Yahoo launches interactive search tool for online shopping
( 2003-10-17 10:30) (Xinhua)
Yahoo Inc. launched an interactive search tool in its online shopping website
Thursday, which will enable consumers to quickly and easily find personalized
product recommendations via an individual preference ranking technology.
The tool, SmartSort, is currently available across nine consumer electronics
categories in Yahoo Shopping and will be integrated into additional categories
through the end of the year, the Internet media firm said.
"We have specifically designed SmartSort to assist consumers who are in the
research phase of the shopping process," said Rob Solomon, vice president of
Yahoo Shopping.
According to Yahoo, its SmartSort helps narrow the search for a specific
product by taking a broad category like digital cameras, which has hundreds of
choices, and asking a user to rank criteria (i.e. price, brand, optical zoom)
according to importance. SmartSort then instantly recommends the top 10 models
based on the selected criteria.
To further expedite the search, Yahoo said, all product recommendations
remain on one interface and are instantly refreshed when the consumer adjusts
criteria "sliders" or scales, which either place more or less value on a
specific product attribute.
Yahoo said its SmartSort tool is now available in Yahoo Shopping for the
categories of digital cameras, MP3 players, personal digital assistants, desktop
computers, notebook computers, printers, mobile phones, televisions, and DVD
players.
Yahoo Shopping is the third largest multi-category commerce destination on
the Web, according to an August report by Nielsen/ NetRatings.
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