To purchase or not to purchase?

When looking at the digital era we live in, new technology is a highly competitive market. Every company is looking to creating a product that is life changing. This can be seen through the establishment of the internet, cellphones, even items like the GPS. What makes one product rise to the top and who is behind it? The answer is simple, it is us, the consumers. We determine what products are a success and what is not. This is explained through Diffusion of Innovation by Everette Rodgers.

When a product is new on the market, each individual consumer go through a 5 step process of Diffusion to determine if a product is applicable in their everyday life.    

Knowledge – person becomes aware of an innovation and has some idea of how it functions,

Persuasion – person forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the innovation,

Decision – person engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation,

Implementation – person puts an innovation into use,

Confirmation – person evaluates the results of an innovation-decision already made. (Orr,2013)

This process is what every consumer makes before making a purchase on products. As a consumer, we have to understand a product and its purpose before jumping into the commitment of purchasing it. The division in trusting in the purpose of a product determines on how long it take for people to purchase a new product. This is where we see the different levels of innovativeness 

that are important to look at when trying to reach consumers.

Innovators- 2.5%

Early adaptors-13.5%

Early majority-34%

Late majority-34%

Laggards-16%

Each of these sections of innovativeness make up different parts of the market.

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In 2007, Steve Jobs released a product into the cellphone market that would essentially change the term cell phone to smart  phone

indefinitely. The iPhone was in a class of its own and created instant buzz as soon as it hit the market. There had never been a phone

that came with such computer like capabilities, it was game changer. People were waiting in lines for hours to get their hands on this

new and quite expensive product. These people knew there was a degree of risk in this purchase but took their chances to either stay up

to date with the latest technology or simply to thrive off being one of the first in their neighborhood to have the iPhone.The next year

came the iPhone 3G. This phone came with 3G internet capabilities and was a little more practical than the bulkier, slower

original iPhone. This made the phone a little more functional for everyday use. This was more appealing to consumers as they could

see the benefit from the purchase. The drastic decrease in price also helped with appealing to consumers. With the release of the iPhone

4 in 2009, the iPhone was is the foreground for the ideal phone. It was the first phone to provide a front camera, and essentially

changed how people took pictures of themselves coining the term "Selfie". Not to mention its new image, smaller frame and increase

pixel count. The iPhone was just a step ahead of its competitors. Each year the iPhone realized a phone was increasingly showed

consumers that this phone was more than beneficial and a practical purchase. Skeptics could do nothing but buy into the Apple system

or get an Android. 

When breaking down the Diffusion of Innovators you can see how iPhone purchases were broken down. The innovators at Apple knew

that this product was worth the risk because the iPhone was a product the consumers needed. Those were the initial creators of the

product that were invested into the product. The early adaptors would be the thousands that waited in line for the original iPhone in 

2007. They had the financial means to purchase the iPhone and were willing to risk this product being a failure. They did not need the

reassurance of people to influence their purchase. With the release of the iPhone 3, consumers began to see the benefits of the iPhone 

and it was becoming more convenient to purchase the phone as well. This greatly influenced the early majority of consumers. This

group looked to the what the early adaptors said about the product. They may have had doubts to make the purchase, but after being

assured by reviews of current iPhone customers, they were more willing to make a purchase. The release of the iPhone 4 also came

with the conviction to influence. If the first 3 models of the iPhone didn't make a consumer budge the iPhone 4 did the trick. At this

point the iPhone had established itself has not a competitor in the market but THE market for competition. With its new image

and new features, consumers either jumped on the iPhone bandwagon or were left standing.Those left standing were the laggards. They

either were not convinced by the years of increasing capabilities of the iPhone, or don’t know what the iPhone was. In every spectrum

of a product there are consumers that take years to be persuaded to try something new due to fear of risk and possible lack of stability. 

It is important to understand when looking at this spectrum that just a product doesn't take off with a particular group of consumers

does not mean the product was a failure, it just means that the product was not viewed practical for that group. Each group is looking

for something different within a new product, the most successful products are viewed as practical and simply make life easier for

everyone. The majority of people are considered to be early majority or late majority, this is essentially the desired target audience for

most products, but you have to understand how to reach this market before the product will be effectively integrated into the market.

This is why consumers control the market. By deciding if we like a product and telling our friend or just being seen holding a product

that tells people “you should buy this”. This power of consumers can cause a product to thrive or become non existent.