You’ve likely heard of “planned obsolescence,” also known as “shortening the replacement cycle.” This strategy, developed by manufacturers, ensures that consumers buy products multiple times. Instead of relying on brand strength and product quality to inspire repeat purchases, companies create goods designed to deteriorate, become outdated, or lose their usefulness after a set period.

Planned obsolescence can boost corporate profits—think of the long lines for the latest smartphone model. However, it can also lead to consumer backlash, making products less popular. Here are some examples of products that have lost market share, experienced slower sales growth, or faced extinction:

Incandescent Lightbulbs: The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy of 1924 marked the birth of planned obsolescence. Major lightbulb manufacturers, including General Electric (US), Osram (Germany), Philips (Netherlands), and Compagnie des Lampes (France), met in Geneva to form the Phoebus cartel. They divided the global market and agreed that incandescent bulbs should last no more than 1,000 hours, down from the previous 1,500 to 2,000 hours. Interestingly, developing bulbs that reliably failed after 1,000 hours required significant research and development.

Times have changed. Incandescent bulbs are now on the brink of extinction. In the US, the manufacture and importation of 40- to 100-watt incandescent bulbs have been prohibited to save energy. Consumers now choose from fluorescent, LED, halogen, and other lighting options.

School Textbooks: For decades, textbook publishers released new editions every few years, often without significant updates. As Popular Mechanics noted, new editions usually have information on different pages, making it hard to follow along with older versions and suppressing the used textbook market. Over the past decade, college textbook prices increased by 82%, leading many students to forgo purchasing textbooks, which negatively impacts their academic performance.

Kiplinger.com predicts that by the end of this decade, digital formats for tablets and e-readers will replace physical books for college students, with K-12 schools following suit. Schools might develop their own digital content and utilize free online databases, potentially causing traditional educational publishers to lose market share.

Smartphones: Some argue that planned obsolescence in technology is a myth, suggesting that new products make older models obsolete by simply being more desirable. However, those who have updated their smartphone’s operating system or software only to find the device running slower might be more skeptical.

Smartphones are unlikely to disappear soon, but wearables like glasses and watches might become popular alternatives. Some expect smartphones to become the central device powering these wearables.

It’s easy to identify other products and industries that might be replaced by newer technologies. For example, cable TV and movie theaters face competition from streaming media. USB memory sticks might become obsolete with the rise of cloud computing. Even remote controls could disappear if motion-sensing screens that read sign language become standard.

Investors need to stay informed about new product developments and understand how these changes can affect markets. Emerging trends can improve the profitability of some companies while disrupting others that once dominated their industries. It’s essential to grasp how planned obsolescence impacts more than just your living room lamp.