Time and time again the wave of innovation sweeps us off our feet and similarly, products come and go. The once-promising products that we all knew and loved are now no more.
When new products stocking the aisles, old ones are being sidelined to make room for the new ‘thing’ in town. This same phenomenon has struck some of our most beloved items so here are some of the popular products disappearing from store shelves.
When new products stocking the aisles, old ones are being sidelined to make room for the new ‘thing’ in town. This same phenomenon has struck some of our most beloved items so here are some of the popular products disappearing from store shelves.
The Walkman
It was the single most mind-blowing product at the time, making portable stereo available to the masses for the first time in history. The Sony Walkman was nothing if not an icon of its time. With its first debut back in the ’80s, the walkman was an astonishing hit. Seemingly everyone was after it, and they sold over 220 million units over 30 years. However, with the new technologies available grab one now or say goodbye to the walkman as you won’t find them soon.
Jawbone Fitness Trackers
This fitness band giant was once worth over 3 billion dollars but that success came crashing down due to a legal dispute with FitBit, another leading player in the market. The law suites led to the company being given an ultimatum, resulting in its eventual demise.
Although the legal struggle itself didn’t sink the company, it was the beginning of the end for them. They had undergone a sequence of high-profile resignations within the company and had to compromise on their customer service standards after the legal battle started taking its toll. Good luck finding this product on the shelves today.
Fitbit Force
Fitbit has come out with some astounding hits like the Charge 2, the Blaze, and the Ionic. Although the brand has accumulated a lot of face value as leaders in the wearable fitness band market, they had inevitably been sidelined when it came to the Force.
The product itself had done quite well when introduced to the masses, but customers began complaining of skin irritations. The bands themselves ended up giving such severe blisters to some customers which resulted in a class-action lawsuit. After that whole incident, the product was, of course, discontinued.
Typewriters
Another product that has fallen victim to the innovation revolution. Typewriters were present in almost every office as the technology sped up writers, brought convenience to employees, and increased overall productivity in offices.
Writing used to be a very tedious process in which symbols and letters had to be replicated by hand process that took scribes an entire day to merely replicate.
Again, as time passed, even a revolutionary product such as this met its end as word processors took over. The last typewriter manufacturer closed its doors in Mumbai in 2011.
Hoverboards
These were quite the sensation just a few years ago when they were launched in 2015. The self-balancing electric scooters were something that people couldn’t wait to try out. They used to come with all kinds of trendy new features like BlueTooth connectivity for music and light-up wheels.
People used to take them everywhere, including schools, restaurants, and malls. But it had all come to a tragic end, as was recalled in 2017 due to the lithium-ion batteries inside, which were known to overheat and catch fire, inevitably killing the product.