A customer's online journey is largely determined by the relevance of the information they receive at every stage.
Any negative experience during the user's journey can lead to lower user satisfaction and, ultimately, lost sales. The same is true in e-commerce, social media feeds, news articles, and streaming services, where users interact with a large amount of data.
In the era of data explosion, abundant information is available to influence a customer's decision. Recommender systems in machine learning assist in precisely that. They are algorithms designed to suggest items or content based on a user's preferences, past interactions, and behavior patterns.
Hence, by applying machine learning techniques, recommender systems can predict the items or content a user is most likely interested in.
To clarify this process, let's explore recommender systems in more detail.
What are the Use Cases of Recommender Systems?
Here are some common use cases of recommender systems:
E-Commerce
Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba are popular e-commerce platforms using recommender systems.
For example, when you search for a specific product on Amazon, the platform's algorithms analyze your previous purchases, browsing history, and other data to suggest related items you might be interested in.
Other than upselling, recommender systems also help in cross-selling. For instance, if a customer buys a laptop, the system might recommend purchasing a new item like a laptop bag or sleeve. These systems also recommend promotions, discounts, and campaigns, leading to increased sales for the e-commerce platform.
Streaming services
Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are a few examples of streaming services that use recommender systems.
These platforms analyze user behavior, such as their viewing history, ratings, and time spent watching, to recommend movies or TV shows similar to the user's preference.
Netflix's famous recommendation system is estimated to save the streaming giant over $1 billion annually by reducing churn and retaining subscribers. The 80% of content watched on Netflix is driven by recommendations from their system.
They use a combination of collaborative and content-based filtering to make personalized movie recommendations and avoid a cold start problem for each user.
Collaborative filtering examines a user profile and finds other users with similar patterns to make recommendations. Conversely, content-based filtering suggests several items similar to those a user has already interacted with.
Social media platforms
Recommender systems are also used on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Recommendation algorithms analyze user behavior to recommend new people to follow, groups to join, and posts or content a user might be interested in. They help keep the users engaged on the platform by providing personalized content.
Facebook's News Feed is a prime example of a recommender system. It shows posts based on factors like user interests, previous interactions, and relevant trending topics. This helps keep users on the platform for longer periods, increasing ad revenue for Facebook.
Content aggregation websites
Content aggregation websites collect and distribute content from news articles, blogs, videos, and more.
Recommendation engines analyze user behavior, such as what topics or categories they engage with the most, to recommend similar content.
For example, if users frequently read articles about technology and science, the system might recommend more articles from those categories. This would keep users on the website longer, increasing the platform's ad revenue.
Flipboard, Reddit, and Pinterest are popular content aggregation websites that use recommender systems to personalize user experience.
How Do Recommender Systems Work?
Recommender systems are engines that use deep learning models, data mining, and artificial intelligence techniques to make personalized user recommendations. The previous interactions or secondary filtering methods are used to create a shortcut for users.
The patterns developed by these systems are used to determine a user's interests, preferences, and habits to make predictions about future interactions.
The Life Cycle of Recommender Systems
The life cycle of recommender systems involves the following stages:
Gathering user data
Recommender systems rely on data to make personalized recommendations. This data can be gathered through explicit user feedback, such as ratings and reviews, or implicit feedback, like browsing history and purchase behavior.
The data collection method depends on the type of recommender system being used. For example, collaborative filtering methods gather data from user ratings and interactions with similar items, while content-based filtering systems use attributes of the items to make predictions.
Storage and pre-processing
Once the data is collected, it needs to be stored in a way that is easily accessible to the system. This might involve storing larger datasets on distributed databases or cloud storage solutions.
After storing data, it is pre-processed to remove any irrelevant or redundant information. This step involves cleaning the data, removing duplicates or missing values, and transforming the data into a suitable format for analysis.
Data filtering and dimensionality reduction techniques can also be applied to handle large datasets.
Data analysis and modeling
In this stage, the pre-processed data is analyzed using machine learning algorithms to develop predictive models. These models are trained on the data to identify users' patterns, preferences, and behaviors.
The type of algorithm used depends on the type of recommender system being developed. For instance, collaborative filtering systems typically use clustering algorithms to find similar users or items, while content-based filtering systems use classification algorithms.
Generating recommendations
Once the model is trained, it can start generating recommendations for users. This involves using the learned patterns to predict items a user might be interested in based on their behavior and preferences.
Some recommender systems also use another step of ranking the recommended items to present them more personalized and relevantly.
Updating and Improving
Recommender systems constantly learn and improve through user feedback. As new users interact with recommended items, the system collects more data and fine-tunes its recommendations. Machine learning models are periodically retrained to improve their accuracy and performance.
What are the Types of Recommender Systems?
Methods for Recommender systems fall into three main categories: collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and hybrid recommender systems. These types differ in the data they use and the algorithms they employ to generate recommendations. Let's take a closer look at each type.
Collaborative filtering method
Collaborative filtering recommender relies on the idea that users with similar preferences in the past are likely to have similar preferences in the future. This recommender system uses data from multiple users to predict a specific user.
User-based collaborative filtering
User-based collaborative filtering analyzes a user's rating history and compares it with other users' history to find similar patterns. Then, it recommends items that similar users have rated highly but with which the current user has not yet interacted.
Advantage: It provides personalized recommendations by analyzing a user's rating history and comparing it with similar users, leading to potentially more relevant suggestions.
Disadvantage: It can suffer from scalability issues when dealing with large user bases or sparse data, as computing similarities between users becomes computationally intensive.
Item-based collaborative filtering
In item-based collaborative filtering, the system looks at the relationships between items and recommends similar items to those a user has already interacted with. For example, if a user has watched and rated a particular movie highly, this type of collaborative filtering will recommend other movies that are similar in genre or theme.
Advantage: It offers serendipitous recommendations by focusing on item relationships rather than user behavior, potentially introducing users to new items they may not have discovered otherwise.
Disadvantage: It relies heavily on item similarity metrics, which can be challenging to define accurately, especially for complex or niche items with few interactions.
Model-based collaborative filtering
Model-based collaborative filtering works particularly well with large datasets, making predictions more accurate with more user data. Matrix factorization, a technique used in this type of collaborative filtering, uses known ratings to learn latent features that can be used to make predictions for new user-item pairs.
Collaborative filtering offers diverse recommendations by recommending items based on the preferences of similar users. It is well-suited for scenarios where user similarity matters, such as suggesting products based on past purchases or ratings.
Advantage: Utilizes machine learning models, such as matrix factorization, to learn patterns from user-item interactions and make recommendations.
Disadvantage: It involves training a model on historical user-item interactions to capture latent features and generate predictions for new user-item pairs.
Content-based filtering
A content-based recommender system makes recommendations based on an item's attributes, such as keywords or genres. This type of system looks at the user's past interactions with items and uses this data to find other items with similar attributes.
Content-based filtering is particularly advantageous when dealing with sparse data or when personalized recommendations are desired. It excels in scenarios where item attributes strongly influence user preferences, such as recommending movies based on genres or books based on topics. Additionally, content-based filtering is ideal for addressing the cold-start problem by making recommendations solely based on item attributes when dealing with new items or users.
Advantages: Provides personalized recommendations based on item attributes, allowing for precise matching to user preferences without relying heavily on other users' data.
Disadvantages: Faces challenges with the cold start problem, particularly when dealing with new users or items that lack sufficient interaction data. Without historical data to base recommendations on, content-based filtering may struggle to provide accurate or relevant suggestions.
Hybrid recommender systems
Hybrid recommender systems combine multiple types of recommenders to provide more accurate and diverse recommendations. These systems use a mix of collaborative and content-based filtering or integrate other techniques like demographic information to personalize recommendations.
A single model, such as neural networks or decision trees, can be used to train a hybrid recommender system. These models can handle both collaborative and content-based data, making it easier to integrate different techniques.
Many of our favorite machine learning recommendation systems, such as those used by Google and Netflix, are hybrid recommenders.
Some examples of hybrid recommender systems include:
Weighted hybrid approach
A weighted hybrid system gives different weights to the recommendations from each type of recommender. For instance, if a user has not interacted with many items in the past, their recommendations will rely more on content-based filtering.
Feature combination hybrid
A feature combination hybrid combines the predictions from multiple recommenders to generate a final recommendation. This approach aims to overcome the limitations of individual recommenders and provide more diverse recommendations.
Cascade hybrid
In a cascade hybrid system, the output of one recommender is used as input for another. This process continues until a final recommendation is generated. The system can refine its predictions with each step and provide more accurate recommendations.
What Kind of Dataset Do Recommendation Engine Use?
ML Recommendation systems rely on explicit implicit user data or product descriptions to generate personalized recommendations.
Explicit data
Explicit data has direct user feedback, such as ratings or reviews (e.g., "I gave this movie 5 stars"). This data type is useful for collaborative filtering because it explicitly shows a user's preferences and can be used to find similar users.
An example of explicit data in action is a product reviews section on an e-commerce website. Customers can leave ratings and reviews, which are then used to recommend similar products to future customers.
Recommendation systems need many users to rate and review items to create a pool of explicit data. Only a small percentage of users typically provide explicit feedback, so this data type can be limited.
Implicit data
Implicit data refers to user behavior that is not explicitly stated but can be inferred from their actions (e.g., "number of times a user has viewed a movie").
Implicit data is collected through a user's behavior rather than direct feedback. Actions such as clicks, purchases, and time spent viewing a product are all examples of implicit data that can be used in recommendation systems.
This data type is useful for content-based filtering because it provides information on a user's interests and preferences. It can also be used in collaborative filtering to find similar users based on their behavior.
The classification problem is usually more challenging with implicit data than explicit data, as user behavior is less direct and may not always reflect their true preferences. For example, a user may click on a product out of curiosity rather than genuine interest.
Product description
Recommendation systems use product descriptions or attributes in addition to user data to make recommendations. Content-based filtering relies heavily on this data type, including product category, brand, genre, or keywords.
For example, if a user has purchased and enjoyed a laptop from a specific brand, the recommendation system may suggest other laptops from the same brand or with similar features.
Product descriptions can also be used in hybrid recommenders, where the system combines content-based and collaborative filtering techniques to generate more accurate recommendations.
Real-World Recommender Systems Applications
The data science community constantly explores new ways to improve the recommender model, resulting in recommendation systems being widely used in various industries and applications.
Example 1: Relationship recommendations on Tinder
Tinder utilizes a sophisticated recommendation system that combines collaborative filtering with AI-driven analysis of user interactions, such as swipes (measuring metrics like attractiveness) and geographical proximity. The system also analyzes user content, including text and photo analysis (using computer vision), to enhance the accuracy and relevance of matches. By integrating these factors, Tinder personalizes recommendations to improve user engagement through more relevant and timely connections.
Example 2: Professional Networking on LinkedIn
LinkedIn's recommender system leverages collaborative filtering to suggest connections, jobs, and content. It enhances networking by using a "People You May Know" feature, which suggests potential connections based on mutual contacts and similar professional paths, streamlining the networking process and fostering professional growth. This recommendation system helps users expand their professional networks and discover relevant opportunities based on their career interests and connections.
Example 3: Movie recommendations system on Netflix
Netflix uses a hybrid recommender system to suggest movies and TV shows to its users. The system combines collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and other techniques like demographic data to personalize recommendations for each user.
Example 4: Music recommendations on Spotify
Spotify's Discover Weekly feature uses collaborative filtering techniques to create personalized playlists for each user. The system analyzes a user's listening history and compares it to other users with similar tastes to suggest new songs and artists.
Example 5: E-commerce product recommendations on Amazon
Amazon uses a combination of collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and product descriptions to recommend products to its customers. The system also considers a user's purchase history, browsing behavior, and reviews.
Example 6: Recombee for Shopify
Recombee is a recommender system specifically designed for e-commerce platforms like Shopify. It uses machine learning algorithms and user behavior data to provide personalized product recommendations on online stores.
Example 7: Qloo for personalization in entertainment and lifestyle
Qloo is a hybrid recommender system that utilizes AI to analyze a user's preferences, interests, and behavior in various categories like music, film, TV, dining, and travel. It then makes personalized recommendations for events and experiences based on this data.
What are the Benefits of Recommendation Algorithm?
The advantages of recommender systems go beyond just making personalized user recommendations. Let's explore some benefits businesses can reap by implementing recommendation systems.
Improved user experience
Recommender systems help users discover new and relevant products or content they may not have found. With personalized recommendations, the user's journey becomes more efficient and engaging.
Better customer engagement and loyalty
Users who receive personalized recommendations that align with their interests are likelier to engage with and remain loyal to a platform. The retentive nature of recommender systems helps businesses retain customers and create a loyal user base.
Improved sales and revenue generation
Personalized recommendations can entice users to purchase more products or services, increasing business sales and revenue. Additionally, recommender systems can reduce the likelihood of returns due to dissatisfaction by suggesting relevant items.
Data-driven decision making
With recommender systems, businesses can gather valuable user behavior and preferences insights. This data can then be used to make informed decisions about product offerings, marketing strategies, and customer retention initiatives.
Reap the Benefits of the Recommender Systems For Your Business with Us
Large and complex datasets, recommender systems research, reinforcement learning algorithms, and Python are some of the complexities of building an effective recommendation approach.
Why not leave it to the experts? Our data scientists and machine learning engineers at iRonin.IT can help you integrate a recommendation approach into your platform.
Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, we have the expertise to implement personalized techniques for a recommender system that aligns with your unique business needs and goals.
