Patient Engagement

Survey: Smartwatch sales to outpace fitness trackers next year

The Consumer Technology Association, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association, found that 35 percent of adults who regularly use the Internet intend to purchase a smartwatch next year

So long, fitness trackers, we hardly knew thee.

Well, not exactly, but more consumers plan on buying smartwatches than fitness apps, fitness trackers, smart clothing or sleep monitors in the next 12 months, according to a new survey.

The Consumer Technology Association, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association — you know, the people who put on International CES in Las Vegas every January — found that 35 percent of adults who regularly use the Internet intend to purchase a smartwatch next year. That compares to 30 percent who said they would buy a fitness-related app, and lower numbers for other categories.

Regardless, the U.S. market for health and fitness devices will grow by 10 percent in 2016, though that represents a bit of a slowdown, the CTA said. (That’s a weird acronym to type as I sit here in Chicago. I rode the Chicago Transit Authority to get home from the airport last night.)

The organization estimated that health and fitness gadgets will do $1.8 billion in sales in 2015, up by 18 percent from last year.

There are lots of reasons why people might shop for such devices, though it differs based on whether buyers see wearables and apps from a health or a fitness perspective. Those who have health-related motivations are twice as likely to want something that tracks blood pressure than those who just seek a fitness device.

Health-minded individuals generally want to share their data with their doctors, the Arlington, Virginia-based CTA said, based on a qualitative analysis of survey results.

“The potential of securely harnessing valuable health data will have a transformative impact on our lives — from the ability to identify early-onset diseases, offer preventive health benefits, assist in managing chronic conditions and provide more effective remote care of your loved ones,” Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and senior director of research at the trade group said in a statement. “Consumers see the potential for benefits from sharing health and fitness data with friends, family and medical professionals and they expect privacy to be balanced with those benefits.”

But will healthcare professionals want to receive and work with such data?

Images: Pebble, Consumer Technology Association

 

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