How eBay and Wayfair use data and AI to curate product recommendations

When a Gucci Bamboo 1947 gag appeared on “The White Lotus,” for instance, searches for similar bags went up 40% year-over-year — and eBay showed off the products on the Explore page. In another instance, eBay pulled Versace items into the Explore page after rumors surfaced about Donatella Versace’s departure from the brand.

“When we see different trends in the marketplace happening or different products, like the 40th anniversary of the Jordan 1s, we create a landing page for them,” Hoopes told Modern Retail. “Then we have this great curated experience where we can showcase all the assortment we have and help you make the right decision.”

Personalization continued to be a hot topic for brands and retailers at Shoptalk in Las Vegas this year, with companies like eBay increasingly experimenting with new ways to improve product recommendations and suggestions. At Shoptalk, Hoopes was one of many speakers who touched on personalizing the product discovery experience, along with executives from companies like ThredUp, Shein and Kendra Scott. Like eBay, they’re finding that a mix of user data, product details and AI-powered tools can help lead to more curated assortments for customers.

Another way eBay has tapped into personalization is with Shop the Look, an AI-powered tool that shows customers outfit recommendations based on their history and pulls listings for like items. Hoopes also said eBay has worked to improve discovery by putting out curated collections from influencers. And it has worked to make the listing process for sellers easier to yield better product listings. In September, eBay unveiled an AI-powered bulk listing tool that creates draft listings with suggested categories, titles and item specifics based on uploaded images. So far, over 100 million listings have been created using this tool with over a 90% customer satisfaction rate.

“It all contributes to making shopping easier and more relevant,” Hoopes said.

At stroller and baby gear brand Bugaboo, chief commercial officer Jeanelle Teves said parents-to-be are often making one of their first big purchases for their child. And while the brand gets traffic from third-party endorsements or “best of” guides from places like The Bump or Parents magazine, Teves said the company has tried to make it easy for parents to know which stroller to select by building in surveys or comparison tools. This helps someone figure out which features may work for their family, she said. Those who engage in the tools tend to have higher conversation rates, Teves said. It also helps narrow the field by using filters like “all-terrain” or “city.”

“The consumer journey online is set up in a way that you can start to identify, ‘Hey, this sounds like me and my family or my home,’ and then you can start to move through the funnel that way,” she said.

Some companies go beyond search tools and recommendations to further curate for customers based on their own knowledge of the product catalog. Wayfair this week announced the launch of its Wayfair Verified program, essentially a seal of approval saying products meet a certain level of quality and have undergone more thorough testing. To earn the seal, products go through a five-step evaluation process with Wayfair staff that starts with a packaging and assembly assessment that includes examining instruction clarity. There’s a quality audit against category criteria and a review of the item’s overall comfort, material and satisfaction. These results are then analyzed against the price for a value assessment. Once verified, items get extra product videos and other content to highlight product details for customers.

Liza Lefkowski, Wayfair’s vp of curation, brands and stores, said the program aims to streamline shopping for customers who may be faced with too many options in an “endless aisle” format. She said the company’s experience curating its physical store helped it learn how to winnow down recommendations. 

Wayfair will still sell items that don’t qualify for the Verified program. Lefkowski said that’s because those items may have minor differences that discerning customers are looking for. But it’s also a way for the company to encourage its suppliers to improve their products so they can pass the test to get the verified seal. 

From a customer perspective, though, Lefkowski said the goal of Verified is to make shoppers feel more confident in their purchase while still offering a variety of items at different price points. 

“Selection is core for the brand, and we’re going to have choice and breadth across categories,” she said. “That’s non-negotiable, and we have to serve a customer across a variety of needs.”