What Is the Product Life Cycle? Stages and Examples

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The product life cycle is the journey a product or brand goes through from its creation to its extinction. It begins the moment a product launches, and ends when that product is finally taken off the shelves for good.

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Do you remember Blockbuster? In the ‘90s and early 2000s, it was easily the largest video rental chain in the nation, with at least one store in nearly every city or town. Today, though, it’s virtually nonexistent, with only a single remaining location.

So, what happened to Blockbuster? The answer is that, over the span of around three decades, it went through the full product life cycle. From its conception to its collapse, it experienced a full arc of doctor database and failures — and it’s far from the only business to have done so.

But what is the product life cycle, and what does it look like when a brand goes through it? We’ll answer both of those questions in the product life cycle overview below, plus we’ll discuss how you can optimize for each stage of the cycle.

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Key takeaways
The product life cycle is the journey a product goes through from its creation to extinction.
There are four stages of the product life cycle: Introduction, growth, maturity, decline.
Examples of products that have gone through a full product life cycle include typewriters, compact discs (CDs), and video home systems (VHS).
Understanding product life cycles helps you plan better marketing campaigns that help your product stay relevant and on the shelves.
Factors that can influence the life cycle of a product include the economy, updates to technology, and market competitiveness.
Here’s a quick overview of everything we’ll cover:

What is the product life cycle?
Product life cycle stages
Product life cycle examples
Why is the product life cycle important?
What factors can affect the product life cycle?
What are the limitations of the product life cycle?
The product life cycle vs. the BCG Matrix
How to use the product life cycle to sell more products
Read on to learn more. Then subscribe to Revenue Weekly, our email newsletter, to get more digital marketing content delivered straight to your inbox!

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What is the product life cycle?
The product life cycle is the journey a product or brand goes through from its creation to its extinction. It begins the moment a product launches, and ends when that product is finally taken off the shelves for good.