This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for matching product attribute data from an external catalog with product attribute data in an internal catalog.
On an online marketplace, online retailers can purchase or otherwise acquire product data from external or third-party sources to supplement or enrich the product data already within the internal catalog of the online retailer. A difficulty in using the product data from an external source is matching the product data from the external source with the internal taxonomy in the internal catalog of the online retailer. Conventional systems can be inefficient in not only the accuracy of matching the external product data to the internal product data, but also the significant amounts of computing resources required to match the external product data to the internal product data.
To facilitate further description of the embodiments, the following drawings are provided in which:
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the apparatus, methods, and/or articles of manufacture described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements mechanically and/or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled together, but not be mechanically or otherwise coupled together. Coupling may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or only for an instant. “Electrical coupling” and the like should be broadly understood and include electrical coupling of all types. The absence of the word “removably,” “removable,” and the like near the word “coupled,” and the like does not mean that the coupling, etc. in question is or is not removable.
As defined herein, two or more elements are “integral” if they are comprised of the same piece of material. As defined herein, two or more elements are “non-integral” if each is comprised of a different piece of material.
As defined herein, “real-time” can, in some embodiments, be defined with respect to operations carried out as soon as practically possible upon occurrence of a triggering event. A triggering event can include receipt of data necessary to execute a task or to otherwise process information. Because of delays inherent in transmission and/or in computing speeds, the term “real time” encompasses operations that occur in “near” real time or somewhat delayed from a triggering event. In a number of embodiments, “real time” can mean real time less a time delay for processing (e.g., determining) and/or transmitting data. The particular time delay can vary depending on the type and/or amount of the data, the processing speeds of the hardware, the transmission capability of the communication hardware, the transmission distance, etc. However, in many embodiments, the time delay can be less than approximately one second, two seconds, five seconds, or ten seconds.
As defined herein, “approximately” can, in some embodiments, mean within plus or minus ten percent of the stated value. In other embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus five percent of the stated value. In further embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus three percent of the stated value. In yet other embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus one percent of the stated value.
A number of embodiments can include a system. The system can include one or more processing modules and one or more non-transitory storage modules storing computing instructions configured to run on the one or more processing modules. The one or more storage modules can be configured to run on the one or more processing modules and perform an act of receiving an external catalog comprising one or more external attributes for each product of a plurality of products. The one or more storage modules can be further configured to run on the one or more processing modules and perform an act of, for each product of the plurality of products, mapping the one or more external attributes from the external catalog to one or more internal attributes for each product of the plurality of products in an internal catalog for an online retailer using a first set of rules that comprise an ensemble learning technique comprising a plurality of algorithms. The one or more storage modules can be further configured to run on the one or more processing modules and perform an act of, for each product of the plurality of products, incorporating the one or more external attributes of the external catalog into the one or more internal attributes in the internal catalog as mapped. The one or more storage modules can be further configured to run on the one or more processing modules and perform an act of, for each product of the plurality of products, coordinating displaying of the one or more external attributes and the one or more internal attributes on a website of the online retailer.
Various embodiments include a method. The method can include receiving an external catalog comprising one or more external attributes for each product of a plurality of products. The method also can include, for each product of the plurality of products, mapping the one or more external attributes from the external catalog to one or more internal attributes for each product of the plurality of products in an internal catalog for an online retailer using a first set of rules that comprise an ensemble learning technique comprising a plurality of algorithms. The method also can include, for each product of the plurality of products, incorporating the one or more external attributes of the external catalog into the one or more internal attributes in the internal catalog as mapped. The method also can include, for each product of the plurality of products, coordinating displaying of the one or more external attributes and the one or more internal attributes on a website of the online retailer.
Turning to the drawings,
Continuing with
In various examples, portions of the memory storage module(s) of the various embodiments disclosed herein (e.g., portions of the non-volatile memory storage module(s)) can be encoded with a boot code sequence suitable for restoring computer system 100 (
As used herein, “processor” and/or “processing module” means any type of computational circuit, such as but not limited to a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a controller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit capable of performing the desired functions. In some examples, the one or more processing modules of the various embodiments disclosed herein can comprise CPU 210.
Alternatively, or in addition to, the systems and procedures described herein can be implemented in hardware, or a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be programmed to carry out one or more of the systems and procedures described herein. For example, one or more of the programs and/or executable program components described herein can be implemented in one or more ASICs. In many embodiments, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) can comprise one or more processors or microprocessors and/or memory blocks or memory storage.
In the depicted embodiment of
Network adapter 220 can be suitable to connect computer system 100 (
Returning now to
Meanwhile, when computer system 100 is running, program instructions (e.g., computer instructions) stored on one or more of the memory storage module(s) of the various embodiments disclosed herein can be executed by CPU 210 (
Further, although computer system 100 is illustrated as a desktop computer in
Turning ahead in the drawings,
Generally, therefore, system 300 can be implemented with hardware and/or software, as described herein. In some embodiments, part or all of the hardware and/or software can be conventional, while in these or other embodiments, part or all of the hardware and/or software can be customized (e.g., optimized) for implementing part or all of the functionality of system 300 described herein.
In some embodiments, system 300 can include an attribute normalization system 310, a web server 320, and a display system 360. Attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 can each be a computer system, such as computer system 100 (
In many embodiments, system 300 also can comprise user computers 340, 341. In some embodiments, user computers 340, 341 can be mobile devices. A mobile electronic device can refer to a portable electronic device (e.g., an electronic device easily conveyable by hand by a person of average size) with the capability to present audio and/or visual data (e.g., text, images, videos, music, etc.). For example, a mobile electronic device can comprise at least one of a digital media player, a cellular telephone (e.g., a smartphone), a personal digital assistant, a handheld digital computer device (e.g., a tablet personal computer device), a laptop computer device (e.g., a notebook computer device, a netbook computer device), a wearable user computer device, or another portable computer device with the capability to present audio and/or visual data (e.g., images, videos, music, etc.). Thus, in many examples, a mobile electronic device can comprise a volume and/or weight sufficiently small as to permit the mobile electronic device to be easily conveyable by hand. For examples, in some embodiments, a mobile electronic device can occupy a volume of less than or equal to approximately 1790 cubic centimeters, 2434 cubic centimeters, 2876 cubic centimeters, 4056 cubic centimeters, and/or 5752 cubic centimeters. Further, in these embodiments, a mobile electronic device can weigh less than or equal to 15.6 Newtons, 17.8 Newtons, 22.3 Newtons, 31.2 Newtons, and/or 44.5 Newtons.
Exemplary mobile electronic devices can comprise (i) an iPod®, iPhone®, iTouch®, iPad®, MacBook® or similar product by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (ii) a Blackberry® or similar product by Research in Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (iii) a Lumia® or similar product by the Nokia Corporation of Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland, and/or (iv) a Galaxy™ or similar product by the Samsung Group of Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. Further, in the same or different embodiments, a mobile electronic device can comprise an electronic device configured to implement one or more of (i) the iPhone® operating system by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (ii) the Blackberry® operating system by Research In Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (iii) the Palm® operating system by Palm, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., United States, (iv) the Android™ operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance, (v) the Windows Mobile™ operating system by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., United States of America, or (vi) the Symbian™ operating system by Nokia Corp. of Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland.
Further still, the term “wearable user computer device” as used herein can refer to an electronic device with the capability to present audio and/or visual data (e.g., text, images, videos, music, etc.) that is configured to be worn by a user and/or mountable (e.g., fixed) on the user of the wearable user computer device (e.g., sometimes under or over clothing; and/or sometimes integrated with and/or as clothing and/or another accessory, such as, for example, a hat, eyeglasses, a wrist watch, shoes, etc.). In many examples, a wearable user computer device can comprise a mobile electronic device, and vice versa. However, a wearable user computer device does not necessarily comprise a mobile electronic device, and vice versa.
In specific examples, a wearable user computer device can comprise a head mountable wearable user computer device (e.g., one or more head mountable displays, one or more eyeglasses, one or more contact lenses, one or more retinal displays, etc.) or a limb mountable wearable user computer device (e.g., a smart watch). In these examples, a head mountable wearable user computer device can be mountable in close proximity to one or both eyes of a user of the head mountable wearable user computer device and/or vectored in alignment with a field of view of the user.
In more specific examples, a head mountable wearable user computer device can comprise (i) Google Glass™ product or a similar product by Google Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., United States of America; (ii) the Eye Tap™ product, the Laser Eye Tap™ product, or a similar product by ePI Lab of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and/or (iii) the Raptyr™ product, the STAR 1200™ product, the Vuzix Smart Glasses M100™ product, or a similar product by Vuzix Corporation of Rochester, N.Y., United States of America. In other specific examples, a head mountable wearable user computer device can comprise the Virtual Retinal Display™ product, or similar product by the University of Washington of Seattle, Wash., United States of America. Meanwhile, in further specific examples, a limb mountable wearable user computer device can comprise the iWatch™ product, or similar product by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, the Galaxy Gear or similar product of Samsung Group of Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea, the Moto 360 product or similar product of Motorola of Schaumburg, Ill., United States of America, and/or the Zip™ product, One™ product, Flex™ product, Charge™ product, Surge™ product, or similar product by Fitbit Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., United States of America.
In some embodiments, web server 320 can be in data communication through Internet 330 with user computers (e.g., 340, 341). In certain embodiments, user computers 340-341 can be desktop computers, laptop computers, smart phones, tablet devices, and/or other endpoint devices. Web server 320 can host one or more websites. For example, web server 320 can host an eCommerce website that allows users to browse and/or search for products, to add products to an electronic shopping cart, and/or to purchase products, in addition to other suitable activities.
In many embodiments, attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 can each comprise one or more input devices (e.g., one or more keyboards, one or more keypads, one or more pointing devices such as a computer mouse or computer mice, one or more touchscreen displays, a microphone, etc.), and/or can each comprise one or more display devices (e.g., one or more monitors, one or more touch screen displays, projectors, etc.). In these or other embodiments, one or more of the input device(s) can be similar or identical to keyboard 104 (
In many embodiments, attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 can be configured to communicate with one or more user computers 340 and 341. In some embodiments, user computers 340 and 341 also can be referred to as customer computers. In some embodiments, attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 can communicate or interface (e.g., interact) with one or more customer computers (such as user computers 340 and 341) through a network or internet 330. Internet 330 can be an intranet that is not open to the public. Accordingly, in many embodiments, attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 (and/or the software used by such systems) can refer to a back end of system 300 operated by an operator and/or administrator of system 300, and user computers 340 and 341 (and/or the software used by such systems) can refer to a front end of system 300 used by one or more users 350 and 351, respectively. In some embodiments, users 350 and 351 also can be referred to as customers, in which case, user computers 340 and 341 can be referred to as customer computers. In these or other embodiments, the operator and/or administrator of system 300 can manage system 300, the processing module(s) of system 300, and/or the memory storage module(s) of system 300 using the input device(s) and/or display device(s) of system 300.
Meanwhile, in many embodiments, attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, and/or display system 360 also can be configured to communicate with one or more databases. The one or more databases can comprise a product database that contains information about products, items, or SKUs (stock keeping units) sold by a retailer. The one or more databases can be stored on one or more memory storage modules (e.g., non-transitory memory storage module(s)), which can be similar or identical to the one or more memory storage module(s) (e.g., non-transitory memory storage module(s)) described above with respect to computer system 100 (
The one or more databases can each comprise a structured (e.g., indexed) collection of data and can be managed by any suitable database management systems configured to define, create, query, organize, update, and manage database(s). Exemplary database management systems can include MySQL (Structured Query Language) Database, PostgreSQL Database, Microsoft SQL Server Database, Oracle Database, SAP (Systems, Applications, & Products) Database, and IBM DB2 Database.
Meanwhile, communication between attribute normalization system 310, web server 320, display system 360, and/or the one or more databases can be implemented using any suitable manner of wired and/or wireless communication. Accordingly, system 300 can comprise any software and/or hardware components configured to implement the wired and/or wireless communication. Further, the wired and/or wireless communication can be implemented using any one or any combination of wired and/or wireless communication network topologies (e.g., ring, line, tree, bus, mesh, star, daisy chain, hybrid, etc.) and/or protocols (e.g., personal area network (PAN) protocol(s), local area network (LAN) protocol(s), wide area network (WAN) protocol(s), cellular network protocol(s), powerline network protocol(s), etc.). Exemplary PAN protocol(s) can comprise Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), Z-Wave, etc.; exemplary LAN and/or WAN protocol(s) can comprise Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 (also known as Ethernet), IEEE 802.11 (also known as WiFi), etc.; and exemplary wireless cellular network protocol(s) can comprise Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Digital AMPS (IS-136/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)), Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, etc. The specific communication software and/or hardware implemented can depend on the network topologies and/or protocols implemented, and vice versa. In many embodiments, exemplary communication hardware can comprise wired communication hardware including, for example, one or more data buses, such as, for example, universal serial bus(es), one or more networking cables, such as, for example, coaxial cable(s), optical fiber cable(s), and/or twisted pair cable(s), any other suitable data cable, etc. Further exemplary communication hardware can comprise wireless communication hardware including, for example, one or more radio transceivers, one or more infrared transceivers, etc. Additional exemplary communication hardware can comprise one or more networking components (e.g., modulator-demodulator components, gateway components, etc.).
Turning ahead in the drawings,
In order to enrich an internal catalog of product data, an online retailer can acquire product data from one or more external vendors or entities. Often times, external catalogs and internal catalogs can label differently the data referring to the same product attribute. For example, while an external catalog can refer to certain values as a “screen dimension” for a television product, an internal catalog can refer to these same certain values as a “screen size” for the same television product. Before the product data from the external catalog from the external vendors can be incorporated with the product data of the internal catalog for the online retailer, the online retailer must map the external attributes of product attribute data in the external catalog to internal attributes of product attribute data in internal catalog for the online retailer. Therefore, there is a need for an effective way to map external attributes to internal attributes based on the internal taxonomy of the online retailer.
One or more embodiments of method 400 can be utilized to help integrate product data from an external catalog with product data of an internal catalog. As shall be described in greater detail below, many embodiments of method 400 can suggest one or more product attributes of a product in an internal catalog that are similar to one or more product attributes of the product in an external catalog. For example, external attributes from an external catalog can be mapped to corresponding internal attributes of an internal catalog using an ensemble learning technique that can include string matching. Some embodiments of method 400 can utilize at least one product attribute name and/or at least one product attribute value to suggest the one or more product attributes of a product in the internal catalog that are similar to the one or more product attributes of the product in the external catalog.
In many embodiments, external data from one or more external vendors or entities is acquired by an online retailer. Thus, method 400 can comprise an activity 405 of receiving an external catalog comprising one or more external attributes for each product of a plurality of products. In order to distinguish product attribute data in catalogs of an external entity from product attribute data in catalogs of the online retailer, the catalog of the external entity is referred to herein as an external catalog, and the product attributes of products within the external catalog are referred to as external attributes. Similarly, the catalog of the online retailer is referred to herein as an internal catalog, and the product attributes of products within the internal catalog are referred to as internal attributes. Thus, an internal attribute and an external attribute for a single product can reference the same attribute for the single product, hence the need to map the external product attributes to the internal product attributes. Furthermore, while reference is made herein to an online retailer, the online retailer can comprise an exclusively online retailer, or an online retailer also associated with a brick and mortar retailer.
In many embodiments, the product attributes can comprise an attribute name and/or an attribute value. Thus, the one or more external attributes for each product of the plurality of products can comprise at least one external attribute name and at least one external attribute value for each product of the plurality of products, and the one or more internal attributes for each product of the plurality of products comprise at least one internal attribute name and at least one internal attribute value for each product of the plurality of products.
By way of a non-limiting example, an incoming external attribute name can comprise “certification,” and incoming external attribute values can comprise various certifications, such as but not limited to “ASTM1790-05,” “ASTM ANSI Cut-Level 2,” “ASTM ANSI Heat-Level 5,” “certified frustration free,” and/or “ASTM ANSI Puncture 2.” Potential internal attributes for certification can include “certifications,” “cee certifications,” “hvi certification,” “gots certification,” “organic certification,” and the like.
By way of another non-limiting example, an incoming external attribute name can comprise “ram,” and incoming external attribute values can comprise “8 gb ddr2,” “ddr2_sdram,” “2 gb,” “ddr3,” and/or “ddr2.” Potential internal attributes for certification can include “ram memory,” “memory capacity,” “internal memory,” and/or “ram slot type.”
By way of a non-limiting example, activity 405 can comprise an activity of receiving warranty information as an external attribute for a product in an external catalog. The internal catalog, however, may include internal product catalog attributes of warranty length, warranty type, and/or warranty url. Because of the difference between the external attribute in the external catalog and the internal attributes in the internal catalog, it is necessary to map aspects of the external attribute to the appropriate internal attribute before incorporating the external catalog with the internal catalog.
Once the external catalog is received, method 400 can further comprise an activity 410 of, for each product of the plurality of products, mapping the one or more external attributes from the external catalog to one or more internal attributes for each product of the plurality of products in an internal catalog for an online retailer using a first set of rules that can comprise an ensemble learning technique comprising a plurality of algorithms. The external attributes can relate to the internal attributes, but be referred to with a different taxonomy than the internal taxonomy of the online retailer. For example, as noted above, an external attribute can comprise warranty information for a product, while the internal attributes for the product can comprise warranty length, warranty type, and/or warranty url. Thus, various portions of the external attribute of warranty information must be mapped to one of the internal attributes of warranty length, warranty type, or warranty url for the product.
As noted above, activity 410 can utilize a first set of rules that comprise an ensemble learning technique comprising a plurality of algorithms. In many embodiments, the plurality of algorithms used in the ensemble learning technique of the first set of rules can comprise two or more string distance algorithms. In more particular embodiments, the two or more string distance algorithms can comprise two or more of a cosine similarity algorithm, a Levenshtein distance algorithm, a Jaro-Winkler distance algorithm, a n-gram distance algorithm, or a BM25 similarity algorithm. These algorithms are complicated and cannot be computed within a human's head, and thus require utilization of system 300 (
In some embodiments, mapping the external attributes to the internal attributes can include a voting or determining a majority from the ensemble technique. For example, in some embodiments, activity 410 can comprise inputting the one or more external attributes and the one or more internal attributes into each algorithm of the plurality of algorithms. After the one or more internal attributes and the one or more external attributes have been inputted into each of the plurality of algorithm, activity 410 can further comprise an activity of determining the one or more external attributes match the one more internal attributes when a majority of outputs of the plurality of algorithms match the one or more external attributes with the one or more internal attributes. In many embodiments, activity 410 also can further comprise determining a confidence level that the one or more external attributes match the one or more internal attributes. The confidence level can be determined for each algorithm individually and/or for the attribute as a whole.
In some embodiments, different algorithms can be used for different types for attributes, such as but not limited to attribute names and attribute values. For example, in more particular embodiments, activity 410 can further comprise: (1) mapping at least one external attribute name to at least one internal attribute name using the first set of rules that comprise the ensemble learning technique comprising the plurality of algorithms, and also (2) mapping at least one external attribute value to at least one internal attribute value using a search pruning feature and a Jaro-Winkler algorithm.
In a conventional Jaro-Winkler distance calculation, the Jaro distance dj of two given strings s1 and s2 is
where m is the number of matching characters and t is half the number of transposition between characters.
It is noted use of a conventional Jaro-Winkler algorithm for very long strings for tens of thousands of products requires a significant amount of both computer bandwidth and time. To improve the operating efficiency of system 300 (
Continuing on, the activity of mapping the at least one external attribute value to the at least one internal attribute value using the search pruning feature and the Jaro-Winkler algorithm can further comprise, determining a Jaro-Winkler distance between the at least one external attribute value and the at least one internal attribute value using the Jaro-Winkler algorithm if (and only if) the maximum possible score is greater than a first predetermined threshold. If the maximum possible score is less than the first predetermined threshold, no Jaro-Winkler distance is calculated using the Jaro-Winkler algorithm. Because computers are fast with bit level operations compared to string level operations, this activity can improve efficiency of operation for system 300 (
In many embodiments, various aspects of the embodiments described above can be combine into a single embodiment. For example, activity 410 can comprise, for each product of the plurality of products: inputting at least one external attribute name and at least one internal attribute name into two or more of the plurality of algorithms; determining the at least one external attribute name matches the at least one internal attribute name when a majority of outputs of the two or more of plurality of algorithms match the at least one external attribute name with the at least one internal attribute name after the at least one external attribute name and the at least one internal attribute name have been inputted into the plurality of algorithms; determining a confidence level that the at least one external attribute name matches the at least one internal attribute name; and mapping the at least one external attribute value to the at least one internal attribute value using a search pruning feature and a Jaro-Winkler algorithm by (1) determining a maximum possible score for the at least one external attribute value and the at least one internal attribute value by (a) creating a first bitset for the at least one external attribute value and a second bitset for the at least one internal attribute value, and (b) determining the maximum possible score by determining a maximum number of characters in common between the first bit set and the second bit set, and (2) if the maximum possible score is greater than a first predetermined threshold, determining a Jaro-Winkler distance between the at least one external attribute value and the at least one internal attribute value using the Jaro-Winkler algorithm.
In many embodiments, activity 410 also can comprise inputting each external attribute into the plurality of algorithms and determining predetermined top number of internal attributes in the internal catalog to which the external attribute matches using the plurality of algorithms. For example, the top five internal attributes of the internal catalog can be determined for each external attribute of the external catalog using the plurality of algorithms. In some embodiments, activity 410 and other activities in method 400 can comprise using a distributed network comprising distributed memory architecture to perform the associated activity. This distributed architecture can reduce the impact on the network and system resources to reduce congestion in bottlenecks while still allowing data to be accessible from a central location.
Method 400 can further comprise an activity 415 of, for each product of the plurality of products, incorporating the one or more external attributes of the external catalog into the one or more internal attributes in the internal catalog as mapped. Incorporating the one or more external attributes of the external catalog into the one or more internal attribute in the internal catalog can comprise, for example adding additional product data from the external catalog to the product data in the internal catalog. Returning to the example of warranty information in the external catalog, the warranty information from the external catalog can be incorporated into one or more of warranty length, warrant type, and/or warranty url in the internal catalog. In many embodiments, the results of the mapping also are stored in a manner such that system 300 (
Method 400 can further comprise an activity 420 of, for each product of the plurality of products, coordinating displaying of the one or more external attributes and the one or more internal attributes on a web site of the online retailer. Returning to the example of warranty information. Returning to the example of warranty information in the external catalog, the warranty information from the external catalog can be displayed on the website of the online retailer as incorporated into one or more of warranty length, warrant type, and/or warranty url.
In many embodiments, method 400 can optionally comprise additional search pruning activities that can occur before or after any of the activities previously described. These additional search pruning activities also improve the operation of system 300 (
In some embodiments, an additional search pruning activity can eliminate a portion of the mapping required by system 300 (
For example, system 300 (
In many embodiments, a predetermined threshold is established for variance from the average minimum number of characters, the average maximum number of characters, and/or the standard deviation of the number of characters of each internal attribute. The predetermined threshold for variance can be proportional to the average the average minimum number of characters, the average maximum number of characters, and/or the standard deviation of the number of characters of each internal attribute. For example, a first product attribute with a higher standard deviation of the number of characters can have a larger (or wider) predetermined threshold for variance from the standard deviation than a second product attribute with a lower standard deviation of the number of characters. Method 400, then, can optionally comprise an activity of determining, for at least one of the one or more internal attributes, at least one of (1) the average minimum number of characters is outside a third predetermined threshold, (2) the average maximum number of characters is outside the third predetermined threshold, or (3) the standard deviation of the number of characters is outside the third predetermined threshold.
If system 300 (
In many embodiments, attribute normalization system 310 can comprise non-transitory memory storage module 512. Memory storage module 512 can be referred to as attribute normalization module 512. In many embodiments, attribute normalization module 512 can store computing instructions configured to run on one or more processing modules and perform one or more acts of method 400 (
In many embodiments, display system 360 can comprise non-transitory storage module 562. Memory storage module 562 can be referred to as display module 562. In many embodiments, display module 562 can store computing instructions configured to run on one or more processing modules and perform one or more acts of method 400 (
Although systems and methods for matching product data from an external catalog with product data from an internal catalog have been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure of embodiments is intended to be illustrative of the scope of the disclosure and is not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure shall be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims. For example, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will be readily apparent that any element of
All elements claimed in any particular claim are essential to the embodiment claimed in that particular claim. Consequently, replacement of one or more claimed elements constitutes reconstruction and not repair. Additionally, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described with regard to specific embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element or elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced, however, are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all of the claims, unless such benefits, advantages, solutions, or elements are stated in such claim.
Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of equivalents.