eBay has bought recommendation engine Hunch.com in order to improve the personalisation of the shopping suggestions its customers see online.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
EBay said the technology will use information about customers’ activity on social networks and at other Internet pastimes to help it suggest new items for customers to buy.
“We are engaging consumers in innovative ways and attracting top technologists to shape the future of commerce,” said Mark Carges, chief technology officer and senior vice president, global products, marketplaces at eBay. “With Hunch, we’re adding new capabilities to personalizing the shopping experience on eBay to the individual relevant tastes and interests of our customers.
“We expect Hunch’s technologies to benefit eBay shoppers as they browse and buy, and to bring sellers on eBay new ways to connect the right products with the right customers.”
Hunch.com was launched in 2009 and its patented prediction technology, known as a ‘taste graph’, uses inputs from around the internet, such as social networks and their members’ likes and dislikes, to map members and predict their affinity for products, services, other people, and websites. It then customizes recommended topics for them.
eBay says Hunch’s expertise in tailoring data to customer needs could also be used in eBay search, advertising and marketing initiatives.
eBay said Hunch will continue to be based in New York. One of the company’s co-founders, Caterina Fake, also helped found Flickr, the popular online photo-sharing website. Fake now advises Hunch, according to the company’s website.
