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• A product is anything offered for sale by a firm to buyers to satisfy their physical, social, symbolic, and psychological wants and needs
• Consumer goods are intended for final consumption by consumers
• Consumer goods can be classified based on the rate of consumption and tangibility
• Consumer goods are further classified as durable, nondurables, and services
• Durable goods are tangible goods that normally survive many uses, examples include motorbikes and refrigerators
• Nondurable goods are tangible products consumed in one or a few uses, examples include ice cream and toothpicks
• Services are intangible goods like activities, benefits, or satisfaction offered for sale, examples include entertainment in movie houses and transport services
• Consumer goods may also be classified based on consumer's shopping habits as convenience goods, shopping goods, specialty goods, and unsought goods
• Convenience goods are purchased with a minimum of effort and are readily available in many retail outlets, examples include soap and bread
• Shopping goods are bought after an effort to compare with other goods is made, examples include radio sets and cellphones
• Specialty goods are sought by consumers and not willing to accept substitutes, examples include special medicines and jewelry
• Unsought goods are not yet wanted by or unknown to the consumer, examples include new unsought goods and regular unsought goods
• Industrial goods are used in the production of other goods and are categorized as installations, accessory equipment, raw materials, component parts and materials, and supplies
• Installations are industrial products with long life and are part of major capital equipment, examples include buildings and computers
• Accessory equipment are aids in the production process with shorter usable life than installations, examples include hand tools and fax machines
• Raw materials are unprocessed goods that become part of another product, examples include farm products and natural products
• Component parts and materials are processed industrial goods that become part of the finished product, examples include paper and tires
• Supplies are items used as aids in the operating process but do not become part of the finished product, examples include pencils and paper clips
• Levels of products include core or generic product, actual or formal product, and augmented product
• Branding helps differentiate goods or services of one seller from another, a brand consists of a brand name and brand mark
• Brand name consists of words, letters, and/or numbers that can be vocalized, examples include Suzuki and Tide
• Brand mark appears as a symbol, design, or distinctive coloring that cannot be vocalized, examples include Nike and Starbucks
• Service is a form of product consisting of activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are intangible and do not result in ownership
• Experiences involve experiential aspects of consumption rather than utilitarian ones, allowing consumers to engage in fantasies and feelings
• Packaging refers to designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product, providing protection, convenience, safety, economy, and promotion
• Labeling provides information about the product and the manufacturer, types of labels include brand label, descriptive label, grade label, and promotional label
• Product life cycles include introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage, and decline stage