system to recommend related
products to online customers.
Indeed, this feature of online
selling has proved to be a highly
effective way of boosting the
number of items that get added
to virtual shopping trolleys as
presents lists are ordered, or
inspiration is sought for gift for
those ‘difficult’ recipients.
However, although there is
some smart programming
involved in these systems, there
are varying levels of sophistication
in the underlying technologies
that drives these recommenders.
For instance, Pontus
Kristiansson, CEO and
co-founder of Avail Intelligence,
reckons this number includes
manual systems where the
retailers have hand-picked
products to show to customers;
automated systems that analyse
and respond to consumer behaviour
are a little more expensive
to implement, and therefore
rarer.