E-commerce price index

A computer program product, comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein that when executed by a computer cause the computer to provide e-commerce price indices, the computer-readable medium comprising:
• computer-readable program code to read information regarding products available for purchase online, the information comprising, for each of a plurality of product offers, a product, a price, and a click rate, the click rate representing a number of times in a time period that one or more web-based input mechanisms associated with the product offer are activated, each product associated with at least one of a plurality of product categories;
• computer-readable program code to calculate a click-weighted average price for each of the product categories based on the read information for products corresponding to each particular category, wherein the price associated with a higher click rate is weighted greater than the price associated with a lesser click rate in the click-weighted average price calculation;
• and
• computer-readable program code to construct an e-commerce price index based on the calculated click-weighted average price for each product category, the e-commerce price index indicating changes over time in the prices of the products.

A system for providing e-commerce price indices, comprising:

• a storage medium;
• and
• a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage medium to cause the system to:
• read information regarding products available for purchase online, the information comprising, for each of a plurality of product offers, a product, a price, and a click rate, the click rate representing a number of times in a time period that one or more web-based input mechanisms associated with the product offer are activated, each product associated with at least one of a plurality of product categories;
• calculate a click-weighted average price for each of the product categories based on the read information for products corresponding to each particular category, wherein a price associated with a higher click rate is weighted greater than a price associated with a lesser click rate in the click-weighted average price calculation;
• and
• construct an e-commerce price index based on the calculated click-weighted average price for each product category, the e-commerce price index indicating changes over time in the prices of the products.