THE CONSUMER ADOPTION PROCESS

The Consumer Adoption Process includes 5 stages.

AWARNESS

This is the first step in the consumer adoption process. In this stage, the consumer is aware
about the product’s existence but has no further knowledge. IKEA already has a good market
base in India so this would help introducing a new product in the market. Below are some ways
through which IKEA can make the customers aware of the new product:

 Social Media
The different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn can
be used to promote the products. Increasing use of social media in India exposes
individuals to a lot of things.
 Television Commercials
This media is a sure way to reach the products to the people as majority of the people
are exposed to televisions is radios.
 Print media
Print media such as newspapers and magazines are the most relevant medium that can
be used by IKEA to promote the new furniture as most of the Indians are habituated to
reading newspapers on a daily basis.

INTEREST

This is the second step in the consumer adoption process. Now the buzz for the foldable
furniture has been created and it is time to introduce them. The customer is now ready to learn
more about this furniture so they must be guided by providing proper information. This can be
done by providing proper details in the IKEA website, blogs and even tutorial videos which
shows the handling of the product.

EVALUATION

After the product has been introduced to the customers, it is their time to evaluate, examine
and compare the product. They go to different platforms to get the information that they are
looking for. They key factors in the evaluation done by consumers include the following-

 Price
Customers tend to evaluate a product on the basis of how much it will cost them. As
IKEA is introducing foldable furniture in India, if the prices are low with additional offers
and discounts, it will attract more customers.
  Place
Consumers always consider the accessibility of a product while purchasing it. Thus if the
furniture can be delivered to the customers on time and hassle free, it would led to
higher sales generation
 Quality
The quality and durability of the foldable furniture would be the main concern of he
people as they are not exposed much of these furniture. Customer reviews would also
play a major role as good reviews can act like an assurance of quality.

TRIAL

After a detailed evaluation of the furniture on the basis of its price and quality, this is the stage
where the customers are ready to try the foldable furniture on their own. IKEA should provide
these foldable furniture on rent and trial basis so that the customers can determine its worth.
This will determine the further sales.

ADOPTION

When the customer enters this stage, he/she is ready to purchase the furniture. This is a very
critical stage and a few things must be taken off:

 The entire buying process and the payment process should be convenient and hassle
free.
 There must be complete transparency in terms of any extra charges.
 The customers must be provided with proper tips and guidelines for handling the
foldable furniture.
 Lastly, they must be provided with the details of an agent who could provide assistance
with installation and also an e-manual or a guide in case of emergency.
The factors that influence the Adoption Process are:

Readiness to try New Products and Personal Influence

Different individuals have different preferences and willingness to try new things.

 Innovators are technology enthusiasts and are willing to try new ideas. It is very likely
for these people to try the foldable furniture by IKEA as they are new to the Indian
market with new technology.
 Early Adopters are opinion leaders who carefully search for new technologies. These
people will try the IKEA new foldable furniture only when they are convinced of the
price and quality.
 Early majority adopt the new technology only after reviews of its benefits been proven.
 Late Majority minimise the risk and are easily not open to innovation.
 Laggards are the people who do not like change. It is highly unlikely for them to
purchase IKEA foldable furniture.

Characteristics of Innovation

Some products attract the customer as soon as they enter the market whereas the others fail to
do so.

 Relative Advantage
IKEA has a relative advantage over its other competitors as they are the first company to
introduce foldable furniture such as beds and sofa.
 Compatibility
 If the quality and price of these furniture matches the values and expectations of the
customers, higher sales and customer satisfaction can be generated.
 Complexity
In order to make these foldable furniture a success in the Indian market, IKEA should
start with less complex furniture as it can be easily understood and handled by all
individuals.
 Divisibility
By introducing rentals and trial basis, IKEA can reach a large number of people as it is a
new product.
 Communicability
By addressing the concerns related to spacing furniture in a populated country like
India, IKEA can easily attract large number of customers.

 Organisation’s Readiness to adopt Innovations

As IKEA is already in the Indian market by providing various types of furniture, coming
up with a new product line category of foldable furniture is compatible with the
objectives, strategies and resources of the company.