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Fitbit fitness tracker stock slides against Apple

The new Apple Watch activity app arrived with the latest updates to the WatchOS 3 operating system.

Shares of the company behind the Fitbit fitness tracker devices fell considerably this week. The drop in stock prices was the direct result of Apple’s new improvements to its wearable technology.

The Apple Watch plus has received several updates including a fitness app that presents notable competition.

The new Apple operating system, the WatchOS 3, was launched on Tuesday. That OS is meant to address the primary complaints customers have identified in the device. For instance, the new WatchOS 3 makes it possible for wearable technology apps to load more rapidly.

Customers were consistently complaining about slow load and launch times. The upgrade allows apps to load data in the device’s background. The Wall Street Journal reported that this makes the process notably faster. That said, it is now putting the pressure on the FitBit fitness tracker.

The Fitbit fitness tracker maintains a consistent leadership position in the wearable tech industry.

fitbit fitness tracker running wearable technologyThe company behind the Fitbit wearable technology devices is based in San Francisco. It offers a spectrum of different gadgets for monitoring daily activity levels, heart rates and even a wearer’s sleep patterns. In addition, users can employ the compatible app to record their tracked data and to share it.

That said, the new version of the Apple fitness app allows wearers to record and share their tracked data. When users share their tracked data, friends can then message them other through the app. Furthermore, Apple also launched an additional Breathe application on top of its fitness app for its wearables. The Breathe app is meant to provide fitness tracking for wearers in wheelchairs. It also has features geared toward relaxation.

Beyond that, the WatchOS 3 offers SOS. The SOS feature works when the wearer holds down the slide button for a certain length of time. That action automatically calls 911 and sends a notification to the wearer’s emergency contact list. It shares the wearer’s location, date of birth, medical information and allergies with emergency responders. These features go well beyond the offerings of the Fitbit fitness tracker.  This helps to explain the downward shift in the stock prices.

Mobile commerce trends show increasing reliance on social media

Still, shoppers in the millennial generation have yet to be sold on the concept and aren’t yet buying into it.

Social media has been playing an ever growing role in mobile commerce trends when it comes to its impact on consumers as a whole, but when looking at specific demographics, it becomes rapidly clear that millennials aren’t yet all that impressed with what smartphone based shopping has to offer through social platforms.

When it comes to the drivers behind the growth of m-commerce, social media has been highly important.

Brands have been sending a considerable portion of their marketing budgets toward branded content, native advertising and overhauling their mobile apps to improve the experience of shoppers who are continually on the go. That said, there is a considerable difference in the impact of these mobile commerce trends on millennials than there is on shoppers from other age groups. This appears to suggest that the way that millennials want to interact with a brand and the way brands expect them to want to interact with them has not entirely aligned.

Millennial mobile commerce trends show that brands and individuals appear to have different expectations.

Faceook Continues to Push into Mobile Commerce trendsThe disconnect appears to lie in the place that millennials actually engage with m-commerce. According to recent data from BI Intelligence, consumers in that age group will use those platforms for researching products and services. This appears to be a strong preference over making a purchase through a mobile app.

The BI Intelligence GlobalWebIndex study has indicated that shoppers in the millennial generation will use Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets for looking into products before making a purchase. However, they do not actually make those purchases over mobile commerce channels.

The mobile commerce trends revealed by the study include the estimate that 40 percent of global consumers between the ages of 16 and 24 years old are looking into products via social media. That said, 30 percent of the general population are doing so. Social media is not behaving as a direct product purchasing referral but is instead providing a means through which consumers can educate themselves. Brands that want to encourage purchasing may not find that millennial shoppers are buying through the same platforms they use for their product research, but they will still need to maintain a solid presence over those channels if they want to appeal to those consumers, with Facebook providing the most important influence over shopper decision making.