Tech innovation never slows down but consumer adoption isn’t moving at the same speed. For product and marketing leaders tasked with launching the next big thing, one question looms large: Who is ready for it?
At Radius Tech, we’ve been answering that question for over 25 years through our annual National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS). The 2025 edition offers fresh insight into how U.S. adults are responding to the fast-evolving tech landscape—and who’s leaning in, holding back, or opting out entirely through strategic consumer segmentation.
A central feature of the NTRS is the Tech Readiness Index (TRI 2.0), a segmentation model that goes beyond demographics to uncover attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that shape consumer readiness for innovation. These insights help businesses tailor messaging, product strategies, and go-to-market approaches with precision.
So, what does tech readiness look like in 2025? Let’s dive in.
Understanding Consumer Segmentation: The Five Faces of Tech Readiness
The TRI 2.0 framework segments U.S. consumers into five groups based on their mindset and behavior toward technology and innovation. Each group offers a window into how people engage or refuse to engage with tech across their daily lives.
The Segments at a Glance:
- Explorers (21%)
Curious, confident, and motivated, Explorers are the first to adopt new technology and often serve as influential advocates in their networks. - Pioneers (20%)
Equally motivated but less confident, Pioneers are eager to embrace innovation—with a little help and reassurance along the way. - Skeptics (32%)
This largest segment is detached and unconvinced. They adopt tech selectively and often need clear, rational proof of value. - Hesitators (13%)
Interested but slow-moving, Hesitators are open to technology in theory but lack urgency or motivation to act. - Avoiders (15%)
Resistant and uninterested, Avoiders actively disengage from new technologies and innovations whenever possible.
Why Tech Readiness Segmentation Matters
Today’s tech marketers and product strategists face two core challenges: saturation and skepticism. Consumers are bombarded with innovations, yet increasingly selective about which ones earn their time, trust, and money.
Knowing where your audience falls on the TRI spectrum gives you a competitive edge. For example:
- Launch strategies can be tailored to Explorers and Pioneers as early adopters, while separate strategies build trust with Skeptics and Hesitators.
- Messaging and creative can tap into segment-specific motivators—curiosity for Explorers, clarity for Skeptics, or assurance for Pioneers.
- Innovation pipelines can align with unmet needs in under-activated segments.
WearWell’s Smart Apparel Launch
Imagine WearWell, a fictional smart apparel brand entering the U.S. market with a temperature-regulating fitness shirt. Rather than going broad with its launch, the company used TRI consumer segmentation to sharpen its strategy.
- For Explorers, WearWell leaned into the futuristic appeal and performance benefits, leveraging early access offers and influencer partnerships.
- For Pioneers, it focused on credibility emphasizing research, testimonials, and “how it works” content.
- Skeptics and Hesitators weren’t targeted at launch—but were queued for a secondary campaign focused on utility, comfort, and durability rather than tech features.
The result? A highly efficient go-to-market strategy that maximized ROI by focusing first on those most likely to adopt—and advocate.
What the 2025 NTRS Tells Us
The latest wave of the NTRS reveals a growing openness to innovation:
- Explorers have increased from 15% in 2020 to 20% in 2025.
- Avoiders and Hesitators are slowly shrinking.
- But Skeptics remain the largest group, reinforcing the need for smart, empathetic messaging and value-based positioning.
As the tech adoption curve becomes more fragmented, the opportunity lies in understanding not just who your audience is but what’s driving (or blocking) their tech behavior.
Get Ahead of the Curve
The 2025 NTRS is just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, we’ll spotlight each TRI segment in more detail, unpack year-over-year trends, and share actionable insights for marketers and innovation teams navigating a complex consumer landscape.
Want to explore how your audience aligns with the TRI segments—or how to activate the right consumers for your next product launch?
Let’s talk. Radius Tech partners with technology brands to uncover segment-level insights through advanced consumer segmentation that drive smarter, faster go-to-market decisions.
About the NTRS
The National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS) is an annual study conducted by Radius Tech (formerly Illuminas) that has tracked consumer attitudes toward technology and innovation since 1999. Each year, the NTRS surveys over 1,000 U.S. adults to explore how people think about, adopt, and engage with technology across industries and daily life. The study includes insights into emerging trends and consumer sentiment on a wide range of tech-related topics.
A core feature of the NTRS is the Tech Readiness Index (TRI 2.0), a segmentation framework that classifies consumers into five distinct groups—Explorers, Pioneers, Skeptics, Hesitators, and Avoiders—based on their motivations, attitudes, and behaviors related to technology.
