For now at least, Gemstar is mostly selling glorified banner ads that sit silently on the margin of the guide.

FORBES: Spray and Pray

Indeed, it may end up as a negative-margin business: If history is any guide, some companies will be willing to sell at a loss to gain market share, and there will be investors willing to finance them, at least for a while.

WSJ: ROI: Will the Netflix Boom End?

Pattern-based analytics can reveal deep insight into what customers are buying, and leverages that to offer and guide customers to the best choices based on availability and product margin.

FORBES: The Big Value In Big Data: Seeing Customer Buying Patterns