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94 Examples of Goods

John Spacey, October 03, 2021

Goods are tangible and intangible things that have a useful purpose or use. The following are common types of goods with illustrative examples of each.

Consumer Goods

Goods that are purchased by individuals and families.

Beverages	Books
Cat Food	Flights
Mobile Devices	Restaurants
Socks	Washing Machines

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Fast moving consumer goods are consumer goods that are quickly used up and repurchased. These are typically competitive high-value markets.

Cleaning Supplies	Cosmetics
Food	Toiletries

Consumer Discretionary

Consumer purchases that can easily be deferred such that sales are likely to increase in a good economy and decrease in a bad economy.

Computers	Fine Dining
Furniture	Vacations

Consumer Durables

Relatively expensive consumer goods that have a useful life of 3 years or more.

Appliances	Furniture & Fixtures
Homes	Vehicles

Business Goods

Goods that purchased by businesses.

Aircraft	Business Travel
Industrial Equipment	Software

Commodities

Goods that are viewed as interchangeable that are sold on a liquid market such that individual buyers and sellers have little influence over the price.

Coffee	Corn
Economy Flights	Gold
Plastic	Wood

Inferior Good

Demand for an inferior good drops as people's income rises.

Convenience Food	Fast Food
High Interest Loans	Instant Noodles
Used Cars

Superior Goods

Superior goods make up a larger percentage of consumption as income rises.

Fine Food	First Class Flights
Luxury Fashions	Luxury Hotels

Veblen Goods

Veblen goods are a theoretical type of good where sellers can increase demand by increasing price. This supposedly includes things like luxury goods whereby people seek social status from high price items. However, if you put luxury goods on sale demand tends to be extraordinarily high. As such, veblen goods are rare or may not exist at all. Luxury goods do sell social status by building up a reputation, brand image and customer experience such that these are the basis for their ability to charge a high price.

Fashion	Handbags
Management Consulting	Sporting Goods

Necessity Goods

Goods that consumers truly need such that they are the last things that are cut as income decreases.

Electricity	Food Staples
Toiletries	Water

Services

Services are goods that derive most of their value from intangible things such as customer experience, advice and intangible results such as transporting someone somewhere. Some definitions consider services goods and others do not. Generally speaking, it is outdated to think that goods must have a physical presence.

Consulting	Events
Flights	Hotels
Restaurants	Theme Parks

Club Goods

Club goods are services that offer access to large scale capital.

Art Museums	Highways
Ski Hills	Theme Parks

Information Good

Information goods are goods that derive their value from information including digital experiences.

Books	Consulting
Mobile Apps	Video Games

Complementary Goods

Goods that have related demand such that sales of one increase sales of the other.

Gas Burning Cars & Gas	Mobile Phones & Mobile Devices
Printers & Ink	Snowboarding Resorts & Snowboards

Substitute Good

Goods that act as substitutes for one another such that demand for one may lower demand for the other.

Beef & Chicken	Bowling Alleys & Movie Theaters
Mobile Phones & Televisions	Night Clubs & Pubs
Restaurants & Grocery Stores	Tea & Coffee

Capital Goods

Goods that are used to produce other goods.

Computer	Hotel Beds
Industrial Robot	Office Chair
Restaurant Furniture	Ship
Solar Panel	Tractor

Common Goods

Goods that everyone can use freely such that they are easily used up or damaged.

Air	Sunlight
Water	Wild Fish

Unsought Goods

Unsought goods are no fun to buy such that consumers have low motivation to purchase them. Often consumers will only purchase unsought goods when they are forced to by circumstances.

Disaster Kits	Fire Extinguishers
Funeral Services	Insurance

Merit Good

A merit good is a good that a government views as a basic entitlement or something that is under-purchased by consumers. In this case, a government may provide the good for free, particularly for low income individuals. Alternatively, the good may be subsidized to encourage its purchase.