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.
A recent survey has shown that while Brits aren’t on board yet with wearables, the time is coming.
There are few who would disagree that wearable technology is now on its way, as its popularity is starting to rise and a growing number of people are becoming interested in what these gadgets could have to offer them in the future.
As the products improve their features as well as their appearance, wearables have been able to boost their appeal.
Wearable technology came into the marketplace all in a big wave, but while the first impression of these devices may not have been the best one, they are starting to sway consumers with improvements to their tech and as they grow more stylish. As designers of these gadgets gain a better understanding of what consumers actually want, how to make the devices practical, and what people are willing to actually wear, tech has been improving in a way that is starting to convince people to actually buy.
While consumers aren’t quite ready to make wearable technology mainstream, that time is close.
New research commissioned by Currys PC World has revealed that among Britain’s 18 to 65 year olds, there will be 17 million people using wearables by 2017. That company has revealed that its increases in sales in that category have shot up by 710 percent when compared to the same time last year. Clearly, they are not simply drawing their predictions out of the air.
The growth was greatly credited to the release of Android Wear, and it is expected that when the Apple Watch actually launches within the next couple of months, it will spike even further. That said, keeping on top of the trends and grabbing up the top brand names are not the only drivers behind the willingness of consumers to make a purchase. The fact that these gadgets are increasingly useful and practical is becoming very convincing.
The Currys PC World report was based on a survey of 1068 people. Among them 39 percent said that their top reason for being interested in wearable technology was for health and fitness improvements. Primarily, they wanted to track calories (39 percent), track daily activity levels (36 percent), and monitor heart rate (35 percent). All of these tracking capabilities are available in even some of the most inexpensive wearables that are currently available.
