"Stages of product life cycle"

The different stages in a product life cycle are:

Stage Characteristics
1. Market introduction stage costs are high
slow sales volumes to start
little or no competition - competitive manufacturers watch for acceptance/segment growth losses
demand has to be created
customers have to be prompted to try the product
makes no money at this stage

2. Growth stage costs reduced due to economies of scale
sales volume increases significantly
profitability begins to rise
public awareness increases
competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market
increased competition leads to price decreases

3. Mature stage costs are lowered as a result of production volumes increasing and experience curve effects
sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached
increase in competitors entering the market
prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products
brand differentiation and feature diversification is emphasized to maintain or increase market share
Industrial profits go down

4. Saturation and decline stage costs become counter-optimal
sales volume decline or stabilize
prices, profitability diminish
profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales