Published by: Nuru
Published date: 20 Mar 2022
Product Classification:
Product Classification is defined as the classification done on the basis of the buyer and the product use into consumer products and industrial (business) products.
Consumer products are goods or services purchased by an individual for personal or household use, Usually, consumer products are classified into four categories:
1. Convenience products:
Convenience products are those products, which are relatively inexpensive, purchased on a regular basis with a minimum of time and effort because the buyer has knowledge of product characteristics prior to shopping. Convenience products can be sub-divided into three groups:
Staples, Impulse, and Emergency
2. Shopping products:
Shopping products are those products for which the consumers lack sufficient information about product alternatives and their attributes, and therefore, must acquire further knowledge to make a purchase decision.
According to the consumer's perspective, shopping products can be classified as follows:
Homogenous shopping products are those products about which consumers perceive little difference in the core benefits between the competitive brands.
Heterogeneous shopping products are those products that differ from one another in style, design, and personal taste.
Attribute-based shopping products are those products which consumers gather information in regard to product features, warranty, performance, options, other factors, etc and evaluate.
Price-based shopping products are those products, about which the consumer's judge product attributes and prefer the cheapest item or from the cheapest.
3. Specialty Products:
Specialty Products are those consumer products for which the consumers are willing to make a significant purchase effort and spend adequate time to acquire them.
4. Unsought Products:
Unsought Products are typically grouped under the unusual type of product because such a product's characteristics, use, and image mean little to the consumers.
Industrial products are also called business products because the products that are purchased primarily for the production of other products or rendering services. Industrial products, based on their use are classified into three categories:
1. Entering products:
Entering products are the products, which are used as the ingredients or components of the product to be produced. It has the following components:
a. Raw materials are industrial products that are very close to their natural states (without almost no processing)
b. Fabricating materials are products, which undergo some degree of initial processing before they enter the product manufacturing process.
2. Foundation products
Foundation products are the manufacturing machines that make production possible. Foundation products include two types of products:
Installations are manufactured industrial products.
Accessory equipment are the products that assist the production operations of a firm without being part of the actual manufacturing process.
3. Facilitating products
Facilitating products are the operating supplies that are used up in the operation of the firm but do not become part of the product.