System, method and computer program for recommending similar products on behalf of a publisher who is a non-seller based on the publisher's preferences

Abstract

To provide a system, method, and computer program for automatically providing similar product recommendations for sold-out products promoted on non-merchant publisher sites.SOLUTION: A computer system with a product database provides a platform that enables non-merchant publishers to search products in the database, create call-to-actions on publisher sites for products in the database, and automatically receive similar product recommendations when end users of the publisher sites attempt to purchase promoted products that are now sold out. Once a publisher creates a call-to-action for a product that subsequently becomes sold out, similar product recommendations are made taking the publisher's preferences into account without requiring any action on the publisher's part to change the publisher's site. Publisher preferences may be learned by the system based on publisher behavior or inputted by each publisher.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce systems, and more particularly to a system that makes recommendations of similar products on behalf of a non-merchant publisher based on the publisher's preferences.

[0002] [CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 884,627, filed August 8, 2019, entitled "System, Method, and Computer Program for Providing Similar Product Recommendations for Non-Merchant Publishers based on Publisher Preferences," the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety. [Background technology]

[0003] The role of influencers and bloggers in commerce is rapidly expanding. Many consumers, especially younger generations, prefer to purchase products that have been vetted and recommended by trusted influencers. Digital shopping platform providers, such as SHOPSTYLE, manage product databases and search engines accessible to third-party, non-merchant publishers (e.g., bloggers, influencers, etc.). Non-merchant publishers can search the product database and provide links to products in the database on their own sites. When a user of the publisher's site clicks on a linked product, the user is redirected to the webpage of the merchant that corresponds to that product. The user's shopping session on the merchant's site is associated with the digital shopping platform. The digital shopping platform receives a commission on sales made in that session and provides a portion of that commission to the publisher. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The online "shelf life" of blog posts (or other posts by non-merchant publishers) tends to be much longer than the availability period of the products recommended in the post. Therefore, if a product mentioned in a post is sold out, it may be useful to recommend a similar product to the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a system, method, and computer program for automatically recommending similar products when a recommended product on a non-merchant publisher's site is sold out. The recommendations for similar products are filtered with respect to the publisher's preferences. A computer system having a product database provides a platform that enables non-merchant publishers to search for products in the database, create calls-to-action (e.g., "buy" buttons) on the publisher's site for products in the database, and automatically receive recommendations for similar products when end users of the publisher's site attempt to purchase a recommended product that is now sold out. When a publisher creates a call-to-action for a product that will soon be sold out, similar product recommendations are made without requiring any action on the publisher's part to change their site. The recommendations for similar products are tailored to each publisher and take into account the publisher's preferences. In some embodiments, the system learns the publisher's preferences based on the publisher's behavior, while in other embodiments, the publisher's preferences are input by each publisher.

[0006] In one embodiment, providing the platform comprises: managing a product database having products from a plurality of merchants, wherein each product entry in the database is associated with a product ID, an associated merchant, a link to a web page on the associated merchant's site, and an indicator of whether the associated merchant has the product in stock; providing a user interface to the product database that enables a plurality of non-merchant publishers, each associated with a plurality of non-merchant publisher sites, to search the product database and create a plurality of calls to action for products in the product database, respectively, on the plurality of non-merchant publisher sites; providing an application programming interface to the system that enables the system to accept call-to-action selections from end users of multiple non-merchant publisher sites regarding products in a product database; the application programming interface accepting a call-to-action selection from an end user of a non-merchant publisher site for an item in the product database that is out of stock, the call-to-action selection being entered through the non-merchant publisher site and sent from a client application executing the non-merchant publisher site; For each call-to-action selection received for an out-of-stock item, identifying a plurality of products in the product database that are similar to the out-of-stock product by comparing the product images and / or product metadata in the product database; filtering the identified similar products by one or more publisher preferences of the non-merchant publisher associated with the call-to-action selection; allowing the end user who made the call-to-action selection to view information regarding one or more identified and filtered similar products; and Includes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1A] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for making similar product recommendations on a digital shopping platform accessible to multiple non-merchant publishers, according to one embodiment. [Figure 1B] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for making similar product recommendations on a digital shopping platform accessible to multiple non-merchant publishers, according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method of FIG. 1 in which product information is displayed using a product widget and a call-to-action request is initiated. [Figure 3] 2 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of the method of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system architecture. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present disclosure relates to a system, method, and computer program for automatically recommending similar products when a recommended product on a non-merchant publisher's site is sold out. The recommendations of similar products are filtered with respect to the publisher's preferences. Specifically, a digital shopping platform is provided. The digital shopping platform enables a third-party, non-merchant publisher to search a product database containing products from multiple merchants and create calls-to-actions on the non-merchant publisher's site for products in the database. End users of the publisher's site can automatically receive recommendations of similar products when they attempt to purchase a currently sold-out product in the recommended database. When a publisher creates a call-to-action for a sold-out product, similar product recommendations are made without requiring any action on the publisher's part to change the publisher's site. The platform can be accessed by multiple non-merchant publishers who recommend products from merchants. The method is executed by a computer system (the "system"). As used herein, the term "publisher" refers to a non-merchant publisher who recommends products from a third-party merchant. "Publisher Site" means the content of a Publisher's website or mobile application.

[0009] 1A and 1B illustrate a method for making similar product recommendations on a digital shopping platform accessible to multiple non-merchant publishers. The system manages a product database (step 110) that includes products from multiple merchants. In one embodiment, each product entry is associated with a product ID, a product title and / or description, an image of the product, an associated merchant, a link to a webpage at the associated merchant's site, and an indicator of whether the associated merchant has the product in stock.

[0010] The system provides a publisher user interface to the product database (step 120). This user interface allows multiple non-merchant publishers, each associated with multiple publisher sites, to register with the system, access the product database, and create calls-to-action on their multiple publisher sites related to products in the product database. One example of a call-to-action is a "buy" button or link that redirects an end user of the non-merchant publisher's site to a merchant's product web page where the end user can purchase the product featured on the publisher's site.

[0011] The system provides an application programming interface (API) (step 130). The application programming interface enables the system to accept call-to-action selections from end users on non-merchant publisher sites for products in the product database through client applications running on the non-merchant publisher sites. End users initiate call-to-actions from the non-merchant publisher sites. The system can accept call-to-action requests from many non-merchant publisher sites. Examples of client applications that can run on non-merchant publisher sites include web browsers and mobile applications.

[0012] When the system receives a call-to-action request to purchase a product, it determines whether the product is in stock with the associated merchant (steps 135, 140). If so, the system redirects the end user's client application (e.g., a web browser) to a page on the merchant's site for the product (step 145). The end user's shopping session at the merchant's site is associated with the system. The system typically provides the publisher with a portion of the commission received from the merchant for the product(s) purchased during that session.

[0013] When the system receives a call-to-action to purchase an out-of-stock item, it identifies multiple items in a product database that are similar to the out-of-stock item by comparing the product images and / or product metadata in the product database (step 150). For example, the system may search the product database for items with similar metadata or the same GTIN number (a 14-digit number used to identify items, goods, or services for sale). Visual image analysis of the product images may be used to identify similar products. The visual image analysis may be performed by the system or a third-party source. In one embodiment, the system identifies similar products using a combination of metadata search and visual image analysis.

[0014] Identifying multiple similar products in step 150 may mean identifying similar products in real time or retrieving information about previously identified similar products. In particular embodiments, the system may identify similar products before receiving a call-to-action request and then retrieve information about the identified similar products when the call-to-action request is received. For example, the system may track products in a database for which non-merchant publishers have created call-to-actions, identify similar products as those products become out of stock, and cache this information for immediate retrieval when a call-to-action request is received.

[0015] The system filters the identified similar products by one or more publisher preferences held by the non-merchant publisher associated with the call-to-action request (step 160). In one embodiment, the publisher preferences are explicit preferences specified by the publisher when the publisher registers or updates their profile with the system. In another embodiment, the system examines the publisher's preferences based on the publisher's past behavior. For example, the system may track the merchants associated with products in the publisher's linked product database, the publisher's usual price range for linked products, the type of product, etc. The system may filter out identified similar products that do not match the publisher's past behavior. For example, the system may filter out identified similar products from merchants that have never been linked to the publisher or products that are outside the publisher's usual price range. After filtering the search results for similar products by one or more publisher preferences, the system may allow the end user who made the call-to-action selection to view information about one or more of the identified and filtered similar products (step 170).

[0016] In one embodiment, the system allows publishers to create calls to action for products in the product database using "product widgets." A product widget is software code that provides specific functionality in a web browser or mobile application for a product associated with the widget. For example, a product widget may display a product image, a name or short description, and a "Buy" button to purchase the displayed product, and an end user may select the "Buy" button to initiate a call-to-action request to the system.

[0017] In one embodiment, the system provides a user interface for publishers. The user interface allows the publisher to create an instance of a widget and associate the instance with a product in a product database. The user interface displays one or more widgets. Each widget type can display product information separately. The user interface allows the publisher to select a widget and associate one or more products in the product database with the selected widget instance. Each widget instance has a unique widget ID. Each widget ID is associated with the product identifier of the product associated with the widget instance. The widget ID is also associated with the publisher ID of the publisher who created the widget instance. The user interface allows the publisher to copy the software code for the widget instance. The publisher can then incorporate the code into the publisher's website or mobile application.

[0018] Figure 2 illustrates an example implementation of the method of Figure 1 in which product information is displayed and a call-to-action request is initiated using a product widget. When an end user loads a publisher's site in a browser or opens a publisher's mobile application, the product widget in the publisher's site is initialized and provides its widget ID to the system (steps 210, 220). As previously mentioned, each widget ID is associated with one or more product IDs, and the system identifies the product IDs associated with the widget ID (step 230).

[0019] The system retrieves product metadata associated with each identified product ID (step 240). The metadata may include an image of the product, the product brand, the product name or short description, the merchant selling the product, the price, and current availability (i.e., in stock). The metadata may be obtained from a cached product index or product database. The system provides some or all of the product metadata to the requesting widget (step 250).

[0020] The widget uses the product metadata to display product information on the publisher's site (step 260). For example, the widget may display a product image, name, and price for each product associated with the widget. The widget may also display a call-to-action, such as a "Buy" button, for each product associated with the widget. The widget may display the product information and call-to-action directly on the publisher's site or in a frame or window on the site.

[0021] When the user selects a call-to-action to purchase a product, the widget notifies the system of the call-to-action selection along with the associated product ID (step 270). The system uses the product ID to look up availability information in a product database or cached product index. If the product is in stock, the server redirects the user's browser to the merchant web page associated with the product ID (step 280). If the product is out of stock, the system notifies the widget and provides it with metadata about similar products in the product database filtered for the publisher's preferences (step 280). As previously described, similar products can be identified by searching product metadata in the system and / or by performing visual analysis to identify products that are similar in appearance.

[0022] When the widget is notified that a product is out of stock, it indicates that the product is out of stock on the publisher's site (step 290). For example, the widget may display a notification that the product is out of stock and a call-to-action that allows the user to view similar products. If the user clicks on the call-to-action to view similar products, the widget displays a window, frame, or modal window (e.g., an iframe) with the similar products. Each similar product is displayed with a call-to-action to purchase the product. If the user clicks on the call-to-action for a similar product, the system repeats step 280 and, if applicable, step 290 for the similar products.

[0023] In certain embodiments, the system notifies a widget of any out-of-stock items associated with the widget when the widget is initialized, in which case the first call-to-action displayed by the widget on the publisher's site may be a call-to-action to view similar items.

[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of the method depicted in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the system allows a user to create a link to a product in a product database and integrate the link directly into a publisher's site in the form of a call-to-action (e.g., a "buy" button). When a user clicks on a call-to-action to purchase a product on the publisher's site, the user's client application (e.g., a web browser or mobile app) notifies the system of the call-to-action and provides the relevant product ID (steps 310, 320, and 330). The system then uses the product ID to determine whether the product is in stock by looking up product information in a cached product index or product database (step 340). If the product is in stock with the merchant associated with the product ID, the server retrieves the appropriate merchant's web page address for the product (step 350). If the product is out of stock, the system generates a web page with similar products in the product database filtered for the publisher's preferences (step 350). The system then redirects the client application to the merchant's web page or a page for similar products depending on whether the product is in stock (step 360). The client application displays the appropriate merchant web page or similar product web page (step 370). If the user selects an item on the similar product web page that is also out of stock, steps 350-370 are repeated for the selected similar product. The similar products can also be filtered for purchase availability in addition to publisher preferences.

[0025] An example of the system configuration is shown in Figure 4. The system has a product database 470 and a server 410 that executes multiple software modules. The software modules include the following: A Publisher UI module 460 that creates a user interface that allows publishers to register with the system and search the product database. A widget UI module 435 that creates a user interface that allows publishers to create widgets or calls to action for products in the product database 470. A database interface module 440 that searches, retrieves, and stores information in a product database 470. An API 455 that receives and processes call-to-action requests from client applications viewing the publisher's site. A similar product identification module 445 for identifying products similar to the out-of-stock product. The module 445 can interface with third-party systems, such as systems that identify similar products based on image analysis. A publisher preference filter module 450 that filters similar products based on learned or explicit publisher preferences.

[0026] As described above, server 410 interfaces with publisher sites 420 and merchant websites 430 to provide product information to end users, process call-to-action requests, and redirect customers to merchant sites.

[0027] The methods described herein may be implemented in systems configured in other ways and are not limited to the system configuration shown in FIG.

[0028] The methods described herein are embodied in software and performed by a computer system (comprising one or more computing devices) that executes the software. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a computer system has one or more memory units, disks, or other physical computer-readable storage media for storing software instructions, and one or more processors for executing the software instructions.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the above disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method executed by a computer system for enabling similar product recommendations at a non-merchant publisher site that recommends a merchant's products, comprising: The publisher is not affiliated with the merchant, and the recommendation of a similar product is made in relation to a sold-out product; maintaining a product database having products of said merchants, wherein each product entry in said product database is associated with a product ID, an associated merchant, a link to a web page at the associated merchant's site, and an indicator of whether the product is in stock at the associated merchant; providing a user interface that allows the publisher to search the product database and create calls to action on the publisher's site related to products in the product database; providing an application programming interface that enables said computer system to accept call-to-action selections from end users of said publisher's site regarding products in said product database; said application programming interface accepting a call-to-action selection from said end user for an out-of-stock item in said product database; for a selection of the call-to-action received for an out-of-stock item, identifying similar items in the product database that are similar to the out-of-stock item by comparing them with product information in the product database, and allowing the end user to view information regarding the similar items; A method comprising:

2. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the call-to-action selection is entered through the non-merchant publisher's site and sent from a client application running the non-merchant publisher's site.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the product information is at least one of product images and product metadata.

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the user interface comprises providing a user interface that enables the publisher to create a product widget, associate the product widget with one or more products in the product database, and embed the product widget on the publisher's site.

5. 1. A computer program that, when executed by a computer system, causes the computer system to perform a method for enabling recommendations of similar products at a site of a non-merchant publisher that recommends a merchant's products, the computer program comprising: The publisher is not affiliated with the merchant, and the recommendation of a similar product is made in relation to a sold-out product; The method comprises: maintaining a product database having products of said merchants, wherein each product entry in said product database is associated with a product ID, an associated merchant, a link to a web page at the associated merchant's site, and an indicator of whether the product is in stock at the associated merchant; providing a user interface that allows the publisher to search the product database and create calls to action on the publisher's site related to products in the product database; providing an application programming interface that enables said computer system to accept call-to-action selections from end users of said publisher's site regarding products in said product database; said application programming interface accepting a call-to-action selection from said end user for an out-of-stock item in said product database; For a selection of the call-to-action received for an out-of-stock item, identifying similar items in the product database that are similar to the out-of-stock item by comparing them with product information in the product database; enabling said end user to view information about said similar products; a computer program comprising:

6. 6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the call-to-action selection is entered through the non-merchant publisher's site and sent from a client application running on the non-merchant publisher's site.

7. The computer program product of claim 5 , wherein the product information is at least one of an image of the product and metadata of the product.

8. 6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein providing the user interface comprises providing a user interface that enables the publisher to create a product widget, associate the product widget with one or more products in the product database, and embed the product widget on the publisher's site.

9. 1. A computer system for enabling recommendations of similar products at a site of a non-merchant publisher that recommends a merchant's product, comprising: The publisher is not affiliated with the merchant, and the recommendation of a similar product is made in relation to a sold-out product; one or more processors; one or more memory units coupled to the one or more processors, the memory units storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to perform operations; Equipped with The process comprises: maintaining a product database having products of said merchants, wherein each product entry in said product database is associated with a product ID, an associated merchant, a link to a web page at the associated merchant's site, and an indicator of whether the product is in stock at the associated merchant; providing a user interface that allows the publisher to search the product database and create calls to action on the publisher's site related to products in the product database; providing an application programming interface that enables said computer system to accept call-to-action selections from end users of said publisher's site regarding products in said product database; said application programming interface accepting a call-to-action selection from said end user for an out-of-stock item in said product database; for a selection of the call-to-action received for an out-of-stock item, identifying similar items in the product database that are similar to the out-of-stock item by comparing them with product information in the product database, and allowing the end user to view information regarding the similar items; 2. A computer system comprising:

10. 10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the call-to-action selection is entered through the non-merchant publisher's site and sent from a client application running on the non-merchant publisher's site.

11. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the product information is at least one of a product image and product metadata.

12. 10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein providing the user interface includes providing a user interface that enables the publisher to create a product widget, associate the product widget with one or more products in the product database, and embed the product widget on the publisher's site.

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