Patent Document ID: 7983963
Application ID: 12345453

Base Claim:
1. A computer implemented method of facilitating a guided navigational search by one or more users of one or more remote user computers in communication with an online retail or wholesale store computer defining an online e-commerce computer associated with an online e-commerce product provider, through an electronic communication network, the method comprising the steps of: providing a product search request content page of an online e-commerce website having a pre-selected format, through the communication network, the product search request content page viewable on a display of one or more user computers and including fields for entering into the product search request content page product search request criteria comprising one or more search terms; initiating an initial product search request responsive to receipt of the one or more search terms from the one or more remote second computers; returning a plurality of product search results responsive to the initial product search request; accessing a plurality of general product attributes associated with the plurality of returned product search results; determining at least one website user interaction refinement associated with a specific customer user by the online e-commerce computer, the at least one website user interaction refinement based upon a customer user lifecycle stage with the e-commerce product provider for the specific customer user and a traffic segment purchasing expectation associated with a traffic segment classification associated with the specific customer user; sorting the returned product search results responsive to the at least one website user interaction refinement to thereby form a plurality of potential refined product search results; and generating a product search results content page including at least a subset of the plurality of potential refined product search results and at least a subset of the sorted plurality of general product attributes for display on a display of the one or more remote second computers responsive to the plurality of refined product search results and the associated general product attributes.

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Claim 2:
2. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the step of determining at least one web site interaction refinement includes identifying the traffic segment classification associated with the specific customer user, the traffic segment purchasing expectation associated with the traffic segment classification associated with the specific customer user, and the customer user lifecycle stage with the e-commerce product provider for the specific customer user; wherein the step of sorting the returned product search results includes: sorting the returned product search results by at least one of a plurality of presentation metrics for each respective returned product, according to the traffic segment classification associated with the specific customer user, and returning the plurality of potential refined product search results sorted according to one of the plurality of presentation metrics, the one of the plurality of presentation metrics selected responsive to the customer user lifecycle stage with the e-commerce product provider for the specific customer.