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 9:
9. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising the step of: positioning the plurality of product search results in a pre-selected repository to define a plurality of predetermined product search results so that subsequent product search requests access the pre-selected repository prior to accessing a searchable database including a plurality of product attributes; wherein the step of initiating an initial product search request is initiated to a plurality of searchable databases if the one or more search terms have not been previously stored in the pre-selected repository, or if a pre-selected time threshold has been met since the last time that the one or more search terms have been previously searched in the plurality of searchable databases; and wherein the plurality of searchable databases includes a product attributes database containing the plurality of general product attributes associated with the one or more search terms to enhance search efficiency.