I just purchased my mom her first microwave last year she refused to by one, she is a serious laggar, and the jury is still out on what she thinks about the microwave .Research indicates that the older generation is the last to purchase the microwave. About 93% of households in America today own a microwave and it still does not do what they want it to do. Americans ranked the microwave as No. 1 technology that makes their lives easier. In many households the microwave has replaced the conventional oven.
When a new product first come out the consumers that are more technologically incline will most likely purchase the new device they are willing to pay the outrageous prices in order to be the first to tackle some new technology, and for those of us who do not have any technical skills we will follow the innovators because we believe they understand more.
New products come out every year and they are usually adopted by a small group of people who feel they understand the product which we know as the innovators and then we come to the early adopters they make or break a new product. The early adopters not only help the sale of the new products, but they get to own the new product first. They are not very familiar with the new product but they are attracted to the benefits of what it can do for them. The early majority do not want to be taken in by fads, they will wait until the product goes on sell and then we see the late majority point of view .They sit back and see what the consumers say about the product they want to make sure the product is safe to use and when they decide to go out and purchase it they can get the help they need when they ask for it and then we look at the laggars which I talked about in the beginning which identified my mother as a laggar someone who does not consider technology worth adopting, she would rather boil water on top of the stove and warm everything in the oven no matter how long it takes and then you look at me I am what you would identify as a late majority, I will wait until it goes on sell and when I do decide to purchase a new product they are coming out with a new version of what I just bought.
New technology is evolving at a high rate and we want to evolve with it. You have to learn and create what makes the consumer happy. The microwave has been around for a long time and with the increasing growth of the internet and the telecommunications networks, and do not forget the good old fashioned word of mouth, it will continue to make its appearance in the majority of the households in America.
Reference
Brief History of the Microwavehttp://www.smecc.org/microwave_oven.htm
Module 2 Reading Diffusion of Innovations
http://angel03.gcu.edu/section/default.asp?id=678691
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press.
