It is also possible to analyze the relationship between the sales rate of the weather and the forecast for tomorrow, the relationship between the sales rate and the discount rate for each food category, the correlation between the discount and the start time, and the like. Then, by referring to the data stored in the database server 4b and using data mining technology, the correlation between the sell-out rate and the attribute data is grasped, and the result is fed back to sales promotion and purchase to increase the sell-out rate. Can do.

(2) Correlation between personal data and sales From the purchase history of each customer member stored in the database server 4b, personal data such as when and what purchased, how many times visited, average purchase price, last visit date, etc. Can be obtained. For example, it is possible to analyze the relationship between the graph of each member who has visited the store more than a predetermined number of times, the graph of each job, and the category of sales. Based on the relationship between sales and purchasers (housewives, office workers, students, office workers, etc.) and time of day, the purchase amount of commuting and attending school students is captured, and the back-off rate is increased by reducing the purchase amount on holidays. Conversely, if it is understood that holiday anglers will purchase early morning lunch boxes, the purchase of early morning lunch boxes can be increased. In addition, for items with a small number of special items, it is also possible to e-mail special sale information / sales information of sold-out products by limiting the number to the top predetermined number in the order of the number of visits.

This application software can be provided with a function of receiving comments and complaint information from customers by e-mail or the like. The two-way communication between the customer and the store can further increase the sell-off rate reflecting the customer's voice.
The system of the present invention can be used not only for retail merchandise but also when it is desired to sell out meal menu items at restaurants and restaurants. In addition, the retail products that can use the system of the present invention are not limited to foods, but may be any products that are intended to be sold out by focusing on specific customers.

  As described above, according to the present invention, food safety / safety information and the like can be provided to members in a timely manner in order to respond to diversifying consumer needs, not just discounts. For example, if a mobile terminal is used, information can be obtained even on a train. Furthermore, selection can be facilitated by viewing the contents of the food with image and video information. A busy person may not have much time to think about daily menus, so serving a recipe should help. As a result, it can be expected that the selling rate will increase. It is possible to grasp the correlation with the sell-off rate from the member attribute data and purchase data and apply it to the next sale and purchase to increase the sell-out rate.

The block diagram which shows the outline of the system configuration which implements the sales promotion method which concerns on this invention. The flowchart which shows the procedure outline of the sales promotion method of the sold-out goods in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

A ~ Y Individual store
Z head office PC personal computer 1 terminal device 2 POS terminal 3 barcode scanner 4 server 4a web server 4b database server 4c mail server 4d application server 5 communication line network 6 mobile carrier 7 communication terminal device 7 (cell phone, PDA, PC etc.)

Claims (8)

A sales promotion method using a system in which a terminal device of an individual store or headquarters and a server can be connected via a communication line, and a server and an individual consumer's communication terminal device can be connected via a communication line. The server includes an individual database including at least past purchase record data for each individual consumer,
Entering information on sold-out products determined at an individual store at the terminal device;
Referring to the individual database in response to the input at the terminal device;
Selecting a plurality of specific individual consumers suitable for the sold-out product based on the reference to the individual database;
A method for promoting sales of sold-out products, comprising: transmitting sales information about the sold-out products created by the terminal device to the selected specific individual consumers. The sold-out product is a food product,
Among the information about the sold-out products input at the terminal device, including additional information related to food cooking methods, food safety information, etc. related to the sold-out products,
The sales information transmitted in the step of transmitting the sales information related to the sold-out product includes the additional information related to a cooking method of food, food safety information, etc. related to the sold-out product. The sales promotion method for a sold-out product according to claim 1. In the information on the sold-out product input at the terminal device, includes sales information at the individual store related to other products used in the cooking method of the food product related to the sold-out product,
The sales information transmitted in the step of transmitting the sales information related to the sold-out product includes the sales information at the individual store regarding the other product used in the cooking method of the food product related to the sold-out product. The sales promotion method for sold-out merchandise according to claim 2. An individual store or a headquarters terminal device and a server can be connected via a communication line, and a server and an individual consumer's communication terminal device can be connected via a communication line, the server comprising: It has an individual database that includes at least past purchase record data for each individual consumer.
Means for inputting information on sold-out products determined at an individual store at the terminal device;
Means for referring to the individual database in response to the input at the terminal device;
Means for selecting a plurality of specific individual consumers suitable for the sold-out product based on a reference to the individual database;
A sales promotion system comprising: means for transmitting sales information about the sold-out product created by the terminal device to the selected specific individual consumers. In a system in which an individual store or head office terminal device and a server can be connected via a communication line, and a server and an individual consumer communication terminal device can be connected via a communication line, the terminal device includes A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for sales promotion of sold-out products, wherein the server includes an individual database including at least past purchase record data for each individual consumer, The program
Entering information on sold-out products determined at an individual store at the terminal device;
Referring to the individual database in response to the input at the terminal device;
Selecting a plurality of specific individual consumers suitable for the sold-out product based on the reference to the individual database;
Transmitting sales information on the sold-out product created by the terminal device to the selected specific individual consumers. The sold-out product is a food product,
Among the information about the sold-out products that are input at the terminal device and transmitted to the server, include additional information related to food cooking methods, food safety information, etc. related to the sold-out products,
The sales information transmitted in the step of transmitting the sales information related to the sold-out product includes the additional information related to a cooking method of food, food safety information, etc. related to the sold-out product. The program according to claim 5. In the information on the sold-out product input at the terminal device, includes sales information at the individual store related to other products used in the cooking method of the food product related to the sold-out product,
The sales information transmitted in the step of transmitting the sales information related to the sold-out product includes the sales information at the individual store regarding the other product used in the cooking method of the food product related to the sold-out product. The program according to claim 6. When an individual consumer purchases the sold-out product at the individual store, reading the identification information given in advance to the individual consumer together with the sales information related to the sold-out product;
The program according to claim 5, further comprising: transmitting the read identification information and information of the purchased individual consumer to the server so as to be stored in the individual database.

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