Research shows that awareness for wearable tech is on the up
The wearable tech market is set to explode from $12 billion in 2015 to $25 billion in 2019, according to CCS Insight.
The analyst’s latest report, which surveyed 3,000 consumers in the UK, US, and China, states awareness of smartwatches has increased by 10% since Christmas 2014, thanks in part to the successful hype of Apple Watch. Apple’s wearable is two-and-a-half times more known to consumers than its rival products. The report also noted that the Fitbit brand tripled its awareness levels from last year.
CCS claims that 35% of fitness bands were received as gifts during the holidays last year in the UK and US, and that gift giving will account for a significant proportion of sales in 2015.
Read more: Fitbit top seller, Apple Watch No. 2
However, the research firm warns that giving a wearable device as a gift might lower its value to the user. “When someone receives a wearable as a gift they’re not as committed to the device as someone who’s spent their own money on one,” CCS Insight wearables analyst George Jijiashvili said. “We believe there’s a link between gift-giving and people losing interest and abandoning a wearable after just a few weeks or months of use.”
The company claims that one in five people with fitness band and smartwatches stopped using their device because they became bored of it.
