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 3:
3. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the product search results content page includes a plurality of refinement categories arranged in one or more rows; and wherein each of the plurality of refinement categories define a column having a plurality of user-selectable subcategory rows so that when a user selects a column and a subcategory row a user search is substantially more focused and thereby assists the user in more quickly narrowing the product search results to more specific user desired product search results.