'Customers also bought' New Game!

Subject: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 May 07 - 12:51 PM

I've discovered a great new game. It's difficult to find out how many records people sell, buit using this technique you can find out what kind if people buy what. I discovered this while looking up who stocks the Boat Band's "Trip to the Lakes", and found that on the HMV site if I looked up the record I found a listing called "customers also bought". This gave half a dozen CDs also bought by people who'd bought "Trip to the Lakes". I've no idea how the computer decides which 6, perhaps the most recent sales?
   Anyway, in the case of the Boat Band, the "customers also bought" search gave two Fairport Conventions, Carthy/Swarbrick, Klezmatics, Dartmoor Pixie Band, and Richard Thompson. I was surprised, and pleased, to see the latter, shows a bit of diversity. Though a bit of gangsta rap or garage would have been even more welcome.
   Anway, give it a try. Pick your perfomer that interests you, and type into google: "Joe Bloggs" "customers also bought" HMV. And the results for MHV come up. You can presumably do something similar for other CD retailers, I haven't tried yet.
    Do report back any curious anomalies. I must admit most that I have tried show people have rather predictable tastes!

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 May 07 - 02:55 PM

Here's a little sample from HMV's on line CD sales.
People who bought Robert Johnson also bought:
Madeline Peyroux
BB King
Bessie Smith
Robert Cray
Taj Mahal
Richard Thompson

People who bought Seth Lakeman also bought
other Seth Lakeman CDs
Nerina Pallot
Jamie Cullum
Madeleine Peyroux
Richard Thompson


This I find very suggestive. Firstly, who is Madeleine Peyroux, that both Robert Johnson and Seth Lakeman fans buy her records? This girl needs watching, I must look her up. Also, Richard Thompson looks magnicently embedded in the public imagination if he is bought by fans of Robert Johnson, and the Boat Band, and Seth Lakeman. Surely a remarkably disparate group of people.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 01 May 07 - 03:36 PM

As a marketing ploy, it could be interesting in other fields of enterprise. For instance, in the fast food business - Customers who biought fish and chips also bought :-
Fagots and Peas
Pie and gravy, etc.

In the pub trade - Customers who bought Guinness also bought
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness
Another pint of Guinness

I'll get my coat!
also got my hat
My scarf
My gloves
My briefcase...

Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Mo the caller
Date: 01 May 07 - 03:41 PM

What about the bit at the bottom of the Amazon book reviews 'you may also like ...'
Apparently people who buy the poultry keeping book "Planet Chicken" may also like a book about the Solar System

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Bernard
Date: 01 May 07 - 04:49 PM

Madeline Peyroux? I think I prefer Flossie Malavialle!!

How odd... if you choose Oysterband's new album 'Meet You There', their 'experts recommend' Anne Briggs, Martin Carthy, June Tabor, Alasdair Roberts, Eliza Carthy, Richard & Linda Thompson, John Renbourn, Pentangle and Strawbs...

Erm... Anne Briggs? Hardly folk-rock...! Nice to see she gets a mention, though! And why omit Bert Jansch but include John Renbourn and Pentangle...?

I suppose the hat they draw the selection from has its limitations!

Thanks for the laugh, Greg!!

;o)

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: DMcG
Date: 01 May 07 - 05:15 PM

Not quite the same thing, but Amazon do a 'Perfect Partner'; buy a gadget and they'll suggest a gadget bag and so on.

A few days ago I ordered a wet-n-dry vaccuum cleaner and they decided the perfect partner for it was Norton's Anti-virus. I want to ring the Norton help desk to find out how install it on the cleaner.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: gnomad
Date: 01 May 07 - 06:12 PM

Amazon do draw some odd conclusions. I recently bought a new SD memory card from them [for my music player] because they had a good deal on at the time. Now they are stuffing my "recommendations" with cameras I don't want.

On the other hand I've found their music suggestions to be fairly good, though not infallible. I don't find RT is dominating, but lots of people seem to be buying Kate Rusby.

I enjoyed their connecting my rating of Wallace & Grommit with a possible interest in King Kong. That seemed a bit of a leap.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Artful Codger
Date: 01 May 07 - 07:13 PM

I suspect it's just another less-than-truthful advertising ploy. The premise is, if they tell you other customers bought it, there are several unfounded assumptions most people will jump to on their own:

(1) "Customers" means many people, when in truth it may have been only one person per item listed.

(2) The customer bought it recently, probably in the same shopping order, and for himself.

(3) If other people bought it, it's probably good stuff (whereas most people are sheep in their musical tastes, buying pearls and imitation paste with equal avidity. And you, likely being one of those sheep, will buy what others do because there's safety in conformance.)

(4) The items are representative of what people bought, rather than being selected mainly because the seller wants to move those items.

(5) People's buying habits are the most trustworthy testimonials (though the sampling presented to you is not truly indicative of what those habits might be.)

You may find it interesting, even occasionally useful, to peruse "customers also bought" lists, but never forget who is really in control of them--and how skewed or artificial their recommendations are.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Peace
Date: 01 May 07 - 07:39 PM

Reading the title, I thought this thread was about the DC Madam. My mistake.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 02 May 07 - 04:11 AM

DMcG - does that mean I can just use my Vax wet and dry cleaner to remove all those Windoze temp files and all them crumbs from old cookies from my 'puter?
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: The Doctor
Date: 02 May 07 - 05:54 AM

I buy DVDs and CDs from Play.com who also use this method of pushing their wares. Twice I have noticed that other 'customers also bought' DVDs that had yet to be released, which just goes to show how wonderful their distribution system is. Sometimes the other recommendations are relevant, but at other times they are a seemingly random selection.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 May 07 - 06:05 AM

The Doctor: that's interesting. I wonder if they make it up, or perhaps go on enquiries rather than actual purchases? Or maybe if you slip HMV a couple of bob they insert the name of your product surreptitiously into these lists?

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 02 May 07 - 06:22 AM

Ed Alleyne-Johnson brought an interesting combination of Kaiser Chiefs, Gorrilaz, John Prine and Eels!

Good game.

:D

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 May 07 - 08:23 AM

Our Greek colleague keeps strange company. If you check out George Papavgeris on "customers also bought" HMV, you get: Gypsy Kings,Vasen, Sola, Gjallarhorn, Andy Irvine and Gavin Whelan. I've never even heard of four of those!

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: GUEST,Martin Ellison
Date: 02 May 07 - 08:39 AM

Greg - this may be of interest to you. I've just noticed on the Hobgoblin site that people who bought banjos also bought: life insurance, body armour, earplugs and bibs.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 02 May 07 - 10:06 AM

The thing is Greg - neither have I!

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: The Doctor
Date: 02 May 07 - 11:42 AM

In Greg's list there is an interesting duplication of letters between George's name and the other items, which might make suspicious people think of search engines and random letter associations.

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: greg stephens
Date: 03 May 07 - 11:04 AM

Customers who bought Anahata's Fenlandia CD from HMV online also bought:

June Tabor
Apples
Gipsy Kings
Pasajero
Nic Jones
Game Set Match
Waterson: Carthy
Holy Heathens & The ...
Bob Fox
Blast
Susan Mckeown
Blackthorn: Irish Love ...

(or so it says. Doubts have been cast on how true these items are. Maybne these are just records that HMV are trying to plug to enquiring folkies).

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 04 May 07 - 06:17 AM

The trouble is worse when you buy presents for others- my "recommended" list on Amazon gets filled up with chick lit books similar to ones I've bought for Herself, and Bob the builder and Thomas the Tank Engine stuff after I've bought presents for my nephews.
Also if you've ever bought a "Best of" of "Rough guide to" anything, they think you'll like the whole series, and when you buy the latest by author X you get the back catalogue added (which I've usually got/read/ heard.)

RtS

Subject: RE: 'Customers also bought' New Game!
From: Melani
Date: 05 May 07 - 03:15 AM

I have recently been spending time on forums related to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, several of which include pop-up ads at the top which seem to take their content from the content of the page--but in some rather odd ways. A thread on Corporal John Wild produced "Girls Gone Wild!" One on Trumpeter Giovanni Martini yielded an ad for martini glasses. But my very faqvorite was at the top of the Custer Clan website--"Tips to Avoid Hair Loss!"