Method of manipulating data associated with products that are offered for sale in connection with electronic commerce via a computer network

Abstract

The present invention comprises a software based method and apparatus for organizing, presenting and manipulating packages and bundles in electronic retailing that greatly reduces the number of SKUs an electronic retailer needs to assign and track in order to sell packages and bundles. This is accomplished by defining the relationships of sellable objects to each other at the product level, rather than the item level. In accordance with the invention, a parent SKU number is assigned for each bundle or package that an e-tailer defines. A plurality of interrelated tables or databases are maintained in which the individual products that comprise bundles and packages are defined at the product level, rather than the item level. The definitions are recursive in that a product may simultaneously be for sale individually as well as part of one or more packages and/or bundles. When any product is manipulated (e.g., added or deleted from the shopping cart), the tables are consulted to determine if that product is part of a package or bundle and what other products comprise that bundle so that any such other products are manipulated accordingly.