A research report indicates that the usage of wearables will be lower than was previously projected. The report by eMarketer, a research firm, states that 39.5 million adults in the United States will have used an internet-connected wearable device by the end of 2016 at least once a month. Earlier estimates had projected that the figures would be 63.7 million US adults using a wearable at least once a month.
Downward revision
The new statistics indicate that the market for wearables in the US will grow at a rate of 24.7% and not at 60% as previously forecast. eMarketer pointed out that part of the reason why there was a lower-than-expected uptake of wearables especially those on the premium end, such as the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Watch, was the cost.
“Without a clear use case for smart watches—which have more features than fitness trackers, but significant overlap with smartphone functionality—the more sophisticated, expensive devices have not caught on as quickly as expected,” an eMarketer analyst, Cathy Boyle, said.
The level of growth projected by eMarketer is similar to other estimates elsewhere. As per figures from IDC, shipments of smartwatches will clock 20.1 million units this year. Compared to 2015 when 19.4 million units were shipped, this will be a rise of 3.9%. As smartwatches struggle to gain traction, the most popular wearables remain fitness trackers. According to IDC data, about 85% of the wearable market was comprised of fitness bands.
Female domination
With regards to the age demographics, the majority of the users of wearables were young adults. The use of wearables by those aged between 18 and 34 was at around 30% compared to about 17.6% in the rest of the population. Just like with the overall population, fitness trackers were the most popular wearable among young adults. The report by eMarketer also noted that while the early adopters of wearables were male, the growing shift towards fitness bands is pulling in female users such that by 2018, they will be the majority users of wearables.
Apple rose by less than a percentage point on Wednesday to close the day at $117.06 a share.
