What are Consumer Products? Definition, Types, Characteristics, Strategies, and Examples

What is Consumer Product?

A consumer product, also called consumer goods is a product that is purchased for consumption purposes by consumers.

Consumer products are specially designed for daily consumption by a person or household.

Consumer goods are either purchased for personal use or household consumption, not for resell purposes.

Examples of consumer products include but are not limited to rice, clothes, vegetables, oil, and furniture.

A consumer product is also called the final product as it is the result of the production process.

These products have the ability to satisfy customers’ needs and wants. This can be both a physical product as well as a service.

Characteristics of Consumer Products

Here are eight key characteristics of consumer products, considering convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought goods the four basic types of consumer goods.

• Frequent Purchase (Convenience) – Products like toothpaste or snacks are bought frequently with minimal effort and thought.
• Price Sensitivity (Convenience) – Consumers prioritize affordability and availability, often preferring products with the lowest price.
• Comparison of Alternatives (Shopping) – For items like furniture or electronics, consumers spend time comparing features, quality, and price.
• Brand Loyalty (Specialty) – Specialty products, such as luxury watches or designer bags, attract brand-loyal customers who prioritize prestige and uniqueness.
• Limited Availability (Specialty) – These products are often sold at select locations or through exclusive channels to maintain their premium image.
• Low Awareness (Unsought) – Unsought products like life insurance or prepaid funeral services are often unknown to consumers until marketed aggressively.
• Problem-Specific Utility (Unsought) – These products solve specific or unexpected problems, such as fire extinguishers for home safety.
• Wide Availability (Convenience) – Convenience goods are found in many locations, such as grocery stores or gas stations, to ensure easy access.

Types of Consumer Products

In marketing, there are mainly the four types of consumer products including convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought products.

Classification of these products largely depends upon consumers’ perception of the product.

The same product may be a convenience product for someone, it would be shopping for someone, whereas it would be a specialty for others.

Let’s understand each of the types of consumer goods in detail through their characteristics and examples.

Convenience Products

Convenience products are normal products that consumers use daily. They buy such products most frequently without comparing them with other brands.

Convenience products are mostly purchased for household purposes such as products like rice, vegetables, oil, salt, flour, etc.

As for such products, consumers have prior knowledge while buying they do not consider giving more time and effort as an important factor.

These products are easily available in different outlets or stores and consumers can easily buy from the outlet most convenient to them. The characteristics of convenience products include:

• Low price.
• Frequently purchased.
• Easy availability.
• Non-durable.

Convenience goods have further three categories – staple products (e.g. fruits, dairy, rice, etc.), impulse products (e.g. ice cream, newspapers, magazines, etc.), and emergency products (e.g. an umbrella, medicine, etc.).

Shopping Products

Shopping products are more complex than convenience products. Consumers take more time when buying shopping goods as compared to the above explained.

Here, consumers compare different attributes of products like price, quality, durability, size, design, etc. before coming to a buying decision.

These products are less frequently purchased and have a higher price than conventional ones.

Examples of shopping goods may include clothing, mobile phones, airline tickets, electronic products, etc. The main features of shopping goods include:

• Infrequently purchased.
• Higher price.
• Durable.
• Available at limited outlets.

Related: What is Business Product?

Specialty Products

Specialty products are often less frequently purchased than shopping goods. These products have unique features that differentiate them in the market.

These products have higher prices and higher quality, and target people who can pay higher prices.

Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for such products and are often loyal to brands.

Examples of specialty products include luxury cars, branded watches, mobile phones, old coins, old paintings, etc. Some features of specialty goods include.

• Brand identification through unique characteristics.
• Less frequently purchased.
• Higher prices.
• More durable.
• Available at limited outlets.

Unsought Products

These are the consumer products customers rarely buy.

The two basic reasons behind it are – first, they do not know the product existed, and second, they do not want to purchase it although they know the product is here because of no idea of the product’s potential benefits.

Customers do not purchase unsought goods normally if they have to they buy in certain circumstances. Examples of these products include insurance policies, pre-planned funeral services, etc.

The following are the common features of unsought goods.

• Rarely purchased.
• Customers do not think of buying, usually.
• Require heavy promotion to make people aware of the product.

20 Examples of Consumer Products

Below are the 20 examples of consumer goods mentioning each type of consumer product:

• Toothpaste (Convenience)
• Bread (Convenience)
• Shampoo (Convenience)
• T-shirts (Shopping)
• Smartphones (Shopping)
• Furniture (Shopping)
• Designer Handbags (Specialty)
• Luxury Watches (Specialty)
• Sports Cars (Specialty)
• Artwork (Specialty)
• Life Insurance (Unsought)
• Home Security Systems (Unsought)
• Prepaid Funeral Services (Unsought)
• Fire Extinguishers (Unsought)
• Bottled Water (Convenience)
• Sneakers (Shopping)
• Perfumes (Specialty)
• Health Screenings (Unsought)
• Energy Bars (Convenience)
• Identity Theft Protection Services (Unsought)

Also Read: What is Actual Product?

Importance of Understanding Types of Consumer Products

Convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought all these types of consumer products have their different marketing consideration. So, it is important to know about all these product types and apply relevant marketing efforts to generate sales.

For example, when you try to sell a convenient product let’s say rice, here, you do not have to invest a high amount on advertising, promotion, and marketing. You can not change the perception of consumers about rice through advertising as they already know what rice is and why they need it.

On the other hand, you have put considerable effort into shopping and specialty products to increase sales. Among them, marketing unsought products is a little tricky.

Since consumers are unaware of the unsought product and do not want to buy you have to carefully market your product to consumers so they start to think about why they need the product.

For this, launching brand awareness campaigns, doing aggressive selling, face-to-face marketing, etc. would be suitable options.

Also Read: What is Augmented Product?

Strategies To Promote Consumer Products

Let’s explore some strategies that can be used to promote these four types of consumer products:

Advertising Campaigns

Advertising is one of the most effective ways to promote convenience products like toothpaste, bread, or bottled water.

These campaigns can be run through television, radio, social media, or billboards to reach a wide audience.

The focus should be on creating catchy slogans and visuals that emphasize ease of use, affordability, and availability to ensure the products remain top-of-mind for consumers during their everyday purchases.

Product Demonstrations

Product demonstrations work exceptionally well for shopping products such as smartphones, furniture, and appliances.

These demonstrations can be done in-store or through online videos to highlight features, usability, and benefits.

Consumers need to see and experience these products before making purchasing decisions, so providing a hands-on or visual guide helps in converting interest into sales.

Read More: Difference Between Consumer and Industrial Product

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are a great strategy for promoting convenience and shopping products, such as snacks, sneakers, or T-shirts.

Rewarding repeat purchases with discounts, points, or exclusive offers encourages customers to stick with the brand.

These programs build a sense of trust and long-term customer retention, ensuring steady demand for the product.

Celebrity Endorsements

Specialty products, such as luxury watches, perfumes, or designer handbags, can benefit significantly from celebrity endorsements.

Associating these high-end products with well-known figures enhances their desirability and status symbol value.

This strategy works because consumers view these endorsements as a reflection of the product’s exclusivity and quality, motivating them to aspire for ownership.

Educational Campaigns

Educational campaigns are highly effective for unsought products like life insurance, home security systems, or fire extinguishers.

These campaigns focus on informing consumers about the importance of the product and the risks of not having it.

For instance, using statistics or real-life stories can create urgency and highlight the practical need for these products in unforeseen circumstances.

Read More: Mechanistic Vs. Organic Structures

Seasonal Promotions

Seasonal promotions work well for both convenience and shopping products, such as bottled water in summer or winter clothing in colder months.

Offering discounts, bundles, or limited-edition variants during specific seasons helps drive sales by creating urgency.

For example, a “Back-to-School” sale for backpacks or lunch boxes ensures these items are purchased when the demand is high.

Exclusive Deals and Pre-Orders

Exclusive deals are ideal for specialty and shopping products, such as high-end electronics or designer items.

Pre-orders build excitement for upcoming launches, while exclusive deals for early buyers create a sense of privilege.

This strategy works because it appeals to the consumer’s desire to be among the first to own something new and trendy, enhancing brand loyalty and anticipation.

Read Next: 6 Marketing Philosophies with Examples