Comments on: What sells during a recession?

By: jules

jules — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:26:52 +0000

I read that haagen dazs ice cream did well in the last recesssion.. a feeling of luxury, escapism even happiness – but not overly priced

so maybe there are products like that to promote

jules.tv

By: Helen Southgate

Helen Southgate — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:37:44 +0000

Great blog Lammo. Interesting point on SEO services being in demand, makes sense with increased competition and PPC costs. We (dgm) are offering free SEO audits to all of our affiliates at the moment so well worth taking us up on this offer to see where improvements could be made for next year. I think we are lucky to be in an industry where potentially some sectors could thrive but as you say its about being clever and understanding where the success will be. I saw on the news a few weeks ago that a local cobbler had seen a huge increase in business as customers were opting to mend shoes rather than buy new ones – interesting how customer habits can change so quickly!

By: Lammo

Lammo — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:37:00 +0000

Lee - Aye, I meant to have "consecutive" in there, but got carried away with trying not to rant too much as happened here. Glad to hear MDS and Morgan are doing well - Buying habits are changing, and everyone needs to change with them to survive. Kirsty - Aye, it was very quickly buried when I first posted it so has been missed by many - Still at least we have an enlightened few :) I think SEO companies are going to do very well in the coming year as people's PPC budgets get squeezed ever more - Merchants going bust won't hurt quite as much when you haven't paid out of your own pocket to send traffic to them! David - Yup, I think you've hit the nail there - People are looking to downgrade their lifestyle toys, so instead of highlighting the latest handset, you might want to focus on the lowest tariffs - PAYG could become ever more popular. People who were happy to blindly hand over their monthly payments for Broadband, Sky, etc will be more likely to look at cheaper competitors now. Again, consumer habits are changing, and we need to adapt with them. Finally, thanks to Lee, who posted this on facebook the other day:

By: David

David — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:24:22 +0000

Hi John. How do you think sectors will fare that straddle the line between basic and luxury services. I’m thinking of things like Sky TV, Broadband, & Mobile Phones.

If the recession really starts to bite, will these be affected?, or are they now considered essentials? Obviously, if people are out of work, then all non-vital living expenses are usually slashed, but what about those people merely “tightening their belts”?

I’m guessing people will keep the service but drop down to the lowest value packages.

By: KirstyM

KirstyM — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:30:49 +0000

I missed this when you first posted it John, what a great article and overview. Its a topic that has been on my mind recently, and oddly enough I’ve just decided to invest some money on a bit of work to strengthen my natural search presence.

Nice to know I’m predicable!

By: Lee McCoy

Lee McCoy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:11:10 +0000

“Technically speaking, a recession is when the country sees an economic decline, or “negative growth” over two [consecutive] quarters of a year.”

I’ve added consecutive in there. you could have Q1 and Q3 as negative and you wouldn’t be in a recession.

Companies like MDS and Morgan Computers (both on AF) are doing well out of it:

see here

Good overview BTW!