My recent presentation to GS1 group, including some new shots of Best Buy semantic POCs

1. Better Retailing Through Linked
Data
Jay Myers,

2. Products are complex objects
Width: 35 ¾”
Height: 68 1/2”
Depth: 29 1/8”
Color: Black
Brand: Samsung
Material: Stainless steel
French doors
Regular price: $2,599.99
Sale price: $1,949.99
Model Number:
RF267AERS/XAA
Bottom-loading freezer
Total capacity: 25.8 cu.
ft.
Freezer capacity: 8.1 cu. ft.
Gallon door
storage

3. They also have complex relationships
Product A Product B Product C
Sub-product
Z
Sub-product
YSub-product
X
Sub-product
W
Sub-product
VSub-product
U

4. There are many of them…
and they are specific

5. We are evolving…
“Human-readable” web of data “Machine-readable” web of data

6. Human readable web of data
<div id="productsummary" xmlns:v="http://rdf.data-vocabulary.org/#"
xmlns:gr="http://purl.org/goodrelations/v1#">
<div class="pdpsummarybox" typeof="v:Review-aggregate">
<h1><span rel="v:itemreviewed">Apple&#174; - iPad&#153; with
Wi-Fi - 16GB</span></h1>
<div id="detailband" rel="v:rating">
<strong>Model:</strong><span
property="gr:hasMPN">MB292LL/A</span><span class="sep"> |</span>
<strong>SKU:</strong><span
property="gr:hasStockKeepingUnit">9811355</span><br/>
<div id="reviewband" typeof="v:Rating">
<strong>Customer Reviews:</strong><img
src="misc/ratings_star_4_1.gif" alt="4.1 out of 5 stars" />
<span id="reviewscore" property="v:average">4.1</
strong></span>
<span content="5" property="v:best"/></span>
<span id="reviewnum"><a
href="#customerreviews">Read reviews (<span property="v:count">179</
span>)</a></span>
</div>

7. What does this get us?

8. Business benefits
• SEO/ product visibility
• Promoting better product discovery on an
ever-expanding web
• Creating more informed consumers through
findability (increased sales, decreased
returns)
• Utilize all of your product catalog – the
product “long tail”

9. Machine readable web of data

10. What does this get us?
Deep, queryable product insight
Best Buy example:
“Find me a description of the band Abba from the web of open
data and an album for sale by them at Best Buy”
Result: ABBA was a Swedish pop/rock group formed in
Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Benny
Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
AND
Best Buy Sells the CD: ABBAMania: Tribute to ABBA – Various
Artists, SKU 12073151

11. Other examples
“Like for like” feature
For any given Best Buy product, display the products most
like it, based on their product attributes

12. Other examples, cont.
“Emotional Weather Report” POC
Given the weather
at a particular Best
Buy store, display
products that might
match the mood
people are in due to
weather/
environment

13. Business benefits
• New avenues of customer personalization
• Deeper, more relevant and contextual
customer experiences
• Utilize all of your product catalog – the
product “long tail”

14. Q&A
Jay.Myers@bestbuy.com
@jaymyers