JP2006215687A - Pos system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fix trusted customers who make large purchases and to enlarge a market by attracting customers residing in remote areas or around rival stores. <P>SOLUTION: The POS system that determines the details of payback services for each transaction includes a storage means for storing customers' address related information and a customer card reading means for specifying the customers. The details of the payback services are determined according to transaction amounts and the address related information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a POS system (point-of-sale information management system) configured to determine the contents of a return service for a customer for each transaction.

  In recent years, in the retail distribution business, there has been an active movement to move away from conventional mass marketing such as handbill distribution and special sales, and to realize one-to-one marketing. In fact, many of the special sale items are purchased by bargain hunters of customers with a low purchase amount (the lower 20%), and the benefits to good fixed customers are low, so sales promotion is regarded as a problem. For example, there are cases where the top 20% good customers with the highest purchase amount cover 75% of store sales, and that amount is 50 times that of the lower 20% customer with the lower purchase amount.

  In view of this, FSP (FEQUENT SHOPPERS PROGRAM) has been considered as a method of fixing excellent customers by distributing conventional sales promotion costs to customers as points to be given according to the purchase amount. As a means of implementing FSP, at the time of product sales, the register terminal sends the customer identification code read from the customer card and the transaction amount to the store controller, and the store controller calculates the point according to the transaction amount and A POS system that adds to the accumulated points is adopted.

In addition, as a measure to strengthen customer lock-in by FSP, instead of using only the purchase price as the basis for point calculation, the point calculation rate and discount rate are changed according to the customer's purchase history and store visit frequency. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3272525

  Changing the point calculation rate according to the customer's purchase history and store visit frequency can increase the effectiveness of customer retention, but it can also be used to attract customers who live far away or in the vicinity of competing stores. It is difficult to do so, and the business area has not expanded.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to fix high-quality customers with a large purchase price and to attract customers who live far away or in the vicinity of competing stores to expand the trade area.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a POS system configured to determine the contents of the return service for each transaction. The storage means stores customer address related information, and the customer card reading means for identifying the customer. A POS system is provided that determines the contents of the return service according to the transaction amount and the address-related information. Here, “address-related information” is information for evaluating the degree of time, cost, labor, etc. that each customer spends coming to the store from the customer address. "Distance", "Required time" for moving from customer address to store, "Location relationship of competitors" with customer address, "Transport" used to visit from customer address, etc. All the information that will be included.

  The invention of claim 2 is a POS system configured to determine the contents of the return service for each transaction, comprising a customer card reading means for storing customer address related information, and the transaction amount and the address related Provided is a POS system characterized in that contents of a return service are determined according to information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to the first or second aspect, the return service is a grant of points, and a special point to be given according to the address-related information is determined and a transaction amount is determined. A point-of-sale system characterized by adding to the normal points to be provided is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to the third aspect, the special point, the normal point, and a message indicating that the special point is a special point are displayed on a customer card or a receipt. A featured POS system is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the address related information includes distance information set based on a distance from the customer address to the store. A POS system characterized by the above is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the address related information includes time information set based on a required time for moving from the customer address to the store. A POS system is provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the address related information includes competing store information set based on a positional relationship between the customer address and the competing store. A POS system is provided.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the POS system according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the address related information includes transportation means information set based on transportation means used by the customer to visit the store. A POS system is provided.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the address related information includes area information set based on a residential area to which the customer address belongs. A featured POS system is provided.

The invention of claim 10 is the POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein
Provided is a POS system characterized by preferential treatment of the contents of a return service for a customer who has introduced a new customer to a store within a predetermined period.

  According to the POS system of the first or second aspect, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the contents of the return service are determined according to not only the transaction amount but also the customer's address related information, the difference in time, amount, labor, etc. that the customer spends for visiting the store can be reflected in the contents of the return service, As a result, it is possible to enclose customers in a wider area.

  According to the POS system of the third aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the POS system of the first or second aspect, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Special points given according to address-related information were determined and added to the normal points given according to the transaction amount. By giving special points commensurate with the time, amount, labor, etc. spent for visiting the store, customers can be enclosed in a wider area.

  According to the POS system of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effects exhibited by the POS system according to the third aspect, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since special points are displayed separately from normal points and a message indicating that they are special points is displayed, customers are given special treatment according to the time, amount, labor, etc. spent for visiting the store. I can let you know.

  According to the POS system of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effects exhibited by the POS system according to the first to fourth aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Motivation for visits from far away, such as thickening the return service to customers who live far from the store, because the contents of the return service are determined according to the distance information set based on the distance from the customer address to the store Can be achieved.

  According to the POS system of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effects produced by the POS system according to the first to fifth aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the contents of the return service are determined according to the time information set based on the time required to move from the customer's address to the store, it is time to visit the store, for example, by increasing the return service to customers with long visit times. It is possible to motivate such customers to visit the store.

  According to the POS system of the seventh aspect, in addition to the effects exhibited by the POS system according to the first to sixth aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the content of the return service is determined according to the competitor store information set based on the positional relationship between the customer address and the competitor store, the return service for customers residing in the neighborhood of the competitor store can be increased. It is possible to motivate customers who reside in the sales area to visit the store.

  According to the POS system of the eighth aspect, in addition to the effects produced by the POS system according to the first to seventh aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the contents of the return service are determined according to the means of transportation set based on the means of transportation used by the customer to visit the store, for example, customers who have a large number of transits on the train that visits the store or visit the store It is possible to motivate customers who require a considerable amount of labor and money to visit the store, such as providing a return service to customers who have high tolls on the expressway.

  According to the POS system of the ninth aspect, in addition to the effects exhibited by the POS system according to the first to eighth aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the content of the return service is determined according to the area information set based on the residential area to which the customer address belongs, for example, the return service to customers coming from areas where the number of customers visiting the store does not increase despite the short distance By motivating customers, it is possible to motivate potential customers to visit the store.

  According to the POS system of the tenth aspect, in addition to the effects exhibited by the POS system according to the first to ninth aspects, the following excellent effects can be exhibited. Since the contents of the return service are preferentially given to the customers who have introduced new customers to the store within a predetermined period, it is possible to motivate the introduction of new customers repeatedly.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Outline of POS system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of the POS system according to the present embodiment. The POS system 1 is configured by connecting a store controller 2 that manages data in a store and a plurality of register terminals 3 that settle the purchase price of the customer through a communication line W, and manages sales in the store and customer Manages point grants, which are return services.

  Points are granted when a customer settles the purchase price of a purchased product, and the number of points is set based on the purchase amount (transaction amount) of the customer, purchase history, and the distance from the customer address to the store. It is determined according to the distance identification symbol (distance information). As points, “purchase points (ordinary points)” that are granted to all customers according to the purchase price and purchase history, and “distant store points (special points)” that are granted according to distance identification symbols separately from the purchase points Are set. These points are accumulated as “cumulative points” and are added together. However, it is also possible to use far-off store points (special points) independently by changing the system. For example, a preferential treatment such as “provide a petrol ticket for 10,000 yen at 1000 points for distant store points” can be considered.

  The store controller 2 includes a customer card information table T1 (FIG. 2) used for point grant management, and a purchase point calculation magnification table T2 (FIG. 3) in which calculation points for purchase points determined according to purchase history are set. ) And a far visit store point table T3 (FIG. 4) in which a far visit point determined according to the distance identification symbol is set is provided. The register terminal 3 is provided with a reading means 4 for a customer card C for identifying a customer.

[Customer card information table T1]
As shown in FIG. 2, the customer card information table T <b> 1 corresponds to the “card ID number” set for each customer, as shown in FIG. 2. It is composed of a combination of “distance identification number”, “purchasing history”, “cumulative points”, “total purchase amount of this month”, etc., which are management information for assigning points, and all registered customers Created for customers.

  Here, the “distance identification number” is attached to a division (for example, “over 500 m to 800 m”) in which the distance from the customer address to the store is stratified into a plurality of stages in the far visit store point table T3 shown in FIG. Used to determine special points. The distance identification number is automatically determined by plotting the customer address input at the time of customer registration on the map shown in FIG. For example, when the customer address is plotted at a position indicated by an asterisk X, the distance identification number is “3”. Since the distance identification number can be determined by the straight line distance on the map, the indexing software can be easily created.

  The “purchasing history” is the total purchase amount of the previous month, and is used when determining the purchase point calculation multiple. “Total number of points” is the total number of points after the previous purchase price settlement (points granted), and “Total purchase price of this month” is the purchase price from the beginning of the month to the previous purchase price settlement. Cumulative and used as “purchasing history” in the following month.

[Purchase point calculation magnification table T2]
As shown in FIG. 3, the point calculation magnification of the number of points purchased is registered for each application condition in the purchase point calculation magnification table T2, and the number of points purchased is determined by multiplying the amount of purchase by the point calculation magnification. In the present embodiment, points are calculated according to purchase histories (total purchase amount of the previous month) of “0 yen to 14,999 yen”, “15,000 yen to 24,999 yen”, and “25,000 yen”. The magnification is set to “0.01”, “0.02”, “0.03”.

[Distant store point table T3]
In the far visit point table T3, as shown in FIG. 4, the far visit point number is registered for each application condition. In the present embodiment, according to the distance identification numbers (distance information) such as “1”, “2”, “3”, etc., the far visit point is set to “+10”, “+20”, “+30”, and the like. For example, when the distance identification number of the application condition is “3”, the far-off store point is “+30”, and this is added regardless of the purchase amount of the customer.

  Note that the above-described purchase point calculation magnification table T2 and the far visit store point table T3 are created in consideration of the circumstances of the store, such as a big sale campaign, and can be changed each time.

[Flow of point grant procedure by POS system 1]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the point grant procedure by the POS system 1. The processing in the register terminal 3 is started when the operator visits the cash register for purchase merchandise check-in and inserts the customer card C into the reading means 4.

  The register terminal 3 reads the card ID number recorded on the customer card C by the reading means 4 (step A1), and inquires the store controller 2 of data necessary for managing the point assignment based on the card ID number (step A1). Step A2). Specifically, the “cumulative point count”, “total purchase amount of this month” of the customer, “purchase point calculation ratio” and “distant store points” applied to the customer are inquired.

  The store controller 2 waits to receive a data inquiry from the register terminal 3 (step B1), and if there is an inquiry, reads the customer card information corresponding to the card ID number from the customer card information table T1 (step B2). ). Furthermore, the “purchase point calculation magnification” corresponding to the “purchase history” of the read customer card information is read from the purchase point calculation magnification table T2, and the “far visit point” corresponding to the “distance identification number” is read from the far visit point table T3. (Step B3).

  For example, in the case of the customer shown in the customer card information table T1 of FIG. 2, the customer identification information is the distance identification number “3”, the cumulative number of points “1470 Pt”, the purchase history “16000 yen”, and the purchase amount of this month “5800 yen”. “0.02” is read from the table T1 as a point calculation magnification corresponding to the purchase history of “16000 yen” from the purchase point calculation magnification table T2, and “3” as a remote store point corresponding to the distance identification number “ +30 "is read from the far visit store point table T3. The data read in this way is transmitted to the register terminal 3 (step B4).

  After registering all the purchased goods through the cash register and confirming the purchase price (step A3) and receiving the inquiry data from the store controller 2 (step A4), the register terminal 3 sets the “purchase points” and the purchase points. “Total points” added to the number of remote store points, new “total points” added to the total points, and new “total purchases this month” added to the total purchases received this month. Is calculated (step A5). These calculations are performed by a calculation means (not shown) installed in the register terminal 3.

  For example, if the purchase amount of the customer is “3000 yen”, 3000 × 0.02 = “60 pt”, which is obtained by multiplying the received point calculation magnification “0.02”, is calculated as the purchase point, and the far-end store point 60 + 30 = “90 pt” obtained by adding “30 pt” is calculated as the total number of points. Also, 1470 + 90 = “1560 pt” obtained by adding the total number of points to the received total number of points “1470 pt” is calculated as a new total number of points, and 5800 + 3000 obtained by adding the purchase amount to the total purchase amount “5800 yen” received this month. = "8800 yen" is calculated as the new total purchase amount for this month.

  The register terminal 3 calculates the number of points purchased and issues a receipt R shown in FIG. 7 (step A6). On receipt R, in addition to checkout information consisting of purchased product details, total purchase amount, deposits from customers, and change, as point management information, card ID number, number of points purchased "60 pt", far away store points The number “30 pt”, the total number of points “90 pt”, the cumulative number of points “1560 pt”, and the total purchase amount of this month “5800 yen” are printed.

  The register terminal 3 transmits the newly calculated cumulative number of points “1560 pt” and the total purchase amount of this month “8800 yen” to the store controller 2 (step A7), and ends the process. Further, the store controller 2 is waiting to receive the newly calculated “cumulative points” and “total purchase amount of this month” from the register terminal 3 (step B5). As shown in FIG. 8, the customer card information table T1 is updated (step B6), and the process is terminated.

[Features of POS system 1]
The POS system 1 has the following characteristic points.

  First, it comprises a storage means for storing a distance identification number (distance information) set based on the distance from the customer address to the store, and a customer card reading means 4 for identifying the customer, and only the transaction amount Since the content (number of points) of the return service for the customer is determined according to the distance identification number, the return service that reflects the time, amount, labor, etc. that the customer spends visiting the store is provided. Yes.

  Secondly, since the far visit points given according to the distance identification number are added to the purchase points given according to the transaction amount, customers with high transaction amount are fixed by the normal points, while the customer spends visiting the store It has the feature of being able to keep customers visiting from far away by using the far-off store points that reflect time, money, labor, etc.

  Thirdly, as shown in Fig. 7, far-off store points are displayed separately from purchase points and with a message indicating that they are far-off store points. Depending on the, it has a feature point that informs that it is preferential.

[Modification of the above embodiment]
In the above-described embodiment, point granting when the purchase price of a plurality of products is settled at the cash register has been described, but each time a label printed with information such as the product price is packed on the product packed according to the order from the customer. The same POS system can be adopted in the sales form to be attached. Specifically, in the POS system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the register terminal 3 is replaced with a label printer that issues a label that measures a product and prints a price. As a return method, it is conceivable to print by discounting the product price on the label, or printing a special coupon on the label, and printing that it is a special offer according to the address related information. Further, if the reading means 4 and the customer card C are compatible with rewrite printing on the card surface, points are given in the same manner as in the above embodiment, and purchase points (ordinary points), remote store points are given on the card surface. (Special points), accumulated points, etc. can be displayed.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the distance identification number (distance information) that is the basis for determining the return service content is set based on the linear distance from the customer address to the store. In some cases, it is not possible to give a far-off store point that is suitable for the effort required for the customer to visit the store at a straight distance, for example, it is necessary to make a detour to the bridge to cross the river between the customer address and the store. In such a case, the distance identification number may be set based on the substantial movement distance by the detour route. Moreover, you may set a distance identification number based on the road distance which passes at the time of the movement from a customer address to a store.

  In the above embodiment, the content of the return service is determined according to the distance information set based on the distance from the customer address to the store, but instead of “distance information” or in addition to “distance information” "Time information" set based on the time required to move from the customer address to the store, "Competitive store information" set based on the positional relationship between the customer address and the competitor store, used for customers to visit The contents of the return service may be determined according to “transportation information” set based on the transportation means to be set or “area information” set based on the residential area to which the customer address belongs. Of course, the content of the return service may be determined according to composite information obtained by combining all or part of the information.

  When determining the contents of the return service according to the “time information”, motivate customers to spend a lot of time to visit the store by increasing the return service for customers who take a long time to visit. Can be achieved. When determining the contents of the return service according to “competitor store information”, the return service for customers residing in the vicinity of the competing store will be increased, and customers who live in the sales area of the competing store will be Motivation can be achieved.

  When deciding on the contents of the return service according to the “transportation information”, customers who have a large number of transit trains when visiting the store or customers who have high tolls on the expressway used when visiting the store By providing a rich return service, it is possible to motivate customers who have a large amount of labor and money to visit. In addition, in order to know “transportation information”, it can be handled by including it as a question item in a registration form to be described by the customer for customer registration.

  When deciding the contents of the return service according to the “area information”, for example, the return service for customers coming from areas where the number of customers visiting the store is not growing despite the short distance is increased. Motivate customers to visit the store. If a zip code is used as “area information”, it is not necessary to prepare special software for setting the area information, and the time required for customer registration can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, points are given as a return service, but instead of this, cash discounts on purchased products and issuance of crude vouchers (for example, printing on the back of the receipt R) may be made. In the case of service, it is possible to increase the discount rate or upgrade the crude product according to the customer's address related information. Depending on the means of transportation, a highway pass ticket or a train ticket may be given. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the calculation magnification of the purchase point (normal point) was changed according to the purchase history, you may make this constant. Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the far visit point (special point) was fixed for every distance identification number, you may make it fluctuate according to the purchase price.

  In the above embodiment, based on the address-related information, the burden of time, expense, labor, etc. required for customers to visit the store is evaluated, and the contents of the return service are preferentially treated. For the customers introduced in (1), the contents of the return service may be preferentially treated by evaluating the burden on the customers and the profits on the store side. Specifically, for a customer who has introduced a new customer, the “new customer introduction date” is registered in the customer card information table T1 so that it can be read out, and is returned within a predetermined period from the new customer introduction date. It is conceivable to give preferential treatment to services. Here, the preferential treatment period is calculated from the introduction date of the new customer, but instead, it may be “within one month from the first day of the next month when the new customer is introduced” or the like. As described above, it is possible to motivate not only a visit but also a new customer to be introduced repeatedly.

  In addition, specific days when the store side wants to increase the number of customers (for example, weekdays with a small number of customers, large sales days where customers want to attract customers), specific times (for example, daytime hours on weekdays when the number of customers tends to decrease) A return service that evaluates the customer's burden and the store's profits for customers who visit the store during specific weather (for example, when it is raining when the number of stores is low, or when the temperature has dropped significantly from the previous day in winter) Special offers may be provided. This makes it possible to motivate customers to visit the store when the number of customers visiting the store is small.

  In the above embodiment, the card ID number for identifying the customer is stored in the customer card C, and the data required for managing the point grant such as “distance identification number” is stored from the register terminal 3 during the point grant procedure. The controller 2 was inquired. However, if the store controller 2 is not installed as shown in FIG. 9 due to store circumstances or the like, the point grant management information is collectively stored as a master machine in one of the register terminals, and the satellite machine Inquiry may be made from other register terminals. In addition, it is a matter of course that information necessary for point grant management may be stored in the customer card C, and the point grant procedure may be performed only at the register terminal for payment.

  In addition to the above-described modifications, it is needless to say that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The figure which shows the outline | summary of the hardware constitutions of the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the customer card information table of the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the purchase point calculation magnification | multiplying_factor table of the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the far visit store point table of the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the map used in order to determine a distance identification number. The flowchart which shows the flow of the point provision procedure by the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the receipt issued by the POS system which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the state by which the customer card information table of FIG. 2 was rewritten. The figure which shows the outline | summary of the hardware constitutions of the POS system which concerns on the modification of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 POS system 2 store controller 3 register terminal 4 reading means C customer card

Claims (10)

In a POS system configured to determine the content of the return service for each transaction,
Storage means for storing customer address related information;
A customer card reading means for identifying the customer,
A POS system that determines the content of a return service according to a transaction amount and the address-related information. In a POS system configured to determine the content of the return service for each transaction,
A customer card reading means for storing customer address related information;
A POS system that determines the content of a return service according to a transaction amount and the address-related information. The POS system according to claim 1 or 2,
The return service is a point grant,
Determine the special points given according to the address related information,
A POS system characterized by adding to the normal points given according to the transaction amount. The POS system according to claim 3,
The POS system, wherein the special point, the normal point, and a message indicating that the special point is a special point are displayed on a customer card or a receipt. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The POS system characterized in that the address related information includes distance information set based on a distance from a customer address to a store. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The POS system characterized in that the address related information includes time information set based on a required time for moving from the customer address to the store. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The POS system characterized in that the address related information includes competing store information set based on the positional relationship between the customer address and the competing store. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The address-related information includes transportation means information set based on transportation means used by customers to come to the store. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The POS system characterized in that the address related information includes area information set based on a residential area to which a customer address belongs. The POS system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A POS system characterized by preferential treatment of the contents of the return service for customers who have introduced new customers to the store within a predetermined period.

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