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Are the "things I just purchased" suggestions actually bad though? I see people complain about them a lot, but I haven't seen anyone chime in with what the conv

by seoaeu 6y ago

Are the "things I just purchased" suggestions actually bad though? I see people complain about them a lot, but I haven't seen anyone chime in with what the conversion rate is on them compared to other targeting strategies. Like I'd suspect that having already purchased an item is highly, highly correlated with purchasing it again. And that probably even applies to things that don't initially seem like you'd need more than one of.

edoceo 6y ago
When I have my ad-blocker off I see a lot of ads for Linode, AWS and DO. I already have a relationship with each of them. Amazon still keeps showing me faucet valves and a kitchen-sinks. (I did a replacement two years ago). And, every last ad for any/all PostgreSQL commercial add-on. Some (many) items don't fit the repeat pattern and I'm confounded how, with all the Ai/ML crap this isn't known yet. They (ad-sellers) would rather hustle the BS of "retargeting"
- vidarh 6y ago
  Or it fits better than you think, and/or the margins for certain types of products are high enough to justify bidding for ads even when they fit only a tiny proportion of the time. E.g. you may have a relationship with Linode, AWS and DO, but presumably all three would prefer you ditched one or two of the others for more spend with them. And you may have done a kitchen replacement two years ago, but how many percent need to do repairs or changes subsequently, or are unhappy about choices they've made, and end up spending enough on high margin additional products for years to come? That you've proven yourself to be willing to invest in improvements recently might well make you more profitable to advertise to even though you've already made the biggest investment. I'm sure many advertisers are bad at targeting, and so I'm sure some of these ads are metaphorically burning money. But I'm also sure - because I've seen that too - that sometimes seemingly totally counter-intuitive ads makes sense after all with access to the actual underlying numbers.
cycomanic 6y ago
My impressions about ads is they are usually not interested in selling you what you actually need, but they try more to get you to feel like you should buy things you don't really need. I suspect it is because it's easier and much more profitable (we would spend less money if you only bought things we want need).
oxfordmale 6y ago
Having already purchased an item is indeed highly correlated with purchasing it again, however, you are ignoring the temporal element. Yes, I will need to buy a new gaming monitor for my son, but hopefully not for another three years, and by then most of these ads will have disappeared.
- seoaeu 6y ago
  But for all they know perhaps you want to purchase one for your daughter now or a second one for a dual-monitor setup. Ads in general have a very low success rate, so it can be worth doing even if the guess is wrong a very large percent of the time
colechristensen 6y ago
Well, the most common ad of this type are for the exact item I purchased from the retailer I purchased it from. Usually for things which a person wouldn't need two of. I tend not to see these ads until after I have made the purchase.

by seoaeu 6y ago

edoceo 6y ago

When I have my ad-blocker off I see a lot of ads for Linode, AWS and DO. I already have a relationship with each of them. Amazon still keeps showing me faucet valves and a kitchen-sinks. (I did a replacement two years ago). And, every last ad for any/all PostgreSQL commercial add-on. Some (many) items don't fit the repeat pattern and I'm confounded how, with all the Ai/ML crap this isn't known yet. They (ad-sellers) would rather hustle the BS of "retargeting"

vidarh 6y ago
Or it fits better than you think, and/or the margins for certain types of products are high enough to justify bidding for ads even when they fit only a tiny proportion of the time. E.g. you may have a relationship with Linode, AWS and DO, but presumably all three would prefer you ditched one or two of the others for more spend with them. And you may have done a kitchen replacement two years ago, but how many percent need to do repairs or changes subsequently, or are unhappy about choices they've made, and end up spending enough on high margin additional products for years to come? That you've proven yourself to be willing to invest in improvements recently might well make you more profitable to advertise to even though you've already made the biggest investment. I'm sure many advertisers are bad at targeting, and so I'm sure some of these ads are metaphorically burning money. But I'm also sure - because I've seen that too - that sometimes seemingly totally counter-intuitive ads makes sense after all with access to the actual underlying numbers.

cycomanic 6y ago

My impressions about ads is they are usually not interested in selling you what you actually need, but they try more to get you to feel like you should buy things you don't really need. I suspect it is because it's easier and much more profitable (we would spend less money if you only bought things we want need).

oxfordmale 6y ago

Having already purchased an item is indeed highly correlated with purchasing it again, however, you are ignoring the temporal element. Yes, I will need to buy a new gaming monitor for my son, but hopefully not for another three years, and by then most of these ads will have disappeared.

seoaeu 6y ago
But for all they know perhaps you want to purchase one for your daughter now or a second one for a dual-monitor setup. Ads in general have a very low success rate, so it can be worth doing even if the guess is wrong a very large percent of the time

colechristensen 6y ago

Well, the most common ad of this type are for the exact item I purchased from the retailer I purchased it from. Usually for things which a person wouldn't need two of. I tend not to see these ads until after I have made the purchase.