Final answer:
The stages of the Product Life Cycle are introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Understanding this concept helps businesses make strategic decisions about their products.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Product Life Cycle is a concept that describes the stages a product goes through from its introduction to the market until its eventual decline. The stages are:
- Introduction: This is the stage when the product is first launched. Sales are low, and there is limited consumer awareness of the product.
- Growth: During this stage, sales start to increase rapidly as more consumers become aware of the product. Competitors may enter the market and start to offer similar products.
- Maturity: The product reaches its peak level of sales during this stage. The market becomes saturated, and there is intense competition.
- Decline: Sales start to decline as the product becomes outdated or replaced by newer alternatives. The market for the product shrinks, and companies may choose to discontinue it.
Understanding the Product Life Cycle is important for businesses because it helps them make strategic decisions about when to launch, promote, and retire products. for example, during the growth stage, a company may invest heavily in marketing to maximize sales, while during the decline stage, they may focus on phasing out the product and introducing a new one.