Another week, another sales forecast in the wearable Health Tech industry. This one comes from the market research firm IndustryArc. Their new report, “Wrist Wearable Devices Market Analysis (2013 – 2020)” breaks the industry into four separate categories: activity trackers, healthcare monitors, lifestyle bands, and infotainment devices. Smart watches are include in the infotainment category, even though many models have fitness and healthcare monitoring features. Clearly, there is some overlap in these categories, but the overall picture is one of healthy growth.
IndustryArc predicts that the worldwide sales of wrist wearable devices will grow from $11.5 billion in 2014 to $35.8 billion by 2020. This works out to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2%. Note that this is a prediction of total revenues; unit sales can be expected to grow even faster as prices will presumably drop as a result of increased competition, market penetration, and realized economies of scale as production volumes ramp up.
There are many useful form factors for wearable Health Tech devices, from implants to patches, but the traditional wristwatch has made the wrist a familiar location for wearable technology. While this location has limitations, it is likely to serve as the focal point for wearable Health Tech devices in the near term.
