DATA MINING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF GENERATING PAIRWISE COMPARISONS OF USER-SELECTABLE ITEMS BASED ON USER EVENT HISTORIES

Data mining systems and methods are disclosed for generating data that is helpful to users in selecting between items represented in an electronic data repository, such as an electronic catalog. One disclosed data mining method generates pairwise comparison data for particular pairs of items. The pairwise comparison data for a given item pair reveals the degree to which users who consider both items in the pair select one item over the other. The pairwise comparison data may be appropriately exposed to users of the electronic repository. For instance, in the context of an electronic catalog, an item detail page for item A may be supplemented with an indication that users who view both item A and item B select item B a specified percentage of the time. Another data mining method uses item viewing histories and item purchase histories of users in combination to identify pairs of items that are good candidates for being recommended in combination.