Method and system for recommending products based on a ranking cocktail

1. A method for providing recommended products to a consumer using a product recommendation and personalization system, the method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, triggers for a consumer, the triggers being associated with objective consumer preferences and subjective consumer preferences for the consumer;

selecting, by the computing device, a ranking cocktail for the consumer, the ranking cocktail comprising a plurality of attributes that each comprise a weight, the ranking cocktail being selected based upon the triggers for the consumer;

utilizing, by the computing device, the ranking cocktail to select recommended products from an inventory of products in a database of a merchant, wherein the utilization of the ranking cocktail causes latency in the selection of the recommended products;

returning, by the computing device, raw product results in response to a query as the latency meets or exceeds a latency threshold; and

providing, by the computing device, the recommended products for display to the consumer when the latency caused by selecting of the recommended products does not meet or exceed the latency threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the triggers are further associated with consumer segmentation.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the attributes of the ranking cocktail comprise freshness, margin, price, best-seller, top-rated, and inventory.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ranking cocktail comprises any of a seasonal ranking cocktail, a category-specific ranking cocktail, a consumer-specific ranking cocktail, a deal hunter ranking cocktail, and a geek ranking cocktail.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ranking cocktail comprises a social recommendation ranking cocktail that includes a social recommendation attribute, a web analytics attribute, and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) attribute.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the social recommendation attribute includes a weight of 30%, the web analytics attribute includes a weight of 30%, and the ERP attribute includes a weight of 40%.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining consumer conversions indicative of purchases made by consumers in response to the product recommendations.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein utilizing comprises:

calculating a ranking cocktail value for each of a plurality of products in the inventory of products;

ranking the plurality of products according to their ranking cocktail value; and

selecting at least a portion of highest ranked products according to the ranking.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising providing the recommended products for display to the consumer on a section of a website in proximity to the raw product results.

10. A product recommendation system, comprising:

a processor; and

logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution by the processor and when executed operable to perform operations comprising:

determining triggers for a consumer, the triggers being associated with objective consumer preferences and subjective consumer preferences for the consumer;

selecting a ranking cocktail for the consumer, the ranking cocktail comprising a plurality of attributes that each comprise a weight, the ranking cocktail being selected based upon the triggers for the consumer;

utilizing the ranking cocktail to select recommended products from an inventory of products in a database of a merchant; and

providing the recommended products for display to the consumer via an e-commerce website, wherein raw search results are provided when a latency caused by selecting and providing the recommended products using the ranking cocktail meets or exceeds a latency threshold, the raw search results being displayed within a section of the e-commerce website, and wherein the recommended products are displayed around or proximate to the section having the raw search results.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the processor further executes the logic to perform operations of determining consumer conversions indicative of purchases made by consumers in response to the product recommendations.

12. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the operation of utilizing further comprises the processor executing the logic to perform operations of:

calculating a ranking cocktail value for each of a plurality of products in the inventory of products;

ranking the plurality of products according to their ranking cocktail value; and

selecting at least a portion of highest ranked products according to the ranking.

13. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the processor further executes the logic to perform operations of providing the recommended products for display to the consumer on a section of the e-commerce website in proximity to the raw search results.

14. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the processor further executes the logic to perform operations of:

receiving selections of a plurality of attributes from a consumer;

receiving a weight for at least one of the plurality of attributes, wherein some of the plurality of attributes are non-weighted;

automatically distributing unallocated weight to the non-weighted attributes such that a total weight of the ranking cocktail equals 100%; and

storing the ranking cocktail in a database.