question about Return Days

[tbonehwd]

Hello all,

Currently we offer a 30 day cookie, however someone made a comment about something I messed up in an announcement which is making me rethink what we are offering. The first thing that comes to mind is if a person does not make a purchase right away chances are they are not going to. My question is what should we be offering 30 60 90 120? I realize that to an affiliate 120 would be best but is it really? Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Terry,

I say the longer the cookie the better. It 'sounds' better to affiliates and occasionally could help them make an extra sale. In reality it probably won't cost you as much in $ as it could possibly win you in image and loyalty. And these days many cookies don't last that long anyway - unfortunately. Still it can give some affiliates an extra opportunity for sales.

That said, length of time to complete the sale varies by market to some degree. Smaller dollar, easy impulse buys mainly happen during the 1st session or within a week. High ticket items especially more competitive products like electronics - shoppers can shop, compare, evaluate for a long time before making a purchase decision.

My guess is your buy cycle is fairly short, but that's only a guess and you probably have some stats that would tell you. If I were you I would look at some of the top affiliate programs in your space and if they are mainly offering 30 - 60 days cookies - do them one better and go 120. Or just go ahead and do 120. Many of our programs offer 1 year cookies and I've had programs offer life-time cookies, even though we know cookies won't last forever.

I always recommend 120 at the very minimum.

 

[tbonehwd]

Thank you for your advice. Our affiliate manager has decided on 90 however I think we will be changing it in the future and make an announcement then.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I think 90 is great Terry and sounds so much better than 30.