Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time. Planned obsolescence has potential benefits for a producer because to obtain continuing use of the product the consumer is under pressure to purchase again, whether from the same manufacturer (a replacement part or a newer model), or from a competitor which might also rely on planned obsolescence.
For an industry, planned obsolescence stimulates demand by encouraging purchasers to buy sooner if they still want a functioning product. Built-in obsolescence is used in many different products. There is, however, the potential backlash of consumers who learn that the manufacturer invested money to make the product obsolete faster; such consumers might turn to a producer (if any exists) that offers a more durable alternative.
Estimates of planned obsolescence can influence a company's decisions about product engineering. Therefore, the company can use the least expensive components that satisfy product lifetime projections. Such decisions are part of a broader discipline known as value engineering.
Read more about Planned Obsolescence: Origins of The Phrase, Economics of Planned Obsolescence, Obsolescence and Durability, Planned Obsolescence in Software, Ethics and Consequences of Planned Obsolescence
Famous quotes containing the word planned:
“If little planned is little sinned
But little need the grave distress.
Whats dying but a second wind?
How but in zig-zag wantonness
Could trumpeter Michael be so brave?”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)