  Finding a product online can be a challenging task for users. Faceted search
interfaces, often in combination with recommenders, can support users in
finding a product that fits their preferences. However, those preferences are
not always equally weighted: some might be more important to a user than others
(e.g. red is the favorite color, but blue is also fine) and sometimes
preferences are even contradictory (e.g. the lowest price vs. the highest
performance). Often, there is even no product that meets all preferences. In
those cases, faceted search interfaces reach their limits. In our research, we
investigate the potential of a search interface, which allows a
preference-based ranking based on weighted search and facet terms. We performed
a user study with 24 participants and measured user satisfaction and system
performance. The results show that with the preference-based search interface
the users were given more alternatives that best meet their preferences and
that they are more satisfied with the selected product than with a search
interface using standard facets. Furthermore, in this work we study the
relationship between user satisfaction and search precision within the whole
search session and found first indications that there might be a relation
between them.
