When a product is presented to consumers, producers expect consumers to respond positively by purchasing that product. Market saturation can be considered evidence of a successful sales record. When a market is saturated with a product, that product prevails among consumers.
Market saturation can be seen as a positive because consumers have purchased an offered product. These purchases took place on such a massive scale that the likelihood of future purchases could dramatically decrease. At a monthly farmers market, this is an ideal situation. Almost everyone who comes to the market buys jam from Mrs. Smith and she dismounts her tent and goes home with her profits.
In general, however, business doesn't work that way. Companies are not created simply to sell a product and then dismantle the business. Most companies are long term companies. Therefore, once the market becomes saturated with their products, they are faced with the challenge of how to continue generating income.
Market saturation can be overcome by several things. Some of them can be influenced by the producers, but others are not. One of the factors that growers have no control over, but which can help alleviate low sales figures due to market saturation, is population growth. More people in a society tend to increase the number of consumers without supply.
It is important to note that market saturation does not mean that every consumer has a product. Rather, the term generally means that a substantial portion of those who are likely to buy a product have already done so. Families usually consist of several individuals. So if the residential real estate market is saturated, it means that not all, but most families, have already bought homes.
This leads to a market saturation factor that producers can manipulate. If producers can influence attitudes about ownership of multiple purchases, they can create demand in a saturated market. One industry that can be seen as a prime example of this is the cosmetics industry, which leads women to believe that a single shade of lipstick and eyeshadow is not enough. Constant craving and disregard for existing personal inventory fuels constant demand and drastically reduces market saturation problems.
Market saturation is not always due to the success of a single producer. In some cases, markets are sold out because there are too many suppliers of a product. This highlights the role that competition can play in these cases. If Producer 1 can have access to Producer 2's consumers, Producer 1's market share increases and provides the opportunity to sell more products.