Diffusion is the process by which a new
idea or new
product is accepted by the
market. The
rate of diffusion is the speed that the new idea spreads from one
consumer to the next.
Adoption (the reciprocal process as viewed from a consumer perspective rather than distributor) is similar to diffusion except that it deals with the psychological processes an individual goes through, rather than an aggregate market process. In
economics it is more often named "
technological change".