> This is the part that I'm most confused about. How can it possibly be useful to try to sell me another fridge?

I've seen this kind of comments several times over the years, and I've always thought that this might actually be the optimal strategy, because I'm not convinced the alternatives work better. You'd have to see the numbers over samples bigger than n=1.

Let's say I just bought a bridge, and that's the only thing you know about me. What ads should you serve me? Maybe fridge accessories would make sense (I'm not sure that's a thing). But fridges themselves might be relevant as well, more so than some other random product:

1. I might be able to return the fridge I just bought, if I see another one I might prefer.

2. What's the life expectancy of such an appliance? I guess it either breaks quickly (manufacturing flaw) or not (hopefully it can last more than 5 years). In the first case, I'm back in the market right after my purchase.

I'm also guessing that the margin on such an appliance might be higher than on burgers and nicotine gums, such that you can afford lower conversion rates.

The life expectancy of large appliances is 10-20 bloody years.

Who returns fridges? It's a tremendous pain in the ass to do.

But you're right, it's possible.

Logically I think I'd choose to show myself other new home related ads, or other long term appliances that are probably not bought yet or nearing end of life just like the fridge.

Goods aren't lifetime any more. Planned obsolesce is a business model.

If you get decent stuff they last quite long.

But you do have to optimise for that, instead of Bluetooth connectivity.