For years, Amazon has grappled with a common consumer frustration: While purchasing is straightforward if you know exactly what you’re after, it becomes a tortuous experience when uncertainty reigns and you find yourself wading through countless options—like, say, 30,000 pairs of jeans. This difficulty is a reality for e-commerce sites that aspire to sell ‘nearly everything.’ It’s a challenge that makes it tempting to rely on technology as a replacement for intuition, or for a deeper understanding of the nuances behind human shopping preferences. Amazon’s quest is to find technological solutions that effectively navigate this issue creating a better shopping experience.
