In beginning my topic of product life cycle, it is essential that we clearly understand what a product is and is not. It is not merely a physical item rather, a product represents a bundle of satisfactions or utilities to the purchaser. Since people have different tastes and pregerences, and often different needs for the same item, products represent different levels of satisfaction to individual buyers.
In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. In retailing, products are called merchandise. In manufacturing, products are purchased as raw materials and sold as finished goods. Commodities are usually raw materials such as metals and agricultural products, but a commodity can also be anything widely available in the open market.
The verb produce is from the Latin prōdūce(re), (to) lead or bring forth. The noun product is "a thing produced by labor or effort".Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced. Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced". The economic or commercial meaning of product was first used by political economist Adam Smith.
In general usage, product may refer to a single item or unit, a group of equivalent products, a grouping of goods or services, or an industrial classification for the goods or services.