METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCT DISPLAY
Systems and methods are provided for receiving a request to display at least one product. A substitute product for the at least one product is selected from a plurality of substitute products. The selection may be based on, for example, expected revenue from display of the selected substitute product, expected revenue for purchase of the selected substitute product, or a substitution success rate. The selected substitute product is then displayed.
1 . A method for facilitating the provision of information about products, the method comprising:
receiving, over the Internet and from a user of a web site available via the Internet, a request for at least one of a first product or a first product category;
determining, by a processor operable to process information about the request and based on the at least one of the first product or the first product category, a plurality of substitutable products relevant to at least one of the first product or the first product category, wherein the determining is based on information stored in a memory accessible to the processor;
determining, for each of the plurality of substitutable products, an expected revenue to an operator of the web site, the expected revenue being for displaying information about the respective substitutable product to the user, the expected revenue being based on (i) a payment from a supplier of the substitutable product; and (ii) an expected success to the supplier associated with a display of information corresponding to the substitutable product to the user;
identifying, by the processor, at least one substitutable product of the plurality of substitutable products for display in proximity to a display to the user of information about the at least one of the first product or the first product category,
wherein the selecting is based on maximizing the expected revenue to the operator,
thereby determining a preferred substitutable product; and
causing, by the processor, a display of information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product, the display being to the user and via the web site, thereby allowing the player to select the preferred substitutable product.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying is performed irrespective of an availability of the at least one of the first product or the first product category.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
causing, by the processor, a display of information corresponding to at least one of the first product or the first product category to the user via the web site in proximity to the display of information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the display of information about the at least one of the first product or the first product category is in a first predetermined frame of the web site and the display of the information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product is in a second predetermined frame of the web site,
and further wherein the first predetermined frame is designated for display of information corresponding to at least one of products or product categories requested by the user while the second predetermined frame is designated for display of information corresponding to the preferred substitutable products identified based on a request by the user.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the expected revenue is based on a historical success rate associated with the corresponding substitutable product based on previous displays of information corresponding to the substitutable product to other users of the web site.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying is further based on a characteristic of the at least one of a product and product category being relevant to a characteristic of the preferred substitutable product.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether the user has selected the information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product.
8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
updating a success rate associated with the preferred substitutable product based on whether the user has selected the information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product.
9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
only if the user has selected the information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product, charging the supplier of the preferred substitutable product for the display of the information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying is further based on one or more preferences of users of the web site.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying is further based on input from the supplier.
12 . An system, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing a program for directing the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
receiving, over the Internet and from a user of a web site available via the Internet, a request for at least one of a first product or a first product category;
determining a plurality of substitutable products relevant to at least one of the first product or the first product category, wherein the determining is based on information stored in at least one of the memory or another memory accessible to the processor;
determining, for each of the plurality of substitutable products, an expected revenue to an operator of the web site, the expected revenue being for displaying information about the respective substitutable product to the user, the expected revenue being based on (i) a payment from a supplier of the substitutable product; and (ii) an expected success to the supplier associated with a display of information corresponding to the substitutable product to the user;
identifying at least one substitutable product of the plurality of substitutable products for display in proximity to a display to the user of information about the at least one of the first product or the first product category,
wherein the selecting is based on maximizing the expected revenue to the operator,
thereby determining a preferred substitutable product;
causing a display of information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product, the display being to the user and via the web site, thereby allowing the player to select the preferred substitutable product.
13 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for directing a processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
receiving, over the Internet and from a user of a web site available via the Internet, a request for at least one of a first product or a first product category;
determining a plurality of substitutable products relevant to at least one of the first product or the first product category, wherein the determining is based on information stored in at least one of the memory or another memory accessible to the processor;
determining, for each of the plurality of substitutable products, an expected revenue to an operator of the web site, the expected revenue being for displaying information about the respective substitutable product to the user, the expected revenue being based on (i) a payment from a supplier of the substitutable product; and (ii) an expected success to the supplier associated with a display of information corresponding to the substitutable product to the user;
identifying at least one substitutable product of the plurality of substitutable products for display in proximity to a display to the user of information about the at least one of the first product or the first product category,
wherein the selecting is based on maximizing the expected revenue to the operator,
thereby determining a preferred substitutable product;
causing a display of information corresponding to the preferred substitutable product, the display being to the user and via the web site, thereby allowing the player to select the preferred substitutable product.