Visual merchandizing (VMD) control method and system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of controlling articles displayed for sale comprising the steps of:
- reading in a predetermined order merchandise codes of the displayed articles by use of a code reader;
obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of the merchandise codes read in the predetermined order;
selecting an article from the displayed articles;
accessing a data base storing therein information of the displayed articles to retrieve at least one coordinate article, from the stored information, to be combined with the selected article; and
outputting information about the retrieved coordinate article.
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Abstract
A merchandising system for conducting a control of article display positions that are generally changed by the customers includes a method of obtaining article display positions based on the present display state. In this system, when selecting coordinate items to be suitably combined with an article, the display positions thereof can be easily determined, which advantageously helps the customer to search the store or floor for the desired items.
201 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of controlling articles displayed for sale comprising the steps of:
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reading in a predetermined order merchandise codes of the displayed articles by use of a code reader; obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of the merchandise codes read in the predetermined order; selecting an article from the displayed articles; accessing a data base storing therein information of the displayed articles to retrieve at least one coordinate article, from the stored information, to be combined with the selected article; and outputting information about the retrieved coordinate article.
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2. A method of determining sales display inventory of articles displayed for sale, comprising the steps of:
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reading merchandise codes of the displayed articles in a predetermined order along a desired path previously determined by connecting locations of display of said displayed articles; obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of the merchandise codes read in the predetermined order; outputting information of the displayed articles based on the sales display position data of the articles; and determining sales display inventory of the displayed articles from the outputted information of the displayed articles. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of determining sales display of articles displayed for sale, comprising the steps of:
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reading merchandise codes of the displayed articles and fixture codes attached onto article sales display fixtures on which the articles are displayed for sale in a predetermined order along a desired path previously determined by connecting locations of display of said displayed articles and locations of the fixture codes; obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of merchandise and fixture codes thus read in the predetermined order; and outputting article information of the displayed articles, based on the article sales display position data, for determining sales display of the displayed articles. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. An article guide method, comprising the steps of:
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inputting data related to a plurality of attributes of an article in a single input operation; accessing an article data base storing therein respective codes of a plurality of articles, data related to respective attributes of the plurality of articles, and data representing a relationship between the attributes of the plurality of articles with correspondencies established therebetween to retrieve an article having the inputted attributes; thereafter retrieving, based on all of the data related to the relationship between the retrieved article and other articles, another article; and outputting the retrieved article and the another article with a correspondence established therebetween; wherein the article data base contains respective article sales display positions in association with the plurality of articles; and said output of the retrieved article and the another article is determined based on the sales display positions of the respective articles.
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13. A system for analyzing inventory of articles displayed for sale, comprising:
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an input device for reading merchandise codes of the displayed articles; means for obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of the merchandise codes inputted from said input device in a predetermined order; means for selecting an article from the displayed articles; a data base storing therein information of the displayed articles; means for retrieving from said data base information representing at least one coordinate article, from the stored information, to be combined with the selected article; and an output device for outputting inventory information about the retrieved coordinate article information reflecting the sales display position data of the articles.
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14. A system for determining sales display inventory of articles displayed for sale, comprising:
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a code reader for reading merchandise codes of the displayed articles; means for obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on a series of the merchandise codes read by said code reader in a predetermined order along a desired path previously determined by connecting locations of display of said displayed articles; and an output device for outputting inventory information of the displayed articles based on the article sales display position data. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for determining sales display of articles displayed for sale, comprising:
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a code reader for reading merchandise codes of the displayed articles and fixture codes attached onto the article sales display fixtures on which the articles are displayed for sale; means for obtaining sales display position data of the articles depending on the merchandise codes and the fixture codes thus read in a predetermined order by said code reader along a desired path previously determined by connecting locations of display of said displayed articles and locations of the fixture codes; and an output device for outputting information of the displayed articles based on the article sales display position data. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. An article guide system, comprising:
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an input device for inputting data related to a plurality of attributes of an article; an article data base for storing therein codes of a plurality of articles, data related to respective attributes of the plurality of article, and data representing a relationship between the attributes of the plurality of articles with correspondencies established therebetween; means for retrieving from said article data base information representing an article having attributes inputted from said input device; means for retrieving information representing another article from said article data base depending on the relationship between all of the attributes of the retrieved article and the another article; and an output device for outputting the information representing the retrieved article and the another article with a correspondence established therebetween; wherein said article data base further includes sales display positions of the article in association with the another article; and said output device outputs, by referencing the article data base, the retrieved article and the another article in association with the respective article sales display positions.
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Specification