Grzegorz Chodak

Practical Aspects of Log File Analysis for E-Commerce

The paper concerns Web server log file analysis to discover knowledge useful for online retailers. Data for one month of the online bookstore operation was analyzed with respect to the probability of making a purchase by e-customers. Key states and characteristics of user sessions were distinguished and their relations to the session state connected with purchase confirmation were analyzed. Results allow identification of factors increasing the probability of making a purchase in a given Web store and thus, determination of user sessions which are more valuable in terms of e-business profitability. Such results may be then applied in practice, e.g. in a method for personalized or prioritized service in the Web server system.

Characterizing Web Sessions Of E-Customers Interested In Traditional And Innovative Products.

Web traffic characterization and modeling is currently a hot research issue. Low-level analysis of HTTP traffic on the server allows one to build adequate traffic models to be used in server benchmarking. High-level analysis of Web user behavior allows one to optimize website structure and develop personalized service strategies. In this paper, analysis of customer sessions in an online store is performed using Web server log data. The goal is to explore possible differences between sessions of customers viewing and purchasing innovative products, and customers only interested in traditional products.

Cost-oriented recommendation model for e-commerce

Contemporary Web stores offer a wide range of products to e-customers. However, online sales are strongly dominated by a limited number of bestsellers whereas other, less popular or niche products are stored in inventory for a long time. Thus, they contribute to the problem of frozen capital and high inventory costs. To cope with this problem, we propose using information on product cost in a recommender system for a Web store. We discuss the proposed recommendation model, in which two criteria have been included: a predicted degree of meeting customer’s needs by a product and the product cost.

An Experiment with Facebook as an Advertising Channel for Books and Audiobooks

The paper addresses the problem of using social media to promote innovative products available in online stores. Motivated by the fast development of the audiobook market, on the one hand, and the efficiency of social media marketing, on the other hand, we conducted an experiment with a marketing campaign of books and audiobooks on the most popular social networking site, Facebook, and discussed it in the paper. The goal of the experiment was exploring possible differences in FB users’ reaction to FB advertisements of traditional books and audiobooks. The experiment was implemented by using a real Facebook fanpage of a Polish publishing house having its own online bookstore. Results show some differences in Facebook users’ reaction to the individual items’ advertisements, however no significant differences in efficiency of the marketing campaign for books and for audiobooks were observed.