System and method for detecting and utilizing non-bidding activity of bidders in an online auction

摘要

The non-bidding activity of one or more bidders of an auction is detected over an online interface of the auction environment. The activity of the one or more bidders is detected while the one or more bidders are participating in the auction. The non-bidding activity is correlated to an interest metric for the auction. Information is communicated that is based on the interest metric. The information can be communicated to either a seller or a bidder of the auction.

主权项

1. A method for conducting an online auction for an item, the method being implemented by one or more processors of a computer system and comprising:
communicating over the Internet with terminals of a plurality of users, to provide a seller interface for a seller of the item, and a bidder interface for each of multiple bidders of the online auction; detecting, by the bidder interface executed by one or more processors, while the auction is progressing to completion, non-bidding activity of one or more of the multiple bidders with respect to the bidder interface provided to that bidder by detecting at least a first bidder of the multiple bidders hovering over a bid submission feature of the bidder interface; correlating, by an auction analysis component executed by one or more processors, the non-bidding activity of the one or more bidders to an interest metric that is indicative of further bidding activity by two or more bidders during the auction; and communicating information that is based on the interest metric to at least one of the seller by the seller interface or a bidder from the multiple bidders of the auction by the bidder interface.