FinTech Glossary

What Is a Laggard

A laggard is an individual, business, or segment that is slow to adopt new products, technologies, or practices, typically adopting them only after they have become widely accepted.

Understanding Laggards

The term laggard is commonly used in marketing, technology adoption, and innovation studies.

Laggards tend to prefer traditional methods and may resist change due to cost concerns, risk aversion, or lack of awareness.

They usually adopt innovations at the final stage of the adoption cycle.

Laggards in the Adoption Lifecycle

In the innovation adoption lifecycle, laggards follow:

1. Innovators
2. Early adopters
3. Early majority
4. Late majority

They represent the last group to embrace change.

Laggards typically exhibit:

1. Strong preference for established methods
2. High sensitivity to risk and cost
3. Limited exposure to new technologies
4. Adoption driven by necessity rather than advantage

Understanding these traits helps in market segmentation.