Special Report
The 25 Biggest Product Flops of the Last Decade
September 5, 2023 1:20 pm
Consumer products can fail to resonate for lots of reasons: struggling to find a niche in a saturated market, failing to introduce innovation or distinctiveness, poor advertising or promotional efforts, associations with scandals or issues, or simply being subpar in quality. (That was also probably the case with these 29 absurd military projects that were canceled almost immediately.)
24/7 Wall St. reviewed some of the biggest and worst recent product launch blunders to identify the biggest product flops of the decade. We picked these products based on the expectations that companies, investors, and consumers had placed in them – and how far short they fell. The products cover a range of industries, including tech, auto, fashion, media, and food, and are ranked in no particular order other than the year of their launch. (Here’s a list of the biggest food and drink flops in recent history.)
It’s important to note that no company is immune to setbacks. Perhaps one of the most infamous product failures in history was Ford’s ill-fated introduction of the Edsel in 1958, an automobile that drew immediate criticism for its design and overall poor quality.
Today, many products undergoing intense consumer scrutiny hail from some of America’s leading tech giants. These companies, despite their size, have experienced the humbling experience of product failure.
Click here to see the 25 biggest product flops of the last 10 years.
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