TWI896988B - Method and apparatus for providing item information - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for providing item information, performed on a service server, comprising: receiving a purchase request from a user's terminal; confirming recommended items related to the purchase request; confirming whether the purchase request satisfies conditions; and, if the conditions are confirmed to be satisfied, providing a first page of a list of recommended items related to the purchase request.

Description

Method and device for providing item information

The embodiments of this specification relate to a method and device for providing item information.

With the increasing popularity of the internet, the e-commerce market is expanding. In particular, with the spread of infectious diseases, the proportion of people purchasing goods in physical stores is decreasing. Conversely, the proportion of people purchasing goods through e-commerce using computers or smartphones is rapidly increasing.

Typically, users can purchase multiple related items simultaneously through e-commerce services, rather than just a single item. To accommodate users who purchase multiple items at once, e-commerce services display information about similar or related items alongside the item they're interested in, thereby encouraging users to purchase additional items together.

On the other hand, when e-commerce companies recommend other items that can be purchased together with a specific item through their services, identifying a specific item among multiple items of interest to the user and recommending related items, determining which items to recommend, and how to display the recommended items on a specific page play a crucial role in increasing sales.

Related prior literature includes Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0108058 (published on September 16, 2020).

The present embodiment is designed to address the aforementioned issues. Its purpose is to: upon receiving a purchase request from a user, confirm recommended items related to the purchase request. Based on whether the purchase request conditions are met, a first page containing a list of recommended items is provided, allowing the user to confirm a list of other items related to the item they wish to purchase. This facilitates understanding other users' purchasing preferences and trends and facilitates additional purchases.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, an item information providing method according to one embodiment of this specification is performed on a service server and includes the following steps: receiving a purchase request from a user's terminal; confirming recommended items related to the purchase request; confirming whether the purchase request satisfies conditions; and, if the conditions are confirmed to be satisfied, providing the first page of a list of recommended items related to the purchase request.

According to one embodiment, the item information providing method further comprises: obtaining an input corresponding to the first object on the first page from the user's terminal; and executing a settlement procedure corresponding to the purchase in response to the input corresponding to the first object.

According to one embodiment, the above-mentioned conditions are characterized by including: the amount corresponding to the above-mentioned purchase request is greater than a first threshold value.

According to one embodiment, the first threshold value is characterized in that it is determined based on the purchase history of the user associated with the first page.

According to one embodiment, the method for providing item information further includes: determining a first item among one or more items corresponding to the purchase request, wherein the recommended items include items recommended for purchase together with the first item.

According to one embodiment, the step of determining the first item is characterized by comprising: determining a conversion rate associated with the first page of the one or more items; and determining the first item based on the conversion rates of the one or more items.

According to one embodiment, the step of determining the first item is characterized by comprising: determining the average selling price (ASP) of the one or more items; and determining the first item based on the ASP of the one or more items.

According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the recommended items includes: confirming the purchase history of multiple users who purchased the first item; and determining the recommended items based on the purchase history of the multiple users, wherein the purchase history of the multiple users includes information on items purchased within a fixed period of time from the time each of the multiple users purchased the first item.

According to one embodiment, the step of determining the recommended items includes the step of determining as the recommended items items included in the purchase history of the plurality of users that belong to the same category as the first item and have a purchase volume exceeding a second threshold.

According to one embodiment, the method for providing product information includes: determining a target category associated with the first page; and confirming whether the user corresponds to the target category based on the user's purchase history. If the user corresponds to the target category, the first page includes a list of recommended products belonging to the target category.

According to one embodiment, the step of determining the target category includes the step of determining one or more categories with the highest purchase conversion rate among a plurality of categories as the target category.

According to one embodiment, the step of confirming whether the user corresponds to the target category includes the step of determining whether the user has purchased items belonging to the target category a certain number of times or more within a recent fixed period.

According to one embodiment, the items included in the list of recommended items and belonging to the same leaf category are characterized by being a fixed number or less.

According to one embodiment, the items purchased by the user within a recent fixed period are characterized by being excluded from the list of recommended items.

According to one embodiment, the item information providing method further comprises: in response to the user's input corresponding to a first item among the one or more items corresponding to the purchase request, providing a second page including detailed information about the first item; the second page further including combined information about the first item and the recommended items.

According to one embodiment, the characteristics of the recommended item are determined based on a list of categories for the first item, wherein the list of categories includes: a first category in which the first item is located, a second category corresponding to the highest category of the first category, and a third category corresponding to the lowest category of the second category and including the recommended item, wherein the first category and the third category are different.

According to one embodiment, the combination information is characterized by including a plurality of combination information. The item information providing method further includes: obtaining a selection input of a first combination information from the plurality of combination information from the user's terminal; and providing comparison information with a second combination information from the plurality of combination information in response to the selection input of the first combination information.

A service server for providing product information according to one embodiment of the present specification is characterized by including: a transceiver for transmitting and receiving information with other devices; and a processor for controlling the transceiver to receive a purchase request from a user's terminal, identify recommended products associated with the purchase request, determine whether the purchase request meets conditions, and, if the conditions are met, provide a first page of a list of recommended products associated with the purchase request.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to one embodiment of the present specification is characterized by comprising a medium configured to store computer-readable instructions. When a processor executes the computer-readable instructions, the processor implements a method for providing product information on a service server. The method includes: receiving a purchase request from a user terminal; confirming recommended products associated with the purchase request; confirming whether the purchase request satisfies conditions; and, if the conditions are confirmed to be satisfied, providing page 1 of a list of recommended products associated with the purchase request.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the service server can confirm recommended items related to a purchase request received from a user terminal. When the purchase request meets the requirements, the service server can provide a first page containing a list of recommended items related to the purchase request. This allows the user to confirm a list of other items related to the item they wish to purchase. This facilitates understanding of other users' purchasing preferences and trends and facilitates additional purchases, thereby improving the user experience.

Furthermore, according to embodiments of the present invention, the service server can identify target categories with higher purchase conversion rates. When a user identifies a corresponding target category, the server can provide a list of recommended items in the target category that the user is likely to purchase, regardless of the item the user requests. This can remind the user of items they may have missed, encourage the user to purchase them, or increase the user's desire to purchase additional items.

110: User terminal

120: Service Server

205: Step

210: Step

215: Steps

220: Step

225: Steps

305: Step

310: Step

400: Shopping cart page

401: Displays the area containing the item information in the virtual shopping cart.

402: Displays the estimated total amount of the selected item.

403: Area displaying the "Buy" button

410: Interstitial Page

411: This area displays a list of discounted products during a specified discount period.

412: An area that displays a list of recommended items to be purchased together with the ordered items.

413: An area that displays a list of items that the user frequently purchases.

414: This area contains the amount information that matches the estimated settlement amount of the item requested.

415: Area displaying the purchase button

416: Displays the area for the first item identified by the service server among one or more items corresponding to the user's purchase request.

417: An area that displays a list of recommended items to purchase together with the first item.

418: Displays the area for adding items displayed in the list to the shopping cart.

501: Interstitial Page

502: Interstitial Page

503: Interstitial Page

504: Interstitial Page

505: Interstitial Page

506: Interstitial Page

507: Area

508: Area

509: Area

600: Displays detailed information about the item.

601: Area displaying detailed information about the item "perfume shampoo"

602: Area displaying coupon information for other items related to the item "perfume shampoo"

603: Area displaying the combination information of the item "perfume shampoo" and recommended items

604: Area

S710: Step

S720: Step

S730: Step

S740: Step

810: User terminal

812: Mail Receiving Department

814: Control Department

816:Input department

818: Display unit

820: Service Server

822: Mail Receiving Department

824: Control Department

826: Storage Department

FIG1 schematically illustrates the system configuration for providing information on substitute items in a service server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sequence diagram showing the information exchange between nodes and the corresponding actions related to the method for providing information about substitute items according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary purchase process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 4a and 4b are diagrams illustrating exemplary aspects of a shopping cart page and an insert page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG5 is a diagram showing an exemplary interleaved page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG6 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of a detailed page displaying an item of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a flow chart showing a method for providing item information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG8 is a diagram showing some components of a system for providing item information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the description of the embodiments, technical details that are well known in the art and not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. By omitting unnecessary details, the main points of the present invention are conveyed more clearly and precisely.

For similar reasons, some components in the accompanying drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or shown schematically. Furthermore, the sizes of the components do not necessarily reflect their actual sizes. Identical or corresponding components in the various figures are designated by the same reference symbols.

The advantages and features of the present invention, as well as methods for achieving these advantages and features, will be more readily apparent by referring to the accompanying drawings and the embodiments described in detail below. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various other forms. These embodiments are provided solely to complete the disclosure of the present invention and to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the invention. The present invention is limited solely by the scope of the patent applications. Throughout this specification, identical reference numerals refer to identical components.

At this point, it is understood that the combination of each block of the processing flow chart and the flowchart can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can generate a method for performing the functions described in the flow chart blocks. In order to implement the functions in a specific manner, these computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory of a designated computer or other programmable data processing device, so that the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory can also produce an article of manufacture that includes the instructions for performing the functions described in the flow chart blocks. Since computer program instructions can be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of action steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device, thereby generating a process executed by the computer. The instructions of the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can provide the steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart blocks.

Furthermore, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function. Furthermore, it should be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions mentioned in the blocks may not occur in the order in which they are listed. For example, two blocks listed consecutively may actually be executed simultaneously, or in the reverse order depending on the corresponding functions.

As used herein, the term "unit" refers to software or hardware components such as FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). A "unit" has a specific function. However, "unit" is not limited to hardware and software. A "unit" can be implemented as a memory device located on an addressable storage medium or as a processor. Thus, for example, a "component" includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processors, functions, properties, routines, subroutines, code snippets, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided by components and "components" can be combined into a smaller number of components and "components" or further separated into additional components and "components." Furthermore, components and "components" can also be implemented as one or more CPUs (central processing units) within a playback device or secure multimedia card.

FIG1 schematically illustrates the system configuration for providing information on substitute items in a service server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the information providing system of an embodiment of the present invention may include a user terminal 110 and a service server 120.

E-commerce users can use a user terminal 110 to connect to a service server 120. User terminal 110 is equipped with an e-commerce application and can connect to service server 120 under the control of the application. E-commerce can be performed based on information exchange with service server 120. User terminal 110 can be a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet PC (personal computer) or a stationary device such as a desktop PC. Any device that can install and run an e-commerce application can be used as user terminal 110 without restriction.

Service server 120 can communicate with user terminal 110, which can provide e-commerce-related information. As a result of a database search, service server 120 can provide a catalog of items or detailed information about each item stored in the database. When an e-commerce company directly delivers items, service-related entities operated by service server 120 can purchase products and manage delivery. When other delivery companies deliver items, purchase information and delivery location information related to the user's purchase can be transmitted to the other delivery company's server.

Figure 2 is a sequence diagram showing the information exchange between nodes and the corresponding actions related to the method for providing information about substitute items according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In step 205, the user terminal may transmit a purchase request to the service server. The purchase request may be input by the user to purchase one or more items via an e-commerce application installed on the user terminal. For example, the user may place one or more items in a virtual shopping cart on the e-commerce application and request to purchase at least some of the items by selecting them on a shopping cart page displaying the items in the virtual shopping cart. The purchase request may include input to an object such as a "Buy" button on the shopping cart page. As another example, a purchase request may be entered on a checkout page that displays checkout information related to the purchase of the entered item.

In step 210, the service server may identify recommended items associated with the purchase request. In one embodiment, the recommended items associated with the purchase request are items related to the item the user wishes to purchase, and may include items recommended by the service server to be purchased together with the item the user wishes to purchase. In another embodiment, the recommended items associated with the purchase request may include recommended items associated with a user segment generated based on the user's purchase history.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine a first item among one or more items corresponding to the purchase request, and the recommended items may include items recommended by the service server for purchase together with the first item. The first item may be a source item that displays related recommended items among the one or more items that the user wishes to purchase.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine the first item by determining the conversion rate of one or more items, and then determine the item with the highest conversion rate as the first item. In the field of online marketing, a conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors who engage in specific inducement behavior among those who visit a website, and may include a purchase conversion rate, which indicates the percentage of visitors who convert an item displayed on a webpage into a purchase. For example, when a user purchases golf clubs through e-commerce, they may not only want to buy the clubs themselves, but also golf balls, golf apparel, and other golf-related items that go with the clubs. Therefore, displaying these items on the page where the user enters the golf club purchase page will increase the purchase conversion rate of the items. As mentioned above, the conversion rate can include not only the purchase conversion rate of the item itself, but also the purchase conversion rate of recommended items related to the item. On the other hand, when users purchase a wallet through e-commerce, it's often difficult to recommend other items that go with the wallet. Even if items related to the wallet are displayed on the wallet purchase page, the likelihood of the user continuing to purchase these items is low. Ultimately, when a user wants to purchase golf clubs and a wallet through e-commerce, the service server identifies the golf clubs, which have a high purchase conversion rate, as the first item and displays recommended items along with the golf clubs. This allows users to easily obtain information about related items and encourages them to purchase additional items.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine the first item by determining the average selling price (ASP) of one or more items and then determining the item with the highest ASP as the first item. For example, a user who purchases a high-priced item (e.g., 500,000 Korean Won) is more likely to purchase related items (e.g., a recommended item priced at 20,000 Korean Won) than a user who purchases a low-priced item (10,000 Korean Won). Therefore, the service server may determine the item with the highest ASP as the first item. By displaying related items as recommended items, the user's probability of making additional purchases may be increased. In this way, the service server can prioritize items with high profit margins and select the first item to provide information about the recommended item.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine recommended items by identifying the purchase history of multiple users who purchased a first item. Recommended items are determined based on the purchase history of the multiple users. The purchase history of the multiple users may include information about items purchased by the multiple users within a certain period of time starting from the time each user purchased the first item. The service server may not only collect information about items purchased by the multiple users who purchased the first item together with the first item, but also collect information about other items purchased within a fixed period of time (e.g., one year) starting from the time the user purchased the first item. Based on the collected item information, the service server can identify the most purchased items and determine recommended items related to the first item. For example, the service server may determine recommended items by identifying items in the purchase history of multiple users that are in the same category as the first item and have a purchase volume exceeding a threshold as recommended items.

In one embodiment, the fixed period for verifying the purchase history of multiple users who purchased the first item can vary based on the characteristics of the first item. For example, if the first item is primarily used during a specific season or is trendy, the fixed period can be set to a period shorter than one year (e.g., one month or three months). This improves the accuracy of selecting recommended items related to the first item and reduces computational overhead.

In step 215, the service server may confirm whether the purchase request meets the conditions. In one embodiment, the conditions may include providing an interstitial page, which promotes, recommends, or offers purchases of the item before the service server completes the checkout process for the user's purchase request. Typically, to provide users with a convenient and simplified user experience, when the user clicks the "Buy" button to initiate a purchase request, the service server may utilize the user's previously acquired checkout and delivery information to immediately proceed with the checkout process and transmit the delivery information to the logistics center. However, for purchases exceeding a specified amount (e.g., 50,000 Korean Won), immediately redirecting the user to the checkout completion page upon clicking the purchase button can negatively impact the user experience. With this in mind, when a purchase request meets certain conditions, the service server can insert an interstitial page between the page where the user submits the purchase request (e.g., shopping cart page, checkout page) and the page indicating the purchase is complete (e.g., purchase completion guide page, checkout page). This interstitial page reminds the user and provides the user with the opportunity to purchase other recommended items, thereby improving the user experience and encouraging users to purchase additional items.

In one embodiment, the condition may include that the amount corresponding to the purchase request is above a first threshold value, and the first threshold value may be determined based on the user's purchase history associated with the interstitial page. For example, if a first user has made additional purchases of items through the service server's interstitial pages over a fixed period of time, the interstitial page can be presented to the first user at a lower price (e.g., 20,000 Korean Won) to provide more frequent interstitials. For a second user who has made fewer interstitial purchases or spent less time on the interstitial pages, the interstitial page can be presented less frequently at a higher price (e.g., 100,000 Korean Won). As described above, the service server can adaptively determine the interstitial page presentation price based on a user's purchase history, thereby improving the user experience.

In step 220, if the conditions are confirmed to be met, the service server may generate a first page including a list of recommended items related to the purchase request. In one embodiment, if the payment amount of the item corresponding to the purchase request is greater than a certain amount, the service server may generate the first page (e.g., an interstitial page), which may include a list of recommended items related to the first item.

In one embodiment, the multiple recommended items displayed in the recommended item list may be sorted based on at least one of their purchase rate, selling price, discount availability, special delivery availability, and reviews. For example, the recommended item list may be sorted from most purchased by a user to least purchased, with items purchased by other users prominently displayed at the top of the list. As another example, items with a user's purchase history or review history may be displayed at the top of the list. As another example, items eligible for membership discounts, coupon discounts, or event discounts may be displayed at the top of the list.

In one embodiment, the number of items in a recommended item list that belong to the same leaf category can be limited to a certain number (e.g., three or fewer). The leaf category may refer to the lowest category in the category hierarchy. For example, a recommended item list may only include items belonging to the leaf category "Golf Balls." This is because if too many items from the lowest category appear in the list as different brands, it would make it difficult for users to select items and would hinder the display of a variety of items in the recommended item list.

In one embodiment, items purchased by a user within a fixed period (e.g., one week) can be excluded from the recommended item list. Items with a recent purchase history are less likely to be repurchased by the user, so the server can minimize page space waste and efficiently deliver recommended item information to users by excluding them from the list.

In one embodiment, the neighboring items displayed in a list of recommended items may be items belonging to different page categories. To efficiently organize the order of items in the list displayed by scrolling on the limited screen size of a user terminal, the service server may generate the list so that the neighboring items display items of different types.

In one embodiment, the list of recommended items may include at least one of: an interstitial page, a page displaying detailed information about the first item, a page displaying search results for the first item, and a shopping cart page including the first item.

In step 225, the service server may provide the first page to the user's terminal. In one embodiment, the user can confirm other recommended items besides the item requested on the first page provided by the service server and easily purchase additional items by inputting information on the first page. As described above, the service server identifies recommended items related to purchase requests received from user terminals. When a purchase request meets the requirements, the server provides the first page of a list of recommended items related to the purchase request. This allows the user to confirm a list of items related to the item they wish to purchase, helping them understand other users' purchasing preferences and trends and facilitate additional purchases, thereby improving the user experience.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine a target category associated with the first page and, based on the user's purchase history, confirm whether the user matches the target category. If the user matches the target category, the first page may include a list of recommended items belonging to the target category. The first page may include not only a list of recommended items related to one or more items the user desires to purchase, but also a list of recommended items from the user's purchase history that are unrelated to the items the user desires to purchase.

In one embodiment, the service server may determine the target category by selecting one or more categories with the highest purchase conversion rate from among a plurality of categories as the target category. The service server may set the target category as a category of items that the user regularly purchases, such as childcare, pets, and health management. Upon confirming that the user frequently purchases items in the target category, the service server may display the target category items on the first page as a list of recommended items. In this case, to increase the repurchase rate of users who visit the first page, the service server selects several categories with high purchase conversion rates from all product categories. Only when the user matches the situation in that category will a list of recommended products in that target category be provided. This results in the recommended product list on the first page being primarily composed of products that are most likely to be repurchased by the user.

In one embodiment, the service server's confirmation of whether a user corresponds to a target category may include determining whether the user has purchased items belonging to the target category at least a certain number of times within a recent fixed period. For example, if the target category includes "baby care," and the user has purchased items belonging to the "baby care" category at least ten times within the past six months, the service server may determine that the user frequently purchases items in the "baby care" category and may add a list of other items belonging to the "baby care" category to an interstitial page to encourage the user to make additional purchases. In one embodiment, the purchase history period for identifying items belonging to the target category (six months in the above embodiment) and the number of times used to identify items belonging to the target category (ten times in the above embodiment) can be determined based on statistical data such as the purchase cycle and purchase quantity of items belonging to the target category.

In one embodiment, when it is confirmed that a user corresponds to multiple target categories, a list of recommended items belonging to target categories with higher purchase conversion rates among the multiple target categories corresponding to the user may be included on an interstitial page.

As described above, the service server uses user snippets generated based on the user's purchase history that are unrelated to the item the user requested to purchase to provide a list of recommended items that the user is more likely to purchase on an interstitial page. This reminds the user of items that they may have missed purchasing due to mistaken purchases, encourages the user to purchase them, or increases the user's desire to purchase additional items.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary purchase process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In step 305, the user terminal may obtain input corresponding to the first object on the first page from the user and transmit the input information corresponding to the first object to the service server. In one embodiment, the first page may include an interstitial page, and the first object may include a "Buy" button on the interstitial page. If the user provides input corresponding to the "Buy" button on the shopping cart page or the checkout page, if the interstitial page meets the provision conditions, the checkout process will not proceed and the interstitial page will be provided instead. Only by inputting the "Buy" button on the interstitial page can the checkout process for purchasing the item proceed. Users can review the list of recommended items on the interstitial page, add items to the purchase, or choose not to purchase them by clicking the "Buy" button.

In step 310, the service server may proceed with the purchase process in response to the input. As described above, the service server may provide Page 1 of an interstitial page displayed between the user's purchase request and the purchase process, and may provide a list of recommended items that the user is likely to purchase on Page 1 to encourage the user to make additional purchases, thereby improving the user experience. Providing recommended items related to a user's intended purchase on an interstitial page provides additional information after the user has already decided to purchase the item. Therefore, compared to providing additional information before the user has decided to purchase an item, such as on a page displaying item details or a page displaying item search results, the likelihood of the user canceling their purchase due to the additional information is lower. However, the likelihood of the user purchasing additional items in addition to their existing purchase is higher.

Figures 4a and 4b are diagrams illustrating exemplary aspects of a shopping cart page and an insert page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4a , a shopping cart page 400 is shown. This page includes an area 401 displaying information about items in a virtual shopping cart, an area 402 displaying an estimated total payment for the selected items, and an area 403 displaying a "Buy" button. On page 400 displayed on the user terminal, the user can select at least some of the items in area 401 and request a purchase by inputting an input corresponding to the Buy button in area 403. In one embodiment, if the estimated payment corresponding to the user's purchase request does not exceed 50,000 Korean Won, the service server may proceed with the payment process and provide a payment completion page (not shown). On the other hand, if the estimated settlement amount corresponding to the user's purchase request exceeds 50,000 Korean Won, the service server may provide the interstitial page illustrated in Figure 4b before proceeding with the settlement process.

Referring to FIG. 4 b , an exemplary interstitial page 410 provided by a service server in response to a purchase request entered on a user's shopping cart page is shown. Interstitial page 410 may include a section 411 displaying a list of discounted items during a specified discount period, a section 412 displaying a list of recommended items to be purchased together with the order, and a section 413 displaying a list of items the user frequently purchases. Interstitial page 410 may also include a section 414 displaying the estimated amount of the items requested for purchase from the previous shopping cart page 400. This amount may change based on the user's selection of additional items in sections 411, 412, and 413. Interstitial page 410 may include area 415 displaying a purchase button. When a user input corresponding to an object such as the purchase button in area 415 is received, the service server may proceed with the purchase checkout process. Areas 411, 412, and 413 may include components that display a list of items horizontally and display obscured item information via scrolling input.

In the example shown in FIG4b , area 412 may include: an area 416 displaying a first item ("makeup foundation" in FIG4b ) among one or more items corresponding to the user's purchase request, determined by the service server; an area 417 displaying a list of recommended items to be purchased together with the first item; and an area 418 displaying an option for adding the items shown in the list to the shopping cart. Further item information may be displayed on the screen by the user's scrolling input corresponding to area 417 . When a user requests to purchase two items, "Giraffe Plush" and "Makeup Foundation," and displays recommended items together, the service server may identify "Makeup Foundation," which has a higher purchase conversion rate, as the source item and display a list of items related to the identified source item on page 410. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if multiple items are currently being purchased, one selected item from the related items may be displayed in area 416. In this embodiment, when multiple items are being purchased, the items displayed in area 416 may be selected based on the purchase likelihood or profit margin of the recommended items.

In the example shown in Figure 4b, the estimated settlement amount in area 414 may increase based on the user input corresponding to area 418. If the user inputs the Add to Cart button in area 418, the item corresponding to the input is added, and the Add to Cart button changes to a Delete button. If the user provides input corresponding to the Delete button again, the item added to the virtual cart is deleted again, and the Delete button changes back to an Add to Cart button. As described above, the service server displays information about a portion of the items the user currently wants to purchase and recommended items that can be purchased together through the interstitial page 410, making it easier for the user to confirm item information and make additional purchases, thereby improving the user experience.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary insert page of one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , exemplary interstitial pages 501, 502, and 503 provided by a service server in response to a user's purchase request are shown. Interstitial pages 501, 502, and 503 may include areas 504, 505, and 506, respectively, which display recommended items belonging to a target category determined to correspond to the user from among a plurality of target categories determined by the service server. In the example shown in page 501, the service server may determine that the user corresponds to the "Parenting" target category and display detailed categories for the "Parenting" category in area 507, and display information about recommended items included in the selected detailed category in area 508. The user can use the button displayed in area 509 to make additional purchases of the recommended items displayed in area 508. In this embodiment, the items displayed in area 508 when the baby option is selected may be different from the items displayed in area 508 when the child option is selected.

FIG6 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of a detailed page displaying an item of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , a page 600 displaying detailed information about an item is shown. In one embodiment, the service server may provide a second page including detailed information about the first item in response to a user input corresponding to a first item among one or more items corresponding to a purchase request. The second page may include page 600 .

In one embodiment, the second page may further include information about the combination of the first item and the recommended items. In the example shown in Figure 6 , page 600 may include: an area 601 displaying detailed information about the item "perfume shampoo," an area 602 displaying coupon information for other items related to the item "perfume shampoo," and an area 603 displaying information about the combination of the item "perfume shampoo" and the recommended items.

Area 603 may include a combination of "perfume shampoo" (an item that one or more users want to purchase) and items purchased by other users. In this example, "perfume shampoo" is displayed as a combination of "perfume conditioner" and "comb" (an item that other users purchased the most). Information about the individual items that make up the combination can be displayed in area 604 based on the user's input corresponding to area 603. Based on the purchase history of multiple users who purchased the aforementioned items within a recent fixed period, the service server can collect information about items purchased together with the item or purchased within a certain period (e.g., one year) from the time the item was purchased. Furthermore, based on the item information, the service server can determine the combination information to be displayed on the page displaying the item's detailed information.

In one embodiment, the combination information for the first item can be determined not only based on the purchase history of multiple users who purchased the first item within a recent fixed period, but also based on their search history. The service server can verify the search history of the multiple users on the e-commerce service within a certain period of time since the multiple users purchased the first item, and determine the most frequently searched items as recommended items to be displayed as the combination information for the first item.

In one embodiment, the first item's package information may consist of items with the same delivery type as the first item. Delivery types may include, for example, fresh food delivery, early morning delivery, and same-day delivery. Combining items with different delivery types in a single package information can lead to separate deliveries, resulting in unnecessary delivery fees or separate deliveries on different dates, negatively impacting the user experience. Therefore, the service server may ensure that item package information consists of items with the same delivery type.

In one embodiment, the recommended items displayed on the page displaying detailed information for a first item may be determined based on the first item's category list. The category list may include: a first category belonging to the first item, a second category corresponding to the highest category of the first category, and a third category corresponding to the lowest category of the second category and including the recommended items, where the first and third categories are different. Thus, multiple items included in the combined information may share the same highest category but be included in different lowest categories.

In one embodiment, the package information includes multiple package information. The service server can obtain a selection input of a first package information from the user's terminal and, in response to the selection input of the first package information, provide comparison information of a second package information from the multiple package information. For example, the service server lists multiple package information that can be purchased together with the first item on a page displaying the details of the first item. The user can select one of the multiple package information. The input, as a pre-selection for the first package, can include an input corresponding to a check box. In this case, the service server can display information such as "1,000 won cheaper," "delivery one day earlier," and "higher review ratings" on the page as comparison information between the user's selected first package and the unselected second package, helping the user make an informed choice and thus improving the user experience.

On the other hand, the components displayed on the interstitial page can be determined based on the information displayed on the detailed information page in this embodiment. As one embodiment, when providing information on the best combination of products for purchase with a large number of items on the detailed information page, the interstitial page may not provide an area for displaying a list of recommended items to be purchased together with the order, or the display priority may be lowered. When the display priority is lowered, the area may be displayed at the bottom or in an area that can be checked by scrolling, compared to other areas.

FIG7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing item information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The steps shown in FIG7 can be performed by the service server 120 shown in FIG1 or the service server shown in FIG2 . The following description will omit any repetitions from the above description.

In step S710, the service server may receive a purchase request from the user's terminal. The purchase request may be input by the user to purchase one or more items through an e-commerce application installed on the user's terminal. For example, the user may add one or more items to a virtual shopping cart on the e-commerce application and may select at least some of the items displayed on the shopping cart page displaying the items added to the virtual shopping cart to request the purchase of the items. The purchase request may include input to an object such as a "Buy" button included on the shopping cart page. As another example, the purchase request may include payment information related to the purchase of the items on the checkout page.

In step S720 , the service server may confirm recommended items related to the purchase request. In one embodiment, the recommended items related to the purchase request are items related to the item the user wishes to purchase, and may include items that the service server recommends to be purchased together with the item the user currently wishes to purchase. In another embodiment, the recommended items related to the purchase request may include recommended items related to the user segment generated based on the user's purchase history.

In step S730, the service server confirms whether the purchase request meets the conditions. In one embodiment, the conditions may include providing an interstitial page to promote or recommend the product, or to offer a purchase before the service server proceeds with the checkout process for the user's purchase request. Typically, to provide a convenient and simplified user experience, when the user clicks the "Buy" button to initiate a purchase request, the service server can utilize the user's previously acquired checkout and delivery information to immediately proceed with the checkout process and perform settlement and delivery. However, for purchase requests exceeding a specified amount (e.g., 50,000 Korean Won), immediately redirecting to the checkout completion page based on the user's purchase button input can negatively impact the user experience. With this in mind, when a purchase request meets certain conditions, the service server can insert an interstitial page between the page where the user submits the purchase request (e.g., shopping cart page, checkout page) and the page indicating the purchase is complete (e.g., purchase completion guide page, checkout page). This interstitial page reminds the user and provides the user with the opportunity to purchase other recommended items, thereby improving the user experience and encouraging users to purchase additional items.

In step S740, if the conditions are confirmed to be met, the service server may provide a first page including a list of recommended items related to the purchase request. In one embodiment, when the payment amount of the item corresponding to the purchase request is above a certain amount, the service server may generate the first page (e.g., an interstitial page), which may include a list of recommended items related to the first item.

FIG8 is a diagram showing some components of a system for providing item information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG8 , a system for providing information according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The system includes a user terminal 810 and a service server 820 that can communicate with each other.

User terminal 810 can run an e-commerce client program or a food delivery client program, and includes a transceiver 812, a control unit 814, an input unit 816, and a display unit 818.

The transceiver 812 can transmit and receive information with other nodes, including the service server 820. The transceiver 812 can communicate with various types of external devices using various communication methods. The transceiver 812 may include at least one of a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth chip, a wireless communication chip, and an NFC chip. The Wi-Fi chip and the Bluetooth chip can communicate via WiFi or Bluetooth, respectively. When using a Wi-Fi chip or a Bluetooth chip, various connection information, such as the SSID (Service Set Identifier) and session key, are first transmitted and received. After establishing a communication connection, various information can be transmitted and received. Wireless communication chips are those that implement various communication standards, such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), ZigBee, 3G (3rd Generation), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), and LTE (Long Term Evolution). NFC chips are those that operate using the 13.56MHz band for NFC (Near Field Communication) among various RF-ID frequency bands, such as 135kHz, 13.56MHz, 433MHz, 860-960MHz, and 2.45GHz.

The input unit 816 can receive input from the user and may include a touch screen, a microphone, and buttons. The input unit 816 can receive various commands from the user. The input unit 816 can be implemented in various ways, such as keys, touch panels, etc. Keys may include various types of keys, such as mechanical buttons, scroll wheels, etc. formed on various areas such as the front, side, and back of the host appearance of the user terminal 810. The touch panel can sense the user's touch input and output a touch event value corresponding to the sensed touch signal. When the touch panel and the display panel are combined to form a touch screen, the touch screen can be configured as various types of touch sensors, such as capacitive and pressure-sensitive. Capacitive sensing uses a dielectric coating on the touchscreen surface to detect the micro-electricity generated by the user's body when part of the user touches the touchscreen surface, thereby calculating the touch coordinates. Pressure sensing uses two electrode plates built into the touchscreen. When the user touches the screen, the upper and lower plates contact each other, causing current to flow, and the touch coordinates are calculated. Touch events on the touchscreen are primarily generated by human fingers, but can also be generated by conductive objects that can exert a change in capacitance.

The display unit 818 can display information related to the user terminal 810's actions and can display pages containing the information described in the embodiments. In one embodiment, the display unit 818 can include various types of components, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). According to one embodiment, the display unit 818 can be connected to the user terminal 810's internal components via a wired connection or wirelessly via components such as the transceiver unit 812 included in the user terminal 810.

The control unit 814 can control the operations of the user terminal 810 described in the embodiments. Furthermore, the control unit 814 can include at least one processor configured to execute the operations of the user terminal 810.

A processor may include at least one of RAM (random-access memory), ROM (read-only memory), a CPU, a GPU (graphics processing unit), and a bus. RAM, ROM, the CPU, and the GPU may be interconnected via a bus. The CPU accesses the memory and uses the operating system (OS) stored there to perform startup operations. Furthermore, it uses the various programs, content, and data stored in the memory to perform various operations. ROM stores the instruction set used to boot the system. For example, if the user terminal 810 inputs an open command and powers on, the CPU can copy the OS stored in the memory to the RAM according to the instructions stored in the ROM, and execute the OS to start the system. If the startup is completed, the CPU copies the various programs stored in the memory to the RAM and runs the programs copied to the RAM to perform various actions. After the startup of the user terminal 810 is completed, the GPU displays the UI screen in the area of the display unit 818. Specifically, the GPU can generate a screen that displays electronic documents including various objects such as content, icons, and menus. Based on the layout of the screen, the GPU calculates the coordinate values, shape, size, color, and other attribute values of each object displayed. Furthermore, the GPU can generate images including various layouts of objects based on the calculated attribute values. The images generated by the GPU are provided to the display unit 818 and can be displayed in various areas of the display unit 818.

Furthermore, user terminal 810 may further include a speaker for outputting activity, and may further include a storage unit (not shown) for storing at least a portion of the information transmitted and received by transceiver unit 812 and information related to the actions of user terminal 810.

The service server 820, as a device that executes the e-commerce server program or the food delivery intermediary service program, may include a transceiver unit 822, a control unit 824, and a storage unit 826.

The transceiver unit 822 can send and receive information with other nodes including the user terminal 810.

The control unit 824 can control the operation of the service server 820 described in the embodiment. Furthermore, the control unit 824 can include at least one processor.

Furthermore, the service server 820 may include a storage unit 826 that stores at least a portion of the information sent and received by the transceiver unit 822 and information used for the operation of the service server 820.

On the other hand, while preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in this specification and accompanying drawings, specific terms are used only for the purpose of explaining the technical content of the present invention and facilitating understanding of the invention. These terms are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition to the embodiments disclosed herein, those skilled in the art may implement other variations based on the technical principles of the present invention.

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Claims (16)

A method for providing item information, performed in a service server, includes: receiving a purchase request from a user's terminal; confirming recommended items related to the purchase request; confirming whether the purchase request satisfies conditions; if the conditions are confirmed to be satisfied, providing a first page of a list of recommended items related to the purchase request before executing a settlement corresponding to the purchase request; and if the conditions are confirmed to be unsatisfied, The steps of providing a third page indicating completion of the settlement corresponding to the purchase request; obtaining an input corresponding to the first object on the first page from the terminal of the user; and providing the third page in response to the input corresponding to the first object; wherein the condition includes that the amount corresponding to the purchase request is greater than or equal to a first threshold value; and wherein the first threshold value is determined based on the purchase history of the user on the first page during a fixed period. The method for providing item information of claim 1 further includes: determining a first item among one or more items corresponding to the purchase request; wherein the recommended item includes items recommended for purchase together with the first item. In the method for providing item information according to claim 2, the step of determining the first item includes: determining the conversion rate associated with the first page of the one or more items; and determining the first item based on the conversion rates of the one or more items. In the method for providing item information of claim 2, the step of determining the first item includes: determining the average unit sales price of the one or more items; and determining the first item based on the average unit sales price of the one or more items. The method for providing item information according to claim 2, wherein the step of confirming the recommended item includes: confirming the purchase history of multiple users who purchased the first item; and determining the recommended item based on the purchase history of the multiple users; the purchase history of the multiple users includes information on items purchased within a fixed period from the time each of the multiple users purchased the first item. In the item information providing method of claim 5, the step of determining the recommended items includes: determining as the recommended items items included in the purchase history of the plurality of users that belong to the same category as the first item and have a purchase volume exceeding a second threshold. The method for providing item information according to claim 1 further comprises: Determining a target category associated with the first page; and confirming whether the user corresponds to the target category based on the user's purchase history; if the user corresponds to the target category, the first page includes a list of the recommended items belonging to the target category. In the method for providing product information as recited in claim 7, the step of determining the target category includes determining one or more categories with the highest purchase conversion rate among a plurality of categories as the target category. In the method for providing item information of claim 7, the step of confirming whether the user corresponds to the target category includes the step of confirming whether the user has recently purchased items belonging to the target category a fixed number of times or more within a fixed period of time. For the item information provision method described in Request Item 1, the recommended item list must contain no more than a fixed number of items belonging to the same category on the same page. For example, in the method for providing item information as described in claim 1, items recently purchased by the user within a fixed period are excluded from the list of recommended items. The method for providing item information of claim 1 further comprises: In response to the user's input corresponding to a first item among the one or more items corresponding to the purchase request, providing a second page including detailed information about the first item; the second page further including combined information about the first item and the recommended item. The method for providing item information of claim 12, wherein the recommended item is determined based on a list of categories for the first item, wherein the list of categories includes: a first category in which the first item is located; a second category corresponding to the highest category of the first category; and a third category corresponding to the lowest category of the second category and including the recommended item; and the first category and the third category are different. In the item information providing method of claim 12, wherein the combination information includes a plurality of combination information, the item information providing method further comprises: obtaining a selection input of a first combination information among the plurality of combination information from the user's terminal; and providing comparison information with a second combination information among the plurality of combination information in response to the selection input of the first combination information. A service server for providing product information includes: a transceiver for transmitting and receiving information with other devices; and a processor for controlling the transceiver to receive a purchase request from a user's terminal, identify recommended products associated with the purchase request, and determine whether the purchase request satisfies conditions. If the conditions are satisfied, the server provides a first page of a list of recommended products associated with the purchase request before executing a settlement step corresponding to the purchase request; and if the conditions are not satisfied, the server processes the first page of the list of recommended products associated with the purchase request. In the event of a purchase request, the steps of providing a third page indicating completion of the settlement corresponding to the purchase request; obtaining an input corresponding to the first object on the first page from the terminal of the user; and providing the third page in response to the input corresponding to the first object; wherein the conditions include that the amount corresponding to the purchase request is greater than or equal to a first threshold value; and wherein the first threshold value is determined based on the purchase history of the user on the first page during a fixed period. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium includes a medium configured to store computer-readable instructions. When a processor executes the computer-readable instructions, the processor implements a method for providing product information in a service server. The method includes: receiving a purchase request from a user's terminal; confirming recommended products related to the purchase request; confirming whether the purchase request satisfies conditions; and, if the conditions are satisfied, providing recommended products related to the purchase request before executing a settlement corresponding to the purchase request. The steps of: providing a first page of a list of items; and, if it is determined that the above conditions are not met, providing a third page indicating completion of the settlement corresponding to the above purchase request; obtaining an input corresponding to the first object on the above page from the above terminal of the above user; and providing the above page 3 in response to the input corresponding to the above first object; wherein the above conditions include that the amount corresponding to the above purchase request is greater than or equal to a first threshold value; and wherein the above first threshold value is determined based on the above user's purchase history on the above page 1 during a fixed period.