Patent ID: 7356490

Claim:
An electronic catalog system, comprising: an electronic catalog of items that are available for purchase, the electronic catalog including pages that include descriptions of the items, and providing functionality for online users to select items to purchase; a wish list application that provides functionality for users of the electronic catalog to create wish lists with items selected from the electronic catalog, and to purchase items as gifts from the wish lists of other users; a database which stores information about affiliations between the users; a notification component which is responsive, to an online request from a first user for a catalog page which includes a description of a first item, by at least (a) determining whether the first item is on an electronic wish list of a user who is affiliated with the first user, and (b) when the first item is determined to be on an electronic wish list of a second user who is affiliated with the first user, supplementing the page with a notification that the first item is on the wish list of the second user; and a cache memory which stores wish lists of users affiliated with the first user while the first user browses the electronic catalog, wherein the notification component accesses the cache memory to determine whether items viewed by the first user are on the wish lists of users affiliated with the first user; whereby users are notified, during browsing of the electronic catalog, when accessed items are on the electronic wish lists of other users.