Transaction processing system, method performed by information processing system, and information processing device

1 . A transaction processing system comprising:

a cart terminal attachable to a shopping cart on which a basket can be placed, the cart terminal being configured to start a sales transaction and register one or more merchandise items for purchase in association with the sales transaction;

an attendant terminal configured to generate a monitoring screen that shows a status of sales transactions started by the cart terminal and other cart terminals; and

a transaction processing device configured to:

acquire information indicating at least a size of each of the registered merchandise items,

generate in a virtual space one or more virtual objects corresponding to the registered merchandise items based on the acquired information, place the virtual objects in a virtual basket corresponding to the basket placed on the shopping cart according to a predetermined pattern and attributes of the merchandise items, and determine a degree of occupancy of the virtual objects in the virtual basket as a degree of occupancy of the registered merchandise items in the basket placed on the shopping cart, and

output the determined degree of occupancy to the attendant terminal, wherein

the attendant terminal is further configured to, upon receipt of the degree of occupancy, update the monitoring screen to display the received degree of occupancy and in response to determining that the received degree of occupancy is greater than a threshold, highlight the status of the sales transaction started by the cart terminal in the monitoring screen.

2 . The transaction processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a payment machine configured to perform payment processing on the registered merchandise items, wherein

the attendant terminal is configured to:

display a selectable object for interrupting the payment processing on the monitoring screen, and

upon selection of the object, transmit to the payment machine a command that interrupts the payment processing.

3 . The transaction processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the attendant terminal displays the screen indicating an identifier for each of the cart terminal and the payment machine.

4 . The transaction processing system according to claim 2 , wherein the payment machine is visible from an area where the attendant terminal is installed.

5 . The transaction processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the transaction processing device is configured to:

determine whether each of the registered merchandise items is an exclusion target, and

exclude one or more of the registered merchandise items determined to be an exclusion target from the determination of the degree of occupancy.

6 . The transaction processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the transaction processing device is configured to:

determine whether the degree of occupancy exceeds a threshold, and

output the degree of occupancy in different modes depending on whether the degree of occupancy exceeds the threshold.

7 . The transaction processing system according to claim 6 , wherein

the attendant terminal displays the degree of occupancy with different background colors corresponding to the modes.

8 . The transaction processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the cart terminal is configured to acquire and display the degree of occupancy.

9 . The transaction processing system according to claim 1 , wherein

the cart terminal is configured to transmit a check-in request to the transaction processing device before starting the registration of the merchandise items, and

the transaction processing device is configured to accept the check-in request and then allow the cart terminal to register merchandise items.

10 . A method performed by a transaction processing system including a cart terminal attachable to a shopping cart on which a basket can be placed, an attendant terminal, and a transaction processing device, the method comprising:

by the cart terminal, starting a sales transaction and registering one or more merchandise items for purchase in association with the sales transaction;

by the attendant terminal, generating a monitoring screen that shows a status of sales transactions started by the cart terminal and other cart terminals;

by the transaction processing device, acquiring information indicating at least a size of each of the registered merchandise items;

by the transaction processing device, generating in a virtual space one or more virtual objects corresponding to the registered merchandise items based on the acquired information, placing the virtual objects in a virtual basket corresponding to the basket placed on the shopping cart according to a predetermined pattern and attributes of the merchandise items, and determining a degree of occupancy of the virtual objects in the virtual basket as a degree of occupancy of the registered merchandise items in the basket placed on the shopping cart;

by the transaction processing device, outputting the determined degree of occupancy to the attendant terminal; and

by the attendant terminal, upon receipt of the degree of occupancy, updating the monitoring screen to display the received degree of occupancy, and in response to determining that the received degree of occupancy is greater than a threshold, highlighting the status of the sales transaction started by the cart terminal in the monitoring screen.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

starting, by a payment machine, payment processing on the registered merchandise items;

displaying, on the monitoring screen displayed by the attendant terminal, a selectable object for interrupting the payment processing; and

upon selection of the object, transmitting, from the attendant terminal to the payment machine, a command that interrupts the payment processing.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the screen indicates an identifier for each of the cart terminal and the payment machine.

13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the payment machine is visible from an area where the attendant terminal is installed.

14 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

determining whether each of the registered merchandise items is an exclusion target, wherein

determining the degree of occupancy includes excluding one or more of the registered merchandise items determined to be an exclusion target from the determination of the degree of occupancy.

15 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

by the transaction processing device, determining whether the degree of occupancy exceeds a threshold, wherein

the degree of occupancy is output in different modes depending on whether the degree of occupancy exceeds the threshold.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein

the degree of occupancy is displayed on an attendant terminal with different background colors corresponding to the modes.

17 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:

displaying the degree of occupancy on the cart terminal.

18 . A transaction processing device comprising:

a network interface circuit connectable to a cart terminal used in a store and attachable to a shopping cart on which a basket can be placed, the network interface circuit being connectable to an attendant terminal configured to generate a monitoring screen showing a status of sales transactions started by the cart terminal and other cart terminals;

a memory that stores information indicating each of merchandise items sold in the store, the information indicating at least a size of said each of the merchandise items; and

a processor configured to:

upon receipt of a request from the cart terminal, register one or more merchandise items for purchase in association with a sales transaction,

generate in a virtual space one or more virtual objects corresponding to the registered merchandise items based on the acquired information, place the virtual objects in a virtual basket corresponding to the basket placed on the shopping cart according to a predetermined pattern and attributes of the merchandise items, and determine a degree of occupancy of the virtual objects in the virtual basket as a degree of occupancy of the registered merchandise items in the basket placed on the shopping cart, and

control the network interface circuit to output the determined degree of occupancy to the attendant terminal, causing the attendant terminal to update the monitoring screen to display the degree of occupancy, and in response to determining that the received degree of occupancy is greater than a threshold, highlight the status of the sales transaction started by the cart terminal in the monitoring screen.