In the modern world, in our consumer society, the market for goods and services occupies an almost dominant position. So, probably, it should be, because everyone, to the best of his ability, buys various goods and uses the services he needs. Moreover, almost always a product and service are complementary, not contradictory, concepts. Sometimes even interpenetrating.
What is a product?
Under this concept is understood the product of labor, which primarily has value. It is distributed in society in various ways (purchase and sale, exchange), and, of course, is a commodity. This is also any thing, a product that has a material form, the dominant object, which participates in market relations “seller-buyer”. He does not have the quality of spirituality and is always directly related to material values.
Main classifications
All products are divided mainly into two groups:
- “A” - for industrial use;
- "B" - consumer consumption.
Roughly speaking, the goods of the first group are used for industry and production, and the second, on the contrary, for personal consumption. Creating priorities for groups, artificially highlighting one to the detriment of the other leads, as a rule, to disastrous results. A historical example: the beginning of “perestroika”, when the so-called Brezhnev economic model collapsed, putting the production of goods of group “A” at the forefront. We all remember the empty store shelves and the total shortage of even basic products, selling from under the floor, in an acquaintance! In general, the consumer society should be oriented towards the production of products of group “B”, of which there are also several types.
Durable goods
Material products used by the buyer repeatedly. For example, household appliances, or hardback books, or furniture and clothing.
Non-durable goods
Material products used one-time or in several stages. For example, food or newspapers, magazines.
Daily demand
Products that are often bought without much thought, without making efforts to compare them with each other. For example, sugar, salt, cereals, sunflower oil, soap, matches.
Preselection
Goods that are purchased by comparing them by the buyer according to the criteria of quality, price, suitability. For example, various types of household appliances, or tableware, or some food products.
Special demand
Goods for the acquisition of which a person spends additional efforts. These are, as a rule, branded products, priority in the modern market. For example, a Mercedes car or a Nikon camera.
Prestigious demand
Goods characterized by a certain degree of “elitism”, with the help of which the consumer shows his whereabouts on the social ladder. For example, yachts, concept cars, mansions. Products of this kind are not often purchased individually.
In general, both goods and services are peculiar engines of the market. Often these concepts are interpenetrating, they accompany each other. And the all-round production of goods and services is a characteristic feature of the modern economic model of society. Therefore, both of them play a crucial role in the world of consumption.
Product and service
Having understood what a product is, we now analyze the concept of “service”. These are the types of various activities in which a product is not created (a new one that did not exist before), and the quality of an existing product is modified. Conventionally, these are the benefits that are provided to the consumer not in material form, but in the form of any activity. This is a domestic, transport, public services. This training, treatment, cultural enlightenment, all kinds of consultations, the provision of all kinds of information, mediation in the implementation of contracts and business operations. Goods and services differ mainly: the first is a specific thing that has a material form, the second is the type of activity put up for sale.
