What is a lifecycle state?
A lifecycle state is a classification of where a product sits in its demand arc. It is computed from the product’s recent behaviour rather than from its launch date on the calendar, so a product is treated as “new” only while it is actually behaving like a new product.
What are the five lifecycle states?
- Just launched — very recently published, with minimal demand history.
- Discovering — early traction is beginning to appear.
- Trending new — strong early demand within the new-product window.
- Declining new — was gaining traction, but momentum has dropped.
- Established — a stable demand pattern with sufficient history.
How is a lifecycle state determined?
It is computed from recent views, add-to-bags and purchases measured against the product’s first-seen date — behaviour over rolling windows, not a fixed “new for thirty days” rule. Movement between states is surfaced as a lifecycle transition event in the live demand feed.
Why classify by lifecycle instead of by date?
A calendar rule calls a product new for a set number of days whether or not anyone is buying it. Lifecycle classification reserves the “new in” message for products genuinely showing the launch dynamic — the newness message only fires in the first three states, so a product that never caught on stops being advertised as new.