Personalized navigation of heterogeneous product spaces using SmartClient

ABSTRACT

Personalization in e-commerce has so far been server-centric, requiring users to create a separate individual profile on each server that they like to access. As product information is increasingly coming from multiple and heterogeneous sources, the number of profiles becomes unmanageably large. We present SmartClient, a technology based on constraint programming where a thin but intelligent client provides personalized information access for its user. As the process can run on the user's side, it allows much stronger filtering and visualization support with a wider range of personalization options than existing tools. It also eliminates the need to personalize many sites individually with different parameters, and supports product configuration and integration of different information sources in the same framework. We illustrate the technology using an application in travel e-commerce, which is currently under commercial deployment.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.4 Hypertext/Hypermedia
          Subjects: Navigation

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: User interfaces

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY
      K.4.4 Electronic Commerce
          Subjects: Distributed commercial transactions

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
data integration, electronic catalogs, intelligent user interfaces, personalization