Preference Engines: Customers who bought this item also bought these ...

[mandy]

Have you ever searched for a book at Amazon.com and noticed the section that says, "Customers who bought this item also bought these ..."? Preference engines can help buyers identify products they might want. However, many consumers say they have mixed feelings about receiving these automated recommendations...

Other issues also can hamper even the most well-meaning computer. For instance, when you buy a gift for someone else, it goes into a reference engine as a part of your tastes, as Breen discovered when he bought a Johnny Cash boxed set online for his father.

"Now if anything with Johnny Cash's name on it comes out, I get an e-mail from Barnes and Noble," Breen said. "They think I'm a 'Man in Black.'"...

full article: http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/56456.html