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Widely used as an equine instrument to produce a cracking sound in order to prod horses harnessed to wagons and carriages, buggy whips gradually became obsolete when automobiles started to become commonplace in the late 19th century. The term is now used to describe businesses that have been disrupted by technology innovation, such as the traditional post offices.

Buggy whip has been cited in business cases as an industry that did not adapt with the advent of new technology and ended up in demise. Theodore Levitt, a Harvard professor, first used the analogy in a 1960 Harvard Business Review article: "Marketing Myopia".