Cannibalize: meaning, definitions and examples

business practice

To cannibalize means to take away customers or sales from one of your own products when introducing a new product or service. This term is often used in marketing and product development contexts, where a company's new offering may compete with its existing products. While it can lead to increased overall market share, it can also result in shifting revenue rather than creating new sales. Companies strategically choose to cannibalize to maintain relevance and competitiveness in rapidly evolving markets.

consume, deplete, exploit

Examples of usage

• The new smartphone model may cannibalize sales of the previous version.

• By launching the updated version, the company risks cannibalizing its own product line.

• The marketing team was concerned that the new service would cannibalize existing subscriptions.