Which products do people buy without much thought?

..and where brand can be a consideration

[vik_c]

Which are the products that people buy without much thought do you think - where they just type - 'buy widget' in the search engine, click on the first page that comes and buy it or let's say we talk about leads...which are the situations where people don't really care so much who the provider is as long as their job is done..would that apply to mortgage loans/ personal loans/ credit cards etc..I'm talking specifically about products/ programs where people are unlikely to do much comparison shopping. Most people as I see it will not buy a $2000 diamond without going to a dozen jewelry shops online to compare which is why jewelry affiliate programs convert so poorly.

From these products which are bought without-much-thought, which are the ones where brand is important..where someone would say 'buy acme widget' and buy it right away without giving a damn who's selling it.

Any thoughts? We may be able to find an excellent affiliate marketing segment.

[Quadrille]

There's some brands in every sector that some people will automatically look towards and trust, even in insurance and diamonds.

Your problem is that there are generally too few (and reducing) numbers of these trusting souls to offer any guaranteed market.

That's exactly why the affiliate sector is such a cut-throat business. And exactly why comparison sites are coming of age.

I suspect you are doing your research about 10 years too late to find an easy niche. Nows there's a term you don't hear everyday ;)

[vik_c]

I suspect you are doing your research about 10 years too late to find an easy niche.

You're reading too much into my message. An easy niche is a segment where there are too many people searching/wanting to buy and relatively fewer people trying to rank for it. My question simply was 'Which products do people buy without much comparison shopping'? Also, how brand-conscious are people when buying these products. This is irrespective of how many people are trying to bid for that keyword or how crowded the segment is. So if you have a niche you're making millions from, I don't expect you to tell me :)

[Quadrille]

Sorry; my comment was in response to this:

We may be able to find an excellent affiliate marketing segment.

What makes you think there's still untapped oil out there?

[vik_c]

What makes you think there's still untapped oil out there?

...with that approach you wouldn't find oil even at the gas station.

[Quadrille]

Well, you can be rude if you wish, but I think it's a fair question.

The Internet has been here a while now, not so long as gas stations, granted.

I don't expect to find a special pump with bargain fuel at the gas station that's been there for ten years and no-one else has noticed, and frankly, I think it's unlikely that you will find an affiliate niche that no-one else has spotted in the last ten years.

Back in the day, maybe you could Get Rich Quick on the Internet; a few certainly did. You may be the last man standing who Still Believes In The Fast Buck For Minimal Effort.

Good Luck - Give my love to Santa, and spare a cookie for the tooth fairy ;)

[walrus]

I don't know which products but I can tell you they are the ones under $65-75.00. It is something i learned in sales years ago that most impulse shopping stops at that mark. After that,people tend to shop and compare.

[smayler]

Which are the products that people buy without much thought do you think - where they just type - 'buy widget' in the search engine, click on the first page that comes and buy it...

Heh... I was under pressure from my two sons to immediately order a toy (Bakugan) online since stores are still sold out :) So my answer would be an affordable hot toy is a product that you would buy without lot of thinking who are you getting it from.

[skibum]

There are a few different considerations here. Things where there may be a shortage in stores, anything hot around the holidays, things people have to buy - filing 2006 taxes which have been extended to Oct 15th, probably mortgages to some extent. That won't be universal across everyone like taxes, but if someone has inked a deal for a home, they'll have to get financing, personals can be an impulse since its a free signup. One reason why holiday sales pick up is because most people feel an increased need to buy stuff in time to get it under the tree on the 25th of December. Of course, other obvious ones like flowers, etc... for V-Day.

The keyword can also indicate how much research has been done on a product. People still do a fair amount of comparison shopping in stores but the store may have a higher price than they are willing to pay. How much info and research is built into the keyword they are using? What attributes of a keyword indicate they probably already know what they want? Thinking this way is where I've found it is possible to sell high ticket stuff online that you would think people wouldn't order online because it would seem to be a very high consideration purchase.

I also think the "long tail" in many cases is a myth. Just because someone types in a really long specific commercial query doesn't necesarily mean they are more likely to buy something. It depends heavily on the market and what they are describing. It is more important to understand how much research is built into the query than how long it is.

[vik_c]

A very insightful post, skibum. Thanks.

[skibum]

Another thing that is not so much keyword related but merchant related is how good the company is at overcoming objections or greasing the wheels to get the consumer to buy something.

One major thing here is free shipping & returns. How can someone feel comfortable spending 10K on a diamond ring they've never seen? Well, as long as the site has a good reputation (stong brand) and a site that does a pretty good job at showing what the person is going to get and they get free shipping & returns, the comfort level will be higher; so will the conversion rates.

When promoting anything with free shipping & returns via affiliate programs, the "grease" goes both ways. It's easier to get the initial transaction so conversion rates will be higher for merchants that do that but returns will be higher as well. If you're investing ad dollars to promote free ship/returns merchants, you have to assume that up to 40% of the stuff that goes out the door will come back. If a merchant pays out 20%, after returns it might end up only netting the affiliate 12% to 15% of net shipped sales. If this is not planned for you can lose your shirt along with thousands of dollars when returns come in.

Other things like tax filing, incorporation services, electronics & general stuff that someone like Overstock sells will have lower returns, don't think I've ever had a return on cosmetics and it varies a lot by industry. My experience in personals has been up to 7% charge-backs.

[vik_c]

Interesting observations. I think January must see a lot of return shipping, more even in percentage terms because of all the christmas gifts.

[ronin]

My question simply was 'Which products do people buy without much comparison shopping'?

Razors, biros, pencils, paper, diaries, mirrors, socks, plastic cups, paper plates, napkins, scissors, knives, forks, spoons, combs, hairbrushes, ice-cube trays, magnifying glasses, spectacle cases, handkerchiefs, washing lines, clothes pegs, paper clips, bulldog clips, pins, needles, cotton thread, can openers, bottle openers, corkscrews...

Basically simple everyday things which have a straightforward, practical usage and which do not bestow any sort of identity or credibility on the owner (hence no need for branding).

[vik_c]

Nice list ronin. You're right of course that brand doesn't count with these items. Apart from being everyday things, most are very low priced items.

[ronin]

most are very low priced items

Yes, exactly! You've hit the nail on the head - the kinds of things you find in pound shops in the UK (or 500 yen shops in Japan). People don't comparison shop, they just buy.

Not sure if you would find too many of these types of items from a well known brand though. Bic is one brand which springs to mind. Niceday is another.

[Quadrille]

Exactly the kind of things that will keep the malls alive, as the immediacy of the need, and the cost of shipping will rarely allow competitive pricing on line.

Not a promising area for the entrepreneurial affiliateer.

[tim222]

Which are the products that people buy without much thought do you think - where they just type - 'buy widget' in the search engine, click on the first page that comes and buy it...

I do that with DVDs. I already know what prices are reasonable, and I won't go looking around if a movie only costs 50 cents more than I can get it somewhere ele.