adoptionsrate

Adoptionsrate, or adoption rate, is a metric that measures how quickly a new product, service, technology, policy, or other innovation is taken up by a population over time. It is typically expressed as the share of the target population that has adopted by a given time, or as a rate of adopters per time unit.

Two common perspectives are cumulative adoption and period adoption. Cumulative adoption counts all adopters up to a point and is usually expressed as a percentage of the total population. Period adoption counts new adopters during a specified interval and is often described relative to the at‑risk population at the start of that interval.

Data for measuring the adoptionsrate may come from sales, registrations, enrollments, or survey estimates. Researchers and marketers fit diffusion models, such as the Bass model or logistic growth, to describe the characteristic S‑ or sigmoidal adoption curve and to forecast future uptake. Several factors influence the rate, including perceived benefits, costs, compatibility with existing practices, trialability, observability, marketing effort, social influence, and infrastructure.

Applications span technology deployments, consumer electronics, software licenses, public health campaigns, and even animal adoption rates in shelters. Interpretations should consider population size and time frame, as a high rate in a small population can differ from a lower rate in a large one. Limitations include data quality, market saturation, and the aggregation level used to define the at‑risk population.