Late Majority
What it is:
Late majority refers to the last large group of people to adopt a new product or technology.
How it works/Example:
Analysts estimate that the late majority, roughly 34% of a given population, adopts new technology only after the majority of the population has fully assimilated it as a part of daily life.
For example, the internet was first used in the mid-1990s only by people who had access to and were familiar with personal computers. By the 2000s, the internet had revolutionized communication (for example, VoIP, email, and instant messaging), access to banking and financial services, and mass media (for example, journalism, newspapers, and television). The late majority, previously unfamiliar with computers and the internet, has only recently adopted computer skills after realizing the technology's impact on society at large.
Why it matters:
Late majority are one of five types of consumers (the others are innovators, early adopters, early majority, and laggards) along the "Diffusion of Innovations Curve" pioneered by Everett Rogers. Rogers stated that 2.5% of those who adopt a new technology do so very early (the innovators); the early adopters represent the next 13.5% of consumers; the early majority (34% of the adopters) come next; the late majority (another 34% of the adopters) come next; and the laggards (16% of the adopters) are the last to try the technology.