ChoiceStream

The system Blockbuster uses, which was developed by a Cambridge, Mass., company called ChoiceStream Inc., works by assigning characteristics to an individual item and searching for other items that share the same characteristics. By combining that data with older techniques for making recommendations — like looking at a consumer's past purchases, or seeing what other people who bought the same item also bought — it comes up with a very targeted suggestion. ChoiceStream calls its technique "attributized approach." Better recommendations have become crucial to online retailers as they try to keep their sales growing...

"The [ChoiceStream-powered] Gift Finder is driving two and a half times the dollars in revenue per visit than average. For that reason, Overstock has centered the tool on its home page. The more we funnel through there, the better."

The technology behind the [Overstock.com Gift Finder] service is provided by ChoiceStream...[it] essentially assigns a series of attributes to millions of items... The more the service is used, the more accurately it can predict which of Overstock's items will appeal to people with a certain personality.

If you like getting television and movie recommendations via the Web, you'll love getting them on your TV screen. [Satellite TV provider] DirecTV [has hired] ChoiceStream [to] serve up personalized recommendations, [providing] suggested viewing for its 15.5 million customers.

ChoiceStream...collects information from reviews, promotional material and other data points in order to recommend new shows. ChoiceStream also layers in personalization. Users answer a few basic questions — the process takes about 30 seconds — to help the system better understand preferences [ultimately delivering] more relevant, less cookie-cutter recommendations.

"As television viewing evolves with consumers more in control of what they watch and when, ChoiceStream's personalized guidance is revolutionizing TV discovery for our viewers. ChoiceStream delivers a unique experience to each subscriber, which is proving extremely valuable in terms of improved consumer satisfaction and take up of pay-per-view content. We're delighted with the partnership and look forward to integrating ChoiceStream even further into our service in the future."

"Our partnership with ChoiceStream reflects our commitment to working with 'best-of-breed' service providers and we're thrilled with the results."

"We deployed the first phase of our ChoiceStream powered personalization strategy and are thrilled with the effect it has had on our business... The result has been greater revenue and more loyal users—so much so, that we're expanding our relationship and building even more ChoiceStream personalization into our service."