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Examples of the Product LIfe Cycle (PLC)
I remembered when I was a child how we gathered to watch films, videos on DVD players, at that time out of ten every seven households have a TV and DVD player. The popularity of the DVD players was at its highest peak. But now I barely see DVDs in any households, moreover, I myself have pitched it. This is one of the examples of a product life cycle (PLC).
Since we know the product life cycle has 5 stages, in the first introduction stage the new product is being introduced, in the second growth stage the demand, sales, & profits increase, in the third maturity stage the sales reach the peak & and the competition becomes competitive, in the fourth saturation stage cutthroat competition exists & sales starts declines rapidly, and in the last declining stage the firms even face a loss situation as there are very little opportunities.
Throughout the PLCs stages, it clearly shows how a new product is introduced in the market, how it has created a market for it, how sales, profits are generated, and how the product becomes unworthy at the last stage. Here we understand popular examples of the product life cycle (PLC) stating the concept PLC has.
Typewriter
One of the best and most popular examples of the PLC is the typewriter. There was a time typewriter is used in most of the offices and had made work easier and more efficient to execute.
But the development of technology laptops, computers, has adversely affected the popularity of the typewriter. And, as in the 21st century the use and popularity of the typewriter have dropped to bare 0 to 2%.
- Introduction Stage: In the early 19th century (1874) the first commercial typewriter was introduced in the market.
- Growth Stage: The use of the typewriter was felt indispensable at that time had made it easier for writing than personal handwritten. The use of it was widely done by business professionals, in offices, and the students for doing written assignments, etc.
- Maturity Stage: During the 1980s the use of the typewriter was at its peak, it was the maturity stage the typewriter had got.
- Saturation Stage: It was around the 1990s the typewriter faced its saturation stage, there was fierce competition as technological advancement took place such as computers.
- Declining Stage: Due to emergence of the technological writers such as computers, laptops, smartphones, etc. the use and popularity of typewriters have drastically dropped off.
DVD/VCR
I remembered the time when we only had a DVD player and cassettes & disks to watch films, but now it has been replaced by video streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, advancement of technology that let us easily download videos on our smartphones, laptops.
- Introduction Stage: It was 1953 when the first videocassette recorder was introduced in the market.
- Growth Stage: After its introduction, its popularity started to grow, and around the 1960s its market begin to grow and different companies started to introduce an improved version of it.
- Maturity Stage: In the 1980s the VCR had captured the big markets, more and more customers were bringing the VCRs to their homes.
- Saturation Stage: It is around the 1990s and 2000s when VCR and DVD players are mixed up and sold to the market. The use of DVD players and cassettes was at its peak.
- Decline Stage: It is the emergence of technology, the internet, smartphones that made us easier to download videos by ourselves, and different video streaming platforms that reduced the use of VCR/DVDs.
Reel Camera
I remembered the first camera that took my photo was a reel camera. This is first introduced in the 1888s by the renowned American inventor, Thomas Edison. The camera had become way more famous in the 1900s but as of now in the 21st century, it is difficult to see this reel camera on people’s hands. The evolution of technology and advanced cameras have drastically declined the use of these reel cameras since they did not meet the changes pace of people’s needs and preferences.