Information as a product: not goods, not services

Recent decades have witnessed an explosion in the quantity of information being produced, which in turn has created vast opportunities for information‐based businesses. The time has come for information to be treated as a unique product along ‐ side goods and services. But is information an intangible good or an imperishable service? In this paper we discuss the unique properties of information as a product and propose that information be distinguished conceptually and thus marketed differently from both goods and services. We offer recommendations for marketing practice that apply uniquely to information. Finally, implications for marketing theory, marketing research, and directions for future research into the marketing of information are presented.