India’s early tech adopters are young, male and affluent

In India, specifically, early adopters skew towards the 18-34 years demographic to a greater extent than many other surveyed markets.

YouGov’s new research shows India has a large proportion (49%) of early tech adopters, and they are eager to buy new products as well as adopt new technology.

YouGov’s latest whitepaper titled “First in Line: Early technology adopters around the globe” looks at technology adoption across 25 markets worldwide, based on more than 370,000 interviews with consumers about their tech habits and attitudes. In addition to this, the report includes deep dive analysis of technology adoption in six key markets including India.

In India, around half (49%) of urban Indians qualify as early adopters of technology– with one in three (30%) saying they’re “actively on the lookout” for new devices and services (dedicated followers), and a fifth (19%) saying they’re “always keen” to use new products as soon as they’re available (first wave consumers).

Latecomers account for just 15% of the online population. The second wave make up 17% of the Indian online population while discerning customers make up another 20%.

Download the full whitepaper.

Across the 25 global markets, almost a fifth (18%) of consumers are early adopters of technology – with 9% saying they’re dedicated followers, and 9% saying they’re first wave consumers.

On a demographic level, early adopters tend to be younger (the largest proportion are often within the 18-34 age groupings), male and affluent.

In India, specifically, early adopters skew towards the 18-34 years demographic to a greater extent than many other surveyed markets. In terms of personal disposable income, a third of early adopters (34% DF 35% FW) have between 10,001 – 50,000 rupees per month to spend on themselves, compared to 28% of the urban online population.

Early adopters are likely to own a range of tech products and there is a difference between them and the online public in terms of purchase intention. The data shows a major difference is visible in intent to buy a new mobile handset in the next 2-6 months (45% EA vs 35% online rep) and a 13-percentage point difference between those who intend to buy new consumer appliance in the next year (79% vs 66%).

When it comes to attitudes, the opinions of the early adopter group appear consistent with the public in some areas but deviate from them in other important areas.

Dedicated followers, for example, are twice more likely than the public to take the opinions of celebrities and influencers into account when making a purchase (32% dedicated followers vs. 16% online rep), and also more likely to say that brands must connect with customers in real life in order to be successful (64% vs. 55%).

The dedicated followers group in India is larger than many other markets. If a brand wants to target this highly engaged cohort, emphasizing the preferences of the most involved consumers may be as important as winning less engaged consumers over.

Download the full whitepaper here.