METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMERCE ITEM INFORMATION HOMOGENIZATION IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SYSTEM

摘要

A system for use in an online merchant system which includes a system for homogenizing (62) the format of received commerce item information from at least two distinct online entities (3), an aggregate database (32) for storing the homogenized commerce item information, and a user interface (69) that accesses the aggregate database (62) for query and retrieval of competitive commerce item information from the online entities (3) and displays it within a user's Web browser window. The system comprises a method and apparatus for associating a commerce item information tag (52) with each separate unit of commerce item information (33) that is received to the online merchant system, the commerce item information tag (52) enabling recording and reporting commerce metrics related to the commercial activity of a commerce item for sale through the online merchant system.