When compared to 2014, there was double the number of wearables purchased in the U.K. in 2015.

According to the data from the Mintel international market research firm, the number of wearable technology devices that were purchased in 2015 in the United Kingdom were about double the figure from 2014.

The company estimated that over a period of 12 months, people in the U.K. purchased 3 million wearables.

The wearable technology devices that were considered in these figures were smartwatches and fitness trackers. The total includes the devices purchased during the twelve months that followed September 2014. It’s important to note that, despite the tremendous growth that was recorded through these figures, they didn’t take into account the three months that included the holiday shopping season in 2015. Still, that period of one year still recorded a growth of 118 percent when compared to the twelve months previous to it. These figures align relatively accurately with the predictions that were made by IDC, last June.

Fitness trackers remain the most popular sub-category within the definition of wearable technology gadgets.

IDC pointed out that the leader among fitness tracker wearables is, by far, Fitbit. It, therefore, remains the leader in wearable tech as a whole. The share fitness trackers held of the wearables market was currently estimated to be 63 percent, after having shipped 1.9 million devices last year. Comparatively, there have been 1.1 million smartwatches shipped in the United Kingdom, representing 37 percent of the market.

When comparing these figures to the previous twelve month period, fitness trackers have seen their share shrinking. The year before the most recent results showed that fitness trackers made up 91 percent of all wearable tech sales. It was during that period that the Apple Watch was released into the U.K. market (April 2015), and a broad spectrum of different Android smartwatches also hit the shelves, such as the Moto 360 and Samsung Gear G2.

These provided consumers with more options outside of fitness trackers, allowing them to choose from among a larger range of wearable technology offerings. With more options, it’s easy to understand why fitness trackers lost some of their hold on the market as a whole in the United Kingdom.

Apple Pay has become a success in the United States

Apple has established success in the U.S. mobile payments market. The company has been fighting to find a foothold in the mobile payments space for some time, but successfully did so with the launch of its own payment service, called Apple Pay. The service was launched in late 2014 and adoption has been steadily growing throughout the United States since then. Apple Pay has won praise because of its security features and convenient nature, which has made it one of the most used mobile payments services in the country.

Report highlights the growing power of Apple Pay

Piper Jaffray, and investment bank, has released statistics concerning the mobile payments market, showing that Apple is leading the way. The report from Piper Jaffray shows that approximately 20% of iPhone users have adopted Apple Pay. While the adoption of the payments service among iPhone users may seem low, the report notes that Apple Pay is the overwhelming share leader when it comes to point-of-sale mobile payments. The success that Apple has found has made it more attractive to banks, which are beginning to show more support for its payment services. In September, 515 banks were supporting Apple Pay. Now, however, more than 930 are supporting the service.

Apple expected to continue finding success in the mobile payments market

The report predicts that Apple Pay will continue to find success in the mobile payments market. Apple is planning to introduce new features that may secure this success. These features are rumored to include better support for loyalty programs, particularly those that have been put in place by large retailers. Apple Pay may also find success in other countries as Apple attempts to break into new mobile payments markets throughout the world.

Competition in other countries may prove fierce for Apple

Apple has faced strong competition in the mobile payments space. Google, Samsung and several other companies have become involved in this sector and have been vying for the support of consumers and businesses alike. In other countries, Apple may find more ferocious competition, especially as foreign banks have shown relatively little interest in the company’s mobile payments service.