Which Wearables Do Consumers Plan to Buy?
Smart watches top planned purchase
December 23, 2015
Many consumers plan to purchase a health or fitness device in the next 12 months, according to a 2015 survey. Smart watches and fitness trackers are among the wearables they plan to buy.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), surveyed 1,001 US internet users. Almost three-quarters of respondents said they plan to purchase a health or fitness tracker within the next year.
More than one-third of that group said they plan to buy a smart watch and 30% said they intend to purchase fitness apps in the next 12 months. Some 27% of health and fitness device buyers said they expect to buy wearable fitness devices, and the same percentage said they plan to purchase smart apparel. Sleep trackers were also on the list; 23% of respondents said they intended to buy one.
Wearable usage is increasing dramatically, and will grow by nearly 60% this year. By 2015, 39.5 million US adults will use wearables, according to eMarketer estimates. That's a jump of 57.7% over 2014. While penetration among US adults is just 16.0% this year, eMarketer expects that to double by 2018, to 81.7 million users.
And health and fitness is also spurring wearables adoption. August 2015 research by Rock Health found that consumer intention to be more active and lose weight is spearheading the adoption of wearables.