Meaning & use
market saturation
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebusiness
A situation in which almost everyone who wants a product already has it, so sales can hardly grow.
Grammar: No plural and no article normally: the company faces market saturation.
Patterns
- reach market saturation
- market saturation in something
- avoid market saturation
Smartphone makers have reached market saturation in rich countries.
Market saturation forced the company to look for customers abroad.
Experts warned of market saturation in the coffee shop trade.
noununcountablebusiness
A situation in which too many sellers offer similar products, making it hard for any of them to earn a profit.
Grammar: Used when supply is crowded: saturation of the market by new brands.
Patterns
- saturation of the market
Market saturation has pushed many small shops out of business.
The city shows clear market saturation, with a cafe on every corner.
New brands struggle because of market saturation in the sneaker trade.
Common combinations
- reach market saturation
- The phone industry reached market saturation years ago.
- face market saturation
- Many food chains face market saturation in big cities.
- risk of market saturation
- There is a risk of market saturation if more firms enter.
- avoid market saturation
- They avoid market saturation by launching in new regions.
- signs of market saturation
- Falling prices are signs of market saturation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- oversupply
- Oversupply stresses too many goods available, while market saturation stresses that almost everyone already owns the product.
- glut
- A glut is a temporary surplus of goods, whereas market saturation is a lasting limit on demand.
- overcrowding
- Overcrowding describes too many competitors, a narrower idea than market saturation.
Opposites
Word family
- saturate verb
- to fill something completely so no more can fit
- saturated adjective
- full of something; unable to take more
- saturation noun
- the state of being completely full
- market noun
- the demand for a product
Commonly confused: market saturation or market share?
market saturation vs market share
Market share is the portion of sales a company holds; market saturation is the state in which there is almost no room left to grow.
Practice
The company shifted overseas because of ____ at home.
Choose one answer.
Market saturation means almost everyone already has the product, so growth at home is limited. Market share and the others do not describe a reason for leaving.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “market saturation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.