Analytics company CarStory has notched a patent for its CarStory Market Reports’ technology.

CarStory parent company Vast.com Inc. has been awarded U.S. Letters Patent no. 9,104,718, titled, Systems, Methods and Devices for Measuring Similarity of and Generating Recommendations for Unique Items.

The newly patented technology works to automatically compute similar alternative choices from a pool of unique items, in this case used vehicles, based on available inventory and user search behavior, the company explained.

“Although this patent is not limited to the automotive industry, given the multiple variables shoppers contend with when searching for a used vehicle, its application to automotive — helping consumers make relevant and speedier decisions and dealers offer a more informed and better purchasing experience — has been incredibly successful, with over 6,000 dealers already having adopted CarStory Market Reports,” said Chad Bockius, chief marketing officer of CarStory.  

CarStory Market Reports — which are available free of charge to all US auto dealers — help consumers understand, and sellers tell, a vehicle’s whole “story.”

CarStory Market Reports work to embed vehicle research directly into the VDP, working to keep shoppers engaged on dealership websites rather than finding information on third-party research sites.

The information in the Reports is based on insights and analysis generated from from a combination of real-time used vehicle listings and data from over 8 million used-car searches each week.

The newly patented similarities function works to find consumers alternative options in case the car they were interested in had already sold. Normally, that shoppers might have to start over in their search, but the technology automatically generates an alternative vehicle list based on their previous searches.

“By ‘crowdsourcing’ the notion that if a consumer likes ‘A,’ then he/she might also like ‘B,’ we are able to expedite the shopping process,” said David Franke chief data scientist at Vast.com and co-inventor of the patent. “We do this by learning from high information users to inform low information users.

 “In other words, what we learn from people who know a lot about the car market can help people who don’t know so much. All of which can power a far more informed, relevant and positive experience for both shopper and seller.”