Product recommendations based on collaborative filtering of user data

• US 20070005437A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Stoppelman, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,562 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system gathers user behavior data from a group of web retailers and/or non-web retailers, analyzes the user behavior data to identify product recommendations for products offered by the web retailers, and provides one of the identified product recommendations in connection with a product page associated with one of the web retailers.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

gathering user behavior data from a plurality of web retailers;

analyzing the user behavior data to identify product recommendations for products offered by the web retailers; and

providing one of the identified product recommendations in connection with a product page associated with one of the web retailers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering user behavior data includes:

obtaining data relating to user purchase activity associated with the web retailers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

identifying products that were purchased together based on the data relating to user purchase activity to determine product recommendations for the products offered by the web retailers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering user behavior data includes:

obtaining data relating to user non-purchase activity associated with the web retailers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

identifying products that users spent at least a predetermined amount of time accessing based on the data relating to user non-purchase activity to determine product recommendations for the products offered by the web retailers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering user behavior data includes:

obtaining data relating to user purchase activity and user non-purchase activity associated with the web retailers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

identifying products that were purchased together based on the data relating to user purchase activity and products that users spent at least a predetermined amount of time accessing based on the data relating to user non-purchase activity to determine product recommendations for the products offered by the web retailers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

determining that a first product is related to a second product when the first product occurs in conjunction with the second product in the user behavior data at least a predetermined number of times.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a database based on the identified product recommendations.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein creating a database includes:

storing a product name associated with a product in the database; and

storing a list of one or more products that are recommended for the product in the database.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

normalizing names of products in the user behavior data prior to identifying product recommendations for products offered by the web retailers.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

determining that a first product is a recommended product for a second product when the user behavior data indicates that users generally purchased the first product and the second product together.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

determining that a first product is a recommended product for a second product when the user behavior data indicates that users generally spent at least a predetermined amount of time accessing a product page associated with the first product when purchasing the second product.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the user behavior data includes:

determining that a first product is a recommended product for a second product when the user behavior data indicates that users generally spent at least a predetermined amount of time accessing product pages associated with both the first product and the second product during a same online session.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein providing one of the identified product recommendations includes:

determining one of the identified product recommendations that is relevant to a product associated with the product page of the one of the web retailers and is associated with a product that the one of the web retailers sells.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the product page is served by the one of the web retailers and the one of the identified product recommendations is served by an entity separate from the one of the web retailers.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein gathering user behavior data further includes:

gathering user behavior data from at least one non-web retailer.

18. A system, comprising:

means for identifying product recommendations for products offered by a web retailer based on data relating to user activity associated with a plurality of web retailers; and

means for supplying the identified product recommendations with product pages served by the web retailer.

19. A system, comprising:

a data collector to obtain information relating to user purchases from a plurality of web retailers;

a recommended products identifier to identify a first product as a recommended product for a second product based on the information relating to user purchases; and

a recommended products supplier to present the recommended product for display with a product page associated with the second product and one of the web retailers.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the recommended products identifier is configured to identify the first product as a recommended product for the second product when the information relating to user purchases indicates that the first and second products were generally purchased together.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the data collector is further configured to obtain data relating to an amount of time that users spent accessing products associated with the web retailers;

and

wherein the recommended products identifier is further configured to identify the first product as a recommended product for the second product when the information relating to an amount of time that users spent accessing products indicates that users were generally interested in both the first and second products.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the recommended products identifier is configured to determine that users were generally interested in both the first and second products when the users spent at least a predetermined amount of time accessing both the first and second products during a same online session.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the recommended products identifier is configured to identify the first product as a recommended product for the second product when the first product occurs in conjunction with the second product in the information relating to user purchases at least a predetermined number of times.

24. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a database to store a product name associated with the second product and a list of one or more other products, including the first product, that are recommended for the second product.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the data collector is further configured to obtain information relating to user non-purchase activity from at least one non-web retailer.

26. A computer-readable medium that stores instructions executable by at least one processor, comprising:

instructions for identifying product recommendations for products offered by a plurality of web retailers on corresponding web sites based on user behavior-data relating to user activity associated with the web retailers; and

instructions for providing one of the identified product recommendations in connection with a product page from a web site corresponding to a web retailer.

27. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from a user for recommended products associated with a product being viewed from a web site associated with a web retailer;

identifying one or more recommended products for the product in a database of recommended products that was compiled from information associated with a plurality of web retailers; and

providing the one or more recommended products to the user on behalf of the web retailer.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

charging the web retailer a fee based on the received request.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving information regarding a selection of one of the one or more recommended products; and

charging the web retailer a fee based on the received information.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving first information regarding a selection of one of the one or more recommended products;

receiving second information that the user purchased the one of the one or more recommended products; and

charging the web retailer a fee based on the received second information.

31. A method, comprising:

gathering user behavior data from at least one web retailer and at least one non-web retailer;

analyzing the user behavior data to identify product recommendations for products offered by a particular web retailer; and

providing one of the identified product recommendations in connection with a product page associated with the particular web retailer.