Product Modification Approach, Planned vs. Intentional Breakdown
The idea that the products are planned to be designed in such a way that they degrade or wear out faster is one that is talked about a lot in the literature of marketing and product management. Nonetheless, the strategy is not regarded as a typical planned product change strategy. Product modification in marketing is a deliberate change to the characteristics of a product (e.g. design, features, or quality) with an aim of generating more value to consumers, reacting to market trends, or extending the product life cycle (Kerin and Hartley, 2023). These alterations are meant to enhance the product as opposed to deliberately reducing its lifespan. Of contrast, product design that deliberately causes failure or obsolescence is classified under the idea of planned obsolescence, which is different than the normal product alteration. The obsoleteness aims at the shortening of the replacement cycle, thus, motivating consumers to buy the new products more regularly (Slade, 2006).
The Phoebus cartel (1925-1939) is an example of planned obsolescence where the large manufacturers of incandescent light bulbs concurred to reduce the life of the bulbs (around 2,500 hours) to 1,000 hours to boost sales. And more recently, consumer electronics producers like Apple have been accused of methods that supposedly slow down older devices by restricting battery capacity or by releasing software fixes that, effectively, promote a consumer to upgrade (Bocken et al., 2014). Such instances portray an approach to make repeat purchases instead of adding value to the products.
Finally, although product modification is aimed at enhancing and maintaining the product to suit consumer needs, deliberate product break-down is defined as planned obsolescence, and is a radically different method, which values sales above customer value. This difference is paramount in the understanding of marketers who want to compromise between profitability and ethical practices of developing products.
References
Bocken, N. M. P., Bakker, C., & Pauw, I. de. (2014). Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 31(3), 147–154.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2014.903508
Kerin, R., & Hartley, S. (2023). Marketing: The Core (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Slade, G. (2006). Made to break: Technology and obsolescence in America. Harvard University Press.
