Content personalization based on actions performed during browsing sessions

• US 7,970,664 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Zada, Nida K., Smith, Brent R., Linden, Gregory D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart; Matthew S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zare; Scott A
• Application Number:
  US11/009,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20050102202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,391 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/26.7, 705/27.1
• US Class Current: 705/26.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0253 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Various methods are disclosed for monitoring user browsing activities, and for using such information to provide item recommendations to users. In one embodiment, a monitoring component of a merchant'"'"'s Web site maintains a record of products viewed by each user during a current browsing session—preferably based on visits to product detail pages. A recommendations component uses the resulting history of viewed products to identify additional products to recommend, preferably using a pre-existing table that maps products to related products. In one embodiment, this table is generated by periodically analyzing user browsing histories to identify correlations between purchases, viewing events, and/or other actions performed with respect to particular products. The recommended items may be displayed together with an option to individually deselect the recently viewed items on which the recommendations are based. Embodiments are also disclosed that use recent browse node visits, and recent searches, to generate the recommendations.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of assisting users in locating items of interest during browsing of an electronic catalog, the method comprising:

recording, in a session record of a browsing session of a user, identifiers of a plurality of catalog items selected by the user for viewing in the electronic catalog (“

accessed items”

);

programmatically selecting a plurality of additional items to recommend to the user based, at least in part, on the plurality of accessed items recorded in said session record; and

during the browsing session;

(a) outputting to the user a list of the accessed items and a list of the additional items, (b) detecting de-selection by the user of one or more of the accessed items from the list of accessed items, and (c) responding to said de-selection by generating, and outputting to the user, a refined list of additional items which reflects said de-selection, such that the user interactively causes a set of session-based item recommendations to be refined.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises generating, and outputting to the user, a web page that provides functionality for the user to individually deselect one or more of the accessed items.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein recording the identifiers in the session record comprises recording accesses by the user to item detail pages of the electronic catalog.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically selecting a plurality of additional items comprises taking into consideration frequencies with which the additional items have been selected for viewing by prior users that have selected an accessed item for viewing.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically selecting a plurality of additional items comprises taking into consideration item viewing histories of a plurality of prior users who have selected an accessed item for viewing.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically selecting a plurality of additional items comprises taking into consideration how frequently a candidate additional item and an accessed item co-occur in item viewing histories of users.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically selecting a plurality of additional items to recommend comprises accessing a pre-generated data structure that associates items with related items, said data structure being reflective of item co-occurrences within item viewing histories of users.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the session record additionally includes a search string submitted by the user during the browsing session, and the search string is taken into consideration in programmatically selecting the plurality of additional items to recommend.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the session record additionally includes an identifier of a browse node selected by the user during the browsing session, and the browse node is taken into consideration in programmatically selecting the plurality of additional items to recommend.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in its entirety while the user is unrecognized.

11. A computer program that embodies the method of claim 1 represented in computer storage.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein programmatically selecting the plurality of additional items to recommend comprises passing an input list of items to a recommendation engine, said input list of items comprising the plurality of accessed items, and wherein generating the refined list of additional items comprises modifying the input list by removing the one or more items deselected by the user and passing the modified input list to the recommendation engine.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the refined list of additional items comprises generating a modified session record in which the one or more items deselected by the user are removed, and generating the refined list of additional items based on the modified session record.

14. A computer-implemented method of assisting users in locating items represented in an electronic catalog, the method comprising:

recording a plurality of search queries submitted by a user during a browsing session of the electronic catalog;

programmatically selecting a set of items to recommend to the user, such that a decision whether to include a candidate item in said set of items to recommend is based at least in part on whether the candidate item matches more than one of said plurality of search queries; and

outputting a representation of said set of items for presentation to the user during said browsing session.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing to the user an option to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of search queries and to thereafter view a refined set of items that reflects such de-selection.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the option to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of search queries is provided on a web page that includes a listing of the items.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the items are products represented in the electronic catalog.

18. A method of assisting users in locating items that are arranged within a hierarchy of item categories, said hierarchy having multiple levels, the method comprising:

maintaining a record of a plurality of item categories accessed by a user during a browsing session, including a first item category and a second item category that are located at the same level of said hierarchy;

selecting a set of items to recommend to the user based, at least in part, on said record, such that a decision whether to include a candidate item in said set of items to recommend is based at least in part on whether the candidate item falls within both the first item category and the second item category;

outputting a representation of the set of items for presentation to the user during the browsing session; and

providing an option for the user to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of item categories from said representation and to thereafter view a refined set of items that reflects such de-selection.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the option to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of item categories is provided on a web page that includes a listing of the set of items.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the items are products represented in an electronic catalog.

21. A system capable of assisting users in locating items of interest during browsing of an electronic catalog, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical servers, said computer system configured to at least;

record, in a session record of a browsing session of a user, identifiers of a plurality of catalog items selected by the user for viewing in the electronic catalog (“

accessed items”

);

select a plurality of additional items to recommend to the user based, at least in part, on the plurality of accessed items recorded in said session record; and

during the browsing session;

(a) output, for presentation to the user, a list of the accessed items and a list of the additional items, (b) detect de-selection by the user of one or more of the accessed items from the list of accessed items, and (c) respond to said de-selection by generating, and outputting for presentation to the user, a refined list of additional items which reflects said de-selection, such that the user interactively causes a set of session-based item recommendations to be refined.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to generate, and transmit to a computing device of the user, a web page that provides functionality for the user to individually deselect one or more of the accessed items.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to record the identifiers of the catalog items based on accesses by the user to item detail pages of the electronic catalog.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to select the plurality of additional items by a process that considers how frequently the additional items have been selected for viewing by prior users that have selected an accessed item for viewing.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to select the plurality of additional items by a process that takes into consideration item viewing histories of a plurality of prior users who have selected an accessed item for viewing.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to select the plurality of additional items by a process that takes into consideration how frequently a candidate additional item and an accessed item co-occur in item viewing histories of users.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to select the plurality of additional items by a process that comprises accessing a pre-generated data structure that associates items with related items, said data structure being reflective of item co- occurrences within item viewing histories of users.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to select the plurality of additional items to recommend by a process that comprises passing an input list of items to a recommendation engine, said input list of items comprising the plurality of accessed items, and wherein the computer system is configured to generate the refined list of additional items by a process that comprises modifying the input list by removing the one or more items deselected by the user and passing the modified input list to the recommendation engine.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein the computer system is configured to generate a modified session record in which the one or more items deselected by the user are removed, and generate the refined list of additional items based on the modified session record.

30. A system capable of assisting users in locating items represented in an electronic catalog, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical servers, said computer system configured to at least;

record a plurality of search queries submitted by a user during a browsing session of the electronic catalog;

select a set of items to recommend to the user, such that a decision whether to include a candidate item in said set of items to recommend is based at least in part on whether the candidate item matches more than one of said plurality of search queries; and

output a representation of said set of items for presentation to the user during said browsing session.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the computer system is further configured to provide an option for the user to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of search queries and to thereafter view a refined set of items that reflects such de-selection.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein computer system is configured to provide said option to individually deselect one or more search queries on a web page that includes a listing of the items.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the items are products represented in the electronic catalog.

34. A system capable of assisting users in locating items that are arranged within a hierarchy of item categories, said hierarchy having multiple levels, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical servers, said computer system configured to at least;

maintain a record of a plurality of item categories accessed by a user during a browsing session, including a first item category and a second item category that are located at the same level of said hierarchy;

select a set of items to recommend to the user based, at least in part, on said record, such that a decision whether to include a candidate item in said set of items to recommend is based at least in part on whether the candidate item falls within both the first item category and the second item category;

output a representation of the set of items for presentation to the user during the browsing session; and

provide an option for the user to individually deselect one or more of the plurality of item categories from said representation and to thereafter view a refined set of items that reflects such de-selection.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the computer system is configured to provide said option on a web page that includes a listing of the set of items.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the items are products represented in an electronic catalog.