How to Effectively Capitalize the Wearables Market?

Introduction

The market for wearables has never had a good reputation. At the outset, most observers of the market incorrectly predicted that the number of units sold would be about equivalent to that of mobile phones. The truth, however, has been very different. The previous few years have seen essentially no growth in sales. Early sales projections for wearables were inflated for the same reason that their worth has been grossly underestimated.

Wearable Technology: A Brief Overview

Let's quickly review the history of the wearables market and its current state.

One might be forgiven for thinking that Apple was responsible for launching the wearable business in 2015. Pebble, Nike Fuel, and Jawbone UP were already on the market by the time the first Apple Watch was released, and as is so frequently the case, Apple was able to build upon the work of its competitors. Back then, the benefit was obvious: improved health.

The Apple Watch was introduced to the market as a stylish accessory that could send notifications and launch apps. Within a short period of time, customers made a few things quite clear

Although smartwatches should be aesthetically pleasing, they are not intended to be worn as jewellery. This frustration was felt most strongly inside the Android Wear ecosystem, as attempts to transfer the phone's features to the wrist proved more frustrating than useful. Probably the most appealing features were the fitness tracking and the alerts. With the release of Apple Watch 2, Apple made a decisive shift toward the health and fitness industries.

There were also sports firms like Garmin and Suunto that supplied professional sports level data, fashion brands like Withings, Fossil, and Montblanc that concentrated on hybrid watch designs, and Apple, which dominated the market with its iPhone and iPad.

The first Apple AirPods debuted in 2016, and the category of "wearables" began to grow to encompass headphones. As voice-first interfaces and digital assistants were pushed out across operating systems, the wearables category became the next intriguing market to be in. Although the sensor capabilities of earphones are still in their infancy, it is apparent that they will play a crucial part in providing a personal ambient computing experience when XR experiences begin to gain traction.

Hidden Benefits of Wearables

After taking a trip down memory lane, where does the current state of the wearables market stand? The market for wearables, which includes earphones, is expanding. Even if you disagree with me, I think it's crucial to examine the potential of wearables from the perspective of the value they provide as a platform, rather than merely an accessory.

• The importance of wearables has grown as businesses have diversified beyond the realm of fitness into the realm of health. These gadgets now have the ability to detect irregular heartbeat, sound pollution, falls, and stress levels in addition to tracking steps and utilising heart rate to calculate calorie burn. As a result, wearables have evolved from a supplementary tool to a fully functional gadget in their own right.

• Wearables helped us stay healthy and in touch with loved ones throughout the COVID-19 quarantine.

• Many of us have had to become inventive in order to stay healthy in the absence of easy access to conventional fitness resources like a gym or frequent outdoor activities.

• Wearables have helped us keep track of our activity, whether we're doing a Peloton class or yoga with our kids, and they've given us gentle nudges in the right directions, like telling us to put down the screen for a while if we've been staring at it for too long or confirming that we really do feel that bad after a night of poor sleep.

• People worried more than usual about their elderly relatives because they couldn't see them. Having the ability to see their loved ones through video conversations was helpful but knowing that they could rely on wearable gadgets to warn them in the event of an emergency was reassuring.

From Practical to Essential

Wearables were helpful during the "shelter in place" phase of the epidemic, but their importance will grow when economies throughout the world begin to recover and reopen for business. These days, tracking down lost contacts is a hot topic, and cell phones are often central to the tale. One major benefit that smartwatches and fitness bands have over phones and other gadgets is that they are constantly within easy reach.

With the lifting of quarantine regulations comes a greater potential for wearables to aid in reducing the number of surfaces we physically interact with, whether it be via mobile payment systems like tap and pay or through the opening of a door in the workplace.

Although Apple and Google's project has focused mostly on consumers, there have been some promising developments on the business side of contact tracking as well. Wearables can play an important part in keeping us safe as we return to work by doing things like contact tracing and alerting businesses to adjustments that can be made to a workplace, factory floor, or school to reduce the likelihood of exposure. A month ago, Ford and Samsung announced a study they had begun in Michigan, where a small group of workers were utilising a wearable gadget to measure their 6-foot distance.

There is also an interest in discovering how wearables might be used to monitor the spread of infectious illnesses and detect their oncoming onset in advance of the typical beginning of symptoms. When it comes to COVID-19, in particular, the availability and turnaround time of diagnostic testing have been hampered by the need to forecast infection before the onset of symptoms. Users of the Apple Watch and Fitbit who have had a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, who have been exposed to someone with a known or suspected case of COVID-19, or who are at increased risk of exposure, have been asked to contribute their data. The obtained information will be used to verify the accuracy of the algorithm. with the rise of augmented and virtual reality applications,ambient computing has emerged as a promising field.

In 2025, the value of the worldwide wearables market is projected to reach US$116.88 billion, expanding at a CAGR of 17.12% from 2021 to 2025.

The expansion of AR/VR applications, rising capital expenditures, increasing numbers of interested users, increasing young population, accelerating urbanisation, and the rising popularity of smartwatches are all aspects that are projected to contribute to the market's development.

Wearable technology is expected to grow rapidly in the next years, but the business might be hampered by issues including data privacy and short battery life. The need for the integration of all computing requirements into one compact device, the rise in the number of connected devices, the increase in consumer spending on wearables, the growth prospects of next-generation display in wearable devices, and the need for these integrations are all possible trends.

Conclusion

Consumer interest in fitness-related wearable technologies has skyrocketed in recent years. Attractive features like smartphone connectivity, fitness monitoring, GPS tracing, etc., have contributed to the exponential growth of the wristwatch market. The potential for the wearables industry to grow in the next years is bolstered by the fact that firms in this space are continually inventing new products through collaborations and partnerships.

Having the most established major players and largest client base, North America's market is expanding at the fastest rate. The rising purchasing power of customers and the expanding number of tech-savvy people in Asia Pacific make this area a promising opportunity for the wearable technology industry in the next years.