Abstract: Disclosed are arrangements (700) that construct (803) attributes used by a consumer (703) to purchase an item, determine (803) how much of each attribute is contained in each candidate item, estimate (806) marginal costs for the attributes, establish (303) the preferences of the consumer for the various attributes, determine (803) utility scores for the candidate items that reflect the extent to which the candidate items provide the consumer with preferred attributes, and rank the candidate items, in an ordered list, in terms of their respective utility scores.