The invention helps an on-line shopper maintain the proper relationship
between primary items in a shopping cart and secondary items in the
shopping cart, where secondary items are items that normally accompany
the purchase of primary items. The server that provides the on-line
shopping service awaits a shopper's commands. When a command is detected
that indicates a change in an attribute of a primary item, the server
checks the shopper's shopping cart to identify secondary items linked to
the primary item whose attribute was changed. If a secondary item linked
to the primary item is identified, the server then solicits the shopper's
authorization to change a corresponding attribute of the secondary item.
If the shopper grants authorization, the server changes the corresponding
attribute of the secondary item accordingly. An item's attribute may be
the quantity of the item in a shopping cart, the size of the item, the
color of the item, the texture of the item, and so forth.