It’s hard to miss the hype around wearable tech in the media – indeed, Apple today announced the first launch of a new smartwatch, to much fanfare – however, consumers remain nonplussed, according to a report by law firm Osborne Clarke and UK app developer Mubaloo.
Despite the increasing availability of wearable devices from a number of major players, just 8% of the 2,000 consumers polled by YouGov on behalf of the two firms said they were likely to buy one in the next year, with the figure rising marginally for the 18-24 (10%) and 25-34 (14%) age groups.
The news might come as a shock to major gadget firms including Sony, Samsung, LG and Apple, with new health-monitoring devices and smartwatches set to join the growing range on the market.
According to a separate international survey conducted by GfK, the most wanted feature in a smartwatch is activity tracking, which Apple’s rumoured iWatch is expected to focus on.
“Smartphone accessories like the Fitbit and FuelBand have paved the way for wearable tech, but this research shows the market penetration is still not out of the first quartile,” said Osborne Clarke’s James Mullock, who specialises in data protection, cyber law issues, and technology.
“People may be getting excited about an iWatch and products like Sony’s new SmartWatch 3, but most of them won’t open their wallet and actually buy one. The next 12 months will be crucial for the wearable tech industry to show people how these products can be an important part of their lives.”
Mubaloo’s founder and CEO, Dr. Mark Mason, added: “With smartphones, it wasn’t until developers started created apps that made the devices desirable that they the market truly took off.
“Wearables need to be desirable, but also need to have compelling reasons to buy them. The number of apps on wearables is growing, and devices like the Moto 360 have the desirability factor but consumers still need to be persuaded to buy them.”
