System and method for rating plural products

• US 20040068413A1
• Filed: 10/07/2002
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc. (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Original Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc. (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Musgrove, Timothy A., Walsh, Robin Hiroko, Gilchrist, Russell
• Granted Patent: US 7,627,486 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0627 using item specifications

Abstract

A system and method for rating of each of plural products comprising identifying plurality of attributes associated with a category of product, applying a scalar structure for each attribute to provide scalar value of each attribute for each of the plural products, determining an incremental competitive index for each attribute of each product based on the scalar value of each attribute and a number of products having the scalar value, and rating each product based on the determined competitive index.

Claims

1. A method for rating of each of plural products comprising the steps of:

identifying a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product;

applying a scalar structure for each attribute to provide scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

determining a competitive index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute and a number of products having said scalar value; and

rating each product based on said determined competitive indexes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining said competitive index for each attribute includes the steps of:

calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of processing said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank includes the step of determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of attributes includes the price of each of said plural products.

5. The method of claim 4, further including the steps of determining a price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category, and apportioning said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category.

6. The method of claim 5, further including the step of correlating said apportioned price offsets to increments of said competitive index.

7. The method of claim 6, further including the steps of determining a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets, and rating each of said plural products based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of determining said incremental competitive index for each attribute includes the steps of:

calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of processing said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank includes the step of determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of determining competitive index of each attribute further includes the step of sequencing said scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products.

11. The method of claim 5, further including the step of calculating a correlation reliability value.

12. The method of claim 11, further including the step of generating a warning if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

13. The method of claim 11, further including the step of disregarding said product attribute in determining said competitive index if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

14. The method of claim 1, further including the step of providing an anticipated street price for a new product when said new product does not have a price associated therewith from a predetermined number of vendors.

15. The method of claim 1, further including the step of assigning an importance level to at least one attribute, and setting a corresponding threshold to said importance level which sets a maximum number of attributes that can be absent from a product at said importance level for said product to be subjected to said step of determining said incremental competitive index.

16. The method of claim 1, further including the step of generating a notification if a rating of a product changes at least a predetermined amount.

17. The method of claim 1, further including the step of publishing rating of each of said plural products.

18. A method for rating plural products comprising the steps of:

identifying a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product, said plurality of attributes including the price of each of said plural products;

applying a scalar structure for each attribute to provide a scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

determining an incremental index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute;

determining a price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category;

apportioning said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category;

correlating said apportioned price offsets to increments of incremental index;

determining a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets; and

rating each of said plural products based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said determined incremental index is a percentile rank.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said determined incremental index is also based on a number of products having said scalar value.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of determining an incremental index for each attribute includes the steps of:

calculating percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating a percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said step of processing said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank includes the step of determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of determining an incremental index for each attribute further includes the step of sequencing said scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein said step of determining price offsets at least includes the step of comparing prices of products having an attribute with an average price of products not having said attribute.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein said price offset of each product is apportioned to one or more attribute based on incremental index of each attribute for each product.

26. The method of claim 18, further including the step of assigning an importance level to at least one attribute, and setting a corresponding threshold to said importance level which sets a maximum number of attributes that can be absent from a product at said importance level for said product to be subjected to said step of determining said incremental index.

27. The method of claim 18, further including the step of calculating a correlation reliability value.

28. The method of claim 27, further including the step of generating a warning if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

29. The method of claim 28, further including the step of disregarding said product attribute in determining said incremental index if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

30. The method of claim 18, further including the step of providing an anticipated street price for a new product when said new product does not have a price associated therewith from a predetermined number of vendors.

31. The method of claim 18, further including the step of generating a notification if a rating of a product changes at least a predetermined amount.

32. The method of claim 18, further including the step of publishing said rating of each of said plural products.

33. A rating system for rating each of plural products comprising:

an identification module that stores a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product;

a quantification module adapted to apply a scalar structure for each attribute to provide scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

a competitive indexing module that determines an incremental competitive index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute and number of products having said scalar value; and

a product rating module that rates each product based on said determined competitive index.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said competitive indexing module determines said incremental competitive index for each attribute by calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value, calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans, and processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said competitive index module processes said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank by at least determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein said plurality of attributes includes the price of each of said plural products.

37. The system of claim 36, further including a price offset module that determines price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category, and apportions said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category of product.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein said price offset module is further adapted to correlate said apportioned price offsets to increments of said competitive index.

39. The system of claim 38, further including a valuation module that determines a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein said product rating module rates each of said plural products based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein said competitive index module determines said incremental competitive index for each attribute by calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value, calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans, and processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein said competitive index module processes said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank by at least determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein said competitive indexing module sequences said scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products.

44. The system of claim 38, wherein said price offset module is further adapted to calculate a correlation reliability value.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein said price offset module is further adapted to generate a warning if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

46. The system of claim 44, wherein said system is adapted to disregard said product attribute in determining said competitive index if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

47. The system of claim 33, further including a threshold module that assigns an importance level to at least one attribute, and sets a corresponding threshold to said importance level which sets a maximum number of attributes that can be absent from a product at said importance level for said product to be subjected to said step of determining said incremental competitive index.

48. The system of claim 33, wherein said product rating module generates a notification if rating of a product changes at least a predetermined amount.

49. The system of claim 33, wherein said system is implemented on a computer.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein said computer is a server connected to a network.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein said product rating module of said system publishes said rating each of said plural products so that said ratings are remotely accessible via said network.

52. A rating system for rating plural products comprising:

an identification module that stores a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product, said plurality of attributes including the price of each of said plural products;

a quantification module adapted to apply a scalar structure for each attribute to provide scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

an indexing module that determines an incremental index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute;

a price offset module that determines a price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category, and apportions said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category of product;

a valuation module that determines a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets; and

a product rating module that rates each product based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein said determined incremental index is a percentile rank.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein said determined incremental index is a competitive index at least partially based on number of products having said scalar value.

55. The system of claim 52, wherein said indexing module calculates percentile rank of each scalar value, calculates a percentile rank range which each scalar value spans, and processes a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein said indexing module processes said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank by at least determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein said indexing module sequences said scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein said price offset module compares prices of products having an attribute with an average price of products not having said attribute.

59. The system of claim 52, wherein said price offset module apportions said price offset of each product is apportioned to one or more attribute based on incremental index of each attribute for each product.

60. The system of claim 52, further including a threshold module that assigns an importance level to at least one attribute, and sets a corresponding threshold to said importance level which sets a maximum number of attributes that can be absent from a product at said importance level for said product to be subjected said step of determining said incremental index.

61. The system of claim 52, wherein said price offset module is further adapted to calculate a correlation reliability value.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein said price offset module is further adapted to generate a warning if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

63. The system of claim 61, wherein said system is adapted to disregard said product attribute in determining said competitive index if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

64. The system of claim 52, wherein said system is implemented on a computer.

65. The system of claim 54, wherein said computer is a server connected to a network.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein said product rating module of said system publishes rating of each of said plural products so that said ratings are remotely accessible via said network.

67. A computer readable medium for rating plural products having instructions for:

identifying a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product;

applying a scalar structure for each attribute to provide scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

determining a competitive index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute and a number of products having said scalar value; and

rating each product based on said determined competitive indexes.

68. The medium of claim 67, wherein said instructions for determining said competitive index for each attribute includes instructions for:

calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

69. The medium of claim 68, wherein said instructions for processing said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank includes instructions for determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

70. The medium of claim 67, wherein said plurality of attributes includes the price of each of said plural products.

71. The medium of claim 70, further including instructions for determining a price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category, and instructions for apportioning said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category.

72. The medium of claim 71, further including instructions for correlating said apportioned price offsets to increments of said competitive index.

73. The medium of claim 72, further including instructions for determining a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets, and instructions for rating each of said plural products based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

74. The medium of claim 73, wherein instructions for determining said incremental competitive index for each attribute includes instructions for:

calculating a percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating the percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.

75. The medium of claim 74, wherein said instructions for processing said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank includes instructions for determining an average of said maximum percentile rank and said minimum percentile rank.

76. The medium of claim 73, wherein said instructions for determining competitive index of, each attribute further includes instructions for sequencing said scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products.

77. The medium of claim 71, further including instructions for calculating a correlation reliability value.

78. The medium of claim 77, further including instructions for generating a warning if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

79. The medium of claim 77, further including instructions for disregarding said product attribute in determining said competitive index if said correlation is less than a predetermined level.

80. The medium of claim 67, further including instructions for allowing assignment of an importance level to at least one attribute, and setting a corresponding threshold to said importance level which sets a maximum number of attributes that can be absent from a product at said importance level for said product to be subjected to said step of determining said incremental competitive index.

81. The medium of claim 67, further including instructions for generating a notification if a rating of a product changes at least a predetermined amount.

82. The medium of claim 67, further including instructions for publishing rating of each of said plural products.

83. A computer readable medium for rating plural products having instructions for:

identifying a plurality of attributes associated with a category of product, said plurality of attributes including the price of each of said plural products;

applying a scalar structure for each attribute to provide a scalar value of each attribute for each of said plural products;

determining an incremental index for each attribute of each product based on said scalar value of each attribute;

determining a price offset of each product based on an average price of said plural products in said category;

apportioning said price offset of each product to one or more attribute associated with said category;

correlating said apportioned price offsets to increments of incremental index;

determining a theoretical value price of each product based on said correlated apportioned priced offsets; and

rating each of said plural products based on actual product price and said determined theoretical value price.

84. The medium of claim 83, wherein said determined incremental index is a percentile rank.

85. The medium of claim 84, wherein said determined incremental index is also based on a number of products having said scalar value.

86. The medium of claim 83, wherein said instructions for determining an incremental index for each attribute includes instructions for:

calculating percentile rank of each scalar value;

calculating a percentile rank range which each scalar value spans; and

processing a maximum percentile rank and a minimum percentile rank of said calculated percentile rank range.