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So people buy things online ... well we wouldn't be in this business if they didn't but what other things are they buying online other than porn and are they buying more of those things online than are being bought offline?

Well if you've had your head buried in adult for way too long the numbers may surprise you. Obviously here in adult if you're not selling memberships in adult sites or time with cam girls then you're going to be selling pills and potions as well as sex toys and videos.

For a variety of reasons those pills, potions and sex toys are going to sell really well online and there will be a lot more sales of those items online than there are offline but it's hard to tell because no one in this business is ever in a hurry to disclose their sales figures.

But over in mainstream merchants aren't allowed to be so coy about their sales and even the US Census Bureau is able to keep track of the value of sales of mainstream products in store and online and they recently released some figures that are very interesting. Not only are those figures interesting but we can use that information as we develop our businesses.

One of the most surprising things is that once food is taken out of the equation one of the biggest sellers over there in mainstream is drugs and health aids. In terms of dollar value huge amounts are spent on drugs and health aids but less than nine percent of those sales are made via e-commerce and in dollar terms the amount of drugs and health aids sold online is very small.

Another surprising figure is that Americans are now buying almost half of all computer hardware and software purchases they make online. 48 per cent of all computer hardware and software sales are no made online.

But when it comes to electronics e-commerce sales win by a huge margin with a little over 74 per cent of all sales being made online rather than over the counter in a bricks and mortar store.

Clothing is another big e-commerce seller with almost 66 per cent of all clothing sales being made online so your average downtown clothing store looks as though it's an endangered species. Book stores are also losing out to online sales with 61 per cent of all sales of books and magazines being made online.

Furniture, office supplies, sporting goods, toys and games and of course music and videos are also big sellers online but the number of sales is interesting. You might expect that music and videos would be a much bigger seller than some of those other items I mentioned but it seems that more people buy more of some of those other categories I mentioned than they buy in the music and video category.

This data also makes you wonder why so many people are prepared to rush to buy generic drugs as well as the pills and potions that many in here in adult offer and yet a whole lot more is spent on drugs and health aids offline. Could it be that the US Census Bureau has no handle on the online sales of drugs or has the online drug industry lost so much of its credibility that people are now reluctant to buy online and what we thought of as great numbers aren't so great after all?

And then there's the question of what mainstream items we're selling or promoting via affiliate programs. If you've dabbled in mainstream products did you think that there might be some value in promoting or selling electronics, clothing, furniture or computer related items?

I have to admit that Steve and I have dabbled in computer related items and I did play around the edges of women's fashion but we never bothered to get really serious about it. If those figures are anything to go by then maybe we should have but, for someone from adult, it was hard to believe that those items really would sell.

It's definitely all food for thought and it really is worth thinking about because if you can sell adult products in this tough market then you can sell just about anything ... but it is important to choose the right products.

It's also important to make a serious effort at getting your foot in the door in mainstream if that's what you want to do. Going on those figures I've mentioned Steve and I could have had some nice extra income happening by now if we'd made a serious effort. Sadly we didn't and now we have to play catch up if we want to tap into those markets.