Changing Composition of Markets

Product-market composition may change as new technologies become available and new competition emerges. New technologies offer buyers alternative ways of meeting their needs. For example, fax technology gave people in need of overnight letter delivery an alternative way to transmit the information. The entry into the market by new competitors also alters market composition.

The Market Feature describes how suppliers' resistance to change and government action helped Chile develop a booming salmon industry, resulting in much lower prices for consumers and an altered competitive structure. An existing industry classification may not property define product-market boundaries. Industry-based definitions do not include alternative ways of meeting needs. Industry classifications, typically, have a product supply rather than a demand orientation. Of course, since industry associations, trade publications, and government agencies generate much information about products and markets, these sources should be used in the market analysis