{"id":17569,"date":"2026-02-05T12:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/enshittification-comes-to-smart-products\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:13:37","slug":"enshittification-comes-to-smart-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/enshittification-comes-to-smart-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Enshittification Comes to \u2018Smart\u2019 Products"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"\"
\n

Brian Stauffer\/theispot.com<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

When technology journalist<\/span> Cory Doctorow coined a new term to describe how the consumer experience on platforms such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google has degraded over time, his observations resonated so widely that the American Dialect Society named enshittification<\/em> its word of the year<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n

Doctorow argued<\/a> that platform operators follow a predictable pattern: At the outset, they create a compelling user experience to build an installed base and establish high switching costs. Next, they exploit those users in order to gain revenue for their business customers, such as by prioritizing ads and paid content rather than what is most relevant to the user. Finally, when users and business customers are locked in, platforms squeeze both sides to maximize their own profits, and everyone\u2019s experience worsens.<\/p>\n

While Doctorow focused his ire on platforms, we see similar dynamics at play in traditional industries, where making physical products \u201csmart\u201d by adding digital capabilities has paved the way for manufacturers to similarly lock in and squeeze customers. We contend that building internet connectivity, sensors, firmware, software, and data analytics into physical products has enabled digital business models that unlock new revenue streams \u2014 and, too often, lead businesses down a new pathway to enshittification.<\/p>\n

Digital capabilities and the new features that they enable are often initially welcomed by customers while being touted by executives as creating new value. But digital features that give manufacturers unprecedented access to and control of products long after customers have taken ownership have become a tempting avenue to extract more revenue by exploiting that control.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Digital Infusion Opens New Pathways to Enshittification<\/h3>\n

Digital capabilities can transform familiar physical products into valuable data-generating assets when companies are able to collect and analyze user data that can be monetized in new ways. For instance, cars that are equipped with telemetry systems, which were originally designed to improve driver safety through navigation modules and stolen-vehicle locators, now serve as tools for tracking users\u2019 movements and driving behaviors. Companies like General Motors and Ford, for example, sell driving data<\/a> to insurers, advertisers, and third-party mapping services. Because automakers have real-time control of digital vehicle features, some have exploited this reach to require customers to pay subscription fees<\/a> to actually turn on built-in features like heated seats. This is a direct parallel to what Doctorow observed about platforms: The initial innovation (telemetry systems in cars) attracts and locks in customers; the customers are then exploited through data monetization (selling data on their driving behaviors); and then degradation occurs when core features are paywalled.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The manufacturer of John Deere tractors has meanwhile gone from being lauded as an exemplar of digital transformation to defending itself against multiple pending lawsuits. When Deere & Co. added internet-of-things and GPS capabilities to its tractors, it enabled precision farming, which helps increase crop yields, and it allowed tractor owners to be proactive about equipment maintenance. But a class-action suit brought by farmers and a suit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission with the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota allege that Deere has locked farmers into a repair monopoly.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

While customers were initially receptive to the increased digital capabilities, Deere gradually exerted control over equipment functionality \u2014 such as remotely \u201cbricking\u201d tractors \u2014 to block third-party repairs. Like automakers, the company also started to sell user data to third parties and to gate tractor features through ongoing subscriptions. What was once a \u201cone and done\u201d purchase of a tractor became an ongoing payment regime where customers could be exploited both directly, through a subscription model, and indirectly, through the monetization of their data. Meanwhile, the aftermarket for older-model John Deere tractors is booming, with high prices reported<\/a> for models that farmers or independent mechanics can easily repair themselves.<\/p>\n

Anecdotal evidence abounds in online forums and comment threads that customer satisfaction is a casualty of the enshittification of traditional, physical products enabled by digital connectivity. Consumers have railed against being required to pay subscription fees to unlock features on products as disparate as expensive exercise bikes and infant bassinets<\/a>, in addition to their own automobiles. And they are growing more worried about how companies may exploit their data: A Deloitte study<\/a> of consumer sentiment in the mobile sector found a steep increase in the number of people concerned about being tracked through digital services and devices, from 55% in 2024 to 67% in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Perils of Short-Term Profiteering<\/h3>\n

Wherever it appears, the phenomenon of enshittification stems from the pursuit of short-term profits at the expense of customer satisfaction and trust \u2014 a strategy encouraged by executive incentives to maximize shareholder value. Seeking to capture customers with an attractive offering and then exploiting them while their experience degrades is just the latest manifestation of corporate greed. It\u2019s no accident that enshittification emerged as the dust settled from the winner-takes-all platform battles that left Amazon, Facebook, and Google as the dominant players in e-commerce, social media, and search, respectively. In low-competition markets, companies can treat customers poorly with the knowledge that the unhappy ones have few alternatives. Vendor lock-in is part of the strategy and, when practiced to its extreme, can result in regulatory and legal allegations of monopolistic practices, as has been the case with Deere<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taking advantage of the digital enablement of physical products to squeeze more value from customers may be more insidious and irreversible than doing so on platforms, given such products\u2019 dependencies on both the digital and physical worlds. With platforms, once a user experiences degradation, they can switch apps, use ad blockers, or even stop using the app altogether (although business customers often have too much to lose by leaving). In contrast, customers of physical goods have often made significant financial investments in those products, such as appliances, automobiles, and even heavy equipment, so opting out may not be a practical option. While many platform users have grudgingly accepted the cynical bargain that \u201cyou are the product,\u201d the reputational risk to companies that overexploit digital control of physical products may be greater because doing so violates customers\u2019 powerful sense of ownership.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Strategic Trap<\/h3>\n

As companies that have built brands and fortunes on manufacturing physical products turn to digital enablement, there is a risk that they will transform their trusted, high-quality products into service-based offerings. When this happens, ongoing data collection and monetization, and top-down control through software and firmware updates, become increasingly core to their business models. Rent-seeking takes priority over innovations in the core product \u2014 that which most fundamentally embodies the job to be done for the consumer.<\/p>\n

Digital connectivity and other features can delight customers with richer functionality and convenience. Companies that remain focused on using technology to improve the customer experience will build customer trust accordingly. Those that instead exploit their digital control and data access, on the other hand, risk their brand reputations and potentially their long-term health.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Stauffer\/theispot.com When technology journalist Cory Doctorow coined a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-graphic-design"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}