Analyzing marketplace listing strategies

Abstract

A method and system analyze marketplace listing strategies. In some embodiments, the method accesses data associated with multiple marketplace listings. Each marketplace listing is associated with a product category. A state-action model, associated with the product category, is created based on the data associated with the multiple marketplace listings. The state-action model is then analyzed to identify a marketplace listing strategy associated with the product category.

1 . A system comprising:
 a product clustering module configured to associate a plurality of marketplace listings with a product category;   a data summary module configured to summarize the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category; and   a listing analysis module configured to analyze the summarized marketplace listings associated with the product category, the listing analysis module further to identify a marketplace listing strategy associated with an initiator of at least a portion of the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the marketplace listing strategy results in a transaction for items included in the portion of the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category, the transaction being performed by the initiator. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a recommendation module configured to generate listing recommendations based on the identified marketplace listing strategy. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the product clustering module is further configured to:
 access catalog data associated with the product category;   access marketplace listing data from the plurality of marketplace listings;   identify a match between the marketplace listing data and a product included in the catalog data associated with the product category; and   associate the plurality of marketplace listings with the product category based on the identified match.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the listing analysis module is further configured to create a state-action model based on the plurality of marketplace listings. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the state-action model includes a plurality of possible states and a plurality of possible actions associated with each state, and wherein each of the plurality of possible actions has an associated probability. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of possible actions associated with each state include at least one of price adjustment, a shipping cost adjustment, a featured listing adjusted, and a number of marketplace listings adjustment. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data summary module is further configured to summarize the plurality of marketplace listings based on an interval of time. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data summary module is further configured to determine a number of the portion of the plurality of marketplace listings initiated by the initiator associated with the marketplace listing strategy. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data summary module is further configured to summarize the plurality of marketplace listings by identify an average price of items included in the portion of the plurality of marketplace listings initiated by the initiator associated with the marketplace listing strategy. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 associating a plurality of marketplace listings with a product category;   summarizing the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category; and   analyzing the summarized marketplace listings by identifying a marketplace listing strategy associated with an initiator of at least a portion of the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category, the analyzing being performed by a processor of a machine.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the marketplace listing strategy results in a transaction for items included in the portion of the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category, the transaction being performed by the initiator. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising: generating listing recommendations based on the identified marketplace listing strategy. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 accessing catalog data associated with the product category;   accessing marketplace listing data from the plurality of marketplace listings;   identifying a match between the marketplace listing data and a product included in the catalog data associated with the product category; and   associating the plurality of marketplace listings with the product category based on the identified match.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 creating a state-action model based on the plurality of marketplace listings.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the state-action model includes a plurality of possible states and a plurality of possible actions associated with each state, and wherein each of the plurality of possible actions has an associated probability. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of possible actions associated with each state include at least one of price adjustment, a shipping cost adjustment, a featured listing adjusted, and a number of marketplace listings adjustment. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the summarizing the plurality of marketplace listings is based on an interval of time. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the summarizing the plurality of marketplace listings includes determining a number of the portion of the plurality of marketplace listings initiated by the initiator associated with the marketplace listing strategy. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 associating a plurality of marketplace listings with a product category;   summarizing the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category; and   analyzing the summarized marketplace listings by identifying a marketplace listing strategy associated with an initiator of at least a portion of the plurality of marketplace listings associated with the product category.