Point-service system in online shopping mall

• US 5,937,391 A
• Filed: 05/29/1997
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Morita, Shuji, Oka, Nobuo, Yamashita, Masakazu, Egashira, Yuka, Fujiwara, Masao, Miyasaka, Michihiro, Ikeda, Sekio
• Primary Examiner(s): Peeso, Thomas R.
• Application Number:
  US08/864,971
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/27, 705/29
• US Class Current: 705/14.23
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/00 Mechanisms actuated by objects other than coins to free or to actuate vending, hiring, coin or paper currency dispensing or refunding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/145 PLU-management

Abstract

A service system in an online shopping mall established through a network realizes an improvement of a service to a customer by not having to carry a magnetic card and shortening a time from issuing points to redeeming points. To attain the objects of the system, a points issuing unit issues points corresponding to the purchase amount of a customer. A points storage device stores the number of points accumulated by the customer. A points redeeming unit reduces a purchase amount of the customer as points to be redeemed. A points issue ratio and a points redeeming ratio can be set for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall.

Claims

1. A point-service system for use in an online shopping mall established in a network, comprising:

points issuing means for issuing points depending on a purchase amount of a customer and a points issue ratio defined as a number of issued points corresponding to the purchase amount of the customer;

points management means for storing points issued by said points issuing means and accumulated by the customer;

points redeeming means for redeeming points according to a points redeeming ratio defined as the redemption based on the number of points within a number of accumulated points of the customer stored by said points management means, and for decreasing the number of the accumulated points of the customer.

2. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points issuing means sets the points issue ratio for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall.

3. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points issuing means sets the points issue ratio to a value effective only in a specific period and different from a value effective in a period other than the specific period.

4. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points issuing means sets the points issue ratio to a value depending on a number of points accumulated by the customer and not used for a redemption.

5. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

when the customer buys goods with a payment made later, said points management means stores the points issued for the goods by said points issuing means as being effective for redeeming points after the payment is made.

6. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points management means stores the points issued by said points issuing means as points accumulated by a customer other than the customer who obtained the points by buying the goods.

7. The point-service system according to claim 6, wherein

said points management means follows a specification of the other customer from the customer who obtained the points issued by said points issuing means by buying the goods.

8. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points redeeming means redeems points for a discount from a purchase amount according to the points redeeming ratio.

9. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points redeeming means sets the points redeeming ratio for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall.

10. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points redeeming means sets the points redeeming ratio to a value effective only in a specific period and different from a value effective in a period other than the specific period.

11. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points management means stores an effective term assigned to points issued by said points issuing means;

and

said points redeeming means allows a redemption using points in effective terms only.

12. The point-service system according to claim 11, wherein

said points redeeming means uses points of the customer from the points assigned an oldest effective term in redemption.

13. The point-service system according to claim 11, wherein

said points management means continues storing points out of the effective terms for a predetermined period after the effective terms have passed.

14. The point-service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

points accumulation amount notification means for periodically notifying each customer of a number of accumulated points stored by said points management means.

15. The point-service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

points accumulation amount notification means for non-periodically notifying each customer of a number of accumulated points stored by said points management means.

16. The point-service system according to claim 15, wherein

said points accumulation amount notification means notifies a customer of a number of accumulated points when the number of accumulated points has reached a predetermined value.

17. The point-service system according to claim 1, wherein

said points redeeming means allows a redemption using not only a number of points issued by a specific shop, in which a customer makes a new purchase, but also a number of points issued by other shops.

18. The point-service system according to claim 17, further comprising:

inter-shop redeeming points adjusting means for adjusting redeeming points among a plurality of shops forming part of the online shopping mall based on a number of redeeming points, a name of the specific shop, and names of other shops, for points issued by the other shops in the redeeming points used by said points redeeming means when a customer buys goods at the specific shop.

19. The point-service system according to claim 18, further comprising:

an adjustment redeeming points storage table for storing, for each shop forming part of the online shopping mall, a number of points X issued by the specific shop and used for a redemption at another shop, and a number of points Y used for a redemption at a specific shop but issued by other shops, wherein

said inter-shop redeeming points adjusting means updates contents of said adjustment redeeming points storage table, when points are used for a redemption, based on a number of redeeming points, a name of a shop which issued the redeeming points, and a name of a shop at which the redemption is allowed, and adjusts the redeeming points among the plurality of shops based on a difference between said number of points X and said number of points Y.

20. The point-service system according to claim 18, wherein

said inter-shop redeeming points adjusting means periodically performs an adjusting process.

21. The point-service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

online shopping mall display control means for controlling display for each customer, when a customer is buying goods in the online shopping mall, in such a way that data of each shop forming part of the online shopping mall is displayed with a number of points unused for a redemption within points issued to each customer by a shop which provides a point-service in the online shopping mall.

22. The point-service system according to claim 21, wherein

said online shopping mall display control means controls the display of the data of each shop forming part of the online shopping mall in order from a shop having a largest number of points unused for a redemption.

23. The point-service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

online shopping mall display control means for controlling display, when the customer is buying goods in the online shopping mall, of data of each shop forming part of the online shopping mall in a format clearly indicating whether or not each shop provides a point-service.

24. A computer-readable storage medium used to direct a computer to perform, in realizing a point-service in an online shopping mall established through a network, the functions of:

issuing points depending on a purchase amount of a customer;

storing, for each customer in memory, issued points accumulated by each customer; and

reducing payment of a customer as redeeming points using the points accumulated by the customer.

25. A method of receiving a point-service in an online shopping mall established through a network, comprising the steps of:

specifying by a customer a name of a shop at which a customer is buying goods in the online shopping mall and a name of goods requested by the customer;

specifying by the customer a number of redeeming points for a redemption from a price of object goods within a scope of a number of points accumulated by the customer; and

reducing the price of the object goods according to the specification of the customer and a points redeeming ratio defined as a discount from a purchase amount depending on the number of redeeming points.

26. A method of receiving a point-service in an online shopping mall established through a network, comprising the steps of:

specifying by a customer a name of a shop at which a customer is buying goods in the online shopping mall and a name of goods requested by the customer;

specifying by the customer a destination of points issued when the customer buys the specified goods, at a points issue ratio defined as a number of issued points corresponding to a purchase amount; and

in response to the specification, storing in a system for providing a point-service in the online shopping mall points, issued when the customer buys goods, as points accumulated by another customer specified by the destination.

27. A method of providing a point-service in an online shopping mall established through a network, wherein

each shop forming part of the online shopping mall sets each of a points issue ratio defined as a number of issued points corresponding to a purchase amount of a customer and a points redeeming ratio defined as a discount amount from a purchase amount corresponding to a number of redeeming points within a number of points accumulated by the customer to values effective only in a specific period and different from values effective in a period other than the specific period.

28. A method of issuing points in an online shopping mall established through a network, wherein

each shop forming part of the online shopping mall sets a points issue ratio defined as a number of issued points corresponding to a purchase amount of a customer to a variable value depending on a number of points issued when the customer buys goods at shops forming the online shopping mall and unused redeeming points to be used for reducing a purchase amount when the customer next buys goods.

29. A computer-readable storage medium used to direct a computer to perform in realizing a point-service in an online shopping mall established through a network, the functions of:

issuing points depending on a purchase amount of a customer;

storing, for each customer in memory, issued points accumulated by each customer; and

reducing payment of a customer as a redemption using the points accumulated by the customer.

30. A method for managing a point-service system for use in an online shopping mall, comprising:

issuing points corresponding to a purchase amount of a customer and a points issue ratio defined as a number of issued points corresponding to the purchase amount of the customer;

storing issued points accumulated by the customer;

redeeming points according to a points redeeming ratio defined as the redemption based on the number of points within a number of the stored accumulated points of the customer and decreasing the number of stored accumulated points of the customer.