Commoditized?

[Dave Wilton]

> This suggests that it is used in a more technical sense.
> "Commodify" I
> think usually has a disparaging or deploring tone.  As in
> deprecating the
> commodification of cultural values, &c.

I can't speak to "commodify," but "commoditize" does have a marketing jargon
sense. A product becomes commoditized when there is no significant
difference between competing brands and the competition is largely based on
price (i.e., it becomes a commodity). Long distance telephone service is a
good example of a commoditized product.

Commoditization is great for consumers, lousy for the providers of the
goods/service. Marketers go to great lengths to avoid the perception of
commoditization, promoting the quality of customer service or the "fact"
that it kills millions of germs on contact or whitens your teeth 60% faster,
etc.

In the Union Square example cited earlier, I took it to mean that the city
planners wanted a mix of locally owned stores and big "commoditized"
national chain stores. But the exact sense is hard to tell without more of
the article to provide context.