What Is "Porter's 5 Forces Analysis"?

Porter identified five competitive forces that shape every single industry and market. These forces help us to analyze everything from the intensity of competition to the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The following image shows the relationship between the different competitive forces.

Threat of New Entrants - The easier it is for new companies to enter the industry, the more cutthroat competition there will be. Factors that can limit the threat of new entrants are known as barriers to entry. Some examples include:

Existing loyalty to major brands

Incentives for using a particular buyer (such as frequent shopper programs)

High fixed costs

Scarcity of resources

High costs of switching companies

Government restrictions or legislation

Power of Suppliers - This is how much pressure suppliers can place on a business. If one supplier has a large enough impact to affect a company's margins and volumes, then they hold substantial power. Here are a few reasons that suppliers might have power:

There are very few suppliers of a particular product

There are no substitutes

Switching to another (competitive) product is very costly

The product is extremely important to the buyer, they can not do without it

The supplying industry has a higher profitability than the buying industry

Power of Buyers - This is how much pressure customers can place on a business. If one customer has a large enough impact to affect a company's margins and volumes, then they hold substantial power. Here are a few reasons that customers might have power:

Small number of buyers

Purchases of large volumes

Switching to another (competitive) product