What Is A Product And What Are The Different Types Of Consumer Products?

In marketing a product is an item, object, service or idea that the seller is trying to sell.

Products are mainly divided into two types:

1. Industrial Products
2. Consumer products

I. Industrial Products. Industrial products are products that are sold by one business to another. For example a factory may buy a manufacturing plant or some machinery or equipment from another supply. These products are usually low in volume but high in price.
Ii. Consumer Products. Consumer products are those products that are bought by the ultimate consumers  who are also known as the end users. These are the buyers who actually end up using these products. Examples are food items, clothes, candies, toothpastes, soaps, home appliances like air conditioners, microwaves, telephone sets, televisions, carpets, furniture, paint etc. Etc.

Consumer Products can be classified as:

• Fast-moving consumer Products or goods commonly known as FMCGs : These are products that are usually high in volume, have low unit value, have fast repurchase.  Examples of FMCGs include Ready meals; Candies, Newspapers, Magazines,toothpastes, cookies, soaps, shampoos, etc.
• Consumer durables
– Consumer durables are goods having low volume but the per unit value is high. Consumer durables are further divided into:
–
– White goods (e.g. Fridge-freezers;; dishwashers; cookers microwaves)
– Brown goods (e.g. Games consoles; DVD players , personal computers)
• Soft goods
– Soft goods are somewhat similar to consumer durables, but that they wear out more quickly. They have a shorter replacement cycle

– Examples include clothes  and shoes
• Services (e.g. Hairdressing, childcare, Medical Care)

Any thing which is tangible and has potential to serve the need of the consumers is called a consumer product. The product or service can be used interchangeably. Every product has three main characteristics including the core benefits, actual benefits and augmented product. There are different types of consumer products. One of them is convenience product. These types of products are low price and can be frequently purchased. It has large distribution. The consumer purchases these products with minimal interference. Second type of product is called shopping product. In this type of purchase the consumer pays great attention.

These products have selective distribution in the market and the consumers are very conscious about the brand. In these types of product the advertising and promotion is also contributed by the reseller. The third product which is in the category is called Specialty product. The customer pays more attention and consideration when purchasing these products. These products have usually high prices. The distributions of these products are very exclusive. The producer and reseller both contribute in the advertising and promotions. The last type of product is unsought products. These product are very unique in nature the customer is completely aware of it but have some knowledge about these products. The price of these products varies.

Describe a kinds of consumers and give 5 examples