Computer-implemented apparatus and method for generating a tailored promotion

1. A computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus for generating a tailored promotion of goods and/or services offered by a subscriber to said apparatus based on personal consumer preferences for presentation by said subscriber to a consumer over a distributed communication network, comprising:

a connection to said distributed communication network;

a database of goods and/or service promotion data pertaining to goods and/or services offered by subscribers to said apparatus; and

a consumer information storage, said consumer information storage including a consumer identifier storage for storing consumer identifier information identifying individual consumers, and including for each stored consumer identifier activity information pertaining to network sites accessed by said individual consumers and associated with individual consumers;

wherein said electronic commerce apparatus receives said activity information, stores said activity information in said consumer information storage by individual consumer, receives from a particular subscriber network site consumer identifier information associated with a consumer requesting access to that subscriber network site, uses said stored activity information in conjunction with said goods and/or services promotion data in said database to create a tailored promotion of goods and/or services offered by said particular subscriber network site in response to said received consumer identifier information, and transmits said tailored promotion to said particular subscriber network site for presentation to said consumer.

2. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , further including a database of subscribers to said tailored promotion.

3. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said particular network site is a subscriber and is listed in said database of subscribers.

4. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said distributed communication network is the Internet.

5. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said activity information is obtained from a cookie file stored on said consumer's computer.

6. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said activity information includes a pages visited information.

7. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said activity information includes a products and services reviewed information.

8. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said activity information includes a purchases made information.

9. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said electronic commerce apparatus receives said activity information from a consumer's computer upon a visit by said consumer to a first network site.

10. A method for presenting to a consumer over a distributed communication network a promotion tailored to the consumer's personal preferences of particular goods and/or services offered by a subscriber having a site on said network, comprising the steps of:

storing consumer identifier information uniquely identifying an individual consumer;

receiving from a plurality of different network sites on said distributed communication network, consumer activity information associated with consumer identification information, said consumer activity information including network site identifier information identifying the network site transmitting the activity information, and information pertaining to goods and/or services offered by said network site that have been accessed and/or purchased by a consumer associated with said consumer identification information;

storing said consumer activity information in association with stored consumer identification information;

storing a database containing various promotions of goods and/or services offered by a plurality of subscriber network sites;

receiving from a first subscriber network site consumer identifier information of a consumer requesting access to said first subscriber network site;

creating a tailored promotion of specific goods and/or services offered by said first subscriber network site to be presented to said requesting consumer in accordance with stored consumer activity information associated with the consumer identifier information received from said first subscriber network site; and

transmitting said tailored promotion to said first subscriber network site to be displayed to said requesting consumer over said distributed communication network.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said consumer identifier information is stored as a cookie on a computer of the consumer identified by the consumer identifier information.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of network sites providing consumer activity information include non-subscriber network sites.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein said distributed communication network comprises the Internet.