Yahoo! Introduces SmartSort Technology: Personalized Product Recommendation Tool

Updated on Friday, October 17th, 2003 at 12:00 am

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Yahoo! Introduces SmartSort Technology: Personalized Product Recommendation Tool

New Yahoo! Search Technology Helps Consumers Customize Shopping Experience Based on Personal Product Preferences

Sunnyvale, CA — October 16, 2003 — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO - News) today launched SmartSort (http://shopping.yahoo.com/smartsort), an interactive tool within Yahoo! Shopping (http://shopping.yahoo.com) that enables consumers to quickly and easily find personalized product recommendations via an individual preference ranking technology. SmartSort is currently available across nine consumer electronics categories in Yahoo! Shopping and will be integrated into additional categories through the end of the year.

"We have specifically designed SmartSort to assist consumers who are in the research phase of the shopping process," said Rob Solomon, vice president, Yahoo! Shopping. "The new feature leverages our advanced algorithmic technology and our vast database of product information to provide consumers with the ability to quickly and effectively locate the best products on the market across a wide range of categories."

SmartSort helps narrow the search for a specific product by taking a broad category like digital cameras, which has hundreds of choices, and asking a user to rank criteria (i.e. price, brand, optical zoom) according to importance. SmartSort then instantly recommends the top ten models based on the selected criteria. To further expedite the search, all product recommendations remain on one interface and are instantly refreshed when the consumer adjusts criteria "sliders" or scales, which either place more or less value on a specific product attribute.

The launch of SmartSort follows the recent redesign of Yahoo! Shopping and complements the site’s new emphasis on comparison shopping and search relevancy. Yahoo! Shopping product comparison tools have been integrated into all SmartSort recommended results, providing consumers with the ability to easily build side-by-side comparisons of similar items. This innovative use of real-time technology and customized preferences sets an entirely new standard by allowing consumers to comparison shop in minutes and analyze everything from third-party product reviews to price as part of their buying decision.

SmartSort is available in the following categories: digital cameras, MP3 players, personal digital assistants, desktop computers, notebook computers, printers, mobile phones, televisions, and DVD players.

About Yahoo! Shopping

The new Yahoo! Product Search powers the redesigned Yahoo! Shopping, providing consumers with the most comprehensive and relevant comparison-shopping site on the Web. The redesigned Yahoo! Shopping now boasts a variety of comparison-shopping features including: side-by-side product comparison, detailed buyer’s guides, tax and shipping calculator tool, consumer product and merchant ratings, unbiased expert product reviews etc. Yahoo! Shopping is the third largest multi-category commerce destination on the Web. (Nielsen//NetRatings, August 2003)

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and the most trafficked Internet destination worldwide. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!’s global network includes 25 world properties and is available in 13 languages.