The market research firm Futuresource Consulting recently released the results of their recent survey of consumer interest in wearable technology. In October, the company repeated a survey that they had conducted just five months earlier in May 2014. The survey interviewed more than 8,000 consumers from the U.S., UK, France, and Germany.
One of the headline results is that interest in wearable devices is growing. 10% of those surveyed in May expressed intent to buy such a device; by October, this had risen to 16%, which is a 60% increase. The market segment that has drawn the most increased attention is that for smart watches, which more than doubled from 4% in May to 9% in October. This also makes it the category that consumers said they were most likely to buy (with fitness trackers coming in second at 6%). It is likely that all the media coverage of the Apple Watch had an impact on this shifting interest.
It is also interesting to note that iPhone owners are more likely to want a wearable device than other smartphone owners. 29% of them expressed intent to purchase a wearable device, compared with only 13% for owners of other types of smartphones. Smart watches led the way for both groups, with fitness trackers taking second place.
These results are notable in the light of other reports about how early adopters of fitness trackers frequently abandon their devices. The fact that interest is still growing among consumers in general indicates that the optimistic growth forecasts for the industry have a good chance of coming true.
