Page 3 - Lesson Note 2

Consumer’s products and industrial products. The consumer products may further be classified

into different groups, as detailed below:

CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Products, which are purchased by the ultimate consumers or users for satisfying their personal
needs and desires, are referred to as consumer products.

For example, soap, edible oil, eatables, textiles, toothpaste, fans, etc. which we use for our

personal and no business use are consumer goods.
The consumer products have been classified on the basis of two important factors: (A) the

extent of shopping efforts involved, and (B) durability of the product.

These have been explained as below:

A. Shopping Efforts Involved On the basis of the time and effort buyers are willing to spend in

the purchase of a product, we can classify the consumer product into the following three
categories as here under:

1. Convenience Products: Those consumer products, which are purchased frequently,

immediately and with least time and efforts are referred to as convenience goods.
Examples of such products are cigarettes, ice creams, medicines, newspaper, and stationery

items toothpaste.etc. These products have low unit-value and are bought in small qualities.

Some of the important characteristics of such products are:

(a) These products are purchased at convenient locations, with least efforts and time;

(b) Convenience products have a regular and continuous demand, as these generally comes
under the category of essential products;

(c) These products have small unit of purchase and low prices.

For example the eggs are sold at Rs.28 per dozen and the customers purchase them in small
numbers;

(d) Convenience products have standardized price as most of these products are branded

products;

(e) The competition in these products is high as the supply is greater than the demand. The

marketers have, therefore, to heavily advertise for these products; and